Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rising Spirits

Chapter 9, Part 3 - Fallen Legend

The Pangoro glared at both Aiden and Trevor intently, slowly raising his arms, then crossing them in a flashy display of confidence. "So," he snarled with a gruff voice which stung with bitter anger, "You think you can just rough up my crew and get away with it?!"

"Treph..." Aiden quietly muttered, "These guys aren't lying about Greydon being a former Legend. "...What do we do now?!"

Trevor glanced at Greydon's intimidating expression, then back towards Aiden's panicked visage. "Now that we know Rin isn't here," he whispered, "There's no reason to risk staying. Let's... run!"

Both Trevor and Aiden began sprinting away as fast as their legs could carry them in the opposite direction, back towards the jumble of trees from where they had came.

"Hey!" Greydon shouted. With a single powerful movement, he leapt into the air and landed in front of the escaping trio to cut off their path of escape. "You're not running away from this one, you tiny fools!" he declared loudly. "Anyone who's fought Jett and somehow lived to tell the tale should be we well aware that you can't outrun a Legend, even if they're retired. What's your clever plan now? Do you wanna do this the easy way, or the hard way?!"

Trevor instantly reached into his satchel, then hurled a Silver Spike straight between Greydon's eyes. Although Greydon was easily able to intercept the projectile, the Pangoro nonetheless flared in anger at the boldness of the gesture.

"We've fended off a Legend before," Trevor declared loudly despite his violently thumping heart. "We're more than capable of beating a retired one. You hear me? We're not scared of you Legend Ranks anymore, especially not some coward who had to beg for us to come to them alone!"

"The nerve... in front of my crew..." Greydon snarled, his voice swelling from barely-contained fury as he steadily lifted a massive, imposing fist into the air. Both Trevor and Aiden jumped away to avoid the sheer force of it smashing into the ground where they once stood, a towering pillar of snow erupting upwards as the frozen ground underneath feebly cracked into several tiny pieces.

Trevor wasted no time in throwing two Blast Seeds into his own mouth, the resulting onslaught of billowing flames forcing Greydon to shield himself with one of his hulking arms. Aiden, seeing an opportunity to strike, rushed towards the Pangoro's exposed side and managed to land two kicks to the face before she was violently knocked away with his remaining arm.

While Greydon watched as Aiden struggled to stumble back to her feet, Trevor endured the burning pain welling up from his throat and reached into his satchel once again. As Greydon turned to pinpoint Trevor's location, he was instantly met with a brief gray blur followed by a sharp pain in his cheek. A few meters away stood Trevor, a fierce glint in his eyes as he held a lengthy rope in his paws; tied to the rope's end was a Silver Spike, its tip lined with Greydon's blood.

"Eh? A makeshift whip?" Greydon grunted while running a thumb through the newly made cut on his cheek, "You wanna fight me with a silly toy like that? Don't make me laugh!"

When Trevor swung his whip once again, Greydon was prepared to catch the spike before it could come close to reaching his head. The Pangoro's eyes nonetheless widened as a resonant crack rang out from the center of his squeezed fist which held the caught spike. Before he could discard the Blast Seed which he had unwittingly activated, his entire paw became engulfed in a searing explosion of fire which instantly rendered his right arm temporarily limp.

"D-damn!" Greydon cursed silently and grimaced as Trevor instantly threw two Silver Spikes straight towards him. The Pangoro barely had time to deflect the projectiles before Trevor was already swiping at his undamaged arm with his elongated claws. Any attempt to thwart Trevor's relentless onslaught was instantly thwarted as Aiden reappeared to collide her burning heel directly onto Greydon's back, prompting a harsh cry of pain. Both Trevor and Aiden persistently commenced their pincer attack, Trevor furiously scratching at Greydon's arm at the front while Aiden delivered blow after blow onto his exposed back, until the Pangoro's strained expression seemed to convey that the battle was already drawing to a close...