I was stunned as I looked at the Lucario’s terastalized form, unbelieving as to what I was sensing. For that matter, if I didn’t already have enough evidence as is, Max as certainly full of crap. No way in hell he fought this thing. The ‘fight’ if anything was just him being this Lucario’s punching bag. This pressure is far too much. I looked back, seeing my Combusken, Aura Sphere cooked on the ground, out cold. I recalled my fallen Pokémon and stashed the ball, but then almost like muscle memory went for another one. But then I caught myself. There was no way I was sending any of my Pokémon against this; they weren’t ready. Each one was for certain going to get taken out by this thing in very short order. The Lucario was staring at me, waiting on me to make a wrong move. It left me to wonder what got a Lucario of all things territorial as a Mewtwo with nearly the power to match, but honestly? That was not mystery I was going to find out now. “Nope…”

I quickly made the about face and I bolted as fast as I could, even using Agility, bolting to the tunnel exit behind me. I knew that was going to put me deeper in the maze of caverns, but better than staying there and fighting that thing. But in spite of blazing through the tunnel, I took notice behind me, the Lucario was hot on my trail, matching…no, actually exceeding what speed I was doing trying to navigate these tunnels and was bound to overtake me any second. As I sped on, I quickly moved my hands up and as the Icicles quickly shot out of the ceiling. I then clinched my fist and detonated the attack, letting the cavern start to crumble and come down then dove through. I went into a tumble then went back to sprinting forward, not looking back. At least as first. The Lucario only hesitated a minute as the rocks fell, but then I heard an explosion behind me. I stopped and looked back, seeing only the terastal light cut through the dust and the Lucario’s shadow within it for only just a second. “Of course it wasn’t that easy…” I said.

I quickly rushed off and found my way into a large cavern room, looking around, namely just for a place to run to as opposed to hide. I doubted I was going to be able to hide anywhere with a Lucario’s aura senses. I rushed off, rushing across until I skidded to a stop towards a cliff. I looked down below, sighing frustratedly, not really able to see what was down there but I had no choice. I jumped down, charging an ice beam to be able to see the flight down. Once I landed, I quickly looked around and went back to running, trying to find the way out of here, following whatever tunnel I could find. “Ugh…so this is probably what Arctibax felt like…gotta love that irony.”

I reached a large cavern and oddly compared to a lot of rooms so far, I felt a odd breeze flowing through the room. As if there was an air current of some kind. Current meant that air was trying to find a way in in to fill space in the cavern. I needed to figure out where it was coming from. There was hope here. That relief then started to change until I got an alert on my SNAG. “Oh now what?” I asked, staring in confusion. Quickly taking it out, I took a look at the messages. Sub sent off the alert. Everyone was needed at the academy. “Are you serious? Now?” I asked, not really expecting an answer. “Ugh…and me without a teleport Pokémon on me. I got to get back to the junction. Hopefully in one piece.” As I stashed the SNAG, my instincts tripped, I looked up and on a rock formation, balancing on a stalagmite above me, the Lucario was there looking down at me. “…one piece becoming far less likely…”

I quickly swiped my hand around, ice pillars shot from the stalagmite that the Lucario was balancing on. The Lucario quickly hopped off as I clinched my fist once again, detonating the attack and crumbling the rock. I looked up and the terastalized Lucario started to come down towards me. I quickly jumped back to get out of the way, but as soon as it touched down the Lucario came after me. One swing after the next, its attacks surgical, fast. I tried to keep backing off, trying not to instinctively fight back and run on many a facets. Lucario was showing off its Close Combat, no needing of defense, it already had me compromised. I then braced myself as one kick moved around and struck me hard. I skidded back, unable to keep my footing then tumbled backwards before finally coming to a stop. “Gah…” I quickly pushed myself up, shaking my arms, getting numbness out of them from the hit that I tried to guard against. The Lucario wasn’t going to give me a break, however. The Lucario rushed in once again, trying to take me out of commission. The various kicks and punches kept me on the defensive, but once I saw my moment, I fired an Ice Beam at the Lucario’s feet, sticking it to the ground. In that moment of being caught off guard, seeing his foot stuck only for a second, I quickly shifted, and with my other hand, I then focused, discharging a psychic shock in that of Extrasensory. The Lucario yelped out, wincing a bit from the attack. With that window, I quickly bolted out of the cavern room, trying to follow where the air current was coming from. Lucario however, quickly recovered, easily pulled his foot free then went back on pursuit.

I didn’t want to get into another scrap with the Lucario. What I did as is probably just pissed it off to no end, as I could only imagine. As soon as I found myself in another large room, I started to notice that the room was brighter than the rest for the time being, a light coming from a tunnel above. “Please let that be a way out…” My instincts once again triggered and I looked back only to weave away as an Aura Sphere nearly clipped me. The shot explodes and the foot holds started to crumble to the force of the Lucario’s attack. That wasn’t going to stop me however. I quickly jumped up and started to fly up, getting up one ledge after another. The Lucario started to see me make my way up to the tunnel then started to literally run up the wall, trying to cut me off. I would land and dart down the tunnel, everything that I could put behind my Agility. Lucario would be hot on my heels and as soon as I managed to set foot out of the tunnel, the Lucario drove a fist into my back, one that burned practically white hot to me. I found myself tumbling hard in snow out in broad daylight. I grasped at my back some then looked back up, the Lucario’s silvery fist fading out to its normal colors. “Blast it, that thing blasted Bullet Punched me…ugh..” I said, pushing myself back up.

As far as I was concerned though, I was out. I just needed to just leave. That was it. Quickly I leaped up and started to fly up, but Lucario blazed a trail through the snow, leaping up high itself and kicked me back down to the ground, refusing to allow me to leave. I slammed in the snow once again but pushed myself up out of it, looking up in time to see the Lucario gracefully land on its feet. I wasn’t going to be able to leave fast enough to get away. “Why in the hell are you so anxious to fight anyone who sets even remotely around your roaming grounds!? Why are you even here!? Ugh, freakin’ hermit master in the mountain crap here…” The Lucario wouldn’t give much of an answer, going full blown dedicated to fighting me. As I tried to guard against everything he threw at me, he would then rear back, his fist glowing a even more powerful silver than before then threw the harsh attack. I quickly darted with Agility out of the way and the Lucario slammed right into the ground with a resounding boom. “b*****d tried Meteor Mashing me…ugh…” I then thought about something, looking up towards the mountain, my eyes narrowing a little bit. The Lucario looked back and got ready again, waiting on me to make a move. I once again gave another wave, the Lucario getting rather defensive, but then was left briefly confused, knowing that it was expecting something. No pillars of ice coming out of nowhere again. The Lucario’s eyes narrowed, agitated, thinking it was tricked. “Made you look.” I said, clinching my fist.

An explosion echoed through the valley, the Lucario looking back behind him. The snow started to shift and started to come down the side of the valley. “You think you’re BA enough to fight an instigated avalanche?” I asked. The Lucario went wide eyed, then charging an Aura Sphere, like it was going to challenge the oncoming force of nature. “Oh sure…make it worse. Bye now.” I then quickly kicked up once again going straight up, looking down towards the Lucario. The Lucario instantly decided against fighting the oncoming snow and then darted back across the snow, heading back through the tunnel that we both came through and ran deep back into the caverns. It was only barely a moment later, when I was well above in the skies, that the snows started to cover that cavern exit. Relieved, knowing I wasn’t going to have to fight that Lucario anymore, I started to fly off back towards the junction at the pass.

It took a short bit before I cleared the mountains and started to come down into the junction from the opening above. I landed right in the middle of the campsite clearings and started to rush over to the Pokémon center. I made my way to a PC and quickly started to change out my Pokémon. I sat the SNAG on the PC as I tried to work through the various options and switching. “GRAY, give me an update, what’s going on at the academy.”

“Everyone had left the academy. They found their way directly north of your position.” GRAY stated

“Wait, what? That fast? How!?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. The most I can tell you is that at one moment, the academy was undersiege by Team Star and the utilization of both the Dynamax phenomenon and chi machines, then the next the Ziton is once again involved.”

“That thing that took Crystal-“ I then perked up, cutting myself off, looking off towards the distance, which technically was a stone wall that surrounded most of the junction, but it was as if I was starting to sense that really unholy amount of power. Even more powerful than the Lucario from earlier. I then sighed out. “God, I am really hating today.” I quickly had to go back through the options and change out one of the Pokémon I grabbed. I didn’t need Telia getting wrapped up in that mess. “How are they holding up?”

“The fight between the Snagems and the Ziton just started. You’re going to need to get there as fast as you can.”

“And with no truly fast way to get there. Oh sure, no pressure…” I said, finally getting my team set. “Not as if I had been running around all around these mountains as is…alright. On my way.” I stashed the SNAG and finished using the PC. I quickly ran back off and went towards the skies, no longer on Victory Road for now, but back on the job in order to save Paldea.