"What?! Silica, elaborate on what the hell you're talking about. What 'crisis'?! What's this nonsense?!" Ignacio shouted as his breath exhaled small flames. His dark eyes leered at Silica as she sat calmly within the Meeting Circle.

The Meeting Circle, as it was respectfully called, was perfectly centered in the middle of Chizue. It's an open, circular field in which all the leaders of the villages gather to discuss important matters that deal with Chizue. Of course, such a thing hasn't happened for the longest time now.

Each of the leaders sat around a six foot long drawn circle, evenly spaced from each other. Each of them are part of the Eevee family, and are assigned to their village depending on their element. Ignacio, a hot-headed Flareon who watches over Hotaru Village, making a rather angered expression. Xue, a beautiful Glaceon who leads the snowy village of Yukiko Village, sat still and looked very calm. Laverne, a rather quiet Leafeon who leads the heavily forested Moriko Village, turned her gaze to Silica to await an answer. Raidec, a rather silent and intimidating Jolteon that leads Isamu Village, merely glared at Ignacio for his loud voice. Varun, a stern and wise Vaporeon of Oki Village, simply listened as his mind was in deep thought. Halyn, who is the leader of Kage Village, sat in the Meeting Circle staring at Silica in the middle.

"There are people called 'poachers' on their way here. They're lead by Autumn, and are planning to lay waste to this land… worst of all… capture and kill our brethren." Silica breathed. There was a long silence until Xue finally sighed and closed her eyes.

"Silica. What exactly were you thinking of heading into the outer regions…? You do realize humans are dangerous… I never thought anyone in Chizue would even think about leaving their homeland. Most of all, I never expected you of all others to be the one to leave." Xue sighed with a delicate voice. The others nodded while Halyn continued to stare at Silica.

"Had we had any knowledge of this, we would have confiscated the boat that Aldan made for you in our village." Varun murmured.

"Please, let's not talk about how we defied the ancient law. There are no punishable rules to bestow upon Silica and her group." Laverne remarked. "Noah was so confident in himself that there would be no Pokémon heading off this island from their own free will, so he didn't establish any ways to punish ones who defy that law."

"Damn. So there really isn't any point to punish them, huh?" Raidec growled. "Well then, let's move onto the bigger thing at hand."

"Agreed." Laverne nodded. "This 'crisis' sounds much more threatening. Now, what do you expect us to do, Silica? Start a war? This probably wouldn't be the best-"

"Why not?! I want to kill some of these human scum and those disgraces that call themselves 'Pokémon'!" Ignacio interrupted, small flames erupting from his breath.

"So idiotic of you Ignacio. We have lived in peace for the longest time now, we are the newest generation that will keep Chizue the way it is. We have been peaceful through times, and we must keep it. A war would surely destroy the dream that our ancestors, Noah's, and Chizue's… have dreamt." Varun sighed, his eyes calmly looking at Ignacio.

"Fools! So are we just going to lie on our backs and let them kill and capture us?!" Ignacio shouted as the grass before him began to crackle and burn.

"Of course not. We must defend ourselves, if we are to keep our sacred land safe." Xue replied. "Though, we must make haste. Nightfall is to come in less than six hours. All the females, children, and elderly will be moved to Isamu Village. Reaching those mountains would be difficult for the enemy. They must hide in the Labyrinth Caves, so you must open the passageway, Raidec."

"Will do. Ignacio, you must assemble any Pokémon willing to fight. For the longest time, they have been trained by you. Tonight will be the chance to finally show their power." Raidec said as he turned his head to Ignacio.

"The ports of Oki Village will be closed. We must not allow any enemies to sail into Chizue." Varun nodded. "We will also have our Fire Squad to be on standby at Moriko and Kage Villages in case a fire is to be started."

"We will bring all the medication from Yukiko Village to the Cave. If we don't survive, our 'future' will." Xue stated.

"If only we had more allies… the enemy might come in vast numbers…" Laverne murmured.

"Help is on it's way." Halyn simply stated. Everyone averted their eyes to Halyn, giving him a quizzical look.

"What do you mean?" Varun asked as he tilted his head sideways. Halyn turned his gaze to meet with Varun.

"Help is on it's way. There are humans that will come to aide us-"

Ignacio's laugh interrupted Halyn, and made all eyes lay upon him. "Humans. Aide?! Those two words are very amusing when used in the same sentence."

"Ignacio! Get a hold of yourself, you pompous idiot!" Laverne shouted. Ignacio's smirk was immediately wiped off and he fell silent. "Thank you. Now… what's this I hear? Humans… helping us? Care to explain such a thing?"

"We have made allies with many humans. One notably is a young fellow named Locke. He will surely come and help us-" Halyn stopped when Raidec raised a paw to signal silence.

"Is this… 'Locke'… a Pokémon Trainer…?" Raidec asked. "I ask this because in the past, many trainers have become corrupt and used their Pokémon to hunt down and capture other Pokémon. And in the worst cases, kill others. Used as killing weapons by their masters in charge. How do you know this 'Locke' and others wouldn't do the same?"

"This is Locke we're dealing with. He would never do such a thing!" Halyn shouted. "You all need to realize that there are changes within the outside world! Noah was wrong to seclude everyone in Chizue and stay away from the other regions!"

"If you claim that the other regions have changed, why do we have to deal with humans coming to lay Chizue to waste? If they have changed, the thought would never have crossed their minds." Varun protested.

"You must understand… that there are two balances in this world. Good and evil. Right and wrong. Even in this secluded piece of land, away from everyone else, has it's fair share of wrong evildoers. Autumn and her band of Pokémon have already proven that. There will still be humans who resort to the actions that have created a war-torn region in the past. But there were also humans, during that war, who tried to stop the fighting and were punished by death just like our ancestors." Halyn finished. A long silence was ensured and Silica gave Halyn a soft smile and nod.

"Nonetheless. We shouldn't take the chance." Xue announced. "Even if there are allies coming to our aide, how will we know which human is a friend or foe? No. We won't hesitate to attack any humans stepping foot on this place. Bloodshed is something we would avoid… but if they continue to attack, that might have to be our last resort. Council dismissed."

Everyone nodded in approval. Ignacio, Xue, Laverne, and Raidec left to their villages, and only Varun was left.

"Incidentally, where is the rest of the group that you have traveled with?" Varun asked. "Though you have defied an ancient law, I would like to see the Pokémon who had the guts to leave this land.""They're visiting their villages, for nostalgia's sake. They're also spreading the word about the battle that is to come tonight." Silica answered. "You must understand, so many things have happened during our travels. Terrible things have also happened, which have affected us physically and emotionally.""I understand. For now, we're glad that you're back home. Safe and sound." Varun then placed a paw onto her shoulder and smiled. He then turned to Halyn and did the same. "I'm rather surprised with you Silica. You of all people… to travel and disobey the ancient law. You were such a contributor for Chizue.""Well, some things allowed a change of heart. And to be honest, I'm glad I was able to find curious minds such as myself to travel with. We have experienced many things, and learned about the new region." Silica said.

"…Has the land changed at all? Is it still under warfare?" Varun asked. Silica simply shook her head.

"It has changed. For the better. Though, I think everyone in this meeting refuses to believe me…" Silica's ears dropped and her expression turned sad. Varun smiled and raised her chin with his fin.

"I believe you. You were my pupil after all. Well, try to spread the word. I'm going to Oki Village to close all the ports. Your friends Azura and Shelley have left the island not too long ago… are they… Locke's Pokémon?"

"Yes, they are." Halyn answered.

"Something about those two Pokémon… they're… not like the Pokémon during the war as described in the archives. They didn't attack anyone on sight… in fact, they kept talking about returning to their master, Locke. Saying things like "we miss him" and whatnot." Varun smirked as he walked toward the direction of his village.

"Well Silica, it's certainly a start. At least your teacher was able to understand." Halyn said with a smile. Silica nodded.

"Yes. Perhaps there is still a chance. After all, he was the one who taught me the phrase, 'everything has to undergo a certain change once in their lifetime. Whether it's for the better or worse, wanted or not wanted, it's going to happen anyway.'"

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"Lynar… do you remember this very rock you sat on?" Layla asked. Both have arrived at Isamu Village, already have greeted all their childhood friends and family and are now preparing themselves to meet Silica and the leaders at the shore.

"Yes. This was my favorite spot to look out into Chizue." Lynar sighed and looked out into the ocean. "However, I didn't look upon Chizue, but at the oceans. Wondering what wonders there are that haven't been seen yet."

Layla swiftly jumped onto the rock and sat next to Lynar, smiling as she peered out to the ocean. "To be honest, I didn't really miss Chizue at all. Yes, I do have friends and family here… but I miss Sinnoh. I miss Locke and that 'MP3' player." Layla and Lynar then laughed a bit, trying to ease up on this stressful time. "And besides, if it weren't for me, you probably would've either killed someone or have gotten really lonely.""I'd agree with the 'lonely' part, but I… wouldn't think about killing someone!" Lynar laughed. "Well, yes Layla. You were very helpful to me. And I thank you for protecting me." He then put an arm around her and allowed her head to rest against his side."And I thank you for allowing me to come along for the adventure. It was great. I was able to learn about a lot of new things… and…" Layla's paw then gripped Lynar's arm wrapped around her. "Appreciate the love we have now. If I was ever in Xulkan's case… I wouldn't know what to do… It must be tough…" Layla looked like she was on the verge of crying, but quickly yawned and smiled. "He's amazing. To still continue on like that… he has a brave heart.""Don't worry Layla. Nothing like that will ever happen." Lynar smiled. "Now, let's go. I could see that everyone's on the move already…" Lynar turned around to see many Pokémon moving higher up the mountain and into Labyrinth Cave, led by Raidec. But just about as many Pokémon heading into the cave, there were many heading down the mountain, on their way to the beach and the battle that will await them.

"It's time Layla. Do you want to go to the cave?" Lynar then lowered his eyes to meet with hers. Her eyes simply looked into his with a smirk on her face. "Stupid question, huh? Alright then, let's go."

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"Alright! My fellow brethren of Chizue!" Ignacio bellowed as flames shot out of his mouth. "Tonight, is the night where your training will be put to the test! Our chance to show our true power has arrived! Nightfall is almost upon us, and the enemy will appear over the horizon!" Ignacio then met his gaze upon the group, standing all together and prepared. He smirked and turned to the rest of the fighters.

"What has changed about these humans is their weaponry. So, be on the lookout for any peculiar items they're carrying. And another important thing to point out… they're going to be using powerful Pokémon at their disposal. Yes, we have no choice but to fight back against our fellow Pokémon as well. They will come at you with the intent to kill. Any survivors will be captured by these damn humans. Don't let that happen! We must defend this sacred land! The land that the great Noah worked so hard upon and his mate Chizue have perished over! We will fight, and we will protect this land!" All five-hundred Pokémon replied with a loud war-cry.

"Now! Let's face the ocean! We shall see our enemy any moment now! Prepare to meet the strongest opponents one will face in a lifetime!" Ignacio shouted as he turned around to the ocean. Silence fell as everyone stared out into the horizon, the sun making it's final decent for the day.

"This is it everyone. I… was glad to have traveled alongside each and every one of you. Your curious, yet brave hearts have allowed us to witness things outside of Chizue." Silica whispered. "Let's be brave everyone. We will see Chizue once this night is over. We will see bloodshed. We will see friends fall before us. But most important of all…" Silica's eyes were then wet, holding back the forming tears. "We will see each other after this is all done. Safe and sound."

Everyone nodded in agreement and smiled. Their gaze then turned from Silica to the ocean, where the many boats were coming into view. A lone figure glided towards them and stopped over the ocean, it's yellow eyes gleaming with a murderous stare. The sun has finally set and the lights on the boat shone onto the beach, revealing the figure standing before them as Autumn.

There were many shouts coming from the boats and the sound of Pokémon making a loud war-cry from within the vehicles. Autumn smiled wickedly as her gaze averted to Silica and her group.

"Well then, darlings, we're in for one hell of a night." Autumn laughed.