Ch. 63
Tension
Pokemon is the property of its respective owners, Ocs belong to me
As Alice explained to Lance what was going on, a million thoughts ran through Dmitri's head. Why had Lance always refused to build a satellite school in Johto and why did he let stereotypes get in the way of forging bonds with those overseas? He wanted these questions and more answered, but until the threat of the clone army passed, he would stay focused.
"And then we ran into Kelly whom we're going to assist in crippling the beachhead. So are you going to help us or throw us in jail?" Alice inquired while narrowing her eyes and folding her arms at Lance who rubbed his chin and regarded the thrall warily as if she was a crazed murderer ready to strike at any moment.
"(Thus far, this Lance fails to impress,)" Tomoe mumbled causing Dmitri to gently nudge the otter in the ribs which made the warrior gaze at her master with a wooden stare.
"He's champion for a reason; as supposedly strong as Red is, that doesn't mean he's qualified to run two regions," Dmitri reasoned which made the samurai snort, but nevertheless nodded as she saw first hand the failure of supposed leadership based on who was the strongest warrior.
"So even if I were to throw you in jail for all the crimes you committed which is an option very much on the table, Oni would just break you out?" Lance questioned the thrall which made the ex-heiress nod causing both Lance and Kelly to glare at her which Alice ignored along with the fact that Espeon was absentmindedly gnawing on her boot.
"Pretty much and considering what Arceus and my master did to me, I'd say I've more than paid for my crimes," Alice responded in a somewhat calm tone with an obvious edge to it causing Lance to continue to stare at the indentured servant warily while the ranger put her hands on her hips and glared at the thrall.
"That's not what the families of your victims would say," Kelly retorted and to her disgust, Alice merely shrugged which made Espeon irritably shake her head before going back to chewing on Alice's boot.
"I do regret my past actions now that I've experienced them, but they've got to accept the fact that I can't pay more for them than I already have," Alice coolly rebuked causing Kelly to ball her hand into a fist before jolting when she felt Lance clasp her shoulder causing her to glance at the champion.
"When this is all over, I"m going to need to speak with you master to see if we can come to an agreement," Lance stated calmly, but firmly and to Dmitri's surprise, Alice nodded ever so slightly which made Espeon give an over the top gasp causing the ex-heiress shoot an irritated glare at the pink cat.
Shrugging, Espeon smiled innocently before rolling around in the grass without a care in the world which made Alice grumble and roll her eyes before unflinchingly gazing directly into Lance's eyes.
"Oni still needs me in the field and Dmitri still has to come with me so whatever you try to make her agree on, make sure it doesn't interfere with those two things," Alice suggested causing Lance to snort, but nod nevertheless as he glanced at all his gathered allies which made Tomoe fold her arms while Dmitri stared down at the ground.
"Alright, Kelly and I will stay here and keep an eye on the beachhead. You two go to that group of clones and get some of them to help us out," Lance ordered causing Alice to grunt before walking away with her partners which made Dmitri and Tomoe start following them before the battle ace heard Lance call out to him.
"Wait," Lance hollered which made Dmitri pause in his stride and blankly stare at the expert dragon tamer while Tomoe narrowed her eyes, but managed to catch herself when she saw she had unconsciously reached for her blades.
"You're Darris's son, right? I heard about the plane crash; my sympathies for your loss. Your father and I had our differences, but he was a good man," Lance kindly told Dmitri causing the battle ace to widen his eyes before slowly nodding in disbelief and walking toward Alice where they once again let Espeon lead the way.
"Elise, Coal and Soot's flames are powerful, but they're unfocused which will lead to them not only tiring out quicker, but will cause them to harm friend and foe alike. Have them breathe properly and compress their flames which will not only preserve their energy, but also make their attacks stronger," Karen advised the self proclaimed Queen of Fire causing Elise to dutifully nod and holler at her two emboars who stopped recklessly clobbering and spewing fire onto the training dummies upon hearing their friend.
Glancing at one another, the two fire boars shrugged and followed through on the instructions causing Coal's flames to take on a darker, denser hue while Soot's smoke went through the same change, but within the smog one could see sparks of electricity crackling and bursting akin to a thunderstorm. Suddenly, Coal enveloped himself in a destructive, but controlled maelstrom of searing hot fire while Soot took a deep breathe in and let it back out which helped her coat her arms in the hazardous smoke as Coal then barreled into several of the practice dummies with reckless abandon while Soot lunged at the stationary targets with an arm reared back. Elise's jaw dropped as Coal not only demolished the practice dummies into dust, but also reduced them to nothing but ash all while leaving the ground only slightly charred unlike before where he would unintentionally create sunspot like burns around the area.
Elise's astonishment continued when Soot, instead of going for a fire punch, roughly smashed her open palm up into where the nose would be on many of the dummies causing not only some of them to go flying or have their heads snap back, but also created nasty burns with both the electricity and the smoke which charred the dummy pitch black. Noticing Elise's stunned reaction, Coal pounded his chest while Soot chuckled softly and waved at her friend which shook Elise out of her stupor as she ran up to her friends and caught them both in a flying hug before turning to Karen with an elated grin.
"All three of you are doing great! Just keep working on what I told you and you three will be a force to be reckoned with," Karen simultaneously praised and advised her students causing Elise to eagerly nod, Soot to give the former champion a thumbs up, while Coal pounded his fists together with a confident smirk.
Smiling, Karen waved to the trio and then walked over to see how Zach's training was going where she saw it was proceeding with...less than success.
"Golden Streak, c'mon You can do it!" Zach encouraged the animate boulder which seemed his partner on as he jabbed his fists forward causing the ground to shake violently as if the planet itself was threatening to split apart...only for Golden Streak to tiredly collapse on his knees just as soon as the attack started.
"(Just give it up, Zach. We've been at it for a while now and this just shows that controlling the output of magnitude isn't possible,)" Zach's other trusty pokemon, a Bisharp, stated bluntly by lightly clashing her gauntlets together and then using echoing effects to translate what she was saying causing her trainer to grunt.
"You're not helping, Silver; just go work on your substitute or something," Zach responded with a bit more force than he intended while waving her off causing Silver to snarl and put her hands on her hips.
"(Fine, but it would be more effective if my trainer, i.e. you, helped me with it,)" Silver retorted while walking over to a separate patch of land away from the duo causing Zach to spare a glance at his friend who didn't look back at him.
Deciding now was the time to intervene, Karen walked up to Zach who was still trying to goad Golden Streak to use magnitude at its highest possible output, but the living rock was simply too tired to do so.
"Zach, you can't go from 0 to 100 and expect significant progress," the former champion began causing the young man to say nothing and glance at Golden Streak who was still resting on one knee before closing his eyes, sighing softly, and rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, alright. But you saw it, how Golden Streak controlled the output of magnitude and used it at its highest setting. If he could just get a better handle-"
"Golden Streak's "handle" on the move is superb, it's just that you're forcing him to use magnitude at its most powerful when his body hasn't gotten used to the strain yet. Take a step back; let Golden Streak's body get used to using the lower level settings first before moving onto the more powerful ones," Karen advised her student causing Zach to sigh before nodding and encouraged Golden Streak to use magnitude at its first setting causing the animate boulder to raise a brow, but followed through nonetheless.
"Hmm, good. Keep doing that for a while before moving onto the next setting; who knows, maybe you'll even learn to use self-destruct or explosion without harming yourself," Karen offhandedly commented causing Zach's eyes to widen while Golden Streak confusedly glanced at the teacher.
"That's possible?" Zach inquired incredulously causing Karen to smile ever so slightly before nodding which made Golden Streak's eyes widen before refocusing on the task at hand, but still kept an ear to the conversation.
"It is; Dmitri's new friend, Catherine, managed to figure out a way to do so with her Graveler," Karen responded with a cheeky grin causing Golden Streak to grunt as he resolved to master magnitude before mastering self-destruct and explosion the way this Catherine and her Graveler did.
"If a Graveler can do it, then we sure as hell can!" Zach exclaimed confidently causing Golden Streak to nod vigorously which made the former champion to smile at her student's determination, but before he could walk away she put a hand on his shoulder causing him to raise a brow.
"Remember to help Silver out too; just because she isn't your main ringer doesn't mean you should neglect her training," Karen suggested causing Zach to sigh heavily and bow his head causing the former champion to pat his shoulder and walk over to where the metallic ranger was skulking around.
"(Stupid Zach, work on substitute he says,)" Silver muttered under her breathe while kicking a nearby pebble across the ground before instantly conjuring a body double from her life force and glancing over her shoulder where she saw Zach still working with Golden Streak.
Growling, Silver conjured white, razor sharp blades which extended down her leg and ended at her foot and glared at her body double which continued to blankly stare ahead. Releasing a war cry, the knight angrily kicked the doppelganger in half causing the torso to fly up in the air while the lower half slumped to the ground before both parts of the body dissipated into mist which Karen to clear her throat. Grunting, the knight retracted the blades back into her legs and blankly gazed at the former champion over her shoulder causing Karen to calmly cross her arms over her chest.
"There's a better way to use substitute you know," the former champion interjected causing Silver to grunt and spare a glance at Zach once more who still didn't look over at her which made the knight sigh.
"(Well, I'm all ears,)" Silver replied while gesturing to the patch of land in front of her causing the former champion to walk closer to the ranger only to grimace and nearly fall to the ground, but Silver caught her just in time.
"(Sheesh, take it easy. Don't go hurting yourself more than the enemy did,)" Silver told the former champion in a haughty, but worried tone while helping Karen stand making the teacher chuckle under her breathe.
"Alright, so instead of shaving off your life force to conjure a body double, I want you to instead use your negative emotions to do so," Karen ordered the ranger who looked at the former champion as if she grew a second head, but nevertheless hunched over slightly and concentrated, but found she couldn't conjure a body double as easily as she had done previously.
Widening her eyes and glancing over her shoulder when she heard Zach praise Golden Streak, Silver gritted her teeth and tensed her muscles as a dark, spiteful energy bubbled inside of her before being released from her body. Raising a brow when the energy formed itself into a near identical body double along with not exhausting her as much as when she used her life force, Silver allowed an ever so slight grin to cross her face.
"(...Thanks,)" Silver stated causing Karen to give a smile of her own as Zach walked over to where the knight was along with Golden Streak causing Silver's expression to sour as she folded her arms and averted her gaze from him.
"...Good job, Silver," Zach complimented the knight who widened her eyes and blushed lightly before scowling as Golden Streak gently shoved Zach toward Silver causing him to glare at the animate boulder who shrugged innocently.
"Look, I know I haven't been giving you enough attention, but if you let me I'll do my best to make up for it," Zach told the knight who snorted and continued to look away from him as Karen suddenly nudged the knight in her sides and gestured at Zach causing Silver to rub her arm before shaking her head.
"(Fine, just don't make the same mistake again,)" Silver relented while pointing her finger at Zach's face which made her friend nod and after some reluctance, patted her shoulder making the knight blush lightly.
"Can I have a moment with Silver, Zach?" Karen requested causing the young man to raise a brow, but nodded nonetheless causing Silver to follow the former champion away from her trainer and teammate where they conversed underneath a tree.
"I know it's not easy, but you have to move on-"
"(It's not that; Zach's happy with Elise and I'm okay with that, but now I'm left with no one. Golden Streak, Coal, and Soot are good company, but neither of them are my type,)" Silver quickly corrected the former champion causing Karen to widen her eyes before nodding and clasping the knight's shoulder.
"There's nothing I can really say that will make you feel better, but just hang in there," Karen responded causing the knight to huff and glance at Zach who was staring up at the sky before switching her gaze over to Elise who was roughhousing with her two Emboars.
"(I'll try,)" Bisharp responded which made the former champion nod and gesture at Zach with her head causing Silver to roll her eyes, but nevertheless walked over to trainer after giving Karen a courteous, knightly bow.
"(It's hard being the overseer, isn't it?)" Oni mused as the titan saw through the former champion's eyes that Silver had begun to work on substitute with Zach and Golden Streak's help as Karen sighed heavily.
"It is; any reason why you decided to contact me again?" Karen inquired as she released a heavy breathe and sat down on a nearby rock where she watched her students train while Oni hummed softly before responding.
"(Just letting you know that I contacted Stephanie and Hope and I'm sending them over to you now,)" Oni informed the former champion who nodded and watched as Silver created another body double of herself with less strain than before while Soot began to shadow box with powerful, but precise palm heel strikes.
"Thank you," Karen gratefully told presence of Oni who grunted while attuning her senses with Alice's and saw that her thrall along with Dmitri were well on their way towards the separate group of clones.
"(You are welcome,)" Oni responded amiably as she opened a crimson rift opened in front of Karen causing Elise, Coal, Soot, Zach, Golden Streak, Silver, and a nearby pack of herdiers and stoutlands to take defensive positions around the portal.
Keldeo along with Ferrothorn, Excadrill, and a Stoutland quickly arrived on the scene as well and readied themselves only for Hope, Malakai, the Scolipede family, N, Touko, and all of Karen's pokemon to exit the rift causing the former champion to step in between the group before fighting could break out.
"It's alright, these are my friends," Karen informed Keldeo and his allies who exchanged glances with one another before relaxing as Stephanie immediately coiled around the former champion in a tight, warm embrace which the teacher eagerly returned.
"(Thought we lost you,)" Stephanie murmured as she nuzzled her forehead against Karen's forehead as Rhyperior, Slowbro, Lucario, Electivire, and Salamence hugged their friend while Hope, Malakai, N, and Touko smiled at the display.
"I'm here now," Karen whispered back as she closed her eyes and leaned into her friend's embrace as Keldeo and his allies continued to patiently watch the spectacle before the former champion broke off the hug and stared at the ex Sword of Justice.
"Keldeo, Elise, Zach, I believe you're familiar with my friends, but to everyone else, allow me to introduce Stephanie, Rhyperior, Slowbro, Salamence, Lucario, Electivire, the Scolipede family, Hope, Malakai, N, and Touko," Karen introduced loud enough for everyone to hear while gesturing to each of her friends causing all the gathered rebels to politely extend their greetings to their new found allies as Keldeo spoke up.
"(While we're all grateful for your help, we still don't have enough numbers to launch a full-scale assault on the New Swords of Justices' base. We can mitigate that by attacking what remains of their camps around Victory Road, but I'd rather not prolong this war,)" Keldeo explained causing Karen to nod slowly as she put a hand on her chin and stared down at the ground as everyone suddenly felt a calm, but overwhelming pressure.
"(Then you won't have to wait very long; Karen, I've contacted Alder and he wishes to speak with you,)" Oni suddenly cut in causing the former champion to widen her eyes as the pressure abruptly shifted which made everyone wince slightly before they all heard the voice of Karen's successor speaking to them.
"Karen, I heard about what happened; are you alright?" Alder concernedly asked his old friend causing tears to well at the former champion's eyes and put a hand on her gut causing Slowbro to hug her calf, Rhyperior to pull Karen closer to her, and Stephanie to place a vine on her shoulder.
Smiling, Karen released a soft breathe and wiped away her tears with the back of her forearm while the rest of the rebels around wondered who exactly the voice was and how she was able to contact them.
"Not really, but I'm doing my best to manage. What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Karen inquired as the rest of her allies patiently waited for Alder to respond while Keldeo curiously wondered how the mysterious voice was able to accomplish the feats it showed thus far.
"My Elite Four and I have finally been able to round up all the trainers from the qualifications you've specified and along with the police, gym leaders, and their pupils are prepared to make the final push into Victory Road. We're just wondering if you and your allies are ready to go as well," Alder responded causing Karen to glance at Keldeo who thoughtfully stared down at the ground and then glanced at his gathered rebels.
Stoutland, Elise, Zach, Ferrothorn, Excadrill, Coal, Soot, Golden Streak, and Silver; all of them obviously had their reservations and doubts, but they all looked back at him with steeled resolve causing the Sword of Justice to look at Karen and nod. Returning the gesture, the former champion brushed back some of her hair and released a breathe.
"We are, but we should meet up and discuss how we're going to coordinate our forces along with Keldeo's rebels," Karen informed her successor causing Alder to grunt and for a moment, all everyone heard was silence before he spoke up.
"Wasn't Keldeo part of the reason why we're in this mess? Are you sure you tru-"
"I do, and he's as much as part of this war as any of us are. When we come together to make a plan, I expect him to be treated as a fellow leader, not a mindless thug like his former mentors were," Karen sharply interrupted her successor causing Alder to grumble while Keldeo allowed a grateful grin to cross his face.
"Very well, but not everyone is going to be happy about this arrangement. Meet us at the Pokemon League in a few hours," Alder conceded which made Karen voice her affirmative as Alder's voice suddenly faded away, but everyone still felt the presence of Oni around the rebel camp.
"(It's good to see cooperation from both of our species; I'll be taking my leave now if you guys have things covered,)" Oni began causing Karen to cordially bid the titan farewell, but Keldeo suddenly shouted for the guardian of the sea to wait which made the presence of Oni raise a brow, but remain silent.
"(Will you be joining us during the meeting or the assault?)" Keldeo questioned causing the presence of Oni to sigh softly which to the rebels felt like a gentle, but strong gust of wind before the titan responded.
"(I cannot; there's another matter in Johto that I must attend to,)" Oni politely declined causing the Sword of Justice to widen his eyes before gritting his teeth and glaring at the presence who calmly stared back at him.
He didn't know what Johto was or why this being, this Oni, had remained on the sidelines until this very moment, but he wasn't about to turn down help or let it slip away that easily.
"(But you must! You have great power and you could help us end this war-)"
"Keldeo, calm down. As Oni has said before, she isn't from this region, but rather one far overseas,)" Karen explained gently, but firmly which caused the ex Sword of Justice to grumble, but begrudgingly held his tongue as before staring at the warm, yet overwhelming presence of the titan.
"(A region other than Unova?)" Keldeo repeated in a tone barely above a whisper before shaking his head; there would be time to ponder the possibilities this new revelation had, he had to focus on the here and now.
"(Very well; Oni, while I'm a bit disappointed that you won't be helping us, I understand that you have to take care of your home region,)" Keldeo hesitantly conceded causing the presence of Oni to nod as it focused on the ex Sword of Justice as if she was Arceus herself casting judgment on the young legendary.
"(Thank you; perhaps when this war is over, you and I can forge an alliance with one another,)" Oni mused causing the ex Sword of Justice to sigh softly as he glanced at Stoutland who nodded and went to inform the legions of this new development and then at Excadrill who went to tell those living with them what was going down.
"(Although I'm no longer a Sword of Justice, I will very much consider it; Unova has been isolated from the world long enough,)" Keldeo responded causing the presence of the titan to shake her head and release a soft breathe which made the ex Sword of Justice raise a brow as the titan spoke to him once more.
"(Even if you're no longer part of a legendary group, you're still a legendary so don't sell yourself short,)" Oni wisely pointed out causing Keldeo grumble and recall his service within Cobalion's army and the horrors he committed that he knew he would pay for once he passed on from this world.
"(I'm doing my best to guide my people now, but I fear that it only just end up like how Cobalion ran her domain,)" Keldeo bitterly retorted as the faces of his victims, both human and pokemon, rushed through his head like a tidal wave.
"(You know better now and have a chance to make up for your misdeeds; don't let your fears, doubts, and past mistakes rule you,)" Oni sagely replied causing Keldeo to grunt, but otherwise said nothing as the presence of the titan suddenly vanished leaving the ex Sword of Justice a lot to think about.
"How much farther?" Alice gruffly inquired which made Dmitri shoot the ex heiress a disapproving glance, but kept silent as the pink cat's hackles suddenly raised causing Tomoe to take out her blade and place Dmitri behind her.
"(We're almost there, but as you can tell someone has come to greet us,)" Espeon pointed out as she crouched down as if on the hunt and narrowed her eyes while Poliwrath tensed her muscles and Alice activated her malevolent, crimson aura.
For a moment, everything was completely silent with nothing but the wind making any sound, but soon the silence was broken when the group saw a light blue, dragon like creature break from the treeline which caused a powerful draft of wind which nearly knocked Dmitri on his butt, yet he stood strong against the wind. When the creature landed on the ground with a loud thud, the battle ace saw that it's belly, arms, shoulders, and legs were coated with ice and sand like growths, it's light blue skin was cracked, and it's eyes glowed a faint white.
"(It's a Charizard, but...)" Espeon started only for a few more creatures to pop out of the bush like a dark red turtle with cannons jutting out of its shell, a large rat similar to a Pikachu with its paws seemingly made entirely out of obsidian, and a praying mantis like creature with thick, deadly cleavers that took the place of its arms which seemed to be partially made of psychic energy.
"(I would like to avoid hostilities so please answer our questions truthfully and don't make any sudden moves. Who are you and why have you come to our home?)" the odd looking Charizard asked calmly, but firmly while standing up to his full height which was a staggering 20 feet which only added to his already intimidating presence.
"Powerful one, we do not seek to cause any harm, we've merely come-"
"(The boy is lying, Charizard! See their belts!? The girl and the boy are trainers and now they seek to rip away our friends and families away from each other!)" the weird looking Blastoite interrupted Dmitri and glared at the boy which made Tomoe grip the hilt of her blade tightly while Charizard merely snorted.
"(Maybe, maybe not, but we must know for sure that they are a threat before-)"
"(We don't have time for that! If you won't keep our people safe, I will!)" Blastoise shouted and before the pseudo dragon could order his cohort to back down, the turle had already aimed its mortars at Dmitri and Tomoe and fired powerful, pointed salvos of fire at the duo which resembled comets streaking across the night sky.
Before either Tomoe or Espeon could retaliate, Charizard seemingly teleported in front of the attacks and caught them in his claws where they quickly began to cool down and evaporate into mist causing Blastoise to glare at his cohort.
"(Thus far, the only one with ill intent is you, not the strangers, Now stand down,)" Charizard growled in a deathly calm voice and glowered at the turtle and if looks could kill, Blastoise would be dead many times over.
Snarling, but not saying anything, Blastoise retracted its cannons back into its shell and begrudgingly stepped back as Charizard took a deep breathe in and let it back out before glancing at Dmitri once more.
"(I am sorry that this meeting took such an uncivil turn; you truly do mean no harm as you claim?)" the titanic Charizard questioned the boy who nodded and did his best to not look away from the pseudo dragon despite the urge to do so which made Charizard grumble softly, but remained silent as Dmitri began to speak.
"Yes, powerful one; originally, my friends and Alice came here because we sensed great power coming from you and your kin and we wanted to see if any of you were willing to come with us. Now, however, we discovered that the foreign pokemon you speak of have formed an alliance with some other clones and are preparing for some sort of invasion," Dmitri explained causing the wizened guardian to nod slowly while Blastoise derisively snorted causing the battle ace to calmly stare at the turtle.
"(Yeah, we already know about the beachhead and our great leader here just wants us to sit on our hands and hope they don't bother us,)" Blastoise said with as much venom as he could muster causing Espeon to roll her eyes while Charizard shot a death glare at the turtle who glared back at him before averting his gaze.
"(That is not what our stance is and you know it; we can discuss this more in the safety of our den. Please, come,)" Charizard offered causing Blastoise to grit its teeth and tense its muscles while the rest of the guard didn't seem all too bothered by this new development and merely waited for the pseudo dragon to lead the way back.
"(Now you would invite outsiders into our home without fully ascertaining what their intentions are? I swear, you put us more and more at risk with each passing day,)" Blastoise spat disdainfully causing Charizard to round on the turtle and release a puff of ice like mist from his nostrils which quickly sapped the turtle's courage.
With Blastoise having backed down, Charizard glanced at Dmitri, his friends, and Alice and gestured with his head for them to follow him which they did and after what seemed like an eternity, they came upon the face of a giant mountain.
"(Please step back,)" Charizard politely requested as he planted his claws in between the solid rock and pulled it apart which revealed a giant veil of leaves and brush which made Dmitri and Alice raise a brow as Charizard gestured for his cohorts to go on ahead.
The scouting party did so with Blastoise shooting the group a glare before walking through the foliage causing Espeon to blow a raspberry at the turtle while Tomoe muttered a curse under her breathe as they began to follow the pseudo dragon through the brush. What awaited them made the group widen their eyes as they saw an oasis of with happy families of pokemon dwelling within dens with delicious food and clean, pristine water easily available to them. Jolting a bit when he heard the "door" closing behind them, Dmitri continued to take in the scenery before he felt Tomoe pat his shoulder and gesture with her head to the front where the battle ace saw Charizard trudging along with Alice, Espeon, and Poliwrath following him. Grumbling, Dmitri jogged to catch up to them with Tomoe in tow where they saw the residents of the oasis giving them a mixture of curious, wary, and suspicious gazes which the battle ace and his bodyguard fully understood.
Seeing the pseudo dragon leading them into the mouth of a cave which was lit up with some sort of glowing sap, Charizard took a seat on a nearby boulder and gestured to the other ones scattered across the room causing Alice to lean against one, Poliwrath to sit down on one, and Espeon to just lay down on the floor with her butt sticking up in the air. Ignoring the pink cat's antics, Dmitri sat down on a rock where he quickly realized the top was cut off and replaced with a soft cotton while Tomoe stood beside him ready to act at a moment's notice.
"(Forgive Blastoise; he means well, but he lacks the experience and maturity to understand that most of his actions will only harm, not help our people,)" Charizard began causing Dmitri, Tomoe, and Poliwrath to nod, Alice to snort, and Espeon to let out an "oooh" and shake her head which made the pseudo dragon raise a brow.
"(Sorry, but if I were in your place I wouldn't be defending the guy. I mean, he was dissing you pretty bad back there,)" Espeon pointed out while shifting her position on the ground and curling her tail causing Charizard to let out a puff of icy mist from his nostrils as Tomoe suddenly joined in the conversation.
"(And he attacked Dmitri and I; you should get him in line or take him out of the field entirely before his well meaning intentions give you an enemy you simply can't fight,)" Tomoe suggested causing the pseudo dragon to snort, but say nothing as he briefly glanced at the myriad of families going about their lives before looking back at her.
"(That is a deep concern of mine and rest assured, if Blastoise attempts anything like that I'll take more aggressive measures against him, but I understand his frustration. I too want to do more to help than just provide sanctuary to refugees, but as it stands now we're in no shape to launch a direct assault,)" Charizard explained with a deep, heavy sigh which made Tomoe nod understandably and recall when she came upon villages in similar situations in the days of old while Dmitri leaned forward slightly and clasped his hands together.
"If you're able to provide sanctuary to refugees, then you must have some sort of peace keeping force in place to watch over all the citizens, right?" Dmitri pointed out causing the pseudo dragon to release a soft growl and nod slowly which only added to the battle ace's confusion before Charizard held up a claw.
"(We do, but although a fair number of my clone brethren remain with us, the enemy army has far more of my clone brethren with them. Even if our peace keeping force and the beachhead had an equal amount of clones, we're still outnumbered and frankly, outmatched in raw power,)" Charizard answered causing Dmitri to open his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it when he couldn't come up with a response.
"You're leaving out something," Alice suddenly and bluntly cut in after remaining silent for so long causing Dmitri to raise a brow, Tomoe to glare at the ex-heiress, Espeon to roll her eyes, and Poliwrath to briefly put a palm to her face.
"(The two foreign pokemon, Zoroark and Haxorus I believe they called themselves, promised they would leave our oasis alone if we stayed out of their way. Though what they intend to do is horrible, they've given me no reason not to believe they won't keep their word,)" the pseudo dragon reluctantly admitted while briefly narrowing his eyes at the thrall who ignored his gaze causing Tomoe to rub her chin.
"(I understand; while you wish to combat this menace, you also don't want to put your people at risk by striking back at a foe that has been magnanimous towards you,)" Tomoe responded causing Charizard to guiltily nod and hang his head down causing Espeon to finally sit up and leap up on the rock next to Poliwrath.
"(Yes, and it's the main reason why Blastoise and I haven't been seeing eye to eye recently as you saw earlier,)" Charizard replied solemnly as he ran his hands over his face and let out a long, deep sigh which made Espeon scratch the top of her head with her tail and purse her lips before her gem lit up like a light bulb.
"(Oooh, I got an idea! How about you let us and some of the clones from your village fight for you? It's win-win; you can do more to help others outside of your village and you can take a more active role against the enemy army. If we get caught, you can disavow knowledge of our activities and your village will remain safe!)" Espeon excitedly suggested causing Poliwrath to tilt her head and Alice to widen her eyes while Dmitri and Tomoe uncertainly exchanged glances with one another as Charizard considered this option.
"(It's a shrewd decision though, and I don't want to throw allies such as yourselves under the bus,)" Charizard replied coolly causing Espeon to chuckle softly which made the pseudo dragon raise a brow as the pink cat regained her composure and straightened out her back as she realized all eyes were on her.
"(Nah, we got this. They may have an army, but they don't have our unpredictability,)" Espeon assured the gigantic lizard with a wide grin which didn't abate Charizard's unease in the slightest as he cast a glance outside of the cavern once more and then looked back at is guests before sighing heavily.
"(Very well; I will allow some of my clone brethren to accompany you if they wish and should the worst case scenario play out, I will disavow knowledge of your actions even though I'd rather not,)" Charizard begrudgingly conceded causing Espeon and Poliwrath to share a high five while Dmitri and Tomoe couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
"(Thanks, we promise we won't cause trouble while we're here!)" Espeon told the giant who grunted and sauntered out of the cave leaving the odd group alone together as Dmitri, Espeon, and Poliwrath jumped off of their makeshift chairs.
"(Whelp, I'll contact Lance and ask him to send the rest of his Elite Four; unpredictability is great, but having more guys to back you up just in case never hurts. You guys work your magic and see if you can convince some of them to come with us,)" Espeon stated causing Alice to snort and fold her arms while Dmitri nodded slowly as he and Alice narrowed their eyes at one another before exiting the cave with Espeon, Tomoe, and Poliwrath in tow.