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Chapter 16
The Gathering

Within Ter’ast, sentries had been awaiting the return of the Bogcrow with the group members. The sentries had all but given up by now. As they stared impatiently, only remaining at their posts due to the mayor’s orders, their robes flapped in a gentle breeze.

“Screw this, I gotta go pee!” one of the sentries complained.

“Wait! I see something!” The other one exclaimed.

“You know, it’s only funny the first 500 times… now, I’ll be right back,” The sentry replied in a listless voice.

“No, look!”

As the other sentry turned his back to leave, several Bogcrow touched down. Two of them were empty. The other four had passengers – Spike, Rad, Lucia, and Blaze. The sentry turned around to face them.

“Mayor, they’ve arrived!” The sentries both called out.

The Bogcrow immediately took off to their homes, tired and disgruntled. Soon after, the mayor ran out to greet them. “Welcome back… wait, aren’t you missing people?”

“Long story. We’ll tell you inside,” Spike replied.

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Momentarily after the four who had just arrived went inside, a sudden gust caused the sentries to lose balance. The four dragons carrying the rogue citizens of Spiropolis touched down. Just as abruptly as they had appeared, they vanished into the mist, leaving their passengers behind.

“Okay, so like, where are we?” Eva asked. Others asked the same question.

“This place is scary…” Kyra shivered. Moonlight’s rings began to glow a bright yellow that made it visible from afar even in the thick fog.

“Halt! Just who are you anyways?” The sentries, who had been knocked off the platform, had climbed back up and were brushing the mud off their robes as they spoke.

Just then, a door nearby opened. Everyone was startled as a man wearing an elaborate red and black robe came out – the mayor.

“…Who are you people?” The mayor of Ter’ast asked them suspiciously.

“Where are we? Wait…”

“What are you doing here?” The mayor demanded. The two sentries stood behind the bewildered rogues, and they looked threatening.

“Umm… I dunno… some dragons just brought us here and then left. We’re from Spiropolis and we just escaped from there.”

“From Spiropolis? Wait… how am I to believe you?”

“-Kyra? Is that… it can’t be!” came an interruption. Spike’s gang came out the door and couldn’t believe their eyes.

“That girl is who you were trying to rescue?” The mayor asked Spike. “Well, in that case, your story is believable. You may stay.”

“Thanks!” Scout exclaimed. The others nodded in agreement.

Spike and the others rushed over to Kyra, surprised to see her safe. “How’d you get out?” was the main question they asked her.

“Umm… well this one boy helped me get out… then there were these people here…”

“Thank you… whoever you are…” Blaze spoke with gratitude.

“No problem, really… we just happened to find her. And without that Umbreon we probably wouldn’t have been able to escape.” Yuri responded.

“Wait a minute,” Arion interrupted. “Is that… Lucia? The granddaughter of Lisabella?”

“Hey, you guys are familiar,” Lucia replied. “You knew my grandma?”

“Yes. When Team Judgment got her we knew that we’d had enough.”

“Yeah… you know, she died helping us get out of there… then we go back and get caught again… if it weren’t for that power outage, her sacrifice would have been for nothing,” Lucia looked mournful as she replied.

“Oh, power outage?” Eva chimed in. “Yeah, that was us,” She winked.

“Whoa, no way! You guys shut down their power?” Blaze exclaimed. “You’ll have to tell us how sometime.”

“That’s right.”

“And you brought Kyra out too… wow!”

“All right, it’s gettin’ kinda cold… can we go inside?” Rad complained.

“Yeah, good point. Let’s go inside.” Everyone crowded into the nearby city hall.

Just then, another person swooped down on a Bogcrow of his own. It was none other than Talon, who had also been able to escape. Kyra saw Talon land and exclaimed, “That’s him! The other boy who helped me!” Some of the people who went inside rushed outside, including the mayor.

“Talon, your parents are very worried about you,” The mayor stated matter-of-factly.

“I know, I know… I’m gonna be in trouble… well, I just wanted to help!”

“I’ll have to explain the situation to your parents then. We shall see,” The mayor responded.

“Oh yeah, I saw a huge group of other people leaving the tower. They’re coming this way too,” Talon added.

“Ahh, more prisoners of Team Judgment escape? Very well, I’ll tell some of my men to escort them in from the edge of the swamp. They may stay here for a few days.”

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Sure enough, through the evening and overnight, hundreds of prisoners and townspeople alike flooded into Ter’ast from Spiropolis. The refugees included Team Magnet, who had also managed to retrieve their Pokémon and escape. Their reputation for being criminals had not spread to this area of Altairon, so they were largely viewed as heroes for their help in fending off the Litaria. The inn was packed with people, with many sleeping on the floor. Some slept in the city hall. Some generous townspeople offered their homes to other refugees.

During the twilight hours, one of the mayor’s aids came and woke the mayor up. “Someone’s here to see you!” he exclaimed.

“At this hour? The mayor asked, half awake.

“He says it’s urgent and can’t wait.”

“What could possibly be of more importance than my sleep? Send them in the morning.”

“Under-“ the aide was interrupted by the sudden appearance of two people in front of his bed. The humans were dressed in gold colored robes and had elaborate dress clothes on underneath.

“Great leader of Ter’ast, forgive us for the abrupt appearance. However, this cannot wait, seeing as though this concerns the fate of your city.”

“Huh? Who are you, and how dare you appear in front of me uninvited?” The mayor stared at them with eyes wide open.

“Forgive us for not introducing ourselves. I am Elder Karakov, of Telluria City.”

“And I am Elder Terrance of Telluria City.”

“What is your business?” The mayor asked, springing up from his bed.

“I must inform you that your city will be targeted by Team Judgment. They will strike at daybreak, and I foresee a large amount of casualties,” Elder Karakov reported. “We have arrived to offer our aid. We will send some of our trained psychics to assist you in your city’s defense.”

“May I speak to your leader?” the mayor asked, still half asleep and not quite comprehending the situation.

“You wish to see our leader? Very well.” At that moment, an Alakazam teleported in front of them. He clasped golden spoons and had golden bracelets hanging from his narrow wrists.

“A Pokémon? Is this your idea of a joke?” The mayor boomed.

“Greetings. I am Mystos, leader of Telluria City. Please do not be alarmed.” The Alakazam communicated telepathically, his psychic voice bearing a tone of importance.

“This is nonsense! I will not accept aid from a town run by a Pokémon! Why should I trust you?”

“Please. I beg you to put aside your prejudice and listen. The fate of your people is at stake.”

The mayor had no comment.

“I see. You do not take me seriously. Well, I must tell you nonetheless. Our prophecy predicts devastation of catastrophic proportions the entire world over. A great battle will be fought. I foresee a need for your city’s warriors… humans who can commune with Pokémon of the Ghost-type, as well as the Pokémon themselves. The forces that threaten the entire world are comprised of the Miracle-type. Only a combined force of Psychic and Ghost types may stand against them. So you see, our motives are for the good of the entire world.”

The mayor still stared in disbelief.

“You do not believe me. I can tell.” The Alakazam read the mayor’s mind.

At this point, the mayor was creeped out.

“Team Judgment seeks retaliation. They know where all their escapees went, and they will strike not to recapture them but to destroy them, and this entire city as well.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“Please. If you do not trust me, your city will be destroyed. You and all the other citizens will perish.”

“Go away, and let me sleep.” The mayor responded.

“I can see that you need additional convincing.” The Alakazam replied telepathically. At that moment, a Gardevoir also teleported into the room.

“Elder Destiny, please use Hypnosis.” Mystos suggested to the Gardevoir telepathically.

“I cannot, for it is truly immoral to convince a being to act against his own will.” Elder Destiny responded.

“It is also immoral to allow the world to be destroyed. As the guardians of the balance between light and darkness, it is our duty to prevent Team Judgment from killing all of us. Without Ter’ast forces, the world will fall,” Mystos reminded.

“I will show him the future and he can decide for himself whether to accept aid,” Elder Destiny suggested instead. Her eyes began to glow a bright blue and the mayor’s eyes matched the Gardevoir’s. Brief images of the future came to the mayor’s mind.

A large, black spire was engulfed in flames. People were screaming in terror, and a large chunk of the spire collapsed. Soon, a white flashed replaced this image with one even more terrifying. Litarias were striking people with Light Spears, and they were collapsing onto the floor, dead. Again, people were screaming in terror. Another white flash, and the mayor now saw a forest burning to the ground, with Pokémon fleeing it in terror. That image was soon replaced with Telluria City – or rather, the remains of it. Golden pieces of rubble, lit up by various brightly colored flames. A few obliquely shaped buildings were still standing, but they were engulfed in blue flames.

“This is all a trick!” The mayor yelled.

“I have just one more image for you.” Elder Destiny replied. One more vision greeted the mayor in a flash of white. Splintered wood as far as the eye could see. Some of the wood was decorated in different colors. The sky was a bright gray, but not a cloudy gray. A few bodies were also in the picture dressed in red and black robes. Some were impaled on stands; others laying face down in mud, and others still were buried in wood, with expressions of terror frozen to their faces.

“That is your city in the future. Team Judgment will destroy everything. Is this what you want?” Elder Destiny pleaded.

“You’re lying. A Pokémon could never be in charge of an entire city. This is a hoax!” The mayor roared. “Get out!”

“I see now that I have no choice,” Elder Destiny replied grudgingly. The Gardevoir’s eyes then began to glow a shade of fuchsia, and the mayor’s eyes matched this glow.

“Wow… I suppose I understand. Our forces won’t be enough alone,” The mayor gave in. Very well, we of Ter’ast will help as best we can.

With that, the mayor climbed out of bed and ordered his aides to gather everyone and prepare for a battle. At the same time, several battalions of psychics from Telluria appeared wherever there was room for them to. The battalions included both humans and Pokémon. The mayor looked upon the many soldiers that appeared with reverence.

“Impressive, no? We Tellurians may be peaceful by nature, but we can fight when it is called for,” Elder Karakov boasted.

Alongside those psychics stood (or floated) a decent amount of people from Ter’ast, combined with many Ghost types and some Bogcrows from the nearby swamp. Some of the refugees even crawled out of bed to help, and those joined the other numbers and formed a makeshift army. Among those were Spike, Blaze, Lucia, and the group of townspeople who had made this gathering possible. Rad was dragged along too. Team Magnet, after debating, decided Ter’ast had nothing of value to them and so they decided to help too instead of staying behind to plunder the city as originally planned.

“Are you all ready?” Mystos announced to everyone telepathically. “We shall do battle at the edge of the fog, and hold the line there. We will warp you all there. Close your eyes…” A white flash sparked suddenly, and then everyone in the makeshift army were warped to the edge of the mist, where the grassy plains met with the muddy swamp. The army hid behind the mist, with a few sentry Bogcrow in the air watching for Litaria.

“I will be at the home front of Telluria. I leave Elders Karakov and Terrance in charge here,” Mystos telepathically conveyed his plan to the mayor, who with the help of the two elders of Telluria, would lead the makeshift army to battle. The warriors all began to form into platoons with the help of the elders telepathically coordinating everything.

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“But I wanna help too!” Talon complained to his mother. He was still at home and was not liking it one bit.

“No, it’s much too dangerous!” his mother scolded. “Besides, you aren’t even allowed to leave this house. You’re grounded.”

“But mom…”

“No, you aren’t leaving this house.”

“I’m sick of sitting on the sidelines while all the grown-ups get to do all the cool stuff!” Talon complained.

“Well, when you’re older you will understand. Now go to your room!”

“Yes, mother.

“I’ve got to get out there! This is much too cool to pass up!” Talon thought to himself as he walked to his room.

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Meanwhile, a very different conversation was taking place within the confines of the Team Judgment executive meeting room.

“…But I thought you said the southern reaches were unimportant?” one of the Executives complained.

“Fine, I’ll say it again. Lord Emmanuel says that unless we stop them now, the Angel of Darkness will rise,” Grand Cardinal Peter responded. “So we must crush them all so that the Day of Judgment is not interfered with.”

“We must amass our Litaria and descend upon the two strongholds of evil – Ter’ast and Telluria City.”

The holographic map in the center of the room began to shift from showing the large areas of the world claimed by Team Judgment to a close up of one of the few areas that wasn’t. The southernmost portion of Altairon remained free of Team Judgment control. The map began to show labels on Ter’ast and Telluria, as well as positions of any enemy forces.

“According to our intelligence, they are gathering within the two centers of evil, conspiring against us as we speak. They must be planning on attacking our beloved Spiropolis. While at this point, that target holds little strategic value to us; Lord Emmanuel commands that we attack them. If we bring the fight to them instead, they will be unable to attack us. We will strike them down with our massive army of light. Unprepared and shaken, their darkness shall be no match for the light of Team Judgment!”

Peter paused after the dramatic moment in his speech. The positions of the Team Judgment forces and the planned attack formations began to show themselves on the map. He then continued, “Battalions 1 through 12 will be deployed around Telluria, while battalions 13 through 22 will be sent Ter’ast. Our Guiding Light abilities shall pierce the dark veil over Ter’ast as much as possible. Then, with our Light Screens deployed, we shall begin our purging of the heathens that plague our world!”

Cheers emanated from all the executives in the room as they prepared to take control of their battalions.

“Prepare your troops! I will lead the army of light. The will of Lord Emmanuel shall be done… where the blazes are Maria and Michael? Noah, go speak to them.”

“I find it suspicious that they aren’t present as well. I shall go and see what is the matter with them.”

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“Yesss… the program is just about ready,” Maria spoke. “Thank you, Shade, for your help. We will see to it that you are compensated.”

“Anything you want… money, rare Pokémon, jewels… I will see to it that your earthly desires are fulfilled,” Michael added.

“Are you sure you’re done with getting pleasure out of your sick and twisted mind games?” Shade asked.

“The thought of having our son back from the darkness is plenty pleasure for me,” Michael countered. “So what would you like? Power? Money? Fame?”

“All right, it’s my turn…” Shade thought to herself. “I have but one simple request,” Shade replied. “I would like… to see Lord Emmanuel for myself.”

“Ludicrous!” Michael replied. “The thought of mere human laying eyes upon our Lord and Savior… blasphemy!”

“Look. I already know you guys speak to him directly somehow. What I would like are directions to see Lord Emmanuel for myself and speak to him.”

“I am afraid this is something I can’t allow,” Michael replied.

“We had a deal. Lying is a sin, is it not?”

“Only the Executives and Grand Cardinals have such a privilege. To allow anyone else is a far greater sin.”

“Fine. I guess you don’t want your son back from the darkness…” Shade replied slyly. Suddenly, her Gravecall and Sableye appeared before her with charged Shadow Balls ready to be launched directly at the top of the capsule containing Vyle.

“You wouldn’t!” Maria and Michael both screamed as all the Litaria in the room converged around Shade. “If you so much as take a step, you and your Pokémon will suffer divine wrath!”

“Yeah, but I’m afraid your plans will be ruined if you do that. The Shadow Balls will release if you hit us… oh and guess where they’re aimed? A Shadow Ball will cause the capsule to explode, killing Vyle.”

“You are playing a game you can’t possibly win. You will still perish, and your reward will be meaningless then. Your dark and hollow soul will be pierced by Light Spears until there is nothing left.”

“But you won’t get your son back then,” Shade replied.

“…” The Grand Cardinals were silent.

“…” Shade was silent as well. They were now engaged in a struggle of wills, with Shade’s life as well as Vyle’s on the line. “Sorry I have to do this, Vyle, but it’s the only way… hang in there…” She thought to herself as the room was completely frozen still.

“You wouldn't sacrifice your own life for this. You don’t have the guts.” Michael spoke.

“Care to test me? I dare you,” Shade beckoned.

“You would sacrifice your own life to spite us?” Maria jumped in. Shade nodded with an evil smile on her face.

“Let’s make this more interesting. I’ll give you 10 seconds to decide. Gravecall, Countdown Seal!” The four remaining flames around Gravecall began to rotate. “You have exactly 10 seconds to tell me how to get to Emmanuel. I can abort the countdown at any time. However, if you don’t respond in 10 seconds, everyone and everything in this room will perish.” With that, one of the flames poofed out of existence and a transparent number 10 appeared in front of Gravecall and the room darkened.

“…Ten…” Shade began to count

“…Nine…” As the transparent number in the air changed, Shade began to count alongside it.

“…Eight…”

“…Seven…” Each passing second seemed like an eternity.

“…Six…”

“…Five…four…three…two…”

“…One…”

“Okay, we give!” The Grand Cardinals both shouted. With that, the countdown ended. The ghostly number one disappeared and the room brightened. Gone, however was the Countdown Seal from Gravecall. It could only be invoked once before dissipating. However, it had done its job. The normally revered and might Grand Cardinals were reduced to sniveling, groveling feeble old people who were now literally wetting their pants in fear. They slowly regained composure.

“We’ll tell you how to get to Lord Emmanuel. But you’ll have to get there on your own,” Michael trembled as he spoke.

“You see, the true location of Lord Emmanuel is… not in Spiropolis at all,” Maria continued. “Lord Emmanuel resides… above the clouds… in the heavens.” Shade looked puzzled.

“You must fly there on your own. Most Flying-types cannot reach that height, especially not with a human on their back,” Michael continued.

“So where in the sky is it?” Shade asked.

“On, it moves around. A field of clouds below it always conceals it from view from the ground below. Only few know of its existence,” Michael continued.

“So where is it now?” Shade demanded.

“The sky base right now is hovering in the skies near Telluria,” Michael responded. “Good luck getting there.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out,” Shade responded slyly.

“Right. You got your reward now. So be gone.”

“…Not yet.” Shade paused. “…I want you to release Vyle.”

“What? You’re mad! Why do you think we needed you to be a double agent working for Team Judgment?”

“I’ll ruin your project if you don’t.” Shade spoke coldly.

“Considering our project would be pointless without him, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Michael countered.

“Well then after the project is complete… promise me you’ll return him to me? Or at least let me see him?” Shade begged. Her emotions were interfering with her plan and she knew it but was powerless against her own attraction for Vyle. “I guess I’ll be on my way now.”

“Seize her!” Grand Cardinal Michael bellowed, with an evil smirk on his face. “You thought we’d just let you leave?” The Litaria converged around Shade.

Shade backflipped over the circle of Litaria before they launched their attacks. Several Light Spears all converged in midair, creating a small explosion that made the entire room rumble and pushed the Litarias back. One of them crashed into the capsule, but the capsule did not break. Shade gracefully landed on the ground behind the Litaria as they turned around and faced Shade. But she was one step ahead of them. She leapt onto the top of the monitors as all the Litaria in the room tried to aim for her. She was much too fast. The Light Spears all hit the wall behind the top of the monitors and dissipated.

“Get her! Rrraaah!” Michael roared in frustration. But Shade was simply too fast. She leapt from monitor to monitor, from machine to machine, all the while a barrage of Light Spear attacks trailed her every move. Finally, she hopped onto the dormant Purification Ray. The ray pivoted slightly with her weight. And then, as the Litaria missed yet another time, Shade leapt straight into stained glass window…

…And burst right through it. Her two Pokémon appeared and hovered behind her, following her out the window.

Outside, Shade was simply falling head first, as though she were diving. She fell past the spires around her, but none of them caught her. “This is it... well, I tried my best,” She thought to herself as the ground drew closer. A clump of trees was visible. If she was lucky, the impact from the fall would kill her. If not, she would die with a tree sticking right through her, a much more painful death. Her ghostly Pokémon could not catch her. Nothing could be done to save her as she closed her eyes and prepared to embrace death.

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The elders of Telluria had convened within their massive meeting room. Virtually the same map as Team Judgment’s was being projected above their leader. This map, however, showed where the soldiers under their control were instead.

“As you can see by the map, our warriors are placed here and here. I foresee a Team Judgment attack from the north. They will descend upon us from above,” Mystos conveyed to the elders in the chamber.

“However, they shall not be anticipating our troops to be quite as ready for them. On the Ter’ast front, they are concealed by fog. And we have psychics placed in our towers here. They will not expect an attack from the towers as well,” The elderly Alakazam continued.

“Leader... why have you ordered most of us elders not to be on the front lines here?” one of the elders in the council, also an Alakazam, asked.

“Forgive me for not explaining sooner. I have foreseen a need for us elsewhere. We must save our energies for the final battle, which could happen at any moment. My senses get cloudy from there, but I foresee that the leader of Team Judgment himself will be present… alongside a fearsome power not even we will be able to defeat ourselves…”

“Very well. We shall trust your judgment, Leader.” The elder Alakazam responded.

“For the fate of the world! We shall stand tall!” All the elders chanted as they teleported out of the chamber.

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Shade has closed her eyes as the trees got close to her. She continued to feel the falling sensation for a couple of seconds, then could feel it no more. Instead, she felt like something had caught her and she began to float. “So this is what happens when you die…” she thought as she opened her eyes and her feet seemed to touch the ground.

Around her, trees were visible in all directions. Shade looked up and saw the sky, a shade of morning blue. Below her were… a pair of wings? She then realized she was sitting on the back of something flying. The wings were black, but they weren’t wings from any Dark-type she recognized. The creature then set her down gently. Her feet touched the ground, and she no longer was certain that she was dead.

In front of Shade stood a Litaria- but not just any Litaria. This one was entirely black as opposed to the usual creamy white. And instead of their usual acquiescent green color, this Litaria’s eyes matched the bold shade of red of the orb atop its staff. It was then Shade realized exactly what had happened. She had been rescued by a Litaria- but not just any Litaria- a shiny Litaria.

“Whoa…” Shade was awestruck.

“Do not be alarmed. I mean you no harm.”

“Huh?” Shade was even more confused. She didn’t realize that this Litaria had just communicated with her… somehow.

“I sensed a fellow creature in danger, so I did my best to rescue you.”

“Whoa, you talk?”

“I ‘talk’ though the heart. It is an ability possessed by some Miracle types. It is not unlike telepathy.”

“Huh? The other Litaria I’ve seen can’t do that.”

“That is strange…” The shiny Litaria responded. “Well, then again, my species is supposed to reside in the clouds, and yet here I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“My coloration… from where I came from, it is an abomination… I was cast out of the clouds… where I was born. So I live on the earth, alone. I have been living alone all my life, avoided and loathed by all other Pokémon.

“That’s… pretty sad,” Shade remarked.

“Grave…”

“Sableye…” Gravecall and Spook sighed in agreement with Shade.

‘Well, I suppose I should head back into the forest now…”

“Wait!”

“You don’t want me to go?” The Litaria was puzzled.

“Why would I? Didn’t you just save my life?”

“Forgive me. Everyone else whose life I save seems to want me to just go away. I’m used to that…”

“No, I want you to stay here. You’re really not like the other Litaria. You’re kind… and you seem to have feelings.”

“You want me… to stay?” The Litaria shed a single tear from its left eye.

“Of course.”

“Wow… thank you. It means a lot to me… oh, I suppose I should introduce myself? Sorry if I seem rude, I haven’t been around, well, anyone, in a long time.”

“No, you’re not rude at all.”

“They call me Lucifer… anyway, pleased to meet you. And you are?”

“Shade.”

“Shade? That’s an interesting name… so… umm… where do you come from? I hope I’m not being intrusive. I’m assuming it’s not every day a human falls from the sky?”

“Oh, it’s a long story,” Shade proceeded to explain everything to the Litaria. Gravecall and Spook started to get bored and so they drifted off and began to horse around with each other.

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Elsewhere, massive numbers of normal colored Litaria were flying south. Some of them had Team Judgment members mounted on them. Leading the entire flock was Grand Cardinal Peter. Several Executives mounted on Litaria were behind him. Below and in front of Peter loomed Telluria City, its golden, oblique towers sparkling in the early morning sun. Small cars could be seen hovering on the roadways. Beyond Telluria City was a sparkling blue sea.

Grand Cardinal Peter then pointed to his right, towards a familiar dome of clouds. The flock began to diverge, with roughly half of them now oriented towards Ter’ast. The other half headed straight forward towards Telluria.

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Down below the fog of Ter’ast, Spike, Blaze, and Lucia were in a row, alongside the group of seven who had destroyed the power crystal in Spiropolis. They had been swapping their stories of how they escaped, until they were advised by the elder to be on their guard. Next to them, Team Magnet was stationed. Rad wandered away, hiding behind a battalion of Tellurian psychics. He was very much afraid of Team Magnet- probably more so than Team Judgment. The four dragons were flying overhead. They decided that their departed trainer would have wanted them to fight, and so they were prepared.

“I… I have a really bad feeling…” Mirlite seemed distressed.

“They’re coming?” Lucia asked.

“That too… but no, it’s Vyle… the last time I was near him, I felt this powerful darkness… it was so strong… it was inhuman. And right now they must be torturing him, feeding that darkness further. His soul will soon disappear completely… and then I’m afraid to conceive of what happens next.”

“Oh… I don’t want to think of it either. Poor Vyle…”

Mirlite backed up. “I sense darkness… a lot of it… and it’s coming closer.”

“Now! We must strike now!” Came a loud telepathic call from the elders.

The army of Litaria had reached the cloud of fog. Soon and almost blinding white light was visible through the fog. The Litaria had used their Guiding Light skill to brighten the whole field. The executives ordered a direct forward charge into the fog.

The Pokémon and people of Ter’ast, the former prisoners of Team Judgment, and the Tellurian psychics and Pokémon were busy using Calm Mind. Soon the first Litarias came into view, brushing the fog aside. Several of them were immediately vaulted backwards with a Psychic attack; others were shot down by various Pokémon attacks. The executives were caught off guard. Some of them also fell to the ground.

However the army protecting Ter’ast was soon overwhelmed. The soldiers were no longer caught off guard. Soon, the Litaria had put up several Light Screens, and some of them converged and formed a huge wall of Light Screen that was heading straight forward. A glittering rain of Light Spear attacks fell on the forces below. Meanwhile, some Judgment members descended from their Litaria and were using their own Pokémon to fight as well, clashing with the defenders of Ter’ast.

The cataclysmic battle was just beginning.

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