A darkness deeper than dusk, more vivid than blood—oops, wrong script. No second half, just the first bit shattered by the light of bonds.
The moment his vision cleared, Akira locked eyes on a Pokémon—familiar yet alien.
Familiar because, as a diehard Poké-fan, he knew every Pokémon's shape and name by heart.
Alien because this one wasn't his, nor had he ever encountered it in this world.
Lion-like.
Covered in orange-red fur, with a flowing white mane like smoky clouds trailing behind—beneath it, blade-sharp structures glinted.
Red, six-pointed star patterns adorned its cheeks, and a clover-shaped golden crest sat on its forehead.
Sturdy limbs bore iron rings, and a casual paw-step sparked swirling flames.
Honestly, a majestic, badass Pokémon.
But to Akira, it didn't feel all that fierce.
"A measly Sole God—what's there to flex about? I want my own Pokémon. No time for you."
Sole God, real name Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, aka Entei.
A Fire-type Legendary, part of Ho-Oh's guard. Revived by the Tier-1 god in a new form after perishing in the Burned Tower's blaze, it became a Tier-2 deity of Johto—one of the Sacred Beasts. Decent cred, right?
But in-game? Total flop.
High Attack stat, yet no access to strong physical Fire moves. Add uneven stat distribution and a pitiful movepool, and it's the shame of Legendaries—nicknamed "Sole God" by players.
It's got a cousin in shame: Flareon, the fire Eevee. Similar traits, similar stat spread, similar lore—some even say Flareon was Entei's past life. Dubbed "Sole King," it got a glow-up later with Flare Blitz, while Entei had to wait until Gen 8 for a TM bailout. Talk about待遇 (待遇: treatment).
Meeting Entei didn't faze Akira. It's Unown's signature move.
They'd already whipped one up in the movie Emperor of the Crystal Tower. A second go? Par for the course. The surroundings even had that Crystal Tower vibe—Sacred Mountain's outline lingered, but the vegetation was coated in crystalline gunk.
Was this his brain linking Unown to that memory?
"Can you understand me?" Akira tested.
"ROAR~~~" A bellow answered, flames surging as Entei's four legs launched it forward.
"Hot! Not an illusion?!"
The searing pain, the curling of his surface hair—those flames were real. No Sacred Shield here; Akira dodged back fast.
Entei wasn't letting up.
First, a jaw-dropped blast of abnormal fire forced Akira into a roll.
Then, orange-red light flared over Entei's body, exploding into tangible flames that cloaked it entirely.
Propelled by the blaze, Entei hit a speed peak, closing Akira's hard-earned gap in a blink.
The first heatwave alone blistered his skin with bubbles.
Akira snapped, "Flare Blitz! That's Flare Blitz! I'm reporting you—breaking move rules!"
That initial fire blast outdid Gardevoir's full-power Psychic.
The follow-up charge? Stronger than Darkrai's Dark Pulse.
No way that was just Flamethrower or Fire Spin—Akira wouldn't buy it if you killed him.
"Unown, I said recreate, not juice it up!"
Too bad whining was pointless. Unown—wherever they were—didn't care, and this maybe-real-maybe-fake Entei kept coming hard.
Good thing Akira hadn't slacked on training. Reverse Technique and template swaps flowed smoothly, or he'd be a charred mess by now.
Switching between Super Rookie physique and Sabrina's psychic power, he spammed Reverse Technique to heal.
But this wasn't sustainable. He had to fight back.
Thought, meet action.
Akira's two strengths shone: planning, then executing.
Sabrina mode: on.
Track movement.
Map skill range.
Analyze attack patterns, predict.
Future sight? Just logical deduction from current data.
The future's never set—you carve it yourself.
Draw blade!
Cursed energy sword slash!
No dice.
Entei's flames stuck to their rule-breaking gospel. Not just insane offense—its defense was nuts too. Best defense is offense, right? Burn away incoming hits.
Games can't do that—mechanics limit move clashes. Reality? Moves duke it out, canceling each other.
But Akira had planned for this.
He never expected a sword slash to down it. The stronger the foe, the less his Grade 1 cursed tool mattered. That strike was a feint—testing Entei's guard for the real blow.
While the flames clashed with his cursed slash, Akira flipped to Super Rookie mode, cranking cursed energy into overdrive, no cost spared.
Boosted by cursed power and template, he closed in faster than the flames could regen, landing a heavy, curse-charged sword strike.
This time, it worked.
"ROARRRR~" Entei howled in pain.
But before it finished, Akira hissed too.
As the blade hit, Entei's blood splattered—some landing on him.
Legend says Entei's veins run with lava-hot passion, a side effect of uncontainable power that keeps it sprinting endlessly.
That blood? Molten hot. Like punching a Hedgehog—it hurts them, but you're hurting too.
Even with maxed defense buffs, Akira struggled.
Gritting through the pain, he yanked the sword back—only to find the tip melted off.
"My sword!"
It'd been relegated from frontline duty, but half a year together built attachment.
Heartache plus physical ache hit hard—cool air? Nope, hot gasps.
Across from him, Entei stopped roaring. Wrapped in fiery aura, its wounds healed fast.
Lore says the Sacred Beasts inherited scraps of Ho-Oh's power post-revival.
As a Fire-type like Ho-Oh, Entei got its unique regenerative flame—restoring itself or others' vitality.
High damage, counter-damage on hit, self-healing—here, Entei finally shed its "Sole God" disgrace, flexing true Legendary might.
For Akira, a close-combat brawler, it was the worst matchup.
Luckily, mid-fight, he felt a growing familiar presence.
His Pokémon were close.