Draco: I haven't played anything since I finished Shield because I'm just focusing on writing this. I think this will be the first time I've written a fanfic and submitted chapters on a schedule, to the end. I feel like way more badass than I should right now.

NEW EDIT: #TemptingFate. Looks like this didn't go up when I tried to submit it on Friday. #ScheduleSlip END NEW EDIT

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.


Ultra Kingdom - Forsaken Lands: Familiar Strangers

When the sun rose, Ranmaru shared his hypothesis with the others over breakfast; then everyone split into groups. Mitsunari and Bisharp, Masanori and Krookodile, and Kiyomasa and Haxorus partied up (to the surprise of no one) and headed towards the floating rock; Kotarō and Zoroark were instructed to accompany Ranmaru and Lucario as they went to the park; and Oichi and Type: Full, Okuni and Volcarona, and Gracia and Gothitelle started up the ravine. The three parties agreed to rendezvous at the lake's edge by nightfall, and share what they'd found over the campfire.

Most of the ration packs had been left at their campsite, kept sealed and enclosed within their tents in the hopes that wild Pokémon wouldn't notice them and ravage them; but Oichi had brought the bag of Full's RKS discs as a precaution, and she'd dumped out her com-crystals and given the bag to Gracia - in which the Cosmoem were being carried.

As the ladies and Full reached the lowest of the waterfalls, they found a small dug-out gap in the face of the ravine, inside which the black-furred Rattata could be seen, sleeping. Oichi's eyes flickered purple, getting Gracia's attention. "What's the verdict?"

"Dark-types," Oichi replied. "But still Normal-types, too." She shook her head. "But they were so awake last night, and now they're asleep. Rattata aren't nocturnal."

"Normal-type Rattata aren't nocturnal," Okuni corrected. "Maybe one led to the other."

"Maybe..."

Further up the cliffs, they found a pair of the dark-feathered Farfetch'd in a spar; the bird Pokémon were crossing their oversized leeks like swords, no different than the Farfetch'd that Oichi knew of - although the size of these weapons meant skilled swings were dismissed in favour of tactical movement on their sparring ground.

Okuni hummed. "So, Flying and...?"

"Not Flying," Oichi corrected. "Fighting-types."

"What?" Okuni turned to her. "What kind of bird Pokémon isn't Flying-type?"

"Um, guys," Gracia interrupted, "we got their attention!"

The Farfetch'd had indeed noticed them, and had their leeks braced over their shoulders as they started to waddle towards them. Gothitelle swung her hand down with a pulse, and Full - who was still running as Water-type after yesterday's incident with the lake - charged towards the Farfetch'd in return; the birds slammed their leeks down, narrowly missing Full as he passed them - and striking the ground where he had been with crushing force, dirt and grass kicked up from the impact.

Volcarona promptly leapt between them, twisting into a Fiery Dance that bombarded them both; no sooner had the last flames faded than Gothitelle's Future Sight connected, sending the Farfetch'd reeling away. Full brought down claws trailing bubbles on one Farfetch'd, knocking it out; the other managed to land a Rock Smash on his side, but he only struck it in retaliation to finish it off as well.

The top of the ravine, from where the water sprung, contained both familiar and unfamiliar Pokémon. A few Exeggcute - which seemed to have nothing wrong with them - were gathered on the first ledge down, sprayed lightly by the waterfall. Around the water's edge were several towering figures with branches; after a moment, the ladies realized they were Exeggutor, with elongated necks and an extra head on their tails.

"What in Distortion is up with those Pokémon," Gracia murmured, a smile on her face.

"They're Dragons," Oichi observed.

"Those are not Dragons," Okuni protested, sounding disgusted. "Those are an insult to Dragons."

Oichi struck her shoulder in reprimand. "Shut up," she reprimanded. "They're Grass-and-Dragon-types. And they don't seem hostile like the Farfetch'd were, don't aggravate them."

Gracia hummed. "Yeah," she agreed, "I don't wanna be clotheslined by a Dragon at the top of a huge ravine, either."

"Thank you, Gracia."

+x+x+x+

Kotarō was never the most joyful of Warlords, but he was verifiably in an unpleasant mood as he followed Ranmaru towards the park-like area. Zoroark had no obvious hostility towards Lucario, but the Yakshan was growling to himself the whole trip; as they drew near, he asked, "Why am I left to follow you of all people."

"Because you're untrustworthy, and I have the type advantage," Ranmaru replied bluntly.

"Ha..." Kotarō smirked briefly. "Oichi demanded a vow of loyalty out of me. Such overcaution is needless."

Ranmaru shook his head. "The only purpose of asking that vow was to make sure you wouldn't be able to pull anything twice," he reprimanded. "I have no faith that you would think Distortion a excessive price to pay for bringing us harm, after what you did to Yaksha."

"And what exactly did I do to Yaksha that earned such distrust?" Kotarō argued.

"Don't be dense," Ranmaru reprimanded. "You drove the entire kingdom into such despair as to reduce its inhabitants to heartlessness."

Kotarō grinned. "I fail to see why I should be frowned upon for such acts by the junior Warlord to the Fool of Dragnor."

The junior Warlord of Dragnor whirled around; once again did Kotarō make to defend his body and find his weapons struck instead. The spike on one of Ranmaru's bracelets knocked the claws off his right hand, and then the other struck them off his left; Zoroark made to defend his Warlord and found Lucario standing in his way, holding an Aura Sphere between his hands as Ranmaru raised his right-arm spike to Kotarō's neck.

"Never. Insult. Lord Nobunaga. In front of me."

"You and his other followers marched into Yaksha without a care," Kotarō retorted. "He made me swear the same vow his sister did, and never instructed me to unmake them."

Ranmaru brought his blade closer, the edge nicking Kotarō's chin lightly and drawing blood as it drew nearer to the Yakshan's throat. "Lord Nobunaga knew not that it was possible to unmake an Umbra Heart. He gave you no orders to change anything because he thought it was irreversible - and that any provocation would only drive them all to aggression. An aggression for which all of Ransei would suffer."

A cry from nearby drew both of their attention; three figures of bluish-grey were approaching that Ranmaru realized after a moment were Meowth. Surprised, he pulled his spike away from Kotarō, turning his attention on the Pokémon approaching them, and Lucario turned around, hurling his Aura Sphere at the center one. It was struck, tumbled backwards, and slumped unconscious; Kotarō knelt to reclaim his claws as Zoroark charged forward, and the two remaining Meowth leapt at his shoulders, Biting them unpleasantly before Zoroark managed to unleash a Night Daze.

"More Dark-types," the Yakshan mused. "Glorious."

Lucario hurled an Aura Sphere at another of the Meowth before it could attack again; Zoroark managed to circle around the remainder, and another Night Daze was sufficient to knock it out - type disadvantage he might have had, but he was plenty strong enough to handle a single opponent.

With the attackers defeated, the Warriors and their Pokémon started into the park, finding it surprisingly familiar - Ranmaru could find no appreciable differences between this park and a Ransean one, with vibrant boxes forming an impromptu obstacle course and a gentle slope for small Pokémon to slide down. A few of the fluffy-maned Ponyta leapt atop the boxes, and their motive for fleeing became abruptly clear when a pair of black-and-white Zigzagoon leapt atop as well, followed quickly by a Linoone of similar hues.

Zoroark positioned himself to intercept the Pontya; they reared as they drew close, and a Confusion from each whiffed on the Illusion Fox Pokémon before he lunged between them. Against these ones, his Night Daze struck far more fiercely; the Ponyta cried out, slumping to the ground, and Lucario hurled an Aura Sphere at one Zigzagoon only for the other's haphazard approach to bring it into the path.

"Leave the Linoone," Kotarō demanded.

Ranmaru rounded on him. "Excuse me?"

"The Guzzlord refused to accept my Link," Kotarō stated, "and you claimed the Poipole had done the same to you. But these altered Pokémon may be of different disposition - and a Dark-type is sure to hear my appeal if they are."

With a growl, Lucario waited for the remaining Zigzagoon to come to a stop before Zoroark, Snarling at him; then his next Aura Sphere flew, slamming into the attacker from the side. As it collapsed, the Linoone lunged down the obstacle course; its Night Slash lashed across Zoroark's side, and Kotarō promptly thrust an open hand towards it.

A glow manifested between the two; the Linoone turned to him, flinching, but it did remain still as the Yakshan slowly approached it. To Ranmaru's amazement, the light did indeed grow brighter, remaining equidistant but slowly growing until it seemed to join Kotarō's palm and the Linoone's forehead.

A moment's silence; then Kotarō closed his fingers into a fist, and the glow washed over the Linoone as it gave a low cry.

"Ha..." The Yakshan grinned. "What a wonder."

"A wonder indeed," Ranmaru observed. "Then they truly aren't-"

He was cut off by a murmuring cry; the two Warriors looked up to see a green-and-yellow Grimer emerging from between the boxes, and Kotarō groaned as he got to his feet. "No time to appreciate a new Link," he grumbled.

+x+x+x+

The trio of troublemakers arrived at the floating rock without much trouble, and the suspended crystalline stepping stones that always surrounded these places in Ransei turned out to be here as well.

Once they had reached the main body of the area, they found their odd Pokémon - the spectral-branched Corsola that Oichi had reported were on the easy side. Grey-brown Meowth with black coins and what looked like berserker beards; swinging Metal Claws and enduring most of Haxorus' Outrage told Kiyomasa these things were Steel-type. Raichu with more contrasting fur patches that floated in the air from atop the tips of their tails like surfboards; a blast of Psychic whiffed on Krookodile before it managed to Crunch the main length of its tail, flinging the flying Mouse Pokémon over the approaching Masanori. Black-skinned Marowak with bones alight with flame; a spectral outburst ripped up around Bisharp when he was struck before he managed to strike it down with a Night Slash at Mitsunari's behest.

"Weird," Mitsunari muttered, looking over the area. Pichu, Pikachu, and Cubone could be seen wandering about - but these ones didn't seem any different in the way their evolved counterparts were. "Why is it just the grown ones?"

"It wasn't just the grown ones," Masanori pointed out. "The Meowth were different, too."

"You know what I mean," Mitsunari muttered.

"No, that's a good point," Kiyomasa insisted. "I wonder if, like... the way they got changed like this affects the different species differently."

Masanori turned to him. "Huh?"

"Like, Ranmaru said they might've changed because they were from weird environments, right?" Kiyomasa insisted. "What if the environments didn't affect, say, the Pikachu much, but there was enough differences that when it evolved into Raichu, it evolved into a different Raichu to survive better?"

"I guess that's not impossible," Mitsunari admitted. "The Raichu seem friendlier than the ones in Ransei." He shook his head. "But then, why would they keep evolving the same way in this place?"

"Well, the ones who got here different would've raised the little ones, right?" Masanori pointed out. "Maybe it's a family thing. Like, they look up to the different ones, so they evolve to be like the different ones. If their Eggs were raised by normal ones, maybe the little ones would evolve to be like the normal ones."

Mitsunari shook his head. "A Pokémon can't choose what it evolves into," he reprimanded. "I mean, like, branched evolutions that need different stones could gravitate towards one or the other, but if it's only got a single evolutionary path, it can't change where that path goes."

"On purpose," Kiyomasa insisted. "It couldn't be a deliberate thing, but the way they're raised might influence their evolution just like the environment would."

+x+x+x+

The sun had touched the horizon by the time the trio arrived back at the lakeside, and shared their findings.

"Two different kinds of different Meowth?" Oichi murmured. "Because this place wasn't giving us enough trouble."

Gracia eyed Kotarō's newly-Linked Linoone warily. "You're... not taking that thing back to Ransei," she warned.

"And why is that?" the Yakshan demanded.

"Because it was altered that way to adapt to a particular environment," Ranmaru insisted, "and was fortunate enough to have found another environment that could safely host it. If you were to bring it back to Ransei, and were separated from it for any significant amount of time, there's no telling what sort of havoc it might wreak in the long term."

A smirk rose on Kotarō's face.

"Besides which," Ranmaru added without looking up from his meal, "if it happens that Ransei would be unsuited to host it, and you were separated from it for any significant amount of time - such as marching into battle with Zoroark instead - the poor Pokémon would die, and that would have unpleasant resonation on your Link."

Kotarō's face fell.

Okuni's gaze drifted up towards the sky garden. "So, you guys got any idea how we could possibly visit that one?" she asked.

"An apt question," Oichi admitted. "Usually, when we go to visit a sky garden, we take a blimp. Sometimes they have a little bit of drift that lets us get to them from, like, the castle's top floor or something." She paused, raising her gaze. "You think it might come close enough to the ravine for that?"

"Maybe," Gracia admitted. "The one in Nixtorm comes pretty close to the mountain sometimes."


Draco: I'm just taking a look at Ransei's map here, and, the way the region puzzles together, there's not really any way to add anything in there. Obviously, if Conquest had been a Generation VI game, the exact kingdom borders would have been different, and there would have been a Fairy-type kingdom. But I personally believe that if lightning were to strike twice and Conquest were to be revisited or remade past Generation VI, and they wanted to include a Fairy-type kingdom, they would add an islet of some sort, maybe off the northeastern coast.

Or Aurora would be made into the Fairy-type kingdom, and there just wouldn't be a Normal-type kingdom. I mean, there are only three Warriors who 'specialize' in the Normal type.
-Oichi [listed specialty: Normal/Dragon], whose perfect Link is Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff, who was made a Normal/Fairy-type (and we discussed this, that wouldn't stop her from getting curb-stomped if she tried to make a one-woman march on Dragnor).
-Muneshige [listed specialty: Flying/Normal], who only has that because he doesn't get a pure Flying-type because the only pure Flying-type in Generation V was Tornadus.
-The player [listed specialty: Normal], whose perfect Link is Eevee/Eeveelutions, which really doesn't count. And one of the Eeveelutions is a Fairy-type, so a Warrior with an Eevee being in charge of the Fairy-type kingdom wouldn't be any more out of place than the Psychic-type specialist with a Galarian Ponyta and a Hattrem being made a Fairy-type Gym Leader.