Ch.42

Gaining Ground

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FaithfulYouth: Thanks for your support and to answer your question chapter 41 was 7,958 words.

Letting a pained, tired growl escape her lips, Alice groggily opened her eyes and found herself in an unfamiliar room and narrowed her eyes at Eevee who was currently napping on her stomach with an annoyed expression on its face. Upon attempting to move, she cried out causing Eevee to jolt in shock and let out an irritable puff of air from its nostrils as it lay back down while warily staring at its trainer. Alice found that her head, chest, arms, hands, and legs were bandaged tightly causing her to snarl and without thinking straight, sat up causing Eevee to let out a surprised yelp and tumble into Alice's lap causing Alice to scream when her entire body flared up in pain from the movement.

A Nurse Joy suddenly barged into the room, roughly grabbed Alice's collar, and firmly shoved the struggling young adult back down onto the bed in a lying position causing Alice to weakly glare at the nurse who responded in kind with a harsh, stern glower that left no room for dissent.

"Don't do that again and get some rest," Nurse Joy tersely commanded the young adult causing Alice to snarl at the order, but Nurse Joy's fierce glare and Alice's own thoughts on her current predicament caused her to hesitantly relent causing the nurse to snort and exit the room, leaving Alice and Eevee alone with one another.

Eevee's face seemed to scream at her "What were you thinking?!" causing Alice to scan the room and when she found her pokeballs on the counter, she reached for one of them despite the pain it put her through and aimed the device at the evolution pokemon who smirked smugly as the ex-heiress wanted more than anything to face palm at what she did. She had nearly forgotten that she couldn't put a pokemon into her specialized pokeballs without gaining their "friendship" causing her to snort and roughly through the device at Eevee who weaved out of the way while still wearing a haughty expression.

Giving a slight smirk of her own, Alice forced down the burning sensation and shifted her leg upward causing Eevee to yelp in surprise and frantically grip the sheets in a futile attempt to stay on the bed before it finally lost its grip and fell onto the tile floor. Lying back down, Alice closed her eyes and prepared to get some sleep before a sudden weight on her chest caused her to pop an eye open and found Eevee harshly glaring at her before laying down her belly with a wary gaze on its face. Nurse Joy once again entered the room and grabbed a chair from a table before setting it down next to Alice's bed and warily gazed at the young adult.

"Explain to me what you were doing at the Whirl Islands," Nurse Joy demanded bluntly causing Alice to snort and shake her head at the question before addressing the unamused medical practitioner.

"I don't answer to you," Alice scathingly replied causing Nurse Joy to narrow her eyes at the young adult suspiciously and walk over to the table where she picked up one of Alice's pokeballs and examined them meticulously, taking in every feature of the device, before pointing it at the ex-heiress.

"Where did you get pokeballs like these?" Nurse Joy interrogated the injured girl who snarled at being treated like a criminal and waved her off while pulling the covers over her shoulder and closing her eyes before they painfully shot open again as Nurse Joy had gripped Alice's arm and was forcefully pressing her thumb down onto the ex-heiress's wounded elbow.

Alice, refusing to cry out in pain lest she show weakness, defiantly glared at the nurse who continued to apply pressure on the young adult's elbow causing the ex-heiress to bite down on her lip, not allowing Nurse Joy to hear her cry of agony which she seemed to want. After a moment, Nurse Joy let her go causing Alice to violently retract her arm away from her and kept an alert gaze on the medical practitioner who maintained her untrusting expression before setting down the pokeball on the table once more.

"You're lucky I found you; you would have been in much worse shape if I hadn't come along," Nurse Joy pointed out causing Alice to snort derisively and turn her head away from the nurse with a feral scowl on her features and tightly gripped her fists despite the burning sensation it caused her.

"I'm not saying thank you if that's what you're thinking," Alice spat venomously causing the nurse to crack an evil grin and put her hands on her hips which caused the ex-heiress to be on guard, not knowing on what the woman in front of her would do.

"I would like to be appreciated for not throwing you back into the water to drown and be smashed to a bloody pulp from the overwhelming tides, but stupid punks like you that don't take their pokemon's well-being into consideration are all the same. I don't know who you are and where you got those pokeballs from, but seeing as how Eevee seems to trust you, I'll give you a benefit of a doubt," Nurse Joy snapped at the young adult who tensed her muscles at what the nurse said and kept her sight on her as the medical practitioner walked outside of the room and lay a tray of food next to Alice's bed before slowly trudging away and exited the room, but not before shooting Alice an intense, focused gaze over her shoulder and closed the door.

Pov shift

Karen hated this; because of the ongoing civil war, the headmaster hesitantly shut down the school for the student's and faculty's safety causing Karen, Hope, and Malakai to take up arms and patrol around the surrounding area for threats. Some of the braver faculty members and students wanted to help out with the patrols, notably the headmaster himself and Mr. Yamamoto, but Malakai kindly, but tersely told them their strength is lacking causing them to reluctantly head home until the crisis was over. As of now it was just Karen, Malakai, the Scolipedes Karen befriended, and Hope and it was taking its toll on the former champion as her posture was hunched and sluggish and there were bags under her eyes.

"Alright guys, tell me what happened during your scouting missions," Karen ordered in a soft, but firm tone as she noted the bruises and cuts running down her family member's bodies, concerning her, as Stephanie and Rhyperior stepped forward to fill her in.

"(Some of the pokemon in Virizion and Cobalion's realms have formed loosely knit forces in order to kill me, but we managed to drive them off without a single casualty. We shouldn't hear from them for a while, but it would be best if we increase security on the west side,)" Stephanie informed her lifelong friend who nodded at her partner had said, reflecting on her decision on what she did to the Swords of Justice, before Rhyperior cleared her throat and addressed her trainer.

"(All of the pokemon under Terrakion's care have formed impromptu militias so they can take me out and although driving them off was troublesome, we forced them to retreat and no life was lost on their side. Like Stephanie said, most of the pokemon seem to be coming from the west so we should consider bolstering our forces there,)" Rhyperior added causing the former champion to put her hand on her forehead and sigh deeply before nodding and gave them grateful nods in response as she turned to Lucario and Electivire.

Before she could ask them for a report, her pokegear rang causing her to reach into her pocket and hold the device to her ear while trying to maintain a calm, collected composure despite the news of growing enemy forces from her comrades.

"Hi Hope; sorry if I sound tired and cranky. How did scouting go for you?" Karen started in as amicable tone as she could manage in her current state, but to her surprise her friend replied in worried, yet composed voice causing her to gesture to her team with her hands causing them to nod as Rhyperior, Electivire, Lucario, and Slowbro went back inside of their pokeballs, Stephanie coiled around Salamence's waist, and Karen mounted the tough, elderly dragon.

"Malakai, our insect allies, and myself are at a standoff with some pokemon due south of the Battle Academy," was Hope's short, gruff response causing Karen to nod and shut off the device as Salamence flew towards Hope and Malakai's location like a jet and upon nearing the sight, Karen, Hope, and Stephanie shook their heads in disbelief at the massive army of pokemon all riled, ready to avenge their lords.

"This is a nightmare…and it's my fault," Karen thought to herself solemnly as she started to hang her head down in shame, but quick, light smack from Stephanie's whips jolted her out of her self-pity as she turned her head and found her lifelong partner giving her a curious, even look that said "What's done is done; don't beat yourself up over it."

Nodding in gratitude, she beckoned Salamence to the ground causing the old dragon to lightly howl in response as he slowly hovered downward as Stephanie uncoiled around from his waist and let herself fall to the ground where she landed without disturbing the grass while Karen leaped off and landed right next to her partner.

"We're dealing with maybe 3,000-5,000 here, but the leaders said they won't attack as long as their demands are met," Hope explained to his coworker causing the former champion to nod shortly, release her teammates, and beckoned Stephanie, Rhyperior, and Slowbro to follow her to the frontlines while Salamence, Lucario, and Electivire stayed behind to provide support just in case the army of pokemon attacked.

When they reached the middle ground of the battlefield, Karen and her family members waited with focused expressions on their faces as out of the mob of pokemon, a metallic being that had a resemblance to a sentai ranger from the shows Dmitri used to watch when he was child, a quadrupedal being with antlers decorated with flowers, and a being made out of the very stones of the Earth began striding toward them. Karen noted that they carried themselves with a cool, authoritative air to them causing her to take a deep breathe in and let it back out as she was undoubtedly coming face to face with the interim leaders of the Swords of Justice's realms. The supposed interim leaders met the former champion in the middle of the field and bowed respectfully to Karen, Stephanie, Slowbro, and Rhyperior who raised a brow curiously at this action, but nevertheless they returned the favor as the metal being stepped forward and calmly addressed the trio.

"(So it's true; the dreaded Legend Killer is a human,)" Bisharp stated in a tone of calm amazement, a sentiment shared with its cohorts, as Karen nodded and folded her arms, staring at the pokemon in front of her blankly.

"Indeed I am Bisharp; how may I help you?" Karen said cautiously as she kept a subtle watch on the army just in case if some decided to break ranks in order to attack without orders, but fortunately none of them did despite the great temptation to do so as Sawsbuck cleared its throat and stepped forward to address her while Bisharp took a step back.

"(Legend Killer, we know this request is going to sound insensitive and we're truly regretful for saying it, but we humbly ask you to never again produce offspring,)" Sawsbuck finished in a low, soft tone as the deer bowed its head and took a step back while Karen briefly widened her eyes at the request before her eyes took on a harsh, piercing glare and stared at the interim leaders with a questionable look.

"What is the reasoning behind this request?" Karen inquired as calmly and coolly as she could manage despite the nigh irresistible urge to shout every obscenity at the trio for even suggesting it as Gigalith strode forward and disdainfully stared down at the human and the pokemon accompanying her.

"(We don't want any of your tainted bloodline growing up and killing other legendary pokemon. One of your demonic bloodline corrupting others to follow him is bad enough, we don't need a legacy of them following it,)" Gigalith bluntly stated as if it were an obvious fact causing Karen to clench her teeth tightly and ball her hands into a fist before letting them open once more as Bisharp and Sawsbuck shot their companion a disapproving, sour glance that was met with stubborn determination for the statement it said.

"And if I say no?" Karen asked in a deathly calm voice, nearing the end of her patience for the peace talks as Sawsbuck roughly swatted Gigalith with its head causing the rock type to grunt and step back as the regal deer pokemon gazed at the champion eye-to-eye respectfully.

"(If you say no, then we will regrettably have to forcibly remove both your ability and your hatchling's ability to produce offspring,)" Sawsbuck stated solemnly, clearly uncomfortable with even saying this, a sentiment shared with Bisharp as the mighty steel type stared off to the side with a disgusted expression on its face, while Gigalith remained impassive and waited for the former champion's response.

Upon hearing the threat of Dmitri, both Stephanie and Karen's eyes became blank, like a killer, as they narrowed into thin slits as it took every ounce of willpower to suppress the urge to maul the pokemon in front of them for different reasons. For Stephanie, it was as simple as protecting someone she saw as family and what they suggested was a violation of one's body and could cause severe mental scarring for him if they did go through with it which was something she would not allow as Dmitri had gone through enough in her opinion. For Karen, it was because they were threatening her son, the last thing in this world that Darris had given her, and like Stephanie she didn't want him to go through any more suffering than he already did. Slowbro's usual dopey expression turned into a harsh frown when she saw her trainer's barely restrained rage while Rhyperior closed her eyes peacefully in order to keep cool before opening them again as Karen decided to speak once more.

"If I give in to this request, you're just going to keep coming back and making more requests so that way I can't ever do something like this again right?" Karen assumed in low, angered tone as Bisharp and Sawsbuck held their heads down in shame and nodded slowly at her assumptions while Gigalith remained unmoved by her statement and strode forward.

"(No harm will come to you or your hatchling so long as you honor whatever demands we make whenever we come,)" Gigalith stated firmly causing Karen to glower at the giant, rock like pokemon disdainfully while Stephanie furiously flicked her tail from side to side before giving a low growl and staring eye to eye at the interim leader, finally breaking her silence.

"(That's called appeasement and it doesn't work out so well when the person giving into the demands gets tired of it and rebels,)" Stephanie retorted causing the rock like pokemon to stare at the grass snake contemptuously as if she were a piece of garbage, something the mighty python was sick of, as Gigalith took a step back and let Bisharp continue speaking.

"(We don't like it any more than you do, but any other factors that could possibly cause the Legend Killer to terminate another legendary must be neutralized in order to save pokemon everywhere,)" Bisharp finished in a tired voice, getting as exasperated from this back and forth that was going no were like Karen was, as Rhyperior calmly strode forward to address the interim leaders.

"(Bisharp, Sawsbuck, Gigalith, I humbly implore you to consider the reasoning behind the Swords of Justice's demise and see that while both parties may have been at fault, Cobalion and her comrades were threatening to go back to their code in the days of old,)" Rhyperior finished wisely in tone fitting for a pokemon that has lived as long as her, but Gigalith, unimpressed with her statement, stepped toward the front and glanced the foreign pokemon with a dismissive gaze.

"(None of us agree with the human genocide the code dictates, but because of the Legend Killer's actions, we now agree that all pokemon trainers must be neutralized like the code says and the pokemon that followed the humans must be taken back for rehabilitation,)" Gigalith solemnly replied causing Karen and Stephanie to perk up at what he said and thought back to the history books of the Poke-Human War, remembering a similar event many years before.

"(No way are we agreeing to your request if that's what you want in the long run! You'd be creating a government that's no better than the absolutist monarchies or the totalitarian pokemon tribes in the days of old!)" Stephanie shouted vigorously as Slowbro and Rhyperior nodded in affirmation, supporting what their teammate said, while Karen spoke up before any of the interim leaders could speak again.

"I would have to agree with Stephanie; if all your demands are ultimately leading up to a world where one species is completely dominant over everything while the other is completely subservient with no say over anything, then I will never give in," Karen passionately said in powerful, soft tone of voice causing Bisharp and Sawsbuck to depressingly shake their heads at what she said before looking up at her again with steeled resolve.

"(If that's where you stand, then you need to see how serious we are about this,)" Bisharp responded as it held up its hand in the air as if it was signaling causing the entire army to let out a huge roar that shook the countryside as if they were calling to someone as a Reuniclus floated forward and projected an image of a bustling metropolis.

"Castelia City…what're you planning on you doing?" Karen demanded frantically, concerned as to why the city of one the gym leaders was being projected, as Bisharp narrowed his eyes at her and made another motion with his hands causing the roaring to stop.

"(Showing you of things to come,)" Bisharp tersely stated as the image shifted to a small group of pokemon on a hill overlooking the city; a Hydreigon, a Volcarona, a Beartic, a Mienshao, and an Eelektross who all charged up their strongest attacks and combined them into a huge, moon sized sphere of destruction and immediately Karen yelled at the dual type to call it off, but her plea fell on deaf ears.

All manner of citizens who were going about the day suddenly looked up at the giant orb in amazement, wondering where it came from, before it started hurtling toward them causing cries of terror to echo throughout the city as they all tried to seek safety, but it was in vain. A blinding flash emanated throughout the world and could be seen from the Battle Academy while Karen fell to her knees in shock, ignoring the earth-shattering tremors that were shaking the world while Bisharp, Sawsbuck, and Gigalith impassively looked on. However, their stoic expressions turned into one of shock as when the dust settled the city was being protected by a giant green dome of energy that was being supported by Zekrom and Reshiram causing all the citizens to let out cheers of joy for their saviors.

"(It's time we withdraw for now,)" Sawsbuck suggested causing Bisharp to nod and beckon Gigalith to follow as Karen withheld from attacking them, not wanting the massive army to assault them if they did something so rash, and reluctantly let the triumvirate go despite the urge to end things here and now.

"(Hopefully your son will be more cooperative when we send some of our troops to talk to him in the Sinnoh region,)" Gigaltih offhandedly stated as the rock type followed its cohorts into the forest before they were completely out of sight causing Karen to furiously clench her hands so tightly that blood dripped down onto the grass as Malakai, Hope, her Scolipede friends, and Hope and Malakai's team walked up to her slowly once the army was out of sight.

"We're going to need a lot more manpower than what we already have," Karen breathed out as she did a once over of the forces she gathered and took out her pokegear and called Jet and Maya to inform them of what was going on.

Pov shift

The instant the referee gave the go ahead for the battle to start; Druddigon raised his fists up and forcefully punched the ground while Lopunny jumped high into the air and erected a green glowing skin tight shield around both her and her teammate, protecting them from status effects for a few minutes. Though Piplup was safe from the damage due to riding atop Mamoswine, the giant mammoth took the brunt of the damage and struggled to stay strong from the tremors that were violently shaking the ground and the pillars of giant rock spikes that were jutting from the ground. Before both of Dawn's pokemon could regain their senses, Piplup gave out a cry of pain when Lopunny rammed her knee right between the flightless bird's eyes, knocking him off of Mamoswine, where his head was brutally sandwiched between the ground and the bunny pokemon's knee.

Mamoswine let out a sharp cry of pain as Druddigon, encased in a dark, azure energy, unleashed a furious, all out barrage of powerful, but refined punches and elbows without having to worry about being disoriented afterwards thanks to his teammate.

"Piplup use bide!" Dawn shouted desperately when seeing that her starter was pinned down underneath Lopunny who charged electricity into her paws and started socking the tinier pokemon underneath her repeatedly while the avian grunted with each blow, enduring the hits.

"Lopunny, stop it and help Druddigon," Delia calmly called out causing the bunny pokemon to confusedly raise a brow at her trainer's orders, but nevertheless she stopped pummeling the helpless bird and ran up the much larger pokemon and delivered a stiff low kick to the back of Mamoswine's leg causing the giant pokemon to buckle where Druddigon decked him with a forceful, fire fueled jab causing Lopunny to channel fire into her ears and paws.

Nodding to one another, both Druddigon and Lopunny proceeded to land a brutal series of excruciating fiery punches to the helpless pokemon as whenever he attempted to get up, Lopunny would always strike out with another powerful kick to the legs which knocked Mamoswine to the ground again. To Mamoswine's credit, he managed to make Druddigon wince slightly when out of desperation, he launched a hail of razor sharp icicles from his mouth that both Lopunny and Druddigon managed to get out of the way of, but Druddigon, due to being slower than his partner, was grazed slightly, but was unperturbed by it as they both watched Mamoswine fall to the ground, out of commission.

"Mamoswine is unable to battle which will result in a deduction of points for Dawn!" the referee struggled to yell she was clearly as shocked from the beat down that seemed like a blur to her which was a dreadful feeling felt by most of the crowd.

Despairingly, Dawn raised one of her pokeballs and returned her fallen pokemon while trying to keep the dreadful sensation of hopelessness out of her and clung to the belief that she could still somehow win despite the odds. Taking a quick glance at the giant screen, Delia saw that she was ahead on points, but wouldn't let that go to her head as upon seeing Lopunny and Druddigon looking at her for confirmation to continue the battle as Piplup, through sheer willpower, stood up on his feet and suddenly was illuminated with a gigantic, purple aura that reached up to the lights causing Delia to frown.

"This is what I was afraid of," the dragon tamer murmured to herself as Piplup transferred the energy from Lopunny's assault into an all-out, last ditch attack that took the shape of a giant globe and launched it at his adversaries causing Druddigon to step in front of Lopunny protectively and settle himself into a rigid horse stance.

Before the orb even made contact with him, the dragon had decided to not just simply punch it back to the flightless bird that seemed to be on his last knee and when the giant sphere neared him, Druddigon wound up and using his hips for momentum, stabbed his claw into the orb of energy with a knife hand, preparing to dissipate it.

"Piplup, use whirlpool and then jump into it while using drill peck," Dawn ordered quietly causing her trusted started to nod slowly and do just that as Druddigon was still in the process of trying to make the gigantic sphere ebb out of existence while Lopunny had settled into her own horse stance and placed her paws on Druddigon's shoulders to brace him.

Delia, over the deafening noise Piplup's attacks had caused, raised a brow when she saw some of her points being deducted and understood why when Druddigon, who successfully managed to dispel Piplup's attack, briefly widened his eyes in shock when his foe was twirling like a top inside of a maelstrom of water. Druddigon got over his shock soon enough as just when Piplup was right in his face, he crossed his arms into an x and stopped the bird in its tracks while Lopunny leaped over her partner and drove her electric infused fist straight into the bird's spine causing Piplup to give out a sharp cry of agony.

Everyone in the crowd gave gasps of shock when Lopunny's punch rammed Piplup into the ground causing it to cave in and create a minor crater. To Dawn's shock and to Delia's surprise, Piplup, after being still for a few moments, twitched a little before slowly climbing to his feet with herculean effort and gestured for Lopunny and Druddigon to come at him. Delia, Lopunny, and Druddigon, surprised by the water type's resolve, nodded respectfully at him and prepared to finish the battle until the referee cut them off.

"Time is up! Although Delia was ahead on points, she will be disqualified for not following the battle format of contests!" the referee informed the crowd through her microphone causing Delia, Maris, Lopunny, and Druddigon to indignantly raise their arms and give the ref a mixed expression of anger and befuddlement at the decision.

"Druddigon and Lopunny's seamless teamwork surpassed the grace of any professional coordinator; why can't these contest enthusiasts see that?" Maya whispered angrily under her breathe as she was justifiably angry at seeing her daughter being deprived of a win that was rightfully hers in Maya's eyes while Jet sighed and comfortingly gripped his wife's hand.

"I agree with you Maya, but don't worry. Delia doesn't seem to be that annoyed with the decision," Jet pointed out causing Maya to raise a brow at what he said and turned her head to look at her daughter who to her surprise wasn't as upset at the decision anymore and had a thoughtful, blank look on her face.

Shaking her head, Delia calmed down Maris, Lopunny, and Druddigon who begrudgingly did what she said as she returned the dragon to his pokeball and walked toward the middle of the field where she shook hands with Dawn for the battle.

"I didn't-"

"There's more ways to get a win than by just simply beating your opponent; I should have followed contest protocol, but it seems trying to fight without any flashy moves isn't accepted here," Delia reassured the younger trainer who smiled at what the older girl said as Delia gave Dawn a respectful pat on the shoulder and began walking away.

"Oh, and Dawn," Delia offhandedly called out from over her shoulder to the coordinator who perked up at her name being said.

"Yeah?" Dawn replied confusedly, wondering what else the dragon tamer wanted.

"When I'm done with Ash, I'm coming for you next," Delia stated aggressively as Lopunny slowly turned her head to glower at both Piplup and Dawn intensely before resuming trudging to the backstage area with her trainer.