Team Phalanx carries out a desperate final battle with Calhoun, who is seemingly impervious to death...

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Calhoun's mega evolution had initially caught Minato off guard, as well as the sheer dread the sight of it had caused with its unnatural appearance. But that surprise had quickly worn off as the fight resumed, the Lucario as motivated as ever to defeat the Dark Blaziken.

Their clash was violent, even by the standards of combat. Every attack was aimed to finish the other off quickly, but both of them being seasoned fighters caused the fight to drag on. Calhoun's strange yet fluid, entirely kick-focused fighting style offered him an advantage in agility and reach, and his speed kept him out of Minato's grasp when he attempted to use Psychic to detain him. In turn, Minato's sheer skill and overwhelming Aura power kept Calhoun from making a decisive strike, unable to stay close enough to do so due to Minato's swordsmanship. Calhoun also had to stay in constant motion or use Protect to avoid distance attacks, clearly not possessing many himself.

But it was clear the fight could not last much longer. Whatever supernatural force had reformed Calhoun's body seemed to be sustaining him indefinitely - he was not tiring, not even showing the barest hint of fatigue, not slowing down in the slightest, not even out of breath. Minato, however, had nearly exhausted his Aura Spheres and could feel the headache of Psychic overuse starting to creep up on him. 

Even he had to admit, if he did not finish off Calhoun soon… he was going to lose, and Lashanne could not help him. Her arm was broken, and she did not have the speed she would require to keep up with someone like Calhoun. Fortunately though, unknown to either Minato or Calhoun, she had kept one of the spare radio earpieces Volcan had brought and had already called for reinforcements.

"Just hold on, Minato," she whispered, watching the ongoing fight. "Help is on the way…" 

The Lucario let out another furious roar as he lunged forward for another strike with his sword, his strikes now becoming more desperate the longer the fight dragged on. He was tired, almost to the point where he was running on fumes. Only his sheer willpower was allowing him to keep going as long as he was so far. He had to end this fast, or else his body would expire long before his willpower gave out. Calhoun, however, did not seem to tire at all. His stamina seemed limitless, his attacks never slowing, and Minato's clumsy defense was only wearing the Lucario down as the fright dragged on.

'Damnit! How the hell are you supposed to beat someone that literally has infinite stamina and can regenerate from almost any injury?!’ He thought to himself.

At the edge of the clearing, Bialo had regained consciousness. He slowly sat up from the ground rubbing his chest where Lashanne's signal beam had struck him. "Ow… damn fox," he growled, and then looked up as he heard Minato shout, surprised to see the fight was still ongoing.

"The boss even resorted to his Blazikenite," he said. "This is no place for me… but then, maybe if I help him, I could get a promotion." He grinned. "There is a spot open ever since Jora went missing…"

As he contemplated his scheme to assist Calhoun, Bialo felt a tap on his shoulder. Confused, he turned to look behind him. "Who-" he then choked on the words, letting out a long-strained breath and paling almost to white when he saw the devilish smile of an all too familiar Charmeleon.

"Hey, buddy," Kaen said in a low voice, his toothy smile stretching wider as he raised his fist, already charged with a Focus Punch. "How you been?"

“Mother…" whimpered Bialo.

A blur of movement - followed by a scream, flashed by Minato and Calhoun, who both paused as a flying Malamar soared past them, tumbling across the forest clearing until he slammed hard into a tree, once more thrown into unconsciousness. A loud, familiar voice sounded off behind Minato.

"That. Was. SO! VERY! SATISFYING!!!!" Kaen screamed at the top of his lungs.

As Minato dared a look behind him, he saw a Sceptile running across the clearing, moving at an impressive speed as he raced toward Calhoun, leaf blades already extended. Who was this? He didn't know a Sceptile… but as the large reptile raced past him, he caught a glimpse of the black armband around his bicep, and it clicked…

“No way...Sickle?” He suddenly blurted out just as the Sceptile clashed with Calhoun, having to shake his head and do a double take to see if it really was him.

The fighting style of the Sceptile made it unmistakable – Minato had sparred enough with the Grovyle throughout the course of the mission to know. He had Sickle's combat stance and technique, albeit not executed as smoothly as when he was a Grovyle, now that he was nearly double his original height. On his arm, Sickle wore an armband - a looplet, he remembered them being called, like the ones Lashanne had, and saw a yellow stone shining in one of its sockets. Calhoun had failed to dodge Sickle's first attack, clearly not expecting a leaf blades to hurt him, but the laceration left on his hand by the blade proved otherwise.

Sickle's intervention had bought Minato time to start catching his breath. He released his blade and slowly fell to one knee, gasping and panting heavily now that the adrenaline was starting to die off. He raised his head to watch Sickle and Calhoun fight, noting that he was actually managing to actually land some hits on the Dark Blaziken despite his typing disadvantage, regardless of taking the Looplet into account. That said, his expression was still grim, his paw touching the dirt clenching into a fist as he slowed his breathing down enough for him to mutter to himself.

“Even with a numbers advantage... we can’t beat him conventionally…” He said softly, his ears flattening as he came to the only conclusion he could think of. “He’ll just heal if we break any bones... and his combat prowess is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”

His gaze hardened as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. ‘He has to die…’

Kaen moved in to join the battle, moving to Calhoun's flank and leaping at him with his arm drawn back. Calhoun narrowly ducked under the attack, dropping low and letting Kaen fly over him, but he had left himself in a poor spot, unable to bring his legs back up to move again as Sickle's leg snapped forward and landed a kick right to his cheek, sending Calhoun reeling. The Dark Blaziken used the momentum to roll into a somersault, springing back onto his feet. Sickle came at him again, but this time Calhoun was prepared, using the full extent of the speed he had acquired through his abilities to zip behind Sickle and kick him in the back. Sickle went flying across the clearing, hitting the ground and tumbling into a tree. Kaen leapt at Calhoun from behind, both of his claws glowing with dragon-type energy, and Calhoun felt the claws slice into his back, having failed to sense Kaen coming.

Angrily, Calhoun spun around and punt-kicked the Charmeleon, launching him as he had Sickle and sending the Charmeleon arcing unto the canopy of a nearby tree, where after tumbling through the branches for a moment, Kaen fell out and landed on the ground, unmoving.

Minato hadn't caught his breath yet as Calhoun turned on him. By his expression, it seemed the novelty of the fight had run out… Calhoun was ready to end it.