ShadowedTactician: It's that time of ficship again which some of you may or may not have... replying to the people who review your stories.
Grim: Sorry, ShadowedTactician, I'll have to sit this one out...
ShadowedTactician: ...but why?
Grim: Amazing you should ask. I told you to use a stunt double!
ShadowedTactician: ...Grim, in Fire Emblem, stunt doubles weren't invented yet.
Grim: Whatever. Point is, this time, you're on your own... ah... ahchooooooooo!
ShadowedTactician: ...Oh.

ShadowAngelUmbreon
ShadowedTactician: ...What's a professional anime-ish touch? I've no idea what that is, but thanks for liking what I've written. As for what Raven, Lucius and Guy are gonna get, I'm not telling... perhaps PSL and TB can supply you a few hints. And stop hugging Mitch, Lily, Florina wants her back.

Toxic Bishounen
ShadowedTactician: Firstly, allow me to say that the two of you have certainly gone into depths I haven't... even my partner-in-crime is impressed! (He's been supplying me with ideas, too.) Admittedly, I must confess your Psyduck choice for Wil is good most of the time, I gave the characters Pokémon that attack similarly to their combat abilities, so Guy and Karel got Scizor in the cards, for example. Finding Pokémon that had anything to do with axes wasn't easy so I had to use Fighting-type substitutes that could chop. Same case for the lances, since hardly any Pokémon can lance. For those cases, I did have to find Pokémon to relate to personality and background so we have Marowak for Harken (matches his loneliness as sole survivor), and Taillow for Lyn and Rath (being left from their 'nests'). I just can't believe I forgot Wil's case... I tried to give him ones that knew Poison Sting and Pin Missile (hence the Cacnea), then I resorted to giving him Bug-types I'm still not satisfied with. Thanks for the Psyduck, guys. Back to the rest... While I'll agree to your reasoning for the knights' allotment, I pretty much still think Aggron suits Oswin better... I'd use Aggron more frequently than Golem or Rhydon anyday, because I think Aggron looks cooler. Same case pretty much applies to Oswin and Wallace, heh heh. As for Golem to Hawkeye... other than Nergal and Athos, I gave every character only one Pokémon that had three evolutionary stages (including Pokémon like Raichu and Clefable), and my choice for Hawkeye which will be featured here should be obvious why. Erk getting a Slowking is a given Slowking dedicates itself to researching the mysteries of the world. Every day! Oh, and about Hector getting a Marshtomp... all the lords have Basic Pokémon starting out, and since Lyn got Bulbasaur... I think you can work out the rest. Dorcas in the cards actually got Fighting-type Pokémon and Pokémon with deer-like physique (because Dorcas is actually a female name meaning 'gazelle' in Hebrew). Chances are you won't like my choice here... but by the time I realised that, I'd already finished the fight scene. Thanks for reviewing!

Generic Reviewer
ShadowedTactician: Nice to see you back, GR and thanks for the review!

Chapter 4: In Occupation's Shadow/VS Poliwrath

After defeating the bandits, Lyn continues westward. She and her colleagues stop for the night at a ruined fortress. The Ganelon bandits are in a rage after their brethen fell to Lyn's swords. They race in pursuit of the companions, and their angry footsteps sound closer and closer...
As the sun made its way down the western horizon, our heroes trekked tiredly on until they came across an old fortress with crumbling walls and plants creeping up the sides.

"Ah, this should suffice!" Wil called to the others. "Tonight's bed!" Sain, however, wasn't exactly happy at Wil's choice of lodging. "This mildewy old fortress? Is this the best we can do?" He complained. "Come, Wil! Surely you jest!"

"The bandits keep everything in turmoil around here. No one has time to worry about travellers," Wil explained. "And there are rather a lot of us."

"This will be fine," Lyn assured Sain. "Who wants to be stuck inside, anyway? I prefer a place where I can feel the wind blow."

"As long as I'm at Lyn's side, I'll be fine..." said Florina as she clung onto Lyn's arm.

"And for your protection, your man-at-arms Sain will be right here by your side, ladies." The cavalier flashed a brilliant smile, hoping to dazzle the girls. His dreams were quickly shattered as Kent's voice was heard. "Sain, both you and I are to remain awake. We will alternate the watch."

"Ah, alas..." sighed the green knight. The group slowly advanced into the fortress and began to set up camp there, when Lyn heard a faint "Your pardon, milady..."

"Who's there?" Lyn turned to see a brown-haired woman, dressed in green, walk out of the fortress' central room, aided by a white Pokémon that resembled a dog. The Pokémon had a brown neck, ears and stripes on its wrists and ankles, as well as a long tail that ended like a paintbrush which had a bright orange liquid steadily dripping from it. "I... forgive my intrusion..." began the lady. "My name's Natalie. I'm from a village not far from here... Ah! Ow..." She suddenly collapsed on the ground.

"Smeargle!" The Pokémon quickly caught her in its arms and gently laid her on the ground. "Are you all right?" Lyn rushed forward to see if Natalie was okay, when a gust of wind gently lifted up her dress, revealing a slightly deformed left foot. "Hm?" Lyn noticed. "Your leg..."

"It's fine. Don't worry. It's from a childhood sickness..." Natalie said hurriedly as Smeargle gently rubbed her leg to ease the pain. "I can't travel far on it, but it doesn't trouble me much."

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" asked Lyn.

"I'm looking for my husband... I heard he was in this area. He said he was going to raise money to have my leg mended. He left the village and hasn't returned." Natalie sighed. "He's a kindhearted man, but I think he might be involved in something dangerous. I got so worried..." She brought out a slip of paper from her pocket. "Here's a sketch of him. It's a poor likeness at best; Smeargle's not used to drawing portraits... His name is Dorcas. Do you know of him?"

"...I'm sorry." Lyn said after she had studied the drawing of Dorcas. "I don't believe I've seen or heard of him."

"I see..." Natalie looked downcast. "If you do meet him, please give him a message. Tell him that Natalie is looking for him..."

"I will tell him." Lyn vowed solemnly as she held Natalie's hands in her own. "I promise."


At that moment, outside the fortress...

"Here they are." A gruff bandit said. "We've finally tracked down the band that defeated Migal."

"So they've decided to hole up in this ruined fortress. Perfect," another bandit with the features of a weasel sniggered. "We'll wait 'til it gets dark, and then..."

"You're an idiot!" roared the first bandit, thumping the other bandit on the head with his fist. "There are only a few of them, and some are women! If we attacked them at night, I'd be a laughing stock! Besides," The gruff brigand continued, "We might hurt the women by mistake! I will not be so wasteful!"

"You're right, Carjiga! You're so smart!" The weasel-faced bandit simpered pathetically as he held his throbbing head in his hands.

"We'll avenge Migal and get some pretty souvenirs to boot. Who knows," Carjiga smirked, "maybe I'll be a leader after all... Ha ha ha!" He laughed at the prospect. "Let's go! Spread out and encircle the place, you rogues! Let's finish this before it gets too dark to see!" The bandits cheered, and began to get into their positions. All except for a man dressed in peasant clothes, with a red beard and hair. A round blue creature stood by him. It had big black eyes, a white stomach with a swirling pattern on it, as well as legs and arms.

"Hey, you!" barked Carjiga. "Your name's... Dorcas, right?" The man said nothing. "You haven't done much since you've joined us," Carjiga remarked. "If that axe of yours isn't just for show, today's the day to let us see what you can do." Again, Dorcas did not respond. "I want you to attack from the back entrance to the east," ordered the bandit, as if he didn't care about Dorcas' indifference. "There's supposed to be a woman inside. I want you to capture her. Do that and I'll increase your share of take. If you want gold," Carjiga said as he turned to walk away, "you'll get the job done."

"A bunch of women, huh?" Dorcas sighed as he looked down at his Pokémon. "It would break Natalie's sweet heart to see me sink so low..."

"Poli! Whirl!" The Pokémon said as if in agreement.


"Lady Lyndis!" cried Kent as he rode into the fortress from patrolling the outside. "Outside the fortress! Bandits!"

"What did you say?" Lyn gasped.

"Persistent bunch, aren't they?" growled Sain. "What do you think? Shall we go outside and face them?"

"No... Natalie cannot move well, and that would put her in danger." Lyn disagreed. "Let them come to us. We'll fight here, within these walls." Turning to Shadow, she said, "Shadow, take over. The command is yours. All we have to do is hold out until they tire and leave."

"Alright." Shadow rubbed his chin in thought for a few minutes, briefly walked around the fortress, and came up with a plan. "This fortress altogether has two entrances one in the south, and one in the east as well as a wall in the west that looks ready to crumble at any moment. This means that we should split ourselves into three separate groups." The tactician paused for breath, and began his allocations. "Sain and Kent, the two of you will guard the main entrance. Wil and Florina, patrol the crumbling wall. Lyn will be fending off intruders from the east and I'll be there with Grim to cover her if necessary." The others gave their approval of the plan and walked off calmly in their respective directions, except Florina who was still trembling a little at being near Wil. "Let's go, Shadow!" Lyn called.


Immediately after Lyn and Shadow had reached the eastern entrance, a red-haired man walked up and with a flick of his hand, threw an axe at Lyn that flew back to his hand after narrowly missing the plainsgirl. The man was followed by a Pokémon that Shadow recognised as Poliwhirl, a Tadpole Pokémon.

"Shadow! That man..." Lyn gasped. "Doesn't he look somewhat like that picture of Natalie's husband?"

"You're right!" Shadow nodded at Lyn's observation. Before the man could do anything else, Lyn approached him.

"You!" she shouted. "Tell me, are you Dorcas?" Upon hearing his name, the man stopped running, nearly dropping his axe. "...How do you know my name?"

"Natalie told me." Lyn answered simply. "What are you doing with these rogues?"

"I need money..." came Dorcas' reply.

"That may be, but... joining up with mercenaries?"

"It's the only way to earn gold in these parts." Dorcas explained with a sigh. "I'll do anything... even this."

"For gold? Anything? Would you hurt your wife!" Lyn practically yelled. "Natalie is here! We're protecting her within this fortress!"

"What!" Dorcas gasped. This time, his axe did fall from his grasp. "POL!" Dorcas' Pokémon yelped as it hopped around on its other foot. "Natalie... she's here?"

"She was so worried that she came looking for you. Think, Dorcas!" Lyn grabbed Dorcas by the head and asked him straight in the face. "Would your actions please your wife?" The axeman bowed his head in thought, before muttering, "...You're right."

"Well?" Lyn asked.

"I understand," Dorcas answered as he picked up his axe. "I can't do this. I'm done with these bandits. Here and now."

"Really?"

"Yes... And I would repay you for your kindness towards Natalie." The axeman smiled as he shook hands with Lyn. "Allow me to fight for you." So saying, he proceeded to demonstrate his fighting ability by throwing his hand-axe at a bandit nearby. "Poliwhirl! Bubble!" he shouted. "Poli!" Jumping into the air, the Water-type Pokémon shot out a barrage of bubbles from each of its outstretched palms.

"Hey, what the... GACK!" The bandit had no chance to retailate as Dorcas' axe neatly sliced across his stomach and Poliwhirl riddled him with holes from its Bubble attack. "Impressive," Shadow noted. "Dorcas, I'll need you to guard the eastern entrance now. Lyn and I will handle the lead bandit."

"No..." Dorcas put up his hand. "If... it were not too much trouble, I'd like to join you in facing Carjiga... It was partly my fault that your group had to face him."

"You can leave the eastern door to me!" Shadow turned to see Sain grinning behind him. "Those bandits were no match for me and Kent! Just leave your man-at-arms to do the job!"

"O...kay, Sain, but don't forget to fall back to the main room if necessary." Shadow warned before he, Lyn and Dorcas ran towards Carjiga in the distance. "...Sometimes it just seems that everyone doubts my ability," sighed the green cavalier.


Carjiga looked around, horrified at the dwindling numbers of his men. "Urgh! How? Why are they so tough!" Beckoning to a minion, he shouted, "You! Bring more men here right away!"

"Ask, and ye shall receive!" Carjiga turned to see Lyn, Dorcas and Shadow headed for him. He stared in shock, pointing at Lyn, then at Dorcas, then back and forth between the two. "You... you..."

"Stop the attack, Carjiga." commanded Dorcas, "That's my wife you're trying to kidnap!"

"All's fair game in love and war." Carjiga smiled evilly as he brought out his axe. "And this is a war. Against that demon in woman's clothingwho killed Migal!" He shouted as he pointed an accusing finger at Lyn. "Since you've sided with her, I've no choice but to kill you as well!" So saying, the bandit threw out a Pokéball, producing a Pokémon that looked like Dorcas' Poliwhirl, except that this Pokémon looked fiercer and its muscles looked more developed. It was a Poliwrath, an evolved form of Poliwhirl. "Poliwrath!" it growled as it flexed its arms.

"Poliwhirl!" shouted Dorcas as he flung his hand axe. "Use Ice Beam!" "Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!" Lyn called as she sent out her Pokémon. "Night Shade, Grim!" ordered Shadow.

"Kull!" "Saur!" "Poli!" The three Pokémon fired their attacks at Poliwrath. "Defence Curl!" Carjiga commanded as he raised his steel axe and knocked Dorcas' hand axe to back where it came from. Poliwrath curled into a ball and the attacks just bounced off its body.

"Poliwhirl! Hypnosis!" Dorcas cried. Poliwhirl narrowed its eyes, and fired some hypnotic waves. "Hypnosis back!" Carjiga ordered. Poliwrath did that same thing, and the Hypnosis attacks collided in the middle, negating each other.

"Bulbasaur! Try Sleep Powder!" At Lyn's command, Bulbasaur began to shake out some sleep-inducing spores from its bulb.

"Blizzard!" The evolved tadpole jumped, evading the Sleep Powder, and fired a gust of wind that brought pellets of snow along with it, covering everyone in freezing ice.

"Brrr..." Shadow shivered. "Maybe if we try to attack him head on, it'll work!"

"Good idea, Shadow... Bulbasaur! Skull Bash!" Lyn shouted as Dorcas called for a Focus Punch, and Shadow an Astonish.

"Poliwrath! Doubleslap!" At Carjiga's order, Poliwrath charged forwards and used its palms to beat Bulbasaur and Poliwhirl silly. The two Pokémon had taken severe damage from the Blizzard, and were unable to retaliate quickly enough. Grim, however, was unscathed by the physical move and Poliwrath was having a frustrating time trying to land a blow on the Duskull.

"That's it! Grim's our best weapon to hit Poliwrath head on!" Shadow realised. "Lyn! Dorcas! Back off for a while; I'll hold him off! I've a plan we can use!"

"But..."

"Just think of it as payback for helping me the last time." Shadow winked at Lyn. "I promise nothing will happen to me." Lyn hesistated, then finally relented, bringing Bulbasaur with her as Dorcas did with Poliwhirl. "Poliwrath! Blizzard!" Carjiga commanded again.

"Grim! Use Will-o-wisp to melt the snow!" As Poliwrath fired another gust of snow, Grim shot out a series of purple flames that collided with the snow pellets and reduced them to water. However, not all of the snow had been melted, and Grim received another blast from Poliwrath, albeit a bit smaller. "Grim!" cried Shadow.

"Heh heh heh... Blizzard, one last time!" Poliwrath reared, then released one last barrage of snow.

"Grim! Use our sacrificial strategy!" The Duskull let fly another series of purple flames, but these flames hung around Grim instead of the first round. POOM! Grim was struck by the Blizzard at full power. "Kull..." The Duskull muttered, before it keeled over and fainted.

"Fool... Now Poliwhirl will finish you off before I take care of that she-demon and that disgraceful traitor!" Carjiga laughed madly as he raised hishand. Poliwrath breathed, ready to release another Blizzard, but nothing happened. "What!" Carjiga exclaimed.

"Did you think that Grim attempted to use Will-o-wisp before he fainted?" Shadow smirked. "I was asking for another attack!" Realisation then hit Carjiga, "Don't tell me..."

"Grudge! It's an attack that prevents further usage of the move that fainted the user!" The tactician shouted as he pointed at Poliwrath. "Your Poliwrath can no longer use Blizzard!" Turning back, he yelled, "Dorcas! Now!"

"Bubblebeam!" A storm of blue bubbles fired at the Water/Fighting-type Pokémon. The Poliwrath sneered as it leapt forward, taking the Bubblebeam as it soaked into its body.

"Have you all sunk into desperation!" laughed Carjiga. "You should have known Poliwrath's Water Absorb would render your attack useless!" He suddenly gasped as Poliwhirl staggered around groggily, "Poliwrath... is falling asleep!"

"Do you think we didn't know about Water Absorb?" Lyn challenged. "We knew Poliwrath would take the Bubblebeam attack!"

"The only way we could stop Poliwrath is if we slowed down its movements by putting it to sleep. Poliwhirl's Hypnosis could have been too easily blocked out by Poliwrath's Hypnosis, so we had to rely on Bulbasaur instead," Shadow began to explain. "Poliwrath would be able to avoid Bulbasaur's Sleep Powder by either using Blizzard, or by jumping out of the way. To prevent Poliwrath from using Blizzard and damaging us too much, I had Grim lure Poliwrath into using Blizzard on it and later stop it by Grudge..." Carjiga then understood what had happened. "That Bubblebeam... it was coated with Sleep Powder?"

"Correct! That was the only way we could possibly put Poliwrath to sleep without noticing!" Shadow clapped his hands. "Poliwrath's Water Absorb soaked up all of Poliwhirl's Bubblebeam, along with the Sleep Powder on the bubbles!"

"...Ugh! I'll have to take care of this myself!" Carjiga yelled, raising his steel axe in a wild fury. "Haaaaaaa!" He yelled as he charged madly at Lyn.

"Yaaaaaaaaa!" Lyn screamed as she charged forward as well, unsheathing her Mani Katti. Dorcas ran beside Lyn, brandishing an iron axe he'd picked off a fallen bandit. As they neared Carjiga, Lyn ran to the right while Dorcas dashed to the left, and just as they passed the brigand, the two allies delivered a deep gash on each of the villain's sides.

"Arrgh..." Carjiga gasped for breath as he fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. "This isn't... not me..." he managed to say before drawing his last breath. The weasel-faced bandit happened to pass by, and when he saw the fallen body of his leader, he got the shock of his life.

"...Curses! They're not human!" spat the bandit when he'd finally found his voice. "Listen up, rogues! Retreat! Pull back!" The other bandits needed no other command when they heard their comrade shout and quickly escaped with their lives.

"The enemy's fled... Shadow! We've won!" Lyn cheered.

"Mm. We certainly couldn't have done it without your expert advice, Shadow." Dorcas nodded and smiled. Shadow simply shrugged and smiled back. "Now we really should get Grim back to the fortress and nurse his injuries," Lyn said in a more serious tone.


Back at the fortress, it was a happy reunion for Dorcas and Natalie. Hugging each other, the two could only repeat each other's name over and over again in happiness, with brief interruptions by Dorcas, saying how sorry he was to have left Natalie just like that. Everyone else smiled to see the two lovers reunited. The only one who didn't seem too happy was Shadow, as he knelt over his fallen companion, his brow creased with worry.

"Shadow?" Lyn placed a concerned hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The tactician brushed Lyn off. "It's just that... Grim's taken more damage from that Blizzard attack than he could handle... I... don't think he will survive the night."

"That's..." Lyn gasped in shock. "Oh, Shadow... I..."

"Perhaps I may be able to help." Lyn and Shadow turned around to see Natalie standing behind them, supported by Dorcas. Smeargle walked over to Grim's badly damaged body and placed its right hand over the Ghost Pokémon. "Smeargle... use Milk Drink." Suddenly, the tip of Smeargle's tail began to radiate a soft, blue light, as did its right hand. Before long, the blue glow had covered Grim, and when it vanished, Grim gently floated upwards, its injuries completely healed.

"Grim!" Shadow could not believe his eyes. "You're okay!" The tactician held his Pokémon in a tight embrace for a while, then turned to Natalie. "...That was Sketch, wasn't it?" Natalie nodded. "There's a Miltank farm in our village, and Smeargle happened to use Sketch one day after it had seen a Miltank use Milk Drink... that's how Smeargle has been helping me as I looked for Dorcas." She smiled at Smeargle, then back at her husband. Later, when night had finally fallen, Dorcas, Natalie, Poliwhirl and Smeargle stood at the main doorway.

"Our village is close. I'll take Natalie home and return tomorrow," Dorcas declared.

"Hm? Why can't we just say our farewells today?" Lyn asked.

"Well, I... I spoke with Shadow. I've been invited to join your group," said the axeman.

"But... we're going to Lycia..." Lyn protested.

"I have to go somewhere to earn money. If you think I'll be of use, I'd like to fight for you." Dorcas said firmly. "You helped my wife... I owe you."

"Dorcas..." Lyn was unsure of whether to accept Dorcas' offer. Sure, he would be of use to the team, but then

"Please, Lyn." Natalie spoke up. "We're both in agreement on this. Please... watch over my husband." Lyn thought it over, then gave Dorcas a smile and nod of consent. Goodbyes were said, and the couple began the journey back to their village.


"Things have finally calmed down." Lyn commented, gazing at the starry sky.

"Sain and I will continue taking turns keeping watch," said Kent. "Please, milady, rest easily."

"Is that all right?" asked Lyn. "Are you sure, Sain?"

"Oh! Er, yes! Of course!" Sain quickly stood up, possibly from daydreaming (or nightdreaming, rather).

"Let me warn you... If bandits sneak up on you, they'll cut you down without mercy," cautioned Lyn. "Do you understand that?"

"What? Do you doubt my bravery?" Sain asked incredulously. "Am I not a knight? There's no need to worry! Right, Kent?"

"If there's anything suspicious, we'll take care of it." The red knight gave his assurance.

"Really? Well, good night then." Lyn said as she yawned and prepared to sleep. "See you tomorrow, Shadow," she mumbled drowsily.

"Let's go," Kent nudged Sain as he rode out on Stantler.

"It's really true!" Sain sighed to no one in particular. "No one ever trusts me..."

To be continued...


ShadowedTactician: ...Okay, so I wasn't too easy on you. Sorry, buddy.
Grim: You're telling me! Ah, ah... Achooooooo!
ShadowedTactician: Seeing that he's not really in shape to say it, I'll say it for him this time round... review, folks. Thanks.