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So after such a long while, I'm finally posting this here. Sorry for the long wait, but here it is now. The Messanger's Shadow, the first story of Phase 1B: The Dusk Legacy. This story takes place three hundred years before The Messanger of Time, the first story of the series as a whole. Many references between the two stories will be seen, and events leading up to the later stories in the series. I do hope you all enjoy this.
Being that this is a detailed "summary" of the story, as it would be for a video game I intend to make sometime in the (not so near) future, bits like dialogue won't be present. Keep in mind that this isn't a fully novelized story, like The Messanger of Time is.
Being that this is a detailed "summary" of the story, as it would be for a video game I intend to make sometime in the (not so near) future, bits like dialogue won't be present. Keep in mind that this isn't a fully novelized story, like The Messanger of Time is.
Spoiler ShowThe Spiritual Council discusses plans to send a Messanger into the Dusk Realm on a very important task. However, due to a short of reliable Messangers available to handle the task, they instead decide to send two Elites instead. These two are left a mystery. The Mienshao, Celestia, and Dragonair, Simeras, have some suspicions though, Simeras expressing her concerns if this is the right thing to do, and Celestia saying it’s the only thing they can do now, and to trust the Council’s Elder.
The scene opens into Midnight Forest with a Vaporeon wondering where ‘they’ went now. The opening scene plays, telling the story of the world and its inhabitants in the year 1700, then comes to the two Umbreon brothers Umbryo and Flaro about to leave the forest on a journey. The opening credits roll, then the character selection between the two brothers.
Spoiler Show
Scene starts with the [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Umbreon brothers, Umbryo and Flaro on the beach outside Sunset Grove, sparring. Serves as a tutorial for movement and attacking, as well as stamina, in a real-time battle system. Whoever “wins†affects minor dialogue between the two throughout the story. After the battle, the two rest for the night in a small cavern in the side of the rocky cliff. They discuss their plans on how to get back home, traveling east across the Tiny Meadow, through Craggy Coast, then south along the Aegis Road and passing the World Abyss before reaching Midnight Forest. First thing in the morning will be visiting Sunset Grove for supplies.[/FONT]
The next day, the brothers come to Sunset Grove and talk to the different inhabitants of the tiny village-like area, noting the variety of different species here. They come to a Mightyena and her young Poochyena son, remarking that she reminds them of the leader of their pack back home. She flirts a little with Flaro but then offers to sell the two a collection of berries grown in the village. After leaving, the two head to the Tiny Meadow.
The travel across the Tiny Meadow is more or less a short one, leading to a passage going into the mountains and to Craggy Coast.
Upon entering Craggy Coast, the brothers devise a plan to get through the range of caverns and cliffs. They decide to keep their distance and take cover behind objects, attacking with ranged moves to deal with the threat posed by the pokemon here. This serves as a tutorial for more powerful moves and greater strategies in the game. After getting through the area, they come to a split in the path leading east to Star Cave and south to Aegis Road. They go south.
Along Aegis Road, the brothers have to deal with stronger opponents and have to fight past them using the strategies and moves they did before, noting that certain flying enemies have to be hit with ranged moves. During their travel, they come across an unusual treat on the ground called a Black Gummi, which the brothers express their great love for. These treats appear rarely throughout the game, but when used, boosts their stats exponentially for a short period of time. Once they make it through, they come to a crossroad referred to as the Wanderer’s Crossing. West goes to the sea, east goes to Aegis Cave, a place they refuse to venture due to the unexplained dangers posed there. South goes to the World Abyss, where they decide to head. They are interrupted by a pair of Golbat and a Crobat, protective of their home territory and attacking them. This becomes a short boss fight before the brothers drive them off and run to the south.
At the World Abyss, the brothers are adamant about staying as far outside the caverns as possible and travel through the outer rim of the area, afraid to go further in due to reasons unknown at this time. Along the way, they pass by a Mightyena coming out of the World Abyss, and immediately hide behind a boulder, watching him go. Umbryo ponders this, uncertain why someone who appears to be part of the Legion of the Abyss, the pack, or more properly speaking, the army, in control of the World Abyss, would be venturing out. Flaro mentions it isn’t unheard of for them to be seen outside of it, recounting an incident several years ago, when two of them traveled through Aegis Road, but were attacked by the pokemon there and one escaped. Afterwards, the Legion of the Abyss sent forces to get their friend back. Umbryo remembers this story, and recalls that they thrashed anyone in their way to rescue their friend. He still doesn’t understand, however, why they would be traveling outside of the World Abyss. After the Mightyena leaves, they make their way through until they reach the other side of the area. Here, they accidentally disturb a Nidoqueen who was sleeping there, and are forced into another boss fight. After defeating her, they leave through the fields and proceed on to Midnight Forest, their home.
After arriving back home, the brothers are greeted by other residents of the forest, some friendly, but others are more annoyed, while a few tease about how the two are ‘in for it now’. After wandering a bit, Flaro is suddenly tackled over by his mate, a Vaporeon named Lucrecia, to their surprise, who starts smacking him and scolding him for leaving without a word. Umbryo tries to sneak off, but is shouted down by Lucrecia, saying he’s not getting a free pass, that she worried about him too. The next several minutes are spent dealing with Lucrecia’s harsh lectures and ‘threats’ that if they ever run off like this again, she’d hunt them down and drag them home by their tails. She then tells Flaro that he owes her a date for leaving, and that after they go talk with the pack leader, a Mightyena named Leanna, she’ll be expecting him to take her to Lake Afar for a night. He ‘begrudgingly’ agrees and the two go to see Leanna.
Their meeting with Leanna is mostly calm, though she remarks on their stubbornness and bad habits of leaving on dangerous adventures to who knows where, recalling that her mother worried about them when they ran off as kids while she was watching over them during one of their parents’ journeys. She notes that the brothers are taking many of the same risks their parents did before they died, much to their distaste on the subject. Her Poochyena daughter, Amencer, even berates them, in a rather cute way. Leanna then tells them, particularly Flaro, that they should be more concerned with Lucrecia’s feelings and think about the things they do more carefully, that their adventures affect more than just themselves.
After Leanna lets them go, Umbryo says he’s all tuckered out from the day and that he’s going to sleep, to Flaro’s ‘resentment’ since he still has to take Lucrecia on her date. He teases that Flaro must have it so bad to have to do such a thing, getting a snort in response. Lucrecia prods him on, saying that if she offered him Black Gummies, he’d probably go on dates with her more. He growls and insists that they just move on, with Umbryo snickering under his breath on the side. After the two part ways, Umbryo goes to their resting area to sleep, and Flaro meets with Lucrecia to head to Lake Afar.
While Umbryo is asleep, he is approached in a dream by a mysterious Darkrai who questions his activities with his brother and remarks that he has an interesting desire to see the world, so much that he chooses to go out despite what others think. He states that his rebellious actions aren’t to be taken lightly, and invites Umbryo to come meet him, saying that he has potential for more, but wastes it on pointless adventures. While reserved on the matter, not wanting to leave again without telling anyone, especially Flaro, Umbryo wonders why the Darkrai has taken an interest in him, finding it odd since he’s ‘just an Umbreon’. He says his reasons are his own, but if Umbryo were to go, he would ensure that he’d make it back home safely. Seemingly pressured by his advances, as though under an overwhelming force, Umbryo eventually, albeit uncomfortable about the matter, decides to take the offer, to the Darkrai’s approval. He then wakes up and, being sure not to disturb anyone, gets up to make his way out of the forest.
Meanwhile, Flaro and Lucrecia arrive at Lake Afar and are greeted by a few of the pokemon there, including the Espeon,Arisiea, who cheerfully asks Lucrecia if she ‘taught Flaro a lesson’ yet. She remarks that she’s still getting it, to Flaro’s discomfort, but she nudges him with a reassuring look. Arisiea then asks how Umbryo’s doing, and Lucrecia responds that he’s about the same as ever. She asks Arisiea if she’s seen her uncle around, but she says she hasn’t. Shrugging it off, Lucrecia waves farewell to her before going with Flaro to another part of the lake. There, they talk things over, discussing things about their families and how she’s felt close to him ever since she lost her parents and was adopted by Arisiea’s uncle, Aecor. She tells him that she wishes he and Umbryo would be more careful and not go wandering off without telling her. She then goes on to say that even Arisiea’s worried about them sometimes, and that she joked about how Umbryo’s at least lucky Flaro’s around, since he had to be saved by her once, referencing how he almost drowned in the lake years before. She says that the two are the perfect team together, if only they’d be that way closer to home. After their talk, Flaro tells her he’ll try to take more care in the future, and that he’d hate to lose her as well. He then brings up a trinket he’s been wearing around his neck- a small metal pendant with a crescent moon around a full moon engraved into it. He mentions it as something his family’s passed down for as long as he could know, and that it went to him and his brother after their parents died. He says that she will always be a part of their family. After some words of comfort between them, the scene transitions to the night sky and fades to black.
Spoiler ShowUmbryo goes to the Concealed Ruins and makes his way through the labyrinth of tunnels and caverns on his way to meet the Darkrai. The trip through is mostly uneventful, and takes him through the mountains to Foggy Forest.
Meanwhile, Flaro and Lucrecia return to Midnight Forest the day after their date night and wonder where Umbryo is. It doesn’t take them long to come across some forest residents who say they saw him wander off just before morning and tried to call out to him, but he wouldn’t respond. They say he looked almost like he were in a trance. Flaro immediately grows tense, wondering what came over Umbryo since it’s very unlike him to go off on his own like this. He asks where he went and learns that he left to the east. Some followed but lost his trail past the World Abyss. Flaro decides he has to go look for him, to Lucrecia’s distress. But she understands, as she’s worried too and knows this isn’t normal. Flaro heads out of the forest and makes his way east, towards the World Abyss. As he attempts to get past the cavern, he is stopped by a small group of dark-types apparently led by a female Houndoom, which he immediately realizes is part of the Legion of the Abyss. Growing tense, he tries to get away, but they shout him down, stopping him in his tracks. Wary of what they might do as they approach him, he braces for the worst, ready to fight. But instead of attacking, they question why he isn’t with his brother. Seeing that they’re aware of the two since they’ve passed through the area several times in their adventures, it isn’t hard to conclude that the two not being together is strange. He says that Umbryo left by himself earlier and he went out to look for him, and the others grow curious. They inform him that they saw Umbryo wander off further to the east and say that if he’s off on his own, he could be in danger. Still tense about being around them and not wanting to argue or debate why Umbryo went off that far, Flaro takes their word and starts off, leaving the group of mildly confused pokemon behind.
Unwilling to try and cross the mountains and choosing to go around them, Flaro eventually finds his way to the Lost Wilderness and wanders through the open plains towards the north, where he later reaches the Waterfall Pillar.
Meanwhile, Umbryo starts coming to his senses, realizing he’s gone way out of bounds by coming this far. He decides it’d be best to return home, since he hasn’t found the Darkrai, wondering if the dream were just that and nothing more. He makes his way through the forest to the south, where he eventually comes to the Waterfall Pillar.
Upon reaching making it out of the forest, Umbryo contemplates where he is. He is breath-taken when he comes to the sight of a massive stone pillar where, from the top, there are waterfalls flowing to the ground. He wonders if there could be something as big as a lake at the top, wondering if he should try and come back to this place later, with his brother. He proceeds on, trying to find a way to get back home. But he is stopped by a Magmortar when trying to get around the large stone pillar. The fire-type appears particularly focused on Umbryo, appearing unwilling to let him pass. He tries to talk to the pokemon but is received by a slew of attacks. Realizing he’s out of his league, he tries to double back towards the forest, but sees the Magmortar struck down unexpectedly. The two look back to see Flaro standing there, furious and wanting to protect his brother, to Umbryo’s great surprise. Flaro shouts at him, asking who he is, and he finally identifies himself as Skoria. But the chat doesn’t go on long, as he proceeds to attack both of them at once, forcing the brothers to fight back together. Skoria displays some unusual powers, controlling wind currents to his will, which makes for a difficult battle. After a long fight, the brothers are eventually blown back into the forest.
After finding cover, the two take some time to rest, and Flaro asks Umbryo what the hell he was doing, coming out all this way on his own. Unsure how to respond, he just says he doesn’t know. Flaro scolds him, saying that he and Lucrecia were worried about him, so he’d have to give a better answer. Knowing there’s no use trying to hide it, Umbryo confesses that he had a dream about someone, that he was sure was real. He felt like he had to come out here, but after a while, he realized just how ridiculous what he was doing was, and tried to go back home, which led him to being attacked by Skoria. After a time, the two notice their talking is drawing the attention of some residents of the forest, including an Eevee and his Espeon mother, so they wisely choose to move on and head back home.
Drawing on the conclusion that there’s no beating this guy, they decide to take another route back home, this time tracking through Oblivion Forest. However, they soon find out that the bug pokemon here aren’t quite as forgiving as the ones in Foggy Forest, having little choice but to fight through nests of them until they reach a clearing. Surrounded on all sides, the brothers try to come up with something, anything, to get out of this mess. But it seems bleak, and the assailants are drawing close. Just as it all seems lost, as the bug pokemon attack, the brothers wind up being enveloped in black, and everything around them disappears.
The brothers find themselves in an empty void, seeing nothing around, not even each other. But calling out confirms they’re still together, and they try to figure out what just happened. The two illuminate the area with their red and blue rings, though despite being able to see each other now, nothing else appears visible. Eventually, they’re approached by a third figure- a Darkrai which Umbryo immediately recognizes to be from his dream. He grows tense, starting to realize that it wasn’t all in his head, and that this person is real. Flaro, noticing Umbryo’s reaction to the pokemon, puts two and two together and steps up in a defensive stance, demanding him to identify himself. After a moment of aggravating silence, he finally introduces himself to the brothers as Veros. Flaro asks what he wants with his brother and why he dragged him all the way out here, and Veros says that Umbryo choose to come out by his own will. Flaro, not buying the story, immediately accuses him of possessing Umbryo, to his amusement. But then he admits that things didn’t go as planned, that Umbryo woke up too easily and that he’s unique, not one who’d be so easy to sway. Umbryo, growing uncomfortable, simply glares at him. Veros then eyes the pendant around Flaro’s neck with interest, appearing to recognize it somehow. This catches Umbryo’s attention, but he doesn’t say anything in response.
Flaro, oblivious to the look and not wanting to listen to him anymore, attacks Veros, who easily evades it and asks if he wants to challenge him of all people, also pointing out that they owe him their life for saving them from the bugs. Flaro immediately answers that he wouldn’t let some freak-show push him and his brother around, and readies another attack. Veros remarks that this should be interesting, and prepares to fight. After a drawn out battle, the brothers manage to execute a combined move, a powerful Charge Break called Night’s Judgment, and Veros decides to retreat, having taken some unexpected blows and concluding that the brothers will be more difficult than he anticipated. He moves back and compliments their abilities, then invites them for another round sometime, to Flaro’s irritation and Umbryo’s unease. He then fades off and they black out.
The two eventually awake, surrounded by several familiar pokemon looking down at them. After they come to, they realize that they’re no longer in Oblivion Forest, but instead, back home. Lucrecia promptly jumps in, asking if they’re okay, where they were and what happened, among numerous other prods, clearly more worried than anyone else in the area, and Leanna steps in to talk her down, telling her to give them some time to breathe. Amencer, who’s with her, huffs and rolls her eyes at the scene. When Lucrecia finally tears herself away from the brothers, they are still dazed from their sleep and take a moment to compose themselves, before Leanna inquires on their well being. After assuring everyone that they’re okay, they go into telling what happened, knowing that there’s no keeping what they experienced a secret. The forest residents, particularly Leanna and Lucrecia, need answers. Once they finish, Leanna remarks that while they may not have had much choice, going through Oblivion Forest may have been a mistake, as the Midnight Pack has had issues with them in the past. She states that anything could set them off and has avoided any contact with them, and just hopes that they don’t know where the brothers came from. She also questions them on Veros, but they say they don’t know anything about him or why he came after them, and Lucrecia jabs at them, remarking that he may just be one of the many people they provoked on their adventures, earning a huff and a glare from the two. Leanna says that she will keep an eye on things and try to figure things out, and insists that the brothers don’t go off on their own for a while. Lucrecia ‘threatens’ that she’ll be keeping a tight grip on the brothers and won’t let them out of her sight, to their dismay. After everyone finally scatters, the brothers, and Lucrecia with them, go to their resting place to settle down.
The next day, the brothers, having been made to remain home with Lucrecia keeping an eye on them, decide to wander around the forest and spend their time talking to others in the area. At this time, they are able to spar together freely for more experience. There are several small tasks that can be done, as well. A Liepard mother asks for her Purrloin son to be found, and after searching around, the brothers are able to find the mischievous child and bring him back to her. Lucrecia remarks here that the kid reminded her oddly a lot of them, with his wandering off and worrying others, jabbing them on their habits to take off on their adventures. The Liepard then mentions that her son saw a group of three ‘scary’ Ninjask roaming the forest, who he had to hide from. The brothers then have to go find them, they fight them off and chase them out of the forest. But they aren’t certain who the three were or why they were there.
After dealing with the three, the brothers go to see Leanna and find out whether or not she’d figured anything out, but to no avail. However, she does propose a sparring round with either of them, as a test of their abilities- something she’s done on occasion with other residents of the forest. After some time is passed, they decide to wander some more around the forest. While walking with Lucrecia, they come across a Weavile seeking items of value, including coins which are recognized as currency back at Sunset Grove. They are able to trade with him to get other items, serving as a shop in the forest. At another point, a Sableye, who has been known by some to have come from the World Abyss years before, offers ‘special training’ to the brothers. This training allows them to combine certain moves to perform different and more powerful ones, which becomes useful against enemies as the game progresses. The brothers also come across a Honchkrow named Lunith, whom is shown to be good friends with them and a well known forest resident who’s served as a scout since he was young. He offers sparring sessions with the brothers as well. After a bit of wandering, the brothers eventually notice a familiar Mightyena, who they’d seen at the World Abyss, now standing outside the forest. Unsure of what he’s doing or why he’s there, but knowing where he’s from they wisely choose not to bother him, and instead go elsewhere.
The brothers later go to visit Lake Afar, with Lucrecia, who’d offered to take them there if they wanted to go. With little else to do, they head over and are greeted by a couple of the lake’s residents. Though some few pokemon appear to be wary of the brothers, no one takes any actions against them. During their visit, they meet with Arisiea, who appears to have a particular fondness to Umbryo. She asks them to help her with a ‘very important task’, where she is seeking the ‘best berries anyone can find’. The brothers, not sure of what she means, decide to go along and help her, during which she stays close to Umbryo while they search. After finding a patch of berries she deems suitable, she rewards the brothers with some, thanking them for helping her. Though the brothers can’t tell a difference with these berries in particular, they elect to play along and show appreciation.
Later, they come across Alica, a Milotic who is close friends with Arisiea. She greets the brothers and Lucrecia, but then mentions that she’s worried about something. A treasure she was holding onto has gone missing and she believes it may have been stolen by someone. She asks them if they can find it for her, and they agree. After searching a while, they find a young Totodile who’s carrying the treasure around with him, and on sight of them, makes a run for it. They make chase and, with their combined efforts, corner him and get him to give up the item, before Lucrecia scolds him and makes him take them to his parents, who also scold him for his actions. They return the treasure to Alica, who thanks them and offers a few items in return.
They then come to Marina, a Lapras who has worked as the lake’s overseer and well-recognized among the residents. She gladly greets Lucrecia and even offers friendly gestures to the brothers, despite them being outsiders. After a chat, she confronts them with a request: A disturbance has been putting some of the pokemon on edge and she wants them to go find out what’s going on. She would, herself, but she is occupied with other important matters, so it falls to the brothers to do this. They go investigate a river known to lead out to the ocean, during which time a Lotad pops out of the bushes and squirts Flaro square in the face with water, aggravating him, but Lucrecia calms him down and remarks that some pokemon here still aren’t quite comfortable with them, especially the younger ones who’ve never seen them before. Once at the river, they find a group of Qwilfish causing a ruckus here. They fight them off and force them to retreat back down the river. Afterwards, Umbryo brings up that they did something like this years before, where they had to fight off a group of upstart Carvanha causing trouble, which led to some of the lake’s pokemon recognizing them and growing more friendly towards them from that point. Once they report back to Marina, she offers her gratitude, and then mentions a Floatzel who once lived here, and had a thing for dealing with situations like these, but that they haven’t seen him in some time. Lucrecia appears to have an idea of who she’s talking about, but doesn’t talk about it.
The brothers eventually decide to head back to Midnight Forest and rest for the day. Lucrecia expresses that she had fun actually being able to spend time with them, and gives them a batch of reviver seeds she found around the lake. With the day’s activities done, they go to sleep for the night.
A few days pass, and the brothers have withdrawn to settling in the forest for some time. Still, Leanna hasn’t come to any conclusions, and it starts to worry the brothers, wondering if they’ll ever be able to find out who Veros is or why he was so interested in them. But they don’t have much time to ponder the possibilities, as Lunith flies in and alerts the forest residents that they are under attack. Leanna asks who could possibly be attacking them and he reveals what they were hoping not to hear: the bug pokemon from Oblivion Forest are targeting them and launching a large scale attack. Leanna eyes the brothers, uncertain how they managed to track them all the way here, but knows that the situation is too urgent to debate over reasons. She orders the able-bodied fighters to gather together and prepare to defend their home. But they are not prepared for what comes.
The bug pokemon have split into several factions, attacking from all sides. A front charge comes from the east, a group that has dug underground attacks from the west, cutting off any escape or access to Lake Afar, and a group of flying bugs attacks from the sky. They have effectively put the forest residents in a pincer, and attacking from everywhere at once. With the pokemon of Midnight Forest scattered and having to deal with the threats, the brothers have to fight with them to take on the bugs. Flaro and Lunith provide substantial help against them with their type advantages that help keep the bugs at bay. But the fight goes on for a long time and many forest residents are lost. Damages are done all over the forest. Leanna is seen defending her daughter against a Drapion, who has targeted her specifically, having figured out she’s the pack leader. He is revealed to be heading up the attack and she manages to fend him off before the brothers arrive on the scene, sustaining some injuries that will require treatment. Lucrecia stays to protect her as the brothers go to deal with the others.
After a drawn out battle, the bugs finally decide to withdraw, and head east towards the World Abyss. This proves to be a grievous error. They are soon seen fleeing in terror as though hounded by their worst nightmare. This is probably not far from the truth, as a few are taken out by some unseen assailants, and they disappear into the distance, presumably running back home. The forest residents, having been reminded of just how powerful the Legion of the Abyss is, conclude that they won’t have to deal with the bugs for some time. The brothers determine that the three Ninjask they dealt with earlier likely led the bugs straight to them after they fled. With the threat dealt with, they take the time to recover and tend to their weakened and fallen friends. During this time, the brothers are tasked with helping to gather berries and other recovery items to help treat the pokemon. Lucrecia manages to get help from some pokemon from Lake Afar and after things are settled, the pokemon start cleaning up and tending to the damage done to the forest during the fight. During their work, Flaro comes to learn about the loss of the Purrloin child they helped before, bringing it up to Umbryo when they meet again. He’s in distraught at knowing that they may have cost the lives of several innocent pokemon in their home, and says he needs time to gather his thoughts. The brothers soon go to rest and get their bearings after such a long and difficult fight, something they weren’t prepared to handle even with all their experience from their adventures. But by the day’s end, they’d survived, and are trying to get ready for what might lie ahead.
Spoiler ShowAfter a couple days, Umbryo and Flaro are tending to their duties, helping the forest to recover. During their work since the attack, they’d gotten word that the Legion of the Abyss sent out a raiding party to hound the bug pokemon all the way back to their Oblivion Forest. This news has since unsettled the brothers, showing once again just how dangerous the Legion can be when provoked, and what they’ll do in return. Soon, Lunith flies in and reports to the brothers that he saw a sinister-looking Darkrai near the forest, immediately grabbing the brothers’ attention. They ask him where he saw him and he says that he was going towards Boulder Quarry, just north of the forest. He pauses, suddenly realizing that the brothers plan to go after the Darkrai. He insists that they don’t, and to leave it to Leanna to look into, a suggestion the brothers promptly reject, both due to knowing what the Darkrai’s like from personal experience, and the fact that Leanna’s still recovering and shouldn’t take the risk. They decide, therefore, that it falls to them to go after the Darkrai. Knowing they have no time to waste, they tell Lunith to inform the others, aware of the risks they’re taking and the punishment which would result from their leaving without permission. They quickly head out to Boulder Quarry before anyone can try and stop them.
Upon arriving, the brothers traverse the rocky area, in search of who they can only conclude to be Veros. The whole way, they get the feeling of something off. It’s an eerie feeling they can’t shake, and it continues to bug them right up until they’re confronted abruptly by an Aggron. The pokemon appears to be focused intently on them for some reason, and without telling why, he attacks them. Flaro shouts at the larger pokemon, asking who he is and what he wants with them. He identifies himself as Drachen, but stops just at giving his name and proceeds to go after them, forcing the brothers to face him. After a long battle, they manage to take him down for a time, but are forced to flee into Limestone Cavern before he can attack them again, being noticeably unusually quick to recover.
Having gotten away from Drachen, Umbryo and Flaro venture further into the cavern and immediately get a sense of foreboding. For some reason, the pokemon here appear unusually tense, as though something were putting them on edge, and they are more hostile than the brothers believe they should be. Through their exploration, they have to fend off numerous attackers and hide where they can, finding the air growing more tense with each passing moment. It isn’t until they come to a split in the path that they have to make a decision of where to go. Left or right? The brothers contemplate this for a while, during the time that they have to rest. But they aren’t given much, as they can see the pokemon trailing after them. They have to be quick, and Flaro asks Umbryo where they should go. But rather than choosing either of the paths, Umbryo gets a sense to go straight...into the wall. Flaro questions what he could possibly be thinking, but something just seems off about the wall between the two paths. Without having any more time to figure out what’s going through his mind, the brothers charge forward, and through the wall.
To their surprise, they easily pass through, as if the wall weren’t even there, and they make it into another passage in the cavern. There is a creepy silence here after they escape their pursuers, and the brothers take a moment to breathe. Pondering why the wall they passed through was concealing this path and how Umbryo was able to tell what it was, they get the feeling that something is going on here. They proceed on, deeper into the cavern, and eventually come to a small room with a single pathway over a lake. At the end of the path, they see an unusual object floating in a mystical, green crest. As they ponder what it could be, Umbryo appears fixed on it, as though being drawn to it by something he can’t grasp. But their wondering is cut short when Veros appears from the shadows, catching them both off guard. He is eerily calm, as he was the last time they encountered him, and he proceeds to explain that the object is none other than a Time Gear.
Having never seen one before and only hearing of them in old tales, the brothers are in disbelief to see one so close to their home. Veros, however, seems to have different plans. He questions if the brothers know their purpose, and why they’ve come after him. Flaro immediately remarks that he’s dangerous, as evident of their first encounter, and that their goal has been to learn all they can about the world and grow stronger so they can protect their home from anything to come. Veros commends their efforts and willingness to go to such far-off places just to protect those they care about, but then questions if he’s really the threat here, or if there’s something more dangerous, closer to home. He states that the dangers one faces are always closer than they realize, and Umbryo steps in and brings up how Veros is the one who dragged them away from home and put them in the danger they got into, to which he responds, “Did I?†and further questions if their motives are really for others or out of self-interest and the unjustified desire to wander away from home just for something more exciting. Flaro reaches his limit and snaps, saying that he’s had enough, and attacks Veros. He shouts at him, saying that if it weren’t for him, the bugs from Oblivion Forest would never have been led to attack their home. He curses him for what he put them and the Midnight Pack through and the lives his actions cost, saying that he’ll regret ever toying with them. The Darkrai grows amused by this and remarks that Flaro’s quick temper would make him an easy target for any enemy, then decides to enlighten the brothers again and accept their ‘proposal’ to fight, leading to a second battle.
Once Veros has finally had enough of the fight, he draws back and offers to take the brothers along for their little game. Flaro notices he seems to express more interest in him, through his subtle glances and how he directs his words, which only makes him grow more tense. He invites them to chase him all the way to Star Cave, where he has ‘plans’ for them. Flaro objects and shouts at him to stop, but he escapes and fades into the shadows, getting away the same way he appeared. Flaro curses at the fact that he managed to lose them again, clearly very agitated, to Umbryo’s concern as he wasn’t quite as edged on by Veros’ taunting. Once he manages to calm Flaro down, the two decide to leave the cave and try to figure out where Veros went.
As they come out, they notice the strange Mightyena passing by again, and this time, he eyes them up for a moment, setting them on guard, before wandering off without a word. Flaro asks what’s up with this guy, noting that they’ve seen him three times already. The brothers start growing suspicious, wondering if he has any connection with Veros or any of the stuff that’s happened lately. They ponder where to go now. They know that they have to help everyone at home, but also that Veros can’t be allowed to wander freely where he can do harm elsewhere. Not wanting to put their home in danger, they decide to go at it on their own, and chase after Veros to where he wants them to know, aware that they could be going into a trap but knowing it’s the only lead they have.
The brothers cross through the World Abyss again, trying to evade notice of the Legion of the Abyss which seems to have grown more active now. They then head north to Aegis Road, where they know the direction of Star Cave to be, based on their earlier travels. As they head on, they grow more tense and feel as though they’re being watched. Continuing ahead, they eventually come to a clearing and stop. Flaro, having been set on edge, launches a fireball towards some bushes, where the Mightyena from before jumps out and glares at him for the attack. Flaro shouts at him, asking who he is and why he’s been following them all the time. Umbryo appears caught off guard by Flaro’s outburst, but is equally as suspicious about the other pokemon. He finally speaks up, identifying himself as Lucas, and tells them he’s been wary of their activities for a while, and has been keeping an eye on them. Flaro demands to know if he’s with ‘that Darkrai’. Lucas questions this, growing curious, but Flaro doesn’t wait for an answer, already on edge by having been followed after what they’ve dealt with. He threatens Lucas, demanding that he stop following them, and when he tries to explain himself, Flaro promptly launches an attack, which he evades, leaving him no choice but to fight back, and they battle.
During a long battle, Lucas shows remarkable skill at dealing with the two brothers on his own, displaying unique and unpredictable techniques and abilities, further drawing their suspicions of him being from the Legion of the Abyss. But they manage to catch him off-guard with their own abilities, making him grow even more interested in them.
It still isn’t enough though, as he takes them both down after a while. Flaro, with his usual stubborn rashness, shouts at him for attacking them, to which he remarks that he was merely defending himself, and advises them to calm down. He questions what they’ve been doing, and Umbryo, having little choice but to answer, tells him that they’re going after someone who’s been antagonizing them for a while. Lucas mentions the Darkrai Flaro brought up before and they confirm it to be Veros, to his concern. After they explain some of the things he’s done, he says that they should be very careful with him, and that he’s not merely what he makes him out to be. This prompts Flaro to target his attention back on Lucas, accusing him once again of working with Veros since he knows so much about him, and even insinuates his connection to the Legion of the Abyss (further exemplifying their aversion to them), which he simply responds, “it’s complicated.â€
He tells the brothers that he will look into the matter, and strongly advises them not to go looking for Veros, that he is more dangerous than they realize. He then goes away, leaving them with even more questions and less answers. After a time of discussing the situation, Flaro says that he doesn’t trust Lucas, and that he has to be up to something. Umbryo suggests that even though he’s not telling the whole story, he may be right, to which he retorts, “to hell with him,†and says that he needs answers. Though exhausted by Flaro’s stubbornness, Umbryo agrees to go with him to Star Cave in search for Veros.
Upon coming to the split in the path north of Aegis Road, the brothers point out the route they saw after coming from Craggy Coast, leading east, to Star Cave. They proceed onward along the narrow path into the mountain region until they reach the cave, and go in. The cavern has an unusual, mystical feel to it, filled with glowing stones and crystals which give it a dim light. The brothers proceed through the cavern, fascinated by the area. While there aren’t many pokemon here to deal with, the place instead has several puzzles to go through until they reach a large, circular room with a five-pointed star imprinted on the ground.
At the back of the room is a stone pedestal where a small pokemon, who they soon realize to be Jirachi, is sleeping. Bewildered that they’ve seen the pokemon for the first time in their lives, Umbryo brings up the rumors of it having the ability to grant wishes, but never understood how such a pokemon could do so. While talking, they notice something written on one of the pokemon’s tags, a faintly glowing purple script in a language they’ve never seen before. Not only do they find it somewhat unnerving, but they also take note of Jirachi’s apparent discomfort. Unsure of how they can help the pokemon, the brothers start worrying about what might happen, and even more about what the script could possibly mean.
They have little time to try and work out a solution, when Veros appears in the room, catching the brothers off guard. Flaro grows immediately agitated by him and takes a defensive stance, which only serves to amuse him. He tells them he isn’t here to fight them now, but instead has other, more important plans. He talks about how Jirachi has been spoken of as a very special pokemon who few have been able to meet and even fewer have managed to awaken. He mentions his ability to grant wishes written on its tags, which the brothers note is part of the rumors they’ve heard before, and Umbryo asks why he’s talking about all of this. Flaro remains quiet but is still glaring daggers at Veros the whole time, and Jirachi seems to be growing more uncomfortable as time passes. Veros then points out the script on one of the tags, and asks if they can guess what it means. Flaro retorts that, knowing him, it couldn’t be something good, and he scoffs in response, feigning confusion at his disdain. But Flaro doesn’t play along, saying that he knows what he did.
Among the shouting, Jirachi finally awakens, clearly annoyed, and lifts into the air. Without a word, it emits a light throughout the room before releasing a powerful wave and disappearing. Before it does, Veros takes note of the script on its tag disappearing, to his delight. After everything settles down again, the brothers wonder what the hell happened, and where Jirachi went. For the time being, things seem normal. But Flaro isn’t convinced that everything is okay. He questions Veros about what happened and what he did, and he simply replies that Flaro’s aggression is what woke Jirachi up. Flaro, as expected, snaps back at him, retorting that he’s the one who wrote on the tag and started hurting Jirachi, then demands to know what he wrote. Veros doesn’t give an answer, however, and instead proceeds to ask again why Flaro is here, and why he dislikes him so much.
Flaro is further irritated by Veros’ pretentious mind games, and says Veros has caused them nothing but trouble since they met, that the bug attack was his fault, that he threatened him and his brother, and indirectly caused the deaths of several of his pack members, including the Purrloin child they helped before, by leading the bugs back to their home. He demands an answer for what Veros did, to know how he could justify his actions. But Veros isn’t fazed by his aggression. Again, he doesn’t reveal the reason for his actions, but acknowledges that Flaro must be very protective of his home, prompting Flaro to remark that he’d give up his life for it, a confession Veros is eerily intrigued by. He asks if Flaro believes Umbryo shares the same sentiment, much to Umbryo’s discomfort. He states that he’d go do anything to see his home safe, but Veros appears unconvinced, remarking that he’d have picked him over the Midnight Pack, had it not been for Flaro stepping in to pull him back. He questions if Umbryo can do anything without his brother, or if he’s been following him wherever he goes because he can’t go anywhere on his own. He goes on to stress that Umbryo hasn’t done anything without being given direction, by him or by Flaro, and then asks what he’s really done for his home in times of need, particularly during the bug assault.
Flaro jumps in and shouts Veros down for talking about his brother in such a way, saying that Umbryo can do whatever he wants, and Veros scoffs in response, saying that Flaro’s the one who’s led them in everything they’ve ever done together. He incisively points out that the one time Umbryo went away by himself, it resulted in their home being attacked. Based on this evidence, he proceeds to ask if Umbryo could really be depended on to safeguard his pack and loved ones, and, having enough of Veros’ snide, critical insinuations, Flaro lashes out at him. Clearly expecting this, he evades and Umbryo steps in, shouting Flaro down, saying that it’s not worth it to keep fighting him. Flaro barks at him again to stop bringing up the attack, and Umbryo keeps trying to get him to calm down. But this only serves to provoke his angered brother, and he kicks him off. He asks why Umbryo isn’t feeling the same way towards Veros, saying that Midnight Forest is his home too, and Umbryo responds that he cares, but getting worked up over it isn’t helping. Flaro interrupts, insisting that Umbryo didn’t see what he did after the attack, the pokemon who were killed, and everyone else who suffered, and that Umbryo is swayed too easily by others, something he concedes Veros is right about that. Umbryo grows annoyed by this and retorts that Flaro is doing the same thing, that he’s letting Veros get inside his head and play with his emotions. But Flaro impulsively tells Umbryo to shut up, and even shoots an attack at him. Umbryo jumps back from the attack and stares at him in disbelief, and Flaro makes an irritated scoff in response. If Umbryo won the spar at the start of the game, Flaro says that his last win was a fluke, and that he could never beat him if he weren’t holding back. If Flaro won the spar, then he states that Umbryo has always been a step behind him, and that he couldn’t beat him if he tried. Either way, Flaro challenges Umbryo, demanding that he step up for once and do something for himself. Umbryo, unnerved by Flaro’s hostility, protests, but Flaro attacks him again, forcing him to fight back. Pleased, Veros sneaks away during their argument, just before Umbryo and Flaro battle.
Although he tries to talk Flaro down, Umbryo has little choice but to defend himself from his brother’s attacks. The battle goes on for a time, until Flaro finally pulls back and decides to flee. Umbryo chases after him but is stopped by a parting attack, giving Flaro an opening to get away and leaving him exhausted and distraught. He calls out to him, but gets no response. Not knowing where Flaro could’ve gone, Umbryo soon goes out where he thinks he left, and finds himself at Mt. Horn. Meanwhile, Flaro finally stops running and blasts a rock with flames out of anger, scaring off a few nearby pokemon on the mountain. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts, before looking back for Umbryo. He then continues on, traveling over the mountain, until he eventually comes across Lucas.
Certainly not the first person Flaro wanted to meet, Lucas ends up on the receiving end of an irate Umbreon’s biting query, asking him what he wants. Lucas questions why he’s so upset, but immediately also asks where Umbryo is before he could answer. Flaro says they got into a fight and he ran off, but stops short of saying why, saying it’s none of his business. Lucas replies that Flaro always seems to be lashing out for little reason, and that his temper is getting the best of him. Flaro interrupts, asking what the hell he thinks he knows, insisting he doesn’t know anything about him, and Lucas simply responds that he’s seen enough to know what he needs to. He follows with a firm admonishment to the effect that he find his brother and make up for what happened, and Flaro shoots back that he doesn’t need advice from someone like him. Before Lucas can say more, he demands that he leave him alone, growing more aggressive, and Lucas walks off, clearly annoyed by Flaro’s hostile attitude. Flaro proceeds on to the Horned Pass, trying to cool off after his encounter with Lucas.
While searching for Flaro, Umbryo soon runs into Lucas, who appears to be quite bothered. He grows suspicious at first, but Lucas catches on and tells him that he met with Flaro earlier. He assumes Umbryo is already curious, and tells him that they got into an argument, as suspected. He asks Umbryo what he sees in his brother, and Umbryo grows noticeably uncomfortable at the question. He explains that he’s always looked up to Flaro and went everywhere with him. But he admits that Veros was right about him depending too much on his brother, to the point where he’d even become a burden, and isn’t sure if he would have any direction without him. Lucas pipes in, saying that he shouldn’t put too much faith in Veros’ words, and that he is known to manipulate others at times. Umbryo grows more suspicious and inquires as to what Lucas knows about Veros. He states that he did work with him, for a time, but has always been wary of his actions. He says that he’s been investigating something around the world, but has been trying to keep an eye on Veros as well. He admits that he’s been suspicious of Umbryo and Flaro since meeting them, but has come to view them as genuine if nothing else. Umbryo asks where he came from, and Lucas simply responds that he wouldn’t believe him if he told him. He assures him that he means no harm, however, and that he is only searching for disturbances in the world.
Umbryo is still leery about the situation, but lets it slide and asks if Lucas has any relations with the Legion of the Abyss. He confirms that he was once a part of them, and states that they’ve remained just as he remembered them. Umbryo is visibly uneasy about this, peeking Lucas’ curiosity as to why, and he goes on to explain that his parents died in the World Abyss long ago, and that he and his brother have avoided it ever since. Realizing why the brothers have avoided him the whole time, Lucas affirms once again that he means them no harm, and apologizes for what happened to their parents. He also brings up the pendant he noticed Flaro wearing in their last two encounters, and Umbryo says that it was passed down to them by their parents, and has been in their family for a long time. Not wanting to linger on the subject, Umbryo insists that they move on, and says that he wants to look for his brother. Lucas points to the east and suggests he head towards a place called the Shaymin Field, where Flaro may have gone. Curious, and with nothing else to go on, Umbryo decides to take his advice, with nothing else to go on, and thanks him for talking with him. Lucas leads him to a path which would take him there, asking him what Veros has been doing along the way. Umbryo replies that he’s been stalking them for a while, and their most recent encounter involved Jirachi. For what reason, he doesn’t know, but he managed to turn his brother against him and made them fight, a subject he’s visibly uncomfortable discussing and tries to avoid going into detail about. Lucas, growing interested, is about to ask more, but stops to look at a seemingly ordinary spot of the cliff, catching Umbryo’s attention. He explains that there was once a landslide here, some time ago, and that he had to help a small colony of pokemon escape. He stops short of giving any other details, and Umbryo asks if everything’s okay. He chuckles in response and nods, then tells him he has more important things to worry about. Umbryo, while still curious, agrees and bids Lucas farewell before looking for his brother. After they part ways, Umbryo heads on through the Horned Pass to find Flaro.
After climbing over the mountains, Flaro can see a grassy field in the distance. He proceeds onward, but is stopped by a Rhyperior who immediately attacks him. He narrowly manages to avoid being knocked off the cliff.. Already in a foul mood from the preceding events, he shouts at the new assailant. The Rhyperior curtly introduces himself as Granis, before attacking Flaro once again, cutting off any response Flaro might’ve given. Having no choice but to fight back, Flaro is forced into a battle with the powerful pokemon. During the battle, Flaro has to evade pressurized bursts around the area and keep from falling off the cliff while holding Granis back. The battle proves very difficult, but eventually, Flaro is able to deliver his powerful Charge Break, Night’s Judgment, to drive him down the side of the cliff, effectively taking him out. He gets away while he can, knowing that Granis might recover and hunt him again, and makes his way to the Shaymin Field.
During his search for Flaro, Umbryo eventually gets a glimpse of some turbulence in the distance. He rushes over to see the last seconds of the battle on a lower cliff as Flaro executes his Charge Break, noticing his own rings flickering in response to the move. Once the Rhyperior is knocked off the cliff, Umbryo calls out to Flaro, but isn’t able to get his attention as he runs off. He runs after him and is soon stopped by a Golem, aggravated by the noise. He attacks Umbryo for intruding on his territory, leading into a battle. Once Umbryo manages to take him down, he runs ahead and eventually manages to come down to the cliff he just left, and heads off to the Shaymin Field.
Upon arriving at the open grassy field, Flaro stops for a breather. While familiarizing himself with the area and talking to some of the Shaymin, he meets one in particular who goes by the name Ella, and offers to show him around. Eventually, Flaro notices Umbryo arrive and the two eye each other, growing tense. They stare for a while, before Flaro turns away, and Umbryo approaches him, not knowing what to say. He soon calls to Flaro, but is interrupted and hushed by his brother, who doesn’t want to talk, partly out of guilt. Umbryo tries to reason with him but Flaro snaps briefly and launches a small attack, making him shout that he needs to to pull himself together. The two are interrupted, however, when a group of Shaymin gathers and separates them both with a gust of wind and petals. Ella demands they stop fighting, saying they won’t allow it in their home, and Flaro sighs in response, getting the idea. He mutters that they shouldn’t be fighting anyways, but he doesn’t know what to do about it. Ella suggests they spend some time apart and explore the area without talking to each other for a while. Without anything else to do, Flaro agrees and gives Umbryo a brief glance, before wandering away, and Umbryo just sits down, defeated.
Ella goes over to Umbryo and introduces herself to him, asking if he’s Flaro’s brother. He nods and tells her his name. She then insists that he take some time to calm down, saying that his journey must’ve been stressful, and inviting him to stay as long as he wants, and he reluctantly agrees, knowing there isn’t anything else he can do. She suggests that he look around and talk to some of the other Shaymin. Taking her advice, he does so.
While wandering around the area, Umbryo learns from one of the Shaymin residents that her friend went off a while ago to look for supplies and hasn’t been back. Worried, and unable to go looking for her friend, she asks Umbryo to search instead, telling him that she went towards Mt. Horn, and forgot to take a Gracedia with her. As a special flower that could help them get back home safely, the residents often take one with them whenever they leave the field. She gives Umbryo one to take to her friend before he goes to find her. She also warns him that the Rhyperior, Granis, who lives in the area, is both very strong and very territorial, and won’t take kindly to him trespassing. The trip takes Umbryo a little ways into the mountains, and he has to sneak past Granis to look for the lost Shaymin. After finally finding her, he has to carefully take a narrow path along the side of a cliff to a lower ledge which she fell to. After tossing the Gracedia to her, she transforms into Sky Form and carries Umbryo back to safety...before they are suddenly attacked by Granis, both angry about what Flaro did to him before and the fact that more pokemon have ventured into his territory. After a tough fight, they finally knock him down, and immediately escape back to the Shaymin’s Field before he can get back up.
Meanwhile, Flaro comes across another Shaymin in the field, who is having trouble with pokemon attacking her crops growing just outside the area, and she asks him to help get rid of them. During this errand, Flaro has to take care not to use his fire moves, as they will damage any crops nearby, while keeping any of the thieves from getting to them. Once all of them are driven off, she thanks Flaro for his help.
After returning to the field with the lost Shaymin, receiving praise from her friend, Umbryo comes across another resident who is practicing his moves, and offers to spar with him. At other points, the same resident can be faced by Flaro, and he can be repeatedly sparred with for more experience. There is another Shaymin in the field who sells berries. Eventually, Umbryo approaches Ella, who asks him what’s on his mind. He talks about various things involving him and his brother, and mentions a move he was practicing some time ago, but never had the chance to perfect. Curious, and interested in seeing the move, she offers to help Umbryo while he’s here, and takes him out to an area with several rocks which can be used for targeting. She offers to toss several rocks off for him to focus on. This training session requires timing and focus, and when done properly, Umbryo releases a dark field across a distance around himself, stopping the movements of the rocks for Ella to then strike with Magical Leaf. After he is confident that he can reliably and effectively use this new move, Umbryo is able to use Nightfall in normal combat, from this point on. He subsequently returns to the field with Ella.
At the same time, Flaro decides to blow off some steam and work on a new move of his own, Flaming Arrows, coming to another rocky area to practice. This training session is different in that Flaro’s alone, and his move launches flaming streaks towards his targets in a barrage. When he’s satisfied that he’s proficient with the move, Flaro gains the use of it in regular play.
After returning to the field, Umbryo and Flaro eventually cross paths and have an awkward stare-down, and some of the nearby Shaymin, including Ella, grow tense, worrying about what might happen. Flaro is the first to finally speak up, though looking away as he does. He says that he didn’t expect Umbryo to stick around, and Umbryo responds that if he went home without him, Lucrecia would kill him. Finding mild amusement in the retort, Flaro scoffs, remarking that she deserves better than this. Knowing Flaro’s still not entirely himself when he says this, Umbryo scolds him to snap out of it, saying that she’d never think that. Flaro appears somewhat startled by his brother’s coarse tone, but doesn’t respond to it. Before he can think of anything to say, the brothers are interrupted by one of the Shaymin residents calling out to the others, saying there’s something wrong with the stream. The brothers go to see what’s happening, and she says that the water’s become very dirty, to the point that it’s unusable. A large group of Grimer was also reported to be hanging around the water, and is believed to be the cause of its contamination. The brothers, understanding the urgency of the situation, put their conversation aside and rush to the scene, followed by Ella and a few of the Shaymin in the area.
Unable to talk the Grimer into leaving, the brothers have no choice but to fight them. But things get even worse when the same Shaymin Umbryo found lost on Mt. Horn falls into the stream and is washed away. Umbryo, remembering her from before, says that he has to go after her, and Flaro says he can handle the Grimer in the area. Umbryo runs after the Shaymin, chasing her downstream, occasionally fighting through Grimer stragglers, while Flaro faces the larger group with Ella and the support of other Shaymin in the area. Once Umbryo catches up to the one caught in the stream, he manages to pull her out, but notices that the leaves on her back have turned purple. He isn’t sure of what this means, but she shouts at him to take cover somewhere, and as several Grimer close in, she releases a blast of power in all directions, throwing all of them back and driving them away. When Umbryo comes back out of hiding, he’s visibly shocked, and she explains that it was a move called Seed Flare. The two rush back to help Flaro and the others, and soon take out the remaining Grimer, who still seem intent on remaining in the area. Ella talks them down, insisting that they don’t belong here. Confused, they say that the water is what drew them here, and that they’ve always found homes in dirty places. Getting the idea that the Grimer weren’t responsible for the dirty water, she apologizes to them and says that they were mistaken to come here, and that the water isn’t normally like this. Eventually, the Grimer accept their mistake and go away, and the Shaymin gather to purify the water.
Once they’ve successfully handled the issue, Ella brings up her concerns about what could’ve happened to the water, and asks the brothers if they’d be willing to accompany her up Sky Peak, the mountain where the stream flows from, to investigate the source of the disturbance. While they still haven’t entirely overcome their issues with each other, the brothers agree to help her. After getting ready, they go to Sky Peak. Their trek up the mountain is mostly quiet, with Umbryo making the occasional comment about the area and Flaro usually shrugging it off. When Umbryo first uses Nightfall, Flaro sees an opportunity to strike down the immobilized targets with Burning Arrows, but doesn’t openly admit to choosing to work with his brother. Umbryo, on the other hand, appears surprised by Flaro’s actions, but doesn’t say anything about it. Subsequent uses of the move combination occasionally gets a brief comment from either of the brothers, or Ella, who remarks how great they work together, making them act somewhat more awkward about the situation.
As they reach a small camping spot halfway up the mountain, they stop to take a break, and Ella compliments them on their skills and how good of a team they are. Flaro chuckles a little and admits that he and his brother have always worked well together, getting another awkward response from Umbryo. He says he made a mistake listening to Veros, and that their fight shouldn’t have happened, but now he doesn’t know what to do about it. Ever since their last encounter with Veros, he’s felt different from usual. He brings up the pendant around his neck and talks about how he and his brother have kept it as their family treasure, something signifying how close they are, but wonders if he may have disrespected it with what he let happen earlier. Ella assures them that if their bond is so close, they wouldn’t be able to drift apart no matter what happens. Umbryo mentions that Veros seemed to express interest in the pendant before, but he isn’t sure why. This makes Flaro concerned, but he puts it at the back of his mind for the time being. After some time spent in silence, Ella walks over to a flower and asks the brothers if they know what it is. Umbryo, recognizing it as a Gracedia from when he rescued the other Shaymin before, says that it’s supposed to make them change form. Approving of his prior knowledge of it, she touches the flower and changes to Sky Form, surprising Flaro with her sudden transformation. She explains that her species has used these flowers for centuries to attain this form, but that it only works during the day. Umbryo, noting that it’s getting close to dusk, says that they should get to the top of the mountain before the form goes away. Flaro and Ella agree, and they proceed up the mountain.
The rest of the trip is mostly normal for the first time in a while, the more frequent combination moves between the brothers notwithstanding. As they reach the top, they notice a group comprised of three Gastly and a Gengar causing mischief around the summit. Knowing the three aren’t commonly here, Ella wonders about their motives, and in the process notices that they’re doing something strange to the lake up here. Piecing together that they are the reason for the water’s contamination, and realizing that this has also caused the pokemon on the mountain to grow hostile, she tries to come up with a plan to stop them. However, their cover is blown when one of the Gastly spots them and calls the others over. The group immediately becomes defensive upon seeing Ella and the brothers, and asks what they’re doing here. Ella demands to know what they’re doing with the water, and the Gengar simply makes a snarky remark to the effect that they’re polluting it. Peeved by his flippant response, she questions why they’re here and where he came from. Dismissing the questions, the Gengar retorts that he can go wherever he wants, and asks what they’re going to do to stop him. Riled up by the Gengar’s attitude, Flaro blasts him with black flames, catching him off-guard but barely scathing him, and the three Gastly immediately surround them. Far more irritated now, the Gengar says that they’re going to pay for that, and they begin to battle.
In a drawn-out fight where the group of ghost-type pokemon working together are seemingly unstoppable with their constant use of their ability to apparate, facilitating sneak attacks, the brothers decide to put their teamwork to use, with Umbryo using Nightfall to hold them in place and prevent them from fading away and Flaro subsequently striking them all with Burning Arrows, with Ella helping by using her own Magical Leaf. Now having the upper hand, the team continues fighting until the ghost-types are finally taken down. On realizing their defeat, they quickly flee, fading away to an unknown place. Having concluded that they’ve driven them off, the trio takes a breather after the battle. But Ella knows the job isn’t done, and moves over to the lake to purify it. When she gets there, she finds a downed Pidgeot. Immediately becoming worried, she rushes over to him and tries to wake him up, using Aromatherapy to cure him of the toxins from the water before he regains consciousness. The brothers learn he’s a friend of hers, named Aviero. She asks if he’s okay and he assures her he is now. She returns to the lake and resumes her prior task, using her power to slowly pull the contaminants from the water, and then releases a Seed Flare into the sky where it does no harm. This ends up creating a display of fireworks the brothers are dazzled by.
After resting a while on the summit, Ella offers to have the brothers taken back home as thanks for helping, saying Aviero has agreed to fly them back, now that he’s recovered. Uncertain due to having never flown before, but never ones to turn down a new experience, they decide to take the offer, saying that they live in Midnight Forest. Knowing the location of the forest from flying around the world for much of his life, Aviero says the trip should be a fast one, and lets them on his back. After bidding farewell to Ella and thanking her for helping them through their hard time, the brothers set off for home. Having been warned that there may be hostile pokemon in the sky, the brothers prepare to defend themselves and Aviero from danger during their flight. The trip lasts a while and seems to go as planned, with the three successfully fighting through flocks of flying-types along the way. But Aviero remarks that they appear to be more hostile than normal, for some reason. While continuing on the route, disaster strikes, as a violent current whips up the air around them and throws them completely off-course. After their eventual recovery, they find themselves lost, with no idea where they’ve wound up. Unsure of what just happened, the three decide to continue and search for any clues as to where they are other than that they’ve somehow ended up over the ocean. The trip goes on a short time longer, with only a few pokemon attacking now. But after a while, they still find no traces of land nearby. Wondering if they’ve only gone further away from the mainland, the three decide to try and head back where they came from, but are soon caught up in another violent air current and swept away. This time, the brothers lose their grip on Aviero and fall into the ocean, where they are separated from him, left adrift, where they eventually lose consciousness.
Spoiler ShowLater on, the brothers awaken to find themselves on land. As they take in their surroundings, they learn that they’ve drifted to a snowy island, which they can only guess has to be Blizzard Island. Having no idea how they survived in the ocean long enough to get here, or how they wound up drifting here, of all places, they realize that they are a long way from home. As they reach this conclusion, the brothers begin to worry about how they’ll ever get back to Midnight Forest, what happened to Aviero, and how they’ll even survive on this island to begin with. Many things rush through their minds, and Flaro goes into a panic, worried about what might happen to Lucrecia and their home if they don’t make it back. Umbryo tries to calm him down, to no avail, as Flaro keeps voicing increasingly negative thoughts about their situation, even exaggerating its severity at points, before Umbryo finally smacks to get him to stop.
Knowing their situation appears bleak at best, but that they can’t afford to keep worrying about what-ifs, Umbryo reminds Flaro that they’ve gotten themselves into many bad situations, and always made it out okay. He continues that their family’s always been known for surviving the craziest of adventures and made it back home, including their parents, and themselves. Following this line of thinking, he assures Flaro that they will make it out of this too, and says that they should try and come up with a plan to get off the island and back home. However, the first thing to do is to find shelter so they can discuss what to do next. They wander for a little while, happening upon a small cavern and setting up camp there, with Flaro gathering some sticks from the forest to use to set a fire and warm up. While camping, the two talk about how they’ll get off the island, and after a few suggestions, they finally come to the idea of building a raft, like the one they used to travel to the Marine Resort long ago, where they put their parents to rest. Their conversation drifts towards their parents for a bit as they remember the adventures they had with them, and how they’ve always wanted to see the world for themselves, just like they did. They reassure themselves that they will get off this island and return home, for their parents.
After resting a while, the brothers set out to search the island for any help they can find to build their raft. During their search, Flaro frequently has to warm them both with his fire to avoid freezing in the harsh cold. There’s the occasional hostile pokemon they have to face, but most of the trip is peaceful, at least until they reach Crevice Valley, where they stop for another rest. This one is cut short, however, when they are ambushed by a group of pokemon who are more territorial than the ones they’ve seen before. Forced to flee, they try to find their way to safety through the valley, dealing with more frequent hostile encounters. The trek through the valley becomes much harsher than the trip through the previous area, and much of it involves the brothers evading hordes of pokemon, rather than fighting through them.
Things tale a turn for the worst though, when a large group catches the brothers in a pincer, forcing them to fight as many of them as they can in an effort to break through and escape. It isn’t enough, as they are soon put firmly on the defensive by the assailants’ sheer numbers, and while they’re struggling to make it through, trying to get out of the fight, another group of pokemon from the nearby forest attacks the hostile ones, to the brothers’ great surprise, not to mention relief. The battle goes on, with them slowly gaining the upper hand, and eventually, the attackers are driven back into the valley. The brothers and their unexpected helpers take the time to run into the forest before they can regroup and try to attack again. Once they finally get a breather, they cease running, and try and figure out where they’ve ended up. One of the pokemon who helped them out, a Glaceon who formally introduces herself as Caleste Nevia, tells them that this is Icicle Forest, and that they’re lucky they showed up when they did. She states that most of the island is peaceful, but there are places with denizens who are more defensive than others, or just out looking for trouble, and that the two were in the wrong place. She invites them to stay and rest, adding that they shouldn’t stray too far from the forest anyway, as they may run into trouble again. The cover of the trees provides more warmth than the rest of the island, so the brothers have less difficulty keeping from freezing here. They ask if anyone may be able to help them with their plans to get off the island. Already knowing the brothers aren’t from here, she simply suggests asking around, certain that someone would be able to help them.
Wandering through the forest, the brothers talk to various pokemon and learn of some of the island’s history. Blizzard Island is isolated from the rest of the world, so pokemon from other islands and the mainland have almost never visited. This has made some of the residents here wonder what the outside world is like, and what kinds of pokemon live in other parts of the world. After exchanging stories, including the brothers telling some of the pokemon here about the wider world, some of the Icicle Forest natives eventually offer to help them get back home. When they go to collect materials, the grass-type pokemon also pitch in to put the raft together. Caleste later comes to commend the brothers for getting others to help them, and offers her own as well. As they head towards the island’s eastern shore to work on the raft, they pass through an open space with four tall pillars of crystal standing at its corners. Entering the area, the brothers can feel a very unusual energy permeating it. Caleste explains that this area was once part of an ancient civilization many centuries ago, and that stories of the power here have been passed down through the ages, tying this place to one that legends say helps maintain the flow of time in this world. Fascinated by the story, the brothers ask if she can tell them more, but she says that many of the details have been lost in time, so the reason for the pillars being here is not known. However, Umbryo ventures that he does at least feel an overwhelming sense of foreboding just being in the area, which makes his rings flicker noticeably.
After pondering a while, they’re snapped back to reality when one of the other pokemon calls back to them, saying the shore should be nearby. Remembering what they were doing and once again eager to get the raft made, they start off towards the shore. But Umbryo is unable to forget the feelings he had in the area, something which he thinks may hold more meaning than he realizes. After finally reaching the shore, the group proceeds to work on the raft, with everyone chipping in to help. Once it’s finished, the brothers give their thanks to the Icicle Forest pokemon, and Caleste bids them farewell, giving a passing glance to Umbryo, before they set out into the ocean.
As the brothers pass through the Surrounded Sea, they are suddenly attacked by a Gyarados, nearly causing them to fall off the raft. Panicking, and knowing there’s no way they can fight such a powerful foe in the water, they rush to try and get away from it, but it quickly catches up to them, so they come up with a way to stall it so they can reach land before it sinks them. Flaro has to focus on propelling the raft through the water, utilizing his Flame Rush technique, evading direct attacks by the Gyarados, while Umbryo keeps it occupied whenever it surfaces, frequently using Shadowstep to get onto it and deliver direct blows, returning to the raft before it submerges. While a crazy plan, it manages to save them long enough to reach an island and dock, where they’re able to fight off the Gyarados, defending the raft. After a long and difficult battle, they finally manage to fight it back into the ocean and force it to flee.
Catching their breath after the terrifying encounter in the sea, the brothers try and figure out where they ended up. This island is much warmer than Blizzard Island, to their relief, but after taking in the tropical features and familiar scenery, they’re shocked to realize that they’ve landed on the Marine Resort. Knowing this place well, as it was the burial site of their parents, the brothers wander through the jungle to their graves. Upon finding them, they settle down by the memorial they left here ten years ago, paying their respects to their parents, Saera and Incero. They talk about how much they went through with their parents, right until Lunith came to them and told them that he found them in the field between the World Abyss and Midnight Forest, holding onto their special trinket together in their passing. After this, Flaro had sworn vengeance for their deaths, going so far as to try and attack the World Abyss on his own. However, Lucrecia and Umbryo managed to talk him out of it and, after they spent some time mourning and giving them a proper burial here on this island, they worked together to move on and become better, in honor of the departed. Flaro takes out the trinket and they talk about their family legacy, how it’s kept them strong through all their journeys together, reminding them why they started traveling in the first place. This strengthens their bond together and they promise to never let something like the rift Veros drove between them happen again. The brothers later set off towards home, in the safer waters near the mainland on the last stretch of their journey.
After finally reaching the mainland, they arrive at Lake Afar, where they try to slip through unnoticed. But they can never get that lucky, as they are suddenly ambushed by Arisiea, who promptly starts shouting and crying about how she’d been so worried about them since their disappearance, and she goes on to state that everyone here and in the forest thought they were gone for good since Aviero came and told everyone about their accident. The brothers are surprised and relieved to learn that he’s safe, but focus on trying to calm her down and comfort her, now that they’ve returned. They then ask where Lucrecia is, and her demeanor immediately changes, showing great concern again. She says that Lucrecia had gone to Craggy Coast to see Aecor a day ago, but they had just gotten word that the place had been attacked and overtaken by a colony of fire pokemon seeking to lay claim to the land. A sizable group of pokemon from Midnight Forest were planning to go there and try to get her out when they heard of the incident.
Immediately put on edge, Flaro darts off without waiting for further information, and both Umbryo and Arisiea run after him, the latter asking where he thinks he’s going. He restively says that he’s going to Craggy Coast to find her, knowing that she’s in danger there if the other colony’s attacking. They run back to Midnight Forest and are greeted by surprised looks from several of the residents before reaching Leanna. Before she can respond to their unexpected return, Flaro asks her what’s going on, and why Lucrecia went off on her own, and she immediately retorts that she thought they were dead, and sought out Aecor in the hope that he could console, having been distraught ever since their disappearance. She chides the brothers, saying that if they’d just stayed put and let her deal with any attempts by Veros to endanger them, this would never have happened. Enraged at the thought of being blamed for their current predicament, but knowing that there’s no use wasting time arguing with Leanna when Lucrecia’s in danger, Flaro demands that Leanna tell him when she’s to go look for her. She snaps back just as harshly, saying that she’s working on it, but with the forest still trying to recover from the attack, a process she adds that they’ve barely helped with, preparations have been slow. Arisiea tries in vain to stop the argument, but Flaro just runs off, not wanting to waste any more time here, saying that he’ll go there himself. Umbryo runs after him, but before they can leave the forest, they’re snatched off the ground suddenly by Aviero, who carries them off into the air. After initially panicking at the seemingly predatory attack, they quickly calm down when they realize who it is, and he tells them that he can get them to Craggy Coast much faster if they let him. Still concerned after their less-than-stellar experience with it, but not wanting to waste any time getting there, they accept his help and he gets them onto his back, before flying off. Flaro curses at the fact that this happened because of them, and tells Aviero to hurry up and get there, getting him to work double time in response.
After fighting their way through a flocks of oncoming flying pokemon again, the three soon make it to the southern end of Craggy Coast, which they quickly find is swarming with fire pokemon, fighting with the water type natives. At the sight of this full-blown battle, Flaro leaps off of Aviero as they approach the ground, and lands on an unsuspecting fire-type with Flame Rush, knocking it out from the force of the impact alone. Umbryo uses Shadowstep to go down after him, and Aviero charges through a group of the hostile pokemon, clearing a path through them before telling the brothers that this is all he can do now, and that they’re on their own in the caverns. Umbryo thanks him, but Flaro is so overcome with rage that he ignores Aviero and quickly runs off towards the cavern entrance, striking down the first pokemon he sees in front of it, a Combusken. Mercilessly attacking the downed pokemon, he demands to know where Lucrecia is. The Combusken, through pained, terrified whimpers, tells him that he thinks he heard people say the name somewhere in the caverns, and that a Vaporeon was in a struggle with the fight, assuming her to be part of the colony here. Flaro wastes no time to finish him off, and instead runs into the cavern, shouting Lucrecia’s name as he does. Umbryo runs in after him, and they are quickly drawn into the fighting going on inside.
With the help of the Craggy Coast residents, the brothers fight through the attacking fire-types on their way through the caverns to search for Lucrecia. During the occasions that they come out of the caverns and fight on the cliffs outside, Aviero helps them through hordes of pokemon until they go back inside. Further into the caverns, they find Lucrecia unconscious and held hostage by a Magcargo. Before he gets a chance to react, Flaro immediately hits him with a Dark Pulse, but the surprise attack does little to damage him, and he quickly recovers, giving brothers barely enough time to get between him and Lucrecia. Without exchanging introductions, they charge in to fight and protect Lucrecia from the hostile Magcargo. He proves a much more powerful adversary than the others in the area, however, and after fighting a while, the brothers start to grow exhausted, and ask who the hell he is and why he’s so strong. He finally introduces himself as the leader of the invading fire-types, Siero, and says that pokemon from Midnight Forest have no business here. Umbryo is surprised that he knows where they’re from, but Flaro snaps back that he’s put his mate in danger, and that he’ll pay if he doesn’t get the hell away from her.
During their argument, Siero is abruptly blasted by a torrent of water, and the brothers look to see Lucrecia wide awake, and furious. Surprised by her quick recovery, but knowing that they’re in it deep if they get in her way, they clear the way for her Hyper Voice, which stuns Siero and startles any other pokemon in the area. She steps forward and shoots the brothers a threatening glare, but then turns her attention back to the Magcargo to continue the fight. Painfully aware that they’re still gonna get it once this is all done, the brothers reluctantly focus back on the fight and help Lucrecia. During the battle, Siero frequently uses an ability to lull one of the brothers or Lucrecia to sleep for a short time, making them constantly have to fight with one of them down. But eventually, they manage to get the upper hand and start turning the tables on him. The fight still proves difficult...until he is shot down out of nowhere by a powerful water jet which lands with stunning precision on his face, causing him to choke and recoil from the blow and, suddenly fearful, he retreats from the fight.
The brothers and Lucrecia look to see a Samurott on a cliff several yards above them, watching Siero leave with a defensive glare. They realize this is Aecor when Lucrecia calls out to him, and he jumps down to meet them. He asks if they’re okay and Lucrecia assures him they are. Umbryo and Flaro give their thanks to him, but before they can go on, Lucrecia growls heatedly and blasts the pair with water, sending them flying clear across the cavern. She follows up by going after them and delivering a series of swats, tackles, and other forms of physical assault while cursing them with the harshest of tones for disappearing and making her and everyone at home worry. Meanwhile, any nearby pokemon promptly retreat from the room, wanting no part in any of it. Soon, Aecor manages to pry her off them, demanding to know what’s going on. She retorts that they left while the forest was still trying to recover from the bug attack, and were gone for days before Aviero showed up and told the forest residents what happened. She scolds the two, saying that she thought they were dead, and had just about given up hope of ever seeing them again.
Guilty, and in pain after the assault they received, the brothers drag themselves to their feet, but can’t come up with any words to respond with. Aecor gives them a stern glare and asks if Flaro remembers when he promised never to hurt Lucrecia like this. Without waiting for him to respond, he goes on to say that he- that both of them- are lucky she’s put up with them for this long, and that they owe her dearly for what they put her through. They both look down in shame, and he demands that they make it right, waiting expectantly for them to do something. After a bit, Flaro approaches Lucrecia, who’s still glaring daggers at him, and gives a formal apology for what they’ve done, that they never meant for things to go this way, nor did he ever want to hurt her the way he did. She doesn’t lessen her fierce gaze, but she doesn’t lash out either. Aecor barks at Umbryo, startling him and telling him to speak up too. He, too, apologizes and says they were stupid to try and face Veros on their own, that so much of what happened could’ve been avoided if they’d simply let Leanna try to figure something out.
After listening to them, Lucrecia says that she’s going to the Hot Springs to calm down, walking off wordlessly. Aecor says that Flaro doesn’t deserve her, and again demands that they work to fix the damage they’ve done, promising that they won’t come back alive should they continue to run off and scare her like this. He then goes away, saying that he needs to tend to the area now that the fighting outside has about stopped, and suggests that they go see Lucrecia. Once they regain their composure, they go out of the caverns and to the Hot Springs. Once there, they find Lucrecia in the company of a Ninetales, and cautiously approach, wondering who she is. She greets the two, saying that Lucrecia told her what happened. She introduces herself as Esira, and invites them over, though Lucrecia simply lies down and closes her eyes, not acknowledging them.
The brothers go over to talk to Esira, trying not to bother Lucrecia for the time being. As they settle down, they talk to Esira about their adventures and the things they’ve encountered, up until their recent trip dealing with Veros. They explain how the journey went awry and they were led to Star Cave, where they faced certain...complications between each other. This led to their trip across Mt. Horn and to the Shaymin’s Field, then up Sky Peak, where they resolved their conflict, and then the flight back home that went completely off-course and ended up with them drifting off to Blizzard Island. Esira expresses some concern that, normally, one would’ve simply drowned in the ocean, making her question their story. But they continue on to explain how they got help getting off the island and made it to the Marine Resort. Lucrecia shifts as they mention this, but doesn’t say anything. Afterwards, they made their way back home and that’s how they wound up hearing about the incident at Craggy Coast, where they promptly rushed to save Lucrecia.
After listening to their story, she remarks on how much they went through on their journey, and compliments on getting back in one piece, but she also feels it is prudent to point out how rash it was to face Veros alone, even if they were the only ones who had experience enough to deal with him. She highlights their trip to Star Cave in particular as where their main mistake was, elaborating that they should’ve told someone, at least, but preferably tried to get someone to go with them. It was fortunate that Lucas had been there, as he may have played a major role in keeping them from going completely astray, which visibly irritates Flaro. Umbryo, however, agrees that him meeting with them may have helped.
Lucrecia finally acknowledges the brothers with an annoyed scoff after having listened to their story, getting their attention for the moment. She expresses great disdain for Veros after what he’s put them through, but also mild disappointment that the brothers allowed him to get under their skin and make them fight, saying she knows them better than that. After a while, she shows exhaustion from constantly having to worry about the brothers leaving, saying that she can only deal with so much, and that hearing that they might’ve finally met their end on one of their journeys broke her hopes of ever seeing them again. While she’s grateful that they’ve come back, and that they tried to save her, she’s grown weary of their constant disappearances.
Esira pipes in to suggest that if the brothers feel they must go off on their trips, they should invite her to go along with them, so they can spend more time with her and she doesn’t have to worry about them while they’re gone. Lucrecia responds that it isn’t just her who worries, and that they should try to stay home more. The brothers aren’t able to think of anything to say, having already disobeyed orders and requests alike to stay home, instead choosing to pursue Veros on their own despite the dangers. Esira insists that they must think about what’s more important- their adventures or their family at home. She talks about her own mother, who’d left her constantly for what she believed to be the protection of her family. In the end, she never returned from her last trip, and Esira hasn’t seen her since. She says that she knows what it’s like to worry for one’s own family, and to lose them. She expresses sympathies towards Lucrecia and expresses to the brothers the importance of keeping in touch with family. Even as she goes on errands, her own daughter is always certain she will return to her.
Umbryo asks what errands she’s running, but she says that they’re a secret she can’t tell, assuring them that they’re for a good cause. Still wary about meeting people who don’t reveal where they’re from, but not seeing her as dangerous, the brothers let it go and focus on the more important matters. Before they can discuss anything else, however, Aviero flies in and says he hopes he isn’t interrupting anything, but that he found out something important. They ask him what it is, and he says he found out what’s been causing the violent air currents. There’s a cloud formation in the sky far to the north which appears to be a tower of some sort. The brothers wonder what it could possibly be, but Lucrecia, knowing well what they’re thinking, interrupts them and says that they’re not going anywhere without her. Surprised and alarmed by her demand, they protest, saying it’s too dangerous for her to go, but she snaps back, asking why they’re going if that’s the case. She says that they may have made it out of a lot of tough situations, but they won’t survive if they keep pressing their luck. If they’re going, so is she.
They want to try and talk her down, but Esira insists that they take her along, and adds that perhaps doing so will allow things to clear up between them. Finding little reason left to argue, Flaro finally caves and agrees to take her along, but tells her to stay close to them so she doesn’t get hurt. She bites back that she can take care of herself, and that she’s done well enough dealing with them both this whole time- but she can show them again if they want her to. Far from elated at the prospect of another faceful of water, they frantically wave her off and agree to her demands. When they decide to go, Aviero lands to let them get on him, and Lucrecia suddenly starts having second thoughts, having never flown before and being much less brave about it than the brothers were on their first time. Flaro “helpfully†suggests she doesn’t have to come with them if she doesn’t want to fly, but she shouts back at him for his transparent attempt to leave her behind, telling him to shut up, jumping onto Aviero’s back. Their last attempt of keeping her out of danger having ended in failure, the brothers jump on as well and bid Esira farewell just before Aviero takes off, Lucrecia suddenly holding onto him from fear of falling off.
As is becoming routine with their flights, the brothers have to fight through flocks of flying pokemon. However, this time, they also have to hold onto Aviero whenever he evades the fierce and unpredictable air currents as they approach the tower of clouds. The closer they get, the more frequent the gales become. The flight is longer than the previous ones, and when they finally come to the tower, which Aviero calls the Sky Stairway, he hands and lets them off. The brothers and Lucrecia are amazed at the structure before them, and how these clouds are able to hold them. Aviero says that he can’t fly to the top of the tower, because the wind currents are too strong and occur too frequently to make any safe trip there, and tells them that they’ll have to climb it on their own. He assures them he’ll be waiting for their return to take them back home. Having no idea what lies ahead, or what’s at the top of the tower, the brothers are morbidly excited about this new adventure; all too eager to go up, to Lucrecia’s great annoyance. They realize, however, that the air is much thinner up here, so it’s harder to breathe, and they will therefore have to take care not to overexert themselves on their way up the tower.
They climb the tower, making their way through groups of flying and dragon type pokemon while taking frequent breaks in safe areas to catch their breath so they don’t pass out. Their stamina also drains faster while running and attacking than it would normally, forcing them to be cautious and fight only when they have to. After a long trip, they finally reach the top, coming upon the amazing sight of the vast sky all around them, with clouds stretching as far as they can see, and the sun shining high above them. They spend a moment to take in the view around them. But they’re eventually pulled from the view by a strange object flying in the distance, soaring directly towards them. As it approaches, they’re confounded to see that it is the legendary Rayquaza in his Mega Evolution, and he appears angry.
Terrified at the approach of the immensely powerful green serpent, Lucrecia abortively attempts to run back into the tower, but he’s too fast, and blocks her way. She freezes in place under his glare, and the brothers run between them in a futile effort to protect her. Umbryo, pulling courage out of nowhere, shouts at Rayquaza, asking why he’s being aggressive towards them. Flaro, taken aback by this, stands his ground and glares at the dragon, but Umbryo’s question falls on deaf ears, only being met with a loud roar. Flaro, getting the idea that Rayquaza shouldn’t normally be like this, starts noticing something strange about him- something very similar to what was affecting Jirachi before. He warns Umbryo that something’s not right, and that he should be careful. With nowhere to run, and with Rayquaza not answering them, the only choice they have is to fight, even if it’s suicidally dangerous.
During the fight, the brothers and Lucrecia constantly have to take cover behind cloud obstacles to avoid being seen, throwing off Rayquaza’s aim, keeping him from accurately using his extremely powerful Hyper Beam, while trying to land attacks when they can and keep from falling off the tower. Rayquaza flies off at times, and will try to run them off the tower with Dragon Ascent, which they will have to evade in order to prevent an instant death. From the perspective of the player, the direction Rayquaza’s shadow is pointing will be their cue to evade. The battle is long and tedious, proving to be one of the most difficult in the game. But eventually, they manage to take him down. Afterwards, he is enveloped in a nimbus of purple energy, which explodes, knocking them off the tower. However, before they fall far, they’re swept off by an unseen force, taken to a familiar, dark place.
Spoiler ShowAfter composing themselves, the brothers and Lucrecia try and figure out where they are. Flaro is the first to recognize the black void, knowing just who brought them here. His suspicions are confirmed, when Veros soon shows up to greet them. Before he gets a chance to say much of anything, Flaro immediately attacks him in a rage, startling him. He recoils and asks Flaro what he’s doing, but Flaro doesn’t so easily bite the bait this time and pursues him. Umbryo and Lucrecia go after him as he violently assaults Veros, who continues to flee, trying to get him to stop. But Flaro knows it’s all an act and keeps up the chase, leaving trails of flames behind him that Umbryo and Lucrecia have to navigate around. In his anger, he doesn’t even notice that he’s left the two behind and that Veros has dragged him off alone. Umbryo and Lucrecia can still hear his shouts, but are falling further behind, with Lucrecia trying to put out the flames the best she can for them to go on.
Once Veros appears to have run out of energy to keep running, Flaro pins him, threatening to kill him if he doesn’t fess up, demanding an explanation for the things he’s done to them. He continues his facade of not knowing what Flaro means, saying he’s only ever spoken reason to him, and holds no ill intent in the end. Flaro attacks him again, earning a pained grunt as he goes on about everything that’s happened to them being his fault. He says that Veros nearly tore him and his brother apart, and afterwards almost got them killed, accusing him of corrupting Rayquaza and causing the violent wind currents that blew them off-course before. Veros, however, appears unfazed and points out that Flaro is already alone, and that he abandoned Umbryo in his rage to come after him. Flaro, only now getting what he’s saying, looks back for Umbryo, and realizes that the two of them are surrounded by flames slowly closing in around them, and Umbryo and Lucrecia are out of sight. He calls out to them as Veros gets back up and watches his growing desperation to find them. After his attempts end in vain, he asks Veros what he did to them. Veros remarks that Flaro is the one who left them, as he always has, and that he’s long let himself be a puppet to his emotions, even before meeting him. Flaro snaps back, saying he’d never leave his brother and mate, demanding that he let them go and stop his mind games. But Veros isn’t swayed, pressing on that Flaro is still letting his anger consume him Flaro shouts at him to shut up, attacking him repeatedly, until Veros’ appearance suddenly flashes to that of a burned and battered Umbryo, unconscious in front of him.
Flaro suddenly stops at the sight of his brother crippled on the ground, apparently by his own doing, becoming breathless. To make things worse, only a few feet away is Lucrecia, in the same state. The two of them weakened makes Flaro stagger, guilty of what he may have done. Meanwhile, the flames surrounding them close in, threatening to burn the downed pair to death, with Flaro unable to stop it. He shouts in desperation for it to stop, pleading with Veros not to let it happen. But as the flames come inches away from them, he cries out and closes his eyes. Whimpering in distress, Flaro shakily utters ‘no’ repeatedly as he’s left alone in a ring of his own flames- his own burning hell, with the two closest to him gone.
After a while, Flaro suddenly hears Umbryo calling to him. Still lost in his own thoughts, Flaro dismisses the calls, but then Lucrecia’s voice chimes in as well. Eventually, he comes to his senses and opens his eyes, seeing that the flames are now gone, and Umbryo and Lucrecia are standing in front of him, looking down at him with worry. Soon getting sight of what’s real again, Flaro staggers to his feet and sighs, defeated. Lucrecia asks if he’s okay and he says no. He painfully explains that he’d just watched them both die, and that he was the one who caused it. Umbryo is speechless at this, But Lucrecia steps in and smacks his cheek, sternly saying that they’re not dead, and that Veros is only messing with his head. She insists that he snap out of it and get a grip, but he just whimpers in response. Veros then appears again, saying that Flaro can’t come back, and that he’s already too lost in his own conflict. Umbryo and Lucrecia move between Veros and Flaro, and Lucrecia hisses at him, demanding that he back off. Veros tries to talk but she shoots him with water, telling him again to get back. Getting that she’s not having any of it and nothing he says will make her stand down, Veros concedes defeat and slowly backs up. Umbryo, knowing that nothing Veros does ever comes without strings attached, threatens that if he comes back again, they will strike him down right there. He orders Veros to let them go. With an eerie chuckle, Veros responds, “as you wish,†before releasing the brothers and Lucrecia...to fall to their deaths from the Sky Stairway.
Suddenly realizing what’s happening, they shout in terror as they fall, and eventually, Aviero swoops in to grab the three of them, before barreling to the base of the tower. Landing with a thud, the group gasps for air. Lucrecia then curses Veros for trying to kill them, to which Umbryo adds, “again,†as they come to their feet. Aviero is dazed, but seems to be okay, and Umbryo thanks him for saving them. He shrugs it off, saying that it’s nothing, and that if not for them, he wouldn’t have much purpose to travel. Flaro soon pipes in, insisting that they go home, and that he’s had more than enough of being here. Still concerned for him, Umbryo and Lucrecia are about to ask if he’s okay, but his look tells them it’s best not to press things, and they agree to go. Getting back on Aviero, they fly back to Midnight Forest, the trip going much smoother now that the pokemon in the sky are less hostile from the receding wind currents.
On their arrival back home, the brothers and Lucrecia rest and recover from the rough experience they had, with Leanna and many of the Midnight Forest residents coming to find out what happened. Leanna is still leery of the brothers, but she listens as they explain what went on at Craggy Coast, then later at the Sky Stairway. Everyone is shocked when they mention Rayquaza, not believing them at first, but Lucrecia attests to the encounter, and even Aviero says that he saw Rayquaza, but ruefully admits to having been too frightened to approach him. Lucrecia says he did the right thing in staying put, otherwise he might not have been able to bring them home afterwards. They then go on to explain what happened with Veros, Lucrecia having met him for the first time and realizing just what sort of threat he posed.
After listening to their story, Leanna reiterates what she told them before, that Veros is too dangerous for the brothers to deal with alone. She urges them to listen to her this time, and let her and the Midnight Pack help. Pressured by everyone’s expectant stares, all of them clearly feeling the same way, the brothers are left with little choice but to agree. They insist, however, that everyone use the utmost caution, having experienced Veros’ power themselves firsthand and knowing how dangerous he is in person. Leanna reminds them of the pack’s formidable array of combat and survival skills, saying that the brothers already know what they can do, and adds that the brothers’ insistence on constantly running off to face him alone is only doing more harm than good, as evident by their last trip. With a sigh, the brothers are only partially convinced, and accept their help.
With their meeting concluded, the brothers, with Lucrecia, return to their resting area. They take a moment to look around their home after having been gone for what seemed like forever. The brothers talk about how long it’s been since they’ve been here, and Lucrecia remarks that they’d see this place more if they’d choose to stay home for once. Exhausted from everything they’ve been through since leaving, and having grown tired of the constant demands from everyone to stay at home, the brothers say that they should sleep it off. They invite Lucrecia to stay with them, knowing she wouldn’t want to leave them now, and they also missed her themselves. Annoyed that they’d even ask such a question with such an obvious answer, she tiredly replies that of course she would. Without saying much more, the three lie down to rest, and Flaro apologizes once again for leaving, but Lucrecia interrupts him, saying she doesn’t want to keep talking about it. She’s still mad at them, but would prefer to spend this time with their company, not fighting with them. After some time, they go to sleep.
A couple days pass, and just about everyone in the forest has been informed of the danger they may face with Veros. Leanna is making preparations to personally face Veros alongside the brothers should he appear, and Lucrecia has been told to watch over Amencer, should the situation escalate to a point where she’s required to leave for her own safety. After talking among the other residents, the brothers eventually notice another familiar face in the forest: Lucas. He tells them that he’s glad to see them well, although Flaro, irritated, rudely bites back that they’re able to take care of themselves. Aware that Flaro’s still not fond of him, but seeing he’s less aggressive now than before, Lucas dismisses his remark, and asks where he can find Leanna. Surprised he knows of their pack’s alpha, the brothers think for a moment, before Umbryo asks what he wants to see her for. His response is that he’s aware of what Veros is doing, and wants to give her some additional information about him. Because of their close involvement with the situation thus far, he asks that the brothers go with him, as they’ve clearly had Veros’ interest and should know these things as well. Concerned over what he might have to say, and still wary about Lucas, Umbryo reminds him that they still don’t fully trust him, and that he shouldn’t give them any reason to feel threatened by him. Flaro simplifies this by bluntly stating he’d better not try anything. Umbryo nudges him, clearly telling him to cool it, and he returns the gesture with an annoyed glare, before Lucas defuses the situation by assuring them that he will cooperate.
The brothers take Lucas to see Leanna, and upon their arrival to her home, she greets them cordially, and then turns to welcome Lucas with surprising familiarity. She hadn’t expected to see him, but seems to know him well. Amencer is asleep nearby, completely oblivious to their arrival. The other Mightyena asks if she’s been well, and she says that she’s about finished recovering from the bug attack. She quickly notices the brothers’ confusion, and explains that Lucas came to her some time ago. She was initially cautious towards him, but when learning that he’s been working with the Legion of the Abyss, she grew to trust him more over time. The brothers are visibly unsettled by this, much to Lucas’ frustration and furthermore to Leanna’s consternation. After a tense moment spent staring, they ask why she trusts them so much after what happened to their parents. Leanna is aware of their hateful suspicion towards them, but says that after all this time, they can’t be certain that the Legion is responsible. Flaro immediately and angrily snaps back that it had to be them, but Umbryo tries to calm him down, knowing that arguing about it isn’t going to help anything. At this point, Lucas chimes in, saying that he spoke to the Legion about the incident, getting the brothers’ attention. He says that most of them don’t even know or remember anything about what happened, but the few who do recounted something interesting. They told him they heard a shriek from somewhere in the outer rim of the World Abyss, but when they went to investigate, they didn’t find anyone. There were, however, signs of a struggle, a trail leading towards the western exit of the World Abyss. Here, they sensed a trace of some kind of energy which felt very disturbing, but they couldn’t figure out what it was or where it came from before it faded entirely.
Clearly unsettled by this, the brothers find themselves at a loss for words. Leanna asks Lucas if he’s sure there was nothing else they knew, and he insists that they’d told him all they could. Flaro, aggravated, butts in, saying he doesn’t want to talk about this, and gives Lucas a brief glare. Umbryo sighs and asks them to get to what Lucas wanted to talk about. Lucas decides to get right to the point and says that he and Veros both came to this world on a joint assignment. Before the brothers can interrupt, he goes on to say that he initially wanted to keep this a secret, but seeing how involved they’ve gotten with him and Veros, they’d have had to find out sooner or later. Leanna is very curious about what he’s saying, but opts to stay her tongue and continue listening. He tells them that he and Veros came from the Spiritual Council: an organization residing in a place they wouldn’t be able to fully understand, so he simply leaves it at it being distinct from the realms. He goes on to explain that he’s been a member of this Council for a few hundred years, and his ties with the Legion date back to before he joined the Council.
They both came here to investigate the cause of a disastrous future event which is supposed to happen sometime fairly soon, but he has so far found no leads to go on. For some time, he’s been wary of Veros, due to some suspicious activities he’s been noticed engaging in within the Council’s home world, and lately, in this world. But it wasn’t clear just how dangerous he was until just recently, when he somehow manipulated Rayquaza. This shocks the brothers. They’d suspected Veros had some involvement with Rayquaza going crazy, but weren’t sure he was the direct cause. Lucas says that he’s sensed an increasingly powerful energy in him he has concluded to be called Chaos. He’s since reported to the Council on the matter, and has been further investigating Veros’s actions. The same energy that influenced Rayquaza, and previously Jirachi, is what he believes Veros is using to carry out his plans. What those plans are, however, is unclear, but it's certain that it can’t be anything good.
Umbryo finally speaks up, asking how any of this could be possible, clearly unable to believe the talk about this ‘Spiritual Council.’ Leanna states that there have been tales of a group similar to what Lucas is talking about, but they’re so old that what little is known about them are few and far between, if there are any still known at all. All she can say for sure is that they’re supposedly tied to a place some have called Destiny Tower, but such a place has, to her knowledge, never been found. Lucas says that the Spiritual Council was founded centuries ago to serve under Arceus, but he doesn’t fully know about their origins. He knows only that they were supposed to have come from this world, long ago.
He suggests they get back to the subject, and says Veros is a greater threat than they know, one they need to approach with the utmost caution. He is going to continue looking into the matter, but advises the brothers to take special care wherever they go, and that they shouldn’t leave the forest until more is known about Veros’s activities, plans, and current whereabouts. Annoyed by constantly being told to stay home, they shrug it off and irritably acknowledge the suggestion. He then tells them that he will be visiting the World Abyss to speak with the Legion, and will return soon to discuss some sort of plan with them.
Leanna wishes him luck and bids him farewell as he leaves, and then tells the brothers that they should take some time to rest. They return to their home, but along the way, Umbryo asks Flaro if he’s okay. He curtly responds that he doesn’t want to talk about it, but Umbryo presses on, knowing that something’s up. He says he doesn’t believe what Lucas said about their parents, and that he’s just covering up their deaths. Umbryo reiterates what Leanna said about the how the exact cause of their deaths was never determined with any certainty, but Flaro presses on that they don’t even know him, and asks how they could possibly trust a story so ridiculous. Umbryo says he doesn’t know, but they have nothing else to go off of, and furthermore, he’s the only one who seems to know anything about Veros. Flaro says that he wants to just forget about the conversation and rest, not wanting to argue with his brother again, to which Umbryo just shakes his head and sighs, too tired to press the matter. The two return home to rest.
A while later, residents of Midnight Forest are going about their usual business, before one, a Nuzleaf, notices a strange disturbance nearby. Going to investigate, he is suddenly struck back by an attack from what seems to be a pokemon, but it’s distorted and has a ghostly, teal green appearance. Surprised and visibly unsettled, he becomes defensive and tries to scare the creature off, threatening to attack it. However, several more of the creatures start appearing around him, and the commotion gets the attention of others in the area, who soon find themselves face-to-face with the bizarre intruders. It isn’t long before the brothers find out about what’s going on, with most of the forest now on alert and either fighting off the mysterious creatures or trying to get away from them. Lucrecia runs up, frantically calling to the brothers, saying that these things are all over the place. Flaro asks where the hell they came from, but no one seems to know, only that they just seemingly appeared out of thin air.
Soon, the brothers and Lucrecia are confronted by the creatures and have to fight them off, making their way through the forest to try and find Leanna. But they stop when Veros suddenly shows up out of nowhere, immediately setting them on edge. Flaro doesn’t waste time in concluding that he’s responsible for these creatures being here, and asks what he’s doing here. He simply responds that he’s done playing games, and he’s come to finish the job. Umbryo asks what he means, but he backs into the trees, saying that they should probably help their friends if they don’t want any more harm to come to their home. He ends his statement by immediately flying off. The brothers and Lucrecia try to pursue him, but are blocked by several of the creatures closing in. They succeed in fighting them off, but lose track of Veros. Flaro curses in frustration, and Umbryo says that they need to find Leanna immediately.
The trio fights through the creatures, making their way through the forest and helping the other residents where they can on their way to find Leanna. At this point, the entire forest is caught up in the fighting, some defending themselves and others protecting the young. It quickly becomes evident the creatures don’t discriminate, and are attacking anyone they come across, spreading chaos throughout the forest. The fight grows more intense by the minute, as more of the hostile creatures appear just as quickly as others are taken out. The brothers and Lucrecia have difficulty progressing, but eventually find Leanna surrounded and trying her best to fend off the attackers. Even Amencer, who is supposed to be out of harm’s way, is putting up a fight where her mother can’t stop them. Despite how well Amencer’s fighting for someone who’s only nine years old, something Umbryo immediately notices, she and Leanna still can’t fend off all the attackers on their own. The three quickly move in to help, negating the creatures’ numerical advantage. But they, too, begin to get overwhelmed, before several of assailants are downed by a single, powerful attack. Lucas rushes in, taking out everything in his way until he reaches the party, and asks if everyone’s okay. Leanna says she thinks so, and thanks Lucas for helping them, adding that he could’ve shown up sooner. He responds that he was caught up in the mess, and tried to get to them as quickly as possible. After the group fends off the rest of the threats in their immediate vicinity, Umbryo asks where Veros is. Lucas, already aware that he’s here, says that he’s been trying to catch him the whole time. Leanna insists that they go after Veros, telling the brothers to go with Lucas, and Lucrecia says that she’ll stay and help Leanna and Amencer. A few others, including Lunith and Aviero, arrive, asking if Leanna’s okay, and she assures them that she is, and again insists that the brothers go now. After some hesitation, they decide to go, knowing that Veros is the main threat here and must be dealt with as soon as possible.
The three go on to look for Veros, fighting their way through the creatures. Along the way, they find the Liepard mother from before fighting a group of four creatures. It’s a losing battle, but she puts up a hell of a fight, not wanting to give up after the loss of her child in the previous attack. The three opt to move in and help her despite her reservations, unwilling to leave her to face them alone. The fight is short, and the Liepard, in a rage, ends up doing a large portion of the work, mildly disturbing Lucas and the brothers. After the battle, Flaro asks if she’s okay, and she says she’s fine and they shouldn’t worry about her. He appears concerned nevertheless, but knows that they have other things they have to deal with at the moment, so he tells her to be careful and she demands that they go take care of the others. Lucas insists they go find Veros before it’s too late, and after a bit of hesitation, the brothers go with him.
Continuing through the forest, the three help several of the residents, including the Sableye who helped train them and the Weavile collector. After a long trek to a secluded area near the eastern exit of the forest, they finally come across Veros, who appears to have been waiting for them. Lucas glares at him once they meet, but Veros is unfazed and greets the brothers in his usual disturbingly casual manner. They don’t say anything in response, but Lucas approaches him and calmly, but sternly, asks what he’s been doing lately. He plays it off by saying he’s merely been searching the realm and making friends. He asks Lucas the same thing, professing curiosity at what he’s been getting into and how close he’s come to learning the cause of the disaster. Lucas retorts that he’s come quite close, in fact, and that Veros should credit him, because he’s got this just about figured out. The only remaining question is why this anomaly is happening. He stares intently at Veros, restating the question in more direct terms, asking him why he’s doing this. Veros responds that the Spiritual Council has always been lax about dealing with change, and that the state of the realms now has been making it increasingly difficult for them to deal with new threats as they arise. He emphatically points out that Lucas should know what he means; this very world is falling to ruin because of their incompetence. Lucas snaps back that he’s the one pushing the world towards this ruin, but Veros interrupts, stating that Lucas fails to understand what he’s doing, and he should know better. He berates Lucas for not seeing things sooner, but Lucas says that he’s been suspicious of him for a long time, and that Veros isn’t as elusive as he believes. The Spiritual Council has been growing increasingly suspicious of him, and now knows of what he did with Rayquaza and his other unsanctioned escapades in this world. Veros simply questions why he’s still here if that’s the case, and why they haven’t tried to apprehend him before things went too far. He once again criticizes the Council’s continued lack of persistence in stopping or at least adapting to the growing threats the realms are facing, and indecisively points out that if they were really good at their jobs, he would never have been able to do any of the things he has over the past few weeks. Without warning, he suddenly attacks Lucas, who swiftly evades it, and he says that Lucas will be the first casualty of their indolent, increasingly haphazard mismanagement of their all-important sworn charge, their mandate to protect the realms from disasters and keep the peace. Lucas is forced to fight back and the brothers join in in facing Veros.
This battle is longer than the others, despite having an extra ally. Veros is more persistent with his attacks and becomes harder to hit. He soon displays use of an unusual power, casting spells with silver streaks of energy. The brothers are quick to avoid being struck before ducking into cover, and Flaro asks what the hell he just did. Lucas explains that Veros is using magic wielded by the Spiritual Council, and repeats once again that he’s far more dangerous than they realized. He insists that they be extremely careful not to get hit by any of his spells, as they could kill them instantly. Umbryo is the first to step out of cover, and quickly avoids Veros’ next spell using Shadowstep, before striking him back with a Light Burst and allowing the others to come back into the fight. Flaro jumps out and ambushes him with Burning Arrows, while Lucas presses the advantage, getting behind him to strike him with a Sucker Punch.. Veros is quick to react, however, blowing the three back with his own powers and taking a moment to recover from the attacks. From here, the battle progresses, with the brothers constantly evading spells cast by Veros with little warning.
Eventually, they manage to strike Veros to the ground, as other residents of the forest, including Leanna, start to show up. Knowing he can’t win at this rate, Veros quickly fires a killing curse towards the brothers, which Lucas jumps in front of, taking the hit instead. Umbryo shouts out to him as he falls, but he gets back up with the little, rapidly fading energy he has after the spell and attacks Veros with a barrage of quick, hard blows, opening his defenses and taking advantage of the momentary distraction to cast his own curse on him. The two, now both fatally cursed, drop to the ground and Lucas glares back at Veros, simply staying that he’ll see him soon. Veros scoffs weakly as Lucas fades away, then turns his eyes to the brothers and warns that this won’t be the last time they see him. He soon fades away as well, and the brothers are left bewildered by what just happened. Leanna approaches them, worried, with Amencer close behind her, as the scene fades out.
The scene goes to Lucas’ return to the Spiritual World in a large courtroom-type chamber, where he appears in human form, with a weak grunt. As Veros returns as well, in his human form, Lucas quickly rolls over and grabs him, being responded with shouts and struggles as other members of the Spiritual Council rush in to the scene, startled by the sudden outburst. Veros elbows Lucas and breaks free, making him fall over. Soon, Celestia comes in and shouts Veros down, holding her staff towards him as other Council members hold out their hands in preparation. She demands an answer for what Veros has done, asking what he was thinking, and Veros retorts that they know his reasons. Simeras comes in and Celestia scolds him for what he’s done to his own realm, and he says it was necessary for them to see the threats out there. She bites back, saying he’s the only threat they see, and he brings up a forbidden realm they’ve refused to go into. She dismisses his claim, saying nothing’s happened since, and he remarks that it won’t be the case forever. He talks about how the realms are advancing rapidly, and that many of them hold power rivaling even theirs. Celestia insists that they’ve never done things based on power, and that their forces have always focused on using their wits over brute force. Veros exclaims that he knows how they work, and that he trained much of their forces himself, but even he isn’t without flaw. Celestia lowers her staff and affirms that they’ve always made it regardless, but Veros asserts that he can’t count on faith to get them out of everything.
Having expended the last ounce of her patience, Celestia ceases trying to reason with him and says that his actions are unwarranted, unnecessary, and unacceptable, and that he is therefore banished from the Spiritual Council. With a firm tap of her staff, Veros emits a silver glow which disperses, and he growls in response. He says that he no longer needs them anyways, and that they won’t last long if they refuse to change with the realms. If they don’t adapt, others more suited to the task of keeping the peace will take their place. He reveals a black stone radiating powerful purple energy and the Council members ready their attacks, just as he releases a blast of energy and disappears, leaving the chamber wrecked and the Council in disarray. After recovering, Celestia checks Lucas and has two of the Council members escort him to the clinic for recovery, then tells Simeras to go inform the Elder of what happened and that she wants to know where Veros went and what he plans to do next. She goes to the summoning platform, realizing it’s been damaged by the blast, probably intentionally, and that they won’t be able to send anyone to go after Veros until it’s restored.
The scene transitions back to Midnight Forest, where Umbryo and Flaro are also recovering from the fight with Veros, with Lucrecia and Leanna discussing with them what happened. The brothers don’t know how to grasp what they just dealt with- facing these mysterious creatures that appeared in the forest, then Veros and Lucas using what they can only call magic and the two of them apparently dying in front of them. It all seems too hard to understand. Lucrecia tries to comfort the brothers, but Leanna thinks that Veros may, someday, be back. Due to their ties to with the Spiritual Council, she believes that they didn’t die for good. The brothers don’t want to think about it, and Flaro even shows irritation at the idea. Undeterred, Leanna stresses the very real possibility of Veros’s return, and says that they should be prepared. Lucrecia chimes in, saying that the brothers, as well as the rest of the forest, have gone through a lot today, and that they should probably rest a while so they can get their thoughts in order before discussing this more. Leanna sighs, but agrees that it may be a good idea. The brothers, knackered by everything that’s happened, drag themselves off to their resting spot and quickly drift to sleep without saying anything else.
In his sleep, Flaro is confronted in a dream by a cloud of mysterious purple energy -the Chaos that Lucas talked about before- and immediately tries to flee. But Chaos quickly surrounds him and draws in close. The dream becomes much more dramatic as the Chaos engulfs Flaro while he struggles and shouts in protest, before everything goes black, leaving only Veros’s distorted voice saying, “Time’s up.†Flaro wakes up, visibly rattled and vexed by the dream, and growling with anger at what just happened. He looks over at Umbryo in silence, and lies there, sleepless, thinking about the dream.
The next day, Umbryo wakes up to find himself alone and looks around for Flaro. Not seeing him anywhere, he gets up to go look for him, and eventually finds him sitting by himself near a stream, staring into the water. He goes over and asks if something’s wrong, and Flaro shakes his head and dismisses the inquiry by saying he’s fine. Umbryo, obviously not buying it, tries to press the matter, saying he shouldn’t let what happened yesterday get to him, not knowing about the dream. Flaro reiterates his statement that he’s fine and insists that he drop it in a tone which makes it clear he’s not going to respond well at all to further inquiries. Lucrecia, Leanna and Amencer soon show up and Leanna says they’ve been looking for the brothers for a while, having not found them in their resting area. She asks if they’re okay, and Umbryo says that he is, but expresses doubts about Flaro being the same. Annoyed, he says that he’s only trying to make sense of everything they’ve experienced, and doesn’t want to think about what’s to come if things get even worse. Leanna says she won’t let that happen, and Flaro quickly snaps back, asking what she’s doing about it. Visibly irritated by his aggression, she says that she’s been thinking about what to do, and has considered having able-bodies residents of the forest go out to try and track down Veros or anything which could help them find out what could be behind the disaster Lucas talked about. She’s even going so far as to seriously consider asking the Legion of the Abyss for help, something Flaro immediately and predictably expresses strong opposition to. She expresses her awareness of the brothers’ reservations on the matter, but says they’re the only ones they could turn to about this issue. The Legion of the Abyss has proven itself countless times to be frighteningly capable combatants and highly resourceful for as long as anyone’s known, and they could use their help. Flaro interrupts, shouting that they don’t need them, and berates Leanna for even considering associating with them. She brings up that he’s clearly never met Amencer’s father, something that even peaks Umbryo’s interest, and Flaro goes silent for a moment.
Flaro gathers that said father is in the Legion, based on her implication, and coldly says he can’t believe her. He questions what she could possibly get out of having ties with them, and she points out that they haven’t shown any hostility towards the Midnight Pack, and insists that they are not an enemy. Lucrecia even butts in, telling Flaro to calm down, saying he’s being unreasonably hostile about this. His attention drawn to her, he barks back that she’s never taken his side in this matter, and that she and Umbryo have constantly dismissed his feelings about the Legion, even going so far as to ask what sort of connection they have together since they share many of the same views. Umbryo is taken aback and Lucrecia’s own temper flares here and prompts her to shout back, asking how he would dare accuse them of such a thing. She demands to know what the hell has gotten into him and he stands up, growling back at her. He’s about to make a snarky response, but Leanna steps in and shouts the two down, saying that she won’t allow this to go out of hand. Umbryo quietly says he thinks it already has, clearly hurt by Flaro’s unexpected and unwarranted aggressive posturing and balefully distrustful accusations.
Flaro glares back at Leanna and tells her to shut up, saying she has no right to make demands at this point. She scolds him for his absurd allegations and says if he doesn’t settle down, he will be exiled from the Midnight Pack. Umbryo protests, saying there has to be some other way, but Flaro interrupts him, dismissing him by telling him not to pretend he cares anymore. Leanna takes a step towards him and Amencer is seen becoming very tense, but Flaro quickly responds with an attack, catching Leanna off-guard. She shakes it off and growls, delivering a series of her own attacks to try and force him to stand down, but he astonishingly manages to overtake her and down her in the confrontation. Amencer runs over to her mother as she weakly groans, and Lucrecia shouts at Flaro for what he did. Umbryo steps in and says that Flaro’s gone way too far, and Flaro glares death daggers at him in return, telling him to back off. He even delivers a warning shot, but Umbryo doesn’t budge this time. He knows now that he has no choice but to fight his brother.
The two battle, with Lucrecia trying to stand in and protect Leanna and Amencer while trying to get the brothers to stop. But as the fight progresses, Flaro grows increasingly aggressive and starts to overpower Umbryo. After the lengthy battle, Flaro knocks Umbryo back with a Shadow Flare before backing up, saying in a heated tone that he’s fed up with everything and doesn’t need any of them now, and runs off. Weakened by the fight, Umbryo is unable to chase after him as he disappears in the distance.
Flaro eventually comes out of the forest and stops for a breath, looking back with anger towards what he called his home. Growling, he heads off into the field, before noticing a distortion spreading over it. Curious, he goes to investigate, and notices that the plants in the field are slowly withering within the odd disturbance, before he spots several pokemon coming out of the World Abyss and scattering throughout the field. He glares at them, thinking they have something to do with this, growing enraged. He rushes towards the ones closest to him and promptly attacks them, catching the bewildered pokemon off-guard. After fighting through several of them and either leaving them wounded or forcing them to pull back, he eventually comes to the edge of the World Abyss, and looks ahead towards the place he’s hated more than any other in the world for the past ten years.
Shaken by what happened, Umbryo, Lucrecia, Leanna and Amencer spend a while to recover, but Leanna is still too weak to do much of anything. Lucrecia is lost in sorrow, broken by what Flaro did, believing that he’s now left for good. Umbryo, however, knows Flaro wasn’t himself, and Leanna agrees. She expresses belief that whatever happened with Jirachi in Star Cave must’ve had a lasting effect on Flaro, then kicks herself for being too blind to see it before. She apologizes for what happened, and Umbryo says it’s not her fault, that she’s only doing what a pack leader has to. But the real issue is what’s happened with Flaro. Lucrecia is silent during the conversation as Umbryo and Leanna try to figure out what to do about the situation.
Their discussion is cut short, however, when Lunith flies in, hurriedly saying there’s a big problem. Several others, including Aviero, show up as well and Leanna tries her best to calm them down, asking them to explain what’s going on. Aviero says something is happening in the field east of the forest, something he can’t explain. Not sure what he means, Leanna has them to go with her to investigate, and everyone goes to see what’s happening. As they come out of the forest, they see a malevolent-looking force engulfing the field, warping the space around it and appearing to kill all the plant-life in the area. Shocked by what’s happening, the group stares in silence and Leanna steps forward, watching on as the force draws closer to the forest. They brace for the worst, but soon notice a group of pokemon in the distance releasing their powers throughout the field, bringing the growing anomaly to a standstill. These newcomers approach the Midnight Pack and Leanna quickly recognizes them as part of the Legion of the Abyss. She asks what’s going on, and one of the group members, the Houndoom who confronted Flaro before, one who Leanna calls Terrisa, says this strange force came out of nowhere, and they’re trying to figure out where it came from and why.
Umbryo senses a strange and familiar presence and guesses that this must be Chaos at work, and Veros has come back as they expected. He asks if any of them has seen Flaro, and Terrisa says she got word of some of the other Legion members being attacked by him. Umbryo stammers, horrified, and Leanna asks what he’s thinking, attacking them without reason. Terrisa says that he appeared enraged and seemed bent on taking them down at all costs, and some of them were forced to pull back and regroup within the World Abyss. Leanna says he’s lost his mind and is going to get himself killed, and Umbryo says that this is all Veros’s fault. Veros drove them apart in the first place, and then unleashed Chaos on the world in one form or another, effectively causing the present crisis. Now that he knows Veros is back, it’s clear Flaro is in grave danger, since Veros has consistently demonstrated an odd fixation on both of them. He says he has to go look for Flaro and Veros, and Leanna is about to protect, but he stops her and says this is their battle, and always was. Veros targeted them, personally. Umbryo has to make this right, even if it means finding and confronting his brother to try and talk some sense into him all on his own. Sending others to help him will just endanger them. Still holding deep-seated reservations on the matter, Leanna reluctantly lets him go and tells him to use the utmost caution, since this may well be the most dangerous thing he’s ever done. Terrisa says she and the other Legion members will investigate the matter and try to help Umbryo where they can, but Flaro is his problem to deal with, and he has to get to him before he does something dangerous or they will have to put him down. Lucrecia wishes Umbryo luck, still depressed and in a state of shock over what happened, and he promises he’ll bring Flaro to his senses. He then proceeds into the field, entering the warped space in search of his brother.
Flaro proceeds towards the World Abyss, plotting to kill every Legionnaire he finds, only to suddenly stop when Veros appears behind him. Without warning, asking where he thinks he’s going. Immediately growing more tense by hearing his voice, he slowly turns to glare at the Darkrai, asking why he cares. Veros plainly tells him that going in to directly attack the Legion is a fruitless endeavor which will simply get him killed instead. He reminds Flaro of what they did to the bug pokemon from Oblivion Forest, but Flaro says that whole thing was his fault. Veros counters by asking why the Legion chased them all the way back home if all they wanted was to get them out of their territory, adding that the Midnight Pack did not pursue them and certainly didn’t launch any subsequent retaliatory attacks. Flaro grows silent, lacking any ready responses to these points, although it’s obvious he’s still rearing for a fight. Veros continues that Flaro already knew before the incident how dangerous they are and what they’ll do when someone intrudes on their territory. Starting to admit to himself that Veros is right, the disgruntled Umbreon asks what he knows about them, venturing a guess that he used to be associated with the Legion himself, and Veros responds that he once was, a long time ago. He simply states that things change, and they probably wouldn’t be very happy to see him now. Visibly calmer now, Flaro looks back to the World Abyss for a moment, quietly saying that they’re in the same boat, but goes on to say, more firmly, that he still doesn’t trust Veros. Understanding, Veros states he doesn’t expect Flaro to trust him after what’s happened between them, but considering the circumstances, he’s the only one in the world likely to work with him now. Flaro looks down in thought, recalling how he attacked his brother, Lucrecia, and Leanna, not saying anything.
Veros approaches Flaro and says he has no reason to go back to them, and he’s already proven he doesn’t need them now. His brother is a burden, his mate left him, and the rest of the Midnight Pack will most likely exile him after Leanna tells them what happened. Flaro stares at him defensively as he goes on to say he can offer him much more. With his help, he can ensure that the Legion of the Abyss will be no threat to anyone else, and become part of something which will change the world for the better. He states that there are people in different parts of the world working with him, and Flaro has come across some of them already. Flaro ponders this, and Veros brings up his encounters with Skoria, Drachen, Granis and Siero. Flaro is surprised to find out their relation with Veros, and he says they’re four members of a small group simply called the Six. Flaro can vividly remember each encounter with them, and suspiciously points out that Siero tried to get his mate killed. Veros responds that he doesn’t control their actions. They’re merely his partners, and while they share a common goal, they disagree sometimes on how to accomplish it. He says that Siero tried to move into Craggy Coast, but failed to account for the pokemon already living there, inadvertently causing a fight between them. He made sure Siero knew the gravity of his actions so it wouldn’t happen again. He then brings up, however, that, due to the current circumstances, that shouldn’t matter anymore, and Flaro sighs, defeated. Veros goes on to explain that he intends to change the realms for the better, to help ensure stability and lasting peace, and that they share similar goals, so he helped them to get where they are now.
A Mismagius comes out of the shadows, and Veros introduces her as Vallaton, another of the Six. She eyes Flaro up for a moment, appearing suspicious of him, and Veros says that he intends to have him work with them. At first, she seems to want to protest, but suddenly shifts her disposition and insists that she face Flaro in battle, to test him. Veros tries to tell her that this isn’t necessary, but Vallaton interrupts, pressing the matter, saying she wants to see for herself that if he cannot hold his own in a fight, he’s a liability. Annoyed, Veros tells her not to go overboard, since he’s definitely no good wounded or dead, and she approaches Flaro, who stares back at her. She reiterates her proposal to spar with him directly, and he sighs, but agrees and they battle.
After they fight for a while, Veros intervenes and says they’ve done enough. Vallaton wants to keep testing Flaro, but Veros says they don’t have time for this, and they should be discussing their plans to address the threat of the Legion. Vallaton grumbles and stands down, disappointed, and Veros asks if Flaro is ready. Flaro says still isn’t fully convinced Veros means what he says, and Veros responds that he should take it up with his brother and make a decision. Growing tense at the suggestion, Flaro openly wonders what he means, and Veros explains that Umbryo is on his way. He tells Vallaton to greet Umbryo properly, but to take it easy on him, as they have their own business with him. She is reserved about the matter and appears skeptical about Flaro, but nods and goes off while Flaro watches quietly as Veros eyes him intently.
Umbryo enters the warped space, dubbed the “Valley of Shadow†by Terrisa, and proceeds to look for Flaro. With the occasional help of some Legion members trying to clear the distortion from the area, he makes his way through groups of hostile ghost-type pokemon as he crosses the field. It proves difficult getting through the area despite him having a type advantage, due to how numerous the pokemon are. The thin mist gives them extra cover, making it hard to hit them before they disappear. The area itself is also hazardous, gradually reducing health as he travels. Umbryo has to frequently pull back to ‘safe points’ with the Legion so he can recover before going on. As he nears the World Abyss, Terrisa warns him that other Legionnaires are gathering inside to trap Flaro in a pincer with the others outside, and that Umbryo will have to hurry if he wants to get to his brother in time.
As Umbryo comes to an open space at the edge of the distortion, he stops, seeing a Mismagius, who greets him formally. Without waiting for her to make her introductions, he asks where his brother is, and she tells him Flaro’s waiting for him just ahead, but he will first have to get through her. She introduces herself as Vallaton and immediately engagez him in a fight. Umbryo quickly learns that he won’t have such an easy time taking her out, since any time he lands a chain of attacks, she stops him in his tracks and incapacitates him for a while, leaving him open for a barrage of return attacks. He has to use quick moves and pull back to keep from being immobilized and quickly drained of his health. The battle is long and difficult, but he eventually manages to take her down, seizing the opportunity to run past her before she can recover to chase him.
As Umbryo reaches the outside of the World Abyss, he finds Flaro waiting for him...with Veros at his side. Shocked, Umbryo asks what’s gotten into his brother, but Flaro doesn’t answer. He merely stands there, staring at Umbryo in an eerie, calm silence. But it’s clear that he’s angry to see him. Veros speaks up in his place, saying that Flaro won’t be returning, and that Umbryo’s lost, despite his efforts to stop him. He says everything that’s happened to this point could’ve been avoided, if Umbryo had seen reason and come to him earlier, but now he will have to break his bond with his brother, here and now, something which the Darkrai says he’d rather have avoided causing. Umbryo snaps at Veros, saying he has nothing which could drive them apart, and the othr Dark-type interrupts, responding that it’s not him he has to worry about. He says Umbryo brought this upon himself back in Midnight Forest, when he fought his own brother over a trivial argument, and split him and his mate apart. Flaro grows more visibly angry at this reminder of the events of the past day, and Veros continues, saying Umbryo’s never been able to succeed in life the same way his brother has, implying that he’s jealous and trying to take more for himself. Umbryo shouts him down, telling him to shut up trying to reason with Flaro, sayingand that he’s just trying to rile them up. But before he can go any further, Flaro steps between Umbryo and Veros, and faces his brother, taking an aggressive stance. Umbryo starts to try to talk him down again, but Flaro doesn’t listen at alland cuts him off with a Flamethrower, forcing him to dodge. Flaro turns, following him, glaring murderously. It’s clear he’s about to attack again.
This becomes an interactive sequence where Umbryo has to deflect all the attacks he can while trying to stop Flaro from executing others, using his own. Each time Flaro lands an attack, Umbryo’s maximum health decreases while Flaro’s moves grow stronger and faster. After several exchanges between them, Flaro knocks Umbryo down and Veros comes over to Flaro’s side, stopping him momentarily and saying Umbryo never stood a chance. This very moment proves he is weak, unable to stand up to his brother in a pinch, and that when he and the Legion of the Abyss are out of the way, the world will see a new light and move on towards a better place. He pulls out a black stone and continues to say that Umbryo can’t stop what’s coming, and he will face the consequences for his interference. Meanwhile, Flaro eyes Veros curiously, being drawn to the stone. Broken in tears, Umbryo staggers weakly to his feet and tries to talk Flaro down again, but Veros stops him, saying there’s no point, and that he’s wasted enough of their time standing against them. He backs away, telling Flaro to finish whatever he plans to do with his brother and that they have other things they need to tend to.
Flaro, however, doesn’t move, and Veros eyes him curiously, wondering what he’s doing. At this moment, Flaro’s mind goes blank and everything around him is toned out as he suddenly sees a disturbing scene. In a cave, Veros is the stone and trying to utilize its power, but he stops suddenly when a pair of pokemon -an Umbreon and a Houndoom- walk in on him. However, the black stone quickly destabilizes as channeling of energy is interrupted, and it releases several violent surges throughout the cave. In this instance, the two pokemon are mortally wounded and utter a shrill scream, just before Veros grabs the stone again and quickly rushes out. Everything grows quiet, all except for the sound of metal tapping on stone as a familiar pendant bounces across the ground, before spinning several times in place and landing on its side.
The sight of the pendant passed down from his parents after the tragic event rushes through Flaro’s mind, leaving him breathless. Veros approaches him suspiciously and suddenly puts the black stone away. Flaro shakes his head and glares up at him with growing anger and asks in a shaky tone if Veros thought he could play a fool of him all this time. Umbryo looks between them, confused, but Veros remains silent, staring down at Flaro. The fire-type Umbreon growls and suddenly starts attacking him, firing off a barrage of moves and shouting that he’s the one who killed ‘them,’ and that they’d blamed the Legion this whole time when it was actually him. Veros recoils from the onslaught of attacks and Umbryo is taken aback by the sudden outburst from his brother. Veros quickly regains his composure and holds his hand out, radiating green energy from it, and Umbryo stares in disbelief as he realizes what Flaro’s saying. Veros was the one, after all this time, who killed their parents.
Umbryo stares in shock after the realization, and Veros says their parents’ deaths were a tragic accident. But Flaro bites back, demanding to know when he was going to tell him. He goes on to say that Veros knew about their feelings towards the Legion ever since the incident, and he was using it to turn their anger on them and distract them from what he was doing. He knew that if the brothers learned the real cause of their parents’ deaths, they would never agree to join him. Veros tries to talk him down, but Flaro shouts at him in rage, dispersing a cloud of purple energy, breaking the curse Veros’s held on him this whole time. Flaro glares, enraged at Veros, and says he had everyone following like sheep under his manipulation, and everything worked out exactly as he’d planned, except for one thing. Veros never accounted for Chaos turning against him. The stone told Flaro all he needed to know about Veros’s plans, of how he intends to bring this world into ruin, the “better place†he seeks to make. But for what? Umbryo staggers over to Flaro and looks up at Veros, who draws back slowly. He says they will never understand what he intends to do. He’d hoped Flaro would’ve seen reason after everything he’s experienced, but his plan to take either of the brothers has failed, and now he has no choice but to take them both out. Flaro growls heatedly and says he can try, and calls his brother to help finish this, once and for all.
The brothers face Veros in a last battle, and this time, he isn’t holding back. This battle proves more difficult than any of the previous ones they’ve had with him, as his attacks are more frequent and do more damage to them. Depending on how the fight between Umbryo and Flaro turned out, Umbryo may have less max health while Flaro’s attacks do more damage and execute faster. Veros also regularly casts spells which they have to avoid, except this time, they are green rather than silver, and are somewhat less frequent than when they last faced him with Lucas. He is also constantly apparating around the area, and luring the brothers into attacking him before disappearing so their attacks hit each other. They have to more carefully plan their moves in order to defeat him.
At the end of the battle, Veros releases a barrage of attacks that the brothers fight their way through, before striking him down with a powerful combination of attacks between them. Veros hovers in place low to the ground, mortally weakened, and Flaro charges up an attack. Meanwhile, an earshattering boom and bright flash fills the area as the Valley of Shadow appears to have dispersed, leaving what’s left of the field after the distortion goes away. Flaro acts unusually calm now, but is clearly still enraged towards Veros. Umbryo takes a stance, telling him that it’s over. Veros, unable to fight back and barely able to defend himself at this point, is fully vulnerable to the brothers’ final attack, which comes in the form of their Charge Break, Night’s Judgment, combining their power to finish him off. After he’s gone, the two stand there, catching their breath and collecting their thoughts as the last several weeks flash in an instant, all of it finally over. Umbryo looks at Flaro without a word, but it’s clear that what happened has made an impact, and they will have a lot to talk about.
Too little too soon, however, members of the Legion of the Abyss start showing up from everywhere, and surround the brothers. Flaro, now knowing the truth of their parents’ deaths, but also what he did to the Legion recently, knows he’s in hot water now. The brothers back up and Flaro grows tense at what’s to come. Umbryo is unsure of what to do, knowing there are far too many of them to fight off or try and get away from. But soon, Terrisa steps in and approaches the brothers, staring at them quietly but intently. After a tense moment, she finally tells them they should go back home, her tone low and stern. They look at her for a short time, and without a word, go away towards Midnight Forest, the Legion letting them go. They know they only just got out with their lives, and take this chance to go home and settle their personal issues.
Spoiler ShowSeveral days later, Umbryo and Flaro are at home in Midnight Forest. They’ve resolved their differences with Leanna and the rest of the Midnight Pack, and made up to Lucrecia for what happened between them. Flaro has promised never to abandon her the way he did and, perhaps for once, shown sincerity in his remorse for his actions. He is now patching things up and spending more time with her. Meanwhile, Umbryo has been working with Leanna, helping her deal with the aftermath of the conflict and the recovery of the forest, as well as the field between it and the World Abyss, with the occasional, though awkward at times, help from some of the Legion of the Abyss.
When Umbryo goes to see Leanna, she tells him of a meeting she’d planned with a couple members of the Legion, and says she wants him and Flaro to meet her later for an important discussion. Curious, Umbryo asks what the matter is, and she says it’d be better to talk about it during the meeting. Umbryo goes to fetch Flaro, who’s chatting with Lucrecia elsewhere in the forest. Upon being informed of the meeting, Lucrecia says she’ll go with them to see what it’s about. Together, the three meet back with Leanna, along with several others from the forest who are already there. After waiting a while, Terrisa shows up, along with an Absol introduced as Seifer, and, to the brother’s perplexity, a Dunsparce, who Leanna refers to as Daryn. They immediately eye up the small pokemon and Lucrecia playfully cheers about about how cute he is, earning only an idle glance from him. Terrisa says he’s a friend of hers visiting, and isn’t a part of the Legion, but urges them not to underestimate him. Lucrecia keeps beeming at him, finding it hard to take the assertion seriously, but he remains quiet and mostly unresponsive.
Leanna chimes in, wanting to push things forward, and says they should move on to the discussion. Seifer steps in and says the Legion has noticed an unusual occurrence in the north of the world. He explains that it is growing hotter than normal over a place called the Shimmer Desert, and each day, the situation is growing more intense and expanding to further places around the desert. The cause is unknown, but it’s apparently been happening for about a week. Umbryo questions if Veros has anything to do with it, but Terrisa says the brothers got rid of him days ago. He ackowledges this, but says they can never be too sure about anything now. Leanna insists that he don’t dwell on what happened, and says they should focus on the matter at hand and not jump to conclusions until they have more to go on. She says she wants to have a small group go to investigate the disturbance, and the three meeting with them will accompany them to Shimmer Desert. The brothers are uncertain about taking the Dunsparce along on such a trip, but she immediately dismisses their concern and says she’ll be talking things over with the rest of the pack and bring anyone able and willing to go. The brothers immediately jump to the prospect of exploring a new place, and Leanna knowingly states that’s why she included them in the meeting. Lucrecia, however, steps in and says she’s going if they are. The brothers are briefly taken aback by her demand, but have already come to terms that she doesn’t want them going off without her. Leanna agrees and says she’ll make preparations and have them meet with her near Lake Afar, as they will be going by raft for the first portion of the trip to avoid complications with the pokemon along the Aegis Road.
The group disperses and the brothers talk with Lucrecia about how the trip will go. They express predictable excitement at the idea of going somewhere they’ve never been, but Lucrecia says they shouldn’t get too worked up, and that they’re going for a reason. Flaro tells her not to be a joykill, and she glares back at him, threatening to shut him up if he keeps annoying her. He just brushes it off, but does shut up about the subject and the brothers proceed to prepare for the trip. During this time, they can wander the forest and talk to the other residents, buy things from the Weavile shopkeeper, and talk with some of the pokemon going about specifics of the trip. Terrisa is just as curiousa s the brothers about what could be causing the unusual heatwave. Leanna, Amencer and Seifer are discussing the trip, and Leanna tells Amencer to stay close to them, as they don’t know what they can expect. She remarks that she’s a strong girl, earning a laugh from the two. Daryn is sitting by a river and says he’s ready to do when everyone else is, though the brothers are clearly still uncertain about bringing him along. He tells them to just worry about themselves, and they just shrug it off.
When going to Lake Afar, they’re immediately greeted by Arisiea, who ecstatic to see them on good terms again, and asks what they’re up to now. When explaining to her the trip the Midnight Pack is going on, she pouts and says she wishes she could go too. She huddles up against Umbryo for a moment, to his awkward surprise, before wishing the two luck on their trip. Meeting Alica in the lake, she says Arisiea was worried for some time about the brothers and Lucrecia, but has cheered up since things got better between them. Marina expresses interest in their trip and says the rafts will always be at the shore whenever they need to go somewhere.
As they get to the shore, some others are already there, waiting. They make sure they’re fully prepared for the trip, then wait for everyone else to show up. Once they do, Leanna explains the plan for the trip. They will be taking the rafts north and around Zero Isle. She advises that they not stray away towards the island, due to stories of pokemon going there to explore and not coming back. They’ll make land west of Craggy Coast, and proceed north through the Lush Prairie, before taking a break outside the Mystifying Forest. They’ll go through the forest to reach Shimmer Desert, where they will split into groups and search the area for anything that can help figure out what’s going on. She advises great caution during the trip, as they’re going to places most of them have never been to, so they should be prepared for anything. Once they’re ready, they get on the rafts and head out, with Lucrecia sharing a raft with the brothers and a few others, and Leanna going with Amencer, Seifer, Terrisa and Daryn. Others take their own rafts, and Lunih and Aviero fly above them to scout ahead for anything that might pose a problem.
As they come past the eastern section of Zero Isle, the brothers eye it curiously. Umbryo gets a sense of something strange and familiar there, and Flaro asks if he’s okay. He shrugs it off and says he is, and Lucrecia idly says they’d better not think about going there someday. One of the others on the raft says he once heard of someone from the Legion going there a few years ago, but never coming back. He makes a spooky sound and the brothers just stare at him, before shaking their heads and saying they find that hard to believe, knowing the Legion. They look at the pokemon on the other rafts, who are focusing on what’s ahead, some appearing somewhat uncomfortable being so close to Zero Isle. After they get past the island, they see the mainland off in the distance. Lunith and Aviero come down and help direct them where they need to go, and they eventually get off at a shore near Craggy Coast.
Flaro mentions how it’s nice to be here again, and asks if Umbryo remembers their last adventure here, when they went to Sunset Grove, just to the west of them. If Umbryo won the first sparring match at the start of the game, he remarks about how he beat him in their match at the beach. If Flaro won, he just mumbles about how he was less experienced then. After everyone lands and is ready, they make their way north, towards the Lush Prairie. The journey through is fairly quick, with few hostile pokemon to deal with. They soon arrive at the Mystifying Forest and stop to take a break. While here, the brothers take the time to talk to others about the trip. Lunith is perched in a tree, watching over the group and making preparations to help lead the pack through the forest. He says Aviero’s gone ahead to find the best way to the desert. Terrisa says she’s noticed the brothers have gotten a lot closer since Veros was taken out, and expresses her approval of the fact. Daryn is, as usual, quiet and ponderous, not saying much to the brothers. When approaching Leanna and Seifer, they talk about their plans for when they reach the desert. She will be with Amencer and Seifer. The brothers will be in a pair. Despite their habits of going off on their own, she acknowledges what they’re capable of together. Lucrecia will go with Terrisa and Daryn. Lunith and Aviero will scout the desert and keep watch on the groups as they proceed.
She goes on to name the other groups, before Amencer comes in and calls out to her ‘dad’. This suddenly piques the brothers’ interest, and Seifer responds to her, making them freeze in shock at the sudden realization. Leanna eyes the brothers, figuring out what’s on their mind. She simply giggles softly in response and confirms that Seifer is, indeed, Amencer’s father, and her mate. They piece together what they heard before, when she said Amencer’s dad is a part of the Legion of the Abyss, but are still in disbelief that he was here this whole time. Lucrecia steps over to them with a smile and teases Flaro about the prospect of having a family of their own sometime, which he immediately jumps at, and shouts at her to cut it out. Umbryo, however, starts figuring out something more, and brings up the story they heard of a Midnight Pack and a Legion member traveling together on Aegis Road. She realizes what he’s talking about and says that she and Seifer were the ones referenced. Seifer is visibly uncomfortable about the topic, and says the pokemon were unnecessarily hostile and outnumbered them. Leanna says this was shortly after they met, so Amencer wasn’t born yet. The brothers just nod in acknowledgement, unsure of how to respond.
When they’re rested and prepared, the group continues on, splitting into parties to take on different paths through the forest. While exploring, the brothers are able to call down Lunith when they’re lost to get hints on where to go. They may occasionally cross paths with other parties and get help for a short time before splitting up again. Once they make it through the forest, the brothers come out to see a vast desert ahead. They go on and soon stop to rest and wait for the others to arrive. Once everyone is here, Leanna explains that this is the southeastern section, called the Northern Desert. The Shimmer Desert is further ahead, so the journey from here will only get harder. She insists that everyone don’t relax now, and be ready for anything. She explains again what they’re here for: to investigate an unexplained heatwave spreading from the desert. It’s become clear already that it’s become hotter than it should be, and she advises that they take care not to overexert themselves here. Aviero has found several water sources around the desert they can go to replenish themselves if they need to, but they still need to be wary of the pokemon here.
After they’ve prepared, they head out in their own parties. While traveling, the brothers have to move and attack conservatively, and stop at the numerous small ponds around the area to keep from passing out. The trip is fairly straightforward, with Lunith able to be called when they need directions. Flaro’s fire moves also do more damage than normal, due to the weather. They eventually meet with Leanna near a larger pond, where she says Shimmer Desert is just up ahead. Umbryo complains that he’s tired, and Leanna teases him, saying to think about all the Black Gummies that could be waiting for them under the sand, making him and Flaro perk their ears with interest. She smirks, then sobers up and tells them the others have already gone ahead to search the area, and she, Amencer and Seifer are keeping in touch with Lunith and Aviero to find clues and gather information from the others on their findings. Shimmer Desert is much smaller than what they had to go through, but she tells them to be careful regardless.
The brothers proceed on into Shimmer Desert to search for anything they can find. They come across several relics throughout the desert and call Lunith or Aviero down to show them and report back to Leanna. After a while of searching, Lunith comes down and tells them to head further north, as Leanna has found out something that could lead them to the cause of the heatwave. The others have already been informed, and are en route to the place. The brothers go on to meet up with them, but later stop when the area turns pitch dark. When the light returns, an Arbok stands in front of them, and appears very defensive of them being here. While she doesn’t immediately attack, she introduces herself as Nagrea, the overseer of the area, then tells them they have no business being here, and to leave immediately. They try and reason with her about what they’re looking for, but she shouts them down, saying she’s aware of the situation, but they’re doing no good by wandering here, looking for answers. She explains that this is beyond them, and demands once again that they leave. Refusing to go with her demands, Flaro barks back, saying they won’t leave until they’ve found what they need to. Umbryo, however, interrupts him and, after piecing things together, asks if she’s a part of the Six, working for Veros. She promptly hisses in response and corrects him, saying they’re working with Veros, not for him. Flaro says that Veros is gone, but she says she already knew and that she never really agreed with his motives to begin with. The Six have been set on making things better, but Veros always seened to have something different planned. She cuts the conversation short and acknowledges what the brothers have done, but says they’ve overstayed their welcome and will be forced to leave. Having no other choice now, they face her in a battle.
During the fight, Nagrea frequently displays her ability to draw all light from the area and turn it dark, forcing the brothers to have to stop and listen for cues of her movements, then strike her when she approaches to cancel out her ability. During the times of darkness, Umbryo’s light moves and Flaro’s fire moves are nullified, making them have to focus on physical attacks or dark moves. The battle is a fair bit harder than the others they had with the Six, and she soon starts to overpower them. When she darkens the area once more, the brothers try to find her, but her ability suddenly breaks when Daryn shoots out of the sand with a Drill Run and plows into her, knocking her off a cliff from the poerful attack. The brothers are left in shock as the others show up, and Terrisa compliments Daryn on his work, but says he is getting a little bit rusty and should work some more on his aim.
Not believing what she’s saying about him being rusty, the brothers try to gather their bearings and figure out what’s going on now. Leanna says they’ve possibly found the source of the disturbance in the weather, and says it should be just a little further north, insisting that they hurry before anyone else shows up to interfere with their investigation. Proceeding on, the group searches the area further ahead, which quickly becomes clear being hotter than anywhere else they’ve been. Unable to find anything, however, they start to wonder if there really is anything here to be found. But their doubts are cut short when the ground suddenly opens up beneath them. The group splits off to try and escape the fissure, but the brothers don’t make it and fall into the newly formed canyon, with several of the others shouting out to them.
When they soon come to, the brothers get up and look around where they are. The area isb’t quite as hot as above ground, but is still dry and hard to breathe. Flaro makes a passing joke, calling this place the Fiery Depths, but becomes serious again, wondering how they’re going to get out of here. They must’ve fallen several dozen feet, as they can barely see the top of the canyon. With nowhere else to go, they proceed on to try and find a way out. The trip through is pretty much linear and the brothers face only occasional fire types as they travel, with nothing to replenish themselves of their energy. So the majority of the trip is keeping to the path and not wandering around too much as they find their way through. Once they reach a possible way out, however, they find that it’s being guarded...by none other than the ancient pokemon Groudon, in his Primal form. Immediately upon seeing him, the brothers duck and hide behind a rock, hoping they weren’t seen. Flaro freaks out, saying there’s no way they could possibly face something like that, wondering why he’s even awake, what’s going on, and other things. Umbryo tries to calm him down, but is also clearly unnerved by what’s standing before them. He tries to get Flaro to focus on the situation, and says they’ve gotten through many things together, even taking on Rayquaza and making it out alive. He says there has to be a way they can do this.
Amidst their arguing, however, they soon realize their cover was blown, and quickly jump out to avoid Groudon’s attack, which destroys the rock they’re hiding behind. With no time to plan now and nowhere to run from Groudon, they’re forced to fight him. During the fight, Umbryo will be forced to remain on high ground, as the heat from lower ground damages him quickly over time. Flaro is immune to this, however, being a fire type. The brothers have to stay hidden as much as they can and attack from behind. If they’re caught, Groudon fires a powerful Solar Beam that would do huge damage if it hits. Groudon will frequently stomp his foot on the ground, causing trails of stone spokes to shoot up that the brothers will have to evade or be taken out instantly. He will also shoot balls of lava in the air and the brothers have to avoid them falling on them or take large damage. Otherwise, the major threat is Groudon’s Earthquake, which disorients the brothers and causes damage to parts of the area that can hurt them if they’re caught in the debris. Later in the battle, Groudon will start shooting off Fire Blast in an attempt to hit the brothers in random places, and this does huge damage if it does. Later, when they’ve finally weakened him, he charges up his power in preparation to take them out with a powerful attack. But he is struck by a combination of two moves from the sky and stalled in his attempt. When the brothers look to see what happened, Lunith and Aviero swoop down to deliver blows to Groudon and cause him to stumble backwards. Aviero, who is clearly working up every ounce of currage he can muster to face Groudon, quickly flies down to pick up the brothers, before flying up with Lunith to evade being hit by the charged up Earth Power. Now, Lunith and Aviero, as well as Umbryo and Flaro, all release their attacks on Groudon at once, finally causing him to fall over, weakened.
They cautiously look to see what happens, and eventually, Groudon starts glowing and shrinks in size, losing his Primal Reversion. The area then starts shaking as the canyon caves in on top of him, and they fly out before being buried alive with him. Having escaped certain death, they fly back to meet the rest of the pack, who’ve been worried about them since they fell in the fissure. Everyone gathers to ask the brothers if they’re okay and what happened down there, practically smothering them meanwhile. Leanna steps in and tells them all to settle down, seeing that the brothers are clearly okay. She asks them what happened down there, and they explain what they saw and how they faced Groudon. Everyone gasps in disbelief and bickers among each other, obviously not buying that the brothers fought off something as powerful as that, but Lunith and Aviero come in to stand up for the brothers, saying they saw it for themselves and even helped finish him off. Leanna says it may be possible, and theorizes that Groudon may have awoken due to the incident with Rayquaza, therefore proving the brothers’ encounter with him as well.
As if further proving their story, the heatwave starts to subside and it becomes much less hot than it was before, making everyone look around curiously as the sunlight becomes less harsh over the area. Leanna looks back at the brothers for a moment, before whimsically telling them congratulations on solving one of the biggest mysteries they’ve faced and putting an end to what could’ve been a great disaster. Before people can start cheering, Terrisa steps in and says they should really head back home before other pokemon here start attacking them. Coming to an agreement, the group heads back to Midnight Forest, where they finally settle down after their big journey.
Back home, the brothers have been recognized for what they did in Shimmer Desert, and things go mostly back to normal. The brothers take this time now to wander the forest, talking with others in the pack. Terrisa is also here, talking with various members of the Midnight Pack, but Seifer and Daryn have gone back home. She says she’s considering getting out to see the world, since their expedition to Shimmer Desert, but wonders how the Legion will do with her away. She doesn’t dwell on it too much, however, saying it’s a passing thought.
During this time of calm, the brothers can spar with each other, Leanna, the Sableye who helped train them before, and Terrisa. While sparring with the latter, she displays skills that have long been revered with the Legion, being one of the more challenging battles the brothers get to have. They can also talk to the pokemon around the forest and Lake Afar, some of which compliment them on their accomplishments at Shimmer Desert. After a day of wandering around their home, the brothers go to sleep for the night, ready for what might come ahead.
A few days later, the brothers are roaming the forest. Since the expedition, the Midnight Pack has settled down again and going about their usual activities. Eventually, they come to the eastern end of the forest, where they see several pokemon, including Lunith, staring out into the field. Curious, the brothers ask what’s going on, and one of them says something strange is happening at the World Abyss. Looking closer, the brothers can see an odd blur over where the World Abyss is in the distance. Uncertain of what’s going on, Lunith says he’s going to get Leanna, before going on. The brothers continue looking out, trying to figure out what could be happening, before they start seeing strange flashes in various places around the area. The brothers contemplate going to investigate, before Leanna finally shows up, along with Lucrecia, Amencer and Lunith. They all look out to see what’s happening, and Leanna questions how long this has been going on. Lunith says it just started a little bit ago, as far as he’s noticed, but he hasn’t gone to investigate yet. Leanna starts growing concerned about something going wrong at the World Abyss, and the brothers offer to go figure out what’s happening. She is hesitent about the idea, however, not wanting to have them get into something they aren’t prepared for, despite their tendency to do just that by themselves. They’re about to insist, before the others notice the flashes starting to spread across the field. Everyone turns their attention to them, only to finally realize what they are. The creatures that attacked Midnight Forest before, now dubbed Distortions, are appearing all over the place.
Now set on edge by what’s going on, everyone starts talking among each other about, wondering why the creatures are showing up again and what they’re going to do. The previous encounter left quite a few casualties, nearly as many as the bug attack on the forest before. Leanna tells them to calm down, and says they need to be ready to defend the forest, should the creatures try to attack. Now certain that something’s going very wrong at the World Abyss, the brothers insist on going, but Leanna tries to talk them down, saying it’s far too dangerous. She’s wanting to prepare to send a group of pokemon in to try and fight the Distortions, but Umbryo says there’s no time to plan anything. If these things are appearing in the field, there’s no telling how many are inside the World Abyss already. The Legion needs help now. Flaro steps in, agreeing with his brother, and seems dead set on going, despite reservations by Leanna and Lucrecia both. Umbryo says this is something they owe them. For the past ten years, they’ve hated the Legion wrongfully for killing their parents, and now they need help. He says Leanna can make preparations and send a group in, but they’re going in first to help.
Unable to keep arguing and knowing they don’t have time to anyways, Leanna resigns and lets them go, not needing to state the obvious by telling them to be careful. She has Lunith scout the area and help the brothers when he can, and sends them off. The brothers go into the field and start fighting their way through the Distortions, getting help from Lunith in finding weak points in their ranks where they can get through with little resistance. The trip still proves difficult, with them appearing randomly all over the place, but the brothers eventually make it to the World Abyss. They immediately notice the pokemon who’ve been living around the outside have fled due to the apearance of the Distortions. They tell Lunith to go back to Midnight Forest to help the others get ready. As he leaves, they prepare to enter the place they’ve avoided for so long, to face whatever lies within.
As the brothers enter the World Abyss, they are immediately greeted by several Distortions in a gang attack, quickly outnumbering them. They fight through them with great difficulty, before members of the Legion show up and take them down. After the immediate threat is taken out, they recognize the brothers being from Midnight Forest, and ask what they’re going here. Umbryo says they’ve come to help deal with the Distortions, and the Legion members say they have some guts, but the creatures are proving very difficult for the Legion to handle effectively. They just started popping up out of nowhere, and the Legion has been scrambled inside, trying to fight them bottleneck them and fight them off in groups. But they just keep coming back, en masse. Umbryo says a group will be coming to help soon, and the Legionnaires say they’ll try and guard the entrance and wait for them. The brothers ask where Terrisa is, and they say she’s further in, dealing with the Distortions in the deeper areas of the caverns.
With this, they head further in to help fight the Distortions deeper in the World Abyss. As they proceed, they face heavy resistance right from the start, with the Legion members all over the place, fighting them off. The brothers help where they can while fighting their way deeper into the caverns. It’s no surprise that the Legion is putting up a hell of a fight, even while scrambled inside their home. But even then, some have been taken out in the assault. There are some grouped in isolated spaces, tending to the injured, and the brothers are able to come to these points to recover when needed. The journey through the caverns proves to be perhaps the longest and most difficult the brothers have had to take, and even with the help of the Legion, fighting through the Distortions is a challenge. They eventually find Seifer fighting through a large group of the creatures on his own, and putting up a good fight. But it proves to be a losing battle before the brothers step in to help. Surprised at their arrival but welcoming their help, he fights them off with the brothers, before asking why the hell they’ve come here. They explain that the Distortions have started appearing outside the World Abyss, and the Midnight Pack is sending in several of their own to help take them on. He asks if Leanna and Amencer is okay, getting reassurance from the brothers that they are, before saying he plans to go face the creatures further in. Beyond this point, the caverns become much more complex, so he offers to help guide them through, and the brothers agree before proceeding onward.
Going further into the World Abyss, the brothers continue to face resistance by the Distortions, but the narrower tunnels prove to their advantage, allowing them to pick them off in smaller groups. They venture through many twists and turns, getting the help of other Legion members along the way, and Flaro makes a comment on just how deep these caverns go. Seifer says the Legion consists of several hundred pokemon, which are divided into their own groups throughout the caverns. There is no real authority here, only mutual principles and agreements among them. Rogue Legionnaires are almost never seen, but the few who become apparent are quickly dealt with by the others. They are watched over by Giratina, who lives in the deepest point where a gate to a place called the Reverse World stands, and they look to him for guidance on the occasion they need it.
The brothers freeze at the mention of a pokemon regarded by the world as a deity, and Seifer confirms they heard him right. He says, however, that Giratina has been acting strange for some time. Umbryo asks how long it’s been, and Seifer says it’s been roughly a decade that his behavior’s started changing. He’s even started becoming hostile recently, so many of the Legion members have avoided him. Umbryo is silent in thought, and Flaro asks why they haven’t done anything about it. Seifer snarkily asks if he has any opinions on how to deal with a god, and he just as quickly goes silent at the suggestion. He says he isn’t sure what could be going on down there, and tells the brothers to be prepared for anything, with emphasis on ‘anything’. They are hesitant, but nod and proceed further on, fighting their way through more of the Distortions.
After a while longer, they finally reach the deepest point of the caverns, where they come across a shocking scene. A couple dozen Legionnaires, including Terrisa, are locked in a battle with the deity they’ve talked about overseeing the World Abyss, Giratina himself. Without time to talk and figure out what’s going on, the brothers and Seifer are pulled into the battle with the great dragon pokemon. Despite the excessive numbers against him, Giratina becomes very difficult to damage, if touch at all, and several Legionnaires are taken out over time. Giratina frequently employs the use of ghost type moves, including Shadow Force, to throw them off and strike from unpredictable places. When too many start attacking him at once, be blows them all back with Ominous Wind, before disappearing and attacking again, making group attacks difficult and dangerous. Umbryo can evade the attack with Shadowstep, but remaining close to Giratina by himself is risky, as he’s left wide open for direct attacks by him. As he weakens, he starts firing Aura Spheres at the assailants, doing severe damage to anyone they hit. This makes the battle even more difficult, but eventually, they start getting the upper hand on him. After a while longer, they finally manage to weaken Giratina and he draws back with a low growl, before disappearing into the gate to the Reverse World.
The other Legionnaires left alive after the battle take a moment to recover and figure out what to do next. With Giratina having retreated into the gate, there’s no telling what’ll happen if they go after him. But they have no choice. After a bit to prepare, the brothers, Terrisa, Seifer, Daryn and the others approach the gate and look inside, preparing to march into the face of death, knowing there’s a chance they may never return. Soon, the brothers head into the gate, followed by the Legionnaires.
As they enter the Reverse World, the first thing they notice is a distortion in space around the area. There are platforms all around them, floating in an empty space, and a thin, blue mist envelops the area. Pools of water sit on the platforms, some of which float on their sides or even upside down, and there are waterfalls which appear to move sideways or up, defying the natural laws of gravity. They get an unnerving and foreboding feeling being here, and Terrisa says they will have to split up try and search the area. She tells them to be extremely cautious and not to approach Giratina on their own if they see him. Anyone who gets a glimpse of him is to report to the others. There’s no telling what other dangers they might face here. With this, they all go their own ways to explore the area, and the brothers take their own path.
While exploring the Reverse World, the brothers occasionally get disoriented and have to take a moment to gather themselves. Occasionally, a shift in the land or a growing obstacle impedes their exploration, or even threatens to harm them. While wandering, a shadow will frequently fly across the background, and they’ll sometimes hear a shout from what they think is one of the Legion members. Trying to call out to them proves useless, so they have nothing else to do but proceed onward. At one point, they see the shadow shoot across the background, followed by a shriek from one of the Legion members. Unnerved, they grow more cautious in their movements as they continue on. Eventually, they hear a shout from Seifer, then Terrisa afterwards. They call out to them, but get no response. Not hearing from anyone else, the brothers start to feel they might be the only ones left here. Dismayed at the thought of everyone else being dead and having to face Giratina on their own, they hesitantly proceed on.
Going further through the Reverse World and not hearing anything from the others for a while, the brothers grow more certain that they’re now here alone. But after a long while, they start hearing sounds of fighting ahead. Eventually, they come across Terrisa fighting Giratina. She delivers a few strong attacks on him, and he staggers, roaring out to her before striking her down with an Aura Sphere. He’s about to attack again and the brothers try to run over and stop him, but suddenly, Daryn shoots up from the ground with a Drill Run, flying over Giratina and crashing down on him with a powerful Dragon Rush. This throws him off balance for the battle and surprises everyone. But he quickly regains his composure and directs his attention on the small Dunsparce, trying to attack him before he drills back into the ground. He pops up several times to strike Giratina, which only proves to infuriate him, and he vanishes. When Daryn comes back up once more, he is caught off guard when Giratina appears behind him and unleashes a powerful surge of purple energy. Flaro can recognize this as Chaos and shouts out to Daryn, who drops to the ground, motionless. Visibly weakened, Giratina finally retreats to recover from the fight.
The brothers run over to Daryn, followed by a limping Terrisa, who is silent at the loss of her friend. She mourns over the Dunsparce and the brothers try to console her, realizing she, too, is injured. Umbryo asks if anyone else survived, but she says they’re all gone, as far as she knows. Seifer tried to fight Giratina on his own so she could get away, but was knocked off a platform in the battle. Terrisa barely saw as he fell to his death protecting her. This hits the brothers hard, as they know he’s Leanna’s mate and Amencer’s father. Realizing the loss of everyone else, they start to wonder what they’ll do about Giratina. Terrisa says they have to get to him before he can fully recover, and they ask about her. She says she’s in no shape to battle Giratina now. Flaro offers to help her get back to the World Abyss, but she turns it down, saying she’d just get them killed in the shape she’s in. Umbryo says she’s right, and they have to go after Giratina now. Flaro is reluctant, but Terrisa demands that they leave her and go. After a moment’s hesitation, they finally go to find Giratina, leaving Terrisa and Daryn behind.
After going on a little while, Flaro stops Umbryo and tells him they’ve been found. With nowhere to run, the brothers are stopped in their tracks by Giratina, who is now in Origin form. The platforms around them all move away, leaving them nowhere to go as they stand in the face of death itself, having no choice now but to fight with every fiber of their being. During the battle, Giratina is much faster than he was in his Altered form, and uses many of the moves he did before. Now, however, he makes use of the area itself to inflict damage on the brothers, flinging objects at them out of nowhere and occasionally shifting gravity to immobilize them or send them flying to another platform. He also frequently releases waves of Chaos which can greatly weaken the brothers if they hit. The battle is long and increasingly difficult, with the brothers having to execute combinations frequently to even land hits on Giratina. He occasionally attacks directly with his streamers, the spikes on them inflicting a massive amount of damage if they hit. Later in the battle, he uses the environment less frequently and attacks directly more often. He starts disappearing randomly and delivering a barrage attacks from nowhere, giving the brothers only brief openings to evade.
When the brothers have finally weakened Giratina, they deliver another combination of moves, causing him to stagger and shake his head, disoriented. Still on their guard, they cautiously approach him as he tries to collect himself, starting to appear confused. When they try to talk to him, however, a portal suddenly opens up between them, surprising all three of them, and sucking the brothers into it. After some time, Flaro calls to Umbryo and he soon wakes up, wondering where he is. The two have found themselves somewhere completely different: a vast, open area composed of a strange, unearthly texture. They’re surrounded by purple energy spiraling and blowing in all directions, and begin to realize what this must be. But before they can say anything about it, a shadow appears from the ground, and from it, the one they’ve thought to have been gone appears: Veros. But he appears...different. His body is much darker than it normally is, and it drips with black and purple energy. His normally bright green eyes are pale and dull, staring down at the brothers with intent. Flaro steps up with a growl, asking how the hell he survived, but he is wordless, only lifting a hand in an attempt to attack. Flaro quickly fires a Shadow Flare to stop him, and he freezes in place, never taking his eyes off them. Voices start running through their heads and Umbryo realizes this place is called the Chaos Rift. Disturbed by the voices, the brothers try to block them out. Flaro shouts at Veros to try and get them to shut up, but to no avail. Umbryo pieces together from them that this is Veros, but at the same time, not. This is a form brought about by a desperate attempt to stop the brothers one last time...Veros’s Desperation. The brothers finally stop the voices by delivering a combined attack on Veros, and knocking him back. Then, everything becomes silent, as if death were lying over them. They look at each other and nod, before facing Veros in a last battle.
This battle is fairly short, with Veros not doing much but moving to evade the brothers’ attacks. He frequently puts one of them to sleep and starts draining their health meanwhile, forcing the other to attack him repeatedly until his hold breaks and they wake up. After fighting him a while, Veros staggers in place, no longer able to move. The brothers then combine their power to deliver their Charge Break, Night’s Judgment, and finish him off, casting him into the shadows of the Chaos Rift. With Veros finally gone for good, the brothers are left, wondering how they’ll get back home from here. The area around them starts to deteriorate, causing them to panic, before a loud roar is heard and a shadow blocks everything out.When it finally goes away, the brothers realize they’re back in the Reverse World, with Giratina in front of them, staring down at them. Dazed at what happened, they shake their heads and look up at him, figuring out he was the one who saved them from the Chaos Rift. With Veros’s threat finally gone, Giratina has broken from his control and is back to himself. He gives thanks to the brothers for what they did for him, the Legion, and ultimately, the world. Having freed him from Veros, they prevented perhaps the biggest disaster that could’ve fallen to the world, and he gives his praise for their actions. Umbryo steps up and decides to ask a question, to be sure: if Veros’s attempt to bring him under the influence of Chaos is what caused the deaths of their parents, ten years ago. After a moment of silence, Giratina says this is the truth, and apologizes for what became of them.
The brothers are silent now, not knowing what to say at this point. Giratina scans the area, then says that there will be a lot of work to be done now that Veros’s influence is gone, and he fears the worst part is yet to come. He assures them that the creatures outside are gone now, and offers to take the brothers back out, saying he’ll take it from here, and that they’ve done enough. They hesitate for a moment, but accept the offer, feeling they’ve had enough of Veros and his problems for a lifetime. Giratina takes them back to the gate and bids them farewell, before they return to the World Abyss, where they are greeted, to their great surprise, by Terrisa and Seifer. They say they thought they were gone, and ask how they managed to survive. Seifer says he managed to grab onto another platform after he fell and climb back to safety. He found Terrisa and escorted her out with Daryn, so they could do a proper memorial for him later.. Unfortunately though, none of the others who went into the Reverse World came back out alive. They were either taken out by the environmental hazards or Giratina himself. She says they plan to have a memorial for everyone who died today, and will be rebuilding after this is all done. They give their greatest gratitude for what the brothers did, and insist that they head back home to see their family, since they’re surely worried about them.
With everything said and done, and the greatest threat posed to the world finally stopped, the brothers are able to finally breathe a sigh of relief and head back home. It’s now that their lives can go back to normal, with whatever troubles they might get themselves into and all that follows.
Spoiler ShowOne year after Veros was defeated and Giratina brought back from Chaos, the world has seemingly gone back to normal, with the Midnight Pack and the Legion of the Abyss having recovered and now moving on with their lives. Aviero has since left back to Sky Peak, and Terrisa has left the World Abyss to wander the world, looking for someplace she can better make use of her abilities since Daryn’s passing. They haven’t seen her since. Meanwhile, Flaro and Lucrecia now have a daughter: a young Eevee named Senera. The day goes like normal, with the brothers wandering the forest. Here, they can chat with other forest residents to catch up on events over the past year. The Liepard whose child was lost in the bug attack is now considering traveling. She still remembers what happened that day, and is finding it difficult to take her mind off it staying here. The brothers hope she’ll find some peace and wish her luck. Leanna and Amencer are busy training, with Leanna coaching Amencer on things Seifer taught them. Lucrecia is lying with Senera, who is asleep when the brothers go see them. Lucrecia makes a comment on how cute Senera is, and that she’s happy she’s Flaro’s, getting an awkward response from him, being in front of Umbryo, who simply chuckles.
The brothers can now go to the World Abyss, where they’re able to explore a small portion of the place. The pokemon who were living in the outside area have abandoned it since the Distortions attacked, making wandering the place safer for the brothers. The Legion has gone back to their training since the fight with Giratina, and the brothers can speak to a few of them. Some compliment the brothers on what they did before, and say that they’ll be working even harder to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again. They come across a Decidueye named Oramohanging out somewhere, practicing shooting arrows at a log. He says he once knew someone who went to Zero Isle several years ago, but has since never come back. He mentions the pokemon was a Krokorok, and wonders if his friend is still alive today. Seifer idly asks the brothers how Leanna and Amencer is, and says he should go visit the forest sometime, since they keep coming here to see him instead.
Going to Lake Afar, the brothers are greeted by Arisiea, who asks how they’re doing. She then questions if they’ve seen Alica lately, saying she hasn’t seen her in a little while. The brothers say they haven’t, but they’ll look. Talking to Marina gets more compliments on what they did the year before, and she comments on how the brothers simply can’t keep from drawing all the attention. If they go north, towards the beach, they immediately start noticing something unusual. Umbryo questions if there was more beach before, and Flaro says that it has, indeed, gotten a bit smaller. They wander around, trying to figure out what’s going on, and eventually come across Alica, who’s washed up on the shore, passed out. They run over to her and try to wake her up. When she finally comes to, they ask if she’s okay, and what happened. She says she was swimming in the ocean near the beach, but the waves suddenly started growing aggressive, and she lost control. The Milotic remarks how unusual it is for the water to act that way, and she eventually found herself on this beach, where she lost consciousness. The brothers look out to the ocean and notice that the tides have become a bit strange. Umbryo points out that this may be why the beach has gotten smaller, that the tides have risen and swallowed up some of it. He asks if this has ever happened before, but Alica says never to this extent. Lately though, it seems that the water levels have been slowly rising, and now this happened. They ask if she can get back to Lake Afar, saying Arisiea’s worried about her. She says she can, but asks if the brothers can take her there. They agree and help her get there.
Upon returning to Lake Afar, Marina asks if everything’s okay, noticing Alica doesn’t look very good. She says she’s okay, but will need a while to rest. Arisiea spots them and runs over, jumping on Alica and saying she was worried sick about her, to the Milotic’s exhaustion and pained groans, still sore from what happened. Marina asks, once again, what happened, and Alica explains her story to the Lapras while they all listen. Marina remarks that the water has, indeed, been acting a bit strange, and questions what could be going on. She says she’ll look into it, and tells the others to try and stay away from the beach for the time being. They agree, and the brothers return to Midnight Forest for the night.
Waking up th enext day, the brothers find out Lucrecia has gone back to Lake Afar for an urgent matter, and left Senera in Leanna’s care. Wondering what’s going on, they go there to find her. When they arrive, the pokemon here appear tense, and the brothers go to look for Lucrecia or anyone who can give them answers to what’s happening. Apparently, a group of Sharpedo has attacked the lake, and driven many of the pokemon off. Recognizing them as the Carvanha they had to deal with before. Figuring they’re just back for more trouble, the brothers help Marina, Lucrecia and some of the other lake residents fight them off, driving them back down the river into the ocean.They ask if everyone’s okay, and Marina says they’ll make it. She brings up how these Sharpedo were disturbed by what’s going on in the ocean, and were led to try and find refuge here. She feels bad for having to drive them back, but says they’re far too aggressive to stay here.
Umbryo asks if she found anything out, and she says she went out to the ocean after they left, and learned something alarming. The water has grown more aggressive lately, and all the pokemon are suddenly starting to migrate to other places due to the disturbance. She went to investigate the cause and found that it is apparently originating around Zero Isle. Knowing the rumors about the place, she didn’t investigate much further, but has come to a conclusion, based on events that have happened before. She brings up the brothers’ encounter with Rayquaza atop the Sky Stairway, and then later, when they faced Groudon at Shimmer Desert. She explains that they’re just two beings in a trio, which is known to control the weather. She talks about the third being, known as Kyogre, who lives in the ocean and can cause torrental rainfalls that could potentially raise sea levels. Figuring that Kyogre has woken up since the brothers’ encounters with the other two, what’s been happening lately makes much more sense. However, there’s a problem: no one has the nerve to go to Zero Isle. So any attempts to put together an investigation team to go there would end in failure. There is simply no one willing to do it. She sighs in exhaustion and says that if this keeps up, things would only get worse. Not knowing what to do, she says they should get back home and she’ll try to come up with something later.
The brothers and Lucrecia go back to Midnight Forest and tell Leanna what’s going on. She, too, has noticed an abnormality with the ocean, but could never have expected something like this. She says she’ll go to the Legion to see what they can do, and will get back to them when she’s come up with a plan. The brothers go back to rest with Lucrecia, bringing Senera back with them, and talk about what’s happening. Flaro talks about the likelihood of anyone actually going to Zero Isle and Lucrecia says it’s very low. Zero Isle has made a name for itself being one of the most dangerous places in the world. No one who’s gone there has ever returned. No one knows why, but anyone gutsy enough to try and investigate the disappearances is never seen again. Umbryo says that it’s likely these pokemon go at it alone, and therefore are overwhelmed by what’s there and can’t make it out. If a team were to go there, however, things might be different. Lucrecia reminds the brothers what she said before, that she doesn’t want them going there, especially on their own. She fears that it’s too dangerous, even for them. And if even a Legion member got lost there, there’s no way they could make it out. Flaro brings up how they faced not only Giratina, but also Groudon and Rayquaza, and made it back in one peace, and she says they always had help. He argues that if other members of the Legion went with them, it could be possible to make it. She turns down the argument, saying she doesn’t want to talk about it, especially since Senera is now becoming tense from this. She says Leanna will come up with something, and they should leave it to her.
Without anything else to say, the brothers resign and decide to rest. Over the night, the brothers start shifting in their sleep, and their rings visibly flicker purple. They soon wake up and look at each other, Flaro asking if Umbryo felt what he did, and Umbryo nodding in agreement. Something strange is happening they can’t explain, and it’s starting to worry them. Without an immediate explanation, they decide to go back to sleep and figure it out later. The next day, Leanna returns with Amencer, having somewhat good news. She says the Legion has taken into consideration what’s happening at Zero Isle and has made arrangements to investigate, to the brothers’ relief. The bad news, however, is only a few pokemon have actually agreed to go. With everything that’s happened lately, and the fear of what could be at Zero Isle, even the Legion of the Abyss is unnerved at the idea of going there. This is the most that can be done.
Flaro, however, doesn’t agree. He wants to go help them, and Lucrecia immediately jumps in and protests. Umbryo stands in with Flaro, saying the Legion will need any help they can get. With so few going, anyone willing to step in and lend a hand would be a great deal of help.Leanna asks if they really think that’s wise, reminding them that they have no idea what they’re getting into and that Zero Isle isn’t like anywhere else they’ve been during their misadventures. There are too many dangers, and they no longer have only themselves to look after. Flaro has a daughter he’s raising with Lucrecia. Leanna says a major reason she isn’t going is because she needs to look after Amencer, and Flaro should have the same sentiment with Senera, his own daughter. But Flaro pipes up, saying if things get worse, they won’t have a home to raise Senera or Amencer in. He says he’s not doing this for himself, there is more at stake than what could happen at Zero Isle, and Umbryo agrees, stating the world could be in danger if Kyogre roams unchecked.
Lucrecia shouts them down, telling them she doesn’t want to lose them during all this, and Senera starts crying from the commotion. Umbryo and Flaro go silent and Lucrecia goes on to say too much has happened between them. She brings up how they were there when she lost her parents, and they remained together after their parents died as well. She said they promised they wouldn’t go off places without her anymore. Flaro goes over to her, telling her she means more to him than anything, and putting her in danger of what could come is something he can’t dream of. He promises that they’ll come back, and that he’ll be there to raise Senera with her. Umbryo steps in, saying they’ll both be there, and that Lucrecia and Senera are as just as much his family as Flaro’s. Leanna eyes up the brothers and says they’d better hold to their promise, and Flaro tells her he wouldn’t dare break it. He tries to calm Senera down and reassures Lucrecia he’ll come back. She resigns, saying he’d better, and that she’d better see them again soon.
Later that day, the brothers make preparations to go to Zero Isle, and when they’re ready, Leanna tells them the Legion will be meeting at the beach, and they won’t wait for long. Umbryo and Flaro says they’ll come back soon, and Lucrecia goes with them to see the others at the beach. Still unsettled with them going, she can only hope for the best, knowing they’ve gotten themselves out of many situations. Meeting up with a group of less than a dozen Legion members, including Oramo, the brothers make sure everyone is ready to go. When talking to the Decidueye, he says he’s going for more than the issue at hand, and wants to look for his friend. After everyone’s prepared, the brothers bid their farewells to Lucrecia and Senera, before getting on one of the rafts and setting out, the pair seeing them off as they head out to Zero Isle.
Along the way, the brothers ask the others what they know about the place. Unfortunately, they’re not given very informative responses, as no one’s ever made it back out to tell what they saw there. Oramo flies down and lands on their raft, talking about how his Krokorok friend set out on a raft, just like them, and supposedly made it onto Zero Isle. That was about five years ago, and he hasn’t seen him since. He wonders what’s there that could possibly be so bad that no one can get out alive. But one of the others jokes about them having the great heroes on their side, and that they’ll be fine, getting an embarrassed chuckle from the brothers. As they approach the eastern side of the island, the tides start kicking up, and they quickly make their way onto land before they can get swept off. After all three rafts get to the island, everyone checks in to make sure they all made it. They then look around the place, being in something of a tropical area similar to the Marine Resort. Oramo scouts the area from the sky, before coming down and saying the best route is to loop around the southern section of the island to make it to the west. Apparently, that’s where the weather gets the most severe, and he figures Kyogre must be somewhere around there. Once ready, they all set out to explore Zero Isle.
For the time being, they don’t run into much trouble while traveling the island. But they get the feeling they’re not alone here, that they’re being carefully watched. They keep their guard up and Oramo observes ahead as they proceed. For the most part, navigating the western section of Zero Island is simple, as there aren’t many turn-offs and stray paths to lose their way. However, as they draw closer to the southern end, the feeling of being watched becomes more apparent. It isn’t until they’re attacked by projectiles from all sides, however, that they know for sure they’re in danger. They group together and quickly deflect the attacks, before firing their own in response, forcing their predators out of hiding. Various different native pokemon come out of the different spots and face the group, not seeming intent on letting them go. The only choice now, is to fight. The battle is fairly short, due to the numbers being about even, and eventually they try to flee. However, Oramo fires an arrow that loops around them, binding them in place so they can’t escape. The group takes this chance to knock them all out so they can’t call for help. Figuring the immediate threat is taken care of, they quickly leave the area before the attackers can wake up.
As the group makes it to the southern section of the island, they take a short time to catch their breath and figure out where to go from here. One of the Legion members praises the brothers, saying the rumors about them were true, and that they’ll have to step it up so they’re not outmatched by the two. As Oramo looks ahead, he can see a storm starting to come in, and warns the group that they’ll be in for some heavy rainfall. He advises them to proceed with caution, as there’s no telling how much harder it’ll get from here. As they go on, just as Oramo said, it begins to rain as clouds block out the sun and spread further east of the island. The trip through the southern section of the island proces a bit more dangerous, as the native pokemon have become more aggressive upon seeing them, and are now attacking at full force. At this point, the group is forced to fight off hordes of attacking pokemon while trying to keep from being separated. The storm makes this difficult, however, as the increasingly heavy rain makes it harder to see very far, The brothers try to get through the best they can until they reach the western section of the island, where suddenly, they’re called out by a strange voice. Trying to figure out who’s calling them, they figure it might be one of the Legion members, but keep their guard up as they follow the voice.
Once they finally make it to a small cavern, they quickly run in to get out of the rain, and hopefully away from the attacking pokemon. They find, to their surprise, that a few of the Legion members, including Oramo, are already here. But they’re also joined by someone else: a Krokorok, who Oramo is eyeing up suspiciously. He questions if the pokemon knows who he is, and the Krokorok snarkily says he couldn’t forget someoe as kooky as him. Oramo asks what happened to him, saying he thought he’d died on this island. The Krokorok explains how he found his way here, but was attacked shortly after arriving. He tried to make his way back to the shore, but found out his raft had been destroyed by the natives. He adds on that if they got here the same way, chances are they won’t be getting back anytime soon. He says he had to find a way to evade the pokemon here and try to figure out how to get back home. But as the days turned into weeks, any attempt he made to get off the island failed at best, and nearly cost him his life at worst. Over time, he’d given up and decided to lay low, hoping that eventually, he’d be able to blend in enough that he would at least be able to live out the rest of his days here. He never expected to meet Oramo again, and is thrilled to see him again, but at the same time, wishes he hadn’t come here, as he may not be trapped on this island, just like him. Oramo says he has no intentions of staying here, and he plans on bringing his friend back home with him. The Krokorok, however, has just about lost all hope of escaping, and says it’s not so bad here once you get used to it. Oramo swats him with a wing, saying staying is out of the question, and that he has to get back to the wider world. The Krokorok sighs, defeated, and asks how he intends to get oss the island.
Oramo explains that they’ve come here on an important task, talking about how Kyogre is said to have woken up, and is now causing trouble for them. The Krokorok asks if that’s the reason for this storm, and Oramo says it most likely is. He asks how things have been here recently, and if the Krokorok can give them any information on how to get around the island. The Krokorok explains how there are several winding trails from here that lead to different places, but can show them the one that’ll take them to the western section. Oramo warns him that if he helps them, he may well be facing Kyogre as well, and the Krokorok just cackles, saying his days are already numbered with his age. He says to bring it up, and Oramo just sighs in exasperation at his friend’s attitude. As the Krokorok starts out of the cavern, he turns back towards Oramo, telling him in all seriousness, it’s good to see him. Oramo nods in return as he steps outside, and the others follow. Umbryo questions of any of the others made it here, but Oramo says he hasn’t seen any of them. He worries that they may have been lost in the southern section, and now their numbers have been effectively reduced to six. But they don’t have time to go looking for them, so he hopes for the best and says they need to keep moving.
As they proceed onwards, they have to fight their way through more of the pokemon to reach the western section, the Krokorok now more confident in getting through now that he has others with him. But they’re eventually caught in a pincer by a large group of natives, who he figures have been waiting for them to come here. Figuring out all this was a trap, he starts cackling at the idea that now may be his last stand, and Oramo shouts at him to snap out of it, and that it’s not over. The Krokorok shrugs it off and says he’s not done yet, and he’ll keep fighting to the last breath, but then curiously points out how there aren’t as many of them now as there usually are, despite the clear large number there still is now. They proceed to try and fight back the opposers, doing everything they can to survive, but their numbers are far too great now, and they quickly overwhelm the group. Later in the battle, Umbryo and Flaro’s rings flicker purple, and some the others wonder what’s going on with them. As they fight on, they strike an Aerodactyl with a combined attack, knocking him back with a powerful blow. He roars out and tries to come back in for another attack. But before he can get to them, they don’t expect that a large wave of water would come crashing down on everyone, washing them away and knocking several of them out, including the brothers.
A little while later, Umbryo and Flaro start to regain consciousness to someone’s voice calling to them. As they finally wake up, they look around, Flaro groggly asks what the hell happened. They find themselves under a tree with Oramo standing over them, and figure out their attackers have all fled. The other Legion members who were with them have already woken up or are about to, with the Krokorok groaning and shaking himself off of the water. Oramo explains that they were all washed away by a wave, and one of them was lost in the aftermath, reducing their numbers down to five. He points out to the west, where they can finally see the cause of what happened. Out at the short of the western section is Kyogre himself, who is swimming in the ocean in his Primal form, causing all kinds of chaos in the area. It quickly becomes evident that the native pokemon have all fled in terror at the sight of the ancient pokemon, leaving the area completely deserted, save for the group here. Unnerved at seeing that the rumors are true, some of the Legion members are starting to have second thoughts about this. Oramo tells them there’s no escaping this, so they’ll have to suck it up and deal with it. From here on out, it’s all or nothing. There’s no choice but to face Kyogre and try to get him to stop his rampage.
After they’ve collected themselves and gotten ready, the group heads out towards the western section to face the legendary pokemon in what would be one of their most challenging battles. Here, a static charge fills the air while the rainfall makes it almost impossible see any further than a few yards, and Flaro’s fire moves are rendered useless, forcing him to focus on his other moves. The objective is to stay on high ground to avoid being washed away by Kyogre’s tidal waves, while trying to get in close enough to attack him with ranged attacks. Kyogre will attack with his own ranged moves, including Ice Beam, which will freeze whoever it hits for a short time. Water Pulse may daze its targets, making it difficult to move around and aim for a while. Frequently, Kyogre will charge up to launch several high speed jets of water, which will instantly take the brothers out if they hit. Occasionally, Oramo will land an arrow that will immobilize Kyogre for a short time, giving the group some time to get in and start attacking up close and doing much more danage with their physical moves. They will quickly have to retreat to higher ground when Kyogre regains mobility to avoid being washed away by a wave. As he weakens, Kyogre will retreat into the water and proceed north, making the group have to trail him along the short until he emerges again. About halfway up the short, he will start releasing charged bolts into the clouds, which will rain down as powerful lightning bolts they will have to evade, the glowing spots on the ground marking where the bolts will strike. Eventually, one of the Legion members is taken out by a jet of water, cutting their numbers down to four: the brothers, Oramo and the Krokorok.
As they proceed closer to the northern section of the island, Kyogre becomes increasingly aggressive and his waves start covering higher areas of the land. Eventually, the Krokorok is washed away by a wave, and Oramo shouts out to him as he’s pulled into the ocean. He cackles wildly and rides the wave to Kyogre, delivering a harsh blow with Foul Play, using the legendary pokemon’s own power against him to knock him down. But it isn’t enough, as the Kyogre charges a jet of water in response. With nowhere to run, the Krokorok is stricken with a fatal blow and sinks into the water. Oramo is disheartened at the loss of his friend, and the brothers look out in shock at what happened. Now left with just the three of them, Oramo squawks with anger and grabs the brothers with his claws, flying into the air. They initially freak out at what’s going on, but see that he’s now carrying them closer to the Kyogre. Umbryo shouts out to him, asking if he knows what he’s doing, and he says he hopes they know what they’re doing. He drops them off on top of the weakened Kyogre, where they proceed to attack him directly. Now enraged at being bombarded with attacks, Kyogre starts flailing around in the water, forcing the brothers to hold on to him frequently. Unable to use most of his ranged moves now, the Kyogre tries to dive into the water and take the brothers down with him. Oramo will swoop down to pick them up when he does, and they’ll have to grab onto him or be dragged underwater. While he’s underwater, he’ll start firing off jets of water that Oramo has to avoid until he finally comes back up. He’ll then fire an arrow at Kyogre, immobilizing him before dropping the brothers off on him again so they can attack. When he regains mobility again, he’ll dive down and the brothers have to repeat the process again, staying with Oramo and evading jets of water until he comes up again and they can attack.
Eventually, they manage to weaken Kyogre enough to deliver a final blow on him. The legendary pokemon roars out and Oramo pulls the brothers away to safety, watching on as Kyogre glows brightly and releases a blue beam into the sky. Afterwards, he goes back to his normal form and falls back into the water with a big splash. Finally taking a moment to rest and coughing up water from the battle, the brothers and Oramo look around to figure out what to do now. Having apparently defeated Kyogre, they hope now that they’ve fulfilled their task here and can try to go back home. They start off towards the northern section of the island to try and find a way off, and Oramo talks about the loss of his Krokorok friend along the way. Umbryo says he died for a good cause, and fought until the very end. Oramo simply sighs in response, and they continue on.
As they proceed, they eventually come across a large group of native pokemon, who surround them on all sides. The brothers and Oramo glare back at them, knowing there’s no way they could take on all of them at once. But just when they think they’re in for it, one of the natives, a Stoutland, comes out and faces the brothers, staring at them for a moment, before telling the others to back off. He turns and walks away, simply telling them thanks for stopping Kyogre. The group disperses, leaving a baffled trio who were certain they’d be dead at the end of this. After a moment, Umbryo stumbles a bit, but catches himself, and Flaro and Oramo look at him with concern. He says he’s fine, and that the battle with Kyogre wore him out. Flaro nods and sits down, saying he’s beat too. Oramo glances between the brothers, before suddenly perking up and looking over towards the beach. The brothers look at him curiously, then start hearing coughing and look towards the beach as well. Oramo flies over to find one of the Legion members who came here with them, the one who was washed away in the initial tidal wave before the battle: a Weavile. The brothers run over to look him over and see that he’s badly injured and barely alive, having been caught in the ocean for some time. Flaro says he needs help as soon as possible, but Oramo says there’s no one around who could help them. After a brief moment of thought, Umbryo mentions the Legion could take care of him, if Oramo took him back to the World Abyss. Being the only one of them who can fly, he’d have to carry the wounded Weavile back on his own. He is concerned about the brothers, however, and Flaro says they can get back by themselves. After a moment, Flaro hurriedly asks what he’s waiting for, and to go, and after a second’s hesitation, Oramo picks up the Weavile and looks back at the brothers, telling them to take care, before flying off.
The two watch the Decidueye leave, then look around the area again, figuring they should see if anyone else survived now. They start heading back south, before being stopped by a loud roar from above. They jump, startled, and look up, only to see an Aerodactyl rushing down at them, and barely avoid being bitten by splitting apart. Flaro shouts, asking what the hell that was about, but before they can even think about it, Umbryo yells that he’s coming back. The brothers evade another attack, before responding with their own, hitting the Aerodactyl with combined moves and causing him to shriek loudly in rage. Umbryo says he’s not going to stop, and that they should try and find a way to lose him. The brothers run off towards the north, hoping to get away before the Aerodactyl can recover and come after them again.
As they reach the northern section of Zero Isle, they find a large rock and duck behind it to catch their breath. Still weak from the battle with Kyogre, the brothers aren’t able to face the Aerodactyl with any effective strength, and try to find somewhere they can rest before figuring out what to do next. Having no idea where to go from here, they start off towards the east to find any suitable place they can take cover to rest. But as they explore the area, they start to realize from the flood of water everywhere that this must’ve been one of the first places attacked by Kyogre. It is deathly quiet here, only the sound of the falling rain being heard as the two wander. The entire area is ravaged, with trees torn down and encampments destroyed and abandoned, and not a soul in sight. They are horrified by the damage that was caused, and the idea of what must’ve happened to the pokemon who used to live here. Many areas are cut off by the water, making travel difficult for the brothers as they try to find some way out of the rain. The whole time, they’re keeping a lookout for the Aerodactyl, hoping he won’t find them here. The whole way, the brothers don’t say a word, focusing on just trying to find shelter.
They continue through the area, not finding anywhere to stop and rest, and over the time, the rain has barely let up. Eventually, the path starts to curve south, and they realize they’re approaching near the central area of the island. As they examine the area for a moment, they decide to follow the path south. However, as luck has it, Aerodactyl has finally caught up to them, and the brothers quickly jump behind a rock, hoping he doesn’t notice them. They remain there for a while, but eventually, the rock is suddenly blasted apart with the Aerodactyl comes crashing down into it with a Giga Impact, making the brothers freak out as debris is sent flying everywhere. They quickly make a run for it as he recovers, but this time, they don’t get far as he swoops in for another attack, catching Flaro off-guard and making him skid across the ground. Umbryo shouts out to him and he growls, trying to attack the Aerodactyl, but is overpowered by a rush attack and fling violently into a cliff face, hitting it with a brutal crunch. He yelps in pain and drops to the ground, with some rocks coming down around him. Umbryo runs over to him as he staggers up, having been heavily injured from the impact. But the Aerodactyl isn’t letting up, and comes in for another attack. Flaro launches Flaming Arrows to stop him, before grunting to Umbryo to run. Umbryo, however, isn’t hearing it, and protests. But Flaro says if he’s not getting out of here, at least Umbryo has to. Umbryo shouts again in protest, but Flaro shouts back painfully for him to go, or Aerodactyl will take them both out. Torn apart, Umbryo isn’t given much of a choice, and the Aerodactyl starts after them again. He winces and tells Flaro he’d better not leave him, before running off towards the south. Meanwhile, the Aerodactyl starts after him, but Flaro attacks him with another barrage of Flaming Arrows, shouting out to leave his claws off his brother. Enraged, the Aerodactyl directs his attention towards Flaro, and the two get into a fight.
The battle quickly turns into a losing one as Flaro’s moves are weakened from his condition, and Aerodactyl’s attacks only grow increasingly aggressive. With each hit, Flaro’s maximim health drops, taking permanent damage that isn’t recoverable with items. The battle continues, with Aerodactyl showing no signs of weakening, and Flaro becoming more desperate by the moment. But eventually, he drops and starts coughing and gasping for air in the heavy rain, no longer able to stand or move. He looks towards the south, where Umbryo has long gone, then whimpers weakly that he’s sorry- so sorry. He then shouts out Umbryo’s name before Aerodactyl swoops in...delivering a final attack.
Coming into the central section of Zero Isle, Umbryo runs for his life through the rain. Like the northern section, there are no pokemon here and the place is almost as badly damaged. As Umbryo climbs up the hills, lightning strikes different objects around the area, throwing up debris that can damage him along the way. He staggers constantly while trying to run, looking for anywhere he can go to hide, find help, or anything at all. After a while of climbing, he finally spots a tiny cavern in the face of a cliff. He runs inside and stumbles over, coughing and shivering after finally making it out of the rain. He looks around the cavern, seeing that he’s the only one here, then looks back outside in silence. After a little while of watching the rain, he starts whimpering, having come to grip the fact that Flaro wouldn’t have survived facing the Aerodactyl. Having lost his brother, he breaks down crying, mourning for him in the isolation of the cavern while the rain continues to fall outside. The scene overlooks Zero Isle Central, a desolate place with only the one Umbreon sitting in a cavern, broken over the loss of the brother he’s lived his entire life with.
After a while longer, the rain finally settles down and the clouds start to separate. Umbryo eventually comes back out of the cavern and looks up at the sky, seeing breaks in the clouds where rays of sunlight shine through, and the gentle drizzle that is what’s left of the storm caused by Kyogre, finally calming down. He quietly walks on, staggering a bit, before sitting down and staring out at the sky with a sigh. As he looks towards the light breaking through the clouds, however, suddenly, a shadow comes down through them, blocking out the light and revealing the terrifying sight of the Aerodactyl screaming down onto him. He yelps and rolls out of the way as the predatory pokemon swoops over him, then turns to face the Aerodactyl as he glides around and comes comes back towards him. He finally Shadowsteps out of the way of a second attack, before striking him with an Iron Tail, sending him careening out of control. The Aerodactyl soon recovers, before turning to glare back at a now angry Umbreon, who is staring back at him, panting. Umbryo curses the Aerodactyl for what he’s done- hunting them down across the island, forcing them to separate and killing his brother. He glares with hatred at the monster before him, threatening him to come after him, saying he’s not running anymore. Taking the bait, the Aerodactyl swoops down and Umbryo faces him in a fight.
As the fight goes on, Umbryo’s moves start doing noticeable damage on the Aerodactyl, with his rage fueling his will to fight. But it isn’t enough, as the Aerodactyl grows more vicious with each hit he takes, and, like the battle with Flaro, Umbryo’s maximum health starts depleting with every attack. Growing weaker over time, Umbryo’s attacks start becoming less effective and the Aerodactyl overpowers him, tossing him backwards. Umbryo staggers up and glares weakly at the Aerodactyl, who swoops in one more time to attack, and Umbryo delivers a retaliatory move...before being taken out in the exchange, going black.
Umbryo’s EndingUmbryo eventually awakens to find himself in a mysterious place: a huge room made up of marble floor and white, stone walls. He looks around in confusion, wondering where he is and how he got here. Soon, however, he spots two people approaching him. One is a Dragonair, and the other is, to his surprise, Lucas. He gets a daunting feeling at the sight of the two, and asks what happened. The Dragonair introduces herself as Simeras, the Soulbinder of the Spiritual Council. She mentions that he should already know Lucas, and explains that she pulled him here after his fight with the Aerodactyl. Realizing where he is now, Umbryo looks down without a word. Simeras apologizes for what happened, and Lucas approaches him, saying he’d hoped things wouldn’t come to this. After a moment, Umbryo asks what happened to Flaro. The two fall silent and he looks up at them for a moment, before Simeras finally confesses regrettably that Flaro isn’t here. Umbryo shivers at the realization that Flaro is, indeed, gone for good, and starts to break down. The two are quiet as he says he shouldn’t have run, and he should’ve tried to stop the Aerodactyl, but Lucas says there was nothing he could do, and trying would’ve only made his death come sooner. Umbryo doesn’t respond and just sits there in tears.
Simeras comes over to him and says there is still a chance for Umbryo to make up for it, if he feels he failed. She goes on to explain that the Council has had eyes on him since what happened with Giratina, and sees him as a valuable asset, but only if he decides to join. This can be a chance for him to do something better, in his brother’s memory. After a moment to compose himself somewhat, he says he doesn’t know what to do. Lucas moves in front of him and places a paw on his shoulder, saying he’ll help him, and to take some time to decide. Should he choose against it, he will be allowed to rest and pass on. The two move back and Umbryo stares at the floor for a while in thought. He asks if Lucrecia and Senera are safe, and Simeras assures him that, from what they’ve seen, they are. He is quiet for some time longer, before looking back at them, and saying he’ll do it. The two nod and the scene fades to black, before showing Umbryo walking down an empty path. His appearance shifts through his tasks over three hundred years. Arcos, the Arcanine. Vinterso, the Charizard. Flaronos, the red dragon. Glacialis, the Glaceon. And finally, his human life as Vincent Verona...who soon takes the form of Eriah, the Latios. Meanwhile, as each task passes, he says he hopes he could do better, for Flaro, and everyone he left behind at home. Then one day, he may see them again, when he’s finally made things right. Eriah then flies off into a cloudy sky overlooking a misty field: Soul Island. The story leads into The Legacy of Sylver, the fourth and final story of Phase 1A of the series.
Flaro’s EndingThe scene opens up to show Midnight Forest, where the forest residents are living peacefully after the threat of Kyogre has been fended off. The world is saved, once again, by the brothers...but at the great cost of themselves. Oramo has returned to the World Abyss and told the others of what happened before he came back, but he failed to get the Weavile back in time, and he passed during the flight. The Legion of the Abyss has prepared a proper ceremony for the ones lost on Zero Isle, honoring them for their sacrifice during this heroic quest. But soon, Oramo realizes that Umbryo and Flaro have never returned. Meanwhile, Lucrecia has come to grips that they are gone for good, and is broken up by the loss of her mate and who she considered her brother. She mourns for them and, after a long period, accepts that she has to move on, to raise her daughter -Flaro’s daughter- for her sake. The rest of the Midnight Pack, as well as Leanna and Amencer, give their support to raise Senera. The one living memory of Lucrecia’s mate grows up in her care, to pass on the family legacy, bearing the pendant passed to her by Flaro when she was born.
Over three hundred years later, the scene opens into a sprawling metropolis located in eastern Unova, in Earthrealm: Black City. Here, four pokemon are shown. Incendro, the Houndoom. Autro, the Absol. Fangus, the Mightyena. And Umbros, the Umbreon, the descendant of Senera and Flaro, who carries the pendant of their legacy around his neck as he runs down the street with his friends, on a mission as a group formally known as the Umbra Sarcina. The story leads into Nocturnal Sanction, the second story of Phase 1B, the Dusk Legacy Series.
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