Whew... Got up a real long one now. Hope you all enjoy this nice chapter~ Enjoy it~
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Fire Emblem of any kind for either of them. I do own my OC. Adrian is owned by Antex- The Legendary Zoroark. Ali(cia), Mark and Nate are owned by kitsunelover300. Kale is owned by Insane Dominator. Misaki is owned by Pink Lightspeed Ranger.
"Normal people talking"
'Thoughts'
"Z-MOVE!"
"Dragon-type Pokemon talking" Only from Corrin's perspective
"Misaki talking in wolf form"
After arriving at Izumo, receiving a hinted prophecy from the late Izana, and gaining some new allies in Takumi and his retainers, Corrin and group had returned to the Astral Plane to drop off the liberated Pokemon, as well as get them situated before they continue their journey. As they made their return there, Rinkah, Hayato, and Blazerilla had finally caught up with them, after dropping off the bandits back at Wind Village.
Like the other Pokemon they had already saved, the newly liberated were quite frightened, being in a place that was so unfamiliar to them. Unlike the Pokemon they had saved prior, there were some that were heavily injured, like the Chingling they- rather, Leo- had saved from Zola. And the injuries weren't from the battle earlier. Thankfully, some of the saved Pokemon know that some of the people, mainly the Pokemon trainers, mean no harm and managed to convince some of the liberated of their kindness. 'Their', as in just the trainers, unfortunately.
Currently, the group gathered at the back of the Pokemon Day Care, with the majority watching Riana, Adrian, and Misaki, as well as their Pokemon, try to help the Pokemon they saved be at ease in this new environment. The Pokemon they saved prior also helped out however they could in at least getting the newly saved Pokemon to trust the trainers. As for Ali, she, Mozu, and Sakura were inside the building, doing whatever they could to help heal up the Pokemon. While Sakura was the only healer of the trio, Mozu had knowledge of the berries they have growing in the Astral Plane, and Ali knew how to tend to a Pokemon. Jacob could've helped out in the healing as well, but because he was a Nohrian, it would've made it harder for the injured Pokemon to trust the group, as well as make it more difficult for the girls to heal them.
"They're really working hard out here," Azura stated, watching her retainers endure some of the more frightened Ice-type Pokemon's Ice-type Special Attacks.
"Watching them struggle like this, just to get the Pokemon's trust, makes me want to do something to help them somehow," Corrin said.
"If those guys weren't so hostile around us, maybe we would've helped," Takumi stated.
"It is not their fault for keeping their guards up around us," Gunter said. "I can only imagine what sort of terror King Garon had them and their original trainers go through."
Corrin looked down at the mention of Nohr's king. "King Garon... Not only did he kill my father and abduct me, but he even abducted trainers from Riana and Adrian's world and forced them to give up their partners. And for what?"
Rocky looked up at his partner and let out a slight whimper in worry.
Rinkah placed a hand on the troubled princess's shoulder. "Unfortunately, no one will ever know what someone as wicked as him would ever think," she said. She then gave Corrin a hard slap on the back and said, "But hey! Just because we will never understand what goes on in his head doesn't mean we're going to do nothing about it. There's a reason why you have your own army here, right?"
Corrin flinched at the slap, feeling her back slightly seething in pain. "Y-Yeah... That's right..." she said with a slight stutter. "But even though... I wonder if just saving them is enough. The trainers are doing so much to get them to relax here, and Sakura and Mozu are helping Ali heal some of the more injured Pokemon."
"Well, it's not like we're any help here," Hana sadly pointed out. "Most of us had trained to fight, to protect the royal family. I think I speak for all of us here when I say that we don't know how to relax."
"By 'we', I am sure you mean yourself there, Hana," Subaki said, to her annoyance.
"Oh. And I assume Mr. Perfect here knows how to help a Pokemon?"
"I never said that. But I know when to take a break, unlike you, who I usually see doing nothing but train back at the palace." Hana only grew more and more annoyed at her fellow retainer.
"This is ridiculous. If they don't want to get acquainted with any of us, then why bother with them in the first place?" Takumi questioned. "After all, once they're back in their own world, we won't be seeing those monsters again."
"Takumi! That's a little too cruel!" Azura scolded, with Blue letting out some retorted barks.
"Well, it's true, isn't it? They don't belong here, they have trainers to go back to, there's no need for us to try to get along."
"Except from what we could tell from Riana's story, as well as what Rinkah and I have heard while we were held captive in Nohr, the only way back is in that very kingdom," Kaze stated. "And of course, if we all head there now, all we would be doing is walking to our certain death. Until we can somehow resolve things in Nohr, we will find another way back."
"Assuming if there is another way," Jakob said.
Corrin slowly grew worried for what the atmosphere has become, and decided to change the subject. "Oh! Now that I think about it, Takumi... I don't think we've showed you and your retainers yet."
This brought all attention to her. "Showed us what?" Hinata asked.
It didn't take long for Azura to realize what she meant. "Oh! That's right. We haven't shown them yet."
"And just what is it that has to be shown to us?" Takumi questioned.
"Well... You'll understand when we get to it."
"Oh no, you don't! I refuse to go anywhere with either of you without being told of where we're going or what will be shown!"
"Well, we can tell you. But this isn't something that can just be told for you to believe," Gunter said, also catching on to what the pair of princesses were thinking.
Unfortunately, that only made Takumi all the more on guard. "And I'm just to believe a Nohrian?"
Before any more was said, the Pokemon Daycare's back door opened, and Sakura walked out, feeling slightly exhausted.
"Lady Sakura!" Hana called, as she and Subaki rushed to their princess's side. "How was it?"
"The worse for those Pokemon is over," she informed. "There were some who had terrible injuries, but I managed to lessen their wounds."
Her last words brought some confusion to the group.
"I may be mistaken, but that sounded like you didn't completely heal them," Subaki said.
"That's because I didn't," Sakura confirmed, to their surprise. Before anyone could ask her why, she then said, "According to Ali, some of the injuries seemed to have healed at least once before, only to be broken again. And there were some injuries that are far worse than they seem. And since Nohrians- That is... those who saw Pokemon as nothing but tools. Since those type of people view Pokemon as such, there is a possibility that, as they were... 'convincing' Pokemon to join their cause, they had constantly healed whatever wounds were inflicted onto the Pokemon... only to repeat the process until they finally relented."
Hearing that reason brought horrid taste to Corrin and the others' mouth. King Garon and those under him... went that far to get the trainers' Pokemon to relent and accept their fate as weapons? No... as mere slaves for battle.
"As such, Ali said it was best to slowly heal their wounds, rather than help them recover instantly. This way, not only will it help the injured Pokemon slowly relax around us and properly recover their strengths, it will also prove to them that we don't see Pokemon as tools."
"I see..." Corrin said. "Hey, Sakura. We were thinking of stopping by Lilith's Shrine. Would you like to come along?"
"I would love to," the young princess answered. "Takumi, you and your retainers should come along. There's something you need to see there."
Unlike with Corrin and Azura, he reluctantly agreed to following the pair to the shrine, as did his retainers.
About an hour later, everyone regrouped at Lilith's Shrine, prepared to depart. Well... almost all of them were prepared to depart.
"You guys don't look so good. Maybe you should stay here," Sakura suggested to the Pokemon trainers, all who either stood trembling and rubbing their arms for warmth, or lied on the ground with painful expressions on their faces.
"W-We're fine... probably..." Riana said, weakly pumping her arms up. That turned out to be a mistake, due to how sore they were from enduring the liberated Pokemon's attacks. "Owowowowow..."
"What if we give you some Oran Berries or Sitrus Berries?" Mozu suggested.
"As good of an idea as that is, those don't really help with soreness," Adrian said, as Misaki in her wolf form let out whines in agreement.
"Then what about... Wasn't there a berry that helps with the cold?"
"If you mean the Aspear Berry, while it does help a Pokemon when they're frozen, chills like this are different. Especially while we're sore."
"You say that, but you don't seem as affected as the girls," Gunter noted, for Adrian was just standing there, leaning against the shrine with his arms crossed.
"He was definitely affected," Ali called from the ground. "On our way here, he was practically limping in pain."
"They don't need to know that. Plus, at least I'm trying to warm myself up without being in any more pain," Adrian retorted in a grumbling tone.
"Isn't that the same as admitting you were in pain?" Azura questioned.
"Besides, what if you come across any more Nohrians or bandits that are treating Pokemon horribly? Not saying that we doubt you, but I'm not so sure if the Pokemon will warm up to you guys as quickly as they do us," Riana added.
"That unintended pun isn't going to help us get any warmer, you know," Adrian stated to her.
"How about a Hot Spring?" Lilith asked.
"Where? Last I checked, we're nowhere near one in the other world," Ali asked.
"No. But Lady Corrin can make one here." At the dragon's words, everyone turned to the princess, who was just as puzzled at the revelation as they were.
"... Oh yeah, I can make one with the Dragon Veins," she realized.
"You just now realized that?!" the male trainer questioned.
Corrin let out a nervous laugh in response, indicating that she did, just now, realize she could just make a hot spring in the Astral Plane.
Meanwhile, in Nohr, Camilla walked down the dark halls of the castle, making her way to the throne room. She would've been out patrolling, but for some reason, her father had called for her.
'Why would Father wish to see me?' she wondered. 'It can't be... Did those two get found out? Or did someone know I let Kale go?'
The first princess hoped it was neither of those options, not for her sake, but for the trainers'. Unlike them, she was pretty much prepared to die, especially on the battlefield. Those boys, from what she could gather in her conversation with the brothers, had been living peaceful lives, with Pokemon battles being nothing but a friendly sport, similar to spars. Not only that, but there were also people in their world who do performances with their Pokemon, even often having some kind of competition to see who the best performer was. Nate is one of those performers, and as much as he wanted to do even one small act, Mark decided against it, in case if there were other Nohrians nearby.
For there to be people in their world who could have fun doing performances, even having some sort of contest based on them... In this world, due to the war between the two kingdoms, it was hard for anyone to do anything fun, especially in Nohr. The Pokemon World must truly be a peaceful world.
Camilla arrived at the doors to her father's throne room and knocked. "Father. This is Camilla. You asked to see me?"
"Yes, come in, child," came Garon's voice.
Upon his command, Camilla walked into the room.
"Ah, Camilla. Welcome," the king greeted. "I have called you here for a new mission."
"A new mission?" she repeated in a questioned tone. "Then... what of the pair of trainers you've tasked me to search?"
"I have Iago and several others searching for the lost trainers. You needn't worry about them." If Camilla could be honest, she wasn't sure about her father's words. Specifically the part about not worrying. "Besides, I think you'll favor this mission more, as it involves Corrin."
"Corrin?"
"Yes. It seems she truly has become a traitor to our kingdom, especially as she and her force had begun to steal Pokemon from us. You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"
Camilla could only look at her father with wide eyes, for she knew exactly what he was indicating. "You... You want me to kill her?" she asked.
"We cannot afford to lose any more resources, especially if it means our continuing demise against Hoshido," Garon confirmed. "And even if we were not at war with them, Corrin had already committed enough treason for death. Xander and Leo already have their tasks, and Elise is not at all ready for this task."
Camilla remained silent. She was already troubled about the situation with the Pokemon, but now her father wants her to do the one thing she hoped she wouldn't have to do. She was aware of Corrin's actions and what the consequences of her doings were, but she had hoped it wouldn't be her who would have to carry it out. Then again... comparing death by her hands to death by the hands of others... Camilla would prefer it if she was the one doing the job. And besides, if she looks at it from another perspective, it would also be a good chance for her to help Nate and Mark out of her kingdom. If they dressed up as soldiers, there would be no question of their background as they exit out the kingdom for this mission.
"I understand, Father," she answered at last.
Garon nodded in approval. "If reports are correct, she should be heading to Cyrkensia. You may be able to intercept her at sea before she reaches port there."
"Yes, Father. I'll gather up forces in preparation."
Back in the Astral Plane, after using the Dragon Vein to create a bathhouse, Corrin, the female trainers, and all the other female members of the group went to take a bath first. As it was her first time making a hot spring, Corrin, unfortunately, couldn't make the place big enough to have two different sections for the two genders. As such, the group decided to set up a schedule for when the guys and girls could relax in the hot spring, to avoid much trouble. Adrian was fine with the girls going first, as he was practically more used to dealing with the cold than them, especially thanks to his Pokemon. Sure Riana had dealt with the cold from Mount Lanakila, but the cold from the temperature there is quite different from the cold dealt by Ice-type Pokemon. Plus, she was quite sore from enduring the many Rollouts some of the liberated Pokemon had gone and dealt to her.
"Ah... This is the life..." Riana sighed, succumbed to the effect of the hot spring.
"This is just the thing for sore muscles..." Corrin stated.
"This tingling sensation from the spring water is really healing me," Hana said, stretching her arms out.
"You guys can say that again... I don't remember the last time I've had a decent bath since arriving in this world..." Ali said.
"Yeah. We didn't have anything like this back home. I'm in seventh heaven..." Mozu happily said, sinking a little deeper in the water.
"We've had a few natural hot springs at home, but none as good as this," Rinkah stated.
"I like it here... I can talk to people without feeling nervous..." Sakura followed, completely relaxed.
"It would be nice if we can put on some nice fragrant robes after. But since we're going to go out after, guess we can hold that off for later," Oboro said.
"It's just so relaxing here. If only I could feel this happy all the time..." Azura also said, muttering out the last part.
Misaki, in her human form and leaning against the edge of the bath in relaxation, glanced at the body of water. "Even so... it's kind of a shame how small this is."
Besides the girls, their Pokemon partners were also in the bathhouse, as well as a few wild Pokemon. Big as the hot spring was, and though it was not that crowded in there, the place clearly was not big enough for both people and Pokemon, especially if more people were going to join the group.
"You should think about making another hot spring for Pokemon only," Riana suggested to Corrin.
"I think I should, too," she agreed. "Although... Doing that would make me feel a little more lonely." She looked to Rocky as she said that, who was playing in the water with Blue and Fira.
Ali noticed the look she had. "Ah, I get the feeling," she said. "Being with your partner for so long, you'd feel lonely if they were to drift away."
"I hear that," Riana agreed. "When Incineroar was a Litten, we often traveled together, side-by-side. Then he evolved to Torracat, and he grew a bit wild at that point. I got worried he'd want to be released, due to the few times he went on his own in battle. Turns out he just got a bit too into those battles and got a bit battle-hungry."
"Wait. You cannot tell me one of the many Pokemon champions in the world had trouble with their Pokemon."
"Hey. I started off my journey at the age of 13. May not have started off as a ten-year-old like most enthusiastic trainers, but that didn't mean I had more experience in handling Pokemon than them."
"Ten-years-old? You guys become trainers at that age? You started traveling around on foot at that age?!" Hana asked in shock.
"Generally speaking, yeah," Misaki answered. "Once you hit the age of ten, you can start off your journey of being a Pokemon trainer then. Some people would hold off their journey for a little later, others just start at that very moment."
"Whoa. You guys are more gutsy than I thought, for people who let Pokemon do all the battling in your world," Rinkah stated in respect. "So does that mean you get your first Pokemon when you start your journey?"
"I don't know about Riana and Misaki, but I did," Ali answered then. "There are often times when kids are gifted their very first Pokemon at an earlier age, to get a sort of head start on all the battling. Either that, or they would make an unbreakable friendship with a wild Pokemon near their home and start their journey with them."
"Did that happen to you guys?" Corrin asked.
"Nope. Got Incineroar as a Litten when I started my journey at the age of 13 from a Pokemon Professor. That is... a person who studies up on Pokemon," Riana answered.
"Lucario kind of found me back when he was a Riolu and stuck with me. Started my journey days later," Misaki followed.
"My first Pokemon was Venusaur when he was a Bulbasaur. Started my journey at ten-years-old, going to different regions and competing in many Pokemon Leagues. Only won against a few of the Elite Four members, unfortunately. Then found a new passion for Pokemon myths and legends and took a break from the leagues," Ali followed.
Although the non-trainers didn't understand half the stuff the trio said, they were still quite amazed.
"Well, I think we've stayed here long enough," Misaki said, as she stood back up. "I feel quite rejuvenated."
"Yeah. I'm in," Riana agreed, also getting up.
The others also agreed to the idea and followed the pair up and out.
Meanwhile, in a forest in Hoshido, there were many ninjas jumping through the woods, all pursuing a pair of individuals.
"This way!" a guy said to a girl with him.
"R-Right!" she said with a stutter, as she struggled to match the guy's pace. An act that is quite ironic, considering that the boy was also carrying a large case on his back. "How are you still running that fast?" she couldn't help but ask.
"You want to talk or live?! I'll answer whatever I can after we're out of this mess!" the guy said.
The girl had no complaints there, and tried to pick up the pace. Unfortunately, she tripped on a pebble and fell to the ground. This caused the boy to skid to a stop and turn in worry. "Hey! You okay?!" he asked, rushing back to her.
The girl got back up, but flinched when she felt pain on her ankle. "I think I twisted my ankle," she said, placing a hand on the injury.
Upon seeing their 'prey' coming to a stop, some of the ninjas tossed shurikens and kunais at them. The guy noticed and quickly took something out of his person... when more shurikens and an ox spirit went and blocked the pursuers' weapons.
"Are you two okay?!" came a voice.
The pair turned and saw another ninja along with two girls heading their way, one of them riding on a kinshi. "Y-Yes. Thank you," the girl answered.
Saizo took note of their appearance and said, "You two are not from around here."
Before the trainers could ask what he meant, the ninjas that were chasing them had finally caught up and surrounded them.
"Well, aren't we in quite the predicament," the woman on the kinshi stated. "What fun to face off against so many enemies."
"You call this fun?!" the girl asked.
"Damn it... And we only came here to save an ally," Saizo grimaced. "You trainers are more of a pain than I thought."
A little ways away from the scene, Corrin and the others resumed their journey. They were walking through the forest when they saw...
"Hm? Everyone, hold up! I see something in the distance. It looks like... a plume of smoke?" Corrin questioned.
"Is it Faceless or bandits?" Rinkah asked, ready for battle.
"Could be a Pokemon," Misaki suggested.
Kaze recognized the smoke they were seeing. "That isn't just any smoke... It's my brother's smoke signal."
"You mean Saizo? He's there?" Riana asked.
"What does the smoke signal mean?" Ali followed.
"He is. And it means that he's engaging a large number of enemy troops," Kaze respectively answered.
Upon hearing that Saizo would be in trouble against a number of enemies, Corrin exclaimed, "We need to go help him, then!"
"No, Lady Corrin. If he has sent up that specific smoke signal... Well, that isn't him asking for help. That signal is meant to warn allies away; he believes it is too dangerous there. We... should head in a different direction."
"You want us to abandon your brother?!" Adrian questioned in shock.
"You can't be serious... Kaze, that's your own brother out there!" Corrin said. "No, I've made up my mind. Everyone, get ready for battle! We're going to help Saizo!"
"Lady Corrin, why? You'll be putting us all in danger!" Kaze asked.
"The enemy we are facing can't be beaten if we don't gather allies. And I won't sit on my hands when an ally is in need! We have to be willing to help each other, no matter how dangerous a situation is."
"Yeah. Besides, for all we know, he could be having trouble with some strong Pokemon. And even though you two kind of share a Pokemon, he hasn't made much progress with his partner like you had. He's gonna need all the help he can get," Riana added.
"If you two insist. Thank you..." Kaze said, extremely grateful for their decision.
The group rushed to the source of the smoke as fast as they could and ended up in what seemed like a clearing.
"This looks like the place where the smoke signal was sent up," Corrin said. "Do you think Saizo and his foes are still in the area?"
"I don't know... It is difficult to tell," Azura answered. "We've entered Mokushu territory. This area is heavily forested, making it easy to get lost."
"We should stay close, then, so we don't lose each other," Riana suggested.
Muddy saw something on the ground and let out a neigh to get their attention. Mozu looked down to the spot her partner was looking at and saw... "Look, there are footprints leading deeper into the forest. Let's follow them."
The group nodded and moved deeper in.
"It's so dark and g-gloomy here... It's kind of scary, really," Sakura stuttered, holding her staff quite close to her.
"If you need to, you can hold on to my arm," Takumi offered.
Sakura accepted his offer and held his arm. "Th-thank you..."
"Now, why can't you be that nice to your other siblings?" Adrian questioned, gesturing to Corrin and Azura when he said that.
Takumi ignored those words. "We're pretty deep in the forest now. This place is practically a maze."
"Yes. That was what Azura had insinuated earlier." Again, Takumi ignored the male retainer to his adopted sister. "You truly are Simpletog, I see. You don't want to admit you're in the wrong and don't want to see things you hate the way they are. Even for an egotistical prince, that is very sad."
Tick marks appeared on the second prince's head at those words. "Now look here, you damn outsider! Just because-!"
"Lord Takumi, look out!" Kaze suddenly shouted, shoving Takumi to the side and bringing a kunai up. He blocked something that dropped to the ground.
"A shuriken?!" Ali recognized.
"Not just any shuriken, either. That was the kind Mokushujin fighters use," Kaze recognized.
"Mokushujin are attacking us?!" Takumi questioned.
"They're about to; that was only a scout. There are more enemies heading this way."
"Everyone, get ready for them!" Corrin ordered. Rocky let out some barks, facing one direction. Corrin looked down at the Puppy Pokemon's action and looked where he was looking at. "Over there! Is that Saizo?"
"Orochi and Reina, too!" Riana recognized.
"They seem to be engaging the same enemies we are," Azura noticed.
"'The enemy of my enemy is my friend,'" Misaki quoted. "If we help them out, they might help us as well."
Hana noticed one other thing about Saizo's group. "I don't recognize those two with them."
"Their clothes are quite odd, as well," Subaki noted. "It's neither Hoshidan nor Nohrian."
At his words, the trainers turned to Saizo's direction once more. Upon taking a good look at the two people with him, Orochi and Reina, they noticed their clothes were in a familiar style.
For the male of the pair, he was an average build young man with dark, spiky blonde hair and green eyes. He had a pair of boom headphones hanging around his neck, with a stone embedded on one side. He wore a dark blue hoodie with an fuchsia underneath, a white, blue and red band on his right wrist, brown denim trousers, and a pair of outdoor sneakers.
As for the girl, she had lavender hair tied into a ponytail, bangs covering her forehead, and icy blue eyes. Her outfit consists of black leather jacket with a magenta shirt underneath the jacket, navy jeans, and dark brown long boots. A necklace is worn around her neck, also with a stone on it, and she had a handbag with her.
"Those two are... Trainers from our world?!" Ali gasped.
"All the more reason to get to them!" Hinata exclaimed. "If they're from your world, there's no way they know about the war going on here!"
"Hinata's right. Although..." Riana looked to the enemy group. "There's quite a lot of opponents around us. We may need to split up here. Half of us should hold the enemy back."
"While the other half can get to Saizo and the others," Misaki caught on.
Everyone was all in on the plan and split.
With Saizo's group, the redhead ninja and his two comrades did all they could to keep the enemy ninjas away from them and the two civilians with them.
"Man, there are too many of them here!" Orochi exclaimed, summoning out another Ox Spirit at a pair of ninjas.
"Yes. This is quite thrilling, isn't it~?" Reina happily asked, knocking down another ninja that came at them with her naginata.
"Hang on, where are we?! What is this place?! Why are there ninjas attacking us with real weapons?!" the girl asked.
"You trainer should be silent!" Saizo shouted at her. "Tch. Without your creatures, you are all nothing but deadweight."
"What the hell, man?!" the guy questioned. "I don't know who you think you are, but you can't just go say that to a girl! Especially not when we've both been suddenly thrown in the middle of the woods and chased by these crazy ninjas!"
"I said be silent!" Saizo took down another enemy ninja.
Both trainers were quite unamused with his attitude, as the boy took out his Pokeball.
"When someone is panicking, you do not tell them to shut up!" he shouted, tossing the ball in the air. It opened up and unleashed the Pokemon it held.
It was a blue, bipedal Pokemon with a large mouth, red eyes, a stubby nose, and two peg-like teeth in each jaw. The Pokemon has protruding tubes with holes along its body: seven forming a crest on top of its head, one on each elbow and knee, two along its back, and one at the end of each of its two tails. The tubes along its head-crest and tails are tipped with yellow, while the ones along its back have yellow semicircular patterns on either sides. Its arms have three thin stripes below its elbow and three fingers.
"A Pokemon!" an enemy ninja called.
"As we thought, those two are from that other world," said another enemy ninja.
"My, would the king be proud if we bring them to him," another said.
"Cover your ears," the guy advised the girl and Saizo's group. While his fellow otherworlder took the advise, as she most likely knew the Pokemon he had summoned, the other three looked at him in confusion.
"Why?" Orochi asked.
Rather than answer, the guy covered his own ears and ordered his Pokemon, "Exploud, Boomburst!"
"EEEEX PLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUD!" His Pokemon's mouth and tubes all glowed slightly white and unleashed an extremely loud and terrible scream! So loud and terrible, it was so overbearing, as the ninjas nearby, Saizo, Orochi, and Reina all screamed and covered their ears in great, undeniable pain! Not only that, some of the enemy forces all fainted simply from the sound.
At the same time, not too far from the group, Corrin, Rocky, Azura, Blue, Adrian, Oboro, Hinata, Takumi, Mozu, Muddy, Jakob, and Ali were making their way to Saizo's group, all while dealing with the ninjas and their traps, which were bamboo spikes hidden in the ground.
"There's really too many of them here!" Ali exclaimed, as Fira used Swift to knock away some of the shurikens tossed their way.
"I'll say. These guys are way too persistent," Jakob agreed, holding off a couple of ninjas with his knife.
"The one time I agree with a Nohrian," Takumi also agreed, shooting down a ninja.
As Corrin took down one of the opposing ninjas, she accidentally triggered the bamboo spikes, which dug into her feet and made her let out a small cry in pain. "Ouch!"
Being the one closest to her, Adrian turned and rushed over to her, with Rocky following. "I'll get you out!" he said, offering her a hand.
"Thanks, Adrian," she thanked. Corrin looked past him and saw a ninja approaching. "Look out!"
The trainer and Rockruff pair looked behind them and saw the ninja coming at them. Before the guy could reach them, a green barrier blocked his path. "Thanks, Ghoul!" the male trainer thanked his Cofagrigus, who was the one who conjured the barrier.
"Cofafafa!" he chuckled.
"PLOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUD!" Suddenly, an extremely loud shout was heard, prompting the groups, both Corrin's and the enemy's, to cease their fighting and cover their ears.
"GAAAAAHHHH! What is that?!" Oboro shouted out.
"My ears!" Jakob screamed.
"Where is that coming from?!" Hinata also shouted.
As they were in the safety of Ghoul's Protect, Corrin and Adrian just watched in confusion.
"What happened to them?! The enemies, too!" the princess asked.
From the other side of the barrier, Adrian saw the air around them rippling somewhat. Adding on the noise the two were hearing, he could only deduce one thing. "A Pokemon nearby is causing this."
"A Pokemon?"
Ali struggled through the sound and faced the direction it seemed to be coming from, which was where Saizo and the others were. There, she noticed an additional figure. "An Exploud?! That definitely explains it!" she shouted.
"What?" Mozu asked.
"Exploud is known as the Loud Noise Pokemon, whose bellowing is said to trigger earthquakes!"
"WHAT?!"
"Well it's true, if this sound means anything!"
"I'M SORRY! I CAN'T HEAR YOU THROUGH THIS SOUND!" Mozu then shouted.
It was here Ali had realized... Unlike her, and most likely the trainers of her world, the many residents of this world most likely have a little more sensitive hearing than them. If she didn't know any better, being from the very world may have given the residents some kind of resistance to Pokemon attacks, if the sight of some enemy ninja fainting meant anything.
Thankfully it was not much longer for the Exploud to finally end its attack. Everyone who endured and were not at all used to the sound all fell to the ground. A good majority passed out completely in relief to no longer have to bear hearing such horrid sound.
"A-Are we... saved...?" Mozu asked, Muddy letting out a weak 'bray'.
"My ears... they're ringing..." Sakura uttered out.
"Yeah... Although, that sound really brought down the enemy's number," Azura stated, noticing how none of the ninjas around them are getting back up.
As soon as they saw the attack end from within the green barrier, Adrian signaled Ghoul to cease the Protect. "You good to run?" he asked.
Corrin took a step forward and only winced slightly at the pain. "I-I'm fine," she answered. "Let's take this chance to get to Saizo."
Despite the brave face she was putting up, Adrian knew she was in great pain. And even if he didn't see through her, the way Rocky seemed worried for his partner said it all, as the Puppy Pokemon went and licked the girl's bare feet. "Kya! I'm fine, Rocky, really!" she assured, trying to stay on her toes as to not aggravate the wounds.
"You don't have to go to him," Adrian then said to her. Corrin looked up at him when she heard those words. "Besides, now that I think about it, you sure that guy is worth it? Back when we faced him the first time, he was the one who wasn't willing to hear you out the most. Heck, he was going to risk the lives of his comrades back then if it meant getting rid of us. I know you want more allies on our side, but I really don't think that guy's worth it. If his anger in Nohr is as deep as I think, if he still thinks of us as enemies, should he choose to join, he will not hesitate to kill any of us off if it meant getting rid of their top troops."
Corrin was silent at those words. "... Even so... I can't just abandon him! Adrian, you are one of the few who know full well of our true enemy. We need all the help we can get. Besides, Riana said it herself, didn't she? Saizo has a Pokemon too. Granted, he may not have made much progress with it as any of us had with ours', if he still has his Pokemon, then he must know Pokemon are just as much as allies as we are. I think- no, I know I can get through to him."
Adrian looked into her eyes and knew the girl was serious in what she said. Plus, he also knew that she was not wrong about Saizo and his Pokemon. He was there when he and Kaze first got their partner. While Kaze took Riana's teachings to the heart, Saizo... not so much. It wasn't that he didn't think of Pokemon as potential allies, as it was more that he didn't know how to connect with them. Adrian had often see Saizo meditating with his partner or training alongside it. Though the red-head ninja seemed to dislike Pokemon, he still made some progress with his own partner outside the eyes of others, as much as he didn't want to admit it.
Adrian could only sigh. "All right, get on," he said, turning his back to Corrin and kneeling down. "No way you're going to walk with those feet. And unfortunately, it seems the only healer in our group is out of it." The princess looked over to Jakob when he said that and saw that her butler had truly fainted from the attack earlier. Seeing there is no other option, Corrin got on Adrian's back.
"Thank you," she thanked.
With the girl secured on his back, Adrian took off at full speed towards their soon-to-be allies, Ghoul and Rocky following them. With the enemies down, it didn't take long for the pair to reach them.
"Saizo, are you all right?" Corrin asked. She quickly realized how stupid a question it was, upon seeing Saizo, Orochi, Reina, and Reina's mount seemingly suffering from the possible-aftereffects of the shout earlier.
"They obviously aren't okay," Adrian said to her. "Those two are, though."
Corrin tilted her head to where her ride was looking and saw the two trainers with Saizo's team and the Exploud looking at them.
"Who are you?!" the girl asked.
"You two are Pokemon trainers, right?" Corrin asked back. "My name is Corrin. Don't worry, you two are safe now. Well, that's what I should say, but you clearly already have it all under control."
"Trust me, miss, I didn't want to use my Pokemon. Not when these guys got all jitter-happy upon seeing us at first sight," the guy said.
"You cannot tell me you didn't hear the part where they went and said 'raid them of their Pokemon' or 'capture them to take them to the king'," the girl with him said.
"You heard all that while we were running?"
"Hang on. You said you heard them say something about capturing you and raiding you guys?" Adrian asked the pair.
"Yeah. It's more than just weird," the girl said.
"That doesn't sound good... The only reason they would want to capture you, specifically your Pokemon-"
"Is it they're connected to King Garon..." Corrin caught on. "Which means-"
"Mokushu has become a traitor to Hoshido, as I thought," came Saizo's voice. The princess and trainers turned and saw the guy, Orochi and Reina slowly getting back up.
"My ears... Does anyone else hear ringing?" the diviner asked.
"I did warn you guys to cover your ears," the guy said.
"He did," the girl supported.
"Well... That was... quite the strong experience," Reina stated, picking her ear in an attempt to rid it of the ringing.
"Enough of that! What are you doing here?!" Saizo questioned Corrin and Adrian.
"We came to help you. That was your smoke signal we saw, right?" the princess answered.
"It was, but... That wasn't a distress signal!"
"Yes, I know. Kaze told us it was meant as a warning. But there is no way I'd just abandon you to the enemy. To me, you're a valuable ally."
"You'd knowingly risk yourself just to help us?"
"Yeah, she would," Adrian said. "That being said, tell me. If she was traitor, would she ever come risk her own life to help?"
Saizo didn't need to think about it, as he knew how right the trainer was. "Hrmph. Very well. You've beaten me. No traitor would behave as you have. Lady Sakura must have been right about your motivations. Let us fight together." He held his hand out to them.
Corrin accepted the handshake. "I won't let you down, Saizo. Thank you for joining us!"
"There is no time to waste. One of our allies, a ninja named Kagero, is being held captive. She was supposed to locate Lord Ryoma and return to us. We have to save her."
"We'll do everything we can to help."
"Thank you. And if I may... why are you on his back?"
"She triggered the bamboo spikes trap," Adrian answered. "Speaking of, why don't you wear shoes in the first place? Your feet would be okay if you had shoes on."
"T-They're just not comfortable on me!" Corrin reasoned.
"That's no reason!"
"Uh, as much as I have to interrupt a lover's quarrel, I think we were still in the middle of our own conversation," the guy with the case on his back said.
"Oh, right! We didn't even get your names," Corrin realized.
"Well, I'm Brian. And this is Exploud," the guy introduced.
"EXPLOUD!" the Pokemon loudly greeted.
"I'm Naomi," the girl also introduced.
"We'll save the rest of the introduction for later," Adrian said, noticing enemy reinforcements coming their way. "If these guys know Pokemon, there's a chance they have one of their own and holding out on us."
Just as he said that, some of the reinforcements tossed something at the group, something that was neither shuriken nor kunai, something that opened up and unleashed light from inside.
"I had to jinx that, did I?" Adrian muttered, watching as Sneasel, Scyther, Pawniard, and Crobat stared down at them.
With Riana's group, they were doing all they could to bring down the number of ninjas in the woods. However, not only did they have Pokemon on their side, but because of the bamboo spikes traps, it was hard to bypass them.
"How many of these guys are there?!" Hana questioned, cutting down an enemy.
"Hana's right; there's too many of them," Subaki agreed, blocking a shuriken with his naginata.
"If only we can dwindle their numbers somehow," Gunter said, taking out some ninjas.
"The Mokushu ninjas are one thing, but using Pokemon like they were. And by the looks of it, none seem that happy to be with their 'trainers'," Kaze observed, his Ninjask using Slash to knock away a Scyther.
"Wait, then does that mean that these Pokemon they're using are...?" Hayato wanted to ask.
"I see woulds and scars on them. There's no doubt about it."
Hearing this disgusted Riana, as she wondered how far the Nohrians went to force the trainers to give up their Pokemon and the Pokemon to be obedient to them.
"Well, there's one method we can use," the Alolan Champion suggested, her Mimikyu taking out a pair of Sneasel with a Dazzling Gleam.
"You're not thinking what I think you are, are you? Not that I'm against it," Misaki asked, her Lucario taking out a pair of Pawniard with Bone Rush.
Those who didn't know what they meant turned their way. "What are you talking about?" Rinkah asked.
Rather than answer, Riana said, "We need to gather the enemies in one area. Think you can do that?"
"Good thing I have just the Pokemon out," Misaki said. Lucian knew her trainer was referring to her, looked her way, and nodded. "Okay, Lucian! Let's go!" Misaki raised her left arm and tapped on the stone that was embedded in her ring, causing it to glow. "Mega Evolve!"
At those two words, what seemed like a stone with a DNA strand appeared on Lucian's forehead. The Lucario let out a ferocious roar as the stone glowed orange, and streams of energy from both it and Misaki's ring emerged out and connected with each other. Once they merged up, Lucian herself glowed in a rainbow-colored light and changed form. Once the light died down, everyone was shocked to see Lucian's new form.
The Lucario had grown taller, her cream-colored fur grew longer, thighs slimmed down, her paws turned crimson and each donned an additional spike on the back, as were her shoulders and now-crimson feet. Her normally short appendages grew much longer, with two having a crimson tip. Seeing Lucian in this new form, in her Mega Evolved form, was a huge shock for enemies and allies alike.
"Whoa! What happened to your Pokemon?!" Rinkah gasped.
"It's called Mega Evolution," Misaki answered. "To put it in basic terms, it's a process that allows a Pokemon to become much stronger than it usually is."
"What's so strong about it?!" an enemy ninja questioned. "All you did was change its appearance!"
"That's right! That creature is no match for the ones the king had gifted us!" another ninja claimed.
"You're right about one thing. Even in her Mega Evolved form, Lucian may have trouble cleaning up all of this mess," Riana said, placing a certain crystal in her Z-Ring. "Let's do this, Mimikyu! The rest of you, stay close to us!" With her Disguise Pokemon, they crossed their arms in front of their chest and front, forming an 'X' twice. Both then bent their knees- at least, Riana was- and brought their arms up quite lazily, similar to how a ghost would. As they slowly rose up, they brought their hands together to conceal their faces, only to then quickly part them and bring their faces forward, similar to a peek-a-boo. "Have a taste... of what our bonds can do! NEVER-ENDING NIGHTMARE!" The aura was transferred over to Mimikyu, who let out a strong, screechy hiss. Next everyone knew, the sky turned dark, and the forest became somewhat bare of trees, giving off a very spooky vibe.
"W-W-W-What happened to the forest?!" Sakura gasped in fear, with Hayato face paled and trembling.
"Is this... another part of a Pokemon's true power?" Gunter could only assume.
Of course, they weren't the only ones confused with the change of scenery.
"Wait, what the-?!"
"Where are we?!"
"This is creepy!"
"Do it, Mimikyu!" Riana called out. At her order, Mimikyu let out another hiss, creating a large shadow around its feet. Multiple shadowy hands then reached out from the shadow and made way to the enemy, both ninjas and Pokemon alike.
Several of the enemies got caught by the shadowy hand. "Whoa! What the hell is this?!" a ninja questioned in a panicked tone.
"M-My strength... is failing!" another ninja cried out, as they all got pulled to the shadow.
"N-No... Stop. Stop! STOP!" cried another ninja.
Once the 'victims' hit the shadow, the hand they were caught in burst in a purple explosion. Upon seeing this, the rest of the ninjas panicked.
"R-Retreat! Retreat now!" one of them shouted, in which everyone else, both ninjas and Pokemon, had obliged to.
"Use the Pokemon as shields! They'll help us get away!" shouted another ninja.
Disgracefully, some of the enemy did exactly that, as they either grabbed the Pokemon closest to them and tossed them to the hand that grew closer to them or called out a Pokemon they still had on reserve to use them as some sort of sacrifices. Those that couldn't find the 'perfect meat shield' were captured and taken to the shadow, never to be heard from again. For the most part, disgustingly enough, their plan worked... for Mimikyu's Never-Ending Nightmare. What they didn't take note of was Lucian. While in her normal form, one certain move took up much concentration to pull off one or two of the attack perfectly at a time. In her Mega Evolved form...
"Lucian, Aura Sphere!" Misaki ordered.
From behind Mimikyu, Lucian conjured up multiple Aura Spheres and tossed them all at the remaining, fleeing enemy. And once she was out, she immediately summoned more to shoot. And of course, each sphere had made their mark, creating huge explosions and easily taking down the ninjas.
Once they were all down and out, Mimikyu's Z-Move had came to an end, and the area around them reverted to normal. "Whew... Looks like that was the last of them here," Riana sighed, wiping away some sweat.
"I hear sound of battle, but aside from that, there doesn't seem to be any other one of these ninjas around us," Misaki said, with Lucian, reverting back to original form, nodding in agreement.
"Okay then. Let's grab all the Pokemon from these guys and meet up with the others. While we're at it, we should tie these guys up, just in case." At those words, Riana, Misaki and their Pokemon began to search the now unconscious ninjas for Pokeballs.
Meanwhile, their allies could only stare at the pair, eyes wide and jaw dropped.
"They... They completely changed the scenery..." Hayato spoke.
"Made their Pokemon extra strong..." Rinkah followed.
"And wiped out the great number of enemies like it was nothing..." Hana ended.
They were speechless. No, more than just speechless; they were quite frightened.
'I am glad... the Pokemon trainers are on our side,' they all thought. Blazerilla and Ninjask, the only two in the group who were not frightened by this as they were more amazed, looked at the scared individuals in confusion.
Back to Corrin's team, so to say, they were still struggling with their portion of the enemies. Thankfully, their allies managed to recover from Exploud's Boomburst, in which will not be used for a long while, and caught up to them. Once the group reunited, Jakob got to work on healing Corrin's feet and Naomi's ankle.
"How many more of these guys are there?!" Orochi asked.
"You mean the ninjas or the Pokemon?!" Hinata asked, blocking a Pawniard's Slash with his sword.
"Does it matter?!" Takumi asked, shooting down more enemy ninjas.
As they held the enemy back as long as they could, Adrian took another look at their new friends, and noticed something on their person. Something that Ali also had that could help change the tide of this battle. "Hey, you guys have Pokemon that can do that thing, right?" he asked.
The two new trainers and those near him looked at him in confusion. "'That thing'?" Brian asked back.
"Yeah. The 'thing'," Adrian repeated, pointing at his ear and chest.
It didn't take the two trainers long to realize what he meant, as well as Ali, who was right next to him.
"If we're doing what I think you're saying, we better make sure they're all down, then," the photographer said. "If even one of them escape-"
"I know. Which is why we will make sure not one of them does," Adrian said.
While still unsure of the situation as a whole, Naomi and Brian knew how serious this was. And if they don't do something to help somehow, they will lose more then just the battle.
"Let's do it!" Naomi said, standing up on her feet now that her ankle has healed.
"Yeah!" Brian agreed.
Both, Ali, and Adrian took out their Pokeballs and tossed them in the air. "Go!" The balls opened up, revealing Sage, Reaper, and two others.
One of the two was a grey dinosaur-like Pokemon with large, violet wings. The other was a purple Pokemon that looked quite like a hammerhead shark with a yellow star on its snout and a red underbelly.
"Who wants some?!" Corrin could hear the shark-looking Pokemon shout.
"Oh! An Aerodactyl and a Garchomp! Cool!" Ali exclaimed.
"Stay focused, Ali!" Adrian told her.
"R-Right! Now let's go!" At her words, Ali, Brian, and Naomi tapped onto the stone in their bracelet, headphone, or necklace, causing them to glow. "Sage!"
"Aerodactyl!"
"Hammerhead!"
"Mega Evolve!" At those words, stones with what seemed like a DNA strand in each of them appeared on their Pokemon's foreheads and glowed green, brown, and violet. Sage, Aerodactyl and Hammerhead the Garchomp all let out a ferocious roar as streams of energy emerged from their Mega Stones and their trainers' Key Stones and connected with one another. Once they merged up, the trio of Pokemon began to glow in a rainbow-colored light and changed form. The lights then died down, revealing the three in their Mega Evolved forms.
For Sage, the flower on his back grew larger, and two smaller pink flowers bloom one both his forehead and his rear. His legs seemed to have gotten sturdier, and additional leaves with woody stems were grown around the big flower, supported by vines.
For Aerodactyl, she had grown larger in size as well, with jagged black spikes now all over her body. Rocky plates covered its eyebrows and the corners of her jaw, and similar stone ornaments were on her chest.
For Hammerhead, like the other two Pokemon, it also grew in size, and several of its features become more angular, including its head and shoulders. A row of five tooth-like spikes sprouted from each side of its abdomen, and red spikes grew from its knees. The claws and fins on its arms melt from the excessive Mega Evolution energy and morph together to form sharp, red blades.
Seeing these three Pokemon undergo their Mega Evolution shocked the trainers' allies and enemies.
"They changed form?!" Oboro gasped.
"My. Don't they look more fierce than before," Reina stated in an impressed tone.
"So what if those creatures of yours changed their forms?!" an enemy asked. "You only changed their looks!"
"Since Brian and I hadn't battled you guys at the start with our Pokemon, I guess it's reasonable enough that you people would think that, I suppose. Especially if you're new to Mega Evolution," Naomi spoke.
"However, you're mistaken if you think all that's done is a change in looks!" Brian exclaimed. "Double-Edge!" At his command, his Mega Aerodactyl became surrounded in white aura and charged at the enemy Pokemon. One strike, and all the Pokemon were knocked out.
"What?!" a ninja gasped.
"Hammerhead! Slash!" Naomi ordered her Pokemon.
"I'm gonna cut you fools to pieces!" With his scythes glowing white, Hammerhead dashed on forward, towards the ninjas at high speed. "Out of my way!" The enemy group brought their weapon up to protect themselves... only for them to easily break upon contact with the Mega Garchomp's blades and get hit themselves. Once they were hit, they were instantly sent flying away, crashing into many trees, before coming to a stop, knocked completely unconscious. Hammerhead didn't just stop at one person, as he charged on to the next, and the next, and the next.
"Gah! R-Run away!" an enemy cried out.
"You're not getting away that easily! Frenzy Plant!" Ali called out.
Sage picked himself up on his hind legs before slamming his front legs down on the ground hard, causing it to shake. With the ground shaking, the enemy ninjas all froze in slight fear.
"W-What's happening?" one asked.
"What's going on?!"
Next they all knew, multitude of giant roots came out of the ground, more than when Sage used this move in his original form. Some roots grabbed the enemy ninjas and tossed them in the air. Others went and knocked down trees and the Mokushu's traps, preventing their escape. There were ninjas that tried to avoid the roots and find another way out of their situation, only to be blocked off by the Frenzy Plant roots. Before they knew it, they and the Pokemon they had were trapped in a heavy dome of roots.
"Now for the finisher," Adrian said, preparing his Z-Move with Reaper. "With the fire burning within our souls, our passion, our will! Let it become out power! INFERNO OVERDRIVE!" Once they did some poses- Well, Adrian was at least- a large fireball was created before the Houndoom. Both then took a heavy step forward and, with a snarl from Reaper, the fireball shot out its great, raging flames straight at the dome.
"Sage!" Ali called. No words needed to be told to the Mega Venusaur, as he parted some roots that were between the enemy and the Z-Move flames.
The ninjas heard movement from the plant and turned to see, to their horror, flames coming their way. All they could do was watch, as the flames struck and created a large explosion.
Once the smoke died down, the roots from Frenzy Plant had been reduced to ash, and the ninjas and Pokemon all had been knocked out.
"That looks like it's all of them," Adrian said.
"Aerodactyl! Did we miss one?!" Brian asked his Pokemon in the air above.
The Pokemon let out some screeches and shook her head in response.
"Looks like we really did get all of them," he then said to Adrian and Ali. "Now that things are fine for the time being, can someone please tell me where we are?"
"I as well," Naomi requested, she and her Garchomp, back to original form, joining the group. "I was on my way to a shoot when I heard a voice and found myself here."
"And I was making my way to town when I suddenly found myself in these woods. And I was at a canyon."
Adrian rubbed his head, knowing that it was going to be a long story, and a pain to have to explain it. But, for the sake of lesser headaches, he had to give the full details of the situation.
As he and Ali were explaining to the newcomers of the world they were in, Corrin and the others only stared at them dumbfounded by what happened.
"That... That didn't happen... Right?" Jakob asked.
"They changed their Pokemon's appearance... and made them stronger..." Orochi said.
"To say they were stronger would be an understatement..." Azura stated.
What else could be said about what they witnessed? Well... Other than...
'I am glad... the Pokemon trainers are on our side,' they all thought, while Rocky, Blue and Muddy stared at the trainers and their Pokemon in grand awe.
It was then, though, Corrin noticed something. "Huh? Where is Saizo?"
With the redheaded ninja, while the enemy ninjas were distracted by the trainers' Pokemon's Mega Evolution, he managed to slip past them. Even though the enemy must be dealt with, he knew if he took out the head, the rest will fall. And he knew who the leader of Mokushu was...
It didn't take him long to meet his desired foe. "Kotaro of Mokushu! You will answer to me!" he called out.
Before him was a male master ninja with long brown hair in a ponytail and a short beard. "I answer to no one. Who are you to suggest otherwise?" he questioned.
"I am Saizo the Fifth, servant to the Hoshidan royal family," Saizo greeted himself.
Kotaro raised a brow at his name. "Saizo... That's familiar. I believe I've murdered others of your pitiful lineage."
"You-! How dare you. My father was an honorable man."
Kotaro chuckled at those words. "Honorable? Maybe. Weak? Definitely. That balding old fool had the audacity to lecture ME! So, naturally... I put an end to his life."
Saizo gripped his shuriken tightly in anger. "I knew you were the one responsible for his death. Coward!"
"Bwahaha! Isn't this a stroke of luck? To fell both father and son with the same blade... How poetic!"
"Your poem will be rewritten..."
"Please. If you're anything like your father, you won't land a single blow."
Saizo took that as a challenge and charged at him with his weapon. The two crossed blades with each other, one trying to overpower the other. Kotaro was quite surprised to see Saizo holding his own, as the pair then continued their assault on one other, both whose attacks were continuously blocked by the other's weapon.
"Still think you can fell me like you did to my father?!" Saizo questioned.
A smirk returned on Kotaro's face, as he recalled one little 'gift' he received. "Yes!" Splitting off from his opponent, Kotaro distanced himself briefly and charged back in once more.
Saizo kept his eyes and focus on his opponent, especially since he saw that smirk on his face. 'What is he planning to-?' From the corner of his eyes, he then saw it; a small but swift figure sneaking up from behind Kotaro, eyes on Saizo with a small blue orb forming in its hands.
The redhead ninja's eyes widened upon realizing he got caught in a pincer attack. 'Damn it! I was too hasty!' he thought.
For Kotaro, he knew that Saizo knew it was the end for him. Kotaro knew, from what scouts had told him, that not all of the Hoshidan retainers have a Pokemon. The only known retainers that have such partner were retainers to Hoshido's songstress of a princess. And he knew that Saizo was retainer to Hoshido's first prince, as such does not have a Pokemon of his own. At least... that was what he thought, until he heard a scoff.
Suddenly, Saizo's shadow popped up and struck Kotaro in the gut, causing the guy to cough out some saliva and stop in his tracks. Saizo himself then redirected all focus on the Pokemon behind Kotaro and toss a kunai at the orb, causing it to explode. The Pokemon recoiled at this and jumped back.
"Wh-... What?" Kotaro breathed out. The guy looked up and saw, to his shock, what seemed like a cicada's shed exoskeleton floating by Saizo's side.
"You did not think I did not come unprepared, did you? Nor that you are the only one of us with a Pokemon," he said. "Though I admit, I do not have him out in the open as many servants to the Hoshido Royal Family do theirs. However, that did not mean we did not practice for the day we were to face an adversary with a partner of their own." He glanced over at the Pokemon Kotaro had. "You there... I assume you are not his true Pokemon, as he is not your true trainer."
The blue Pokemon, who looked much like a frog with a white fluffy scarf around its neck, glared at the man. Despite this, it nodded slightly in response.
"If that is the case, then do not fear. For I have allies who are from the same world you are. As is this," Saizo said, gesturing to his partner Pokemon at the last part.
"Shedinj!" the 'mon said.
The blue frog-like Pokemon's eyes widened at this. There were trainers who allied themselves with people here? When his trainer suddenly arrived in that dark, horrific place, she was, without question, suddenly taken by strange-clothed men to a cell and forced her to give up him and his allies. To hear there were trainers here who did not meet the same fate... Not only that, but the Pokemon with him... It didn't seem to have injuries in any way, not like himself nor his comrades nor their kin still trapped in that place. Feeling hope for the first time since tossed in this strange world... the Pokemon shed tears and accepted defeat.
Of course, Kotaro noticed the gesture. "You damn frog! Who said you're allowed to-?!" Before he could finish that sentence, Saizo plunged his kunai into Kotaro's back.
"A poetic defeat indeed," he said. "How's that? Did I land a single blow?"
Kotaro couldn't say anything, as he lied on the ground, covered in his own blood, and life leave his eyes.
Seeing the man whom killed his father be brought to justice, Saizo placed a hand to his heart. "Father, you are avenged."
After liberating the Pokemon from the enemy, Corrin and the others had regrouped.
"All right, we've taken care of the enemy. Where is Kagero?" the leader asked.
"I've found her, Corrin! Over here!" Sakura called.
The group approached a cavern and entered in, where Sakura was helping Kagero out of the cell she was put in.
The female ninja was shocked to see Corrin amongst those saving her. "Lady Corrin?! What are you doing here? Last I had heard, you'd betrayed Lord Ryoma and fled the battlefield."
"No, that was a misunderstanding," Sakura corrected. "She hasn't betrayed anyone. If you need proof... Well, I'm traveling with her! So is Takumi!"
Thankfully, unlike Saizo and several others whom Corrin tried to tell of the truth, Kagero accepted the reason. "I see, Lady Corrin, I ask for your forgiveness."
"No, don't worry about it, Kagero. I'm just glad you're safe," she said.
"You're surprisingly reasonable," Misaki stated.
"I've learned to keep an open mind. It helps in most cases," Kagero reasoned.
From behind the group, Saizo approached his fellow retainer. "Kagero, are you injured?" he asked.
The female ninja seemed quite surprised at her acquaintance's appearance. "Saizo, you're here as well? Why is everyone in Mokushu?"
"Isn't it obvious? We came to save you."
At that, she closed her eyes and smiled. "Then I am indebted to all of you. The nature of my job requires that I be prepared to give my life every day... Thank you for making sure today wasn't that day. Now I can pass along the message that Lord Ryoma gave me."
"A message from Ryoma?" Adrian asked.
"So you do know where our lord is," Saizo more stated than questioned.
"Yes. When I left him, Lord Ryoma was on his way to Cheve, near the Nohrian border."
The male ninja was shocked at the news. "Cheve?!"
"In Nohr?!" Riana gasped, just as surprised.
"Correct. The area is currently fighting against Nohrian forces. Apparently, the people could no longer take Nohrian oppression, nor their treatment towards Pokemon, and have revolted. It is Lord Ryoma's objective to befriend the rebels and use them to cross into Nohr," Kagero informed.
"So there are Nohrians there who see Pokemon as equals," Azura said, in which Kagero nodded in confirmation.
Saizo let out a scoff. "Our lord has not lost his reckless habits, I see. We must locate him before anything happens."
"Then it looks like our next stop is Cheve," Ali said. "Does... anyone know how to get there from here?"
"Corrin, let's head to the port," Takumi told her. "We'll need a boat in order to reach Cheve."
"All right. We'd better hurry. We're going to need Ryoma's help. I don't know why, but I think he may know about the dragon Archduke Izana spoke of," Corrin ordered.
"And what about us?" Brian asked.
"You and Naomi should come with us as well," Riana said. "I'm sure you've heard from Adrian and Ali, but we're also fighting to save the Pokemon that were taken away from their trainers, trainers who had disappeared to his very world."
"Now that you mentioned it, I do remember hearing about that back in our world," Naomi recalled. "And those that came back apparently weren't the same again."
"That's because, from what we could gather, Nohrians somehow had a way to summon trainers from our world to this world. And in the process, it seems some wild Pokemon got caught in it as some kind of side effect or something and arrived somewhere here or in Nohr. Well, not sure about them in Nohr, but that's the gist of it."
"There were talk about a decrease in Pokemon population lately," Brian also recalled. "So it's because of these 'Nohrian' guys, right?"
"That... we can't really say for sure..." Corrin said.
"True. Kagero did say there are apparently people there who are not fond of how Pokemon are being treated in their kingdom," Naomi pointed out.
"We're also trying to find a way back to our world," Misaki added. "Since magic is a thing here, and magic is what brought us to this world, it's safe to say that magic is what will bring us back. We just need to know what kind of magic can bring us back."
Brian and Naomi looked to each other. On one hand, it would be nice to go back home. And if there are Pokemon in need of help, they should help out somehow. On the other, from what they saw... it would mean risking their very lives. Sure, their occupations had some risks of their own, but this is on a whole new level of risky. But even so... Looking at the many young people who are willing to risk their own lives to help the Pokemon, as well as seeing the pair of champions and two others of their world doing the same... They would have to be horrible adults if they don't help out.
"All right, you've convinced me. I'll join your guys," Naomi said.
"I will, too. Especially if you let me play some jam," Brian followed.
While the residents of this world didn't know what he meant by 'play some jam', they were still quite happy to hear they gained some allies. "Please! Your help is much appreciated!" Corrin exclaimed.
Back in Nohr, in one certain house, a certain princess was giving the residents in it a visit, as well as some news.
"Wait, really?! You found a way out of this kingdom for us?!" Mark asked.
"I wouldn't say I found a way out, as it is more of an opportunity for you two to safely leave," Camilla corrected. "With the war going on, so long as you have on these clothes, I don't think anyone will suspect you to be real trainers. Although, just to be sure, you may need to lend me most of your Pokeballs, as many soldiers back at the castle are given two, at most."
"If it's with Camilla-san, it'll be okay!" Nate said. "You haven't told anyone about us, after all!"
"I still don't know about trusting her completely, Nate," Mark said. "What if it's a trap?"
"If she wanted us to be captured, she could've done so by now, bro! I trust her!"
Mark rubbed his head at his little brother's insistence. While he was unsure about Camilla's plan, both whether he should trust her or trust that it could go well, he had to admit, it was the only plan they got to leave, and find allies who could help them save their parents and all those other people trapped in that building.
"Fine. We'll do it," he said. The boy looked to the crate Camilla brought with her. "I'm guessing our disguises are in there?"
"You'd be right to think that," she confirmed. "You best hurry. We'll be leaving as soon as you two are dressed."
In Nohr's castle, a certain trio were in their secret room for an emergency meeting hosted by one of them.
"You're going with Lady Camilla to get to Lady Corrin?" Laslow asked Selena in a low tone.
"Yeah. And you guys know from rumors that Lady Corrin has some Pokemon trainers with her," she said. "I'm thinking if I can convince them I'm not their enemy, maybe, just maybe, they can help us save the Pokemon here."
"You do realize that even if you do convince them of that, you'll have to find a way to disguise them as one of the soldiers here."
"Indeed. It was quite difficult for us when we fought in a tournament for these retainer positions," Odin stated.
"I know that! But Lady Camilla is also quite reasonable herself, or so I would like to think, at least..." Selena said, muttering out the last part.
"We heard that, you know," the boys told her.
"Well, I don't see you guys having any hope or idea of any kind! Although, speaking of Lady Camilla..." Selena trailed off there, deep in thought.
"What's wrong, Selena?" Laslow asked.
"It's just... Lately, she's been acting a little different."
"Different how? As different as she was a demon on the battlefield to an angelic mother to her siblings and retainers?" Odin asked.
"How'd you know-?! Ahem, no. That's not important," Selena quickly spoke, not wanting to know how the guy knew how her princess treated her and Beruka. "What I mean is, for the past couple of days now, when I see her looking at a Pokemon, she had this sort of... troubled look in her eyes. Before, she was only seeing them as tools or pitiful creatures. But these past few days... I wonder what happened."
"You sure it wasn't because Lady Corrin left?" Laslow asked.
"If it was about her, she wouldn't be looking at Pokemon that way. Unless if it had to do with that Rockruff with her."
"Now that you mentioned it, when Lord Leo returned from Izumo, he also seemed quite conflicted himself," Odin recalled. "Though, that may be more because he lost the Pokemon King Garon gifted him to the trainers."
Selena scratched her scalp quite furiously with both her hands. "Ugh! Why does this have to be so difficult?!" she grumbled in as low of a tone as possible. "If only all of Nohr could see Pokemon are like us, then this wouldn't be so damn hard!"
"Hey. Careful what you say here," Laslow said.
Selena could only sigh. "Yeah... Well, I better get going. Beruka is undoubtedly looking for me to remind me of our departure. This may be the last time we will be meeting like this..."
"Not to worry, Selena! For you have us, your greatest friends, on standby! If you worry for the Pokemon here, have no fear, for we will do out best to-!" Before Odin could finish that, both Laslow and Selena covered his mouth and shushed him.
"By the gods, Odin! Talking loudly is one thing, but watch what you say while you're in that volume!" Selena hissed.
Once the blonde mage nodded, his fellow retainers removed their hands from his lips.
"But Odin's right about one thing, Selena. Leave things to us here. You do what you can on your end," Laslow told her. In a lower tone, he then added, "Besides, we already saved a few. Maybe if you show the trainers that you had saved some Pokemon, they will see which side you're on, and you can work things out from there."
"Yeah, maybe. I just hope I know what I'm doing, now. In any case, guys... good luck."
"You, too, Selena."
"May the force be with you," Odin bid her his own farewell.
With that, the trio left the room and continued on with their day.