(Time for another showdown! I won't say who the boss is, but it'll be a scorching battle for sure!
The Reviews
LogBook: He's still got the Spooky Plate on him, but yes, it was indeed an interesting turn. I like how the anime sometimes does evolutions, so I was like 'I think I'll do that too!'
Jacob9594: Thanks for all the parts you liked, I'll try and keep it up.)
"Otzawott, get out here!" Aubrey called out her Samurott, the Formidable Pokemon standing at attention. "We need to get out to Firespit Island over there - ride me out there on the double!"
"Sam!" Otzawott agreed, getting in the water and prompting Aubrey to hop on his back.
"Okay, let's go, Basculegion." Vanessa would get on Basculegion's back with a seat set up on him for Vanessa to ride.
"Mantine! Some assistance please!" Key would call out her Mantine, hopping on his back and ready to surf.
"Now uh, Firespit Island...before we go out there Van, what do you think our world's Firespit Island is?" Aubrey asked.
"Hmmm…" Vanessa closed her eyes in thought to remember which spot in Sinnoh it was. "I think this might be the island where the Pokemon League is in the future."
"Curious that this island is where they'd build the Sinnoh League," Key commented. "Though it makes one wonder how they're able to operate on a dormant volcano."
"That's the cool part, Key, they do," Aubrey snarked, speeding through the water with Otzawott and leaving the other two behind.
"Yeah," Vanessa spoke to Key. "If it was a bit further north I would expect this to be the Battle Zone, but it is not." While the two of them were playing catchup with Aubrey, Vanessa spotted something odd. "Well…that is unexpected. Look over there, Phione." She pointed to something in the waters.
"Phione?" Key raised an eyebrow. "I can't say I'm familiar with that one."
"They are pretty rare," Vanessa explained. "That is the child of the Prince of the Sea, Manaphy."
"Ooh, okay," The merchant paused, realizing something. "But wait...if Phione is here, then Manaphy must be in the area, no?"
"Oooh yeah, that can definitely be the case." As Vanessa agreed with that guess, Manaphy would jump out of the water and over Vanessa's head. "There he is! Hey there Manaphy!"
"So, Prince of the Sea...what's the story with this one?" Key wondered.
"Actually, we rangers tend to have a lot of run-ins with this one," The younger ranger spoke. "I think there have been three cases where the Union saved the egg of a Manaphy from various ne'er do wells."
"Ah! That's so cool!" The merchant smiled. "Now time speaking, would this be the first time or the fourth time rangers have had a run-in with Manaphy?"
"Hmm…yes." Vanessa shifted her attention to Manaphy, who was staring up at the pair. "Hey there little one. Do you think you can help us? We are trying to save a little Growlithe from some people who kidnapped it."
Manaphy would look at the two of them before looking at Basculegion, who gives the prince a nod. Manaphy would hop outta the water and land on Basculeigon, pointing to its children to head on over to a cave. The Phione would nod before swimming off at great speed to this cave.
"Wait for us!" Key called, surfing after Phione with a laugh. After guiding the group of Phione to the cave for safety, Vanessa and Key would hurry on over to Firespit Island, hoping Aubrey was going to be fine.
Up ahead, Aubrey and Otzawott would make landfall on Firespit Island, staring at the path ahead of them from the beach. Empathy would let herself out of her ball.
"So here we are, Firespit Island…" She said. "We're here for the Growlithe, right?"
"Yeah but, how did you know?" Aubrey wondered.
"I have a very acute sense of hearing among other Kirlia." Empathy answered before giggling at Aubrey's puzzled glance. "Nah, I just have a very good sense of intuition."
"Whatever works for me, Empathy…" Aubrey rolled her eyes, recalling Otzawott as the two walked on. They only had Magmars and Graveler to deal with, so it was nothing that Empathy couldn't handle herself.
When the two caught up with the Miss Fortunes, they had Growlithe battling against Charm's Gengar in hopes of evolving it.
"Come on - evolve already!" Charm ordered.
"We've done our homework!" Clover added. "Any Pokemon gutsy enough to come to this lava trap is s'posed to evolve - so get on with it already!"
"Hey, Empathy…" Aubrey whispered. "Growlithe evolves through Fire Stone, right?"
"Hmm, yes. I do believe that's correct," The Kirlia confirmed.
"Thought so." Aubrey rolled her shoulders and shouted at the bandits to get their attention. "Oi! Hand back that Growlithe if you know what's good for you!"
The trio flinched at hearing Aubrey's voice, turning to face her. Growlithe on the other hand was super happy to see her.
"You again!?" Clover hissed.
"Oh look, one of the pests again," Charm deadpanned. "Where's the other two pests?"
"They're on the way," Aubrey answered, putting her hands on her hips. Empathy repeated the motion. "Now give back Growlithe this instant."
"Stand back, sisters!" Clover insisted. "I'll take care of her. This is payback for last time." She readied a Poke Ball. "Go Abomasnow! Smash this fool to pieces!"
"I'll take care of this one, Aubrey," Empathy said, seeing the older ranger go for Axel's ball. "In an environment like this, an Abomasnow is at a severe disadvantage."
"Well yeah but, wouldn't I be as well?" Aubrey asked, wiping some sweat off her brow.
"This is merely me being strong for you," The Emotion Pokemon responded with a kind curtsy. It was around this time Vanessa and Key arrived.
"Sorry for the wait, Brey. We picked up some help..." She then paused to assess the situation. "Oh I see the fight has started already." Then she saw the Abomasnow who was struggling against Empathy. "...Okay, who is cruel enough to send out an Abombasnow in a volcanic environment?"
Vanessa would soon get her answer once Abomasnow went down, Empathy looking no worse for wear.
"I don't get it! How'd I lose?" Clover stomped her foot in frustration. "It wasn't a fair battle..."
"You literally sent a Pokemon extremely weak to Fire out in a place like this!" Aubrey shouted. "Don't give me that 'it wasn't fair' crap!"
"Yeah. Dummy." Vanessa facepalmed with a hefty sigh. "Yeah, Candice is definitely your descendant…" She muttered to herself.
"Go on then, Toxicroak. Pour out some poison for our unwelcome guests." Coin would send out her Toxicroak, but it would get picked off almost immediately with a Psychic from Empathy.
"Is that all you have?" She asked with a roll of her eyes.
"Gengar, stop them!" Charm ordered, Gengar now taking over.
"Gengar, eh? Well that should not be that bad to deal with," Vanessa observed. "Hey Brey, Hip Hop should be good here."
"Maybe, yeah. Get out here, Hip Hop!" Aubrey sent out her Hippopotas, doing a little breakdance and unbothered by the heat.
"All the pain and suffering that I experienced after coming up here from the Kanto region to work - you're going to pay for every last slight!" Charm hissed.
"Not planning on it yet, lady!" The older ranger responded, engaging Gengar.
'Huh…wonder if that means she's Agatha's ancestor,' Vanessa thought to herself.
The fight with Gengar would be overall harder, what with Gengar trying to zone Hip Hop out with a volley of Shadow Ball attacks, only for Empathy to jump in and hold it steady with Psychic, allowing Hip Hop to get in and hit with Crunch.
"Two on one is hardly fair! Rhydon, help us out!" Charm called out a Rhydon to assist.
"Ooh, Rhydon." Vanessa paused. "...Oh, that explains how they got here."
"Are you denser than stone?" Clover chimed in. "We got here by boat, dummy!"
"Oh…" Vanessa sheepishly responded. "Okay then. Sorry, I have seen Rhydon carry people across water before."
"What kind of fool would ride a Rhydon across the oceans?" Coin rolled her eyes. "That'll never catch on."
By the time this banter was done, Empathy and Hip Hop would stand victorious over Charm's Pokemon.
"H-How could all of us have been-!?" Charm stammered.
"Hey Charm! I healed Abomasnow and Toxicroak, all good to go!" Clover chimed in a more positive tone.
"As if that'll do you any good?" Aubrey raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Heck I would join in and it would make it harder on you three," Vanessa added, standing by her partner's side. "Now give us the Growlithe and no one has to get hurt." Charm would've said something, but Growlithe would speak for them, getting in front of the group ready for battle.
"Bow!" He barked out.
"Wha- hey! No one invited you to join in on this, tiny!" Clover sneered.
"You're really going to insist on getting in between us, you little runt?" Charm folded her arms. "Maybe now you'll actually evolve."
Vanessa sported a smile. "Good boy." There would be a voice that didn't approve of this bravado.
"Growlithe, stop! You can't beat such foes!" Palina!
Key would turn to face her. "Ah, there you are!" She waved, holding Manaphy in one arm. "Don't worry, I didn't want to interrupt the rangers being so cool."
"Mana mana!" Manaphy greeted.
"Hey Palina," Vanessa greeted as well.
"I couldn't handle waiting anymore, so I...I swam out all the way here through the waters and wild Pokemon to try and help too," Palina confided. "I hadn't been able to do such a thing since the Growlithe lost their own father to the waves."
"Rowrr..." The small Growlithe lowered his head, remembering that day fondly. It was certainly painful, especially when he was trying to get out of the boat once he realized what was going on. But then, a familiar voice was heard in the air. One that rang out in a way that'd inspire a sense of nostalgia in the two Growlithe.
"Arooooooooooo!"
The Growlithe looked skyward, recognizing the voice. "Bawow!" They both barked out happily.
"What's that?" Vanessa wondered, just as puzzled as Aubrey and Key.
"That voice...the late lord!" Palina realized, seeing the little Growlithe standing resolute, inspired by the spirit of his father standing by him. He wouldn't be with him anymore physically, but would always be watching over him in spirit. With that in his heart, he would keep the memory alive not just as a humble Growlithe, but as a worthy successor to the Noble title. It was enough to invoke a familiar phenomenon before them - evolution!
"Wait what!?" Vanessa exclaimed in surprise.
"Huh, well color me surprised..." Empathy sweatdropped.
The bright light would soon subside, seeing a different form of Arcanine in front of them. While it retained the red-orange color it normally had, with gray instead of beige, and the gray fur looking as if it was made from igneous rock components. With a large horn in the center of its head and three smaller ones between its head and ears, the now Arcanine's mane had curled up clumps at the back of its neck and large rectangular clumps at the side and bottom.
"Arrrrrrrrro!" Arcanine cried out.
"Woah…" Vanessa was blown away. "That looks cool."
"Looks like he finally found his courage," Key mused.
"The late lord's child...he's evolved!" Palina beamed.
"Hmph. I think it's best we clear out of here, ladies," Coin suggested. "You can thank us all later." Vanessa merely rolled her eyes as the bandit trio cleared out of the area.
"So his true bravery wasn't overcoming his fear, but having the strength to face adversity head on..." Aubrey commented. "Way to go, Arcanine!"
Arcanine smiled at her, and would've given them something had his attention not been taken by a circle of light appearing above the group. Vanessa looked up, now going from in awe to startled.
"What the heck is that?" She asked quickly. A yellow blast of light would soon erupt, and in a flash Arcanine would dart forward to shove the group out of the way, all four of them knocked back a fair distance while Arcanine took the attack.
"Arcanine!" Palina cried, seeing it was already too late. When the rangers and Key got to their feet, they would realize exactly what had happened - their little buddy, freshly evolved, would be enveloped in the same gold light that Lord Kleavor and Lady Lilligant were enveloped in.
"...Aww crap." Vanessa grimaced at the sight.
"Wha-?" Palina tried to approach, only for Aubrey to stick her hand out in objection.
"Palina, stay back. This is exactly the kind of power that caused Kleavor and Lilligant to go into their frenzies," Aubrey cautioned. "Leave it to us to handle, okay?"
"I..." Palina paused, stepping back and relenting. "I understand. For Arca- I mean, Lord Arcanine to do that for you...whatever that power was, it clearly was targeting the three of you."
"And isn't that worrying. Okay Manaphy. I think you're up, little guy." Vanessa readied her Arc Styler, as did Aubrey.
"Mana!" Manaphy would hop out of Key's arms.
"I'm not sure how much help I'll be here. I'll keep Palina safe!" Key chimed in.
"Hip Hop, Empathy, you two still game to fight?" Aubrey asked.
"Hippo hippo...hip!" Hip Hop was a bit nervous at first around the magma, but stood resolved to help.
"Always, rangers." Empathy bluntly responded, psychic energy flaring up around her.
"Arrroooooooooooooooooo!" Arcanine howled at the trio, with Hip Hop, Empathy, and Manaphy ready to go.
"Here we go, partner!" Aubrey had her Arc Styler ready.
"Right!" Vanessa had her Arc Styler ready as well.
Manaphy would look determined. "Mana!"
"Capture! ON!" Both rangers let their Capture Discs fly as their Pokemon would take the field against the noble. Arcanine would prove to be a challenging opponent, charging at the group at a fast pace to start it off. Vanessa immediately dove to the side.
"Yeesh! That was fast!" She shouted.
"It's an Arcanine, what do you expect?" Aubrey called back, having gotten out of the way. Empathy was watching dutifully between rushes, using Psychic to create a barrier around the patches of lava if the rangers were pushed there. Hip Hop would try and clash with Arcanine, firing off a Mud Bomb mid-rush, but had to spin out of the way of a jumping lunge.
"Yeah, good point," Vanessa conceded, starting on loops around Noble Arcanine, with Manaphy providing assistance with Water Pulse to assist. While Water Pulse and Hip Hop's Mud Bomb seemed to have an effect, it wouldn't last for long before Noble Arcanine sent out a Rock Slide at the group.
"Empathy!" Aubrey called.
"On it!" The Kirlia would immediately respond with a Psychic to catch the rocks mid-air, setting them in the lava to give the group more breathing room.
"Good idea, Empathy!" Vanessa complimented. It wouldn't take long for Noble Arcanine to lunge at Aubrey's Kirlia with Fire Fang, though Hip Hop, surprisingly quick on the draw, would bound up after a quick breakdancing spin and kick Noble Arcanine right on the chin to direct the attack away from her!
"Hippo!" Hip Hop huffed.
"Yeah, there ya go!" Aubrey cheered, going wild with loops on Noble Arcanine.
"Go rangers go!" Key cheered optimistically, though Palina watched on with a look of anxiety, as did the older Growlithe.
"Browr..." Growlithe whimpered.
"Nice work! Manaphy, what do you got?" Vanessa chimed.
The prince of the sea would proceed to use a move neither of the rangers have seen before. It seems to be some sort of super buffing move, which was evidenced by the fact that Manaphy then unleashed a more powerful Water Pulse.
"Huh...never seen that one before," The Sinnoh native noted.
While Manaphy was pretty proud, Noble Arcanine let out a disorienting roar, five orbs of fire forming in an arc over his head.
"Rrgh..." Aubrey groaned, holding her head. "Oh jeez...Manaphy! Intercept those quick!"
"Mana mana!" Manaphy would fire off a rapid barrage of Water Pulse attacks to knock the orbs out of the sky, though this would prove to be a feint on Noble Arcanine's part, charging forward at a blazing pace towards Aubrey!
"Woa- hey!" Aubrey was about to move, but the impact of Noble Arcanine colliding against something was enough to make her fall on her back. That something? A wall of Psychic power from Empathy, struggling to stand her ground against this cheap trick.
"I won't...I won't let you..." Empathy grunted. Vanessa immediately rushed over to Aubrey's side.
"Brey! You alright?" Vanessa quickly asked.
"Yeah...just a little off balance," The older ranger confirmed, getting helped to her feet by Vanessa.
"I won't...let you die, Aubrey...I won't let anyone else...I care about die..." Empathy continued, skidding back a little bit, remembering the day she had lost something dear to her in this moment.
It was a rare day of fog in the Crimson Mirelands, with Empathy and a Ralts wandering through the area of the Gapejaw Bog. They were instructed by their parents not to stay away from home for too long, especially not out at night when the Haunter would come out.
"Look sis! I found something!" The Ralts would say.
"Ooh, whatcha got there?" Empathy asked, eager to see his discovery. He'd found a tree filled with berries, especially their favorite kind in Sitrus Berries.
"There's a whole buncha Sitrus Berries up there!" The Ralts informed. "But…I can't reach 'em…"
"Don't worry, I'll go ahead and get them down for you." Empathy, being the stronger Psychic of the two, would put her abilities to work in shaking the tree to get the Sitrus Berries down for the two of them. "I think we've earned a bit of a snack, no?"
"Yeah!" The two Pokemon feasted on the Sitrus Berry bounty, enough for them to fall asleep from full bellies. By the time Empathy's nap was over, she woke up to an alarming sight. Her brother wasn't there, and it was starting to get dark too. The fog still hadn't lifted as she called out for him.
"Brother? Brother, where are you?! Can you hear me!?" She called and called, but couldn't find any sort of answer. Her search carried on until the sun had set, and by then? She had found him, but they were ambushed by a pack of Gastly, led by a fierce looking Haunter. She tried to fend them off, but to no avail, forced to run. It would be the last time she had seen her brother…
It wouldn't happen again. It was back then when despite being the stronger one between them, she wasn't strong enough to save him. Staring down this frenzied foe, it didn't matter to her if he was a noble or not. She had given her word to Aubrey and her friends to see them home safely, and she'd be damned to let a moment of weakness see her word break.
"I will not...falter...I will not...let you…die on me!" It was at this moment that the clash would start to go in Empathy's favor, accompanied by the all familiar light of evolution!
"Well then!" Vanessa exclaimed. "This is going to be good!"
"Hi po! Hi po! Hi po!" Hip Hop cheered on.
With the light's fade, so did Noble Arcanine's attack, being pushed back across the arena as a Gardevoir stood in Kirlia's place. She was ready to keep going.
"Empathy, are you alright there?" Aubrey asked. "That looked like it took a lot of strength to pull off..."
"I'll be fine, Aubrey. What matters now is turning this around." Empathy had noted a ring of fire was surrounding the center of the arena as Noble Arcanine stood there, ready to keep going in his frenzy.
"Right." Vanessa nodded in agreement. "Let's get this done and calm the young lord here down!"
"Don't gotta tell me twice, Van!" Aubrey smirked, ready to keep on fighting.
"Hippo tas!" Hip Hop bounced around, eager to keep her own dance going.
"It looks like you've got more room to move around then before! Just don't slip on the rocks!" Key cautioned from the sidelines.
"Don't plan on it, Key!" Vanessa called back.
Noble Arcanine would really start to amp up the pressure, fire orbs and dashes on the menu for the rangers to contend with. The good news was the rocks in the lava would give them at least half of the arena to work with, rather than a mere pocket to be sitting Duckletts in. Aubrey wasted no time taking advantage of this, hopping out on the rocks to the right and continuing her Arc Styler looping, with Hip Hop taking over for Empathy in fighting Noble Arcanine head on. Vanessa meanwhile, would continue with her own looping and dodging, while Manaphy provided covering fire with Water Pulses.
With enough attacks, Noble Arcanine flew into a vicious fury, breathing fire now in an attempt to do something to the group. It was a new technique that they had never seen either!
"Yikes!" Aubrey flinched, hopping down from her spot.
"Yaah!" Vanessa was forced to dunk under a blast of fire. Hip Hop merely rolled around to avoid it, but Empathy, keeping her distance, had an idea.
"Aubrey...you have to trust me on this one. Just hold on tight!" She instructed, using Psychic on Aubrey.
"What are you- WOAH!" Aubrey would be tossed over the fire Noble Arcanine was spewing, gaining control to do a somersault in the air and land on his back!
"What the!?" Vanessa was taken aback by the Gardevoir's plan, with Noble Arcanine trying to buck Aubrey off of him.
"You better have a good explanation for this, Empathy! I've wrangled rowdy Tauros that weren't this painful to ride on!" Aubrey exclaimed, hanging on with one arm and her legs, looping with the Arc Styler on the other.
"By placing you on Noble Arcanine's back, he can't attack you with his Raging Fury attack," Empathy pointed out. "Allowing at least one of you to have unopposed looping provided you stay on!"
"...Okay, that is clever," Vanessa conceded. "As long as she can hold on."
"Oh I can hang on tight, partner! Just get this guy calmed down!" Aubrey responded, happy her uniform was built for stuff like this happening.
"On it, Brey! Keep up with the assists, Manaphy!" Vanessa instructed, resuming her Arc Styler capture.
"Mana mana!" Manaphy agreed, keeping his barrage of watery attacks up.
Through a long, grueling process that pushed Aubrey, Hip Hop, Vanessa, Empathy, and Manaphy to their limits, with one last loop courtesy of both rangers, the golden glow surrounding Arcanine would dissipate, turning into that familiar orb and vanished in a puff of dust.
"Hahhh...whew...capture...complete..." Aubrey panted, stumbling off of Arcanine.
"Hahhh... That it is Brey... That it is…" Vanessa agreed, tired like her partner was.
Palina then noticed something. "Oh! Look! The strange light has left Lord Arcanine and...is vanishing into the rift?"
"Wait...is it?" The merchant perked up, hurrying over to her friends and helping them away from the arena.
After taking a moment to catch her breath, Vanessa would nod in agreement. "Yeah...yeah it is...that confirms that whatever is causing that rift is what is causing all of this."
"That would seem to be the most likely possibility," Key concurred. "And thinking back on it, I didn't think anything of it when you were fighting Kleavor, but most likely...this golden energy is the cause of why the rift's growing stronger, no?"
"...Huh I did not think of that…" Vanessa realized. "That could be an issue."
"I think it's starting to make sense now..." Key thought aloud. "I don't know what this villain's endgame is, but I can wager an educated guess on how it's happening."
"And because of what happened...then that would mean there's no way for any of you to be responsible, right?" Palina inferred.
Key nodded in agreement. "Precisely. Our culprit opened up this rift and is sending the Nobles into a frenzy from the rift's power. Aubrey and Vanessa quell their frenzies, and this golden light disappears and re-enters the rift, which in turn causes it to grow stronger and, from the looks of it, more unstable."
"Still...we're getting used…" Vanessa sported an angry expression. "And I do not like that."
"Either way...thank you, rangers," Palina thanked. "I feel awful that both you and almighty Sinnoh's chosen champions are being put into this lose-lose situation. It's either you quell their frenzies and make the rift more unstable, or you do nothing and let countless others get hurt. I'll inform Irida of our findings. For now, I'd advise you get back to the village and get Aubrey some help. She could use it."
"Hahhh...yeah...I'm beat..." Aubrey panted, some scratches on her face and uniform, and sweat rolling down from her forehead. "This is why I don't normally vibe with Fire-type Pokemon..." It was then that Arcanine had placed something on her stomach - another plate.
"Hmm." Vanessa grabbed the red plate, the one she knew as the Flame Plate. "The power of defeated giants infuses this plate."
Palina then faced Arcanine with a smile. "My little Growlithe..." She took a moment to correct herself. "Ah, I misspoke..." She cleared her throat. "Lord of the Isles, Arcanine! You and I must live apart so that we may attend to our separate duties."
"Rowwwww..." Arcanine didn't seem too thrilled about that, but lifted his head to show understanding.
"All will be well. You're strong. Far stronger than me, in fact," Palina reassured him. "From now on, let us strive to fulfill our duties as lord and warden!"
"Sounds good to me...your dad will always be watching over you, Arcanine," Aubrey sat up, still exhausted. "Never forget that you'll still have your family be with you in spirit. Always."
"Row...row! Arro!" Arcanine agreed with Aubrey's sentiment, staring up at the volcano, for he could've sworn he had her that familiar cry yet again...one that he knew would always be by his side, no matter where his life led him.
Vanessa gave Arcanine a supportive pat on the head. "See you later, Little Lord."
Key would go ahead and help Aubrey up, smiling. "Take care, Arcanine! We'll see to it that this land is saved from this insidious foe!"
"Aroooooooooooo!" That voice again was heard, but this time, the group could tell it was meant for the rangers and their plus one, knowing that they too, had a noble spirit by their side in this mission.
"Alright, another one quelled...now let's get back to the village. Maybe...maybe get me a checkup or something," Aubrey requested. "Cuz I feel really sore...and sweaty."
"Yeah. Let's get home, make our report, and get you all comfortable," Vanessa agreed.
By the time they cleared out and made it back to shore, Iscan and Irida were they by boat, the latter looking quite worried.
"Iscan told me what happened. Are Palina and her Growlithe safe?" The Pearl Clan's leader asked.
"And...what the heck happened to you ladies?" Iscan followed up, worried. "Aubrey looks like she got beat up by a big, s-scary Pokemon!"
"A bolt from the rift struck the young pup right after it evolved into Arcanine and enraged it. We had to calm it down," Vanessa reported.
"And not just that. From the way Arcanine pushed us out of the way...it was clear that bolt was meant for us," Key added.
"It what?!" Irida gasped. "Oh goodness..."
"I'm...I'm gonna be lightheaded from that..." Iscan grimaced.
"Everybody just calm down..." Aubrey groaned. "I'm gonna be fine. We're gonna be fine. Whoever's responsible for this is due for a knuckle sandwich courtesy of me. And I'm a pretty good sandwich maker."
"...Are you really?" Irida raised an eyebrow, the meaning lost on her.
"Yes, though in this case, the bread is Aubrey's fists and the filling is the culprit's face," Vanessa clarified.
"Ohhhhhhhhhh, now I get it..." Irida remarked in realization.
"W-Well...I'll leave Aubrey to that...Palina's okay, r-right?" Iscan followed up.
"She's with Arcanine right now as Growlithe is probably saying their goodbyes," Key responded. "If you could give us a ride back to the mainland, that would be appreciated."
"Oh! Well sure thing!" Iscan agreed.
"Yeah. We have a report to make to the Commander and I'm going to be giving Aubrey a look over to make sure she is fine," Vanessa added.
"Hop in the boat. We'll get you back to land as quick as we can," Irida instructed. "We'll be back for Palina in a moment." She'd then see Manaphy waving goodbye to the group, diving into the water. "Was that..."
"The Prince of the Sea..." Iscan breathed. "That's quite the sight to see."
"We saw him playing with two of his kids on the way here and he offered to help. He was certainly a big help in calming down Lord Arcanine," Vanessa added.
"That'd certainly explain quite a bit," Irida responded, Key helping Aubrey in the boat.
"We'll ride alongside you two!" Key decided, calling out Mantine. "Now c'mon, let's get back to the village!"
The sun would be setting after Vanessa had made their report on her and Aubrey's behalf, the younger ranger stepping inside their house, Aubrey sat down on the floor, having taken a bath earlier and changed out of her uniform and into the Survey Corps' clothes. She was staring at the floor when Vanessa entered.
"Hey Brey," She greeted. "Feeling any better now that you're cleaned off?"
"A bit, yeah. Still parched and a bit sore," Aubrey responded.
"Well, here's some water." Vanessa gave the older ranger a cup of water. "Drink up, but not too fast."
"Got it, doc." Aubrey slowly drained the cup of water, closing her eyes as she did so. Once done, she set the cup down and sighed. "Haaaaa...I needed that."
"Good." Vanessa's next steps were to look Aubrey over to make sure she didn't have any major injuries. Thankfully, the only injuries Aubrey was sporting were the scratches from Arcanine's rocky mane, and weren't anything too serious. Vanessa could also feel some bruising on her upper legs and arms, but otherwise? Nothing she couldn't fix. "Few scratches and some bruising…nothing too serious." She had a relieved expression at that.
"Should be a pretty quick fix, huh?" Aubrey softly smiled, but then frowned. "But man...I know Empathy had a plan there, risky as it was. Sure, it worked, but what if I couldn't hold on?"
"Well, we would've worked it out together, Brey," Vanessa answered with a reassuring smile. "I know we had that under control."
"Yeah. We did." Aubrey slowly nodded. "But man...that only makes me feel like 'Yeah, training at Izzy's dojo is the next step for us after this.' I can't let something like that get the better of me. You understand why, right?"
"Of course," The younger ranger responded. "It will help to make us better rangers."
"Dang right. Get me fixed up, will ya? Then we'll take it easy..." Aubrey decided.
"You got it." Vanessa would get to work, and after a while, she would have everything all taken care of with clean bandages.
"Much better," Aubrey's smile returned after Vanessa finished treatment. "We made a huge break today, huh? Now we know how the rift's getting more unstable. Still sickens me that someone would be willing to use these Pokemon against us like that."
"Yeah it is not right at all…" Vanessa growled. "That jerk has a lot coming to them."
"Tell me about it! A world of hurt's gonna be my contribution," Aubrey agreed. "I dunno about you or the big man though..."
"Hmm. I'll think about it," The Sinnoh native responded.
"Alright." Aubrey nodded. "Obsidian Fieldlands, Crimson Mirelands, and now the Cobalt Coastlands...where else in Hisui have we not explored yet?"
"Hmm...that would be...the area around Snowpoint City, and around Mr. Coronet," Vanessa answered.
"Oh yeah, the cold parts of the Sinnoh region," Aubrey recalled. "Pretty sure Key's got us covered in terms of winter clothes."
Wrapping an arm around Vanessa, Aubrey merely offered up a smile. "Well, whatever's up there for us, we'll be ready for it," She said confidently, then her stomach grumbled. "Eh, heh...dinner?"
"Sure. Let's go eat." Vanessa laughed and returned the gesture. With their spirit still intact, they had made it past their hardest trial yet against their friend in Arcanine, the new Lord of the Isles. As they prepared for the next day, things would be getting colder. Though that was mostly where they would be headed, and the challenges would be reaching new heights.
(Well this certainly took long enough. Again, I've been on this gaming kick and I really need to get the steam to keep on trucking. Fortunately, Nan the Keyblade Master and his writing is enough of a motivator for me to keep on writing. Next time…uh…I dunno what we're doing next time, but it'll be something. See ya then!)