Chapter 10

“Get to the grove! Stop it! And remember that the Roaring Moon is a Dark Type—the Farigiraf won’t be able to hurt it!”

Next to the Iron Valiant, Nick scrambled back to his feet, but the Iron Valiant was already jumping off the cliffside yet again. However, instead of plummeting downward, it stabbed an arm into the cliff wall. The rocky surface slowed it and gave it the chance to land with more control.

Ahead of it, deeper into the grove, strands of smoke drifted into the sky. Some of the Girafarig were beginning to stampede away; the threat of this Roaring Moon easily outclassed any group of Scream Tail.

The Iron Valiant dashed, weaving through the trees. When it arrived at an opening, it saw two trunks lying shattered on the ground. A third was in the process of cracking, with the Roaring Moon standing up with its claws in its branches. The Dragon pushed into the tree while tearing away berries with its jaws, and the Farigiraf were failing to stop it. Psychic-type Twin Beams failed to land with any impact save for the base force of the blow.

Three Farigiraf fought, and a fourth lay on the ground, unconscious after making the mistake of getting close. Teeth gnashed against wood and leaves, and berries were gobbled down.

The violence of the scene far surpassed any act of feeding the Iron Valiant had witnessed in the past. Even now, the Roaring Moon was raging. Days had passed, and it was still lashing out after its loss.

The three remaining Farigiraf attempted to team up and land Twin Beams that swirled and joined together, but even that massive technique failed to deal damage. Feeling a slight push, the Roaring Moon just had to twist its head and exhale yellow-purple flames. The Dragon Breath sent the trio of evolved Pokémon scrambling back, and even more smoke was added to the growing cloud from the previous times the Roaring Moon had used this move.

The scene was analyzed; the Iron Valiant could not wait. With a leap, it pressed its hands together to pull out its polearm, and the blade of its weapon swung for a mighty blow.

However, the impact failed to push the Pokémon back, but the Roaring Moon’s eyes still bulged from the feeling of a familiar hit. The reactive force of this strike let the Iron Valiant bounce back. When it landed on the ground, it was ready to strike again.

But the Roaring Moon twisted its head around, the start of another Dragon Breath creeping out of its throat. It was prepared to exhale, but it froze when it saw the Iron Valiant.

Silence stretched out.

The very moment the Roaring Moon laid its eyes on the Iron Valiant, it was as if time itself went still. Recognition flashed through the hulking Dragon’s expression, but then all of that was gone, replaced solely by rage.

The yellow-purple flames that licked out of the Pokémon’s mouth grew to expand out around it as it pushed off the tree to launch itself at the Iron Valiant. The air became filled with the noise of whistling speed and the third trunk breaking against the ground. The force of this incoming move threatened to take out any Pokémon in its way. So, the Iron Valiant chose to avoid it. It dodged by hopping back, and then it turned around to run away.

Weapon in hand, it charged through the trees. A roar pierced through the night sky behind it. The deafening echo spoke of both rage and madness, but it also spoke of an absolute need for revenge.

The Iron Valiant practically exploded out from beneath the trees, leaves filling the air behind it. The Roaring Moon incinerated loose branches and foliage in its wake. Holes appeared in the earth from the impacts of the Iron Valiant’s feet, and the Roaring Moon’s pursuit dug a groove in the dirt behind it from the force of its wings.

This chase would only ever lead to the Roaring Moon catching up, but the Iron Valiant only needed to lead the Dragon out of the grove. It didn’t need to get far to be racing toward the wall of the nearby cliffside, and the Dragon type followed, the only thought in its mind being the image of metal to shred.

Before, the Iron Valiant had wondered why it was a Fairy type. Nick had told it that Fairy types were based on tricks and the mimicry of something called “fae.” None of that applied to the Iron Valiant, so the classification had never made sense. However, in that moment, the Iron Valiant knew just why it was a Fairy Type. The Fairy Type made it immune to Dragons; therefore, with its skillset, it was the perfect Dragon slayer.

Blade shining in the night’s first beams of moonlight, the Iron Valiant did not slow but kept running straight at the rock wall. Using its momentum and the hardened metal of its feet, its ongoing dash carried it upward for several meters, and then it pushed off the stone to flip right over the Roaring Moon’s head.

Teeth snapped out. Its blade swung down. A red glow, a Fighting-type move, struck. Blade shining, internals glowing, this technique smashed right into the Roaring Moon’s back. For the first time across all of its fights, the Roaring Moon let out a true scream of pain, and the Dragon type fell to the earth.

But it wasn’t defeated just yet.

The Iron Valiant landed, but so did the Roaring Moon. The great beast had taken damage, but it simply couldn’t care less. Its wings were too hurt to bring it back into the air, but it still had a pair of massive, rending claws. Flames licked out between its teeth, and the Iron Valiant could tell that after the Roaring Moon’s last defeat, more than just the Dragon’s body had been damaged.

It was here to make a point, to prove that it was at the top. The Pokémon it faced in the underground world had all been defeated by its draconic might. A simple loss to the Iron Valiant would not have inspired this kind of reaction, but being so thoroughly trounced by a single move that sent it falling off a cliff had embarrassed it to the point that its pride as a Dragon needed to be repaired.

To the Roaring Moon, the Iron Valiant was fated to be beneath it. The Roaring Moon was its name; it was the moon, and it was the ruler of the sky.

But from the Iron Valiant’s perspective, nothing about that statement was true. Since the Roaring Moon had landed, the two of them were on even ground.

They stood off.

The Iron Valiant’s display met the Roaring Moon’s yellow eyes. A growl left the Dragon’s throat. Both sides needed to win, just for vastly different reasons.

The Iron Valiant knew it would take a great deal of effort to pull off a win, but to make matters worse—

“Take this!”

The Iron Valiant had an audience.

The shout started from atop the cliff, but it rapidly drew closer by the second. Falling straight toward where the Dragon was crouched, Nick plummeted downwards, a familiar smile glinting in the moonlight that illuminated his face.

He hit the back of the Roaring Moon with a heavy thump, but something hummed in his hand, and he jabbed it straight into the Dragon’s neck. A horrible scream filled the air, and the Roaring Moon reared back.

“Go! Attack now!” he shouted through gritted teeth.

But as the electricity from his weapon coursed through the Roaring Moon, it knew exactly where Nick was. Through the pain, it opened its jaws, and a pair of red wings snapped out.

Nick was caught from below, and the sudden push sent him right off the Roaring Moon’s back and into the cliff wall.

Something cracked.

The sound of the impact echoed across the entire crater. It was so much worse than the noise that came from Nick landing on the Roaring Moon’s back.

The sharp buzzing of Nick’s weapon stopped. The Roaring Moon didn’t even turn around. It knew it had won, but it was also busy swinging its head back and forth to try to get a handle on where Nick’s weapon had branded it black with pain.

The Iron Valiant was in a daze.

The entire world was spinning. Its deal with Nick was made to help him escape, but at the very last moment, the dumb human had gone and pulled this.

The Roaring Moon continued to scream. Whatever fueled Nick’s rod was still coursing through its body. It wasn’t able to process the attack; it hadn’t seen it, and the weapon hadn’t landed with a proper Pokémon move. Through its pain, the Dragon exhaled, off-color flames washing out, and they briefly crossed over the Iron Valiant to no effect.

And then, the Iron Valiant saw it—but only a flash. Nick lay on the ground, back against the rock wall, completely unmoving, and his assembled weapon lay broken on the ground next to him.

The Roaring Moon was still rampaging right ahead of Nick, and seeing that sight, the Iron Valiant no longer cared about beating the Roaring Moon to defend the grove. It also no longer cared about needing to defend itself against such an impossible foe. Or even just defeating it to put down such a powerful foe.

Its grip on its weapon tightened; it had a new goal.

This Roaring Moon needed to be defeated so that the Iron Valiant could rescue the human in the back.

However, there was a problem; the Iron Valiant might have a worthwhile attack in Dazzling Gleam, but it didn’t have the power. It could unleash a super effective move, but then what? The Roaring Moon would just retaliate. This Dragon had been stronger than the Iron Valiant had been in the past, and this Dragon was still stronger than it was now.

But still, it could hear that crackling, that faint, zipping sound of electricity slowly fading from the Roaring Moon’s body. Nick’s weapon had bought time for the Iron Valiant, but it served a second purpose.

The jab was an example. The strike had given the Iron Valiant the inspiration it needed.

Who cared about transforming the energy in its body? Electricity was its energy, and to use this move, all it needed to do was transfer enough of that energy into the ground.

It spun its polearm in its hands. The Roaring Moon finally seemed to get a handle on itself. As the Iron Valiant reared its weapon up above its head, the massive Dragon lunged. However, the great beast was not fast enough to stop this strike, and the Iron Valiant plunged its weapon into the earth.

Yellow flashed through the polearm’s crystal. A vibrant feeling poured out of the Iron Valiant and into the ground. It could remember all the times Nick smiled. It could remember all of Nick’s speeches. It could remember how Nick forced himself to remain confident, even if he wasn’t feeling that way deep down.

All of its practice, everything it had learned, every example it could mimic, was used to fuel this attack. Electricity was energy, and that was all that was needed to change the terrain itself. A claw smashed into the Iron Valiant’s side to sweep it off its feet, but jagged, yellow bolts of electricity zapped across the dirt—

A whirring built in its chest.

That same electricity joined back with it, and its body had never glowed with such light.

Filled with an energy it had never possessed before, the Iron Valiant strengthened its grip on its weapon to slam it into the Roaring Moon’s chest. It could feel dirt churn under its back as the Roaring Moon dragged it across the ground, but that was just bringing it closer to the terrain it had just activated, and it sucked in everything it had to fuel this one attack.

A flash.

A Dazzling Gleam seared the Roaring Moon’s chest.

This was nothing more than a burst of burning light, but it was a light that far surpassed anything the Iron Valiant had ever unleashed before in its life. Infusing the earth with electricity had allowed that same electricity to come back. Every one of its internals was supercharged, and all of that allowed for this attack.

Scales burned away. Blue flesh turned black. The Roaring Moon dropped the Iron Valiant just to get away from the pain, but as it turned to flee, the Iron Valiant was already back on its feet.

It struck.

A flash.

It struck again.

Another flash.

Every time it swung its weapon, a Dazzling Gleam roared out of its polearm’s bladed end.

These attacks ate away at the Roaring Moon and practically carved through its scales. It did not take long at all for the pain to get the best of it, and the great beast fell to the ground.

The Dragon’s eyes rolled up into its head.

The Iron Valiant could have celebrated here, but it took off running. It couldn’t care less about the current state of its foe. The only thing that mattered was that the Roaring Moon had been defeated and that the Iron Valiant now had free rein to approach the human in the back.

As it arrived, it could feel a tension in its chest fade when Nick craned his neck up to look at it. However, the Iron Valiant’s stress was not gone. The only reason Nick was still awake was due to the tiny shocks of the electricity zapping through the earth beneath him.

“That was pretty cool,” the human coughed out. The Iron Valiant saw no visible injuries, but it wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. “Electric Terrain. Quark Drive. A pretty good combination.”

The Iron Valiant smashed its fists together to collapse its weapon and lock its blades in place. It knelt, looking over Nick to find where he was hurt most. Nick did not stand up.

“Didn’t expect... Dazzling Gleam to be that strong,” he wheezed. “Quark Drive is... it improves your best strengths. So that and... four times effectiveness. You were going to win from the start.”

The Iron Valiant wanted to laugh in some way, but it couldn’t. Even now, Nick was trying to talk about Pokémon battles. The human was smiling, but there was no way he was feeling happy through his pain.

No.

This expression was only for the Iron Valiant itself.

“I finally got to use that thing I made,” Nick said.

The Electric Terrain started to fade.

“And you fought pretty hard.”

Slowly, the Iron Valiant scooped its arms under the human, taking great caution to ensure its blades remained out of the way. As it turned to begin walking back to the grove, it heard Nick speak one more time.

“Like I said,” he mumbled. “We make a good team.”

Then, he closed his eyes, and the Iron Valiant picked up its pace.

Nick was breathing, but only barely. He needed to be healed, and soon. If not, then...

Then—!

If Nick wasn’t healed, then the Iron Valiant wasn’t sure what it’d do.