CHAPTER 21- Sandstorm Of Dynamax


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Cody Charmeleon continued to dodge Theo Ursaluna's attacks using his flying blue cape, however, the excessive use of his sacred item began to take its toll, and the Fire Type Pokémon felt the first symptoms of fatigue. Nero Jolteon noticed the Soldier's movements faltering, but unfortunately, the Electric Type Pokémon had nothing in its arsenal to deal with the Ursaluna Hellstalker. Jolteon then told Charmeleon to flee before they were struck down; Cody, seeming on the brink of collapse, shook his head and affirmed that he still had the strength to fight.

—“CODY, GET OUT OF THERE IMMEDIATELY, AT THIS PACE, YOU AND NERO COULD DIE!”— Lucios Feraligatr affirmed through the prince Charmeleon's gadget.

Everyone in Argules Castle, including Queen Lencia, knew that retreating was the best choice, and none of them could accuse Cody and Nero of not having done everything possible to stop Theo; the Soldier grunted, closing his eyes in frustration for a split second, then reopened them, accepting the order. However, that conversation, coupled with Charmeleon's exhaustion, was all the opening Theo needed; The Ursaluna Hellstalker used the Max Rockfall move, surrounded by Matter energy, behind the Pokémon duo, and the massive boulder had already begun to plummet.

Nero's rusty earring reacted, causing the king to look at his back, noticing the movement coming toward them; he alerted Cody, who turned to face the attack, only having the strength to cover his face with Dragon Claw. Meanwhile, Jolteon closed his eyes and embraced Charmeleon from behind, but this time Nero's earring reacted again, causing him to look to his left, where he faced a Croconaw with a red hood, coming toward them with open arms.

Rubro Croconaw realized that due to Charmeleon's Dragon Claw and the blue wings in Charizard form, he could not hold the duo with his regular arms. The Water Type acted quickly, canceling Liquidation and activating Shadow Claw charged in both his arms. Croconaw then turned his face toward the Hellstalker and managed to embrace both Nero and Cody at the same time; however, they still lacked momentum to escape the range of the Dynamax move.
Rubro roared and, in desperation, used PP manipulation on his wet red hood, activating Liquidation on the two red stripes at the back of the hood, giving them the necessary boost to flee from the cursed move.

—“IMPOSSIBLEEEE, THIS IS IMPOSSIBLEEEE, DAMN YOU BERSERKER CROCONAW, I'LL CRUSH YOU!” — Theo shouted furiously.

Charmeleon opened his eyes upon hearing the Hellstalker's scream, seeing the Shadow Claw near his belly; Cody then turned, seeing Rubro looking in the opposite direction. The Soldier thought it was the perfect time to incapacitate him; but, when he opened his mouth to use Heat Wave, King Nero immediately closed it with his paws:

—“Bad idea, buddy, VERY bad idea…” — warned Jolteon, looking at the prince with a serious gaze, Charmeleon growled and shook his head for his ally to release him, but Nero showed no signs of attacking again.

The Soldier and the king then realized that a sandstorm had started, but before they could say anything, they began to shake violently due to the Croconaw's clumsy flight:

—“Sorry… *cough cough* Sorry, it's my first time flying.”— Rubro justified, initially, he spoke in his usual tone as “Luke,” but quickly made his voice more cavernous.

Not only the duo, but also everyone who was following the action through Cody's gadget, were amazed that a Berserker could speak; Croconaw then heard Aurora Ribombee through the tiny Rollcall Orb inside his hood. The Bug type alerted that the Ursaluna Hellstalker seemed to be summoning another move. From the corner of his mouth, Rubro confirmed that he was attentive to Theo's movements; the Hellstalker got on all fours and let out a loud roar, suddenly, three giant stars fell from the sky near Croconaw:

—“GET OUT OF THERE NOW, THAT'S THE MAX STARFALL, IF YOU'RE TRAPPED AMONG THOSE THREE STARS WHEN THEY HIT THE GROUND, YOU'LL ALL EXPLODE WITH FAIRY ENERGY!”— Raijin Heliolisk shouted worriedly through Cody's gadget.

—“DARN IT, LET ME GO, I CAN HANDLE IT ALONE!” — Ordered the blue-caped Charmeleon to the red-hooded Croconaw.

However, risking even his Rubro disguise, the Croconaw hugged the prince and the king even tighter, even getting pierced by the latter, and responded firmly:

—“I'm trying to take care of you… Huh?! HOLD ON!!” — Rubro warned, he directed his PP to his red hood and his feet, and using Liquidation on multiple areas of his body, he increased his speed and control even more.

With his MPP abilities and the enhancement from the Dragon Dance move he had used, the Berserker managed to perform another miracle and save Nero, Cody, and himself from the explosion of the Dynamax move. However, the shockwave from the explosion, as well as the sandstorm, caused Jolteon to slip from Croconaw's Shadow Claw; Charmeleon tried to grab him, but without success; thinking quickly, Rubro focused on the king and, performing a front flip, as well as using Liquidation on his feet, the Berserker propelled himself to try to catch him.
Nero turned his back to the Pokémon duo and used Thunderbolt on the ground to slow down the fall; Croconaw then used the ribbons of his hood to catch Jolteon and bring him back, wrapping the king's body so that pulling ribbons wouldn't hurt him. But, as the ribbons moved through PP manipulation in water and the king was using an electric move, the moment Rubro grabbed him, he took all the prominent damage from Thunderbolt and already seemed to lose consciousness:

—“HEY, HEY, DON'T FALL ASLEEP NOW! WAKE UP! PLEASE!” — Cody pleaded as he rubbed against the tight hug, positioning himself in front of the Berserker, he weakly used Heat Wave while reciprocating the Water Type's embrace.

The heat from the combination of the move and the Fire Type's hug slightly hurt Croconaw, but it was enough to keep him awake after the strong electric shock; Rubro then pulled Jolteon back with the ribbons of his hood and grabbed him again alongside Charmeleon using the fortified Shadow Claw. Croconaw breathed a sigh of relief, and in the calm, he noticed that Prince Cody in front of him seemed to be trying to remove his red hood; Seizing the opportunity, with the ground getting closer, Rubro shouted:

—“YOU'RE SAFE HERE, RUN!” — Alerting the duo, Croconaw released them from the hug, causing both Charmeleon and Jolteon to roll on the ground at high speed, but not enough to hurt them.

Rubro then used Liquidation on his feet and hands, giving a small leap upward and circling around to head towards Theo. Meanwhile, calling through the gadget, Raijin and Lucios asked about the safety of their two allies, who still seemed a bit dazed from the abrupt fall:

—“Argh, my head, that's why I much prefer sailing to flying, hahaha, but it was quite fun!” — Nero said, standing up on all fours and shaking his head.

On the other hand, Cody was already on his feet, staring fixedly at the red-hooded Croconaw. The blue-caped Charmeleon then touched his own chest, having a brief reverie:

—“Why… Why does his warmth feel so familiar to me?”— Cody pointed out, still looking at the Water Type Pokémon.

Rubro successfully regained altitude, facing the Dynamax Ursaluna; the Hellstalker, in turn, tried to strike Croconaw with its claws while attempting to rise again on its hind legs. Rubro could more easily dodge since he had let go of Cody and Nero; through the Rollcall Orb in his red hood, Mei Servine contacted Croconaw to remind his ally of something important:

—“Rubro, focus your attacks on Theo's gray fur! Remember, the hostages and members of the Madresp team are there, and I'll alert you from here where to strike. Don't worry about grabbing them; Aurora and I will take care of it. BUT DO IT QUICKLY WHILE THEO'S STANDING ON TWO LEGS; OTHERWISE, IT MIGHT BE HARDER TO GET THEM OUT LATER!”— The white-scarved Servine warned, simultaneously observing Rubro's aerial show from a safe place.

Croconaw understood the message and responded with a short grunt; Mei, using her enhanced vision from the earlier Coil move, warned Rubro that she saw the tail of a petrified Meowth near the Ursaluna's right arm. While dodging the swinging arms of the Dynamax Pokémon, Croconaw manipulated the water in his red hood using Liquidation's PP manipulation, causing one of the ribbons at the back to wrap around Theo's right arm.

Thinking quickly, Croconaw realized that using the MPP had become infinitely simpler since his reverie in the dungeon of lost dreams; He then formed a cannon on his arm made of the fabric of the red hood and hardened by Ice Fang's ice. Rubro then rapidly rubbed the ice teeth in his mouth, causing the Croconaw's teeth to fall into his hood, making these ice fangs go towards his fabric cannon and firing them using the pressure of Liquidation.

Several ice spikes were fired from Rubro's arm; luckily, due to the Ice-Type mixed with Water-Type in the process, they could penetrate Theo's gray fur protection somewhat easily. However, the Hellstalker didn't seem to recoil from the shock of the blow, about to close his two giant claws to crush Croconaw; with cunning, Rubro used MPP on Liquidation through his two feet, shooting it under the Ursaluna's claws, then firing the ice spikes from Ice Fang into the Hellstalker's face:

—“GHAAAAA!! YOU SON OF A DITTO, HITTING MY EYES IS A DIRTY MOVE, GHAAAAAA!!”— The Hellstalker roared, walking backward with his two claws on his face.

Rubro just laughed at the irony of Theo wanting him to “fight clean” against a gigantic Pokémon; Croconaw then turned his gaze back to where Servine had said the hostages were located. The Water Type Pokémon fired the Ice Fang spikes under the Ursaluna Hellstalker's arm once again. Finally, after so much effort, the petrified hostages began to fall from there very quickly, to the point where Croconaw lost count; but, even after Mei warned him not to worry, Rubro directed his attention to the ground.

There, the white-scarved Servine used her Leaf Tornado move, easily collecting the petrified Pokémon, which finally fell onto a large mattress that seemed to have been created by Ribombee's Pollen Puff move. Rubro breathed a sigh of relief seeing his allies were in control of everything; however, his relief was short-lived due to Miecho Chimecho, who used the Disarming Voice move on Croconaw.

Rubro lost control of Liquidation in his feet, plummeting from the air, as he fell, he could see Chimecho laughing satisfactorily and returning inside the Ursaluna Hellstalker's gray fur. Croconaw let out a small growl, regaining his aerial control, but, Theo stood up on all fours again, looking angrily at the red-hooded Croconaw and roaring as he summoned the giant rock wall from the Max Rockfall move.

During the battle between the Berserker and the Hellstalker, Cody and Nero rested on the stands from a safe distance. The prince conversed with Raijin and Lucios using his gadget:

—“By Arceus, how long is it going to take for Rex and Naz to get here?” — The prince asked, already irritated watching the confrontation.

Heliolisk wasn't the bearer of good news, as he justified that Theo's Dynamax moves were affecting not only Argules Stadium but the entire city. Lucios added that the sandstorm had already reached the palace, and their priority was the protection of Argules' Pokémon. Trevor Houndoom then spoke up, reminding them that thanks to the Hellstalker Drapion's attack, the city's police force had been reduced, so both the Soldiers and Nero's entourage were assisting in rescuing Pokémon who couldn't withstand the Sandstorm.
Cody understood and became furious, not only with the gravity of the situation, but also with feeling utterly useless while a Berserker was their only hope at that fateful moment. Unlike Prince Charmeleon, King Jolteon simply watched the battle between the giant Hellstalker and the small Berserker; that's when a projectile came their way, and Nero used his Thunderbolt to intercept it:

—“Wow, what the heck was that, Nero?” — Prince Charmeleon asked, surprised as he got up.

—“An Energy Ball, but you and I both know that a Croconaw and an Ursaluna, even in Dynamax form, can't use that move, right?” — Replied the Jolteon with the rusty earring, seizing the opportunity to ask another question.

Cody's reaction was to growl as he squeezed his temple with his claws slightly, the Charmeleon then wondered where the Madresp team's Hellstalkers were hiding. Even though Nero's vision was blurry due to the strong sandstorm, his battle experience made him believe that from the angle the attack came from, they should be in the gray fur of the Dynamax Hellstalker.

—“Argh, well, I guess I can use my blue cape again… Who would've thought, today we'll fight alongside a Berserker against a Hellstalker, can this day get any weirder?” — Cody asked himself as he brushed the sand off his blue cape to prepare for flight.

—“I'm not liking this one bit either, but today, the enemy of my enemy is my friend… Hmm?!” — Replied King Jolteon, also noticing that Charmeleon was looking at him with crossed arms and a sarcastic look.

—“Okay, okay, I admit I'm loving the idea of fighting alongside such a skilled Berserker, but geez, Cody, don't be a buzzkill, huh? The reddish-blue dude saved our lives; let's show some gratitude, heheheh!” — Said King Nero, crossing his two front paws behind his head with a cynical smile.

The blue-caped Soldier just rolled his eyes and then leaped, the king using the Quick Attack move managed to climb onto the back of the Fire Pokémon, and the duo headed towards Croconaw to assist him.
Rubro really needed a lot of help; he was dealing with three Pokémon attacking him, including the Dynamax form. To make matters worse, using low blows wouldn't work anymore because Sawk and Throh were positioned near Theo's face, protecting their companion.

In frustration, Croconaw almost shouted, asking why they were such losers when they worked so well as a team. However, before Rubro could say anything, he was hit on the shoulder by Roserade Hellstalker's Venoshock move; and as if that wasn't bad enough, the area hit began to turn into stone, leaving Croconaw desperate, he then asked, terrified, through the Recall Orb:

—“MEI, I'VE BEEN HIT BY A MOVE WITH MATTER AURA, ARRRGGG, I'M STARTING TO TURN INTO STONE, WHAT SHOULD I DO!?”

Upon hearing this, Aurora sucked in some air, worried, but the calm Servine replied to her companion:

—“Calm down, Luke, you won't become a statue unless directly hit, and…”
—“GHAAAAAAAAA!!!”— Rubro screamed as he was hit squarely by Chimecho's Disarming Voice move.

Due to his concern and carelessness, now Croconaw's body was turning into stone even more, causing him to fall from the sky again:

—“LUKE, QUICK, USE LIQUIDATION ON YOURSELF, LUMINOUS WATER NOT ONLY REVERSES HELLSTALKERS BUT ALSO REVERSES PETRIFICATION, HURRY!” — Shouted Ribombee almost crying through the Rollcall Orb, seeing the Water Pokémon falling.

Petrification spread rapidly throughout Rubro's body; his arms and legs had already been completely taken over, but his mouth still hadn't. Therefore, the Pokémon invoked Liquidation through his teeth, squirting as much water as possible; Croconaw quickly surrounded his body with all that water, closing his eyes and keeping calm, he encased himself in a firm bubble of pressurized water due to the power of Liquidation.

Mei and Aurora watched from the ground, both apprehensive; Servine grew tired of waiting, running to try to save her friend from the fall. At that moment, the miracle happened, with the red-hooded Croconaw freed from petrification. He broke the bubble and used Liquidation on his feet again to propel himself upward. Mei stopped running, giving a big smile and a joyful scream, Ribombee arrived next to the Grass-type Pokémon, and they exchanged glances:

—“Luke may still kill both of us with worry…*huff*” — Said Servine, breathing a sigh of relief.

—“Luke, I don't know, but Rubro certainly will try.” — Replied Aurora, causing Mei to cover her own mouth due to the slip of calling Rubro Luke.

Before she could apologize, Ribombee gives her ally a small hug around the neck, affirming she was so worried that she also forgot to keep discreet; both understand they can't risk making a mistake of that magnitude again. At this moment, Servine notices the Soldier in the blue cape flying amidst the sandstorm, using a vine from her body to grab Aurora. Mei starts running away, worried that she and her friend might have been spotted by the Soldier, which luckily seemed not to have happened; nonetheless, Servine warns about the approaching Pokémon via the Rollcall orb, taking the opportunity to congratulate Croconaw for the new miracle.

Rubro thanks his allies and states he trusts that Cody and his ally won't attack him. The Water-type Pokémon manipulates Liquidation again on his left arm to reform the strategy of the ice stake cannon and asks Mei to find a member of the Madresp team. Rubro starts attacking some areas where Servine had seen hostages, knowing that sooner or later the member he wanted would appear, Croconaw also notices a decrease in Theo's attacks, it doesn't take long for Rubro to hear:

—“HEY CROCONAW, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU UNDERSTAND ME, BUT WE WILL HELP YOU IN THE FIGHT!” — Charmeleon informs while flying and using Air Slash on the Sawk and Throh, which were near the face of Dynamax Ursaluna.

Croconaw tries, but not even his red hood can hide his joyful smile. He was finally doing something he wanted since school days, being able to fight with his friend Cody on equal terms and not having to worry about hiding his potential. Mei communicates via her Rollcall orb:

—“RUBRO, I FOUND IT! MIECHO IS IN THEO'S CHEST, BUT FROM YOUR ANGLE, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GET HIM. AURORA AND I WILL ATTACK HIS FRONT PAWS TO TRY TO FORCE HIM TO STAND ON HIS REAR PAWS! WE DON'T KNOW IF IT WILL LAST OR IF WE WILL SUCCEED, BUT IF WE DO, DON'T WASTE THIS CHANCE!!”

Servine was about to use Leaf Tornado on Theo's legs, but Aurora interrupts, asking her to keep an eye on Rubro and the hostages while leaving the job of attacking the Hellstalker Dynamax to her. Mei then nods in agreement, directing her attention back to the task at hand; Ribombee flies carefully through both the sandstorm and the intense battle. When she reaches the front paws of Ursaluna, Aurora takes out her Deposit Orb from her bag to summon as many Blast Seeds as possible from it and places them at strategic points.

Servine then sees Ribombee and asks what she did while she was away, Aurora responds with an adorable laugh:

—“It's not what I did that matters, but what I'm about to do… TA-DA!” — Aurora excitedly takes out a matchstick-sized staff from her blue bag.

Mei doesn't underestimate her ally, knowing she would do something interesting, but still, Servine can't help but smile a little at how adorable the small Fairy Type looks holding a “matchstick” as a wand. With a little flick, Aurora launches a small pink energy ball that hits Ursaluna's left front leg:

—“Hm? But it didn't happen in the…*BAAAAM BOOOOMMM BAAAAMM*… KYAAAAA!” — Mei screams in surprise at the explosions, turning her face away and covering her head.

Ribombee, on the other hand, seems very pleased with what she just did. The explosions from the various blast seeds really bothered Theo, who stood on his hind legs to shake off the seeds that continued to explode on his front paws. The confusion greatly aided the flying Charmeleon, who, with the help of the Jolteon on his back, managed to hit and incapacitate the Sawk and Throh on the face of Dynamax Ursaluna. Rubro, using Liquidation, quickly propels himself, grabbing Chimecho with Shadow Claw and pulling him out from within Theo's stinky gray fur.

Aurelio Sawk and Atlas Throh then pass by Croconaw, so Rubro cancels Liquidation, plummeting to try to reach the Fighting-type Pokémon; realizing he wasn't fast enough, Croconaw uses Liquidation through his feet again and manages to get very close to the two Hellstalkers. Rubro then uses the ribbons from his red hood to tie Sawk and Throh around their respective torsos. Taking advantage of the duo unconscious near his feet, he uses the water from Liquidation to reverse their Aura Matter.:

—“ARE YOU HEALING THEM?!”— Cody shouts, flying near Rubro, unnoticed by him.

Croconaw quickly turns his neck to see Charmeleon's surprised look, focusing on Aurelio and Atlas; Rubro then receives a small slap on the tip of his mouth from Miecho's torn ribbon, still struggling in Croconaw's Shadow Claw. A little annoyed by the slap, Rubro cancels Shadow Claw. Before Chimecho can use Disarming Voice so close to the Water-type Pokémon, Croconaw uses a jet of Liquidation that hits inside Miecho's mouth, choking him and then causing him to faint.:

—“The strange water from this Berserker, it's like he's washing away the Aura Matter from the Hellstalkers, I no longer feel the cursed aura in any of the three he's holding… This is… This is a miracle…” — Charmeleon affirms, still floating in the air, astonished by what he witnesses with his own eyes.

Using the MPP in Shadow Claw, directing the Ghost-Type energy to his eyes, Rubro can see that he had purified Atlas, Aurelio, and Miecho. He knew that if he threw them, his allies would save them, and so, Croconaw quickly released the trio to fall in the air. However, for now, as they had returned to being common Pokémon Network, Cody couldn't let them fall from that height flying towards them. But Rubro knew that if Charmeleon did so, he would see Mei and Aurora, compromising their disguise.

Acting quickly, Croconaw uses Liquidation directed at the ribbons of his red hood, using them to tie the blue wings of Charmeleon's sacred item. Rubro succeeds and thus prevents Cody from flying:

—“GHA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! LET ME GO!! I HAVE TO GET THEM!” — The prince shouts, hanging by the ribbons of Rubro's red hood.

Nero was about to use Thunderbolt on Croconaw's wet ribbons, but Rubro was faster, pulling the ribbons along with Cody and tossing the Soldier and the king high up; taking advantage of the distraction, Axl uses the Energy Ball move on Rubro, who narrowly avoids the attack by sheer luck and realizes the source of the attack, prompting Croconaw to focus on Roserade now. At the same time, Charmeleon spins in the air with Jolteon hugging him tightly from behind to avoid falling, it takes a moment, but Cody manages to regain balance in the air.

The Soldier in the blue cape then begins to hyperventilate while trying to see where the three innocent Pokémon had fallen. Jolteon, on the other hand, due to the spinning, was quite nauseous:

—“Blunn! Arrgh, darn it, I almost puked just now, urgh, damn, I can't see anything because of this sandstorm, why did that Berserker take us off course?” — Jolteon with the rusty earring questioned, still trying to recover.

—“I don't know, but when this nightmare is over, one way or another, he will have to be contained…”— Cody replied, visibly annoyed, demonstrating it even through his flaming tail.

Charmeleon then hears explosions approaching him; despite the increasingly intense sandstorm, the prince sees one of Ursaluna's front paws on fire and bursting, trying to grab him, Cody warns Jolteon to hold onto his neck tightly due to the evasive maneuvers. Theo was furious; his hands burned with the explosions, and he imagined it was the prince Soldier's fault for trying to grab him. However, due to the Blast Seeds still exploding on both of Ursaluna's front paws, he couldn't stand on all fours due to the pain, besides being unable to use his Dynamax moves.

Mei on the ground informs Rubro via the Rollcall orb of his success in preventing the fall of Sawk, Chimecho, and Throh, even stating she had left the three lying on a mattress made of Aurora's Pollen Puff to recover. However, Servine warns there are still statues within Theo Dynamax's gray fur, and as if that weren’t enough, the Grass Type doesn't see Axl Roserade in Theo's fur; Croconaw understands the message and asks Mei to continue focusing her attention on the hostages, as they don't know how long Ursaluna will remain standing.

Servine then warns of seeing a Riolu's leg near the gray fur over the right arm of Dynamax Ursaluna, Rubro responds to the warning by heading towards the location already with his arm cannon prepared. But when he gets there, Croconaw is hit by Roserade's Dazzling Gleam empowered with Aura Matter; much of Rubro's body begins to petrify again, causing him to lose control of Liquidation to maintain flight by impulse, so Croconaw begins to fall rapidly.

However, because his right arm was covered by the red hood ribbon, it was not petrified by the corrupted Dazzling Gleam. Thinking quickly, Rubro undoes the arm cannon and manipulates Liquidation to stretch the red hood ribbon toward Ursaluna's shoulder. Even though the red ribbon wouldn't be able to hold Theo's gray fur, Croconaw, using the remaining PP of Shadow Claw he had, made the tip of the red ribbon gain a kind of detached shadowy hand. He managed to grab Ursaluna's gray fur.

Being trapped by the red ribbon, Croconaw can create the pressurized bubble with the PP of Liquidation and heal himself again, even with the Dynamax jerking around trying to grab the prince Charmeleon. Rubro had reversed the effects of petrification, breathing a sigh of relief, which lasted only briefly as he noticed he was almost out of PP energy for liquidation, only being able to use it maybe three more times at most. To make matters worse, the water from the red hood was running out, so Croconaw, instead of flying using the move, begins to climb using the red hood ribbon as a rope.

Theo notices Rubro climbing near his chest; Ursaluna tries to grab him, but his claws still explode, causing even more explosions, Nero and Cody see the hesitation of the Hellstalker, leading both to a conclusion. The prince and the king then change targets, using Heat Wave and Thunderbolt respectively on Ursaluna's claws; in a normal situation, the moves would be a waste of strength, but they trigger the detonation of more Blast Seeds:

—“YOU BASTAAARD, DAMNIIIT, WANNA PLAY WITH ME?! SO BE IT, I'LL CRUSH YOU FIRST, YOU PIECE OF SHIIIT SOLDIER!!”— Theo shouts, already blinded by rage from the pain of the explosions.

Croconaw mentally thanks Charmeleon for distracting the Hellstalker, thinking as he climbs up Theo's furry body using the water-soaked ribbons of his red hood. He imagines it would be a good idea to tell Cody about his dual identity, and especially his new ability to heal Hellstalkers and reverse petrification. Rubro even gave a small smile, thinking they could be happy together if he became a Soldier; Croconaw got lost in his thoughts to the point of not even realizing when he finally reached the top of Ursaluna Dynamax's shoulder.

Rubro considers undoing the Shadow Claw from the red hood ribbon but deemed it more prudent to leave it there as support when he feels something coming through the same ribbon. He quickly cuts it with Shadow Claw, saving himself from being hit by the Venoshock move spreading on the piece of fabric. The Roserade with the purple poncho reveals himself beside where the Shadow Claw had been embedded, giving a small grunt; the Grass-type Pokémon complains:

—“Tsk, I knew I should have used my Venoshock with Aura Matter earlier, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I wanted to see it up close.” — Despite the brief complaint, Axl showed no signs of annoyance or regret, appearing calm.

However, even with the calm demeanor, Roserade raises its two arm-bouquets begins to unleash several Aura Matter-infected Energy Balls at Rubro Croconaw manages to dodge the projectiles swiftly, almost losing balance due to Theo's movements. While dodging, Rubro ends up slipping on the gray fur of the Dynamax Hellstalker, falling belly-first onto the ground; Croconaw would have fallen from Ursaluna's giant shoulder if he hadn't used Ice Fang to bite a bit of fur, managing to hold on.

Axl gives a malicious smile upon seeing that Rubro seemed vulnerable, Roserade seemed to be gathering its Aura Matter with the intention of using the corrupted Dazzling Gleam at that moment of weakness. Croconaw knew he needed to conserve his Liquidation and no longer had the strength for Shadow Claw; Rubro grabs Ursaluna Dynamax's gray fur with both hands, with his mouth free, Croconaw closes his eyes and opens them as wide as he can; Rubro then charges the Ice Fang until it creates fangs larger than his gums.

The red-hooded Croconaw begins to feel a lot of pain, and his gums start to burn due to the ice of the Ice Fang; however, his plan yields a result, launching several of his teeth wrapped in ice as projectiles toward Axl. Roserade makes a small dodge, something Rubro expected, allowing him to jump from where he was with Liquidation active in his arms. When Axl looks back at Croconaw, he had already gotten close enough with two Liquidation bubbles that collided into one, engulfing the Grass Type's head.

Finally, Axl faints inside the pressurized water bubble, freed from Dark Matter; Rubro cancels the move, seeing Roserade fall backward, giving the Water-type Pokémon a sigh of relief. Croconaw even intends to sit on Ursaluna's shoulder to catch his breath a little, however, he sits on the claw of a petrified Incineroar, stabbing his tail; Rubro lets out a frustrated roar:

—“Rubro, how's everything up there? We're waiting for you to send the last petrified Pokémon. Are you okay?” — Mei asked through the Rollcall orb, concerned as she noticed Croconaw had stopped moving, and also because of the roar he had just given.

—“Urgh, yeah, I'm fine. I managed to heal the crazy Roserade, and I sat on the last petrified ones. I'll throw them to… WOOWOOW!” — As he answered Mei's questions, Rubro began to lose his balance due to Ursaluna starting to run awkwardly.

Croconaw alerts Servine that he would start throwing everyone at that moment, and they should both be careful because Theo was more agitated; Rubro hurries to throw the victims and Axl from the top of Ursaluna Dynamax's shoulder for Mei and Aurora to rescue them.

The problem of the hostages was finally solved, along with that of the corrupted Madresp team. Croconaw coughs briefly, even spitting out a bit of blood due to what he had done to his gums recently, still feeling pain in his mouth. Already almost at his limit, Rubro sits on Theo's gray fur shoulder, holding on not to fall due to the jolts given by the Hellstalker. Aurora, using the Rollcall orb, informs the ally that they managed to place the statues in a safe place, and Mei will watch over the Madresp team. She then asked if it wouldn't be better for him to flee now and leave Ursaluna Dynamax to the Soldiers.

Croconaw gives a slight grunt of pain; he used a lot of MPP, especially in his Dragon Dance. All this effort was much more than his small Croconaw body could endure, and even though he had not reached his limit so far, Rubro had played with his luck too much. The Water-type Pokémon after this brief thought agrees with his friend's idea, after confirming to Ribombee that he would get off Ursaluna Dynamax's shoulder, Croconaw looks at his slightly injured hands:

—“From the looks of it, I still have enough strength for maybe two more Liquidations. Oops, urgh, this giant won't stop moving, damn… Hm?”— Rubro spoke briefly to himself, but Theo's discomfort from moving too much made Croconaw pay attention to the confrontation between the Hellstalker and the Soldiers.

Even with the dense sandstorm, Rubro could still see nearby things and thus realized that the fight between Cody and Theo didn't seem balanced at all. Croconaw counted his friend's and his Jolteon companion's blows, making it easy for him to see the clear disadvantage:

—“Mei, Aurora, hmmph, can you hear me? I won't flee now, WOW, I have to help Cody and Jolteon, they can't face this giant alone.”— Rubro communicated calmly through the rollcall orb, and it didn't take long for his allies to respond.

—“Rubro, do you think you can handle this monster? You've already had to deal with four Hellstalkers, not to mention Mei…”— said the small Aurora, already concerned about the whole situation.

—“I don't know, urrrf, to be frank WOWOWOW, I don't have the strength for more Liquidations. It will be, WHOA, WHOA, CALM DOWN, very risky.” — Croconaw replied, already annoyed by Theo Dynamax's jolts.

—“THINK, RUBRO, THINK! Do the same thing you did with me earlier, find a way to get to Theo's mouth and use Liquidation there. If you don't have enough for multiple bursts, FOCUS ON GIVING ONE THAT WILL HAVE A SURE RESULT!” — Mei affirms imperatively and excitedly, seemingly finding the entire operation more fun.

Both Aurora and Rubro were surprised by Servine's reaction, but her plan was very solid and had a great chance of working. Croconaw just seemed to be very reluctant to get close to Theo's mouth. After seeing his best friend give his all in an almost lost fight, Rubro saw that it was not a time for hesitation but for more action.

—“CODY, NERO, I HAVE GREAT NEWS!”— Raijin Heliolisk affirmed through Charmeleon's Gadget.

—“RAIJIN, MY FRIEND, MY COMPANION, MY COMRADE, SPEAK UP, IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, WE'RE FIGHTING AGAINST A PILE OF DEADLY MUD HERE!”— Nero responded, who even in an extremely risky situation didn't lose his characteristic humor.

—“Sorry sir, well, we just got a message from the Soldier base, it seems they managed to reverse the petrification of the Argules police force. They're returning with another Soldier and the exploration team we sent there recently.”— Raijin spoke more calmly.

—“URRRF GREAT, BUT ARE THEY COMING ALREADY? I CAN'T STAND FLYING AND DODGING URSALUNA ANYMORE, ARRRRG DAMN, IT'S GETTING HARDER AND HARDER TO MANEUVER WITH THE ACTIVE SANDSTORM!”— Cody shouted, already at the peak of his effort to keep himself and Nero alive.

—“Do you think you can extend the fight for another half hour? That should be the maximum time for the Soldier and the police force to return and take Rex and Naz's place so they can come to your aid.”— Trevor asked, sounding concerned, already justifying the question by noticing the prince's exhaustion.

—“ARRRG, I'LL TRY TREVOR, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE ENERGY FOR HEAT WAVE AND THE EXPLOSIONS FROM HELLSTALKER'S HANDS ARE DIMINISHING, TRY TO BE FASTER!”— Charmeleon affirmed while simultaneously swinging in the air using Air Slash on Ursaluna's arms.

Suddenly, the explosions on Theo's arms stopped; Cody became extremely worried upon realizing this, as it seemed to be the only thing giving him and Nero an advantage in that losing battle. Jolteon then lightly tapped Charmeleon's shoulder to get his attention, the king ordered the prince to fly away at that moment before Hellstalker had time to strike them with any attack.

However, the prince's brief hesitation was opportunistically used by Hellstalker, who was already extremely close to them; Theo opened his mouth wide, taking advantage of the short distance to eat the two vulnerable Pokémon and crush them between his teeth. Luckily for the prince and the king, Rubro used Liquidation, gaining momentum and hitting one of Hellstalker's heads, pushing Charmeleon out of harm's way and getting swallowed instead. Cody widened his eyes upon seeing Beserker being devoured in one gulp:

—“LUKEEEEE, NOOOOOOOOOOO!!”— Charmeleon screamed in despair.

Through his Gadget, Lucio's Feraligatr and Trevor's Houndoom witnessed the whole scene and both were momentarily paralyzed. Lucio seemed breathless, unable to say anything, while Trevor couldn't believe what the prince had just said:

—“whata? Luwho?” — Nero asked, confused.

However, Jolteon soon became alarmed when the flame on Cody's tail grew larger and more intense, with tears in his eyes, the Soldier let out a furious roar and unleashed as many Air Slashes as he could on Hellstalkers' face. Theo, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered by Charmeleon's weak attacks; Hellstalker only wanted to know who he had eaten in place of the Soldier, as he felt something in his mouth; Ursaluna noticed the Soldier's desperation, imagining he had devoured someone important, so he began to chew.
Inside Hellstalker's mouth, Rubro tried to hold his ground in a fight against the slimy tongue and struggled not to vomit due to the putrid breath of Ursaluna; Theo's tongue tried to push him toward his sharp teeth, but the Croconaw quickly dealt with it using his Ice Fang, biting the tongue of Hellstalker. Ursaluna, in response to the cold bite, let out a scream of pain, Rubro was about to be thrown out by the force of Hellstalker's Dynamax scream, but he used one of his Liquidations on the red hood strings, wrapping them around the giant's teeth.

Croconaw struggled not to be thrown out and not to vomit, especially upon realizing his second French kiss was with a giant Unite player with bad breath; Rubro created the biggest Liquidation sphere he could with the little PP energy remaining, throwing it into the throat of the Dynamax Pokémon, causing it to cough and choke. With no more energy to maintain the MPP on the red hood strings, Croconaw was thrown out of the Dynamax's mouth while it fell backward onto the ground.
Thrown into the air, Rubro closed his eyes and surrendered to Arceus; he knew he had done his best and could save everyone there even at the cost of his own life, Charmeleon was about to grab the red-hooded Croconaw. However, Cody and Nero were stopped by a large Leaf Tornado that collided with the prince and sent him flying. Inside that Leaf Tornado, Rubro simply smiled and thanked him for having such good allies who had just saved him from death.
Charmeleon still seemed dazed from colliding with the Leaf Tornado, taking a moment to stabilize in the air; when he finally regained control, the Jolteon king told him to run toward the Grass Type movement base before the Beserker disappeared. Cody growled, agreeing with his ally, the prince flew quickly toward the Leaf Tornado's base; however, when he reached the end, not only had the movement dissipated, but Rubro had also disappeared into it:

—“SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, but it's okay, Luke won't get far… Let's go, Nero, we have to get Hellstalker.” — Frustrated Charmeleon said.

However, to make the Soldier even more frustrated, as soon as the sandstorm caused by Theo's Dynamax wore off and dissipated, the duo realized that Hellstalker had also disappeared amidst the Sandstorm:

—“GRRRRRRR, THEY MUST BE KIDDING ME, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!! AM I GOING TO DISAPPEAR TOO NOW grrrr?!”— Cody roared angrily, even causing his flaming tail to burst.

Nero chuckled briefly at his prince friend's reaction, but then he noticed movement coming from one of the stadium entrances:

—“Hey, Cody, look there, there are Pokémon coming out of there, come on, let's see how they are!” — The Jolteon with the rusty earring said excitedly, just before going to talk to the Pokémon.

Those Pokémon were the workers who stayed in the stadium and had been petrified by the Madresp Hellstalker team; apparently, all of them, for some reason still unknown to Cody and Nero, had returned to their normal Pokémon forms:

—“I wonder… It's just a theory, but what if when Luke healed the Hellstalkers from the Madresp team, he indirectly reversed the petrification they caused?”— Cody scratched his chin with his claw while talking to the victims.
—“I don't know who this Luke you keep talking about is, but the red-hooded Beserker saved us all, he's a hero!” — Nero said, smiling at Rubro's good deeds.
—“No, Nero, he's a traitor, a terrorist, and now a vigilante. He may have done good things, but that doesn't erase all his transgressions, and Luke will have to answer for each one of them.” — Cody said, correcting the Jolteon king, the Charmeleon seemed calmer now, but he was still furious.
—“CODY!!”

Charmeleon heard the voice of someone familiar calling his name; turning towards the call, he saw Luke Croconaw accompanied by his brother Saren Larvitar, both Pokémon were on the opposite side of where the majesties were. Croconaw yelled from atop a pile of rubble that blocked an area of the stadium, while Larvitar managed to jump down easily into the arena, Luke slid and fell on his belly, being helped up by Saren.
Cody slapped his own face hard and growled even more frustrated; in Argules Castle, Lucios Feraligatr, father of Croconaw and Larvitar, sat on the ground with both hands on his face, breathing a sigh of relief, while Trevor Houndoom began to laugh:

—“GHAHAHAHAH, DAMN CODY, DON'T SCARE US LIKE THAT! FOR A MOMENT GHAHAHA, YOU MADE ME BELIEVE ghehehe THAT RUBRO AND LUKE WERE THE SAME POKÉMON!”— Trevor affirmed, almost crying with laughter.

A few minutes after everything that had happened, various Time Flower channels began reporting the mega event in Argules. The Madresp team formed by Hellstalkers caused widespread panic and a sandstorm that halted the city, the Soldier's work together with members of the royal entourage from Judicium and the Lacustre base rescuing Pokémon. But the most shocking news that surprised everyone was Rubro the Beserker not only stopping the Dynamax Hellstalker that caused the devastating sandstorm. But also, according to Prince Cody Flamey, one of the Soldier members, healing the Hellstalkers from the Madresp team.:

—“IT WAS HIM, IT WAS HIM, I SWEAR, IT WAS HIM WHO MADE ME RETURN TO WHO I WAS BEFORE!” — Nadim Druddigon shouted and shook himself.

The Pokémon watched the Argules news broadcast through a Time Flower while sailing on a Soldier ship; Nonato Dottler, who was beside his partner, said he was relieved not to be in the city amidst all that chaos, the Bug-type also asked if his partner Druddigon was sure about what he said. Nadim grabbed his partner with his claws covered by the soft pink hoodie, placing the Dottler with a hood right in front of him. Nadim confirmed with absolute certainty that it was Rubro, the first Pokémon he saw when he stopped being a Hellstalker.:

—“This is getting even more interesting than I expected, so there really is a Pokémon in Argules with Madame Xerneas's abilities to reverse Hellstalkers…”— Said a Pokémon with a chilly voice behind the duo.

Both turned to see him; the Pokémon in question was the Soldier sent by Madame Xerneas to investigate the events reported by Druddigon, a Quilava with brown eyes, looking fragile and harmless, wearing a gray artist's beret named Ralm:

—“We're already nearing Argules. I can't wait to meet this Beserker in the flesh, NYAAAWN, is he really that delicious? I can barely contain myself from waiting!”— Ralm affirmed while hugging himself with a lustful look.