As the ball flies into battle, it feels almost nonsensical to send Lum into this fight. But I want to believe that we can do it, and even if my partner seems insignificant compared to his opponents or even Ceruledge, no one judges me for my choice. Probably because Shelly already knows that my team is capable of combat. And Amethio also knows my partners and how I perform. It’s probably no surprise to him that at the end of the day I choose a Pokémon that I usually rarely battle with.

  Holding my breath, I let the situation sink in. It’s not the first conflict to unfold in front of me, and I know Lum can do well. But after everything that’s happened, suddenly standing next to Amethio and forming a team with him turns my stomach. And not in a good way.

  Still, I try to focus, and just as Shelly makes the first move and orders Mightyena to bite, Walrein bathes its surroundings in white clouds. We don’t have much time before a cold attack will follow.

  Amethio notices it too, and we don’t need to talk to each other to know who’s taking what role in this battle. Eevee will do better against Mightyena than Ceruledge with its weaknesses against Dark-types.

  Immediately my hand whips to the side as I give Lum the order to counterattack. The small, brown ball of fur immediately charges towards his opponent, who has already opened its mouth wide to sink its teeth into my partner. It comes frighteningly close but snaps into the void as I give Eevee the command to quick attack in the same breath.

  It’s an act of seconds in which he dodges, launches himself into the air and smashes into Mightyena sideways with physical effort. Sure, our attack isn’t strong enough to win, but it sends the Pokémon staggering to the side, towards Walrein, which unleashes a blizzard at the same instant, a relentless storm that covers us all.

  Luckily, the cold is only hurting my face, and the hailstones and whips of snow inside ache only half as badly as I expected. The coats protect us as best they can. Still, this attack is nothing like the icy wind I once faced with Raya on Alola. It’s colder, more dangerous and takes up more space around us than what Glaoeon once offered.

  My nose is slowly going numb, and I’m sure that while Ceruledge is fighting it with its fire, Eevee’s and Mightyena’s paws are getting trapped on the ground. My only option is to act quickly. After all, Lum trusts me.

  “Get to Ceruledge!”

  My partner understands immediately, and Amethio and his Pokémon recognise what I’m getting at as well. While Mightyena makes itself as small as possible to escape the lashing cold, Eevee runs off. He leaps towards Ceruledge, braces himself against the frost and lands gracefully on one of the Fire Blades Pokémon’s swords. The heat it pumps into his body is enough to warm Lum. The blizzard rolls off him, and as the storm slowly subsides, I point to our opponents.

  “Swift!”

  Evoli immediately gathers his energy, which soon detaches from his body in bright stars and flies to the other side. It’s a weak attack, I know, but it’s enough to make Mightyena howl unprepared, while Walrein raises a fin to shield its eyes. Simultaneously, Ceruledge swings its arm upwards, sending Lum flying off the blade in a gallant leap, while Amethio’s Pokémon takes a step forward to chase dark energy as a dark blade at Walrein in the next.

  Still protected from the swift, it’s the same second that Lum’s energy fades as Ceruledge’s psychic cut hits. It slices through the body as if to sever the soul itself, making the Ice Break Pokémon’s scream seem almost surreal. Only a small cut remains on its chest, which hardly reflects the real damage.

  However, we don’t get time to think about it. While Walrein’s cry of pain thunders across the island, Mightyena takes the opportunity to underline the howl with a snarl. Dark energy that threatens to rain down on our team. There’s no defence we can use against it. My only option is to break through. Lum can take a snarl better than Ceruledge.

  “Quick attack! Show Mightyena how strong you are!” My voice is loud enough to make Shelly roll her eyes. But I have to make Eevee realise that I believe in him. We won’t lose, we won’t crumble, and we won’t clash again because we are at odds. Diana has taught us to be kinder to each other. We need each other’s support.

  And that’s why Lum can run off without hesitation. He bursts through the dark energy of the snarl and continues to sprint towards Mightyena, despite losing speed due to the damage. It’s a moment when I don’t need to say anything, because he knows full well that a quick attack is worthless. Instead, he jumps in front of Mightyena, dodges the snapping maw and twists skilfully in the air. In the next blink of an eye, Lum smashes his hind paws down onto the Bite Pokémon’s snout in a double kick.

  Another yelp fills the air, and it’s this breath that alerts me to the fact that Walrein is no longer screaming. A quick glance at the Pokémon shows that its open mouth has gathered a bright light, which it keeps aimed at Ceruledge, but Amethio’s Pokémon is not one to be intimidated that easily. Its body sprints over to Archie’s Pokémon in a flash, causing Walrein to almost choke on its ice beam in surprise. Still, it tries to throw its accumulated cold at its opponent, only to narrowly miss. At least until Ceruledge willingly holds its blade in the attack.

  My eyes widen briefly as Lum jumps back to me and Mightyena shakes its head, growling. A hissing sound settles in my ears, joining with the sudden fog that envelops us all. The heat from Ceruledge combined with Walrein’s ice beam robs everyone of their sight.

  “Domino!” Before I can react, Amethio is standing next to me. “Eevee’s damage isn’t enough.”

  Hence the fog. We did well, but we can’t keep up the fight forever.

  A quick glance at Lum reveals that he seems satisfied with the result. He probably also realises that he was only the first wave to cause confusion now. He was great; I’ll give him that. So I put him back in his ball before the stage clears for Zoroark.

  Ying is ready to give it her all. Within the fog, she has the charm of a shadow that cannot be extinguished. She is attentive, relaxed, and when one of her ears twitches, causing the Z-Crystal in the creole to sway, we are both on the same wavelength.

  With the command to foul play, Ying simply waits until something stirs in the fog, which slowly clears. Seconds in which I hold my breath.

  Then, almost suddenly, Mightyena breaks through a dense cloud to appear right in front of Ying. Probably its nose helped with the search. But it doesn’t save the Pokémon from the surprise of an unexpected Zoroark.

  While it opens its snout to bite while still in the air, Ying takes a gallant step to the side, causing Mightyena to leap past. In one fluid movement, Zoroark grabs her opponent’s tail, pulls it back towards her with force and smashes her paw so hard against the Dark-type Pokémon’s body that it crashes to the ground, gasping. No whimper, no scream. What remains is the motionless defeat of this creature at the feet of my partner.

  But I can’t celebrate my small victory. Instead, a tremor slides through my body. The whole world seems to tremble for a second, and when the mist disappears in one fell swoop, swept away by a sea breeze conjured by Walrein, my breath catches. The water on one side of the island has risen into a huge wave, ready to swallow us all up and wash us away.

  “You can either hand over the Pokémon now or drown in the seas of Hoenn!” Archie’s thunderous voice is almost inaudible against the roar of the waves. What he’s provoking here is something we can’t face.

  While Shelly calls her Mightyena back, Amethio and I have no choice but to give up. We can’t compete with surf. Not when there’s so much water around us.

  “Don’t retreat!” Out of nowhere, Latios appears beside us, and Latias also tries to find a place at our side. “Keep fighting and trust us.”

  I know Amethio can hear them turning to him too, because we can’t do this if we don’t work together. For a single second, he seems to look at them and give me a glance too. His mind is made up immediately afterwards.

  “Ceruledge, phantom force!”

  “You asked for it.” Archie shrugs his shoulders almost too casually before gesturing to his Pokémon to send the waves crashing down on us.

  Clenching my hands into fists, I allow Zoroark to move closer to me. After that, all I can do is wait. I can only watch as Ceruledge disappears and all the water descends slowly towards us. It’s like a monster lowering its head, hitting the earth of this island and shaking everything that surrounds us.

  And it happens too fast. The tide washes over the island, tears out trees and lifts up the roots of others. It smashes against us, fended off by a twitching protective shield created by Latios and Latias. It brings us all closer together until I’m standing shoulder to shoulder with Amethio. The space in which we gasp for air shrinks steadily.

  But it’s already over with this one flood. Surf subsides, and I can vaguely catch a glimpse of Ceruledge emerging from nowhere to drive a fiery blade through Walrein’s flab – deep enough to make it bleed and turn Archie’s face into an annoyed grimace.

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  He and Shelly stand untouched in the same place as before. It’s incredible how perfectly Walrein controlled the water. Archie must have put a lot of training into his partner to get this far.

  But as Walrein finds his way back into his Poké Ball in a red beam, Archie’s battle against us is only just beginning. With a casual wave of his hand, he throws the next ball towards the sea while giving us a smug grin.

  “Consider yourself lucky, little one. It’s been a while since I’ve had to bring out my best buddy. Not even your pal with the white hair has come this far.” He claps his hands demonstratively, and as something is released into the vast expanse of water, I can feel Latios moving closer. The protective shield around us disappears, but nobody moves.

  Then it emerges.

  With a roar that seems to shake even the sky above us, a Gyarados rises from the waves. Its wide-open mouth and razor-sharp teeth don’t bode well. And when Archie tugs at a stone on his chain, the anchor on it lights up. A shimmer that stands out in a rainbow colour and simultaneously ensures that Gyarados lets out another roar before disappearing into an impenetrable energy field.

  It reminds me of Nebby, of the moment when it absorbed huge amounts of energy to evolve into Lunala. It’s hardly any different here. The only change is that the energy disappears inside Gyarados’ body, gives the Pokémon a second of peace and then completely overwhelms it.

  It shakes its head in near panic before diving underwater, causing another tremor to vibrate through the ground. Then it emerges on the other side, to my right, and swings out of the water with so much force you’d think it wanted to leap over the island.

  Instead, it screams as its body swells and its once beige underbelly suddenly turns jet black. Every fin on its body becomes more massive, while its scales sharpen and deform into individual horns. Blood-red accents together with elongated whiskers give it a new grace that keeps it in the air in an unnatural way.

  It flies.

  And its piercing red eyes fix on us.

  “What...?” I can barely follow the scene.

  “Mega evolution,” Amethio explains without being asked. He summarises these seconds in something that still doesn’t want to become any less surreal.

  The only thing I know is that we don’t stand a chance against this flying monster. The power it radiates makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Even summoning Reshiram was more pleasant than seeing Gyarados transform into a beast.

  “It’s in pain,” Latias chimes in. “Such a transformation of the body carries consequences. It’s filled with a power right now that can drive it crazy.”

  “It’s strong. Stronger than us. But also fragile,” adds Latios.

  They want us to believe in a chance. One that I still can’t see. All that remains is the certainty that Gyarados is suffering, that its body is now a different one and that its screams know how to shake every bone in our bodies. It’s disgusting. Not because this Pokémon now has a different form, but because it’s being pressed into this shape, forced to fight for something that makes sense and yet isn’t a solution. Archie wants to change something, but I don’t approve of the way he wants to do it.

  Unable to act, I can only watch as its powerful chest swells. Ceruledge shoots straight up to it, disappears into a dark portal and reappears next to Gyarados to use its phantom force, but its opponent snaps its head around in a flash. Before we know it, Gyarados is hurling a hydro pump at its armour, causing the sound of it crunching and splintering to reach me and Amethio. In the next second, Ceruledge falls down and hits the ground so hard that it gives way like cotton wool.

  Tense, I sink my teeth into my lower lip. Shelly avoids calling another Pokémon, as if she already knows she doesn’t have to do anything. Archie, meanwhile, has his hands on his hips, as if he expects us to give him more than an overwhelming defeat on our part.

  I’d like to rip the chain off his neck and smash it to pieces.

  My hands clenched into fists, I try to think of a way out, a plan, but all my brain can take in is the image before me. Gyarados, hovering above us. Ceruledge is struggling to pick itself up, while Amethio next to me can’t quite hide his unease. The way this boy at my side furrows his brows and the corners of his mouth turn down. Archie’s smile. Shelly’s raised chin. My disgust in between.

  I want it to end.

  The slight spark in Zoroark’s earring pulls me from my thoughts. The almost black crystal shimmers, inviting me to go too far, and a part of me wants to comply. This time there’s no voice in my skull talking me into it. It’s just Ying and me. And she looks over her shoulder as if she wants me to realise that she feels the same way I do. We’re on the same page, completely in tune with each other. But I can’t raise my hand before Latios turns to me.

  “That won’t be enough!”

  “So what?” I look over at it briefly.

  But Latios doesn’t answer. His gaze glides to Latias, who gives a nod before they both create another protective barrier – this time just around Ying. Their actions make no sense to me, are almost insane, when suddenly the same shimmer appears as the one I saw on Archie’s necklace.

  Energy licking across Ying’s fur, forcing a growl from her throat that I don’t want to hear. I don’t want her to be like Gyarados. She doesn’t deserve it. She doesn’t belong in such a hideous position just because I can’t do anything on my own. It’s pathetic, ridiculous, almost hostile to everything I would actually prefer. And on top of everything, it’s probably necessary.

  So I swallow the protest inside me and watch as Ying absorbs the energy, as she lets out a howl as if sending a message to the moon, and as she changes before my eyes.

  Her once black fur turns a dark grey, while her mane becomes fluffier and in the next blink appears almost whiter than snow. Once black tips are now blood red, quite unlike her claws, which shine in their blackness. The previously subtle red accents on her face become more pronounced. Curved redness frames her piercing eyes, and the spots at the corners of her mouth run in criss-crosses up her cheeks. The once blue ball that held her mane together shimmers a menacing purple, and wisps of cloud-like fur have grown around her joints, giving her something strangely celestial.

  But Ying possesses nothing celestial. The earring still gleams, and the accumulated power she carries combines with the disdain we share.

  “Domino!” It seems as if Amethio wants to intervene. His eyes widen, and he raises a hand as if he wants to grab me by the wrist. Only very briefly. He probably remembers all the other times the Z-Move got the upper hand. The time I set fire to Guzma’s hideout, and the time Mirra almost died.

  But this is different. I have this under control. And that’s the only reason it’s easy to raise a hand and take a deep breath. “Ying ... black hole eclipse.”

  Once again, Ying lets out a howl, quite unlike her usually peaceful nature, and clenches her claws briefly until a black ball forms. Gyarados is already puffing out its chest again for a hydro pump.

  Archie wants to blow us away.

  Ying and I just want an end to this ugly charade.

  Zoroark takes a step forwards. Then she throws the small, black sphere towards Gyarados. It flies across the air, almost unstoppably, straight into the flight line of the hydro pump, which our opponent hurls at us with crushing force in the next breath. The bundled water collides with Ying’s attack, opening the sphere and causing it to burst right between us. The result is a black hole that threatens to swallow everything up.

  I can feel the suction tugging at my hair, see Zoroark drop to all fours to keep herself on the ground, and watch as the hydro pump is sucked into nothingness. With every stone it swallows, however small, it seems to get bigger, drawing Gyarados in, just like us.

  Shelly and Archie have already taken a few steps back, their eyes wide open as if seeing an attack like this for the first time. Staring straight at the chaos, it absorbs Gyarados’ energy, closely followed by the Pokémon itself. Maybe it will disappear; maybe Gyarados will never be able to battle again. There are many possible options.

  But before this abstruse thought can take shape, Gyarados is hit so hard from the side by a psycho cut that it sways to the side and also slightly away from the hole. It’s a tiny window of time that ensures that the following explosion of blackness fades and disappears before it can take Gyarados with it. But it has partially consumed its energy. Beige scales shimmer beneath the blackness of its body, and its fins look only half as sharp.

  “Domino! No Z-Move!” It seems as if Amethio is shouting in my ear, yet he’s already standing three steps away and giving Ceruledge’s instructions. Simultaneously, he looks towards me and scrutinises my face as if I’ve lost my mind.

  Inwardly exhausted, I turn to Ying, who still looks different. More powerful and dangerous, and formidable enough to do more than just drain some of our opponent’s energy.

  “Ying ... get Gyarados down here.” I can’t think of any attack that might work. We have nothing in our arsenal that works for ranged combat. Despite this, Ying is willing to comply with my request.

  She sets off at lightning speed. Her powerful hind legs carry her into the centre of the battlefield in just a few leaps. Then she lets out a scream. I have never seen her so enraged, never so eager to destroy her opponent. The change in her appearance seems to give her more will to fight. Snarling, she gathers her dark energy, and it’s so much that I can’t take my eyes off her. I don’t even dare to blink anymore.

  In the next breath, she pushes her power from her body as a night daze. Gloomy, all-consuming darkness that not only rises up to Gyarados but also sweeps across the island.

  Raising my arms, I can feel the attack licking over my body. Darkness crashes against me like a steel wall, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and pulling me off my feet so suddenly that I crash backwards to the ground. For a moment, it squeezes the breath out of my lungs, and blood spreads on my tongue, but the pain doesn’t last long. For a moment I remain lying down before I sit up with a jerk and almost collide with Amethio, who was about to lean over me.

  “Are you crazy?” He snaps at me before pulling a cloth from his trouser pocket and pressing it to my nose.

  I can barely follow him. My head is so woozy that half the world is spinning. Part of me wonders why Amethio is unharmed, but a glance at Latias and Latios has me guessing a shield. One they didn’t give me because I probably deserved to feel Ying’s force on my own body.

  Slowly, I take the cloth from Amethio to remove it from my nose. It’s covered in blood. As if in a trance, I stare at it. “What am I supposed to do? I’m not supposed to use the Z-Move. And probably shouldn’t use Ying’s power either.” My gaze falls to Amethio. In those seconds, the conflict between us is forgotten. “What am I supposed to do then if I can’t use what I’m given? Watch Gyarados suffer? Watch us lose? Watch as I always do when I can’t get something right?”

  Amethio takes a quick breath before lowering his lids and reaching for my hand, which is holding his cloth. When he looks at me again, he brings it back to my nose.

  “You’re doing it again,” he begins. “You’re not thinking.”

  “I think a lot.”

  “In the wrong direction.”

  “I want to help.”

  “You want it to end.”

  Am I that obvious? Because yes, I want an end to this nonsensical fight, but I also want to help. One power may be greater than the other in me, but I’m trying. To Amethio, this probably looks like Alola or Unova. Like those moments when I threw myself from heights, planned his airship for escape and nearly set Guzma on fire. So many mistakes and rash decisions that weren’t smart but that I thought were my best choices in that moment. Because the truth is also that I am too fucking stupid to find alternatives.

  How else could I have escaped from Alola if not with Amethio’s airship?

  How was I supposed to win against Golisopod with Raya without more power?

  How was I supposed to steal my balls from Ghetsis at the last second if not with a jump and no fear of heights?

  How am I supposed to beat Gyarados if I can’t even get up there?

  What does Amethio want me to do?

  “What can I do?” It’s the only question I can ask him.