Chương 228: Chapter 219

The pseudo-legendary Dragon Type stalked back and forth below us, with each stomp of its feet causing pebbles to dislodge from the cliffs around it. The threat it posed meant there was no point in heading out to travel while it was still here, but this Kommo-o was clearly young and had not yet reached the full potential of its strength. All we needed to do was to soundly defeat it and "encourage" it to return home for the first stage of our plan.

"Ninetales, I trust you to handle this. Don't hold back in the slightest, alright?" The edge of her mouth curved up into a smirk before she leaped right off the edge of this cliff. Behind me, Ribombee squeaked out a gasp, but I simply held out a hand to stop him from chasing after Ninetales, who sailed through the air.

"Don't worry. She won't have any problems getting down." Nimbly jumping between impossibly small ledges, Ninetales descended through a use of Agility. Despite being half my size, she could find footholds on the tiniest of outcrops, and she had no problems reaching the ground. The Kommo-o stopped where it was angrily pacing to glare at the rapidly approaching Ninetales. The plates on its body rattled threateningly, but it was Ninetales who made the first move. One bolt of frost energy zapped out, then another.

The first sent the Kommo-o reeling back from the freezing cold Ice Beam, and the second caught it in the chin like an icy uppercut.

"Brace!" I shouted. Stumbling but quickly snapping its head back towards her, the Kommo-o finally unleashed the preparation it was going through only moments before. The clattering of its scales increased in ferocity to become a horrible, clamorous noise. The sound waves became infused with Dragon Type energy that rushed over and encompassed Ninetales's form. Except, Ninetales was unaffected. This move, Clanging Scales, Kommo-o's signature attack, could not deal damage to the Fairy Type.

Ninetales only suffered from the loud noise, and even then she was able to mostly ignore it by pressing her ears down to the back of her head. She jumped, charging right at it, and as Kommo-o was a partial Fighting Type, it reflexively lashed out. With ease, Ninetales slipped right under the punch of its claw and unleashed a full-fledged Dazzling Gleam right in its face. Of course, this was a four-times effective attack, and it fell backwards, barely holding itself up on the ground.

I took this opportunity for what it was; I shouted for a finishing move.

"Blizzard!" There was fear in the Dragon Type's eyes. The realization that it had been wholly outclassed hit it all at once. Ninetales's deep blue eyes gleamed from within the snow that rushed out from around her. Within only a second, the Dragon Type had been completely consumed, and when the ice and snow faded away, it was totally unconscious on the ground, frost covering its scales.

"Quicker than I expected, but that's Ninetales for you," I said to my team.

"Her reaction to its punch was especially good, slipping into a vulnerable spot while it was distracted with an attack. Keep in mind little tricks like that for when you all are in battle. I can't give you commands for everything, and sometimes all it takes is the slightest bit of misdirection to win against a foe." Ribombee landed on the edge of the cliffside as Ninetales hopped up and laid down on a rock.

She crossed one paw over the other and held her head high, obviously trying to make a show over how competent she was. Togekiss started to cheer, but at my side, Tinkaton scoffed. She let her massive hammer rest against her shoulder. It was almost as if she was trying to say that using physical attacks would have been more impressive.

"Alright. So the details of our plan..." I clapped my hands to draw everyone's attention.

"Those Dragon Types want to attack us? Fine, but they shouldn't be surprised when we take the battle to its source.

"Dragon Types favor strength, so we'll show them ours. I plan to find and challenge their leader, and this guy down there will be key to that. Once he wakes up, we'll hide and follow him back to his nest. I'll go over the specific details of what I want once we find a place to hide below." Glancing down, Ninetales was now pretending to rest, but she kept one eye open as the unconscious Dragon Type laid sprawled out on the floor.

"Entering a Dragon Type's nest won't be easy work," I said, thinking over our upcoming task.

"I'll be relying on you all to win, so be ready for a battle at a moment's notice." I received a mass of supportive cheers and expressions of confidence in response. For this, we were essentially trading the many, easy battles for one, difficult battle to get the assault to stop. I had a lot of little things to improve with my team, and I wanted to train them my way instead of having this period being defined by Dragon Types.

We were a team of Fairy Types, and these Pokémon would learn why it was a bad idea to mess with us. Half an hour later, the wild Kommo-o woke up with the bewildered energy of a too-long, afternoon nap. The ice on its scales had melted enough that it was now only barely damp, and it pushed back to its feet before shaking to get all of that moisture off. It took it a few seconds for it to recover its bearings, and when it did, the Dragon Type's face curved up into a scowl.

A bone-rattling roar left its mouth and bounced around the canyon. Out of rage at its own loss, it punched a wall. The force contained in the attack was enough to leave a claw-shaped hole in its wake. Behind a nearby boulder, Ninetales and I looked on, remaining as still and quiet as we could.

"Use Confuse Ray on it when it turns our way," I whispered. Ninetales let out the faintest huff as if to say that'd be easy work. The Kommo-o went on what was essentially a minor rampage (more specifically, it threw a tantrum), and tore into the rocks around it. Boulders were turned to small stones, and parts of the cliffside collapsed downwards. A path we had taken the day before turned into a mass of pebbles on the ground as the Dragon Type shook, attacked, and breathed heavily in rage.

Its eyes were unfocused as it continued to tear into everything around it. I would have been nervous, except I trusted my Pokémon, and when it just barely considered moving our way, a thin beam of grey-purple light struck it between the eyes and "convinced" it to look away. Her illusions would help hide us when we eventually followed it, too.

"Good job. We'll still stay quiet, just in case." Ninetales nodded and waited for the Pokémon to finish getting over its defeat. It took several minutes for it to calm down, and in the end, it stood there with its shoulders heaving up and down with every breath. It slumped briefly, depressed, before bringing its head back up in classic, Dragon Type pride, pretending nothing had happened. Then, it started to stomp down deeper into the canyon. Ninetales and I left our hiding spot to follow.

Even with a Confuse Ray up, we didn't get too close, but we couldn't exactly let it get too far away. This canyon wasn't anywhere as twisting as the canyons of Haina Desert, but there were enough curves that it wouldn't be wise to let the Kommo-o out of our sight. To follow it, we kept a set distance away and stuck close to the walls. Thankfully, it was arrogant enough to never once turn around, and the only times it even bothered to turn its head was to growl at and scare off wild Pokémon dumb enough to not hide.

Speaking of those wild Pokémon, I could literally see them hide or try to make themselves small when the Kommo-o marched by. Battle-motivated species—such as Machoke and the weasel-like Mienfoo—pressed themselves against the wall or crouched behind rocks to not be noticed by the Kommo-o as it passed. Wild Alolan Dugtrio, which usually popped up to challenge passersby, all stayed underground and were completely absent around the Dragon Type. With us staying so close to it, these wild species didn't bother to attack.

If anything, they sent Ninetales and I pitying, worried, or utterly baffled expressions as we stalked what was essentially this area's apex predator. The only exception were the wild Murkrow, which would swoop down to take advantage of all the Pokémon hiding away. The clever little birds would grab food or shiny objects lying around without any other Pokémon able to stop them. This march lasted several hours, as the Kommo-o traveled down looping, winding paths.

While it was obviously trending in a certain direction, it didn't take the most direct path, almost as if on patrol. We didn't get to see any more fights, as the Kommo-o did seem more set on scaring others off since it was still recovering from the injuries given to it by Ninetales. If anything, I'd have almost thought it was avoiding going home so as to not reveal it had lost a fight. Eventually, we reached a different section of this canyon.

Here, the path was a lot thinner, and the opening at the top pressed together, plunging everything into dim light. It wasn't a cave just yet, but I wouldn't have been surprised if this area eventually became one. Wild species became significantly less common, and I thought we were alone before I heard a sudden roar. Our unwitting guide paused and turned its head to look down a side path. It barely got the chance to step back before something large crashed into it.

Together, it was as if someone had thrown a box of cymbals down a flight of stairs. The noise was so chaotic I had to cover my ears, and our Kommo-o slammed into the floor. A new Kommo-o, one much larger and covered with faded scars, laid into our guide. Its claws curved up into fists as it quite literally beat up its fellow species, who was failing to fight back successfully on the floor. I thought the Kommo-o's tantrum from before was destruction, but this was something else.

The fight caused the earth to shake and rocks to fall from above. Ninetales and I were forced to race backwards and make more distance as the two fully evolved Dragon Types battled it out. Yet, despite the brutal, noisy, and extremely dangerous fight, neither Dragon Type actually bothered using any real move. Each Pokémon gave their all in this exchange, but no Type energy was infused in their attacks. The battle between the two Kommo-o took several minutes to properly die down.

My blood was racing by the end of it, and I barely held back from ordering Ninetales from jumping in. What she did do was something else that was extremely clever, however. The new, larger Kommo-o pressed its clawed foot against the original Kommo-o's throat, and when it leaned forward to breathe in its face threateningly, Ninetales released a Confuse Ray that struck both the young and old Kommo-o at the same times.

"Nice, Ninetales!" She hummed in pride. With our hidden position secured, we continued to hold back as the new Kommo-o stepped back, releasing the young one and letting out a smug scoff. Our original guide was now covered in even more injuries, but it held back any sign of pain as it pushed back to its feet, keeping its head lowered in deference. Then, the new Kommo-o took the lead, its tail swishing back and forth out of confident pride.

The pair began to push deeper into the canyon, and it only took a few minutes for them to arrive at and enter a dark space where the cliff walls merged to form a natural cave.

"Got it. That's their nest," I whispered to Ninetales. Cubby-like holes littered the walls, but we didn't approach, instead heading back and away from it before we got caught. I whistled, and from the sky, a white blur came down; Togekiss, having kept watch, returned to our side from the sky.

"It'd be dumb to enter a Dragon Type's nest without knowing how many are inside. We'll find a safe spot away from the entrance and keep watch. Togekiss, did you see any other entrances?" She shook her head.

"Good. Then we'll be able to see everyone who enters and exits. Notice any good spots for us to keep watch?" Togekiss took to the air again, and Ninetales and I followed, no longer chasing after a wild Pokémon, but one on our team. This time around, we did have to deal with some wild Pokémon, but the sole, brave Boldore seemed to be motivated from annoyance that we had gotten close rather than pure aggressiveness or a need to battle.

We were led to a ledge about halfway up the cliffside that wouldn't quite fit everyone—at least not yet. I thanked Togekiss and returned Ninetales to her Premier Ball. Then, sending out other Pokémon, we climbed up and began to dig. Mimikyu stood on guard as Togekiss and Tinkaton worked to clear out a space on that ledge. As a Ghost Type, he was the most attuned to methods of stealth.

As for the other two, Togekiss's Psychic was able to silently dislodge and transport loose rocks, and Tinkaton's expertise in salvaging and construction identified safe ways to dig. Several times, I was forced to return them when Mimikyu pointed out Pokémon approaching from nearby. There were enough Rock and Fighting Type Pokémon in these canyons that a new pile of stone wasn't suspicious in the slightest, and the rubble from digging created ample cover to hide us from Dragon Types passing by.

Working together, it took the rest of the day to make a livable space, and then it took several hours spread across the next day to make this place a proper cave. Honestly, Ryuki had the right idea teaching his Garchomp Secret Power. That move formed secret bases in an instant instead of requiring such long periods of effort like this. The artificial cave we created was our home base for the next while, properly hidden enough to avoid notice but not large enough to give us space to train.

It was cramped yet had room for my entire team to fit in. None of them were larger than a human, so they easily occupied the small space. Our position halfway up a cliff allowed us to keep an eye on the Pokémon moving in and out of the Dragon Type nest. We counted groups of Hakamo-o, supported by Jangmo-o, entering and exiting several times a day. Occasionally, they'd split up and head out as individuals, and even rarer, a Hakamo-o or Kommo-o would leave the place on its own.

My Pokémon helped me keep track of and tell apart each individual to let us figure out just how many Dragon Types might be waiting for us within.

"You know, at the rate they're leaving, there has to be a reason why they're heading in and out so much," I mumbled a day into our stay.

"None of them return with food and are always injured, so they're looking for fights, but to what extent?" My current theory was that this was a part of Hapu's Trial. Despite being a Ground Type specialist, the Kahuna herself likely had the authority to make a deal with the Dragon Types here. After all, a week of camping wasn't that necessarily difficult on paper. There had to be some kind of complication if she wanted to truly test trainers before they challenged her.

Two full days of waiting—two horrendously boring days of sitting watch in a dark cave—and I felt confident enough to make a decision. Sure, there were likely injured individuals resting inside that hadn't left, but if they were injured, that just meant we could defeat them that much easier. In total, we counted at least four fully evolved Kommo-o, two dozen Hakamo-o, and then too many Jangmo-o to bother properly identifying each one.

By now, my Pokémon were strong enough that they could treat the Hakamo-o and Jangmo-o as fodder, essentially. The ones we needed to worry about were the Kommo-o, but none seemed strong enough to go unbeaten by my team. Ninetales could probably defeat all four at once. She's an elite-tier Pokémon for a reason. I was confident we would be able to fight our way out if pressed, so encouraged to actually do something, I moved onto the next stage of my plan.

"Our count isn't a true sum but a minimum, yet I doubt they'll have that much more. The cave itself seems pretty large, but we'll be able to handle whatever comes our way. When we head inside, we'll go with the simple approach, which means no stealth or tricks. We'll be walking in right through the front door. Keep an eye out just in case." Despite my confident expression, my team stared at me in a blank silence. Ribombee, a bug that could fit in my hand, seemed like he was about to faint.

After all, even with our Type advantage, I just told them I planned to walk straight into the nest without disguising our entry. Ninetales put her head down and covered her face with her paws. Tinkaton looked unimpressed as usual, but now she was also trying to hide her disbelief. The only Pokémon here with a positive reaction was Mimikyu—he let out a cackle—but Eevee did seem to have his interest piqued. Maybe. (Or I was majorly reading into it.)"Only thing left is to head down," I said.

Ninetales let out a bothered whine, but all I did was smile at her in response. After returning the team members I planned to return, I squeezed past the rocks to head down. Togekiss glided by my side and made sure I didn't fall. Given she was my strongest, Ninetales stayed out for this, just like before. We'd need that when approaching these Dragon Types, and we walked straight to where the cliffs merged together.

After only a few moments, we stood right in the center of the main path, just at the edge of the cave's darkness. I took a deep breath, cupped my hands around my mouth, then shouted at the top of my lungs.

"We challenge you!" My voice echoed around us. Ninetales stood proud at my side but sent me the occasional glance like I was insane. Still, she trusted me, and we waited in place to see who would respond. We were not disappointed. Dragon Types were prideful, powerful, and respected strength. Sneaking in was actually riskier than this—a direct challenge was likely to garner an honored response. Within only a minute, I heard a clattering rumble.

A familiar jingling of scales echoed out from within, and lumbering out of the cave was exactly what I wanted to see: a Kommo-o. Even better, this one was familiar; it was the same Kommo-o we had followed here in the first place. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"Take us to your leader," I said with a smile. It scowled at us, but it didn't immediately attack. Its eyes nervously flicked between Ninetales and I, and I was able to see its back feet dig into the ground to ready a charge in response to our challenge.

"Go, Ninetales," I said. It never got to move. A pure white Moonblast exploded against its chest and sent it sprawling to the floor. Before it could push itself up, Ninetales was already on top of it, and she conjured a small snowstorm that spiraled around her body in an icy-cold threat.

"That was a single attack from Ninetales. I won't say it a third time. Take us to your leader." The Dragon Type growled, but its head soon slumped down in defeat. Given that this was the second time it had lost to us, and that this one had lost to an older Kommo-o, there were sunken bags under its eyes and every movement came out slow. It probably hates us right now, but we've proven our strength. Ninetales hopped back to leave its body, and it managed to stand up.

This time, it didn't prepare itself to attack, but it did give us a dirty look. Sighing, the large Dragon Type turned around and turned back to march into the darkness. It bid us to follow, and I took more pleasure than I should have when I saw the tip of its tail flick back and forth out of annoyance. We moved in. Entering the nest, it was clear that the cubbies I noticed before had not gone unused. Slitted, yellow eyes stared out at us from the darkness as a low intensity Dazzling Gleam created light.

A few deep grumbles left the throat of our guide Kommo-o, but it did nothing to stop us from creating the illumination that allowed us to see. It was more of a tunnel than anything, with a few rooms carved into the walls off to the sides. Outside the cubbies, smaller, evolved forms of Hakamo-o watched us pass. Within their claws were berries and similar food items that they snacked on noisily. Our escort stayed silent, continuing to be annoyed.

The deeper we moved in without doing anything, the more displeased it looked. Yet, we still followed. Though, even with Ninetales and my displayed confidence, I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing on its ends. The feeling almost reminded me of being stalked by a Ghost Type, but it came from the instinctual reaction of being stared at by so many predators at once. Ninetales took it much better than me, standing tall and knowing she could beat anyone here in a fight.

Heck, with her snowstorm and Blizzard, she could probably knock out most of the room in an instant. The deeper we went in, the more the stone floor sloped downwards, and it soon reached the point where the Kommo-o was digging its claws into the floor to stay upright. Ninetales had a near-impeccable sense of balance, and I moved closer to her to hold on for support as we traveled downwards. Then, almost out of nowhere, the floor completely leveled out and we were right outside of a hole serving as an entrance.

The Kommo-o guiding us snorted and stepped to the side. It moved to stand like a guard, but it did not stand in our way, leaving the path free for our entry.

"We'll head in," I said, mostly to reassure myself. I made sure to keep an eye on the Dragon Type as we passed, but it made no aggressive moves. We entered this next section of the cavern without any problems. Unlike the tunnel leading into it, this new room was absolutely massive, containing a cave that could rival most official arenas. Cracks in the ceiling let in trickles of light that illuminated the place and actually let me look around. Here, there were no cubbies or holes off to the sides.

Instead, there was a slightly raised floor in the back, covered by a pile of scales. That mound was twice as tall as I was, and it was situated next to two other tunnels that led deeper in. For a moment, I thought we would need to make a choice of where to proceed, but then the mound of scales started to stand up.

"Oh," I ended up saying.

"You're a Totem Pokémon." There was an energy in the air I hadn't fully noticed before. Turns out, one of the reasons my hair was standing on its ends was the Ultra Wormhole energy in these parts. Standing at least four times my height, the mound revealed itself to be the final form of the species here. The leader was a Kommo-o, as expected, but towered over all the other ones we had seen before. Not just that, but the scales that coated its body were vastly more faded when compared to the rest.

I had thought the Kommo-o that attacked our guide had been scarred, but the Totem Pokémon had scars littering its body. Each blemish spoke of a battle hard fought, with likely decades of experience of battles behind it. Its eyes were half-sunken with age, but the look in them was as sharp and predatory as ever. I forced myself to not instinctually gulp, and I stepped forward with my head held high.

"Kommo-o!" I shouted.

"Totem Pokémon! We challenge you to a match!" There was no immediate reaction. The absolutely massive Totem Pokémon stared down at us with nothing more than passing interest. Still, we stood proud and tall because I knew we could win. A low rumbling left the Dragon Type's throat. It wasn't exactly laughing, but it was definitely amused.

"You're judging a book by its cover. Underestimate us, and you'll lose before you know it." The rumbling stopped. The Dragon Type stared at us once more. The expression on its face didn't change, but it did begin to amble forward, and the most terrifying part of that was that it did so completely silently. Every other member of its species made noise when they moved. If this one can move so quietly like that...

The sheer mastery it was displaying by simply walking told me it was on a completely different level than every other Dragon Type here. Still, since it was heading towards us, we could go ahead and consider our challenge accepted. I nodded to Ninetales to give her permission to start heading forward, and I knew that all it would take was one attack to start the fight.

"Agility! Dazzling Gleam!" The speed at which Ninetales moved made it seem like she teleported, appearing in front of the towering Dragon Type within less than a second. In an instant, she burst with searing light that pressed into the Dragon Type's scales with an incredible force. Yet, the four times effective attack barely caused a wince as the leader of the pack ignored the pain and punched downwards, fist scraping against the air to ignite into a Fire Punch. I was quick to call out a new set of orders.

"Dodge! Double Team!" Old Pokémon can learn new tricks, and Ninetales was still young. A side step saw an illusory duplicate appear in her old position, and the Fire Punch swiped right through it. She continued to move, conjuring duplicate after duplicate. She had recently picked up Double Team without much trouble, and when combined with her growing snow storm, she was impossible to pin down. A second Fire Punch took out several duplicates at once, and the Totem Kommo-o paused and sniffed the air.

Its eyes narrowed as it looked around. As it did, an Icy Wind coming from an unseeable direction caused frost to form over its scales.

"Go!" I yelled. No specific command—I didn't want to spoil our plan. Ninetales had been battling long enough that I trusted her decisions. From behind the Dragon Type, a Moonblast hurtled forward. The Kommo-o snapped its head around only to see the attack angled right at its face. I expected the move to land and make a difference, but in the end, the assault failed. The Dragon Type burst with unnatural light that was no Dazzling Gleam. This Pokémon was not just an old, experienced pseudo-legendary.

This Pokémon was a Totem Pokémon inside its lair. Using the latent energies, an Aura encompassed it and fueled it with overflowing vitality. Every aspect of this Pokémon was strengthened, making an already strong pseudo-Legendary that much stronger. The Moonblast wavered and popped from the effect. This single attack was negated as the Totem Pokémon buffed itself up. Then, before Ninetales could release another attack, it swept its tail and caught her through her illusions.

The Dragon Tail had no truly damaging effect, but the point was made clearly enough. Through raw strength, Ninetales was bashed into the air where she just barely managed to twist around and land on her feet. A growl escaped her throat.

"Get back. I'm returning you," I called out. Ninetales's many tails had been waving back and forth in an implied threat, but the second I informed her of my decision, all nine of them fell in disappointment.

"I want you to be healthy in case any other Pokémon approaches. You already did your role. For now, everyone else will wear Kommo-o down." Unhappily, she moved to my side. I left her out as the Totem Kommo-o stared at us where it stood. Notably, frost still covered its body.

"Tinkaton!" I called out.

"New strategy: use Rock Smash on the floor!" The little Pokémon didn't even blink at the Dragon Type ten times her height. She simply hefted up her hammer and smashed it against the ground. Then without waiting, she did it again, and again. The Totem Pokémon seemed like it had been waiting for us to attack after I recalled Ninetales, but now that Tinkaton was destroying the floor of its cave, it let loose an angry snort and rushed forward.

Claws raised high above its head, it readied what I guessed to be some sort of Close Combat. However, this room was massive and I had purposefully released Tinkaton a distance away. The ground was broken up a decent amount before it finally reached her.

"Protect!" Close Combat landed but failed to do any damage. Energy suffused the handle of Tinkaton's hammer, bracing it, and the only thing that happened was Tinkaton being flung far back. Perfect. I couldn't stop a smile from forming on my face. She landed on her feet, but the momentum meant she slid. Her opponent huffed out of annoyance, and Tinkaton continued to break its floors.

Rock Smash was exceptional at doing this exact activity as the ground became more and more difficult for any terrestrial Pokémon to move. Not only was she doing a great job at it, but Tinkaton found something new she loved. Girlish giggles echoed around the room as she found intense joy in putting her hammer to a rather destructive use. But— The Totem Kommo-o really didn't like that. As Tinkaton continued her rampage, its eyes practically turned red with fury.

Once more, that same aura exploded out of it before it resumed its charge with an even greater ferocity. Its roar shook the floor. Tinkaton suddenly froze, crouching down and raising her hammer as she cowered.

"Noble Roar," I grumbled.

"Intimidate in move form. Tinkaton, Return!" My Pokémon turned to light, sucked back into her Heavy Ball. Our opponent snapped at me in challenge, but I met its gaze and sent out my next Pokémon. In a way, it did the same right after. It let out a noise akin to a hacking bark, and a new Pokémon left one of those two side tunnels. That confirms it. This is part of the Trial. There's no way the Totem Pokémon would have been okay with calling for help, otherwise.

The same moment Togekiss took to the air, a second Kommo-o entered the room. It might not have been a Totem Pokémon, but I recognized its arrogant swagger and its handful of scars, identifying it as the same Kommo-o that had previously attacked the one that had led us here. Seriously. How many pseudo-Legendary Pokémon are living in one place?

"Harass with Air Slash. Continue to tear up the ground!" The room was big enough for Togekiss to have more than enough space to fly around, which meant she was permanently out of range of any melee attacks. Blades of wind formed at the tip of her wings and sliced down at her opponents. Between each of her attacks, she also used weak Psychics and Ancient Powers to churn the ground that much worse. For all of my Pokémon's efforts, the new Kommo-o struggled to move across the rubble-covered ground.

It was struck by several of the flinch-inducing blades across its chest as a result. As for the Totem Pokémon itself, however, it was able to mostly block the attacks with the scales on its massive arms. While Flying Type moves were super effective, it was sturdy enough to not even blink at the damage, let alone flinch.

"Focus on the support! Don't let it stick around!" I shouted. Her attacks changed directions to solely strike at the new Pokémon. She flew in a figure eight pattern that let her repeatedly release blade after blade. Unfortunately, the Totem Pokémon refused to be nothing more than a sitting duck. Every scale on its body lifted up, standing on their ends, before slamming down in a single, deafening burst. The allied Kommo-o was unaffected thanks to its ability, Soundproof.

Ninetales and I were forced to cover our ears. Togekiss, though, took the full effect of the empowered Boomburst, and it was powerful enough that she started to fall out of the air. The damage was too much and came too quickly to give her time to reorient herself. She could probably pull up before she hit the ground, but she would still be within range of melee attacks from two different Pokémon at once.

"Return," I called out. Togekiss was sent back inside of her Pokéball before she was struck. We need a way to take out the second Pokémon. Afterwards, we can focus on the big guy. We've already set so much to our advantage. With how the two Dragon Types were staring, I could tell I wouldn't be allowed much time to think. Right away, I sent out my next team member—this time, it was Mimikyu.

"The field should be rough enough to have plenty of shadows. Focus on the small Kommo-o. You need to finish it off before we can move on." Mimikyu responded by sinking into the ground and rushing forward. His shadow slithered right past the front of the Totem Pokémon, where it went unaffected by a two-handed slam that failed to damage him. He continued to slide within that inky darkness before reaching his target and popping out of his shadow and into the air.

The momentum brought him level with his opponent's eyes, and the Kommo-o's claw caught him right as he began to fall. Yet, the impact did nothing more than tear into his Disguise's head, slowing his momentum just enough to give him time to wrap his own shadowy claw around the Dragon's scaled arm. I held back a laugh at the smaller Kommo-o's expression of alarm. Inspired by how he occasionally climbed over my body, Mimikyu used Shadow Sneak to slip closer before unleashing a point-blank Play Rough.

The Kommo-o was unable to stop Mimikyu's cycle of striking, slinking into a shadow before getting hit, sliding to a new position, and striking again. So small and so close, the Kommo-o was unable to find an angle that would let it attack. Not just that, but his Ghost Type meant any Normal Type, sound-based moves would not affect him. When it came to the Totem Pokémon itself, it was forced to hold back, unwilling to risk attacking its ally.

Mimikyu was an annoying bug climbing all over its body, but each of his attacks were devastating, to say the least.

"Finish it!" I shouted. Play Rough might have had four times effectiveness, but Shadow Claw was where Mimikyu truly shined. He slid over to the Kommo-o's shoulder, popped out, and then his darkened claw extended out and sliced across the Dragon Type's throat. There was no visible wound, but, regardless, it fell to the ground, fainted.

"Perfect." And then the remaining Kommo-o unleashed a roar. With another Noble Roar, Mimikyu was cowed by the intimidating effects, and the hulking Totem charged where he stood. The ground itself shook from its weight as it angled its head down as if to bite, claws extended forward. Yet, as it charged, the unexpected happened. And by the unexpected, I meant the totally expected. With how much we'd been churning up the ground, it was difficult for most Pokémon to move.

The heavy Dragon Type's foot got caught in a pit, and it was sent hurtling forward, where it fell flat on its face. Kind of like Grass Knot, but instead of a single move, it's several turns of rock-based planning.

"Attack!" I yelled. Mimikyu lunged. Jumping from one Dragon Type body to the next, Mimikyu landed on top of the Totem Kommo-o before resuming the same process as before. Boomburst didn't help—Mimikyu was still immune. Its other area of effect move, Clanging Scales, was also useless since Mimikyu was a part Fairy Type, too. Attack after attack tore into the fallen pseudo-Legendary, being unleashed so many times that I was in genuine disbelief that it hadn't fainted.

However, right when it seemed that the Totem would finally fall unconscious, a second wind coursed through its veins as it stood up and unleashed another roar. This sound was interspersed with the harsh noises of cracking scales, with a few of them outright shattering. A painful shudder shook the Totem Pokémon's body, but when the effects ended, it looked even more ready to fight than before. I hadn't entered this fight aware of the move, but when I researched it later, I learned what it was.

This move was Clangorous Soul, a utility move unique to Kommo-o's species that traded vitality for a boost to every single capability. That sudden, violent shift threw Mimikyu off of the Dragon Type's body and into the air. I realized a previously unnoticed flaw in our strategy: Mimikyu couldn't hide in a shadow if he wasn't on the ground. A flaming claw smashed right into Mimikyu and exploded into a crater. Infused with Fire Type energy, this Fire Punch was something he was not immune to.

His Disguise had already been damaged against the other Kommo-o, so he took the full brunt of the attack. He tried to get away with a Shadow Sneak, but the Kommo-o was ready for it, and a second explosive punch struck him before he could escape. That sealed his fate, and for the first time in this fight, I was unable to return my Pokémon before they were knocked out. Light brought him back into his ball, and I couldn't help but to admonish myself for not returning him sooner.

"You did a great job," I whispered.

"You set us up for a win." As I put his Dusk Ball back on my belt, I heard an irregular rumbling. Looking up, the Totem Pokémon had a smirk. It was laughing at Mimikyu's defeat. I felt my anger grow, but I took one look at its damaged body and replied with a sardonic smile.

"Oh, yeah? You're laughing now, but think about everything we've done. Icy Wind slowed your movements. Tinkaton and Togekiss's efforts to churn up the ground made it nearly impossible to move. As for Mimikyu? You've fainted him, but you've taken a ridiculous amount of damage in return. All it'll take is one more Pokémon to finally take you out." The Dragon Type's smirk faded.

"And just wait until you see who you'll lose to," I said, exposing my teeth.

"Ribombee! Come on out! You're going to finish this fight for us!" Ribombee appeared with a flash and immediately froze. The sheer difference in size between him and this foe was comical, to say the least. He wasn't even as long as a single one of the Totem Kommo-o's claws. With how tiny he was, his opponent practically looked at him in disbelief.

"Ribombee. Listen to me. We set everything up in your favor," I said.

"Kommo-o is heavily damaged and all of its movements are extremely restricted. Listen to my voice: you will win this. Keep true to the strategy we've practiced, and you won't have any problems at all." He was shaking, but he didn't look away from the Dragon Type. Though Kommo-o was glaring at him out of annoyance, he took the moment to adjust the scarf around his neck. Some of his confidence returned.

"When you're ready," I said calmly. He nodded only once. Surprisingly, it was an encouraging bark from Ninetales that served as the gunshot to mark the start of this final fight. Right away, Ribombee burst into action, all of his energy pouring into Quiver Dance. Rather than keeping this move small and contained, he darted all over the room with a speed that made him difficult to track.

"More! Faster!" The Totem Pokémon responded by shaking its broken scales and exploding with a Boomburst. Shockwaves of sounds burst out from around it, but Ribombee was able to avoid it by quickly moving far away. He continued his Quiver Dance, unbothered, and despite his small size, I could hear the furious buzzing of his wings even from here. Never once did he look away from his opponent, yet the Kommo-o was finding it difficult to do the same.

I was reminded of a human trying to track a particularly annoying fly; the speed and difference in size made it impossible without the right tool, a tool the Kommo-o didn't have. Eventually, the Totem Pokémon seemed to have enough of the irritating gnat, and flames licked out of the sides of its mouth. It unleashed a Flamethrower—a move I really shouldn't have been surprised to see—but Ribombee easily outpaced the line of flame that the Totem Pokémon sent after him.

"Now!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Dazzling Gleam!" Arguably, with the Bug Type consolidation of Quiver Dance, Ribombee's recently learned Bug Buzz might have been better, but Dazzling Gleam carried the extreme Type advantage that the Totem's species was especially weak to. With all of his energy, Ribombee quite literally exploded with light. It was not dissimilar from the brilliance of the aura that initially empowered Kommo-o, but this all came from Ribombee and Ribombee alone.

The Dazzling Gleam was like a pink-white sun that lit up the entire room. Kommo-o roared to fight through the pain, but at this point, my entire team's efforts had been too much, and several thunderous footsteps marked it stumbling back before leaning against a wall for support. Not long after the light faded, and I held out a hand for Ribombee to settle into. He was shaking both from the sheer amount of energy coursing through him and from the sheer exhaustion from what he had unleashed with his move.

The Totem Kommo-o wasn't yet fainted, but it was in no position to continue the fight. Seeing all of its injuries, I held up Ribombee's Ultra Ball and returned him to let him rest. Now, the only sound in the room was the Totem Pokémon's heavy breathing. It was glaring at us, but I could see a hint of respect in its eyes.

"Now that the battle is over... Listen. To. Me," I enunciated clearly.

"Stop. Sending. Pokémon. To. Attack. We win. It's pointless." The Totem Pokémon's shoulders continued to heave up and down as it forced itself to breathe. I could tell it would likely be recovering from the injuries it sustained—both from us and from itself—for quite some time down the line.

"And to be clear, I don't mean you should start sending Pokémon to attack us for other reasons," I continued, "I mean stop coming to us at all! You're the one in charge. Tell the other Dragon Types to leave us alone. If anything, we're going to be in the area for at least the rest of the month. If any of you want a battle, just ask." The Totem Pokémon blinked. Apparently, it hadn't expected that.

"I don't know if Hapu put you up to this as a challenge, or if you're just annoyed we're in your territory." I was pretty confident Hapu was the reason, but I continued anyway.

"But to be clear, we're going to be here for longer than one week, and we don't want to be constantly harassed. Yes, we want to train, and yes, we want to fight, but the frequent attacks are too much! Give us a break! Actually, you know what, maybe don't attack two of my friends who are here, doing the same? Give them maybe one more day at most, and then let them go. They plan to stick around just as long as me. They shouldn't be forced to constantly fend off your Dragon Types, as well."

Just like the Totem Pokémon, I was panting, but ranting like that had certainly made me feel better. Sometimes, it was nice to vent, even if it came out a little rude. Hopefully I just helped Hope and Lillie a bit if they've been suffering from the attacks, too. I'll pretend I came here for less selfish reasons than I actually did. Despite my yelling, the Dragon Type held its head up high. It was practically glaring at me. I cleared my throat, and Ninetales growled, stepping forward.

A few snowflakes started to spiral around her, and she used a weak Dazzling Gleam to let the light reflect off of them menacingly. I was briefly reminded of our contest days. The stare-off lasted several more seconds until finally, finally, the Totem Pokémon removed itself from the wall. It took a step forward before lowering its head in just the barest act of deference. It might have been injured and defeated, but since we didn't technically faint it, it still had its pride.

In a way, it seemed to respect that decision, and its eyes became less hard.

"Good. I'm glad we reached an understanding. We'll be leaving now, yeah? We won't need to battle anyone else?" No response outside of a blink. I took that as acceptance. Despite my base instincts screaming at me not to, I turned my back to the Totem Pokémon and walked away. It didn't attack, but I could feel its gaze burning into the back of my head as Ninetales and I left the room.

"I'd call this a success, wouldn't you?" I said to my Pokémon. She responded with an amused snort. With how she was looking at me, I got the sense that even with this victory, entering the Dragon Types' nest like this reminded her of how we first met. A day later, we were in the upper reaches of the canyon, practicing in a spot where only a sparse bit of foliage grew.

"Eevee, unleash it now!" A spiral of Swift coursed through the air, and he managed to release a Shadow Ball immediately after. The moves weren't as simultaneous as I'd liked, but the current in the air created by the Swift helped guide the Shadow Ball into a more curved path.

"Perfect!" The rest of my Pokémon were resting—still recovering after everything that had happened. After yesterday's battle, they deserved a rest, but as Eevee was the only one who hadn't fought, he was in good enough shape for some one-on-one training.

"Now, next idea. What if we use Tail Whip to—" My words were interrupted when Eevee suddenly snapped his gaze to a spot behind me, and Ninetales's head popped up from where she was laying down. Turning around, I saw our unexpected guest—a Hakamo-o, eyes narrowed in angry suspicion. I was quick to recognize it as the same one that had attacked us in the first place. With that, an annoyed growl unconsciously left my throat.

"If you're here to attack us..." I started. I let the threat hang in the air. The Hakamo-o took a step forward. Despite that initial approach, the mid-stage Dragon Type didn't bother to attack. Instead, it bowed its head like other members of its species did when defeated, and then it stared me in the eyes in an unspoken challenge. Well, I did say to ask, didn't I?

"I can't really complain if you're polite about it," I mumbled. Eevee moved in front of me to face this new foe, and the Hakamo-o took another step forward. Their battle began rather quickly, and I found a grin on my face. Being under attack was one thing, but being properly challenged was another. If this one sought to fight us, I wouldn't be surprised if others did as well.

Considering that this month was meant to be spent getting stronger, a steady stream of controlled battles was the perfect way to push my team to the next level. Overall, everything had worked out perfectly for once.