Work Text:
The last time he was up this mountain was at ‘his’ and Ingo’s 26th birthday, years ago, He remembers this quite well, as Ingo had a lot of difficulty following the group through the climb, his stubbornness pushing him to refuse to say anything in the slightest until he had a harsh reminder that his cab needed rest, in the other hand Emmet took the precaution to stay as far away from the edge as possible, even if it meant they had too take a longer detour – he was just a little nervous about breaking his neck if he fall, it wasn’t that big of a deal – Dawn was just laughing at the situation, not bothered about it in slightness, it took more than half of the day to arrive at the top, but at the end, the view was worth it, that was one of his favorite memory of their vacation in Sinnoh.
He would have admired the horizon from the Spear Pillar, like that time, if he wasn’t there for another reason.
“You are ready Em?” Dawn looked at Emmet with a determined look holding the azure flute in her gloved hand, ready to play the first musical note “You didn’t forget anything? Because remember when you are up there there is no come back, I will not be able to help you more, everything about your plan will depend on Arceus being willing to help you”.
“Do not worry Dawn, I made all my safety check, I am more than prepared for any possibility that could happen, I have my backpack with every necessity, and my and Ingo’s pokemon to help me” The champion of the region frowned slightly but finally sigh, her eyes getting softer.
“I know Em, I am certain you will get Ingo back soon enough, but you can’t stop me from worrying about your well being, I would appreciate it if you come back in one piece”
Emmet slowly got closer, chuckling a bit, before putting one of his hands on his friend's shoulder to reassure her, he was the first to understand her worry about the mission he gave himself, but he didn't have much of a choice.
“I am Emmet, I will be verrry careful, Ingo was missing for two years and a half, I will make sure to not let him be missing for much longer”
“well be more careful than careful Em, because I swear to Giratina that I will punch you when you come back with an injury”
“Please don’t”
She simply smirked at him with an amused expression, rolling her eyes as she brought the flute closer to her lips, muttering in a teasing tone a “No promise” before playing a slow melody that Emmet could only describe by the word haunted, it wasn’t pleasant for his ear, but the music was short enough that it was bearable.
Some seconds passed in silence, with only the wind blowing to accompany it, until glass stairs appeared with a flash of blinding light in the middle of the ancient ruins, the stairs going further and further into the sky, in a way that even the illusionist was unable to see how far was the final destination – that was slightly concerning in his opinion for multiple reason, including the breaking his neck possibility.
“...This is unsafe, there is no stair rail”
“I love your first reaction to it being about the lack of rails and not the stairs appearing out of nowhere, you should be ‘Starly’ by magical stairs appearing, not complain about a lack of security”
Emmet didn’t have to look at the champion to see her smile – or hear a snort coming from her in the matter – to know how amuse she was as he slowly turn around with a frown and the most deadpan expression he could mutter.
“This is horrible, I do not need another pun from you, I am never coming back, Goodbye” He immediately started to go up the stairs, ignoring Dawn laugh – why would she betray him like that in such a moment, He did not have any logical explication other than Dawn having passed too much time with the electric type champion.
“E-Emmet!!! come on, that was funny- haha w-wait don’t go yet!” As her laugh slowly died down, Emmet hesitated a bit about listening to what she had to say, after some seconds he eventually caved in, looking in her direction with an unamused glare.
Dawn who was bend of laughter a moment ago, now, was holding herself in a relaxed manner, a large smile on her face that made the illusionist expression soft “See you soon Em”
“…. See you soon Dawn”
And with that, Emmet turned around to continue his climb up the long stair.
As much as he has very good stamina, he will not lie about how it was getting more and more difficult to not feel totally exhausted – the lack of oxygen was to blame, he decide, not his increased panic over how far from the ground he was – there is also so many question he want to ask about the all situation that his brother got force into, and let’s not forget the itch he have to punch Arceus in the face for numerous reason – it was a good distraction he decide.
That sort of thought was enough to push the subway boss to get to the destination, and after what felt like an eternity, Emmet finally saw the end of this hell of stair, arriving on a glass platform in the middle of the void, there wasn’t a lot to see, although, he made the mistake to look under him, realizing at the instance that the platform was further from earth than expected – He looked back up, immediately regretting his choice, screeching in his head that IT WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO LOOK DOWN, HE IS NOT JUST GOING TO BREAK HIS NECK IF HE FALL!!! ‘think of something else’, he told himself loudly, ‘don’t go down this Bunnelby hole’, he repeated a little louder – how was he able to breathe? How was that possible? Emmet wisely decides to continue asking himself those question.
“Thy curiosity is understandable Illusionist”
The sudden voice, who was coming from no where and everywhere at the same time, startled him strongly, stopping any of his following thoughts off the rail abruptly, leaving him unsettled to a degree he is not used to, his whole body shivering at the unpleasant feeling as he start searching where could be the pokemon – the god– who decide to make their presence know “Arceus show yourself”
“Illusionist, I am not hiding from Thee”
If he had numerous questions before, now he has even more, he didn’t see the god when he arrived – it wasn’t like there was anywhere to hide – so where could the legendary possibly be? – Emmet tried to not point out the strange way Arceus was talking, he would have been a hypocrite if he did – he slowly searched yet again the place with his eyes, before turning around and feeling his heart beat out of his body for an instant, as standing behind him was upon – too – close inspection the unknown pokemon that he only saw in books, staring at him with their piercing red eyes and inexpressive expression.
“Thou are a curious one, I must admit Illusionist, Thou are a Pokemon but for reason I do not understand, Thou pretend to be human” Emmet tried to not flinch hearing that.
“I am Emmet, and you are freaking me out, please stay away from the line” That seemed to be enough to make Arceus back away slightly, tilting their head but still maintaining eye contact with him, unblinking.
“Excuse me Illusionist, I sometimes forget that most do not appreciate being surprise”
Emmet wisely didn’t comment how that was not the best first impression, even more when their children were the reason behind Ingo’s kidnapping “You...You know me?”
“I know everything, As well as know all of my people”
Knowing that god knew not just him was reassuring in a way as much as it was ominous – They knew everything about his secret and lie – the linger feeling that the legendary also know what he was thinking about too make him grimace, maybe he should not think about punching them even if he really want to do so with how much this was a breach of privacy.
“Thou thought are reasonable, but I would appreciate if thou can avoid them for now, as it is the only way for me to talk”
Startled that the pokemon could in fact hear what was in his mind – That included his previous panic induced monologue over how far he was from earth embarrassingly enough – Emmet answer back with a strain smile “Oh….yes, it would be verrry rude to not keep them in check if that the case, I am not here for that through, I am Emmet and I would need your help”
“I am aware, but I cannot grant Thy wish, not until thou can prove yourself to me, prove to me thy strength”
It took a moment for him to understand what was the demand of the god, blinking blankly at them, before his expression morph into comprehension “You want me to beat you in a Pokemon battle” it was a fact, not a question.
“Correct, fight me any way thou wish, only the pokemon whom didn’t lose against me will be permitted to continue”
The six pokeball on him shook just so slightly, indicating that Ingo’s and his team had heard what the god said, but he was more focused on the challenge the legendary had thrown at him than anything else, that was a possibility Dawn had warned him about before, he knew that it was coming but not so soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I am verrry aware that I would need to fight them, I am ready to do it”
Dawn groaned loudly as she was putting a book on the table in front of them, the champion apartment in the league was big, but most of the place was full of books she took from Cynthia, who was most that happy to lend to the duo her excessive collection, making it a bit more cramp that it should be, not like Emmet cared that much as he use to smaller space than that.
“Em, it’s not that simple, Arceus is ridiculously strong!! They have this ability that makes them change types so you can forget any type advantage you could have and let’s not forget they have an unfair advantage in the hall of origin” She opened the book to show him an old photo of a Pokemon that he didn't recognize in the slightest next to a teenager. “they can, and will destroy you if they want”
“huh...They do not look like I thought they would”
“Yeah, there is very few photos of them, so most of the time people only know their abstract representation of who does not look like them at all, that is what happened when Arceus is not a fan of picture”
“That makes sense, but how do you have so much information about them? The books don’t give us a concrete description of their abilities.
Dawn simply shrugged as she sat on a chair under the Subway boss curious gaze “Ethan, a friend of mine, had the chance to catch them, well more like catch one of them. Anyway!! To answer your question, we talked about his encounter with Arceus a while back”
“Oh I see… wait what do you mean ‘Catch one of them’!?”
“There is a reason why people say that Arceus shaped the universe with its 1,000 arms Em”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Thou are ready Illusionist or do thou wish to turn back?”
Emmet took a deep breath, that was it, the moment of truth, he didn't hesitate to take two of the pokeballs who were well secured on his belt in his hand, and even less hesitate to say “I am Emmet, I will not turn back, What I do. What I say. Always the same.”
Slipping back into his role of Subway boss, he started to hold himself in his usual pose, pointing Arceus with a sharp smile – his right side felt empty without his brother - “Follow the rules. Safe driving! Follow the schedules. Everyone smile! Check safety. Everything's ready! Aim for victory! All aboard!”
“Thy Determination is outstanding, Very well be prepared”
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
Emmet? Is challenge by Arceus
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
The tall pokemon let out a loud cry, pounding the ground with strength, something who shook Emmet to his core for a second before rapidly throwing the two pokeballs previously chosen, “Crustle, Archeops I need your help!!”
Crustle appear, closing and opening his claws with anticipation over this fight who was not against any regular adversary, his voice shaking just a little with nervousness “A-Ah, that is intimidating, b-but we need to try our best, right?”
“Obviously, do not worry, we will not lose this because I have your back!!!! let’s do this!!” shirks loudly Archeops, flapping his wing excitedly over the challenge in front of them.
“X-Scissor Crustle, Archeops Aerial Ace and do not stop!!”
The two pokemon did not wait to go for the god in front of them, Archeops ran faster and faster until he was able to get off the ground and get multiple hits on Arceus flank, the god tried to avoid, for the most part, the persistent bird attack using Extrasensory to make him back away, forcing him to the ground yet again, they were so distracted by the flying type that they did not immediately avoid the slower pokemon attack who swung his claw on the body of the legendary, pushing them further in the arena.
Through to the dismay of the team, even with the two pokemon attacking together, it did not seem to do as much damage that any of them would have wish, It didn't stop the duo from trying another assault on the legendary, trying to change their approach on Arceus without any interruption – Emmet wasn’t too worry, it was not the first time that the team had to fight a tough opponent, it was part of the job, even if a legendary was a bit of a first.
As the duo continue, Arceus finally seemed to have enough to their attempt to weir them off, moving into a more offensive position as they prepared themselves to retaliated.
“Oh that’s not good...” Emmet muter to himself before being louder to order the next plan of action, sensing the immediate danger they were in “You two, retreat immediately!!!--”
A powerful light started to fly in the air, before fracturing then slowly making it’s way down, gaining speed quickly, Emmet didn't have to look long to identify the attack as Judgment, to his absolute horror – that was way too soon. “Archeops Protect, Crustle get ready to avoid” the attack rapidly reach their target, while the two unprepared pokemon did not move as fast as they normally should, by the time it got to the ground, the impact formed a thick smoke who blinded for a moment Emmet.
As the smoke slowly dissipated, he was happy to see that Archeops was able to pull up the protective bubble around him before it could do any more damage to him, the flying type seemed flabbergasted by the terrible attack – like he should be, Emmet wasn’t even close but he felt how strong that was – rapidly looking for their companion “Holy Rock, that was fast!! Crust are you okay?” The bird's attention was only on his partner who was not as lucky to avoid the rain of light, shaking by the brute force of this attack.
“I-It’s fine, i-it did hurt but I will be okay, I can c-continue” The pokemon tried to put himself back on his shaky feet, to the uncertainty of Emmet who wasn’t sure that leaving the stone home pokemon out was the best strategy at the moment.
This worry got worse, the moment Arceus – like Dawn warned him about the moment Emmet got in his head that fighting a god was a good idea – changed color, indicating a change of type, replacing the yellow of their body for a dark blue, he didn’t need to be a genius to know that the legendary become a water type – He worked on multiple backup plans for this fight, just in case the rail he was on would be a dead end, but the state Crustle was in as well as Archeops own injury made him think that those two pokemon wouldn't be able to stay conscious for long and join them to their mission, that was an unfortunate truth that he needed to took into account, he know he should play safer but....
“Crustle use Flail when you can, stay ready to avoid the next attack, Archeops use Aerial Ace again, as much as you can, do not let them attack, neither of your other attacks would be effective on them at the moment”
Archeops give him a short nod “On it Emmet, they will not be able to do anything with me around!!” with that he was already gone to annoyed yet again Arceus, running then flying around to start to stop any attempt they could have of attacking Crustle, ending up in a battle of not getting thrown away too far by Extrasensory.
Aerial Ace wasn’t as effective as previously on their opponent, as he already deduce, but it was definitively difficult to keep tape on the two pokemon at the same time for the deity, with one waiting to get any good opportunity to hit them without getting damage and the other being there to take as many hit he can get away with on the legendary while being a difficult target, the Illusionist knew that it was the best strategy he could have come up in this situation.
But, he was not prepared to see Arceus disappear from their position in the middle of the assault, Archeops falling to the ground mid attack and putting the other in a state of confusion, Emmet himself wasn’t sure what was going on before the legendary reappeared further away to used a powerful Hyperbeam on Archeops and Crustle, neither of them were able to properly react and protect themselves.
Emmet could only watch in disbelieve the two pokemon fall unconscious – how powerful Arceus is to incapacitate two pokemon with ease like that! He should not just worry about judgment but their Hyperbeam too! Adding to that, Teleportation, and it gives a terrifying adverser, it is in a way quite exciting to be against such a strong opponent, if it wasn’t for getting his brother back, he would have enjoyed this more, it’s not everyday that you get challenged by a legendary – he didn’t stay silent for long as he call the two defeat team member back.
“... I did not know that you could teleport, that is verrry surprising, but I can work with that” Arceus did not answer, simply acknowledging him with a nod and letting Emmet call for the two next pokemon “Galvantula, Haxorus this is your turn”
The two pokemon appeared in a flash of light, Galvantula was moving her mandible with confidence not showing any weakness in front of their adversary “Are you ready Haxorus, we need to do our best whatever the income of it is” her voice soft a bit at the last part as she took a look at her left, were Haxorus was standing proudly.
The dragon didn’t move, her eyes focused on Arceus with what could be a determined scowl “Of course I will do my best, I want my trainer back, and if it means fighting against a god then be it!”
“Everyone be ready” Emmet snapped his arms in the direction of Arceus, no hesitation in his movement as he gave his order “Galvantula Thunder-Wave, try to keep your distance, Haxorus Dragon Dance, followed it with Dragon Tail at the next opportunity”
Galvantula was fast to respond, nearly jumping on Arceus face to get a Thunder-Wave on them, who was extremely effective with how the god flinched at the electric attack, stunting them, they didn't even attempt to toss the giant spider away.
Galvantula took that to her advantage to turn up the power of her Thunder-Wave to another level, the air was filled with static – even Emmet fur under his illusion was starting to get affected by it – leaving Haxorus enough time to be able to set up two Dragon Dance in peace before the god finally discard Galvantula with their psychic attacked, by the time they recover from the electricity running in their body, the dragon type charged on them to strike a powerful Dragon Tail on the side of their body, shoving the legendary further into the arena.
The god slowly shook his head as he seemed to come back to their senses, before retaliating with Judgement once again, this time Emmet was much more prepared for what was to come even before the light started to multiply. “you two need to back up immediately!”
The attack tumbled on his companion once again, luckily this time, they were faster to retreat, enough that they didn’t took much damage, Galvantula seemed slightly nervous – Emmet could relate to her, it was frankly the strongest attack any of them had ever saw until now “Oh dear, we are quite lucky to have avoid the worse of it...”
“Lucky indeed” muttered Haxorus, sighing loudly before she snapped suddenly, her eyes on where Arceus was supposed to be, smoke yet again obscuring for a short while the terrain, with a worried expression who screamed trouble, “Isn’t a bit cold now? or is it just me?”
Galvantula blinked her multiple eyes one by one, realization downing on her even before Emmet could link what it meant “Now that you mention it…. Haxorus move now!!” she screeched loudly, pulling herself away from where she was standing, followed closely by Haxorus who nearly got struck by a Judgment yet again.
To the trainer, the answer to what the god had just done was simple, Arceus changed his type again to the ice type to eliminate the biggest threat on the battlefield – Emmet thought that Arceus should have changed for the fairy type, but who was he to question God and their logic??
“Haxorus your the target, dodge their attack!” he ignored how the dragon type seemed offended about being the target of any future attack who was going her way, Emmet needed to think quickly about what to do.
He took the immediate decision to switch Galvantula for someone else who was much more effective against ice – even if he didn’t really want to call for her – to take advantage of knowing that they had a clear target on Haxorus, or at least it was his plan until he realize he was enable to call her back, causing him to frown quite a bit, it seemed that he don’t have much of a choice in the matter – it was good to know that even if he tried to switch Crustle and Archeops he wouldn’t have been able – he quickly change his tracked to plan B.
“… Fine, I am Emmet, it is not going to stop me, Galvantula Cross Poison, be careful”
As predicted, Arceus seemed to concentrate himself on the large dragon who tried to evade most of the attacks who came her way, to the form of Extrasensory and – way too many – Judgment, it didn’t mean that Galvantula was not herself targeted if she was seen too close to the legendary, but she was fast on her feet, and was able to get some good strike with Cross Poison on the god – he was pretty sure that the god got poison with how they were holding themself.
After a minute of struggle, the legendary decided yet again to teleport away, this time just behind Haxorus for a surprise attacked.
“Haxorus! they are behind you!!”
“Wha—” the large pokemon was unable to avoid the ice-type Hyperbeam who got her directly on her back, injuring quite a bit the dragon, who stumbled forward, Galvantula being the mother-hen she was, got worried as she saw in what state her friend was.
“Are you okay?!”
“I-It’s fine...” Haxorus mumbled a bit too quietly to Emmet taste “..I...I can still fight, it’s not that who is going to s-stop me…” She tried to stay on her two feet, even if she ultimately fell on the ground, losing consciousness for good – meaning she wouldn't be able to join the rescue mission, Emmet feel the pit in his stomach grow the further his teammate fall – with a sigh he called her back, knowing that he didn’t really have a choice for who was next for this fight.
“Chandelure, I would appreciate your help”
Chandelure once out, let her flame get brighter than usual, before turning around looking with an unenthusiastic glare Emmet, who shared the same stare as her “You took way too long to call for me Em, I was getting impatient”
“I couldn't call for you before, It is not the time for your petty grunge against me, you are here now, please don’t complain”
“PETTY!? It is not petty--... fine! I will not complain because we need to win, But when this is done, on the other hand..."
“don’t start it, again”
In the middle of that, Galvantula sighed, cutting short their discussion “Oh dragon give me strength...Chandelure, Emmet, Dears, I would appreciate it if you could put aside whatever problem you have and stop arguing in the middle of a fight” even if trying to not show too much of her disappointment, it was easy to see she do not appreciate being the middle of whatever tension is going on between the two – Emmet could only wince apologetically before awkwardly coughing, knowing very well she was right.
“... Chandelure Will-O-Wisp, Galvantula Wild-Charge on them, try to be careful, follow it with Thunder-Wave if you can”
Chandelure scoffed loudly before executing the attack in the direction of Arceus, who, unlucky for them, was more affected by flames due to their ice type, she did not hesitate to go overboard with how hot the flames were, seemingly distracting them enough for Galvantula to dash on the god and damage them.
Of course, the fight couldn't be easy as they teleport away yet again – he would never ask for an easy fight, but Emmet would have appreciated if Arceus could stop teleport themselves everywhere, It makes any strategy slightly more difficult to put in place – putting on edge Chandelure who immediately looked around.
The moment Arceus appeared in Emmet’s vision, he immediately alerted the duo with a command, that luckily, for the first time since the god used the teleportation trick, avoided any new K.O in his side when the Hyperbeam was thrown at them, He knew that it was now the perfect opportunity to turn the table, he took it without hesitation.
“Chandelure, Galvantula, use Overheat and Thunder-Wave now”
The trainer could see how the fire-ghost pokemon lit up, quite literally, at the command, large flame already forming to be used against the legendary who wasn’t able to avoid with how close they were, followed by the electricity coming from the giant spider, the mix of the two attacks reaching their target who was still ice type, seemed to cause a powerful explosion, the blast cause by it nearly knocking the conductor hat away from his head if he didn’t had the reflex to hold it in place.
The Hall of Origin was silent, engulfed in a thick gray smoke blocking most of Emmet visibility over the scene.
It was Galvantula who was the first to break the quiet of the arena. “Oh dear, that was quite the explosion” Chandelure turned to her, still on her guard, with one of her look, but before she could really answer the electric type, light started to appear behind the smoke-screen, alarming Emmet of what was coming.
“Look out!”
Judgement was already starting to fall on the two pokemon, blowing away the smoke in it’s trajectory, the deity was floating in the air – He should have known that the god could do that – looking down at them as if they were nothing.
Chandelure didn’t need any input from Emmet to put Protect around herself and avoid the rain of light, on the other hand, Galvantula did try to avoid the attack as much as she could, moving left and right in a frantic way, that is, until a wild ray of light finally got to her, throwing her over the other side of the arena.
In a moment of pure horror, the electric spider rapidly arrived at the limit of the Hall of Origin, still in the air.
Fortunately, before she could fall into the void of space – avoiding one of Emmet's fears to become reality – an invisible force field stopped, in a somewhat painful way, her trajectory, causing her to fall on the glass floor and knocking her out for good, Emmet could only sigh muttering excuse to his companion before calling her back in her pokeball.
The floating chandelier slowly turned to Emmet “Who is left Em” behind her glare full of dislike of him – something he is more than used too – seemed to shine worry, Emmet understood why.
“You and Eelektross, it seems that we are on the last train, either we arrive at our destination or we will have to turn back”
“It’s all or nothing” Her eyes trailed back to their adversary – who changed for the dark-type – with a sharped edge that Emmet knew too well, He had seen that enough times in his life to guess what she was scheming and let her roll with it – even if he try, she wouldn't listen, only Ingo could make her change her mind, and it was not a bad plan, she know he was going to follow her lead on that – he rapidly called for Eelektross too join them, who just took one look at her before talking quietly.
“….I feel more nervous about being near her than the literal god”
“That is NOT the moment Elektross” snapped the ghost, not making any move to look at the Elefish pokemon, who moved his, sort of, hands up in mock surrender.
“I was just saying” Elektross shakes his head with tired resignation “so what is the plan Em”
Emmet looked forward, watching the god pokemon descend slowly to the ground, by the time they got down, Emmet came up with a plan and pointed in their direction, holding the brim of his hat firmly in his head. “Elektross use Gastro-Acid, target their legs and eyes, Chandelure do what you want”
The moment Elektross Spit out the poison where Emmet pointed out to him, some touched their target more than others – Arceus did, backed up and used Extrasensory to catch those direct to their face to throw them back to the Electric pokemon – Chandelure used Will-O-Wisp directly on the multiple spot Gastro-Acid landed, making the god let out a cry of pain, the attacked causing some extremely painful burn.
Emmet didn’t have the time to ponder much over this combination – he was well aware of how Gastro-Acid mix with flame could be extremely painful, it was from experience – since another vague of Judgment was thrown down on them, the ghost pokemon already had protect formed around her, while Elektross choose to counter the god attacked with Discharge, the contact between the two attacked causing small explosion, who did some damage to all the participant near it.
By the time the flash of explosion came to a stop, Arceus had already teleport away to the side of the duo with a hyper beam ready to be launched on them, in what Emmet think, was an attempt to not leave the duo any chance to react.
“Chandelure, Overheat, Right!”
Even with this less than ideal situation, the ghost Overheat seemed to have been enough to deflect the attack on her person and her partner for the moment, it also left another opening to exploit against the god that neither pokemon would leave untouched.
“Eelektross, Thunderbolt Now!”
“Like it was already done Em” the Electric pokemon used one of his strongest Thunderbolt, static filling the air with how powerful it was before being released on Arceus who took it directly onto their cab, putting them on their knee immediately after.
For just a moment, Emmet thought that it was it, it was the first time since the start of this tiring battle that they had gotten Arceus down – and with them still poisoned it wouldn't be surprising that they were extremely weaken.
“Did..Did we do it?” Whispered in disbelieve Eelektross, looking away from the god to watch the other two reaction, Emmet could only smile, unsure what to say to his partner, while Chandelure was slowly relaxing her posture.
He was right to doubt their victory, as another Judgment, faster than those before, formed itself in the sky, by the time Emmet realized it, it was too late to give a command before it violently crashed into Chandelure and Eelektross, who couldn't even try a last ditched effort to counter this sudden assault.
Emmet was pushed away by the shock-wave – for a moment he really thought that the glass platformed tremble under him – and by the time he was stabilized and on his feet, Chandelure and Eelektross were unmoving on the ground while Arceus was already standing back up.
He slowly called back the duo, his smile nowhere to be seen, as his mind was swimming in a pool of thought, Did he really lose? Did he already fail his mission before it even start??? Did he break his promise even more than it already was??
Arceus was just looking at him, as if he was waiting for something, but didn’t he already lost? Why doesn't he say something?
Then it hit him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I am Aware, but I cannot grant Thy wish, not until thou can prove yourself to me, prove to me thy strength”
It took a moment for him to understand what was the demand of the g od, blinking blankly at them, before his expression morph into comprehension “You want me to beat you in a Pokemon battle” it was a fact, not a question.
“Correct, fight me any way thou wish, only the pokemon whom didn’t lose against me will be permitted to continue”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That was obvious in hindsight now that he thinks about it, Arceus did say it, bluntly at that, he was so focused on the rail in front of him, that he didn’t think about the other path he could take if needed.
It’s been so long since Emmet participated himself in a fight that he forgot he could do it – the last time didn’t end well.
Emmet took a sharp breath, while Arceus observed and waited for him, he didn’t really know what to think about this, don’t get him wrong, he wanted to win, even if that meant leaving his illusion behind, but he wished that it was in another situation without his twin fate at stake – it also feel weird to battle against another pokemon after so long behind the line – the reminder that if he don’t try something he will veritably fail his mission didn’t help…
He had already made his choice, Emmet let his Illusion fade into nothingness.
Without the illusion to mask himself, Emmet was much more aware of the exhaustion he grew used to every time he stays for a long period of time under his disguise, to the point that it feels like it was his normal state, disappears like it was never there.
It felt great.
“I’m Emmet, and I am ready, please go ahead” The Subway Boss smile, something more feral than the usual more friendly one he plasters in his everyday life, showing all of his sharp teeth as he puts himself in a fighting position.
That seemed to have been enough as the god did not hesitate to immediately throw a Judgment in his direction, the ray of light was descending on him in an alarming way, Emmet yelped a little before reacting, rapidly jumping out of the way before it was too late, allowing him to avoid a majority of the attacked.
His Subway Boss coat wasn’t as lucky as him though, a large part on the bottom, caught in the attacked, got torn apart – he would have been upset if that was the original coat he usually wears – he didn’t dwell on it for long, as he dashed in direction of Arceus – who unfortunately changed for the fairy type – letting energy converge to his claw, who slowly grow longer, before slashing the legendary legs with Fury Swipe.
The god retaliated with a kick in his stomach, making him stumble back with a pained grimace and, by the time he looked back, Arceus had already teleport away.
He knew after the last few times that something would definitively go his way when the legendary appeared back, not wanting to leave things to fate, he swiftly gather as much heat as possible in his mouth – as well as as much negative thought that he could feel at the moment to make the heat, burn in an uncomfortable way – then waited with sharp eyes for the god next appearance.
The moment Arceus got in Emmet line of view, a Hyperbeam ready to fire, he countered it with the most strong Burning Jalousie that he was able to release.
It wasn’t enough – of course it wasn’t, he was rusty and even if he used to train regularly by himself, he wasn’t able to do so for a very long time – the attack passed through the fire like it was butter, hitting him violently in the stomach again, it was ironically burning him like he was on fire, before he felt himself flew against the force field of the arena, his back making contact with it and throwing pain all over it.
At that moment, he understood why most of his companions got derailed with such an uncomfortable pain all over his own cab, it was terrible, he didn’t remember attacks like those being this painful – or was it because he was not used to this anymore.
In any case, he didn’t let it stop him, he was verrry determined to see this fight arrive to the terminal of his victory, even if getting back on his feet was harder than anticipate, he did not let it slow him down, a plan already forming in his head.
He didn't wait for Arceus to react, he let static flow around his leg, before sprinting faster than normal, his body slowly getting cover with electricity before jumping and slamming against the legendary with Wild Charge once, then twice as he moved away to come back again and again, not letting the god retaliate, until in a desperate attempt to get rid of Emmet, the legendary kicked him yet again.
The sensation of being kick on the stomach – AGAIN – was a sensation that he did not want to experience any time soon, even more when it ended up with his cab getting bruised because of the solid ground waiting for him.
By the time he was able to move again, he saw what could only be described as hell – that is Judgment and multiple large lights falling on his face – he narrow avoided it by rolling away from the projectile, then quickly getting back on his feet.
A smirk on his lips slowly started to form – oh, he was waiting for this station to arrive the moment his plan came to his mind – He let the memory of what the attack he needed to use felt, like how it look, how strong it was, what type it was, letting a ball of light slowly start to grow and grow in between his hand, he didn’t hesitate he let it goes up in the sky.
The light exploding in millions of pieces like a firework, then falling in the direction of Arceus like meteors, a perfect copy of the fairy-type Judgment.
This time, Emmet could hear how the legendary collapse to the ground before he could see them, and after a few seconds of silence, the god talked for the first time since the start of this fight.
“Thou hast done well to prove how far thou would go to find what thou lost, for that I shall accept to help thou as I promise”
he won.
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
Emmet? W on the battle
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
He was a mess, his coat was torn up in more ways than others, his hat had definitively seen better days, and don’t get him started about his fur that he rapidly hiding back under his illusion as he wouldn't be able to take care of it at the moment, but even his illusion reflect how bad it was, nothing was up to his high standard that it became ridiculous.
...He also should be happy about his win, He knows he should, but….
Emmet couldn't stop the out of breath chuckle from escaping his mouth, this victory was bittersweet, more bitter than sweet, he won yes, except at the end, he would be the only one able to go search for his brother, no other pokemon to aid him.
That was far from what he had anticipate, a part of him wished that the whole team could come, because going alone to an unknown place he only had information on thanks to outdated books did not help at all – it would be the first time in a very long time that he will be totally alone, that was a scary thought.
Arceus seemed to sense his growing uneasiness – of course he did, the deity was able to read his mind, Emmet didn’t even realize that Arceus was back to their feet with how his thoughts were spiraling out of control – their voice sounding softer than before.
“Do not worry Illusionist, even without thy companion, I will not let thou go without anything under thy name”
“What do you mean?”
The old pokemon was definitively amused by Emmet confusion, not answering his question at all by continuing talking. “Thou already have a good idea about the time and space that is thy destination, but unfortunately thy also lack information, Time erases history, modifying it to push it into distorted narration far from the truth”
Emmet stay silent, registering what Arceus was saying “So everything Dawn and I were able to found about this period of time is not totally accurate? That is a problem…”
“Even if this time is not as thou imagine, be not afraid, I do not wish thy failure for the quest thou gave yourself, so listen carefully to what I have to say” The legendary slowly put his front leg against his left shoulder, to Emmet surprised, a strange warm feeling suddenly make itself know, going all around his aching body starting by his shoulder and healing his injury.
“Thy destination is in a complicated part of this region's history, a catastrophe that no one of this time and space can stop, It was the cause of the accident who took away the person dear to thou as well as many pokemon, I cannot intervene in this time as long as it didn’t end, However I did not leave this period without help, here is my only demand if thou want your brother to come back, help my chosen one in their mission”
That was an interesting demand but not something Emmet would refuse if that meant it was the only way to get Ingo’s home, letting the tingling sensation on his shoulder settle down – even if it didn’t seem to do so – he nodded “I am Emmet, and I accept, can I before going say goodbye to the other”
The Subway boss knew for sure that the god was smiling, but it was difficult too guess with how their face was “Very well, take thy time Illusionist, when thou are ready I will teleport them back to thy friend and take to thou destination”
With that, Arceus walked away, letting Emmet have his privacy as he called all of the team mates who were supposed to come with him, a sad smile on his face, they were all still a bit beat up, but at least they were awake.
Most of them were sulking about their defeat, that is to say it was Chandelure who looked this close to bursting into flame with how frustrated she was and Haxorus who just seemed defeated over her loss, but not everyone seemed to be discourage, Like Archeops….
“So, who is going to- huh?? Emmet what happened to your coat!? It’s burned to a crisps!!”
This comment alone from the flying type was enough to get everyone's attention to Emmet – alas he couldn't avoid how worried everyone would get – Galvantula being the first to be all over him “Oh dragon! Are you in any pain?! Are you okay!? How did that happen!?”
“Yup, I am fine, don’t worry Galvantula!” he couldn't help the laugh bubbling out of his throat as he found himself forced to hold the giant spider away from him before she started to check him as if he was going to fall over at any minute.
“H-How did that happened? You s-shouldn't be this hurt!” Crustle wasn’t far from following the electric type, a bit panicked over Emmet “Did A-Arceus did that to you?”
Eelektross was the next to verify if his trainer was okay before sighing reassure, and staring at Emmet with a flat look “You seem fine, it's mostly your coat and hat who took the blunt of it…..That don’t explain how that’s happened Em”
Everyone’s eyes were on him, as he searched how to describe the situation the best way possible “Do you remember, I said that I would fight god with my bare hand after we discover that he could be involve”
Silence.
“….I won too if it count”
A verry loud silence.
“He was hitting back verrry hard--” Chandelure cut him off before he could say anything else with a horrified look “Em, what the absolute fuck”
And that was enough to make the whole group break loose, they were even louder than before – except Eelektross who just looked at him with a look who scream disappointment – he could understand why, but that don’t mean he is happy with this.
“Are you crazy!?”
“Oh dragon, you never fought against a Pokemon!”
“I am very impressed that you could do that without me, but that was reckless!”
“O-Oh, that's not g-good at all!”
“Guys please, let Em--”
“Do that mean Emmet will go without us??”
“WHAT, without me?! But there are going to be so many dangerous pokemon!”
“That not fine, he needs help!”
“D-Don’t go there without back up!”
“Emmet I don’t think it is a good idea”
“guys—”
“At least take someone with you! Like me!”
“Can we at least agree that fighting Arceus when he didn’t have a lot of fighting experience was bad!”
“yes”
“YES!”
“Y-Yes”
“I mean..Yes but--”
“That’s why leaving him alone is bad, last things wee know he going to fist fight another legendary”
“They are not going to listen to me are they?”
“Unfortunately, we are surrender by idiot”
“Oh...Oh my that is possible”
“S-So what do we do!”
“Please stop, I am aware it was reckless, but I am fine, and I won, That means I will be the only one able to go search Ingo, even if you don’t like it”
It seemed to quiet them just enough to be able to continue “I don’t like it either, not at all, I know everyone here wanted to go as much as me, I don’t even know how long it will take before I get back, that say, I will come back Ingo and me, so please be patient for us”
“We can wait Em” Eelektross mumbles first, his body floating in the direction of Emmet just to be able to nuzzle against his cheeks.
Galvantula easily escaped her trainer's grasp to climb over his chest in an attempt to hug – it was easy to guess it, as she always had the habit of doing that even before evolving to show affection “I am worry, I would prefer that someone was able to come with you, but I know you enough that you won't change your mind any time soon”
“Please be careful! Y-you don’t know what sort of things could hurt you, and Elsa, Iris, Drayden and Dawn would be angry if something happened to you!!” Crustle was staying close to Emmet, unable to show more of his fondness other than a small touch against his shoulder with his claw because of his large shell.
Haxorus? She was going to his other side and nuzzling against his other cheeks.
“We are going to miss you Emmet, we will try to keep an eye out on the other”
Something collided against the subway boss legs, he didn’t have to look down to know it was Archeops “We are going to be okay! That doesn't mean you have to take too long”, he said with a shaky voice, he knew better than to point out how the flying type didn’t need to keep his tear to himself.
All the Pokemon were near Emmet to say goodbye, only one was away looking at the scene with a neutral look before saying “I don’t like you”
“Yeah I know--”
“I didn’t finish talking Em, so listen careful what I am about to say” Chandelure spat harshly, her eyes getting sharper “I don’t like you, and I never liked you, I don’t like the fact that you go there without me at least, so I will be short, if you don’t come back alive with Ingo, I will hunt your soul down even if that mean going back in time in another way to found it, understood”
“….Yup, Verrry clear” at the moment, the trainer felt just a little threatened by the ghost type, well at least, she does care enough to not want him dead.
“Good” with that, she walked straight back in her pokeball, under the shock gaze of the others who finally, one by one walked by themselves in their respective ball, only leaving Eelektross and him behind.
“Huh...That was interesting” The elefish pokemon shakes his head “but she is right, try to not die Em, I don’t think she and I would be able to handle….loosing someone again”
“I know” Emmet didn't force himself to keep his smile, both of them knew that what the electric pokemon said was the sad truth, but acknowledging it now would hurt more than anything. “please take care of everyone in my absence Eelektross”
His friend nodded before going like the other in his pokeball, leaving yet again the Subway boss alone with the god.
“I am ready to go Arceus, please take them to Dawn now”
“As thou wish” the six pokeballs disappeared nearly instantly from where they were, it felt just a bit uncomfortable for Emmet, he never realized how much having them around helped calm his nerve.
“Before thou go, I have one last warning to bestow upon thee” Light slowly started to gather around Emmet “Thou will not come back as thou are Emmet, This is the truth thou will have to accept”
“W-What!? Arceus what does that mean!!” The light slowly started to intensify itself to the point that it was starting to blind Emmet, still in shock that the deity used his name “You told me, that I would come back if I help your chosen one!!”
The God didn’t say anything back, as the light finally took over Emmet sight.
“Wait no, you can’t just--- HEY!! Please answer me!! That doesn't make any sense!!!”
But he never got his answer, only the void welcomed the Illusionist.