Chapter Text
“Sawako-sensei, don’t you think we’re starting to be backed into a corner here?”
As she monitored the multitude of battles raging on through the array of displays in front of her eyes, Ui Hirasawa was worried about what she was seeing. Even with all the resources at HTT’s disposal, the tide was turning against them in every way. It wouldn’t have been immediately obvious to any other onlooker, but Ui knew it when she saw it. If she didn’t do anything, the band’s dreams would be cut short.
“How so, Ui-chan? From what I’m seeing, it looks like we’re evenly matched.” Proving Ui’s point immediately, Sawako Yamanaka’s eyes gazed past the same scenes, yet couldn’t come to the same conclusion. Having been on the receiving end of such confused reactions countless times, it was only natural that Ui made her rationale for thinking that way clear to Sawako.
“Had it been anyone else who attempted to stop us, we could have easily crushed them with everything we had.” While explaining their situation, Ui constantly kept one eye on the displays to observe any new developments. “However, since some members of the Rikka Institute are somehow present, it means this effort has their backing. And by that, I mean Mega Stones, powerful Pokémon, and raw talent.”
“So? We have all of those as well. Except maybe that last one.” Sawako rebutted, but she was beginning to understand what Ui was getting at. While she had expected some people to escape HTT’s region-wide brainwashing, a group of particularly strong and driven Trainers doing so was the worst-case scenario. Combined with certain people who were familiar with HTT’s ambitions, the potential for disaster was limitless.
“The problem is that in terms of all three categories, we are sorely lagging behind our opponents.” Ui clarified. “For one, Mizore Yoroizuka and Azusa Sasaki outclass everyone else here by a wide margin, with the possible exception of Mirai Sezaki. That our own Azusa is still managing to hold her own against her opponent is nothing short of a miracle.”
“Combined with the other two factors I mentioned, our chances of coming out on top will steadily decrease if we continue fighting our opponents through direct combat.” Even as she tried to maintain her composure while delivering her analysis, the sinking feeling in Ui’s heart couldn’t completely go away. “However, there are other ways we can get out of this unscathed, and achieve our main objectives.”
“I’m interested. Tell me more.” Piqued by the possibility of a turnaround victory, a rush of eager anticipation washed over Sawako. After how much their fated day had been ruined by a bunch of upstart teenagers, she was ready to deliver some much-needed payback. All the work she and the rest of HTT put in wasn’t about to go to waste that easily.
“That’s easy.” Feeling more confident once Sawako’s regained mojo was apparent, the reassurance Ui gained not only galvanized her, but also furthered her faith in their ability to turn the tide. “It all hinges on what you’ve got at your side…”
***
“Vivo, use Iron Tail to swat one of those loose seats!”
Hiding behind a row of said seats herself, Hazuki quickly sprang up for a brief second to check that Ritsu still didn’t know where she was. Once she confirmed that Ritsu’s Pokémon were still focused on aimlessly finding where her own were, that gave Hazuki the feeling of relief she desperately needed. Even after Ritsu had seen that trick of hers first-hand, HTT’s drummer still hadn’t figured out what she was doing.
Though the exhaustion from running around and dodging the attacks of Ritsu’s Pokémon was rearing its head, the counters Hazuki thought of were also beginning to show results. By recalling certain members of her team right as they were about to be attacked and sending them out again for counterattacks, Hazuki prevented them from being overwhelmed.
This also had the side effect of constantly keeping Ritsu on her toes, never knowing where the next attack would come from. And unfortunately for her, that quickly proved its effectiveness. No longer choosing to confront her opponent head-on in contests of brute force, the hit-and-run attacks Hazuki had her team perform instead already dealt far more damage compared to her previous approach.
Before Ritsu could process it, her borrowed Tyrantrum was suddenly socked in the jaw by a medium-sized flying object, causing its head to be rudely flung backwards. Following the screeching sound of metal being crushed, the misshapen sphere Ritsu’s Tyrantrum spat out caused her eyes to widen. Was that a chair from one of the rows her Armaldo demolished?
“What?! You can’t do that!” Ritsu exclaimed in an awkward mix of anger and disbelief. Just how many rules of battle was Hazuki breaking? Annoyed by how her opponent took every possible opportunity to get in cheap shots, it never occured to Ritsu such behaviour wasn’t currently forbidden. The constant barrage of unorthodox attacks Hazuki sent her way severely clouded Ritsu’s judgement without her realizing.
“Yes I can! Loco, try an Iron Tail!” Having her Delcatty run in the direction of Ritsu’s Alolan Golem, Hazuki banked on having the rows of seats dividing them giving sufficient cover against any incoming attacks. Unfortunately, that potential evasive maneuver was quickly and literally demolished when Ritsu’s Rhypherior decided to Bulldoze said row using a single foot stomp.
“Uhh, scratch that. Tubacabra, Signal Beam!” Popping up from behind an intact seat, Hazuki’s Jolteon fired out an odd ray towards Ritsu’s Cradily, causing it to momentarily stop in its tracks before its head swung around. With the successful inflicting of confusion that implied, yet another blow to Ritsu’s morale had been struck. How was her enhanced team losing ground this readily?
“Gah! Golem, destroy that row of seats with a Heavy-” Before Ritsu could finish her decisive order, she saw a blur of pure darkness appear from nowhere and converge behind a certain seat in the audience. Already knowing what she would face, Ritsu was unfazed even as the black blob abruptly began to approach her. Right now, she only felt agitated.
“Sawa-chan-sensei, how could you?! I was about to turn the tide there!” Ritsu exclaimed as her mentor emerged from the shadows, an unconscious Hazuki slung over her shoulder. Nearly stopping the beat of her drums over that stolen victory, the only thing allowing Ritsu to keep up the tempo were the stringent requirements of Sawako’s master plan. “And now you’ve ruined it!”
“Sorry about that, Ritsu-chan!” Sawako replied with a playful wink and her tongue sticking out. “Unfortunately, there’s a good chance you would’ve eventually been defeated if you continued battling Miss Katou, so I stepped in to help end things quickly. With how things are going across the stadium, we’ve got to get serious now. Playtime’s over for us.”
“But…” Even as her rhythm relentlessly marched on, Ritsu’s posture shifted to reflect her sullen mood. Disappointed that the thrill of winning had abruptly been snatched from her grasp, the warnings Sawako gave her about the dire straits they were in flew past Ritsu’s head easily. Solely fixated on her incapacitated opponent, not being able to conclude her battle with Hazuki left a sour taste in Ritsu’s mouth.
“Anyways, I’ve got to help the others out. See ya!” Following those parting words, Sawako disappeared back into the depths of darkness, leaving Ritsu all by herself. Despite the prospect of success appearing closer than ever, the spoils felt wholly unearned. Compared to the eager anticipation she felt at the beginning of this fated day, only ambivalence accompanied Ritsu as she wondered what to do next.
HTT had won here, but at what cost?
***
“Now that’s more like it, Tsukamoto. There may be some hope for us after all.”
Breathing heavily after ordering Fighter to direct the latest in a series of Close Combats at Ton-chan, Shuichi almost didn’t catch Shiho’s positive-sounding remark as it passed by his ears. It took a moment for him to register those words amidst the chaos of battle ringing, and Shuichi almost couldn’t believe that after all the insults hurled at him, he finally heard something which sounded like an actual compliment.
“Yeah. I try my best.” Shaking his head in a mixture of relief and disbelief, Shuichi was also pleasantly surprised at the progress they were making. Ever since he Mega Evolved Fighter, their battle against Nodoka seemed to be going more smoothly. Perhaps it was the additional power Shuichi had brought to the table, or maybe it was just because of his gradual adaptation to the Rikka method of battling.
Whatever the case, the way they were now fighting against Nodoka was a far cry from how the battle began. Working as a somewhat coherent team, Shuichi and the Rikka trio were not only holding their own against Nodoka, but handily turning the tide as well. Even with all the Dynamax and Gigantamax attacks Nodoka and Ton-chan were throwing their way, the damage they were dealing in return was far more considerable.
“Gastrodon, use Stockpile!” Charging up its power, the additional defense boosts Amika’s Gastrodon received from using that move allowed it to tank a Max Rockfall in the place of Shiho’s Walrein. Shielded from a super-effective move which would have otherwise knocked it out, that brief moment of respite gave Shiho’s Walrein the opportunity it needed to successfully land an Iron Head on Ton-chan.
“Clawitzer, Aura Sphere!” Recognizing Taichi’s command as his cue, Shuichi told Fighter to use the same move as well. The two orbs of pure spirit simultaneously slamming into Ton-chan, their launchers’ abilities amplified their power in a spectacle of sheer strength. Being severely damaged on two fronts at once, Ton-chan let out a roar in pain for the first time in battle.
Surprisingly, that double hit also seemed to have a strange side effect. As Ton-chan struggled to recover from that dual strike, Nodoka appeared to be straining in tandem. Confused at this strange display of synchrony between Trainer and Pokémon, it was then that Shuichi began to put the pieces together. Despite still being unsure of what it all meant, the facts he already knew painted an unsettling picture.
Having previously heard that Gigantamaxed Pokémon could only remain in that state for three turns, Ton-chan not shrinking long after that limit had passed already raised some major red flags for Shuichi. Combined with how Nodoka was acting, the implications were clear: her own vitality was the source of Ton-chan’s absurd power. Upon realizing the disturbing truth, there was only one thing Shuichi could do.
“Please stop! You’re hurting yourself!” Shuichi shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping Nodoka could hear him above all the chaos of battle. Though he knew defeating Nodoka here would allow him to enter the stadium and support those already inside, Shuichi also didn’t want to do that at the cost of debilitating his opponent. From how pained Nodoka’s face was, she had clearly struggled enough.
“I… won’t… yield…” Nodoka pushed those words through her mouth, surprisingly at an audible volume. Initially assuming she had heard him, Shuichi was about to continue pushing her back until he saw her legs straining to stay upright. The true cost of Ton-chan’s strength continuing to shock Shuichi, he was left unable to react. “Not… until… our goal… has been… completed.”
“Then we won’t stop fighting you.” Shiho’s voice was resolute. Even through inaction, injuring another person was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, but Nodoka’s stubborn persistence forced Shiho to her limits. Unable to find a compromise between the most pressing issues she was currently facing, Shiho decided to choose the lesser of two evils. “Walrein, use another Iron Head!”
Despite not wanting to hurt Nodoka, that was only a mere side effect which wouldn’t affect the overall battle too much. Based on how Nodoka’s clothes were reacting to each attack, Shuichi assumed the link between her and Ton-chan was facilitated by the strange clothes she was wearing. Extrapolating from that, the easiest way for Nodoka to avoid any injury was to disable the connection.
The only problem with that line of thinking was that Nodoka remained too stubborn to deviate from her current course of action, and it seemed nothing could sway her. If they wanted to find where everyone else had been scattered, there weren’t many options available to bypass Nodoka’s unshakeable defenses. Everything beyond could very well hinge on this victory through combat.
Thankfully, that seemed closer and closer to becoming a reality with each passing attack. Despite being Gigantamaxed, weathering attacks from four other Pokémon at once was too much for Ton-chan to handle, and the pain appeared to be the same. Now that the scales were finally tipping in their favour, Shuichi felt more confident they were reaching the last steps of their original goal.
“Fighter, get in for one more Close Combat!” Eagerly yelling out what he thought would be his final command in this battle, the catharsis Shuichi felt as each strike landed cleanly on Ton-chan was exhilarating, and rightly so. After all their combined efforts, seeing Ton-chan finally revert back to normal size once Fighter leaped away caused everyone to breathe out a sigh of relief. This battle was over.
After Nodoka collapsed onto the ground, Shuichi did a small fist pump before preparing to enter the stadium with the others. However, the moment before he broke into a mad dash, a mechanical whirring caught Shuichi’s attention. Shifting his gaze, the sight of Nodoka’s body being propped up by her strange outfit gave Shuichi pause. Yet it was something else appearing in the vicinity which filled him with the most fear.
Seemingly out of thin air, a dark spot began expanding across the area in a sphere, covering everything in its path with one notable exception. Even as Shuichi saw everyone around him mysteriously collapsing, and his own eyes were also being dragged down, Nodoka was the sole person who appeared to be unaffected. Unable to resist the strange pull, that oddity was the last thing on Shuichi’s mind before he fell unconscious.
“I can’t believe you pulled that off, Sawako-sensei.” Breathing heavily between words as her body felt the aftereffects of her Sygna Suit’s revitalization, Nodoka was relieved that Sawako had come to her rescue. About to use her ultimate trump card, being forced to use her last resort already told Nodoka everything she needed about how the battles were going. “Thanks for the assist.”
“Anytime, Nodoka-chan.” Smiling back at Nodoka, a cackle of glee nearly burst out from Sawako’s mouth, but she restrained herself. With how smoothly everything had been going, the other shoe was bound to drop any time now. If she didn’t remain committed to finishing her job, there was no telling what would go wrong. “I’ve got to help the others now. Wish me luck!”
***
“Well, that ended surprisingly quickly.”
After what seemed like no time at all, Ui watched as Sawako strung up the comatose bodies of everyone HTT was previously fighting, either directly or by proxy. Surprisingly, Mayu Kuroe was among the people Sawako found during her search. Ui didn’t know what she was doing here, but a few suspicions were already brewing in her mind. However, what shocked Ui the most was how Sawako was treating their captives.
“Are you sure that crucifying everyone is the right move here? It seems a bit humiliating.” Disregarding where Sawako had obtained those gigantic crosses from, Azusa Nakano was confused about her mentor’s current motives. Now that the last resistance to HTT’s master plan had been swiftly crushed, why was Sawako still so fixated on their opponents?
“In a few moments, we’ll be broadcasting this lovely scene to the world, Azusa-chan. That’ll teach everyone not to mess with HTT.” Sawako’s casual reply almost made Azusa Nakano pause, but she brushed that voice of doubt aside. Still, as Azusa looked around at her bandmates, she could tell that they all were thinking about the circumstances behind HTT’s cheap victory here.
Was this what they really deserved?