Lethe

[Jackie Cat]

The Forlasan Voidlands had vistas and biomes of their own. The stratified cliffs and dull amber light of the Fossil Valleys; the aurora-laced azure peaks and indigo-silhouetted conifers of the High Nightlands; the shadow-dappled moors and ruins of the Mosaic Shades... These were the territories Powehi walked eternally, guarding the countless souls at rest here, in this limbo of perpetual gloaming. Lethe – his kingdom of the lost.

Now, though, he stood at the edge of something new. A dark storm above barren spires and clay-red dirt. A vision of hunger and suffering. A kind of purple hell.

The timeworn Lucario tramped onward, fixing his eyes on the shadowy shape of a certain polycephalous dragon...

"I don't believe we discussed redecorating," he growled, sarcasm oozing from his jaws like black treacle. "First you intrude on worldly rifts, then you interfere with other assets, now you insinuate your influence into my Voidlands. Explain yourself, hydra würm."

 

[Namohysip]

Black smoke swirled around the Hydreigon's darkened scales like a constant, gentle whirlpool. The atmosphere of the Voidlands not only seemed to obey his passive command but fueled him effortlessly.

When Powehi finally confronted him during one of his traveling stints, no doubt going from one waypoint to another, the Hydreigon stopped and merely turned his main head back to address him. He looked at Powehi as if he'd forgotten all about him.

But what was strange... was that Alexander's voice held no distortion, despite all the time he'd spent in the Voidlands, and all the Shadows that surrounded him.

"I apologize if I'm... encroaching on your territory," Alexander replied, his voice smooth and calming. There wasn't a hint of negativity in how he spoke. It was... political, down to the aura.

Until there was a hint, a glimmer, of contempt after the words were uttered.

"I previously mentioned that I was already familiar with lands like these. They are much more beautiful than the lands I'm from, but with just as many souls lost and weary." His tail brushed against the soil, flicking up motes of light. Slumbering spirits...

They gently sank into his scales, readily accepting a new host.

"But it... slipped my mind," Alexander said, "to tell you how familiar I am."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Dark Matter of Forlas narrowed his eyes, taking his measure of Alexander's aura. At first he couldn't see it. Then his eyes rose to the edge of the storm... It wasn't that the hydra had no Shadow – his caliginous soul was seeped in it. He'd become enmeshed with the voidlands itself. Immersed deeply enough to crush any mortal soul into a singularity...

"Dark Matter," spat Powehi. "Usurper."

Hip lip curled back in a silent snarl, recognising the Hydreigon for what he truly was. For a mortal to become this—

Unthinkable. Taboo.

"You seek now to etch your presence into the laws of this world. You cannot prevail. You may have profaned your own reality, but you have no mandate here."

The Lucario raised a paw...

...and hesitated.

If a world had two Dark Matters, and they clashed... He could only infer the outcome – such a thing was unprecedented – but it would mean turning the void against itself. Even if he could win, he might evict the hydra from Forlas, but it would risk rending the Voidlands open. Spilling the souls there into oblivion. Unconscionable. A price he would never pay.

And that bastard knew it.

"Perfidious würm," he muttered, clenching his paw with a series of dull cracks. "Apostate."

 

[Namohysip]

Alexander smirked. "Such poor, wandering souls," he said, drifting further away as those motes sank into his scales. "To send them all away, to risk their rest... Many would surely wander in the void. Perhaps even create their own realities as new, lost gods with nothing to stop them in a domainless realm.

"Maybe some would become haunting specters in reality, spreading the Void into the light, creating chaos...

"Slumbering souls only slumber if they aren't disturbed. How delicate a balance it is... especially when so many will be vengeful and hungry."

Alexander tilted his head. "But I have a better use for them, all this power. And I've never been one for gods lording over me..."

"Besides," he went on, shrugging. "I still have a role to fill here. And I'll be doing the work you wished to get done... and do away with those invading humans and their abuse of... your power." That final little phrase was almost mocking.

"So. If we're done here... I'll be on my way."

He turned his back to Powehi. It seemed like he'd left his guard completely down. But... Powehi knew better. The 'Usurper'... The Charmander had mentioned that term, but referred to himself as it, toward a god of Radiance.

It seemed the world they hailed from had more than one Usurper... and Powehi had aligned with the other. The Usurper of Shadow.

 

[Jackie Cat]

An abyssal growl rose in Powehi's chest at the sight of soul-motes falling under the sway of this trespasser. This blight on his plane. There could be no such rot permitted, no such sin forgiven. Forlas' Dark Matter – sentinel over the dead – was bound by an antediluvian ethical code. One that demanded retribution.

"I would have pardoned your previous excesses if only you had returned to your realm of origin as agreed," he seethed, crude-oil contempt flowing from his jaws. "For this, I would see your soul extinguished, reprobate."

Powehi's digits twitched with stygian power, but still he did not attack. Too cautious by nature, too restrained, too afraid of underestimating that pompous wretch ever again. Too aware of those souls that might still be saved—

He closed his eyes, aura sensors quivering on end as he sought to gauge Alexander's own Shadows, to sense for doubt, anxiety, vacillation...

 

[Namohysip]

And what Powehi got in return was the equivalent of an electric shock to the forehead. A ZAP that instantly disrupted his attempt at reading into Alexander, a cut connection, complete static.

And the Hydreigon stopped his departure to glance behind him... with a cruel, fanged grin.

Amid the static, Powehi heard a single sentence.

I'd always wanted to see a god's fear.

Alexander's tail carved the dirt on the ground, slowly dredging up the instabilities between the Voidlands and the living realm. A portal formed as the Hydreigon's presence drifted inside.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Powehi's whiskers quivered with limitless ire. He had little concern for his own perpetuation, but Forlas' aquifers of forgotten souls would be preserved.

"Fear," he whispered. "Naturally I am afraid. Terror and dread do overrun in me. Yet, so too does wrath."

And while he could not risk smiting the usurper himself, there were other means of bringing Alexander to justice...

The ancient Lucario turned from the and walked into the darkling plains of the departed.

"Hear me, Wayfarers. The risk you represent is now eclipsed by another threat. This world has need of your service after all..."

<><><><><>​

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Welcome to Lethe, everyone."

Powehi spread his arms wide, gesturing to a dream-scape of silver sand, black seas, and translucent magenta foliage. The colours of this netherworld were cool and dark and faintly unreal to the eyes, as if they would blow away under the glare of a real sun.

This was where they would fight the Jackal of Lethe, of course. His own realm, beneath which roiled his true form – a vast ocean of liquid Shadow. Four more pokémon shimmered into existence around him, taking strange forms that resembled animals in form, but could not be living beings of flesh and blood.

"These are my... keepsakes," murmured Powehi. "From each calamity I could not prevent."

 

[Namohysip]

"...I don't recognize these," Mhynt murmured. "Our world must not have them."

"Means it'll be hard for us to get a good idea on what to expect... aside from Dark Matter stuff, I guess."

"There's something ominous about them," Zena agreed. "...But that's not a surprise."

Exhaling a sigh, Mhynt said, "Five of you at once, then? That complicates things for battle planning. Hmm..." She eyed each one, trying to size up their elements. The heavy one with a stone bowl on its head seemed most favorable for the trio...

 

[JFought]

The disorientation of Isidora's sudden arrival in Lethe was superseded by a spark of familiarity and legitimate surprise upon seeing the pokémon Powehi summoned. "I think I recognize 'em," she spoke up. "They kind of resemble depictions of the Four Treasures of Calamity, legendary pokémon that were sealed away in my world. They must be this world's version."

"Rather ironic that a lucario should wield them against us," chimed in a cloaked, floragato Phantom Star. "And on such a thematic stage. I must give you my compliments, Powehi. You have spared no effort in crafting a most fitting trial."

Residual doubt crept in from the environment and preyed on Isidora's awe at seeing such widely feared legends in the flesh. And she shook it off, bared her claws, and entered a fighting stance. "Sorry to say I don't know anything about fighting them." She forced herself to grin. "But it's nothin' we can't handle by now."

 

[canisaries]

As somewhat of an enthusiast when it came to archeology, Andre recognized the Treasures of Ruin right away and cursed the fact that he'd be made to forget this once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Ben, though, had no idea what they were. Thankfully, Isidora filled him in, and he nodded.

"Bring it on, I suppose," the ursa said.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Lethe. Even being here in person felt somehow dreamlike, the colors and textures seeped with unreality, a little bit different with each glance. Already, Jade could feel the cool grip of the darkness saturating the air, and reflexively lit her inner Light to keep it at bay. (Although, she had to remind herself that too much Light would only make her more vulnerable.)

Virga ruffled her feathers, eyeing the newly-materialized Legendary Pokemon with some interest. These beings were unfamiliar to her...

 

[Jackie Cat]

"...I don't recognize these," Mhynt murmured. "Our world must not have them."

"Means it'll be hard for us to get a good idea on what to expect... aside from Dark Matter stuff, I guess."

"There's something ominous about them," Zena agreed. "...But that's not a surprise."

"They are not malevolent," said Powehi, in a low and strangely gentle voice. He sounded fond of them. "They are simply... love, turned to grief. A way of remembering peoples who now are lost. They will not kill you."

"I must give you my compliments, Powehi. You have spared no effort in crafting a most fitting trial."

COMPOSURE [Impossible: Success] The jackal's muzzle twitched. Was that him suppressing a snort of laughter?

"Sorry to say I don't know anything about fighting them." She forced herself to grin. "But it's nothin' we can't handle by now."

Laura wet her lips. "They... weaken," she said, with faint certainty. She knew this. The Paldean League's top champion used one. "They weaken others, I mean. Sap your strength and health. Don't startle, it's, you know. Proportional."

The Treasures of Ruin have auras that lower the stats of nearby units.
It seems as though they have a strong link to Powehi... he may be stronger while the Treasures still fight. Take them out first!

 

[Jackie Cat]

No sun or moon hung over the battlefield, unlit by any stellar body. Was it even light that let 'mon see in this place, or some peculiarity of aura? Perhaps it was the stars alone, whether they were truly stars or something else entirely.

"Let us begin," said Powehi, simply, his eyes flashing with Shadowed aura.

In the north-west, honey-coloured cliffs were lit red by a fiery glow. A molten koi fish – Chi-Yu – swam through air and sandstone, beautiful enough to want to hold even if one's hands burned at its touch.

In the south-west, phantom grasses and darkling stone were swept by an arid breeze. A great mass of leaf-rot and other mulch – Wo-Chien – trudged heavily along, the soil around it turning still more barren.

In the south-east, silver, sandy ridges suggested an ancient lake or sea had once lapped at the edge of these plains. Rocks cracked as the bulk of the beast lumbering there – Ting-Lu – fell upon them like the weight of aeons.

In the north-east, cold winds howled like the Wight Barrens themselves through spires of ice and rock. The weight of snow there threatened to tumble down like the bounding creature – Chien-Pao – that seemed to play there.

Powehi himself merely stood, impassive, waiting for whatever end he had foreseen to this battle.

"Do your utmost, Wayfarers. Or I fear you will find what comes next... misfortunate."

​

VS DARK MATTER POWEHI
ADORNED FATHOMLESS DARK CREATION
Turn 0​

Calamitous Retinue - Powehi summons four Ruinous Pokémon to fight alongside him. Once per turn, for each Ruinous Pokémon still fighting, one of Powehi's stats will rise sharply.

Powehi's Fatalism - Powehi's Shadow-type moves deal damage to Stm as well as HP at a rate of 25%. When Calling an opponent, Powehi may either raise that unit's Shd by 10 or lower their Stm by 20.

Wo-Chien's Def and Res sharply rose!
Chi-Yu's Eva sharply rose!
Amber Cliffs became sunny!

Ting-Lu's Def and Res sharply rose!
Chien-Pao's Acc sharply rose!
Aurora Ridge became snowy!

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade felt the awareness of her allies switch on in her brain as the combat network came online, and automatically was drawn toward the goldfish with scales like molten glass, far up on the peaks to the west. She made eye contact with Laura and Gladion before leaping up onto Virga's back. Before the Corviknight spread her wings, Jade gave Betel one last reassuring smile.

"You'll can do this. We'll be fine."

Then Jade and Virga took off for the cliffs, the former already gathering a static charge in her gem.

Spoiler: Jade Turn 1

Jade (253 STM, 5 TMP, +1 SPD, +2 ACC, 0 SHD, 0 RAD)
- Walk to Shaded Moor [Receive Tailwind]
- Dash to Amber Cliffs (-2 TMP)
- AGILE Charge Beam @ Chi-Yu (ACTIVATE: effect) (-18 STM, -3 TMP, +3 TMP)
- Activate ability (Magician) @ Chi-Yu Eva
- Charge Beam @ Chi-Yu (ACTIVATE: effect) (-12 STM, -1 TMP, +3 TMP)
- Soul's Adversity (ACTIVATE: effect) (-30 STM, -3 TMP, +3 TMP) [+2 Acc]
- **Act:** RADIANT Focus (+5 TMP)
- RADIANT Mystical Fire @ Chi-Yu (-22 STM, +6 TMP, +17 RAD) [-1 Mag]
Net change: -77 STM, +11 TMP, +0 SHD, +17 RAD
Net totals: 176 STM (239 after regen), 16 TMP, 0 SHD, 17 RAD

Spoiler: Virga Turn 1

Virga (Aux)
- Defender Skill @ Jade [Barrier 25%]

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Lillie's eyes widened. "Wait, I recognize these. That one over there is Chien-Pao, the Sword of Ruin. The sword is said to contain the souls of those killed with its cursed blade, before those souls grew strong enough to shatter the blade and take this form. Dark-Ice. The snow isn't part of its true body."

After a split-second of network chatter, Gladion ducked off to the left with the gastropod and the fish alongside Laura, Jade, and Virga.

"Cool, what do you know about the ones that we're actually fighting?"

Lillie cast a forlorn look back at Chien-Pao before following after Gladion.

"Uhh, they're also dark type, I think? And their bodies are probably the other treasures?"

Gladion smirked. "About as much as I expected, then. We'll make it work. Secondary types on these two don't feel like much of a guessing game."

Gladion raised a shield and reached for his desire to protect Lillie, Jade, and Laura. His radiance wove itself into teathers and ensnared Wo-Chien's tablets. Then, he forced memories of pride through the RKS System until it yielded and his eyes lit up royal blue. Felt like it was getting easier every time he did it, like the system was learning its damn place, getting used to yeilding to his will.

Contientious of how fragile her body was relative to her allies, Lillie snuck in for a single blow, channeling a shocking spell down her rapier and delivering a single thrust to the tablets making up Wo-Chien's back she before shadow-sneaking back out of effective retaliation range.

Spoiler: Gladion Turn 1

Gladion (242 STM, 5 TMP, +3 SPD, +1 ACC, 0 SHD, 0 RAD)
- Walk to Shaded Moor
- STRONG Protect (-30 STM, +4 TMP)
- Activate feat (Spotter Feat) @ Moves
- Shining Vigilance @ Wo-Chien (-40 STM, +3 TMP, +40 RAD)
- Soul's Volition (-30 STM, +2 TMP) [Dragon]
- **Act:** Focus (+5 TMP, -40 SHD, -40 RAD)
Net change: -82 STM, +14 TMP, +0 SHD, +0 RAD
Net totals: 160 STM (232 after regen), 19 TMP, 0 SHD, 0 RAD

Lillie (Aux)
-Rogue Paralyze @ Wo-Chien

 

[Jackie Cat]

[flavor pending]

Spoiler: Laura Turn 1

Laura (260 STM, 5 TMP, +2 SPD, +0 ACC, 0 SHD, 0 RAD)
- Activate ability (Moody) @ +Spd, -Atk
- Tailwind (-40 STM, +2 TMP)
- Agility (-18 STM, +2 TMP)
- AGILE Soul's Conviction @ Jade, Mag/Res (-45 STM, +2 TMP)
- Soul's Conviction @ Gladion, Acc/Eva (-30 STM, +2 TMP)
- **Act:** Item (Reflex Seed)
- Walk to Shaded Moor
Net change: -117 STM, +8 TMP, +0 SHD, +0 RAD
Net totals: 143 STM (221 after regen), 13 TMP, 0 SHD, 0 RAD
Note: Alchemist

 

[Tetra]

Koa felt a giddy rush of excitement. He'd only read of these in stories and myths and now he was actually fighting them. The Treasures of Ruin were on his own private mental list of legends he hoped to encounter (technically his list included every legend but they in particular sounded fascinating).

"I think I recognize 'em," she spoke up. "They kind of resemble depictions of the Four Treasures of Calamity, legendary pokémon that were sealed away in my world. They must be this world's version."

Of all the people he thought would speak up, Isidora wasn't one.

Curiosity overrode awkwardness. "Wait you know them too?" he asked, his voice low. Focus, he chided himself. Maybe she'd tell him later.

Lethe... Surreal, to be fighting Powehi here all these months after that first unsettling meeting. Allies, in a way. He smirked. Electricity spiked his through his fur. "I hope they can put up a good fight!"

With the rest of the team moving to intercept the treasures, Koa set his sights upon Powehi himself.

"Come on Alpha, keep up!" Anubis howled, bounding forward.

Koa raced after his pokemon, reveling in his long legs and larger body as radiance and lightning coursed through him. "Gotta be faster!" He tore past Anubis with a grin, who responded by diving into the shadows to reemerge ahead of Koa before they charged into battle together.

Spoiler: Turn 1: Koa

Koa (256 STM, 5 TMP, +0 SPD, +1 ACC, 0 SHD, 0 RAD)
- Walk to Stygian Plateau
- Bulk Up (-18 STM, +2 TMP)
- Ganbatte Soul @ Powehi (-30 STM, +4 TMP)
- STRONG Shining Blindside @ Powehi (ACTIVATE: effect, Hex Adept) (-60 STM, -1 TMP, +8 TMP, +36 RAD)
- **Act:** Focus (+5 TMP, -30 SHD, -30 RAD)
Net change: -108 STM, +18 TMP, +0 SHD, +6 RAD
Net totals: 148 STM (224 after regen), 23 TMP, 0 SHD, 6 RAD

Spoiler: Turn 1: Anubis

Anbis (Aux)
- Support @ Koa
(+1 Atk)

 

[Phoenixsong]

It was weird to see Powehi so healthy. Could he do that whenever he wanted and he just liked looking like a decrepit old man because he was made of depression, or was he actually... feeling better?

The strange... pokémon? objects? fanned out, and immediately the others took off to intercept. But Powehi himself didn't break stride, heading straight for the few who remained, inevitable as the tide.

"Ready?"

Leaf turned back, startled. She'd been about to ask Blue that; hadn't expected him to beat her to it. He'd gone as tense as she'd ever seen him, and might even've been talking to himself more than her, but when she caught his eye he looked back without flinching. Ready as he'd ever be, at least. Ready enough to do what had to get done.

So she nodded. They just had to get through this. Get Beetle through this. Stand against the tide, and prove they could all handle Lorrel, and Arthur, and anything.

Spoiler: Leaf Turn 1

Leaf (252 STM, 5 TMP, +1 SPD, +3 ACC, 0 SHD, 0 RAD)
- Walk to Stygian Plateau
- Umbral Vigilance @ Powehi (-40 STM, +2 TMP, +36 SHD) [Intel: AI]
- **Act:** Focus (+5 TMP, -20 SHD, -30 RAD)
- Quick Attack @ Powehi (-6 STM, +5 TMP)
- Quick Attack @ Powehi (-9 STM, +5 TMP)
- AGILE CRITICAL Drill Run @ Powehi (-22.5 STM, -10 TMP, +4 TMP)
- CRITICAL Drill Run @ Powehi (-15 STM, -10 TMP, +4 TMP)
Net change: -87 STM, +5 TMP, +16 SHD, +0 RAD
Net totals: 165 STM (240 after regen), 10 TMP, 16 SHD, 0 RAD

Spoiler: Blue Turn 1 (Aux)

Blue (Aux)
- Rogue Debuff (-1 Def [2]) @ Powehi

Spoiler: Turn 1 Order, Powehi Squad

- Blue
- Anubis
- Silver
- Lyra
- Leaf
- Koa

 

[Chibi Pika]

Turn 1
Ember-Fen Squad​

Laura's Tailwind is boosting the party!
Laura's AGILE Soul's Conviction boosted herself and Jade!
Laura's Soul's Conviction boosted herself and Gladion!

Jade's AGILE Charge Beam dealt 21 damage to Chi-Yu! +1 Mag
Jade's Magician stole Eva from Chi-Yu!
Jade's Charge Beam dealt 28 damage to Chi-Yu! +1 Mag
Jade's RADIANT Mystical Fire dealt 53 damage to Chi-Yu! It's super effective!
Jade's Soul's Adversity is boosting her next move... +2 Acc

Gladion used STRONG Protect!
Gladion's Spotter Feat Wo-Chien's Moves:

Snarl, Giga Drain, Toxic Spikes, Leech Seed, Taunt, Ruination​

Gladion's Shining Vigilance trapped Wo-Chien!
Gladion's Soul's Volition turned him Dragon-Type! +1 Acc/Eva

Virga's Defender Skill is protecting Jade!
Lillie's Rogue Skill paralyzed Wo-Chien!
Malachai's Flying Caster Wave dealt 32 damage to Chi-Yu!

Enemy Phase​

The great mass of swamp foliage laced with bamboo tablets struggled to heft its bulk along while struck with paralysis and caught in a web of dazzling Radiance. It made to scatter toxic shrapnel across the wetlands, but the spikes fizzled into nothingness from Gladion's aura...

Meanwhile, the fiery koi fish elegantly swam down the slopes, firing a shot of darkness at Jade and Virga before pouring its flames over the land below.

Wo-Chien used Toxic Spikes... blocked by Gladion's Sentry!
Wo-Chien's Snarl!
Laura: Dodged!
Gladion: Dodged!
Wo-Chien's STRONG Leech Seed grazed Laura!
Wo-Chien Focused...
Wo-Chien took cover!

Chi-Yu's Confuse Ray hit Jade's Protect!
Chi-Yu's STRONG Dark Pulse dealt 71 damage to Jade! Flinching!
Chi-Yu dashed to Shaded Moor!
Chi-Yu's Heat Wave!
Laura: 52
Gladion: 41! It's not very effective...
Chi-Yu walked to Amber Cliffs!

Everyone's rhythm activated!