The call

The walking calamity continued to stride forward, each step covering hundreds of meters as it rapidly approached him with suffocating momentum.

"You won't get away with this!" Rex yelled, the stench of death assailing his nostrils.

"Heh, many have tried to end me. A god. You shall not be the last. Go on, rise! Huddle beneath your false hope! Today, I tear it all down."

With a swipe of his claws to accompany his words, a massive wave of electricity surged out like a tidal wave. The furious crackling and sizzling of lightning striking trees rose to a crescendo. A symphony, like the striking of hammers to steel.

'Fuck! FUCK! A God? What God? I only know one God, and he exists beyond the reaches of this universe! You may be strong, but you are nothing before his mighty power!'

As he stared at the incoming attack, capable of sundering the earth and reaping uncountable lives, he felt like a flickering candle in a thunderstorm. Yet his own words echoed in his head, and an idea, a string of hope, descended onto his lap.

Tightly grabbing onto it, a single thought raged in his head, 'only the power gifted to me by that being can reverse the tide!'

"MAAAAACHAAAAAMP!"

A thunderous roar exploded out of his chest, threatening to tear his vocal cords to shreds. His voice seemed to make space tremble, and as Valhir looked on in stupefaction, the sound seeped through the film separating their world from the outside.

***

Back in the cave, as soon as Rex fell unconscious, Gaia instantly noticed. But even after doing everything in its power, even calling upon Mewtwo to break Rex out of what it thought to have been a tremendously powerful mental attack, their efforts bore no fruit.

They could only watch in silence, hoping that whatever was happening, Rex would be able to tide through it safely.

By now, all of Rex's Pokémon had been brought out of their pokeballs and huddled around their trainer, father figure and best friend with terrible expressions.

Machamp stood at the back with his arms crossed, his eyes closed, seemingly meditating.

"Hey! How can you be so calm when Rex is like this? shouldn't you be the most worried of all?" Mewtwo couldn't help but fume when he saw Machamp's attitude.

"…"

Seeing Machamp remain silent, Mewtwo hovered forward towards the mountain of muscle with the intention of awakening him, but was surprised to see everyone stand in his way.

"What is it?" he asked.

{Don't go. You're new, so you might not know, but we have been with him since the beginning.} A look of deep respect, admiration, and a tinge of fear all swirled within everyone as they turned towards Machamp.

Mordred continued in a solemn tone, {he might look calm, but it's because he's doing it for our sake. If he was to let his rage out, everyone here would be vaporised.}

Boom!

As if an earthquake had gone off in his head, Mewtwo turned to the ever-peaceful Machamp, but this time, he finally noticed the minute muscle twitches that were enough to send small tremors through the ground.

{Although I cannot die, I don't really want to be turned to ash. Seems like a drag—} Mordred continued but was quickly slapped silent by Arcanine.

Just as the cave was returning to silence, a massive bloody mist exploded out of Rex's mouth, sending the cave into turmoil. Everyone looked over in horror as Rex's face became as white as a sheet of paper, a steady stream of blood dripping down his mouth and forming a puddle where he sat.

Just as everyone was about to move, a pressure weighing several thousand tons descended down on them. So heavy that it felt tangible. And the archaic voice of a beast long forgotten resounded throughout the cave.

"I am Valhir of the first thunder. Destroyer of the white mountain. Carver, of the five Fjords!"

Lighting exploded out of Rex's body, charring his body black, his hair burning to a crisp as a charred smell wafted through the cave, causing the Pokémon to gag slightly.

Yet again, just as the Pokémon were about to surge forward, faces full of malice and fury, a second wave of pressure surged forward. but the direction was different, they initially thought it was from the same source, but upon closer inspection, it came from behind them.

As they turned around, a black mist that devoured all light surged out like a raging inferno around Machamp, An intensifying frown on his face.

"MAAAAACHAAAAAMP!"

Rex's thunderous roar shot the entire mountain, its momentum causing a gale to stir. Everyone was shocked, their mouths open wide. They had thought that Rex was about to die, yet that voice contained so much power, so much resolve that it seemed unshakable. Not an ounce of weakness could be felt.

As if that shout carried unknown power, Machamp's eyes shot open as a blinding brilliance exploded out of them. His aura continued to climb like a volcano on the edge of exploding. As everyone was entranced in his majesty, to their shock, Machamp suddenly disappeared, as if everything they had seen was an illusion that finally broke.

Gaia took all this in and silently sighed, [it rests on your shoulders, Machamp. Whatever the crisis, I'm sure that the two of you together are enough to overcome it.]