Cadance walked through the streets of God's Breath, watching the Pokémon interact. The primary fighters had been sent to the outskirts of the city where they could observe the enemy. Though many thousands of Pokémon had gathered to defend the walls, many thousands more remained inside those walls, simply going about their daily lives. Some were reserves that would bravely rise to battle the moment they were called, but for now their job was only to live their lives as normally as possible. After what she had witnessed from the walls of the city, the happiness and joy that these creatures displayed seemed surreal. She wanted to scream at them to stop what they were doing and understand the horror of their situation. The monsters outside seemed endless and tireless. But to Cadance, as awful as they were, their presence only served as a trap. She knew once she had laid eyes on the 'tyranids' and 'orks' that the city had been planted here for the dark god's purpose; for if those horrors didn't kill everything in God's Breath, Dark Arceus would when it eventually broke free.
The princess watched as a Machoke passed by, carrying the body of a massive creature through the streets as the crowd quickly made room for them. It held the tyranid high over its head with a single arm, so intent on its destination that it failed to notice the thing twitch slightly. She acted immediately, remembering Dorris's warning about the vile intelligence that commanded these abominations. The creature's eyes fired back to life just as she cast her illusion spell. It lashed out with its claws in blind fury, slashing the Machoke across its right bicep and tearing into the ground beneath them. Cadance kept her eyes on the enemy as she teleported the shocked Pokémon to her side. The hive tyrant slashed the ground where the Machoke had been the instant after it had been teleported, then began turning in every direction as it fought to regain its senses. The non-combatant Pokémon took cover in the trees and buildings nearby, while the more valiant first and second stage Pokémon formed a wide circle around the monster as it roared its anger to the sky.
"You have my thanks, majesty," the Machoke said as it held its bleeding arm. "I shall deal with this beast at once."
The tyranid roared again, shaking the ground and the air as it made its hatred known. It lashed out at everything in its vicinity, tearing the ground apart and charging buildings as the Pokémon in them ran for cover. The Machoke threw a nearby Graveler into the hive tyrant's head, succeeding in gaining its attention as the annoyed rock-type rolled away.
"No," Cadance said, holding out a wing to halt the injured fighter as he made ready to charge. "You're hurt. Let me handle this."
She grabbed the monster in a telekinetic forcefield as it came near, pushing it to the ground with all of her strength. It fought against her spell as it struggled to right itself. Cadance could see its ruined chest healing before her eyes as the thing defied her attempts to subdue it. With another mighty roar, the monster broke free of her spell and charged. She spread her wings and held her ground, preparing another spell, even as her body shook in fear. Without a word the Machoke that had carried the beast ran forward, took hold of the carapace plate on the tyranid's chest and slammed it to the ground with deafening force. The tyranid gave no signs of injury as it slashed at the Machoke once more, but the Pokémon jumped aside in time to avoid the attack. The tyranid's eyes turned blue as it reached out with its psychic power in an attempt to discern its surroundings. Cadance bit her lip in frustration. She could feel her spell weakening as it fought to break free of the illusion. She prepared to strengthen the enchantment but stopped as a cry rose from the crowd.
"Make way!" came a high-pitched, urgent yell from the southern side of the street. "Move aside, quickly! Master Shen has awoken and he's… uh…"
The Jigglypuff that had been yelling came to stand before the tyranid, its eyes widening to such an extreme that they nearly reached its toes. The creature turned toward the sound of the puffball and slashed wildly through the air, missing the Jigglypuff with its first four swings. Its fifth swing was aimed downward, moving right for the helpless creature's head. Before it made contact, a massive blue paw reached out and caught the monster's claw. An ancient Blastoise, larger than any Cadance had seen described in the Pokédex, stood before the blinded tyranid. They were equal in size, though Cadance could feel the overwhelming power of the Blastoise as it stood confidently before its foe.
The tyranid slashed out with its three remaining claws, though the Blastoise only bowed slightly and stepped forward. The arcing mandibles struck its shell and stopped, their weight pressing hard against the giant tortoise as it struggled to break through the defense. The tortoise released its enemy's claw, throwing it backwards and sending it off balance. Then, with a grin it grabbed the tyranid's head and let loose a series of furious Skull Bashes that shattered the alien's carapace. The tyranid died after the fourth hit, falling limp to the ground at the Blastois's feet. The Pokémon took a white cloth that had been tied around its arm and wiped the alien ichor off of its head.
"I didn't know you were going to wake up, Master Shen," Harmony said as she walked through the gathering crowd of Pokémon flanked by two scar-covered Lucario.
"This little Jigglypuff got a bit carried away," the Blastoise rumbled in his deep, steady voice. "He accidentally slapped me awake while chasing one of those sleeping Jirachi."
"My apologies, master," the embarrassed Jigglypuff said as he bowed.
"Not a problem. I was watching everything through my meditation, so I was planning on waking up anyway."
"You were watching everything because you were linked to my mind," said an elderly Delphox. She had walked into the street a moment after Shen had engaged the tyranid, and now she was looking at the Blastoise with a withering stare.
"Alright, alright. I may be enlightened but I'm not psychic, I get it. Still, this is a good time to wake up. Our city needs us, Cloe."
"Indeed it does. The others will wake in time, but for now it is just the two of us."
"Pardon me," Princess Cadance said. "I don't believe we've met. My name is Cadance."
"We know of you," Cloe said as she fixed Cadance with a measuring glare. "You have much fear in your heart, child. I thought you would collapse at first, your legs were shaking so badly. Though I will commend you for standing bravely against this nightmarish creature."
"T-thank you," Cadance said, blushing slightly, unsure of the compliment. She was taken off guard by Cloe's harsh, straightforward manner. She frowned as she walked up to the tyranid, half expecting it to rise again and extremely grateful that it didn't.
"They are vile beyond belief," Cloe said. "The humans of this universe, if you can call them human, categorize this thing as a 'Hive Tyrant'. But we don't have time to stand around and gawk at the thing. There is a tyranid in this city sent as a spy. It hides among us like a Kecleon, watching and waiting for its master to give it the order to kill. There could already be casualties caused by its ravenous jaws, though my sight has been limited since I left my meditation. I shall get a bonfire going to remedy that."
"I will lead a group to find the spy," Cadance said as she spread her wings to take flight.
"You are not ready to face this threat, child. You will stay here. Others will hunt it down and slay it."
"But I can help! I'm here to help. We're friends…"
"Indeed we are, and it is for that reason that I forbid you to follow. This 'lictor' is a beast that is as swift as it is deadly. You will be safest accompanied by a sturdy guard."
"I will see that she is kept safe," Harmony said, bowing slightly to her elder. "Lee, accompany the princess, will you?"
"Of course," said the Lucario on her right. He bowed with one paw crossed over his chest, then turned and walked to stand by Cadance's side.
"Good," Cloe said. "I've taken the liberty of sending a team of Stoutland and Slurpuff to hunt down this menace. They should find it shortly. At any rate, the enemy knows of us now."
"Let them know," Shen said as he and Cloe began walking down the street, his massive footfalls shaking the ground beneath him. "That won't save them. We know too much about them now for them to have a valid advantage."
"If what I hear about some of our new legendary allies is true, you may be right. Still, underestimating those monsters will only end in our deaths. My intuition tells me that there is much we don't know about them."
"Bah…" Shen said as his form disappeared past the hill.
"Who were they?" Cadance asked Harmony as she watched the elders leave.
"They were both members of the king's council in their day. Those few of us that survive our service enter into a state of meditation so we might serve once more when the time is needed. The masters hold an advisory role in the city, only coming out of their meditation under truly dire circumstances."
"Cloe… she made me feel like a coward. I know I'm not that experienced in battle, but…"
"She's nearly impossible to please, your majesty. She means well, but after one thousand years of life she tends to treat those younger than her as children. Lord Ra had to convince her to respect the rest of us, though even for him it wasn't easy."
"I'll try not to let it get to me, then," Cadance said, though she still felt the sting of the Delphox's words.
"Good," Harmony said as she watched the injured Machoke lift the hive tyrant with his good arm. "I will admit, though, Cloe does have a point. You don't have much battle experience. Lee, why don't you take Princess Cadance to the Battle Tower and give her a bit of training?"
"Understood," the Lucario said.
"He's one of Gallah's most experienced pupils. Follow his advice and you'll improve in no time."
"I suppose," Cadance said. "It wouldn't hurt to be prepared."
"And don't worry about Cloe, too much. You stared down Dark Arceus, afterall. That's the bravest feat we know of in our city. Even Cloe would admit that."
Cadance smiled appreciatively before turning from her friend and following Lee to a large, white tower in the distance. As their training began, she poured every ounce of her strength into improving and learning. Though she sparred with Lee, her true enemy was her own fear. She had stared down Dark Arceus, and she had seen it for what it was. As she sparred with her partner, she imagined the horrible evil she had witnessed deep within the depths of that prison, and she fought harder.
"What do you think?" Harmony asked the Machoke as they walked past curious nurses and doctors. They were in the section of the hospital designated for the care of the largest Pokémon. It sat underground, directly beneath the surface floor, and continued twelve stories downward. Its walls were massive and heavily reinforced, with passageways that connected to all parts of the city to allow quick transportation for the sick and injured.
The Machoke's name was Bruno, and though she had mended his wounds, they were still quite tender. His arm would have to go unused for a while to complete the healing process, though he made no promises not to use it anyway. Kuma walked closely behind them, scowling at the tyranid that Bruno held above his head. He was smaller and faster than his twin brother Lee, though he was slightly weaker and more cautious. He growled in a low, agitated voice as he followed Bruno and his mistress through the hallways of the hospital.
"I think this creature is tougher than we've given it credit for, lady," Bruno said as he threw the monster to the floor.
"Hmmm," Harmony said, her ears and nose twitching. She turned to her hospital staff and ordered them all out of the room, leaving only her, Bruno, and Kuma. As the door slammed shut Harmony turned to look at it, then she smiled sweetly at the ceiling.
"I know you're there," she said, as Kuma followed her gaze. "Don't take your eyes off the big one, Kuma."
A high-pitched, hateful hiss came from the ceiling above them. Suddenly, two pairs of claws launched forward to pierce Harmony's head. She raised her paw and cast Protect as the claws approached. The lictor's attack was rebuffed as a second, lower pitched hiss came from behind her.
"The hive tyrant still lives, Lady Harmony," Kuma said as he and Bruno took defensive stances.
"These things are tough! Master Shen shouldn't have held back so much. I suspect they've gotten more durable from harvesting the DNA from the green ones."
"Don't worry, lady," Bruno said. "We'll finish his work once and for all."
"Yes, we will," Harmony said gently. She walked toward the lictor, her arms to her sides as the creature came down the wall to stand before her. Bruno and Kuma turned to watch her in shock as the creature struck once more.
"I told you not to take your eyes off of the big one."
The lictor's limbs stopped short as Harmony stepped quickly into its guard. It reached for her neck with its five digit claws, but it couldn't react in time to save itself. Harmony launched a full force Hyper Beam into the creature at point blank range, annihilating its torso and blasting holes through several floors of the hospital. As she recharged, she turned to see her fighters contending with the hive tyrant cautiously. Bruno had torn off one of its claws, but he had taken two deep cuts to his chest. Kuma stood before the monster now, protecting his comrade while the Machoke recovered. The hive tyrant slashed through the air with blinding speed. Kuma stepped inside the attack and landed a Brick Break on its left claw, cracking the carapace. The right claw curled around, trying to drag Kuma into the tyrant's waiting jaws, but the Lucario ducked underneath it.
Harmony could tell that Kuma was struggling to keep up with the tyrant's speed. As he dodged another claw swipe, the tyrant stretched its jaws forward to wrap around the Pokémon's head. He ducked underneath its bite and delivered a massive Aura Sphere into its chest, blowing the thing back against the wall. As it rose to its feet, the tyrant let out a psychic scream that brought both fighting-types to their knees, their hands held to their heads as the extreme pain threatened to overtake them. Having fully recharged, Harmony ran forward and cast a Protect large enough to cover both of her allies, blocking the psychic scream and alleviating their pain. The scream died down after a moment as the tyranid attempted to flee through the hole Harmony had made. The Mega Audino fired a second Hyper Beam at the alien, incinerating its carapace and knocking it onto its haunches as her attack blasted through the ceiling. Bruno took the opportunity to leap on its back while Kuma rose to his feet and charged another attack. The Lucario fired his Aura Sphere at the reeling monster as Bruno cross-chopped its neck. Its badly damaged chest was utterly destroyed as its head rolled to the floor, and the beast finally died.
"We're taking these creatures too lightly," Harmony said as she lifted the head from the ground. "Come here, Bruno. I'll see to those wounds."
As she treated the slashes on Bruno's chest, Harmony called in her nurses. She had a Dedenne send out an electric signal to its kin throughout the city, explaining the death of the lictor and the terrifying regenerative powers of the hive tyrant. She took no pleasure in dissection, but as she compared the tyranids to the orks, she came to several frightening conclusions.