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A single orb of light appears before Sammy and another before Adam. The same color as in the Hall of Shadows. It circled around them, trying to comfort them.

With a flick of her wrist, Auri sent out her first Pokémon, Espeon. I had my Crobat, Vader take center stage. An eager grin flashed across her face as she ordered her Psychic-type to attack, but it was too slow. Vader’s hypnotic waves put Espeon to sleep. While it slept, I quickly changed gears and put Metagross into play. Sensing a poor matchup, she recalled Espeon in favor of Gliscor. The scorpion’s superior defenses sponged up a powerful Meteor Mash, and let it strike back with a mighty Earthquake. Metagross landed a second strike with its clawed arm, leaving Gliscor looking a little winded. But rather than face another quake, I switched pokémon back to Vader.

My bat tried to put Gliscor to sleep with another Hypnosis, but it didn’t connect, and Auri’s pokémon struck back with Ice Fang. Vader suffered a nasty hit, though he still looked ready for more. He came sweeping back with Giga Drain, preying on Gliscor’s weaker defense and restoring his own health. The flying foe chomped down with another frosty bite, but Vader took it down with another Giga Drain. In its place, she sent out a Froslass.

I quickly recalled Vader again and sent Blaziken to take the Ice Beam. Froslass got in a second shot with Psychic, badly wounding Blaziken. She struck back with a super-charged Blaze Kick, taking Froslass out in one shot. Espeon hit the field again, woke up, and finished what the icy ghost started.

Now I sent in my Golduck, Tyrannus to get things back on track. He took Espeon’s Grass Knot remarkably well, and boosted up with Calm Mind. A blast of Psychic was similarly ineffective against Tyrannus’ raised defense, and a Surf attack left Espeon reeling. Auri’s pokémon tried to recover with Morning Sun, but it wasn’t enough to stop the second wave of water from causing a knockout.

When her Venusaur hit the field, I thought I’d be safe enough trying Ice Beam, but the bulky Grass-type barely felt it. The beast charged up power, ate whatever it had in its mouth, and landed a massive Solar Beam to knockout Tyrannus. I next sent Metagross back out, and it struck hard with Zen Headbutt, however it quickly fell victim to a Sleep Powder. While I tried to call out to my pokémon to wake up, Auri’s oldest ally smashed the ground for a pair of Earthquakes, taking down Metagross as well.

Once again, I put Vader out for battle. He landed an Aqua Bite, dodged a Sleep Powder, and finished off his foe with a critical Cross Poison. Auri sent in Kangaskhan to face off with me. Vader was undaunted, and landed another Cross Poison, this time inflicting poison on his target. Kangaskhan let fly a shower of rocks, nearly knocking Vader out. My bat Roosted for a moment, and took the follow-up Rock Slide more easily because of it. Seeing the poison take its toll, I ordered one last Aqua Bite to put an end to this. However, Auri guessed what was happening, and her pokémon pulled one last Sucker Punch before getting knocked out.

“Well, at least you’re a better trainer in this dimension than you ever were back home. That makes my victory all the sweeter!” Auri taunted.
“Victory? This battle isn’t over yet.”
“Oh, but you stand no chance of winning. You never did. GO, SUICUNE!”

The Pokémon of the North Wind emerged with a howl that chilled the air. Vader was looking weak, and even if it stopped to rest, probably wouldn’t withstand the legend’s barrage. So instead, I tried one last Hypnosis. The move worked, but Suicune simply woke itself with a berry and finished Vader with a single shot. I debated for a moment before deciding to risk Meganium. Even with an Ice-weakness, she stood a good chance of winning.

Suicune did start things off with Ice Beam, but Meganium stood firm and planted a flurry of Leech Seeds. As the seeds began to drain the legend, it calmed its mind and prepared an even more furious assault. My grass-type threw together a screen of light, hoping to stave off the Aurora Pokémon’s wrath. A second blast of ice, though weakened by Light Screen, still left Meganium weary. She pulled one last move in desperation: Frenzy Plant. It hit hard. Very hard. But it wasn’t enough. Suicune blasted my pokémon with another Ice Beam for the final stroke.

“It’s all up to you now, Ursaring. Make it count!” As my final pokémon squared off against Auri’s, I knew this would be short and brutal. The bear put up a protective field, keeping it safe from Suicune’s Surf. Her Flame Orb inflicted a burn, triggering her inner Guts. A second Surf hammered Ursaring with great force, and without Light Screen would surely have been the final blow. But Ursaring stood back up and charged in with Façade. The wounded legend couldn’t withstand such a ferocious attack and finally collapsed.

Auri recalled her pokémon and raced to rejoin her companions. Seeing Darkrai racing up the stairs, I decide to go up as well.

Adam knealt down. "Yo, fearless leader. Time to wake up." He called, before slapping him lightly on the face. Desecration though it may be, Adam now realized, "Holy s**t, He's-" He put two fingers to Ginji's neck. "...dead..." No witty responses were said as he sat in silence, shocked.

An orb spins around after all the battles around each participant. Various colors seem to flow around the room, circling Aqua Members.

Darkrai called from up the stairs. "I know you're all sad. But there is still another maggot to crush." it snarled down at the people surrounding his master's body. "Come now. And let us finish this war." he said as he rushed up the stairs.

Adam looks up, seeing his own Orange orb at eye level. He stands up, looking down at Ginji again. They'd only known each other a short time... but Adam still cared. He watched Sammy race away, wincing before taking off after her.

Sammy walked to the top of the stairs, still denying that Mr. Ginji was dead. She would be sick to her stomach if she let herself believe it. She looked around for Darkrai, wondering what was going on.

"This is getting weird." Reaper said as he was teleported to some room then the Red Orb appears. "ORBY!" He called out as he began to follow the red orb up the stair case.

Sammy growled at Adam. "Don't say something you'll regret, and especially something that's not true," she warned, a visible fire burning in her gaze. She was simply denying that which she knew to be true for her own welfare.