Ch. 47
Down Time
Pokemon is the property of its respective owners
"Alder, it's great to see you again," Karen warmly greeted her successor who serenely grinned back at the former champion as Karen and Alder gripped each other's forearms firmly before releasing their grips on one another.
"The feeling is mutual is Karen; to what do I owe the pleasure?" Alder inquired of the Battle Academy's best teacher causing Karen's jovial expression to evaporate and be replaced with a focused expression causing Alder to frown and stare back at the former champion curiously.
"Alder, I do not mean to sound intrusive, but I know why you've gathered all these pokemon trainers together. You plan on doing something about the pokemon who attacked Castelia City, but I don't know exactly how you plan on doing that," Karen responded coolly, never breaking eye contact with Alder, while the current champion sighed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully before looking back at the single mother.
"Karen, the people are terrified and every city and small town thinks their next," Alder started, explaining his reasoning on why he advertised on such a thing, while Stephanie snorted tersely and slowly leaned her head near Karen's ear.
"(Seeing how Bisharp tried to blow up a city after talking to him didn't work, the people have a damn good reason to hide under their blankets,)" Stephanie whispered to Karen matter-of-factly causing the former champion to lightly elbow the mighty python eliciting a snort from the serpent who moved her head away from Karen's ear and held her head up around the same height as the other two humans so she could stare at either her sister or Alder at eye level.
"Look, I know what could have happened in Castelia was scary, but recruiting a large number of pokemon trainers who haven't fought terrorist organizations like Team Plasma or fought against zealous beings like the Swords of Justice are going to run for the hills once they see what they're capable of," Karen wisely pointed out which caused Alder to briefly widen his eyes in shock at this revelation and how stupid he was before sighing and looking down at the floor before looking up at the former champion once more.
"I gotta admit, when you word it like that, drafting a small army of pokemon trainers doesn't sound like such a good idea anymore, but I can't just fight against whatever pokemon attempted to blow up Castelia with just the Elite Four," Alder replied truthfully which was something that Karen agreed with as she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in concentration, trying to think up a solution for her successor's predicament, before gazing at the current champion once again.
"Look, taking the Elite Four with you is a good start, but I suggest you recruit only the pokemon trainers who have experience fighting for or against those like the Swords of Justice or Team Plasma as both the trainer and their pokemon should be trained for the type of fighting we're going up against," Karen advised her successor causing Alder to rub his forehead to in small circles to calm himself before looking back at the former champion and giving her an unsure shrug.
"Scouting for pokemon trainers who meet these criteria will take some serious information gathering; this process could take months which is time we don't have. The people need to know that they're people doing something about this situation," Alder pointed out causing Karen to hiss under her breathe and run a hand through her hair, but cooled down and stared at the current champion calmly.
"Just say that an old ally that you approve of is doing her best to handle the situation along with some of her friends," Karen answered back causing Alder to rub his chin thoughtfully before giving a brief nod in response and began walk down the many steps leading to the reception desk causing Karen and Stephanie to follow him.
"Damn, this whole situation is a mess; I thought dealing with the Swords of Justice was bad, but these guys blow them out of the water. The Elite Four and I will patrol Victory Road since that's where large groups of pokemon seem to be congregating as of recently while Nurse Joy will thoroughly look for any trainers that meet your criteria," Alder stated causing Karen to let out a soft puff of air from her nostrils while keeping gaze forward while Stephanie briefly looked at the former champion before turning her head.
"Oh, and Karen…please don't do anything stupid; you may be one of our region's strongest trainers, but you're still only one person," Alder concernedly informed his old friend who smiled warmly at the concern the current champion was showing her and giving a nod in response.
After a long walk, they reached the entrance to the Pokemon League where a small army of pokemon trainers stood around curiously, wondering why they were summoned, causing Karen to put a hand on Alder's shoulders.
"Since talking to crowds is expected of a pokemon champion, I'll leave you to it," Karen stated jovially as she gave Alder's shoulder one last friendly pat before sauntering past the large mass of people causing Alder to irritably huff before calling out to the crowd to pay attention.
"(So basically our band is the only one who's going to do anything about this while the Champion, Elite Four, and Gym Leaders are just glorified security guards?!)" Stephanie shrieked under her breath angrily causing the teacher to gently massage the back of the grass snake's neck eliciting an annoyed snort from the serpent, but didn't do anything to stop it.
"Victory Road seems to be serving as some sort of recruiting spot for Bisharp's army so Alder and the Elite Four will be able to drive away any potential recruits to our adversary's forces and thanks to the Gym Leaders providing extra security around their towns and the routes leading to it, we'll be able to travel somewhat safely around Unova. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be able to get anything done," Karen calmly, yet sternly reminded the mighty python causing the grass snake to angrily huff under her breath, but after contemplating the human's words the serpent nodded causing Karen to remove her hand from the snake's back as they approached their small band of allies waiting outside entrance to the Pokemon League.
"So how did it go? Does the champion want to use these large numbers of trainers to take on Bisharp's army or is he going to pull them back?" Hope inquired causing the former champion to shake her head and fold her arms while Malakai, his team, and the large family of Scolipedes and Whirlipedes approached her curiously.
"No, I managed to convince him that what he's doing is a recipe for disaster and he should recruit trainers who have experience fighting against or for terrorists or extremists since both them and their pokemon would be able to handle what's going to happen in the future. In the meantime, Alder and the Elite Four will patrol Victory Road to take down recruitment areas while the Gym Leaders will continue to provide security around their towns.," Karen responded causing Hope to nod slowly, taking in all this information, while Malakai stepped forward and gazed at the former champion with a blank look.
"What does that leave us to do?" Malakai asked, something his pokemon wanted to know as well, while the former champion and her team stood at her side supportively.
"We have to go on the offensive; cut off supply lines, attack camps that're holding reinforcements, take out strong members of the army, and any other means in order to further weaken Bisharp's army until Alder can bring in more recruits," Karen informed her group causing members of her group to nod in approval for this plan while Hope raised a brow after a thought came to him causing the former champion to stare at him curiously.
"The Battle Academy should serve as our base since it's relatively close to all the other towns and cities in Unova," Hope pointed out causing Karen to nod impressively at the psychiatrist for this suggestion, something she hadn't thought of, and rallied her group back to the school where they would think of their next move.
"I should call Dmitri as soon as possible; he needs to know what's going on," the former champion thought to herself as she mounted Salamence and braced herself as the dragon took off into the air and sped off towards the school like a jet.
Pov shift
Midnight time fell upon the city of Hearthome as the moon shone in the sky and some of the public buildings had closed their doors while the makeshift sick bay had stayed open to accommodate those who were injured in the battle. The police department, despite nearly losing all of their field members in the battle, provided security for the medical station along with the gym leader, Fantina. Those who were wounded tried to get some sleep in the hopes that it could provide relief from yesterday's events.
"Sir, you can take my bed if you wish," Delia offered a concerned, bespectacled man sitting next to the bed of the female police officer who lost most of her leg and some of her fingers.
Before the man could politely decline the battle ace's offer, Delia had already hopped off of the bed and walked over to where Dmitri and Catherine's beds were which were close to one another.
"Good night Dmitri, I love you," Delia affectionately said to the younger boy as she tenderly pulled him and Maris into a hug before releasing her grip on them and waved politely at Sparkplug, Kiera, Zangoose, and Samurott who nodded in acknowledgement.
"Love you…too sis," Dmitri managed to get out through short, pained breathes causing the dragoness to serenely smile at the young boy and kissed his forehead before walking over to Haxorus who put a claw behind the dragon tamer's head and gently pulled her in so their foreheads were touching.
"(Don't do anything strenuous without our help; you need your rest,)" Lopunny ordered Dmitri in a soft, caring tone of voice as she gently wrapped her arms and gigantic ears around Dmitri's waist before gently pushing him down onto his back and releasing her grip on him.
"(No hug me for me? I'm hurt Lopunny,)" Maris teased the bunny pokemon in a mock offended tone causing Lopunny to huff and put her paws on her hips and turned to gaze at the martial arts pokemon with a raised brow.
"(Oh hush; someone as nice and sweet as Dmitri is more deserving of a hug than some rowdy meathead,)" Lopunny retorted with ire causing Maris to huff and fold her arms while narrowing her red eyes at the bunny pokemon, neither of them backing down in the slightest, before they both broke out into quiet laughter.
"(Good night bitch,)" Maris jokingly stated to the bunny pokemon in a hushed whisper causing the bunny pokemon to roll her eyes as she and the martial arts pokemon pulled each other into an affectionate hug before breaking it off.
Seeing Delia walking over to the wing where Catherine was being held, Lopunny picked up her pace and managed to catch up to the dragoness where she walked side by side with her trainer with her eyes focused on the marble floor. Reflecting on yesterday's events, Lopunny put her paws on her hips and glanced at the dragoness out of the corner of her eye which the battle ace picked up on and stared back at her blankly.
"(What are we going to do later on?)" Lopunny questioned her trainer curiously causing Delia to continue to stare stoically at her partner before speaking up.
"I'm going to reveal to my parents as to why I shut them out; they deserve to know the truth and hopefully after that my mother will be willing to teach me all she knows about how to best utilize the heart of the dragon," Delia responded quietly, not wanting to wake up any of the sleeping patients, while Lopunny nodded at what her trainer said just as they reached where Catherine was resting.
"Good night sis; see you in the morning," Delia told the former heiress with a small smile on her face as just as with Dmitri and Maris, she pulled Catherine and Luka into a hug as well before letting them go.
Waving courteously to Catherine's team, they politely gave the dragon tamer a peace sign in acknowledgement while Luka and Lopunny embraced one another tightly.
"(Make sure Catherine doesn't sleep walk to get some chocolate,)" Lopunny jested causing Luka to sigh and roll her eyes, but couldn't help but let a small grin come to her face as she patted the bunny pokemon's shoulder.
"(Knowing her, she probably would even if she didn't mean to,)" Luka remarked causing the two pokemon to erupt into a hushed chorus of laughter while Catherine, hearing this, weakly banged her fist against Luka's forearm in protest.
"I would…do no…such thing!" the former heiress feebly protested as a light blush came to her face causing Luka to shake her head with a smile on her face and gave her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips.
"(You don't do anything strenuous in the morning without our help either you dunce,)" Lopunny affectionately commanded the former heiress causing the chocolate haired girl to give a thumbs-up in response.
Nodding, Delia and Lopunny were about to walk away to find some place to sleep before the dragon tamer felt something tugging at her shirt sleeve. Turning her head, the dragoness found Catherine holding onto her shirt sleeve with a concerned look on her face causing Delia to raise a brow confusedly.
"Delia…sleep close…to me…tonight, okay? I can…get Floatzel…or Graveler…to watch…over you," Catherine offered to the dragon tamer worriedly causing Lopunny to widen her eyes in shock while Delia, keeping calm, gently removed the former heiress's hand and put it over Catherine's chest.
"Catherine, I'll be fine; where's this coming from?" Delia inquired causing Luka, who saw her girlfriend awkwardly fiddling with the bed sheet, put a paw on the dragon tamer's shoulder to fill her in.
"(Catherine's just worried that you'll get hurt again like when we fought against that girl and her army of shadow pokemon so she wants to make sure you'll be safe,)" Luka explained to the dragon tamer causing Delia to softly sigh and put her hand on the former heiress's shoulder.
"Thank you for your concern Catherine, but I'll be fine, okay?" Delia replied causing Catherine to unsurely glance to the side before slowly nodding back causing the dragon tamer to bid her good night.
Making her way to the destroyed battlefield, she sent out her Dragonite, Druddigon, and Hydreigon who looked to the side frantically as if someone was missing.
"Haxorus wants to stay with Dmitri until he's well enough to do things on his own power so you guys can see him later on. For now, let's get some sleep," Delia stated causing Dragonite to grin as he, Hydreigon, and Druddigon lay down against the wall where they gently pulled Delia and Lopunny in between them.
Huddling together like Empoleons trying to survive a harsh blizzard, Dragonite and Druddigon smirked at one another and squished their bodies together eliciting a surprised cry from both Delia and Lopunny who glared at both of them irritably. Shaking her head, the dragon tamer laid her head against Dragonite's belly and draped Druddigon's arm over her like a blanket while Lopunny just snuggled closer to Hydreigon who didn't protest, but blushed with a scowl on his face.
"Even if we're engaged in an unknown war, that shouldn't stop us from enjoying moments like these," Delia thought to herself as she observed her team with her eyes half closed and allowed a smile to grace her lips before finally letting her eyes that were feeling heavy close.
Timeskip
"(Let's head out to the back so you can get some fresh air,)" Haxorus said to his brother causing Dmitri to tiredly grin and nod as his team finished their morning stretches.
Maris and Haxorus gently gripped Dmitri's arms and prepared to carefully pull him off of the bed, but Samurott beat them to the punch by wrapping her arms around Dmitri's waist and picking him up bridal style. Maris and Haxorus growled under their breathe and glared at the back of the otter's head as Samurott cautiously placed the battle ace onto his feet and draped one of his arms around her neck.
This caused the boy to wince as the height difference between the two forced Dmitri to stand on his tippy toes to maintain his balance and Samurott, seeing this, opted to just wrap her arms around the boy's waist and help keep him steady as he walked.
"I never did say thank you for helping my team and I," Dmitri brought up causing the samurai otter to snort and stared at the young trainer with a stoic gaze that made the boy feel as if he had made his new partner angry.
"(My only purpose there was to help you; saving your team just happened to align with that,)" Samurott retorted with a bit more ire than she had intended, but Dmitri took it in stride and placed his hand over the otter's paw.
"Still, thank you," Dmitri responded causing the otter to look down at the battle ace with a raised brow, but she shook off her confusion and returned to her focused stare.
"(You are my master so it's only natural that I do things that are reasonable to keep you happy,)" Samurott humbly replied causing Dmitri to frown a bit at what his new partner said and looked up at her with a raised brow.
"You don't need-"
"(Yes, I do need to call you master. You are the ones giving commands on the battlefield and to call you anything else is the ultimate sign of disrespect,)" Samurott interrupted Dmitri sharply causing Dmitri to sigh deeply, but nevertheless respectfully nodded at what his new teammate said causing the otter to nod back.
"(Speaking of which, I humbly apologize for any disrespect I've showed you when I introduced myself master. I only did so to gain the trust of your allies so they wouldn't strike me down,)" Samurott continued causing the battle ace to nod at what she said just as they reached the outdoor area near the sick bay where the patients could get some fresh air.
"(Yo, Dmitri; thanks for waiting up for us,)" Maris teased her boyfriend as she along with Haxorus, Sparkplug, Kiera, and Zangoose caught up with them and upon hearing this Samurott tightly gripped the hilt of her seamitars so tightly that the veins on her arms bulged causing the martial arts pokemon to narrow her eyes cautiously.
"(I expected a fighting type to show proper etiquette when addressing their master, but time has drastically changed since I last walked the earth. The kaiju, the megapede, the ferret, and especially the lioness have won my respect so I'll let that transgression pass, but you have done nothing to earn a reprieve, weasel!)" Samurott snapped at Maris as she unsheathed her sword faster than Dmitri could see as the sharp tip of the blade which was made of the same material as Samurott's armor was pointed straight at Maris's face.
Unimpressed by this, Maris fired up her magenta aura and beckoned her teammates back for the time being as she glowered at the otter with her muscles tensed.
"(Point that thing somewhere else or I'm going to shove it where the sun don't shine,)" Maris retorted as she got into a fighting stance with one paw extended forward acting like a shield while the other one was brought up near her chin like a sword.
"(Master, what does she mean by that?)" Samurott inquired without breaking eye contact with the martial arts pokemon and with the help of Haxorus, leaned in close to the otter's ear and whispered the meaning to the female warrior.
Widening her eyes in disgust, Samurott closed her eyes and shuddered at the mental image forming in her head and reluctantly sheathed her blade. Maris, though still on guard, let her arms fall down to her sides, but was still ready to act on a moment's notice.
"(Such a thing you implicated, weasel, would be met with praise by the torturers and rulers of some of the human kingdoms I have come across in the days of old,)" Samurott snarled contemptuously and Maris, not one to back down, spat a glob of saliva at the warrior's feet forcing the otter to take a step back.
"Samurott, could I please talk to you privately?" Dmitri requested in the best calm tone he could manage at the moment and hearing the strained voice, Samurott nodded and helped the trainer off to the side so they could speak to one another.
"I know Maris can be…difficult to work with at times, but she's a great girl and capable fighter. Neither she nor do any of her teammates mean any disrespect when they call me by my name, okay?" Dmitri explained to the otter coolly, doing his best to understand the values Samurott held, while the otter contemplated what her master said long and hard.
"(This is all so confusing; how can they be respecting your authority when they don't address you as master?)" Samurott replied quizzically, trying to wrap her mind around this new concept, while the battle ace put a hand on the otter's shoulder with a slight wince.
"It's complicated to explain, but you'll get it in time. For now, I want you to apologize to Maris, okay?" Dmitri ordered the otter in a soft, firm tone causing the otter to angrily growl, but nevertheless glared at Maris with her arms folded and her fists clenched.
"(I humbly…apologize for any rude behavior I displayed,)" Samurott got out through gritted teeth as if the words were sulfuric acid and bowed at the martial arts pokemon who cracked a grin and turned to Sparkplug, Kiera, Haxorus, and Zangoose.
"(I got her to say she was sorry,)" Maris shouted to her teammates while walking over to them with the smuggest grin she could crack while her teammates just shook their heads at her actions while letting small smiles come to their faces as well.
"Don't be mad, Samurott; this is just how she always is. You two will get along eventually," Dmitri reassured her causing the otter to unsurely glance at her new teammates and stare up at the sky contemplatively before giving a slow nod in response.
"(I don't know about that master, but I will…try to tolerate her for your sake,)" Samurott relented causing Dmitri to grin and with the otter's help, moved over to where Maris and the others were and sat down on the grass.
"Go hang out with them, okay? Even a warrior like you needs to have fun every once and while," Dmitri said to Samurott who raised a brow at her master said while the battle ace tilted his head to the side, hoping he hadn't offended her in any way.
"(Hang out; hang what master?)" Samurott inquired causing Dmitri to put a hand on his forehead, remembering that Samurott wasn't up to date with the slang nowadays, and simply just shook his head.
"It's just a term we use for wanting to spend time with each other," Dmitri replied causing the otter to shake her head and roll her eyes before placing a paw on her hip.
"(It seems no matter what time period it is, you humans always come up with the strangest sayings,)" Samurott muttered under her breathe and with another shake of her head, slowly walked over to where Maris, Sparkplug, Kiera, Haxorus, and Zangoose were.
Seeing that his newest partner was awkwardly, but slowly adjusting to speaking with her teammates, Dmitri thought about how he should go about training his team when his pokegear rang.
"Hi mom, what's up?"
Pov shift
Seeing her parents kneeling down in front of her with expectant stares, Delia stared down at the ground and sucked in some air before letting it back out while clenching and unclenching her fists. Lopunny soothingly rubbed her back to help put the dragon tamer at ease causing Delia to gratefully put a hand over Lopunny's paw causing the bunny pokemon to crack a slight grin. Gathering up her courage, Delia hesitantly gazed into her parent's eyes and remembered the fun times they shared which she alone stopped.
"Mother, father…I guess we started drifting apart when I began seriously training my partners in order to attend the Battle Academy and be able to compete in the Pokemon League. When I didn't do as well as I wanted, instead of learning from my mistakes, I shifted blame onto you guys for my failures," Delia began and upon seeing Maya, who had kept a blank stare throughout her daughter's explanation, clench her fists so tightly that they turned white, winced and looked away.
"It got to the point where I deluded myself into thinking that you didn't want me and you wanted a son instead in order to carry on your legacy. I know I hurt you guys and what I did can't ever be taken back, but I do want to reconcile with you guys so we can be a family again," Delia finished and unable to bear seeing her parent's reactions, stared down at the ground with a distraught look.
Jet's jaw was open and his brows were raised from his daughter's confession while Maya's teeth were clenched and her brow was scrunched as she furiously glared at her daughter with a rage of a Charizard wanting to raze a village. Getting up, Maya walked over to the middle of the destroyed battlefield and rubbed her temple while taking deep, ragged breathes in an attempt to cool off, but the secret she wanted to know for so long caused her blood to boil. Throwing her head back, she let out an ear piercing roar that shook the very foundation of the stadium while spewing out a scorching plume of dark blue draconic energy from her mouth that caused the temperature to sky rocket.
Delia, justifiably, recoiled violently at her mother's reaction as she ignored the sweat rolling down her face and kept her attention on the crack on the ground while Maya gently sat down cross-legged with a cool expression on her face.
"Delia, could you please explain what we did to make you think that?" Maya asked calmly while Delia, not wanting to piss her mother off any more than she already had, rubbed the back of her head timidly before looking up at her mother with a sheepish face.
"Mother, it was your brutal honesty that made me feel like nothing I ever did was good enough and made me feel like a second rate daughter that you regretted having. Father, it was your passiveness that bordered on recklessness that made me feel like I was a careless, uncontrollable child who couldn't do anything right in your eyes," Delia admitted to the people who had helped bring her into this world causing Maya to stare down at the ground with a hand on her chin while Jet stared blankly at the wall beside his daughter.
"Delia, you're a rash and stubborn girl, but I never regretted having you and you'll always be my little hell-raiser," Maya assured daughter causing Delia to break out into a wide grin and let tears fall down her face as she wiped them away her forearm.
Lopunny smiled and dotingly rubbed her partner's back with one of her giant ears while Jet sighed and scooted closer to his daughter causing the dragon tamer to perk up.
"Maya hasn't said anything I haven't yet, but I'm proud of how strong you've gotten over the years," Jet added in causing Delia to shake her head with a warm smile and nod slowly at what her father said as the parents pulled their daughter in for a hug which the dragon tamer fully embraced, having wanted it for so long.
Lopunny, not wanting to ruin the moment, simply sat cross-legged off to the side with her arms folded and a proud grin on her face as she watched her partner become at peace with a problem that she had for so long.
Pov shift
Catherine, with the help of Luka and Floatzel, managed to reach the outdoor area where they found Maris, Sparkplug, Kiera, Haxorus, Zangoose, intermingling with one another while Samurott meditated closely to the group.
Helping the heiress lay down on a tree, Luka's teammates mingled with Dmitri's team while Luka sat down cross-legged next to her girlfriend and put a paw on her shoulder.
"(We have to get this misguided shame you're feeling out your system. What happened to Delia, what happened to Hearthome, and what happened to Dmitri wasn't your fault,)" Luka informed her girlfriend in a calm, firm tone causing Catherine to look down at her hands disgustedly while Luka, seeing this, growled under breath and flicked the former heiress in the forehead.
Letting out a surprised squeak, Catherine massaged her forehead with a light blush on her face before slowly shaking her head at Luka's statement causing the jackal to narrow her eyes at her girlfriend.
"If I had just finished off Alice instead of letting her walk away, I could have prevented Delia from getting hurt and if I had contacted my family they could have disowned her and prevented her from getting any pokemon in her army. If-"
Catherine was cut off as the aura pokemon flicked her in the head once more causing the former heiress to yelp and rub her forehead while Luka consolingly put a paw on Catherine's head and pulled her in so the former heiress was lying against her shoulder.
"(You can't beat yourself over ifs and could haves, Catherine. You did all you could and although not everyone was saved, you helped prevent any more losses,)" the aura pokemon assured the young girl as she gave the former heiress a light kiss on the forehead causing the chocolate haired girl to blush.
Snuggling closer to the jackal pokemon, Catherine wrapped her arms around Luka's waist and closed her eyes causing the jackal pokemon to grin and slowly shut her eyes too.
Pov shift
"(Haxorus!)" a plethora of voices shouted causing the axe jaw pokemon to quizzically turn his head to the noise only for a large, orange blur to slam into him and knock him to the ground.
Maris couldn't help but burst into a gale of hearty laughter upon seeing Dragonite lying on top of Haxorus with his arms wrapped firmly around the axe jaw pokemon's waist with a content grin on his face as Druddigon, Hydreigon, Delia, and Lopunny approached their teammate with amused smirks.
"(Arceus, we were so worried about you! Is your eye okay, can you see out of it, are you going to wear an eye-patch from now on?)" Dragonite rambled as he pulled Haxorus to his feet without breaking off his tight hug and wrapped his tail around the axe jaw pokemon's waist.
Feeling Dragonite's tail firmly wrapped around his back like a python, Haxorus blushed furiously as the jolly dragon's tail squeezed their chests together tightly causing the axe jaw pokemon to awkwardly pat Dragonite on the back.
"(I'm fine, Dragonite. I'll still be able to see so wearing an eye-patch won't be necessary,)" Haxorus replied simply as he tried to pry himself free from the jolly dragon's grip, but Dragonite wouldn't let go and hugged the axe jaw pokemon tighter causing the Haxorus to irritably growl under his breathe.
"(Do you want me to kiss it to make it all better?)" Dragonite teased Haxorus as he put a claw behind the axe jaw pokemon's head half-heartedly attempted pulled him closer to him so he could kiss the scar tissue around the axe jaw pokemon's eye.
Haxorus sighed in annoyance as he felt Dragonite's lips make contact with his scar and Dragonite, seeing Hydreigon's thoroughly pissed face, released his grip on the axe jaw pokemon and passed him to the three headed dragon. Hydreigon furiously barked all kinds of obscenities at the jolly dragon who laughed heartily at each and every one as Hydreigon meticulously scanned Haxorus for any injuries that the doctors might have overlooked.
"(Glad to see you're doing okay bro,)" Druddigon stated to Haxorus causing the axe jaw pokemon grin at the fairy tale dragon as he and Druddigon embraced one another affectionately before releasing their grip on another.
Haxorus, seeing that Hydreigon was still inspecting him, gently grabbed the sides of Hydreigon's middle head and tilted it upwards so they were staring at each other eye-to-eye.
"(I'm fine, stop worrying,)" Haxorus reassured the three headed dragon who let out a soft yip before nodding as just like with Dragonite, wrapped his arms underneath the axe jaw pokemon's armpits and his tail around Haxorus's waist.
"Aye matey, have ye' been searching fer gold?" Delia joked with Haxorus causing the axe jaw pokemon to concernedly glance at the dragon tamer causing Delia to huff and angrily fold her arms while staring off to the side with a blush on her face.
"Oh what, Dragonite can make jokes about you becoming a pirate and all's well and good, but the second I do so it's like I'm having a fever?!" Delia irritably barked as Haxorus softly laughed at her reply and extending his tail to her, affectionately patted the dragoness on the head causing Delia to scoff and bat the appendage away with small grin on her face.
"(It's great to see you on your feet again,)" Lopunny said to the axe jaw pokemon warmly as she couldn't get in a hug when Hydreigon was hogging Haxorus all to himself so she contented herself by extending her giant ear to Haxorus who reached out his tail and gently shook her ear.
"Things are beginning to look up," Delia thought to herself as she and her parents watched her team playfully mock and tease one another while doting over Haxorus who wasn't at 100% yet.
Pov shift
"Dmitri, believe me when I say I just want to take you home so that way I can at least try to protect you, but that would just put all of Bisharp's targets in one region. The best way you can help is continuing your journey so Bisharp can spread his forces thin fighting four adversaries on two different fronts," Karen told her son over the pokegear while Dmitri soaked all of this new information in before letting out a sigh and addressing his mom.
"I understand mom; just please do your best to keep yourself and everyone else safe. I don't want to lose you or Stephanie too," Dmitri replied causing Karen to pinch the bridge of her nose and shake her head ruefully at that day that changed everything.
"I can't promise you that something bad won't happen to me, Stephanie, or anyone else, but I can promise you I'll do my best to safeguard Unova like I have done so before," Karen replied causing Dmitri to go silent on the other line for a moment before speaking into the device once more.
"Okay mom, I love you," Dmitri responded causing the former champion to crack a small grin and put a hand on her hip.
"I love you too," Karen replied lovingly as the call cut off after a few seconds had passed while Dmitri ran a hand through his hair and thought about this new enemy carefully while watching his team happily converse with Delia and Catherine's pokemon.
"We'll be better prepared for the next group that comes after us; we'll just need to learn what we need to improve on and perfect what we already know," Dmitri whispered as he watched Maris finally succeed in getting Samurott to mingle with their team as the otter shyly bowed to the other pokemon while the martial arts pokemon warmly patted her on the back.
Timeskip
"Ladies and Gentleman, we welcome you back to the Hearthome Tag Team Competition and to start things off we have Catherine and Paul versus Alex and Dmitri!" the announcer bellowed to the crowd causing a massive wave of cheers to erupt from the audience.
"Sheesh, I'm glad to see you're not pushing up daisies Dmitri," Alex whispered to the battle ace with a relieved tone as she playfully punched him in the shoulder while seeing that Zangoose was no longer at his side and in her place was a giant otter covered in some kind of armor.
"Zangoose went back with Nurse Joy so she could rehabilitate her shoulder; Tomoe, meet Alex. Alex, meet Tomoe," Dmitri introduced the two to each other as Samurott respectfully bowed to the battle girl who likewise gave the otter a polite nod in response.
"Trainers, please send out your pokemon!" the announcer yelled as Alex threw her pokeball out onto the field causing a Medicham to materialize onto the field while Dmitri slowly gripped Sparkplug's pokeball with some strain and stared at it contemplatively.
Feeling Maris's paw on his shoulder, he sent his girlfriend a grateful nod and threw the lioness's pokeball out onto the field where she materialized next to Medicham with a ferocious roar.
"Ursaring, time to shine!" Catherine boomed as she threw the bear's pokeball out onto the field where the ursine appeared on the field with a challenging bellow sent straight at Sparkplug who barred her teeth at the grizzly bear.
"Chimchar, stand by for battle!" Paul yelled as Chimchar once again took the field and to Delia, Dmitri's, and Catherine's disgust, the fire primate looked worse for wear just as it had been during its first battle with Rhyperior and Magmar.
"Ursaring, watch out for Paul! He won't hesitate to attack you if it means getting the edge over his opponents!" Catherine informed her friend, not caring that the trainer she was warning Ursaring against was standing right next to her, causing the grizzly bear to warily gaze at Chimchar and Paul before sending the former heiress a grateful nod.
"I see even in the face of two attacks by an army of pokemon, you still find a way to train Chimchar to exhaustion," Catherine scathingly said to Paul with her eyes narrowed at the purple haired boy while Paul just put his hands in his pocket.
"If we're going to get stronger, then we need to train any chance we get," Paul responded calmly causing Catherine to snort derisively at what he said and faced forward so she could concentrate on the battle to come.
"(You can do this, Sparkplug! Kick Paul's callous ass and defeat Catherine's awkward, but kind ass!)' Maris cheered for her teammate the only way she knew how causing Sparkplug to wildly grin and nod at what her teammate said before sympathetically gazing at Chimchar causing her to adopt a focused stare and an intense, but relaxed posture.
"Battle begin!"