The heavy steel doors of the deployment elevator hissed open, and the sterile, chemical smell of Mable's lab was instantly replaced by the scent of ozone, cracked asphalt, and damp concrete.
Sector 4 looked like a warzone that had been paused mid-explosion. The street we stepped onto was paved with that same glowing blue energy-conduit material Emma had shown us from above, but here on the ground, it was heavily cratered. Half-finished skyscrapers loomed overhead like skeletal giants, their steel rebar exposed and twisted.
"Alright, we're in the sandbox," Emma said, stepping out and stretching her arms, the glossy material of her suit snapping lightly. "We have the Drafted mostly out in the jungle, but we have been keeping one of them here since he arrived last night. Keep your eyes peeled."
I didn't want to walk into this blind. I focused and summoned two Paradise Balls, tossing them lightly into the open street.
Two flashes of light illuminated the blue pavement. Nemona materialized first. She was already in her Star Fire Storm Skin. Her skin and hair had transformed into swirling, red and orange galactic star fire, casting a warm, cosmic glow over the cratered street. Twelve miniature, burning stars orbited her head like a halo of raw power. She took one look at the towering blast walls and the sheer scale of the arena, and her fiery eyes that had system made copies of my glasses already over them practically turned into supernovas.
"Oh, my gosh! This is what the Battle Zones look like?!" Nemona squealed, vibrating with so much excitement she floated an inch off the ground. She spun around, pointing at me, the twelve stars orbiting her head shifting defensively. "Landon! Me first! Let me fight whatever's out here! I want to test the new rules! I am all loaded up!"
Beside her, the light faded to reveal Grusha. She was also already sporting her Frigid Ice Queen Skin, clad in a sleek, shimmering crystal snowsuit. At her feet, a snowboard of ice formed that she kicked down on, shooting it up in the air so she could catch it. She adjusted the thick, oversized scarf wrapped around her neck, the ambient moisture in the air freezing instantly around her. She looked around the ruined cityscape with half-lidded, utterly unimpressed eyes.
"Grusha," she said in a completely flat, deadpan voice. She blinked slowly. "Grusha, Grusha."
Jennifer snorted, trying and failing to cover a laugh with her hand. Even Anabel's lips twitched. I couldn't help but smile. Despite the tension of the black-site, having my team here grounded me.
"Not yet, Nemona," I said, stepping past them. I knew from Cryo's internal feed that both girls only had about ten or so attacks' worth of Prism Energy in their current reserves. I wasn't going to let them burn it on a test run. "If Mable is right about these real-time mechanics, missing a cooldown could trap us. I need to be the guinea pig. I'm testing the interface against a live target before I let any of you risk getting locked inside those red walls."
"Aww, come on!" Nemona groaned, throwing her head back, her cosmic hair flaring.
"Grusha," the icy woman agreed softly, nodding her head once.
I took a deep breath and activated my Paradise Ball skin.
[Hydro Flash Skin: Engaged]
The transformation was instantaneous. Searing electricity crackled violently across my skin, the raw voltage illuminating the dim street. Beneath my feet, two highly pressurized discs of swirling water materialized, hovering just an inch above the glowing blue pavement.
The Quasartico goggles Mable had given me booted up. My vision glitched slightly as my familiar blue System interface was overlaid with a sleek, purple HUD. Four icons hovered in the bottom right corner of my vision, mentally mapping to my abilities.
[A] - Psybeam
[X] - Hydro Flash Strike
[Y] - Hydro Flash Barrage
[B] - Water Disc Evade
"Alright," I muttered, bending my knees slightly and feeling the frictionless slide of the water discs beneath me. "System is synced. I just need a target."
"You looking for a target, sparkler?" a harsh, grating voice echoed through the ruins. "Or are you just looking to get stepped on?"
From the shadows of a shattered storefront to our left, a figure swaggered out into the blue light in the shadow of a half built skyscraper. He was slouched, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of a heavily modified, baggy black-and-white jacket. His white hair was wild, unkempt, and a pair of asymmetrical gold sunglasses rested on his face. A massive gold chain bearing a faded, scratched-out skull emblem hung around his neck.
Cryo fed me everything I needed, and the lore sprang into my mind. This was Guzma. The former boss of Team Skull.
He cracked his neck, a heavy-duty Ultra Ball resting casually in his palm. "They told me I'd get some time off if I came to play. Looker said he was sending some VIPs to test the walls. Didn't think it'd be some guy playing dress-up with his fan club. You're in my house now, boy. And it's ya boy Guzma who sets the rules!"
He paused, his eyes sliding past me to lock onto Nemona and Grusha. He lowered his sunglasses slightly, a predatory gleam in his eyes as he took in the literal cosmic fire swirling around Nemona and the frozen crystal snowboard under Grusha's arm.
"Wait a second," Guzma muttered, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "What kind of Pokémon are those? Never seen anything like 'em in Alola. Half-human, half-monster? Man, the syndicates would pay billions for freaks like that. Tell you what, kid. Leave the girls, and I won't crush your skull."
"They aren't Pokémon," I growled, the electricity on my skin crackling defensively. "And they aren't for sale."
"Everything's for sale when you're dead!" Guzma barked. He hurled the Ultra Ball at the pavement.
With a blinding flash, a massive, terrifyingly armored Golisopod materialized. The giant arthropod looked like a hunched, bio-organic tank. Thick, overlapping plates of pale-grey shell covered its body and massive forearms, accented with sharp teal triangles along the ridges. Vicious, purple scythe-like antennae curved over its dark eyes and star-shaped mouth. It raised its two primary, blocky arms—each tipped with wickedly sharp, black talons—and slammed its claws together. The sound echoed like two heavy steel vault doors slamming shut.
Behind me, Anabel whipped out her sleek, Interpol-issued Pokédex. A red scanning beam swept over the massive creature, and the device's mechanical voice cut through the tense air.
"Golisopod, the Hard Scale Pokémon. A Bug and Water type. The shell covering its body is as hard as diamond. It battles skillfully with its six arms, and will do whatever it takes to win."
Instantly, the street reacted. The pavement groaned, and a massive, translucent red Hard-Light Barrier erupted from the ground. It shot upward, forming a glowing dome that trapped me, Guzma, and his Golisopod inside. Jennifer, Anabel, and Emma were cleanly cut off on the outside of the perimeter.
"Landon!" Nemona yelled, slamming her hands against the red barrier. The Hard-Light didn't even ripple.
"Don't worry about them outside," Guzma sneered, pointing a finger at me. "Worry about surviving five seconds. Golisopod, First Impression!"
The massive bug vanished. It didn't run; it simply moved faster than something that size had any right to, closing the distance in a fraction of a heartbeat.
Real-time, I reminded myself. No turns.
I raised my hand and pointed my finger, mentally slamming the [A] button. A pulse of psychic energy—Psybeam—fired from the tip of my finger, catching the Golisopod mid-lunge. It wasn't enough to stop the beast, but the psychic interference scrambled its senses, making it flinch just enough for its massive claw to whistle past my ear instead of taking my head off.
I didn't wait for it to recover as it skidded across the ground. I triggered [X].
Hydro Flash Strike. My body became a blur of water and lightning. The gap-closing attack launched me forward thirty feet in an instant. I slammed into the Golisopod's armored chest, the electrical discharge exploding across its shell with a deafening CRACK. The massive bug skidded backward, hissing in pain.
Pressing the advantage, I mentally hit [Y].
Hydro Flash Barrage. I unleashed a blindingly fast flurry of electrified strikes, my fists and knees hammering into the beast's armor. Water sprayed and lightning arced with every impact, driving the heavy Pokémon back toward Guzma.
Sensing the monster winding up for a brutal counter-swipe, I pushed off my water discs and triggered [B], shooting backward to put ten feet of distance between us.
The Golisopod roared, recovering instantly. It lunged forward again, its claws glowing with the ghostly purple light of a Sucker Punch.
I mentally reached for [X] again, planning to dash straight through its guard and counter.
BZZT.
A harsh, error sound rang in my ears. In my peripheral vision, the [X] and [Y] icons were entirely grayed out. They were locked on cooldown. The new restrictions forcibly slowed my regenerated energy required for the high-tier strikes.
My offensive moves were locked, and a two-ton armored bug was inches away from impaling me.
I had been relying entirely on this new system, forgetting my own battle senses earned from past battles and the mobility of my skin. I shifted my weight, leaning hard into the pressurized water discs beneath my feet. As the Sucker Punch thrust forward, I spun, gliding cleanly to the right like I was on frictionless skates. The Golisopod's claw punched empty air.
I skated a wide radius around the beast, cutting a running arc with my feet as I kept my eyes on the pokemon and its disgusting trainer. Guzma scowled, clearly frustrated that I wasn't just standing there taking the hit.
"I don't understand how you can fight like a Pokemon, but I don't really care! Stop dancing and die!" Guzma roared.
I kept my eyes locked on the grayed-out icons in my vision, skating just out of reach of the giant insect's snapping claws. The moment the [X] and [Y] icons flared back to their bright purple color, I planted my feet.
"My turn," I said.