Chapter 36 – Pelame's Vow
"I'm close to Shizazoto, sir," Walton said to Keldeo over the phone. "Along with the troops I brought with me, I'm striking Denkidako first."
"That's an excellent place to start," Keldeo replied. "Their technology could be useful to us. Be sure to seek out any weapons factories when you get there. And remember: you can kill any traitor you want, except for Pelame. If you should run into her, detain her, but don't kill her."
"Understood, sir. Out of curiosity, where are you headed?"
"Tradja. I remember hearing from Pelame—before that backstabbing little brat betrayed us, mind you—about a place called Stepalas, and I'd like to find some of those Orbs of Silence. Those could be useful to us, too. Can't have traitors blabbing about anything important they find out about us on the unlikely event that they escape our custody."
"Good forethought, sir. I'd like to have one of those, myself."
"I'll be sure to give one to each of the Elite Nine once I find them. Good luck, Walton. Let me know when Denkidako is yours."
"I shall, sir. Good luck to you, too."
Both Pokémon hung their airplanes' phones up and eagerly anticipated their arrival at their destinations.
Back in the colony once known as the country of Swadfrieg, Leona had finished redecorating Bihda Palace up in Twilight Kingdom regalia. The same was going on in the rest of the city, as well as the rest of the continent. Anything resembling how Swadfrieg looked under Queen Mkono's rule and that of her predecessors were disposed of and replaced with things suiting the country's new jurisdiction. The citizens of Swadfrieg cowered in fear and alarm as all of this went on.
It was not only the inanimate Friegan objects that got disposed of, though. The Friegan citizens were all taken to the City Halls of their counties and put through a process that erased their Friegan citizenship and made them Twilit citizens. Within only one day, Swadfrieg as it was once known, completely vanished.
"One step closer to His Majesty's noble goal," Leona said to herself in triumph. "The Twilight World will be beautiful…"
Near Rogokosoka was Shizazoto's technological center, the city of Denkidako. It was there that Walton and a share of the Twilit Army that had been put under her command had arrived. They landed on the Twilit Military Base and met with the general in charge of the base.
"Welcome, Miss Walton," greeted the mightyena general to his superior. "Might I ask why you have the Twilight Kingdom's sigil emblazoned on your hips?"
"That's simple, Dible. It's to signify that I'm a top-ranking servant of the Twilight King, and that I have a Dark Blessing to serve him with."
"I see. Well, don't misuse that power. You know how dangerous it is. Anyway, I presume you have business here?"
"Indeed I do, along with the twenty soldiers I brought here," Walton answered.
"Must be special if you brought the Raticate Raiders with you. What's the job?"
"Special mission from the king and Captain Keldeo: conquering Denkidako."
"Ah, so we're expanding this base's soil, eh?"
"In a sense."
"I see. Admittedly, I was surprised to hear the king announce conquest plans, but I gotta say he really is what the world needs right now."
"Then, can I count on your cooperation?"
"Certainly."
"Excellent. Then let's begin by setting up a strategy to invade City Hall."
"It'll sure be quite a job."
So the members of the Twilit Military got together to set up an invasion plan to be enacted.
Neve's biggest concern was the well-being of her daughter. She had requested Latios and Latias to drop them off at their old home in Rogokosoka, thinking that it would be helpful to Pelame. Within that old house (which hadn't been inhabited since Pelame and her family moved out of there) tucked in a lonely corner of a neighborhood far away from the city proper now dwelt her, Pelame, Blessing, and Treasure, who were all on the run from the Twilight Kingdom. Out of all of them, none were as in a bad spot as Pelame, who was currently experiencing a huge whirlwind of emotions. Sadness for the world, anger and hate for King Kangaskhan II, her father, and her boyfriend, hurt for herself, and regret for buying into the king's cunning.
"Why is this happening…?" she thought as she drifted off to sleep in her old bedroom.
By the next morning, everyone had slept off the jet lag. The date was now Ninthmonth 8th, 1512, Shizazoto time. Pelame joined her mother downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning, Pelame," Neve greeted.
"Morning, mom…" Pelame answered, still feeling glum as she sat down at the table.
"Feeling any better?"
"Not really."
"I see. Well, let's just see how today goes. I figured we'd just spend a day here in our old home of Rogokosoka. How's that sound?"
"Sounds good. I've missed this place. Even in its decrepit form, this house sure is nostalgic."
"It sure is. Too bad we won't be staying in it for too long. But on the bright side, we may get to stay with Emperor Kentahito once we meet with him. I'd love that so much."
At that, Pelame could bring herself to give her mother a soft smile. No matter how down she felt, hearing her mother be so joyful about anything never failed to lift her own spirits.
"Then let's make a trip there after we're done here, huh?"
"Sounds like a plan, Pelame. Of course, we'll first have to get new passports for ourselves, as well as apply for citizenship here. There's no doubt that the king revoked our Twilit citizenship."
"He WHAT?!" Blessing called out as soon as she was wheeled into the living room by Treasure.
"Oh, good morning! How'd you two sleep?" Neve asked in a friendly tone.
"Like a snorlax," Blessing and Treasure both answered, much to Neve's amusement.
"Sounds like we're all caught up to Zotoan time, then," Neve replied. "I'm sure you're all hungry, too, so I made enough for us all."
And so they all did. And after breakfast, a day plan was put together. They started at the Citizenship Office where they all applied to be citizens of Shizazoto.
"Don't blame you a bit for this decision," said the kangaskhan administering the process, upon hearing their reason why they were there. "I've heard about what happened to Swadfrieg, and I'm very livid at the Twilight King, too. I'm almost ashamed to be the same species as him!"
"Me too!" added the child in her pouch. "The Twilight King's a jerk! He erased Swadfrieg!"
"Simmer down, my daughter. Anyway, just fill these forms out, and they'll be sent to Daoyin for verification. Then you'll all be Zotoan Citizens!"
"Neat! Thanks!" Pelame said, getting started filling her form out.
"You know, it's kinda ironic, eh?" Blessing said. "Here the king is basically trying to erase all nations that aren't his own, and now here we are erasing our Twilit nationalities."
"Well, the king basically did that already when he hit listed us," Treasure responded. "Well, if he really did hit list us, that is. Might as well take on friendlier nationalities."
"Yeah. Though I'm sure everyone's gonna know we're not Zotoan just by looking at us. Well, except for Neve, that is. And maybe Pelame, who's half-Zotoan and half-Twilit."
"I'm not Twilit," Pelame said rather forcefully. "Never was."
"Uh, Pelame, it's clear by just looking at you—"
"I'm not Twilit! I never was! And if I ever see a member of the Twilit Army again, I'll kill them!" Pelame suddenly shouted. Blessing was no small amount of surprised to see her friend lash out like that.
"Okay… okay… you're not Twilit."
"And this," Pelame said as she finished filling out her form. "…will ensure I'm Zotoan, like I really am." She handed her form to the kangaskhan receptionist.
"Thank you," the receptionist said. "You'll receive your citizenship forms in the mail by tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Treasure asked. "This process goes that fast?"
"Yep," Neve answered. "This office works very diligently."
"That we do!" agreed the receptionist's daughter who received everyone else's forms. "Thanks for visiting!"
"You're very welcome," Neve responded as she bowed.
"And just so you know, only this office and the hospital, restaurants serve non-citizens. I'd suggest taking that lady… Blessing, right?"
"Yep," Blessing answered.
"Okay. Anyway, she should probably go to the hospital to get that cast checked out. She doesn't look comfortable."
"Nah, it's fine. But it's about time for it to come off. Thanks for reminding me, by the way."
"Then, shall we go to the hospital?" Neve asked.
"Sure."
"All right, then let's go."
In Denkidako City Hall, Governor Enjinkumo had finished overviewing the province's census and was getting ready to move on to the budget report.
"So busy in the months before Genesis Day…" he mentally complained.
"Need some help with that?"
"No thanks. I'll be—" Enjinkumo stopped himself when he realized how unfamiliar the voice offering him help sounded. He looked up from his paper and noticed the female furfrou with the Matron Trim. "Who might you be? Did you schedule an appointment?"
"My name is Walton, and no, I did not schedule anything," Walton introduced.
"Well, sorry to sound rude, but you can't just barge into my office. May you please wait outside?"
"Wait outside my office? Not a chance."
"Your office?! What nerve you have!"
"Well, it's only natural, considering that this is soon going to be my property."
"And what makes you think that, huh?!"
"Ah, so I guess you didn't hear the king's decree. Well, let me summarize: King Kangaskhan II has started a noble mission to erase ignorance from the world. And the world is going to have to belong to him in order for that to be possible. Which is why I'm here, to ask that you please give Denkidako to me."
The galvantula laughed at the Elite Nine soldier. "Sorry, but I'm keeping this city and province! No way am I giving into you or your crazy king! And by the way, I did hear what he did to Bihda and the rest of Swadfrieg, so if you think you're gonna do the same here, you can think again!" Enjinkumo pressed the "alarm" button on his desk. "My guards will show you out now." However, there was no alarm sounding.
"*sigh* okay then. Looks like you've forced my paw." Her Twilit Sigil glowed, calling forth the Raticate Raiders and General Dible. "Good work getting the guards out of the way, Dible."
"No problem, milady."
"And Raiders, good job disabling the alarm system."
"No problem!" responded the twenty raticate.
"Well, Enjinkumo, looks like you're backed into a corner. I'll accept a peaceful surrender now."
"Urgh…" Enjinkumo grumbled, seeing how bleak the situation was.
"Gosh… of all the casts I've removed from patients of all ages," began the chansey doctor who was treating Blessing at the hospital. "Never have I removed one from that particular region of the body. I admit to being curious as to how in the world you sustained this injury."
"It's a long story involving a terrorist burning me and causing a wall to fall on me, among other damage."
"That must've been very painful."
"Oh, it was. Most painful to my pride, though. Having this thing on my butt really ruined my perfect figure, and I'm so happy that I'm finally gonna get it removed. Even though it is kinda comfortable…" Blessing blushed as she admitted this.
"Well, it's safe to, considering that you can walk now. Once I get that cast off of you, you'll be able to walk much more comfortable."
"Yeah, I'd hate to be walking around with an eternal crouch like I had rickets or something. Now let's get it off already!"
"No need to rush me. I'll have it off soon. I just need you to assume the position."
"Assume what position, exactly?"
"Any position that puts your posterior within my reach will be fine."
"Just making sure." Blessing then crouched her upper body down onto the floor as low as she could go while pointing her behind up as far as she could reach.
"No need to stretch like that. You'll hurt yourself!"
"Sorry." Blessing lowered her behind a little bit, just to the point where she no longer had to tiptoe. "How's that?"
"Perfect. Now just hold still." The chansey doctor went around to Blessing's rear and grabbed the cast. "Whoa… it's on there tight!" was all she had to say in response to the cast refusing to come off or even come remotely loose. Blessing tried waving her rear back and forth to help jostle it off. That didn't help, either.
"Unh… oof… pull harder…!" Blessing urged.
"It's stuck! Did the doctor who put this on you hammer it on or something?!"
"Sure seems like it. It almost feels like it's been vacuum-packed onto me. Can't you get it off?"
"Evidently, pulling won't work. I'll have to cut it off."
"What?!"
"Standard procedure for arm and leg casts. But for posterior casts, this'll be a delicate procedure."
"Well, don't slice my butt open! I need it to sit down! Not to mention showing it off!"
"Why would you want to show it off?!"
"Well, a perfect figure like mine ought to be seen by as many Pokémon as possible. So don't ruin it!"
"I won't. I have experience with cast removal, after all. Still, you're quite arrogant to call yourself perfect like that."
"Heh… you sound like my friend Pelame. She's the eevee with the white bow and the notched right ear in the waiting room, by the way. She tells me stuff like that, too. She hates it when I show my butt off."
"Well, I'd hope someone would. That's quite a gross thing for you to do." The doctor located her cast cutter and brought it over to Blessing. "Don't worry, though. I won't ruin your 'perfect figure'. And even if I accidentally do, I'll gladly give you 300 Pokéns as malpractice compensation. Now hold perfectly still."
"All right…" Blessing took a deep breath, trying her darndest to relax herself. The doctor could tell how nervous Blessing was. She patted the sneasel patient's back.
"You're doing good. I'm almost through."
"Good… I don't know how much more of this I can take… just please don't stab me in the butt. Please…"
"Gosh, you sound like you're begging me for your very life. Just relax; we're almost done."
The doctor was able to finish splitting the cast down the middle. All that had to be done now was peel the two halves apart. Then at last, the cast was off.
"We're done," the doctor said.
"Ahh… yes…" Blessing sat down on the nearby chair. "Gonna miss how that donated cinccino fur felt, but GOODNESS is it a relief to have that thing off my butt. I can sit down again!"
"That's good, but there's no need for you to rub your posterior on that chair."
"Ah…" she stood up. "Heh heh… sorry, doc… and thanks so much. You're the best."
"The best? Oh, not a chance."
"No, really. Thank you so much! Now, uhh… where's the bathroom at?"
"Got one right here." The doctor pointed to the door in the back of the room.
"Thanks." Blessing ran toward it and hastily entered. "What the… where's the lock on this door?!"
"There is no lock on any door other than the ones used to enter this building. Don't worry; I won't come in there. Just feel free to use the facilities in there."
"Okay." Blessing found the toilet in a separate room in the back of the one she was in, which only had a sink. "That's one weird-looking toilet…" she thought as she entered the other room. It was oval-shaped and in the ground. A small round hood was located at the back of it. "Where on this thing do I sit?"
In the waiting room, Pelame, Neve, and Treasure awaited treatment of their friend to finish.
"I hope she's doing okay…" Treasure said, worried.
"I think she'll be fine," Neve reassured.
"I bet she's gonna feel so relieved to be able to walk again," Pelame added. "What'll we do once we're done here? We can't go anywhere without our new IDs."
"I guess we'll just have to go back home and do all our plans tomorrow."
"Excuse me, are you three new here?" asked a grovyle who overheard that part of the conversation.
"Two of us are," Treasure answered. "Neve grew up here, and for a while, so did Pelame."
"Pelame? One of you is Pelame?"
"Yep, that'd be me," Pelame answered.
"Neat! My cousin Morikain told me all about you!"
"Your cousin?"
"You bet! I'm his cousin, Hanada. Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you, too!"
"So, what're you here for?"
"One of my friends is getting a cast removed. How about you?"
"I'm here with my dad. He's getting a routine physical right now. By the way, I overheard you mention something about new IDs. You wouldn't happen to be moving here, would you?"
"As a matter of fact, we are."
"How come?"
Before Pelame got a chance to answer, Blessing entered the waiting room, looking overjoyed. She went and hugged Treasure.
"So, I guess you're feeling great, huh?" Treasure responded.
"Yep!" Blessing answered joyfully. "I can walk again, run again, and best of all…"
"I bet I know what's coming," Pelame and Neve whispered to one another.
"…I can shake again!"
"I presume this lady here is the friend you were waiting for?" Hanada asked.
"Yep," Pelame said. "This is Blessing. And this is my mother Neve, and my other friend Treasure."
"Hey there," Blessing said to the new face. "You Morikain?"
"Nope, but I'm his cousin."
"I see. I can tell by your tail that you're Zotoan. How do you guys use toilets here? Your toilets look like urinals stuck in the ground. I couldn't figure out where on it I was supposed to sit, so I didn't sit on it."
"Well, that's actually the entire point to that kind of toilet. You crouch over it."
"I remember how strange it was seeing a bowl toilet when I moved with Pinna back to the Twilight Kingdom," Neve said.
"The Twilight Kingdom? Is that where you're moving here from?"
"Yep."
"Out of curiosity, why's that?"
Before Neve could answer, a sceptile came out of the other doctor's office.
"Just remember, Eroma," said the blissey doctor. "No need to get excited over the Tournament."
"Got it, doc," Eroma responded. He went over to his daughter.
"How'd it go, dad?" Hanada asked.
"It went well. I'm healthy. No worries."
"That's great!"
"And I see you met some tourists."
"Yep. And one of them is Pelame."
"Ooh, that's great!" Eroma turned over to Pelame and her friends. "You four happen to have passports?"
"Nope. Sorry," Pelame answered.
"Ah. That's too bad. Mayor Mimizuda recently made a ridiculous new policy that makes Pokémon have to be carded when they go just about anywhere. So, why not come with us?"
"I think that'd be a great idea! Can we, mom?"
"Sure!" Neve answered.
"All right! My car can hold you all. Let's go!"
A small taxi cab was approaching the county border that divided Rogokosoka and Denkidako. The driver was an audino, and his passenger was Morikain. As soon as they reached the border, they were stopped.
"What the…?" the driver wondered aloud. "Why am I being pulled over?"
"Welcome to Denkidako," greeted the raticate who approached the taxi.
"Hello there. I'm just curious as to why I'm being pulled over. This never happened before."
"New policy, courtesy of the province's new Governor. You are entering Twilit soil, so standard procedures must be observed. IDs and passports, please."
"Wait a second. I'm just dropping a passenger off in this city—"
"Oh. Well then, you may leave. Please let out your passenger."
"You heard him, sir," the driver said to Mori, who exited the cab feeling very confused. The cab then turned back and left.
"Passport, please," requested the raticate.
"Here you go," Mori said, taking his passport out of his backpack and giving it to the raticate. "By the way, what do you mean 'we're entering Twilit soil'? Denkidako belongs to Shizazoto, you know."
"Not anymore. It's under new management. And I see by your passport that you're Zotoan. Which, I could also tell that from your single tail. Twilit grovyle had two tails. Friegan grovyle had a longer head leaf, so on so on. Anyway, as you're Zotoan, you will have to see the Governor."
"What? Why?"
"She'll explain. Now, come along."
The raticate led Mori into a small orange hatchback car and drove into the city with it.
"Sorry for the cramped ride, Morikain," he said. "It's good for my miniscule species, but maybe not for yours."
"It's fine," Mori replied.
"We're here, by the way." He parked his car in front of Denkidako City Hall's front porch, dropping Mori off. At the front door, another raticate greeted him.
"Another one, eh?" the other raticate said. "Okay, I'll take it from here." He waved at the raticate driving the car, signaling him to leave and report to another duty. "Follow me." Mori did so. The raticate opened the door for Mori and allowed him in.
"I see another foreign visitor entered my city."
"Yes, Lady Walton. I'll leave him to you." The raticate took his leave. After the door shut, Walton turned her chair around to greet Mori.
"Welcome to Denkidako," she greeted. "I heard of your arrival. May I see your passport?"
"Yeah…" Mori answered, still feeling confused as he gave his passport to the new Governor. "Where's Enjinkumo? Isn't he supposed to be the Governor here?"
"I relieved him of his spot. I assure you that I will answer all your questions as best I can. I'm sure you want to ask me why I'm the new Governor and why this province is now recognized as Twilit soil, so I'll answer those first." She gave Mori his passport back.
"You read my mind there," Mori replied.
"Very funny. Now then, I'll explain, so please have a seat."
Mori obeyed, sitting on the chair facing Walton's desk.
"You see, Morikain, Pocketurn has a gigantic problem plaguing it. Ignorance and stubbornness is that problem. My king, King Kangaskhan II of the Twilight Kingdom, has decided to do something about it. His decision was to gain control of Pocketurn, as uniting the world under his rule is the only way it can return to being reasonable. Along with my fellow guards, I have embarked on a mission to help the king in his noble quest. And so my travels took me here to Shizazoto. I began with this very city/province right here, as its technological resources could prove very useful to us. And soon, I will move on to other regions in this country until all of it becomes Twilit soil."
As Mori listened to all of this, he couldn't help but feel horrified and angry.
"That… is really tyrannical!" he said with a raised voice. "It sounds like megalomania!"
"I assure you, Morikain, it is anything but that. Of course, traitors all over the world are going to try to convince you that that's the case when it isn't at all. It's best not to heed their words. Now, anyway, as for why you were brought here, I've made it an order that any non-Twilit visiting my territory is to be brought to me for a special purpose. That being…" Walton reached into her desk and got out a piece of paper. She slid it over the desk to Mori along with a pencil. "…that. Fill that form out, please."
Mori took a look at the paper in front of him. It had fields for his name, race, hometown, occupation, age, date of birth, all the works of an official government document. What got his attention most was the document's title of "Twilit Re-Citizenship Application".
"'Twilit Re-Citizenship'?" Mori asked, almost demanding.
"This form will see to your integration into Twilit society. All relics of the old ignorant world need to vanish, and that includes other nationalities. You will become an official citizen of our country once you fill that form out."
"But I don't want to be a Twilit citizen. Shouldn't my passport have been enough to permit me here? Besides, I only came here to get to Minari International Airport. I wasn't even going to stay here at all."
"Morikain, filling this form out now will be convenient for you. Once the world becomes Twilit, you won't want to be a citizen of nowhere, do you?"
"No. But I like being a citizen of Shizazoto. This form is basically asking me permission for you to erase my nationality. And I don't want to become something and someone I'm not."
"Morikain, be careful with your choice of words. You're sounding treasonous right now, and that's a severe crime."
"Wait, so keeping my Zotoan identity is a crime to you Pokémon?! You can't really be serious about this, can you?!"
"Watch your tone. I will not warn you again. Fill the form out, or you will be prosecuted for treason."
Mori said nothing to that. He picked the pen up and touched it to the form. He began at the area where he was to put his name.
"Good. You'll find that this decision will be your wisest."
Mori had only put down the letter "M" so far. Before moving on to the "o", he suddenly tightened his grip on the pen and scribbled lines all over the form.
"Whoa… hey! Stop that at once! That's an official document!"
Walton reached forward to swipe the paper and pen from Mori. Once she did so, he hit her with an Energy Ball attack. While she was dazed, he ran out of the office, making sure to break her intercom as well. He escaped from City Hall and made a beeline for the airport, which was about seven blocks away. Once he reached the fourth of those blocks, he was suddenly shot in the back of the head with a dart of some kind. He lost consciousness once it hit him.
"He'll be out for three minutes," Walton said to the three raticate flanking her. "Use that time to restrain him."
"Yes, Lady Walton!" responded the three raticate. They got to work restraining Mori, beginning by putting cuffs on his hands and feet. They put another cuff on his muzzle, sealing his mouth shut. They finished by slipping a Lum Scarf over his mouth and tying it tightly. At that point, Mori was beginning to come to. By the time he fully awakened, he was too bound up to move. His arms and legs were bound together by the short chains on the cuffs binding his hands and feet, making him effectively immobile.
"Just dealing with a dangerous criminal, everyone!" Walton said to the alarmed citizens observing this. They all went back to their business upon hearing that. Walton walked up to Mori and looked him in the eyes. "You made a big mistake attacking me. It was bad enough that you refused to become a Twilit citizen, but attacking a public official and attempting to escape your just punishment has ensured your sealed fate. Altogether, you've accumulated a rather big count of high treason to the Twilight World. And for that, you will be executed."
Mori's eyes widened in surprised fear.
"I think I'll use your execution to warn other would-be traitors that we of the Twilit Military and Government are not to be trifled with." Walton looked back at the Twilight World Sigil on her hip and spoke into it. "Bring the van to the Kamina District, in front of the Bateson's Convenience Store." After making that call, she focused back on Mori, who was trying to struggle out of his restraints. "You think you can break out of those? How cute! But you've got no hope doing so. And you most certainly won't escape a pair of iron shoes and iron gloves."
Just then, a black van with the Twilight World Sigil on it pulled up. Walton opened the back door of it and pulled out the shoes and gloves she mentioned.
"Tailor-made for your species," Walton gloated. She strapped them onto Mori's feet and hands. Now, Mori could hardly move at all. He was then loaded into the van by Walton and all twenty of the Raticate Raiders that were in the van. They climbed inside and shut the door behind them, locking it. "Okay, everyone. We're taking this traitor to Denkidako Dam. We'll use the lake to dispose of him and broadcast his watery undoing to all of Shizazoto. That should teach everyone that we aren't to be messed around with."
Walton got into the driver's seat and started on the way to the dam.
Eroma arrived back at his house with his passengers in tow. It was located in a neighborhood that appeared to be very ritzy. His house was the only one on the block that had a gate around it. It opened for him once he pressed a button on a small remote he had next to the driver's seat. He pulled into the driveway and parked.
"Welcome to my place!" Eroma said. "If you're wondering about all the other cars in here, well… why don't we just go inside?"
Eroma and Hanada led Pelame and her companions inside the big three-story house. Inside, there were many Pokémon. The living room was quite crowded.
"You see?" Eroma said. "Annual family reunion!"
"Family reunion?" Pelame answered in excitement. "Then… then… is Mori here?!"
"Sorry, but you missed him," answered a nuzleaf. "My son already left. He's probably on a plane back to Tradja by now."
"…I see… wish I'd gotten here sooner…" Pelame's tone then lifted a little to show courtesy. "So, you're his father?"
"Sure am. I'm Takezaki," the nuzleaf introduced. He pointed to the female Sceptile next to him. "And this is my wife Sazeki."
"Nice to meet you all," Sazeki said.
"And I see you've met my brother Eroma already. Such a rascal, eh?"
"Zaki… not now…" Eroma said, embarrassed.
"Anyway, here's the rest of the family!" He began with the simisage next to his brother. "That's Kinomesaru, my sister-in-law, and the grovyle there is their daughter Hanada. And over here…" He went over to the Sunflora on the couch. "…is my sister-in-law's sister Himawaritsu, and the vileplume next to her is her husband Rafuresha." There were three sunkern and an oddish watching cartoons on the TV. "And their kids are Shushi, Tanemi, Makuba, and Kaiwarina." He then went over to the elderly shiftry. "And this is my dad Kokoki…" and then to the elderly bellossom. "…and my mother Odorara." He then went over to the two jumpluff. "And finally, these two are Rafuresha's brothers Momenno and Menkada, my other brothers-in-law! And that's the whole family!"
"It's very nice to meet all of you!" Pelame responded with lots of joy. "Such a nice-looking family you all are!"
"Heh, you're much too kind. So, uh, who are you?"
"Oh, sorry for forgetting to introduce myself. I'm Pelame."
"Pelame?!" exclaimed the whole family. The whole family flocked over to her.
"Mori wouldn't shut up about you!"
"You're just as adorable as I pictured you!"
"Ooohh, you're adorable!"
"Welcome to Shizazoto!"
"Tell us a history story!"
"You look gorgeous!"
Pelame couldn't make out whose voice was whose. She backed her way out of the crowd.
"It's nice to meet you all, but I never thought I'd get a reception like this…" she said, dazed.
"Oh, if you're thinking things are crazy in this house, you should've been here during the Daoyinkken Tournament. This house lost its—"
"No need to get colorful in front of our guests," Sazeki scolded.
"Heh… sorry… but really, this house got loouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud."
"What for?" Blessing asked.
"Did you say the Daoyinkken Tournament passed already?" Neve asked.
"Yep," Zaki answered. "And it sure was amazing this year. Sure better than the snoozefest from last year."
"What exactly is the Daoyinkken Tournament?" Treasure asked.
"Only the biggest sporting event in the whole nation of Shizazoto!"
"Pelame, do you remember the tournament Promised Land had last Genesis Day?" Neve asked.
"Sure do," Pelame answered.
"Well, the Daoyinkken Tournament is exactly the same deal. It's a national sport that takes place in Daoyin at this time every year."
"Correct!" Zaki interjected. "And we all have a big family reunion to watch the Tournament every year! We're all going our separate ways tomorrow, so it's good you came by when you did. Too bad you missed my son, though."
"Yeah… I miss him…"
"Well, I'll tell him you dropped by. He's gonna call me when he arrives in Tradja—"
"Hey! Where'd the show go?!" demanded Shushi. "Get off the screen, you ugly furfrou!"
"Furfrou?!" Pelame thought to herself. She rushed over to the TV.
"Greetings, citizens of Shizazoto," Walton said on the TV. "I'm speaking to you live from Denkidako Dam. I am Walton, the new Governor of Denkidako."
Pelame watched intently and with steadily rising anger.
"I am one of the Elite Nine Soldiers of the Twilit Kingdom's Royal Guard, and Denkidako, under my management, is now Twilit soil. Earlier today, a bold rebel dared to challenge me, but I am pleased to say that he failed. And now, he is going to pay for it with his life. Bear witness to the traitor…" Walton stepped aside to reveal Mori, who was gagged, bound, and weighted. "…and his final moments alive. And to anyone who thinks of messing with the Twilight Kingdom, consider this a warning!"
"MY BOY!" Zaki screamed in anguish.
Pelame ran outside without a word and blew the Eon Flute, summoning the Eon Duo. They arrived in an instant.
"Good thing we were in the neighborhood," Latias said. "Where to?"
"Denkidako Dam! And step on it!" Pelame ordered.
"Got it!" The Eon Duo took off with Pelame coming along. Unknown to her, Neve, Blessing, and Zaki got on Latios at the last second. Treasure just barely missed her chance.
Walton walked over to Mori and pushed him into the lake, safely away from the dam's intake vents.
"Keep the camera on him," Walton ordered at the raticate holding the camera. "Don't stop recording until I say so. When he stops moving, that doesn't automatically mean he's dead."
As Mori sank to the bottom of the lake, he tried as hard as he could to struggle out of his bonds. They weren't loosening no matter how desperately he tried to make them. Before long, he reached the bottom. He was pinned there by the heavy iron accessories affixed to his hands and feet. He was completely trapped, unable to move and unable to breathe. Though his lungs' time limit began as soon as he went below the water, now was the time he felt he had to escape before it ran out. He tried once again to struggle out of his restraints. He tugged his hands and feet outward as much as he could, thrashing against them with all his strength, but that wasn't working. He then tried hopping, but that also didn't work. He looked up at the surface, where the oxygen his lungs were starting to crave dwelled. He started trying to move upward, but the iron gloves and shoes kept him firmly rooted to the spot. Nearly out of air, he started jostling around aimlessly. At this point, he had no other ideas on how to escape this situation, so he settled for that. He struggled and thrashed with all his might, fighting for his very life. Soon, though, his strength was starting to leave him. It was clear now that he'd run out of air. His struggles stopped and he slipped into unconsciousness. He floated there limply, unable to rise to the surface.
"There you have it, Shizazoto," Walton gloated. "Trifle with us, and that will happen to you." She then made the gesture to cut filming, which the raticate cameraman obeyed. Just as soon as the camera was shut off, something went into the water. Nearly as quickly, it came back out. It was Latios, carrying Pelame, Zaki, and Mori.
"Well, since you got on Latios just as we left," Pelame said to him. "You take Mori back to the house."
"Will do," Zaki said. "Thanks, Pelame." He checked his son for a pulse. "He's alive, but barely. I'll get the water out of him."
"Okay."
The Eon Duo then took their passengers back to the house. Pelame stayed at the dam, with Neve and Blessing getting off Latias's back and accompanying her.
"Good of you to turn yourselves in," Walton gloated. "You're all going to pay for releasing that other traitor."
Pelame glared at Walton.
"Remember, Raiders: Pelame must remain alive, so restrain her. Feel free to kill those two with her, though."
"Yes, Governor!" responded the Raticate Raiders.
The Raiders who lunged at Pelame were taken out by her Iron Tail. One swing to the head knocked them out. She angrily stared at Walton as she did this. Once she was done, she advanced on the Governor while Neve and Blessing kept the remaining Raiders at bay.
"Someone's mad, huh?" Walton taunted. "Should've thought of that before you betrayed us, shouldn't you have?"
Pelame had nothing to say to that.
"Speechless, too! This is just getting better and better! All right, then! I'll take care of you!"
Walton began by using Thunder Wave, which Pelame jumped over. As Pelame fell toward the Elite Nine soldier, she readied her Iron Tail and landed a direct hit on her head. After landing back on the ground, Pelame pelted Walton with a Swift attack. Walton doubled back and came forth with a Wild Charge attack. Pelame blocked it with an Alpha Barrier and then tossed an Alpha Orb at her face, landing another hit.
"Urgh… I must admit that I'm curious as to where this sudden bravado came from…" Walton grumbled.
"You… and your king… betrayed Pocketurn…" Pelame snarled. "You all need to die for the good of the world."
"Hmph… such typical rhetoric befitting a true traitor, shifting the blame onto the one trying to help the world. I'm not going to stand for this any more than my wise king will." Walton suddenly turned around and ran into the dam's powerhouse. Pelame quickly gave chase, as did Neve and Blessing, who had just finished taking down the rest of the Raticate Raiders.
"Where'd they go?" Blessing asked upon entering the powerhouse and finding a hall splitting two ways. Her voice echoed all throughout it.
"Just look anywhere," Neve answered.
Back at Eroma's house, the Eon Duo dropped Zaki and his unconscious son off.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but it's a relief having your son off my back," Latios said. "Those iron accessories really strained it."
"Sorry about that," Zaki responded. "Thanks for the ride. He'll be fine now."
The Eon Duo left.
"Gotta get these things off you, boy," Zaki said. "Gonna need some tools to do it, though. My Leaf Blade won't be enough to get through those gloves and shoes."
"Oh my goodness!" Sazeki exclaimed once she went outside and saw that her son was unconscious. "Wake up, son! Wake up!"
"Don't worry, mama. He's alive. We got to him in time. Listen, can you get Eroma's hacksaw? I need it to get this stuff off him."
"Yes. I'll be back." Sazeki went to go track her brother-in-law down. She felt immensely relieved to hear her son hadn't drowned. While she did that, Zaki stayed by his son's side. He lowered the scarf covering Mori's mouth and tried to open it, but the metal cuff on his muzzle kept his mouth tightly shut. The need to give mouth-to-mouth was voided once Mori started to breathe and stir. It sounded like he was coughing, but his mouth was sealed shut, so it was hard to tell.
"Mmm… mm nmm…" Mori mumbled.
"It's okay, son," Zaki reassured. "You're safe."
"Mmmhmm. Mm mmmf nmmgmmfmm."
"Quit trying to talk, will you? Wait 'till after I get that thing off your mouth."
"Mmm kmm…"
"I'll get those off of you soon. I just need Eroma's—"
"Here you go, bro!" Eroma said, giving his hacksaw to Zaki.
"Thanks!" Zaki put the saw in position, beginning at the iron shoes. Mori's eyes widened in panic.
"MMM! DMM KMMMN MMM!"
"Hush, son! I need to concentrate! That way, I won't accidentally cut you!"
Sazeki and Eroma both went up to Mori to hold him still. Zaki continued cutting through the lock on the shoes until he split them in half. After that, the shoes simply slid off. Zaki moved on to the gloves next and made similarly short work of those. The cuffs on his hands and feet lasted an ever shorter amount of time. And finally, he cut through the cuff gagging his son. Mori immediately spat out the water he coughed up.
"Ahhh… ooh… that's better!" Mori said in joyful relief. "Wow… I thought I was gonna drown down in the lake… wait—how'd I get back to Uncle's house?"
"Your pal Pelame was here," Zaki answered. "Soon as she saw that Matron-trimmed furfrou appear on the TV, she bolted. We followed her. And then we brought you back here once we fished you out of the lake. Thank goodness we got to you in time. If you'd died down there…" Zaki sniffled in sadness of the terrible thought of losing his son.
"Well, thanks for saving me, dad. And next time I see Pelame, I'll thank her, too."
Further into the powerhouse, Walton reached a communication room. She quickly got on the quadruped phone and began dialing. Before she could finish, an Alpha Orb destroyed the phone.
"Why you…!" Walton seethed when she noticed Pelame caught up to her. She was pelted with another stream of Swift attacks and Alpha Orbs. "Cut that out!"
Pelame glared at Walton, not uttering a word. Just then, Neve caught up to her daughter. Seeing this, Walton quickly created a Mortite knife and tossed it at her head. Pelame quickly blocked it and became even angrier. She generated an Alpha Cord and lashed it out like a whip, cracking it and creating a welt on Walton's torso. The furfrou screamed in agony. Pelame whipped Walton once more, causing the foe to scream even louder. Pelame did it a third time, hitting Walton's left front leg this time, damaging it.
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" Walton demanded in pain. "ARE YOU THAT DEDICATED TO PRESERVING THIS WORLD'S IGNORANCE?!"
"Pelame…" Neve uttered in shock.
Pelame tied the cord around Walton's neck, strangling her with it. She then closed in on her and Purified her Dark Blessing out of her.
"There's no escape now," Pelame growled. She pointed her tail at Walton and shot a bolt of Alpha Electricity at her, blasting her backwards. She ran out of the room as quickly as she could. Pelame quickly gave chase once again. Neve quickly followed, as did Blessing, who'd caught up at that moment.
Walton ended up on the roof of the powerhouse, overlooking the other side of the dam. It was a drop of 198 meters from the roof to the river at the bottom of the dam's spillway. She was trapped.
"To think I'd lose my Dark Blessing to our #1 Public Enemy!" she thought in anger. "She can't do this to me!"
As soon as Pelame got onto the roof, Walton attempted to ambush her with a Giga Impact. It missed and put her into a position for Pelame to strike her with another bolt of Alpha Electricity. While she was stunned, she hit each of her legs with Iron Tail, injuring them even further.
"Why won't you leave me alone?!" Walton demanded after hitting the ground. "You already Purified me! Is that not good enough for you?!"
"Shut up!" Pelame ordered, hitting Walton in the mouth with her Iron Tail. The blow knocked out a few of her teeth. Neve and Blessing arrived just in time to see that brutal sight.
"OOWWW! STOP IT! YOU WON ALREADY!"
"SHUT UP!" Pelame repeatedly bashed Walton's head with her Iron Tail. One swing upside her chin send her head crashing into the metal guardrail around the roof, giving her a concussion. "You, your fellow soldiers, and the king have betrayed the world. None of you deserve to live after that."
"Pelame?" Blessing asked in mortified shock.
"Darling, are you okay?" Neve asked in fearful concern.
"You will not return to your king, Walton," Pelame continued in her furious tone. "But he will find out that you failed. And mark my words, he'll be next."
"Y… you're crazy!" Walton exclaimed in fear.
"Accept your punishment like the supposed Elite Guard you are."
"Pelame, don't!" Neve pleaded.
"Yeah! Listen to your mother!" Walton said in fear of her very life. "I surrender! I'll go with you peacefully! Just don't hurt me anymore! Please!"
Pelame wasn't listening. All that was on her mind was avenging the betrayals that the Twilit Army was responsible for. She stepped forward with this resolve and zapped Walton with more Alpha Electricity. This time, she held her discharge of it for about twenty seconds. Once she let up, Walton could no longer even stand. Pelame then started whipping her with her Alpha Cord, each lash getting an agonized scream from the furfrou.
"Pelame, that's enough!" Neve cried. She went up to her daughter and attempted to stop her, but Pelame avoided her mother and continued lashing Walton. At last, she stopped. Walton lie on the edge of the roof, beaten to a pulp and completely broken. Pelame then charged at her with a Double-Edge attack, hurting her one last time and sending her careening off the roof and down to the spillway nearly two hundred meters below. She died immediately upon making impact with the water. Pelame glared down at her foe's corpse as it sunk into the river below.
"The Twilit Army and the king will join you soon," Pelame seethed. She turned to Neve and Blessing and blew her Eon Flute to call the Eon Duo. "Let's go."
The three of them climbed onto the Duos' backs. On the way to Eroma's house as Pelame requested, Neve and Blessing were unable to find words to express how horrified they were to see the eevee in front of them had made good on the death threat she made earlier in the day.