"Charlotte, use Thunderbolt on Beheeyem!" I ordered. Charlotte generated as much electricity as she could and launched it at Colress' Psychic-type. The bolt engulfed the Pokémon's body, causing it to seize up and fall to the ground in a heap, almost knocking it out but not quite.

   "Saber, Ice Beam on Drapion!" Nate yelled from beside me. Saber loosed a blinding blue beam of ice and it struck the sharp-clawed Poison-type that belonged to Ghetsis, freezing it solid and knocking it out. "Yes, finally!" Nate sighed in relief, only to sigh again in frustration when Drapion was replaced with an electric eel Pokemon called Eelektross. Nate switched Saber out for Thorn, who had evolved into a Ferrothorn back in Undella Town.

   "Beheeyem, use Recover!"

   No, no! I clenched my fists as I saw the annoyingly bright green hue envelop Beheeyem's body, healing it back to full health for what felt like the fifth time in a row.

   "Thorn, use Mirror Shot on Eelektross!"

   Ghetsis laughed. "Wrong choice. Eelektross, scorch that Ferrothorn with Flamethrower!" Within a second Thorn was scorched by bright blue flames, striking his times-four weakness from fire and knocking him out instantly. At the same time Charlotte was constricted by a Psychic and fainted as well. Nate and I recalled our Pokemon and sent out Slinky and Lilith in their places.

   To say that we were struggling with this battle was an understatement. Not only were Ghetsis and Colress' Pokémon strong, but they were probably over-leveled as well. In the time it took for us to take out four of their Pokémon, they took out five of ours, leaving our combined team of seven against their team of seven. I might have thought those were good odds if the opposing Pokémon didn't hit so hard every turn.

   It wasn't like anyone could help us. Bianca was battling Zinzolin and holding her own against him pretty well, while N and Hilbert were trying to prevent Black Kyurem from leaving the cave. The last time I saw them, Lucy was trying to paralyze the fused Pokémon. As for Hugh... I had no idea where he was or even if he was okay. Sadly, I couldn't afford to think about that at the time. I needed to focus on the battle in front of me.

   "Beheeyem, use Psychic on Stoutland," Colress ordered calmly, adjusting his glasses.

   "Eelektross, use Flamethrower on both of them!" Ghetsis commanded.

   Nate flinched. "Lilith, hurry and try to use Crunch!"

   If I couldn't take out the Eelektross, I could at least stall it. "Slinky, use Fake Out!" As Lilith was busy attacking Beheeyem, Slinky dashed at Eelektross and pretended to claw at it. When it flinched away, Slinky raked her claws down its face and jumped back.

   "Eelektross, Acrobatics!" Eelektross became a blur of color and smashed into Slinky, the powerful move throwing her across the cave like a rag doll and knocking her out. I now only had two Pokémon left, and out of that duo, Bow was my best bet. I sent her out and told her to use Psychic. Thankfully, the Eelektross went down as did Beheeyem. Ghetsis then let out a large blue toad Pokémon called Seismitoad, and Colress had a Magnezone of his own.

   Nate said to gang up on Magnezone and that it's our biggest threat, Bow told me. I nodded and ordered her to use Psychic on the Electric-type while Lilith used Surf. The ice around Lilith liquefied and it became a freezing-cold wave that mercilessly crashed down on Magnezone, sending water droplets flying everywhere. Magnezone would've survived due to Sturdy if it weren't for Psychic finishing it off. But in the process, Seismitoad used Drain Punch, the Fighting-type move causing Lilith to faint. Surely reluctant to use August, Nate sent out Saber.

   It was now Bow and Saber against Seismitoad and a Magneton. Why Colress still had a Magneton when he also had a Magnezone was beyond me. Nate and I ganged up on Seismitoad and barely managed to take it down with two Slashes and a Psychic. If it weren't for Bow using Heal Pulse on Saber, he would've fainted when Magneton him with a Thunderbolt. Ghetsis sent out his second-to-last Pokémon: the Toxicroak that he'd threatened Drayden with.

   "Saber, make sure Magneton goes down this turn with a Surf!" 

   "Counter with Thunderbolt!" Colress said.

   "Add on a Brick Break!" Ghetsis ordered.

   "Stop Toxicroak with Psychic!" I tried countering. Bow was able to stop Toxicroak before it could attack though the same couldn't be said for Magneton. Saber's Surf collided with Magneton just as it used Thunderbolt. The electricity danced over the water and it hit Saber, both Pokémon taking damage simultaneously. Magneton hung on with Study while Saber wasn't as fortunate. He fainted, and Nate had to resort to using August. We both knew that she wouldn't listen to a single thing Nate said, so it was up to me and my two Pokémon to take on the remaining four.

   Do you really think we can do it? Bow asked.

   We'll have to! I replied. "Bow, use Rock Tomb!" I had taken Nate's advice and asked Hilbert if Bow could use one of his TMs, and I thought a Rock move might be an interesting thing to have. And when it took down the Magneton and lowered Toxicroak's speed, I knew I had made the right choice.

   "Toxicroak use Shadow Ball!" Ghetsis ordered.

   "Disrupt it with Psyshock!" I countered, I couldn't risk Bow fainting now. Bow aimed her attack at the shadowy blob Toxicroak had fired, and the Psyshock dissolved the attack. August was keeping Colress' Klingklang busy by soaking up any Thunderbolts it threw at her. Her high Special Defense stat was shining through here, and she hardly seemed perturbed by the thousands of volts being pumped into her. I'd never seen a Pokémon take so much damage and not give a single Flaaffy about it!

   I took advantage of Toxicroak's lowered Speed and knocked it out with another Psyshock before it could attack. Ghetsis then sent out his final Pokémon, a huge black and blue three-headed Dragon-type called Hydregion. From how it looked, I guessed that it was the evolved form of Zweilous, and I vividly remembered how powerful Drayden's Zweilous was. I needed to be extra careful here.

   "Hydregion, start off with a Rock Slide!"

   The three-headed Dragon shot a thin beam of light at the cave ceiling, which caused parts of it to crack and fall to pieces. I told Bow to use Psychic, and she stopped the falling rocks at the last moment. They hung in the air around her, each surrounded by a light pink energy field. I then told Bow to use Rock Tomb, turning Hydregion's Rock Slide against itself. The attack did little more than chip away at Hydregion's HP, and the Dragon got its revenge with a Crunch. It bit down hard on Bow with all three of its heads, taking her out almost instantly.

   I now had one Pokémon left, and she was already weakened from an earlier Night Slash Drapion had used. The only thing I could think to do was have Lucky haphazardly throw Ice attacks at Hydregion and hope they did some damage. Then everything went wrong when August let out a yelp of pain.

   I turned away from Lucky to see August laying on the ground, scorch marks and stray stands of electricity leaping from strand to strand of frazzled fur. Her red eyes were wide, and she twitched with every spasm that wracked her. She was surely low on health and paralyzed, but still conscious.

   "Rosa, can you cover me?! I need to heal August!" Nate asked hastily.

   "What? No, you can't! You can't risk getting hurt!" I objected.

   "I can't risk letting her faint! If she faints, and you lose Lucky, the whole battle will be lost!"

   Lucky! I spun back around to see my Glaceon throw up a Detect, blocking Hydregion's Dragon Rush and Klingklang's Thunderbolt. She was managing so well without me! "Okay, fine. Hurry up and heal her! I'll try to keep them distracted," I said though my mind screamed otherwise. "Lucky, start spamming Ice Shard!" I ordered. Lucky leapt out from behind her shield and began shooting Ice Shards in the enemy's direction. The Pokémon dodged the flurry of shards, managing to dodge the majority of them.

   Out of the corner of my eye I watched Nate kneel down next to August, a Full Restore in hand. I guessed he was saving the rather expensive healing item for a situation like this. Colress was still distracted by the Ice Shards, but Ghetsis wasn't. He noticed Nate trying to heal August and barked an order for Hydregion to pay attention to the real threat.

   "Nate, watch out!" I screamed. I couldn't do anything, Lucky was preoccupied with Klingklang and everyone else was busy with their own battles. I watched as my little brother looked up to see the intimidating Dragon not a foot away from him and August, preparing to unleash its attack. Nate threw himself over August's body, prepared to take the brunt of the move.

   "Hydregion, Dragon Rush!" Ghetsis demanded.

   "F-Flaris, use Flamethrower!"

   That voice! Hydregion was blasted by a jet of pure Blaze-boosted fire. I looked behind me to see Hugh standing there with a bruised and battered Flaris at his side. Aside from a long, curved cut under his right eye, he appeared to be okay.

   "Hugh!" I cried, relief and joy washing over me like a tidal wave. He was alive, he was actually alive!

   "Did y-you really think I had died? I... I couldn't afford to. A-after all, didn't I promise that I'd live?" Hugh choked out. "Flaris, f-finish that Hydregion off with another Flamethrower!" Flaris used Flamethrower one last time, and the singed Dragon collapsed.

   "No, that's impossible!" Ghetsis shouted.

   "It can't be!" Colress cried in tandem with Ghetsis as Lucky defeated his Klingklang. I looked from the Neo Plasma Leader to the Plasma scientist, the realization that we had won taking affect much slower than the initial relief had. Nate was okay, Hugh was alive, and we had beaten Neo Plasma's leader along with his right-hand man! Before they could run, I made Lucky freeze their feet to the ground, preventing them from running.

   "You may have defeated us, but Black Kyurem still rages!" Ghetsis said, gesturing with his cane to the battling Legendaries. Bianca seemed to have beaten Zinzolin and was adding her power to the fight against Kyurem. It kept trying to swat away the Pokémon around it that were like irritating insects to it and it fired lightning-laced ice chunks in every direction, striking Dream more often than not. The fused Legend refused to give up.

   "Why won't it faint?" Nate gasped, not daring to move from August.

   "It's too enraged! We'll need more than power to defeat it," I said. Wait, power... that's exactly what we need! "Nate, remember the theory Professor Juniper proposed? The one about the Gray Stone?"

   "Yeah, what about it?" he asked.

   "If we blast Black Kyurem with enough powerful moves, maybe that'll separate it and Design and it'll revert back to the Gray Stone!"

   "How can we do that? I don't think Lucky and Flaris have enough energy to do it," Nate said.

   "We have to try! Hugh, can you go tell the others the plan?" But at that moment, Hugh fell to his hands and knees. One hand unsteadily held him up while the other clutched at his throat. "Hugh? Hugh?!" I asked frantically. I was shocked to see that he was struggling to breathe.

   "I... I... can't," he gasped. "Running p-probably wasn't... the best idea." He let out a laugh that sounded more like a strangled cough. He looked as if he were on the brink of passing out. I rushed to his side and helped him to his feet. "I'll explain later," he said when he saw the worried look on my face. "Flaris can fight... Flaris, go h-help the others! Tell N or Hilbert Rosa's plan." Hugh's Emboar looked at him with concern before leaving to help the others, Lucky at his heels.

   The three of us watched as all of the Pokémon who hadn't fainted began using their strongest attacks on Black Kyurem. It quickly became evident that my plan wasn't working. Either Juniper's theory was wrong all along, or there wasn't enough power. "Maybe they need to unleash their attacks all at once?" I wondered aloud, growing increasingly worried.

   "August, what are you doing?" The now-healed Ninetales slipped out from under Nate and looked at him, tilting her head to the side. I found this strange, since August didn't usually act like that. All of us were shocked to see August nuzzle up against Nate and she sat down in front of him, gazing at him patiently. "You want to help?" Nate asked. August barked and turned her head to the other Pokémon. "Um, okay. August, help the others out with your Flamethrower. Tell them to let loose a single attack all at once," Nate informed her. August barked excitedly and ran off, flames already beginning to spark from the corners of her mouth.

   "She's listening to you, Nate. No attitude or eye-rolling, nothing," I said, amazed.

   "I thought I'd have to wait until I got my eighth badge before she'd listen," Nate said, equally as amazed.

   "It w-would've happened eventually..." Hugh added.

   The onslaught of attacks briefly stopped once August reached the group of worn-out Pokémon, allowing Black Kyurem to make it a step or two closer the cave exit. I could hear her barking rapidly, and she used her tails to point at the Dragon, everyone else's Pokémon turning that way as well.

   On August's howl, every Pokémon unleashed their most powerful move on the Dragon. Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Dark, and practically every other type of move combined together into a single column of energy that struck Black Kyurem directly in the chest. The great Dragon roared louder than it ever had before as it was consumed by the multicolored light. It tried to fight back with one of its own attacks, but it was too little, too late.

   The light closed in around Black Kyurem, compressing and shrinking it down into a mass a sixth its original size. There was a loud boom of thunder that threatened to break my eardrums and the crackling of electricity combined with breaking ice. The small mass that was once Black Kyurem broke apart into two spheres, which then dropped to the cave floor.

   Nate, Hugh, and I left Ghetsis and Colress frozen to the ground and approached the others. They were all staring down at the two spheres. The stones were carbon copies of each other, their only differences being their color: black and gray. Hilbert gingerly picked up the Dark Stone and turned it over in his hands.

   "Design?" he spoke the Dragon-type's nickname hesitantly. The stone emitted a bright light and flew into the air. The light expanded and took the shape of Zekrom, fading and revealing Hilbert's partner. "Design, you're okay!" Design landed on the ground with a crash and leaned down, letting Hilbert hug him around his neck.

   Dream growled quietly and Design looked up at her. The two Legendaries exchanged small "talk" while the others, both human and Pokémon, chatted amongst themselves.

   "I... I can't believe it's over," Nate said.

   I couldn't believe it either. It almost didn't seem real. I actually pinched myself to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. When the sharp pain in my arm registered with me, I knew this was reality. It was over, everything was over. The fight against Neo Plasma was finally, finally over. Joy overwhelmed me and I pulled Nate and Hugh into a hug, ignoring their surprised protests. I wanted to savor this moment of bliss, make it last forever. I eventually let the boys go and they were just as happy as me, maybe even more so.

   Next to me, I heard Hugh cough and struggle to catch his breath afterwards. Nate and I turned to him.

   "Oh yeah, Hugh. What happened to you? How... how did you..." I trailed off.

   "How did I... survive?" he finished the question. "I r-really thought I was... was going to die. If it w-weren't for Flaris and Tesla, I know I would have."

   "Can you tell us?" Nate asked.

   Hugh smiled. "Wh-why wouldn't I? I did promise to tell you these kinds of things after all..."