Victory Road!

The first sign that the end is near is the spiderweb of cracks appearing in the windows separating the frozen chamber from the one that the battle is taking place in.

For the first time since the fighting began, Lusamine turns back towards the window in shock, smile disappearing as she lets out a gasp of distress.

Then the window shatters under the pressure of the water building up on the other side, sending shards of glass pattering to the floor only to be immediately followed by a gush of frigid seawater flowing into the room, sweeping anyone not braced against a large Pokemon or U.B. back against the far wall. Fortunately, once the initial wave happens, what's left in the room is only about waist-height. The control panel is all shorted out (good thing there were plenty of Electric-type Pokemon around to absorb all the sparks!) and emergency lights are blinking all around.

After presumably first checking to make sure you and your Pokemon are all in one piece, the next natural place to look is the now-open chamber... where a much clearer shape is now visible in the remaining ice.

A faint green glow pulses through the blue... and so does an even fainter cry.

At that, each and every Ultra Beast in the room drops what they're doing and rushes forward, flying or leaping through the shattered window to start attacking the ice-- but much more carefully than they'd been trying to smash into the Aether building earlier.

When Lusamine, drenched and not looking nearly as spooky as when she was bathed in blue light and commanding her team like a well-oiled machine, sits up with water sloshing her hair around and sees what's happening, she lets out a piercing wail.

"NO!!"

( But the core of the ice is already cracking, and finally the captive inside becomes visible... )

After so much excitement, it would seem that at least for the moment, all's well that ends well...


( ... Or is it? )

_____________________________

[This concludes our Ultra October event... or does it? Enjoy a little breathing room, trainers-- you earned it! But stay tuned for some EV News on the aftermath in the next couple of weeks...]

[After yesterday’s shocking EV News Report and its abrupt conclusion, tension across Johto and Kanto is palpable. Saffron City's population of burgeoning independent reporters has exploded out of the woodwork like a swarm of disturbed Beedrills, and crowds of protesters fill the streets around the towering Silph building... but while the megacorporation has plenty on its plate to deal with in terms of damage control... Dr. Theramin's accusation has been on loop on every kind of media available and then some. What other things could be hiding from the general public, locked up behind the Aether Foundation’s doors? Still no word from the "good guys in white", even with so many now turned against them.]

[When the familiar jingle and logo pop up on PokeGears once again, trainers are compelled by "URGENT NEWS BULLETIN" ticker-tape running along the bottom screen. What could reporter Sarah have in store for us today as the feed cuts to her at her usual desk?]

Good evening, viewers, to a special edition of EV News.

[The strain of the month is now definitely showing, even through the makeup that has been liberally applied to her face, and she leans forward slightly as if trying to mask the urge to take a nap right there at her seat.]

While we have been working through day and night to bring you an update on the situation between Silph Co. and the Aether Foundation, this emergency news bulletin concerns a sudden and startling swarm of Pokemon currently amassing in Cerulean City.

[The feed cuts to a compilation of footage, both amateur and professional, of wild Pokemon scrambling through the streets of Cerulean City. This in and of itself is not too surprising after these past few weeks, but the species seen are usually ones local to the surrounding areas...]

[One shaky video shows a Nidoking, roaring to scatter Youngsters or Lasses in its path, with Gym Leader Misty's red hair bobbing in the crowd as she and her Starmie try to get close enough to slow it down. Another shows an entire fruit-stand being bowled over by a small stampede of Ampharos, bounding on all fours with their tails raised high and flashing in alarm. One clip isn't even a video, but a slideshow of photographs taken of an enormous hole in the side of a tall brick wall that happens to be the exact size and shape of a Golurk, with an Ace Trainer standing next to it for scale.]

[Some of the Pokemon storming the streets seem enraged, but many look almost shell-shocked, hurrying and scurrying into any and every hiding place imaginable-- or just trying to get to the other side of the city and into the grassy fields to the south as quickly as possible. Sarah’s voice emerges over the track of the videos.]

These Pokemon appear to be migrating down from the mountains to the north of the city, and are notably not species normally found on the public routes surrounding the city. Trainers are warned that these Pokemon have been confirmed to be at levels much higher than usual for the area, with the highest reported level being level 95 and counting. Visitors to the city and Cerulean citizens alike are advised to stay indoors and avoid the streets as these Pokemon pass through. Local police forces are clearing the roads and doing small-scale evacuations where necessary in order to minimize the risk of damage or injury to people or Pokemon.

[The footage at the bottom of the screen blurs slightly to show a scrolling list of the species sighted in Cerulean City thus far... Dugtrio. Lickitung. Raichu. Golbat. Tangrowth. Golem. Absol. Ampharos. Nidoqueen. Nidoking. Rhydon. Galvantula. Golurk. Exploud. Gigalith. Some real powerhouses...]

Once again, trainers are warned to avoid engaging with these wild Pokemon and simply let them pass whenever possible. Word from our Cerulean reporter indicates that the Elite Four are already on the scene to investigate where these Pokemon might be coming fro--

[Suddenly, Sarah’s eyes go wide as they look up and over the camera’s line of sight, likely to one of the crew, as an intern rushes on set to pass her a paper. She doesn’t stammer as she skims what’s written there, but it sure does make her sit up straighter.]

Oh, wow-- um, an extra-urgent news bulletin has just been passed to me-- concerning the activity of the otherworldly creatures that have been emerging over this past month-- i-is this right? This is-

[The intern pops back on the screen, just at the edge,] We literally just got that from Willie, I swear-

Can we patch him in? Ask Tina to try, okay? [The intern nods and speeds off, and Sarah looks back at the camera, glancing between it and the bulletin in her hands.] Um, sorry about that, folks, uh... our on-site correspondent on the Sevii Islands, currently awaiting word from the Aether Foundation regarding yesterday’s revelations, is-- oh, we’ve got him? Put him on screen!

[The screen splits, Sarah looking pensive on the left while a shaky livestream reveals a bespectacled reporter, his attention split between a rapt audience and the scene behind him as he heaves for breath.

Oh, and what a scene it is. In the distance, the Aether Foundation’s Sevii Islands headquarters is under siege, not by angry trainers demanding answers like Dr. Theodore Theramin urged viewers to do yesterday... but by the Ultra Beasts that have been swarming over the course of the month. Nihilego float hauntingly after Aether employees who spill out of the facility to try and fight back. Buzzwole are helping Pheromosa climb up onto the roof by becoming living ladders for their more delicate counterparts to use. Blacephalon are setting off explosions as distractions while Poipole and Kartana try to tear at the walls, bash through the windows-- this and more adds to a chaotic situation.]

Willie? Willie! What’s going on out there?

[Willie the reporter starts, clears his throat, looks back to the mayhem.] I- I’m not sure, Sarah, but I’ve-- I had to RUN to steer clear of one of those weird electrical wire-looking things, I’ve been - standing vigil for any word from the Aether Foundation, but no one has come out to give a statement, and then - and now...all of these strange beings began to arrive, and they’re a-attacking the headquarters!

Willie, have they been causing any other damage? Attacking Sevii residents?

N-Not that we’ve seen, no, but they a-are responding to battle when engaged by the Aether Foundation agents, and more are arriving every MINUTE! They're--

[Willie goes silent as a shadow falls over him, and he looks up, up, up... his voice squeaks out a oh god please don’t kill me before he faints, as the sparking head of a Xurkitree twists and crackles into view. Sarah jumps and skids back in her chair as gasps and shouts erupt from the newsroom crew, and the Xurkitree…

Well, it makes a noise, something like a Pokemon’s cry, very synthetic and unusual but almost curious in tone before shifting to... a pleading sound? The spiky light that makes up its head flashes in an oddly rhythmic pattern, and as it leers closer…

There’s another loud buzzing noise, and the video feed from the Sevii Islands cuts to black. Sarah opens her mouth, perhaps to try and reassure the viewers, but that feed too cuts off.

... Sure hope this interference ending every broadcast doesn’t become a thing.]

It feels like forever that the northern section of Ecruteak’s been coated in this bath of gentle steam, even though it’s only been since early September... naturally, some folks have complained about it, but for the most part, the locals have accepted it as just a matter of Suicune’s safe recovery. A few have even remarked that it rather suits the town’s spiritual atmosphere-- and Morty’s ghost-type gym in particular.

But like it or not, the fog has shown no signs of going away, much to the chagrin of autumn tourists, since it completely obscures the town’s most famous landmark.

Indeed, only the deep tolling of the bell each morning and night coming from somewhere up above the blanket of steam is proof that the top of the Tower is even still there.

And it’s only the fact that it’s so thoroughly hidden from those below that allows two secret visitors to come swooping down to alight soundlessly on its ancient shingles, their blazing brightness successfully overshadowed by not only the fog but also the fact that just about everybody’s migrated to the parts of town where the meteor showers are actually visible.

( Knock knock! Who's there? It's lore! )

________

( EV NEWS: BREAKING UPDATE )