Chp 36: Guardian 
 
Seth cracked his knuckles while the elevator whirred. Soon enough, it stopped. The doors opened to reveal an odd sight. It appeared at first that he was outside, but on closer inspection, he was still indoors. The room was designed to look like a calm prairie type area. Most of the floor was green. Seth reached down and felt that it was actual grass with real dirt underneath. There was a small pond on the right side, with a small waterfall pouring down into it. On the left was a small setup with a few chairs and tables. In one of the chairs was a man wearing a very familiar blue suit. 
 
"Wait... Riley?" Seth asked. 
 
Riley looked up from his cup of tea. "Seth!" He greeted cheerily. "I knew you'd make it this far." He rose and crossed the field, getting a handshake from Seth. 
 
"You're part of the elite four?" 
 
Riley gave a nod. "Correct. As you may have learned, we each have a special condition. For me, I'm an expert in double battles. Two pokemon at a time. Your teamwork and coordination will be pushed to the limits." Riley stepped away to his side of the field. "I've been waiting to battle you. Let's see how well you've trained."  
 
"From the sound of it, you want me to personally fight." Seth said. 
 
"We have total privacy. No need to hold back."  
 
Seth reached down to his side. Zip, Tiff, Daim, Reginald, Sky, Soul. If he was gonna fight, one of them wouldn't. Of those he brought, Daim was the only one who he'd never seen battle.  
  
He settled on Zip and Tiff for now, tossing the pair out. Riley responded with Blaziken and Haxorus.  
 
The battle began in an instant as Blaziken leapt into the air. She came crashing down with tremendous speed, aiming a powerful kick at Tiff. The typhlosion managed to raise her arms and block a direct hit, but it sent her skidding back a foot. Blaziken flipped back into the air, using Tiff as a springboard landing on the opposite side of her.  
 
The entire time, Zip was watching the acrobatic display, giving Haxorus the chance to charge forward. Zip noticed just in time, leaping back just before Haxorus slammed his bladed head down. The blow left a clean cut in the dirt. As Zip landed, she let off a powerful pulse of electricity in all directions. Haxorus took the most of it due to his proximity, while Blaziken barely felt a tingle on her feathers. Tiff got a jolt somewhere in the middle. 
 
"Ergh" She grunted. Her back flame blasted on and a wave of fire shot off her body. It washed over Zip and Haxorus, but Blaziken was too far away.   
 
"Hey!" Zip shouted. "Watch your aim!"  
 
"Why don't-" Tiff was cut off as Blaziken dealt another powerful kick to her distracted body. It drilled into her side, knocking her down while Blaziken disengaged again. 
 
"And watch your-" Zip began with a mocking tone. She was silenced when Haxorus swung a purple shrouded claw at her. She dodged the first swipe, but the follow up lunge hit her, forcing her further back. "Damn..." She growled. "I'm not losing twice in a row! Hey, Typhlosion!"  
 
"My name is Tiff."  
 
"Whatever. I'll take the dragon, you take the bird." She dashed forward, jumping to the left to avoid the incoming claw as she swung her own claws with a coat of electricity. It scraped along Haxorus' scaled hide, doing little. She swiftly launched herself up, fangs bared as she aimed for his long neck. 
 
Tiff held her arms up as a ball of orange energy formed in them. Blaziken charged again, her talons kicking up grass as she sprinted. Just before she reached Tiff, the typhosion tossed the focus blast. Blaziken kicked off, leaping over the orb and swinging her leg down in a powerful kick to Tiff's head. The blow knocked her down into the dirt.  
 
Zip took a hit in midair when Haxorus whipped his neck out, slashing her with his tusks. When she hit the ground, he swung again, hitting her with the other one. She grunted and rolled a few times before leaping up and away to gain some distance.  
 
"Zip!" Tiff shouted. The warning came too late, as Blaziken dealt a whiplike kick to her from behind, launching her into the air and right into the powerful tackle from Haxorus. That sent her flying again, the luxray landing next to Tiff. 
 
"Shit..." She groaned. "I think I'll need your help." She whispered a few quick instructions before Tiff nodded. The enemy had regrouped, but Haxorus was recovering and Blaziken didn't dare launch an attack against the other two alone.  
 
Tiff took in a deep breath, before letting out a huge blast of fire. Zip ran forward, electricity covering her body and lifting her fur, and leapt into the fire. The blast hit the still immobilized dragon, which he was ready for. He did not expect the smoldering electrified lion that was right behind it. Zip hit him head on, with enough force to knock him to the ground. Both of them were sent tumbling, out cold.  
 
"Now that's more like it. You can move mountains with enough help." Riley gave a quick trio of claps before swapping in his next pokemon. It was a slaking. 
 
Seth reached down to his side, quickly debating. He was going to fight, and Daim was out, but he wasn't going in until later. Reginald and Sky both could take out Blaziken but Soul and Sky weren't likely to lose at all, if last time was any indication. With the order settled on, he swapped out Zip for Reginald. 
 
The fluffy dragon stretched his wings and let out a trill. 
 
"Reginald, protect Tiff and defeat the enemy!" Seth ordered.  
 
"Yes master!" He responded enthusiastically.  
 
"Well there's a new face." Tiff muttered. She looked haggard from Blaziken's relentless offense. 
 
"Don't worry my dear. I will keep you safe." Reginald said. He flapped his wings, taking to the air and intercepting Blaziken midair. She twisted around and kicked him, but it had little effect on his fluff. He shot past her, hitting her with a wing, before turning around and striking her with the other, knocking her down into the ground. 
 
Tiff sprang into action immediately, curling into a ball and rolling forward while gaining speed. She crashed into Blaziken before the bird could recover. She kept rolling, aiming towards Slaking, who had yet to move. In a sudden burst of speed, he grabbed Tiff in a massive paw, lifting her up easily and slamming her back down. This knocked her out cold. Blaziken did not move after hitting the ground again, as she too was knocked out. 
 
Seth reached down and recalled her, before taking two balls from his belt and setting them down, along with his backpack. He took a couple quick stretches before stepping onto the field. "Hope you don't mind, but I'm fighting like this." 
 
"Why not. We'll just throw out the entire rulebook." Riley shrugged.  
 
"Deal, but it won't help you." Seth cracked his knuckles and neck. 
 
Riley let out a short chuckle. "I like the spirit, but don't count me out yet." He sent out an aegislash. The floating sword moved over to Slaking. The ape rolled over then stood up, taking hold of Aegislash at the hilt. He wrapped his ribbons around the hulking arm, leaving the duo inseparable. 
 
"Impressive." Seth said. Aegislash was large, but a slaking standing up was massive, nearly 12 feet tall and able to easily hold the sword pokemon.  
 
"A plan master?" Reginald asked. 
 
"Cover me." Seth held his hand out, forming a ball of aura. He aimed and it shot out at a speed nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. Despite this, Aegislash was able to stretch the ribbon holding its shield and deflect the orb. In a flash of yellow, Seth vanished. He reappeared behind Slaking, his body covered in yellow spiky fur and shrinking. That fur turned blue as he aimed his fist, a coating of aura covering it.  
 
Slaking swung his arm, Aegislash's body cutting through only empty air. Both of their eyes looking up to see a lopunny high in the air. Aegislash turned its shield to block a head on tackle from Reginald, the force of the blocked impact damaging the dragon. Slaking was the next to dodge, as he leapt back just in time to avoid Seth, who had kicked off the roof and turned lucario again to deal a meteoric punch that cracked the ground.  
 
"You're pretty fast for someone so big." Seth complemented. Slaking only grunted.  
 
"Amazing... to think this is what a hybrid is capable of. And to achieve such mastery in so short a time... It's time to get serious!" Riley ordered. Slaking grunted louder. His stance changed, becoming less lax and more serious. 
 
"Prepare yourself, strange one." The sword ghost said.  
 
It was their turn to disappear, Slaking appearing right in front of Seth. He barely had time to raise his arms when the sword came swinging down with colossal force. The cutting edge did little against Seth's hardened skin, even without creating an aura barrier, but the force behind it sent him flying. He went a good ten feet before landing on his back and skidding a few more. "Damn..." He muttered, starting to get up. As he did, he heard Reginald squawk, followed by an explosion. He saw a cloud of dust and debris falling from the ceiling, but Reginald had dodged the attack. For now, he was hovering at a safe distance in the air. 
 
"I can see it on your face." Riley said. "Where did this power come from? You see, slaking can save up its energy, and unleash it later. He's been waiting for a tough opponent to use it on. This isn't some trick and there is no weakness."  
 
"I see... Only pure force can overcome it?" 
 
"That's correct."" Riley said, sounding smug. 
 
"Then that's what I'll do." Seth stood and looked at a paw. "I wasn't going to use this till later, but... it can't be helped." 
 
"Master? Are you sure?"  
 
"I don't want Soul and Sky to carry us through every battle." 
 
"But-" 
 
"Reginald! Give me some time." He ordered. 
 
"As much as I want to see whatever you have, I won't lose this battle. Slaking!" Riley called.  
 
With a grunt, Slaking vanished again. Seth already knew he was the target, and he nearly vanished the moment Slaking swung his sword. Slaking felt something touch his legs, but when he looked down, nothing was there. Seth, now as an eevee, ran his little heart out, taking cover in a bush using extremespeed. With Seth seemingly gone, Slaking turned to Reginald.  
 
Reginald did not flinch when the threatening gaze fell on him. He began flapping his wings while feathers came out and surrounded his body in white fluff. This happened just in time, as Slaking moved for another attack, appearing above Reginald. The swing of Aegislash sliced through a lot of the cotton guard, and the force sent Reginald crashing into the ground. Slaking fell right after, slamming down with another slash. Reginald began to build up more defense, when Slaking grabbed him with his free paw and tossed him across the room, immediately moving in for follow up attacks. 
 
"C'mon..." Seth growled. 
 
After three more hits, Reginald was splayed out on the ground. Slaking looked away, trying to find Seth, but was suddenly hit with a shot of purple fire. "You won't stop master..." Reginald groaned. 
 
"Give up. You can barely move." Aegislash said. "If you keep going, you'll hurt yourself."  
 
Reginald fired another dragon pulse in defiance.  
 
"That's enough. Just stay conscious. I want this one alone." Seth said, stepping out of the bush, still as an eevee. His body quickly grew to that of a human.  
 
Slaking and Aegislash both stared. Slaking even let out a little chuckle at the sight of the human facing them. Riley however, his eyes went wide. "Knock him out! NOW!" He yelled. Slaking heard the order and charged forward, dragging his sword along the ground for an uppercut. 
 
Seth held out his palm, forming a wall of aura to block it. Slaking swung, expecting to shatter the barrier, but the strike failed to do so. He raised his other fist, slamming it into the wall. It didn't even shake. Seth raised his other hand, all the fingers pointing out. "An aura sphere uses about half a percent of the aura in the body. As you know from your master, aura is life force. It is the energy that keeps life going. How much of it do you think can be used in an attack?" 
 
"Seth! Don't!" 
 
"Too late." He closed his fist. At the same moment, five small aura spheres that had formed around Slaking exploded in a massive blue burst. It left a blue fog in the air, one that seemed to slowly move back towards Seth. It also left Slaking and Aegislash both unconscious.  
 
Riley didn't recall his pokemon. Instead, he quickly walked onto the field and punched Seth in the cheek, knocking him to the ground. "You stupid kid! You're lucky to still be breathing!"  
 
Seth was panting loudly as he wiped the spittle from his cheek. "That wasn't even my limit. I keep just enough aura in my body for my body to function." 
 
"I saw that! Just one slip up and you would have died. How did you even learn such a thing?!" 
 
Seth smiled and looked up absently. "Let's just say I'm in love." He sat up. Most of the blue had dissipated from the room, but his body still appeared to be cloaked in it. "I'm back down to about half now. That was only 80 percent." 
 
"How far?" 
 
"My limit for that trick is about 95 percent. That put me in the hospital afterwards. But if you think that's all I have, you're dead wrong." 
 
"You'll be dead if your other tricks are like that. I should disqualify you, but... I suppose that will only make things worse. I wasn't going to use her, but you need to be taught a lesson. If you kill yourself in this fight..." Riley threatened. He recalled his two comatose pokemon and drew his next two balls. 
 
Seth looked over to find Reginald out cold. "Just promise me. Don't tell the girls how dangerous that was. They don't need to worry about that stuff." Seth walked over to the two balls he had, set out. "I can control my aura just fine." 
 
"Not even Anubis can use aura like that safely. And he is more skilled than even me." 
 
"I guess we'll see if he's stronger than me. And if I'm not, I'll just have to train even harder." 
 
"For most, battling is a hobby or a sport. I used to think that was foolish." Riley shook his head. "Surely you can see the hypocrisy? You love them with all your being, but risk that being for power." 
 
"Because I'd rather die than lose them." Seth said, not a shred of doubt in him. 
 
"And how would they feel if you died?" 
 
"They would be heartbroken. That's why I won't die." 
 
"Oh, to be young and naive again... I'll have to break that illusion for you. You won't win!" Riley declared, sending out his pokemon. As expected, there was his lucario. But the other pokemon wasn't one Seth recognized. It was small, with no fur and white skin with a black dress. It had long green hair that touched the ground. "Rhyme, I need your help. Win this one, and you can pick out any cake from the bakery." 
 
"Any cake?" She looked back and asked in disbelief. Her voice had a singing quality to it. "Yeah! Let's do it!"  
 
Seth opened Sky's ball, releasing her beside him. 
 
"This is Rhyme. She is a meloetta, a legendary pokemon. She likes tea and sweets and happens to be the strongest pokemon I've ever seen." Riley said. 
 
"Oh hey! Riley!" Sky called out. "You're part of the elite four?" 
 
"Indeed I am Sky. I hope our friendship does not cause you to hold back." 
 
"No way! We've come too far to stop now!"  
 
"Atta girl." Seth said. "This is a team battle, but you focus on her, and I'll take out the lucario. After that, I'll help you out." 
 
"Sounds like a plan." She lowered her stance and got ready to fight.  
 
Seth kicked things off, charging forward at Anubis. A blue fog seemed to cover his body, a lot of it gathering at the fist as he aimed it for the lucario's chest. A wall of aura formed in front of him at the last second, blocking Seth's punch. 
 
"I will not hold back for a human." 
 
Fur bristled from Seth as he began to look nearly identical to Anubis. "Good. I'm hardly human." He swung a leg, kicking into the barrier and causing it to shatter like glass before disappearing. His kick did not land however, as there was a second wall behind the first. 
 
"I appreciate the help, but..." Anubis glanced back at Riley. 
 
"You will need it. This opponent is a cut above the rest." He said, raising his hands in front of him. 
 
"Two on one?" Seth scoffed. "That's hardly fair. Sky! Go all out!" Seth ordered. He used the barrier to jump back and gain some distance. Before he even landed, Anubis raised a paw, emitting a dozen crescent shaped blades of aura. They flew through the air, cutting at Seth as they passed. Seth raised a paw, the mist around him visibly condensing into a ball. He barely even flinched when the aura blades came slicing past him again on their return trip to Anubis. The ball of aura grew up to basketball size as he raised his other paw and formed a smaller ball. Once the second was fully formed, he charged forward, right into a large aura sphere that exploded in his face. He burst through the smoke cloud and slammed the larger ball into Anubis' barrier. Instead of exploding, it grew, completely covering the dome with Seth's denser aura. Then it blew up. The entire dome cracked and shattered. Once again, there was a second layer, separated by a few inches. This is where Seth's other ball came into play, when he slammed it into the back up defense. Instead of growing, it shrank smaller and the shape changed, becoming a point. Without exploding, it broke through the dome, allowing Seth to thrust his arm inside and plant the aura right into Anubis' chest.  
 
The difference in power was very apparent at this point. The explosion of Seth's aura shattered the dome from the inside, causing an explosion nearly quadruple the size of the one Anubis had made earlier. An instant later, Anubis came flying out of the smoke. Before he could crash into the ground, a wall of aura formed, catching him in midair. Based on the grimace he made, it hurt, but it allowed him to land on his feet instead of his back. He didn't miss a beat, throwing two aura spheres in quick succession.  
 
"Riley!" 
 
"Right." Riley reached up and flipped the brim of his fedora up, revealing a multicolored stone sewn into the fabric. It began to glow, as did Anubis' collar, where there was another stone. A cloak of energy covered Anubis, before it burst out, revealing his mega evolved form.  
 
Seth knew what was coming, but he could still barely react when Anubis came rocketing forward. He did raise his arms, but Anubis' aura powered punch aimed around them. He felt the impact even under the cushion of aura he built. The massive amount of aura he used had power, but it didn't increase his speed at all. In fact, it lowered it, due to the strain on his body. He knew exactly how much of a speed boost the mega evolution gave. He could mega evolve himself, but that seemed cheap. He made his bed, now he had to lie in it. Seth thought all this while he flew through the air, landing and skidding along the grass. Anubis was right behind, delivering a kick that shook the ground, causing cracks to burst in the ground from the pressure and launching Seth into the air again. Anubis was there once again, delivering a ferocious series of punches and kicks in midair, each one pushing Seth higher up. The flurry ended with him grabbing Seth's paw, spinning him around and throwing him into the ground. 
 
"Seth!" Sky called out, her attention breaking. 
 
"Don't forget me~" Rhyme called, beginning to hum. 
 
"Alright." Seth grunted as he got up, wobbling a bit. "No more games." His body changed to red fur with a yellow neck puff and tail, still humanoid. He clasped his flareon paws in front of him as his aura condensed around him and formed a thick dome. Anubis was on him in an instant, unleashing another all-out assault. The dome held as something began to change. It changed from blue, the usual color of healthy aura, to red, the color of a fading or wounded aura. 
 
"You're done." Anubis growled from outside, increasing his punches. 
 
"You're wrong." Seth retorted. When Anubis' next punch landed, a burst of fire came out of the dome, wrapping around his fist. The dome exploded outwards, but instead of shattering and fading like normal aura, it turned into fire. Anubis leaped away, flames licking across his fur, causing intense pain from the repeated usage of close combat.  
 
But as he leapt away, he felt something hot. He looked back to find the aura fire chasing just behind him. 
 
"I'm sure you know about how aura can react to emotions or physical traits. With the amount of aura I'm using, it takes on more and more of those. Including type. At the usual, or below ten percent, it would be normal, a fighting type blunt force attack. But any more adds the heat of a fire type, the electricity of an electric, or any other type effects. Even more makes it seem more like an actual attack of that type, while still having the properties of aura." 
 
Anubis was acrobatically dodging every lunge and wave of the living fire. Suddenly, he turned and ran straight for Seth, passing through some of his aura to do so. He emerged covered in fire, as the flames behind him followed. At the last second, a smile crossed Seth's muzzle. As Anubis lashed out with a punch, his arm caught fire as it neared Seth's body. Seth's entire form burst into flames as well. An instant later, the rest of the flames crashed into Anubis from behind. The entire scene now resembled a bonfire, with none of the pokemon inside visible. 
 
+++ 
 
"Sounds like a plan." Sky said, lowering her stance.  
 
"So," Rhyme said. "Let's-" She trailed off as the environment changed. Sky disappeared, as did the other two. Everything else was next, only a patch of grass remained right under her feet. "Such a potent illusion... you might be fun after all." Mirror images of her standing on that patch of grass repeated out into infinity. 
 
"The hall of mirrors." Sky's voice announced.  
 
"HAH!" Rhyme shouted, a wave of sound blasting off from her body. There was a loud ringing noise and the sound wave reversed, crashing back into her. "Oh, I get it. You trap me immobile in this trick, then use a burst of psychic to launch my attacks back at me." Rhyme said. She couldn't see Sky's eyes widen. "Betcha couldn't tell I was a psychic type too." 
 
Outside the illusion, Sky grimaced as Rhyme began a purely mental assault, directly into her head. This circumvented the invisible dome that she had encapsulated Rhyme with. Her own attack, the one she called the hall of mirrors, was purely physical. It was a dome that used the color bending and physical properties of her clone technique, with either copied or redirected attacks to fool the enemy. Despite her aloof demeanor, Rhyme was smart to pick it apart so quickly. And now she was using the dome to connect right back to Sky's mind, allowing her to psychically attack. But Sky wasn't helpless. Instead of breaking the dome and allowing her to move freely, she fought back. 
 
Their battle was nowhere near as flashy as Seth's. It was almost purely mental, a battle of will. Out of the corner of an eye, Sky saw Seth getting thrown into the ground. "Seth!" She called out, her attention breaking. 
 
"Don't forget me~" Rhyme called, beginning to hum. "You won't keep me from that cake!" She raised her hands and spun on one slender leg. As she did, her hair wrapped around her head and turned red. With one of her small black arms, she punched out, breaking through Sky's dome in a shower of blue sparks. Then, with a burst of speed greater than even Anubis' mega evolution, she appeared in front of Sky. With a slender arm, she punched up, launching Sky into the air, but not for long, as Rhyme did a front flip, kicking Sky right back into the ground with a heel. 
 
Sky cried out as she was slammed flat. She had experienced the overwhelming power of legendaries while she was training with Star, but the latias had been holding back. Rhyme wasn't. Rhyme spun again, a wave of sound crashing into Sky as she did and her form changed back. She leapt into the air and began to emit psychic force downwards, right into Sky. The ground cracked and the grass around her disintegrated as she was forced down into a small crater.  
 
Sky tried to push back, but even with her full power, the crushing force didn't let up in the slightest. Everything was dulled from the pressure. Even through this, she heard something.  
 
"Get off her!" Seth came flying into the picture, a black furred fist, covered in dark aura, crashing into Rhyme's cheek. The blow knocked her out of the air, though she gracefully landed on the ground. "I'm all done. You okay?" 
 
Sky shakily got to her feet. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a wheeze. She coughed a couple times. "Yeah." Despite saying that, she could barely breath and her entire form was quaking. "Careful... She's strong." 
 
"I thought so. I'll led the charge. Take as much time as you need." His umbreon rings glowed as he cast a wave of dark charged aura forward. Rhyme spun again, the power of her song pushing the aura away. A moment later, she was charging through it, bursting out on the other side and going straight for Seth.  He tried to meet her fist for fist, but even with aura reinforcement, she easily out sped and out powered him. Just before a powerful punch could land right on his face, a small circle of a glass looking wall formed. It shattered into blue sparks almost right away but it dulled her blow.  
 
Everything suddenly went black. A moment later, the air around Rhyme shattered like glass. She leapt away, hands going to her head. "Ow..." She groaned. "That hurt!" She complained, sounding more annoyed than actually in pain. Seth felt some of it too, but not as much. His brain felt like it was boiling, but he would be fine. He grit his teeth while analyzing Rhyme. She could change her form so quickly. It took him a lot more concentration to do that for himself. And his style remained the same, only his moves changed. With her, her entire combat style changed. The green form was long ranged psychic type moves, while her other was short range fighting type. 
 
Sky. Sky! 
 
Seth? 
 
Yes. He mentally said. When she's green, I'll push her. When she turns red, you attack from range. 
 
I see the pattern too. Go for it. She lowered her stance again and prepared herself to attack all out when the moment came.  
 
Rhyme spun again, changed to green hair, and held her little arms up. As Seth began to move, electricity began to build up in each palm. Beams shot out, one aimed at Seth and the other at Sky. That wasn't the danger however, as the leftover energy crackled up her arms. Just before Seth could attack, she vanished.  
 
Rhyme appeared right in front of Sky, now with red hair. She grabbed Sky, easily spinning and throwing her through the air. Seth was quick to react, jumping into the air and catching Sky. The impact made both of them grunt. Neither could move in time as Rhyme came hurtling forward, kicking into Sky with a green coated leg, before flipping off and away. Sky cried out before going limp in Seth's arms. 
 
"Sky?" He asked. "You did good." He rose and carried her over the side of the field before grabbing Soul's ball.  
 
The absol materialized on the field. "Hah!" She yawned and stretched. "'Bout time." She looked around at the devastated field. "Looks like I missed the party. Is this scrawny thing all that's left?" 
 
"S-s-scrawny?" Rhyme stuttered. "Did you just... AM I NOT CUTE?!" Rhyme screamed, a wave of piercing sound crashing through the field. 
 
"Uh oh..." Riley muttered. 
 
All the air was forced out of Seth's lungs as Rhyme's fist planted itself in his gut. He hadn't even saw her coming. Her leg kicked into his neck, sending him flying across the field. He crashed into the wall, making a sizable dent in it, before falling to the ground limply. 
 
"Shit." Soul muttered. "Alright, let's go short stuff." 
 
"Rhyme!" Riley chastised. "Watch your strength! You could have broken his ne-" 
 
"Shut up! This bitch is going down!" Rhyme growled, her red hair writhing in anger.  
 
Soul raised her head and let out a howl as she mega evolved. They both vanished, reappearing in midair, horn and fist clashing. They repeated this several times, flashing over the arena in combat so fast that Riley's aura vision could only see blurs. Eventually, they both returned to their starting positions as if nothing had happened. 
 
"You'll need more than that." Rhyme said. "Your teammates together couldn't beat me. What can you do?" 
 
"You're comparing me to them?" Soul gave a dirty smirk. "I love 'em, but the chumps can't hold a candle to me. Since they aren't watching now..." She began to move, carefully circling and watching Rhyme. As she did, her body did a sort of weird dance, making erratic movements. "I won't hold back."  
 
Rhyme remained motionless, watching Soul closely. They both sprang into motion at the exact same time. Rhyme spun again, changing to green, but the effects of the sound were much more powerful, black note symbols forming in the air. Even as the sound wave got further away from her, the notes stayed. They ranged in size from inches tall to double her size and all slowly hovered up and down. Rhyme then held her hands into the air, forming a ball there as Soul charged and weaved through the sea of notes.  
 
Before Soul could land an attack, a night slash crashed into Rhyme's back. She turned around, expecting Soul to have flanked her, but instead saw nothing and received another slash once she turned around. She swung the focus blast at Soul, but she had already pushed off Rhyme with her hind paws, leaping away while giving a flap of her wings. The pulse of energy that came from her as she did made Rhyme's heart involuntarily skip a beat. But as Soul flipped out of danger, several music notes flew right at her. She hit the largest one with a wing, causing it to exploded in a burst of noise. The others crashed into her body, exploding as well. She grunted in pain but managed to restore her course with a flap of her wings, landing outside the range of the notes.  
 
Rhyme took aim with her hands, a pink sphere building in them, but before she could unleash it, an orb of darkness appeared below her, hitting up into her chin and knocking her into the air. While she was in midair, a circle of dark energy formed at distance, flying in and cutting her from every direction. "What..." She coughed as she fell to the ground. 
 
"You'll figure it out eventually." Soul mocked. "Those notes... you use sound as a weapon right?" 
 
"I do." Rhyme growled as she stood. "Its perfect. Only a few select pokemon can resist it." 
 
"Let's see if I'm one of those." Soul raised her head and her fur began to shake as a wind built up around her. Inside that whirlwind, crystals of snow and ice began to form. A loud howling began to emanate from her, sounding like a shrill train. Soul charged forward, headfirst into the notes. They exploded as they contacted her shield, letting out a ringing noise, but Soul didn't even flinch. The howling blizzard shield completely blocked out the sound wave. Just before Soul aimed for Rhyme, a massive bolt of lightning crashed down on top of her, immediately followed by Soul's slash. Rhyme couldn't stop the cascade of dark energy, but she did grab Soul's horn to stop the physical part. The biting cold of Soul's wind sapped her warmth, so she reacted fast, changing to her red form. She easily hefted Soul into the air, slamming her down on the other side. When she raised a fist to attack, a fist of clear energy came out of Soul. A barrage of punches shot out from Soul, interrupting the close combat Rhyme was about to use. Once it ended though, Rhyme resumed her attack, her rage fueling the punches. Soul covered herself with her wings of fur, but even through that and the icy wall of wind, the blows hit her hard. The combo ended with Rhyme leaping away. 
 
Once she gracefully landed, she closed her eyes and began to sway. Soul rolled over, glaring at her. A wave of fire burst from thin air next to Rhyme, but she weaved around it fluidly, not a lick of flame touching her. When a long-range psycho cut came hurtling at her, she flipped into the air, dodging it easily, all while her eyes were closed.  
 
Soul charged forward, rearing back as her horn glowed with psychic energy. Rhyme easily dodged to the side, as she did sweeping her leg and kicking Soul in the side of the head. She whipped her claw up in retaliation, but Rhyme again dodged and countered. They continued this dance for several more strikes, Rhyme completely dominating the engagement. Eventually, Soul backed off as Rhyme continued to sway in place.  
 
"Alright, try and dodge this!" Soul barked. The cloak of wind around her burst forth, growing in size into a razor wind and blizzard combination. The massive storm of air moved fast, causing Rhyme to change to green and form a protective dome. Outside the veil of snow and ice, Soul smirked. "It's over." She muttered. 
 
Rhyme held up the protect as long as she could, but the storm kept raging outside. Eventually she had to let it go, allowing the cutting wind to strike at her. But that wasn't all. Hundreds of bug type blades materialized all around her, all slashing at her in a massive flurry.  
 
"Future sight. A move that lets you setup an attack that happens later. With some practice, you can use the same principle on other moves. Anywhere I've been is a potential attack. And I've been setting those up since we started." Soul finally explained.  
 
But as the storm finally cleared, Rhyme was still standing. "Fine." Soul growled. She vanished, reappearing next to Rhyme. "Perish." She whispered, red static coming from her mouth and covering both of them. The energy caused both of them to cry out as they fell to the ground. The pain that wracked their tired bodies was too great for either to attempt to fight. The red consumed their forms, foretelling a simultaneous knockout.  
 
"Y-y-you're... too w-w-weak." Soul forced out. One paw at a time, she rose. A moment later, Rhyme passed out. A couple tears rolled down Soul's face, but she remained standing until the perish song ended, the energy fading with it. 
 
"She... she beat Rhyme..." Riley said in utter disbelief. "Soul! You and your trainer, Seth, are the victors."  
 
Soul sat down as her form reverted to normal. She let out a light sigh. "So what about sleeping snorlax over there?"  
 
"Allow me." He took a max revive out of his suit. "I shouldn't have used Rhyme. She is far too much for any normal pokemon." 
 
"So I'm not normal?" Soul asked proudly.