"Meloetta, I need you."
Natsuhiko lowered his head to look at Meloetta and spoke solemnly.
Although Meloetta was very powerful, both a Phantom Beast and capable of controlling the Kami Trio to a certain extent, its courage was its greatest weakness.
If Natsuhiko weren't here, it might already have used its unique invisibility to hide away.
"Melo?"
Meloetta looked at Natsuhiko's serious face, feeling the trust radiating from him.
It sniffled slightly.
Natsuhiko did his best to control his emotions and voice. "Meloetta, I know you're scared. To be honest, I'm scared too."
A small black hand gently rested on Natsuhiko's chest.
Thump—thump—
Indeed, his heartbeat was very fast.
Meloetta, who could use its song to affect Pokémon's emotions and even manipulate them through those emotions, could clearly sense the fear buried deep in Natsuhiko's heart.
He really was afraid.
But if he's that scared, why can he still act so calm?
Rumble!
Another peal of thunder exploded.
The blinding Thunder seemed to scrape right past their sides.
The tips of Meloetta's hair could even feel fine yet powerful currents crawling from the ends up along its body.
Even though these currents had no actual effect on it, its body still couldn't help but shudder, curling into Natsuhiko's arms.
It was still scared.
The next second.
To dodge the attacks, Dragapult's body tilted at a sharp angle.
Natsuhiko used his psychic power to keep himself firmly fixed on its back.
And while Meloetta trembled, a pair of strong arms pulled it tightly into a hug.
Feeling the warmth coming from his body, Meloetta's trembling quickly calmed.
When it looked up, what it saw was Natsuhiko's grave, angular profile.
But when he lowered his head, what reflected in Meloetta's emerald eyes was a very warm smile.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here."
"Melo..."
Meloetta stretched out its hand and gently brushed away the bits of charred dust on Natsuhiko's cheek.
Natsuhiko froze for a moment.
Then his smile grew wider.
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
He lifted his head and looked toward Thundurus.
Bathed in blue lightning, Thundurus was like a terrifying Thunder God who commanded all the currents between heaven and earth, its open five-fingered hand moving along with Dragapult's flight.
Under its control, "thunderstrikes" were as simple as drinking water.
Dragapult, Natsuhiko's greatest trump card and reliance, had no choice but to keep dodging under Thundurus's assault.
And as Thundurus's Anger grew, Dragapult's dodging became increasingly difficult.
"Melo..."
Meloetta called out dumbly.
Natsuhiko slowly exhaled. His thumb and forefinger gently pinched its round, springy cheeks as he said softly:
"My fault. I shouldn't force you to do something you don't want to do."
With that, Natsuhiko patted Dragapult's back.
"Dragapult, fly farther away. Once Hydreigon finishes that guy off, we'll retreat."
"Balua!"
Dragapult shouted irritably.
He should have decided that long ago.
Natsuhiko stared at Thundurus, his hair already standing on end and flying in all directions from the dense magnetic fields and electricity around them. From the corner of his eye he glanced toward Hydreigon, and his heart sank.
As expected.
Hunter S, the top Seat, was not that easy to take down.
Even though most of his Pokémon had already been severely injured and lost combat ability in his earlier battle with Thundurus, he still managed to summon an Elite Trainer Level Scolipede.
Nidoking was holding off Hydreigon, while Scolipede was dealing with Beedrill and the others' frenzied attacks.
What surprised Natsuhiko most was that these two Elite Trainer Level Pokémon, clearly covered in wounds, had burst out with an abnormal level of power.
It was like... they'd gone berserk.
That made it impossible for Hydreigon and Beedrill's side to break through their defense in a short time.
The fight had briefly stalemated.
Although Hunter S's face was dark, his gaze still swept over Natsuhiko's position from time to time, intentionally or not.
Obviously.
He was trying to outlast Natsuhiko.
If Natsuhiko was driven back or even killed by Thundurus, he would still have a chance to live.
Judging from the current situation, Natsuhiko and Dragapult wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.
Having fought Thundurus before, he knew very well how terrifying its destructive power was in its enraged state.
Otherwise, with his peak strength, there's no way a mere ordinary Seat Hunter like Natsuhiko would have pushed him into such a miserable state.
But Dragapult's existence still put considerable pressure on him.
This was something different from ordinary Elite Trainer Level Pokémon!
Stall it out.
No matter how strong Dragapult was, there was no way it could win a one-on-one against the Divine Beast Thundurus.
"Me...lo~"
Under Natsuhiko's soothing, Meloetta's heart grew much calmer.
It looked toward Thundurus.
Of course it could clearly feel Thundurus's Anger.
It was an unnatural sort of Anger, as if influenced by some special power—that was what had provoked Thundurus's rage, but not the root cause.
The fundamental reason was... as a Divine Beast, it had been subjected to a Taunt it should never have endured.
Who was Thundurus?
In the Unova Region, it was an existence that could casually cause thunderstorms and wildfires.
As long as you didn't provoke those few individuals, there was no one but Landorus who could restrain it.