Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Shadows of Ganderosa

Chapter 19

Renegades


(Author's information on this chapter)

I've been attempting to avoid this issue, but right now, it isn't possible. For the sake of you, the reader, I'm not going to go into massive, excessive amounts of description. If I name a pokemon you don't know, look it up. Describing fifteen pokemon is going to be too difficult and tedious for me and you. So, to avoid the long descriptions, I am only going to name some pokemon. This does not mean that I'm not going to go into descriptions of new pokemon. I'm only going to use this way of writing in extreme circumstances. You'll see what I mean in this chapter. Have your browsers ready to look up some pokemon! Anyways, that's all. Enjoy the chapter!


Team Rapture had made their way back to Palando with Bolt and Adelina. Ryan became Adelina's emotional support while Bolt didn't seem to talk with anyone; including Adelina. Arlon was unconscious for most of the trip, being towed mostly by Dillan. Hazel helped whenever she could, but Dillan preferred to carry him alone.

When they all got back from their journey, the group went straight to the Palando Guild.


By the time they reached the guild, Arlon was awake. Dillan would have put him back to sleep, but they had other issues. There was another riot outside of the gates. The air smelled of body odor from sweaty pokemon who had been outside all day. A voice echoed from the front of the guild.

"Look upon this building as the structure of the oppressive rulers!" Dillan looked over the crowd and found the greninja from Team Armageddon was up front. He was being lifted above the crowd by a rope tied to his waist. The rope was being carried by the black charizard from before. "The guildmembers are horrid pokemon who will help you for themselves! You are their currency!"

"We don't have time for this." Bolt snapped. Dillan was surprised to hear his voice. He hadn't talked all day; but right now, he sounded mad. "Get out of my way!" Bolt tried pushing aside a protester in an attempt to move forwards.

"Watch it!" a pokemon told Bolt. The pokemon looked like a big, golden sarcophagus with a blue design on the top. There were red eyes scowling at Bolt. It frowned at Bolt with its sharp teeth. It also had four big, shadowy arms and hands. It didn't seem to have any feet. The cofagrigus shoved the pikachu back.

"I need to get through!" Bolt shouted.

"Well excuse me!" the pokemon said. "Wait a minute. I know you! You're that fighter, Bolt!"

"Yeah, I am!" Bolt snapped. Some pokemon stopped protesting and looked at Bolt. That caused others to look. And others. Dillan felt nervous at the eyes that settled on Bolt as well as the rest of the team.

"That's Bolt." some whispered.

"Isn't he a guildmember?"

"Does that mean he's bad, too?"

"What do we do now?"

"If he's a guildmember, than are the other's guildmembers too?"

Pretty soon, more than half of the crowd was muttering about Bolt.

"Careful Dillan." Arlon warned with a grin. "Mobs get restless! Especially those caused by Team Armageddon!"

"Quiet." Dillan told the shiftree.

"What's going on?" the greninja asked. Dillan looked up. He took a gulp as the charizard flew forwards. He lowered the greninja between the crowd and Team Rapture. The crowd fell silent as their leader stopped chanting. The charizard then went next to the greninja on his right. Dillan was shocked to see a purple blob squish its way over the feet of the crowd over to the greninja's left. Dillan watched as Team Armageddon looked at his group. Arlon gave a wicked smile.

"Please kill them all?" Arlon asked.

"Shut up!" Bolt shouted at Arlon.

"You're Bolt, aren't you?" the charizard asked. "The famous E. B.?"

"Step aside." Bolt ordered.

"Who are you to order us around?" the greninja asked. He turned towards the crowd. "This is what we in Team Armageddon wish to end! This pokemon thinks he can order us around simply because he's a guildmember!"

"That's not true!" Bolt shouted. Dillan saw Bolt's fist clench. Apparently, Ryan saw it as well. The pachirisu stepped up to the greninja.

"Hey, froggy!" Ryan said. "Leave him alone!"

The greninja faced Ryan. "You want to boss me around as well?"

"I want you to stop spreading lies about the guild!" Ryan shouted. "You should be ashamed of yourself! You all should!"

"Shut it, you twit!" a pokemon hollered.

"Yeah! Go back to the dump you came from!" a second one said.

"Wait!" the greninja said as he put his hand up. The crowd silenced. "Let's hear what he has to say."

"Go on, Ryan." Arlon said with a grin of malice. "Tell them how they're all wrong. Tell them-" Bolt turned around to Arlon. He quickly planted his fist in Arlon's stomach. Dillan winced. Arlon wheezed, trying to take in oxygen.

"Brutality!" the greninja shouted.

"Stop it!" Dillan said. "You have no idea what he's done to Bolt."

"And what would the crime be to deserve abuse?"

"Tell them, Dillan!" Arlon said through gasps of breath. "Tell them about your mistake!"

"I said shut up!" Bolt shouted again.

"Bolt, please." Adelina said as she grabbed Bolt's arm. Adelina had tears in her eyes.

"Tell them how you let me murder Koa!" Arlon shouted. Those words were like daggers in in the hearts of Dillan, Adelina, and Bolt. Dillan hung his head in shame, Adelina began crying, and Bolt tried to get closer to Arlon.

"He didn't let you do anything!" Hazel snapped.

"You know what?" Ryan said. "Fine! We're the bad guys!" The crowd looked at Ryan with mixed expressions. Some were shocked at what he was saying. Others were of a more triumphant nature. "Yeah. I said it. We're the bad guys, so listen up! We're hurting too badly to give a crap about a bunch of protestors who want things to get better for themselves. We just want to hand over this murderer to the authorities before he hurts anyone else. Now, you can all stand there and protest about how unfair living is, but our friend doesn't get that option because of this shiftree. You can beat us up and get arrested for assault. You can even stop us from proceeding and risk this murderer getting loose and killing you. Or you can all get out of our way so we can get to the guild. What's it gonna be?"

The crowd was silent. Signs that were held up were drooping into the crowd. The greninja looked at Ryan with a look of disgust. The charizard simply scowled at Ryan.

"What do we do, boss?" the ditto asked the greninja excitedly.

"I'll tell you what, Bob." the greninja said. "We're going to move."

"You can't be serious." the charizard said. "Molan, he's part of the guild!"

"Quiet, Titus." the greninja, Molan, ordered. The charizard snorted and stuck his head in the air. Molan kept his eyes on Ryan. "Bob, tell everyone to move aside."

"Yeah boss, yeah." the ditto acknowledged. Bob glowed white and transformed into a loudred. Dillan was surprised to see this feat, even though he had seen it before. The ditto-turned-loudred looked at the crowd. "Boss says clear a way!"

"Tell them," Molan began. "Tell them that the guild members have threatened us with a murderer."

"What?" Ryan asked, thoroughly surprised. "No, I didn't-"

"Everyone move aside!" Bob yelled. "Boss says the guild's gonna release a murderer on us if we don't move!"

"That's not true!" Ryan protested.

"You win this round." Molan told Ryan with a wicked smile. "But know that we won't stand for this!"

"Yeah!" the crowd shouted. Most of them looked very mad at the group; though there were some at the front who looked at Armageddon's leaders with confusion.

Molan and Bob stepped to the left while Titus reluctantly went right. The crowd parted, making a path straight towards the guild's entrance. Dean and Haily were both looking at the group. Dean looked mad. Haily looked like her general, unemotional self. Team Rapture began walking through the crowd. The members of the crowd were saying things like, "Cowards!" or "Users!", all of which hurt Dillan. Do they truly feel that way? Are we really using them? The team walked onwards. About half-way through, one pokemon threw their sign at the group. It pelted Arlon in the side of the head. Arlon grinned at the hit. He didn't seem to feel it, but he did notice it.

"You're all an infection." Arlon said.

"Keep walking." Dillan told Arlon sternly.

"You think the tables have turned, don't you?" Arlon asked Dillan from the corner of his eye. "I'll be out in weeks. Once that happens, I'll start with your friend, Hazel. Then I'll move on to Ryan-" Arlon was interrupted by another sign that pelted him in the face. Arlon instinctually jerked back. Dillan was thankful for that sign, though things got worse. Pokemon began throwing signs all around, pelting the guildmembers. Adelina put her hands together and used protect to block the signs from hitting them. The guildmembers moved on for a few more seconds before reaching the guild.

"You threatened them?" Dean asked in an annoyed voice. "You think that was smart?"

"I didn't threaten them." Ryan stated.

"Yeah right, pipsqueak."

"Shut your trap, Dean." Bolt barked.

"What's your problem?" Dean asked.

"You're a member short." Haily pointed out. "Who's he and where is Koa?"

"Koa's..." Adelina tried to say. "He's..."

Haily's eyes widened. Her eyes darted between the members of the group. Dean looked shocked.

"He didn't." Haily said. "He isn't-"

"He's dead!" Bolt yelled. Tears formed around his eyes. "He killed him!" Bolt pointed at Arlon.

"Guilty as charged." Arlon said with a grin.

"You killed him?" Dean asked shakily. Dillan looked at Dean. He was shocked to find the machoke was shaking slightly.

"Why, yes I did." Arlon stated. "Do you want to know why?"

"Open the gates." Bolt ordered.

Haily and Dean opened the gates. Team Rapture, Adelina, and Arlon walked inside. Dillan looked back and saw Bolt hadn't.

"B-Bolt." Adelina said through tears. "What are you doing?"

"I can't do this anymore, C. A." Bolt said.

"Bolt-" Adelina tried to say.

"No." Bold interrupted. "I can't. Being on a team wasn't my idea. It was Koa's. And now he's gone..." Bolt had tears running down his cheeks.

"You're leaving the team?" Adelina asked.

"I don't know." Bolt admitted. "I just need some time to think." Bolt turned around and walked to the edge of the Protect.

"Butter fingers," Dean said. "You're giving up?"

"Just shut the gate, Dean." Bolt said.

Dean and Haily shut the gates, separating Bolt from the guild. Adelina dropped her protect. Bolt then walked through the crowd. The mob didn't close in. They just stared at him as he walked away.

Adelina turned towards Arlon. "You're a monster!" she yelled.

"I've been called worse, girly." Arlon stated. Adelina ran towards the guild's entrance. She entered the guild and disappeared behind its doors.

Dean walked up to Arlon. "You killed him." he stated.

"What do you care, Dean?" Ryan asked. "From what I saw, you bullied Koa."

Dean didn't pay attention to Ryan's comment. He grabbed Arlon by the mane and yanked him closer. The crowd gasped. Team Rapture were all shocked by Dean's action.

"Boy, learn something quickly." Arlon started. "I don't feel pain. Although, I assure you that you will."

"Come here." Dean let go of Arlon's mane and grabbed his arms. He then proceeded to pull the shiftree toward the guild's entrance.

"Be seeing you, Dillan!" Arlon called back.

"Dean, wait!" Haily shouted to him. Dean didn't care. He opened the guild's entrance and went inside.

"Come on." Ryan said. "Let's go before Dean does something he'll regret." Team Rapture followed Dean inside the guild.


It didn't take long for Team Rapture to see where Dean had gone. He had dragged Arlon into the Guildleader's quarters. Team Rapture entered the room.

"What is going on?" the Guildleader asked the group. His eyes rested upon Arlon. They widened upon seeing him.

"Tell him." Dean told the burned pokemon.

"You didn't say please." Arlon responded.

"Tell him or else."

Arlon gave a sigh. "Please. You have to pay attention. You can't threaten me with violence because I can't feel it."

"Enough." Garth said. "What happened to him? Why is he burned?"

"That's not the point-" Dean answered.

"Ask the gabite." Arlon interrupted. "It was his fault."

"Dillan?" Garth asked.

"Sir," Dillan began. "This pokemon is a kidnapper and murderer."

"Those are high accusations." Garth's tail began swishing back and forth.

"He's telling the truth." Ryan said. "He kidnapped me and Dillan a few weeks ago."

"He kidnapped you and Dillan?" Garth asked.

"Yes sir." Dillan answered.

"I assume this was before you joined the guild." Garth said.

"It was." Ryan acknowledged.

"Alright then. Who has he killed?"

No one answered.

"Do you know a pokemon named Bartholemuel Ferdinand?" Arlon asked.

Garth's eyes widened. "You killed a pokemon by that name?" he asked.

"You could say it was... Tantalizing." Arlon said.

"That's not who we're talking about." Dean said as he kneed Arlon in the stomach.

"Dean, stop it!" Hazel demanded.

"No, Sigourney!" Dean snapped. "He deserves it!" Dean looked at the Guildleader. "He killed Koa." Dean sounded hurt. He stared at the Guildleader.

Garth looked at Arlon with shock. There was a long period of silence. Garth broke the silence by asking slowly, "What is your name?"

"Arlon." Arlon told Garth. Garth looked at Arlon with horror.

"Tell me, Arlon, how did it feel?"

"Like I said before. It was tantalizing." Arlon answered with a grin. Garth stood up straight. He put his hands behind his back. His face turned into one that looked calm, yet stern.

"Arlon. Because Koa was a member of my guild, it is under my jurisdiction to judge you. I, Guildleader of the Palando Guild, find you guilty of the kidnapping of two guildmembers and the murder of Koa of the Palando Guild. I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment on Giratina's Isle. You will live out the remainder of your days on that island with no chance of a reduced sentence."

Arlon grinned. He turned to Dillan. "No jail can contain me. I'll be seeing you really soon, Dillan."

"Dean," Garth said. "Please take him to the cells."

Dean got behind Arlon and grabbed him by the arms. He began dragged him out of the room.

"Dean," Dillan began. "Wait." Dean turned around to face Dillan. The gabite walked up to Arlon. "Where did you take the prisoner pokemon after I escaped?"

Arlon looked at Dillan wickedly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Tell me!" Dillan ordered.

"Don't worry, Dillan." Arlon stated with a grin. "You'll see them soon. For now, you'll have to wait." He's not going to tell me no matter what I do.

"If that's all." Dean said. He pulled Arlon as the two exited the Guildleader's quarters.

When Dean was gone, Garth looked to Team Rapture. His face immediately changed into one of great sadness and worry. "Where is Koa's body?" he asked. Dillan turned to Garth sadly.

"We buried him outside of the Castle Ruins." Hazel told the Guildleader.

"What were you all doing there?"

I can't let the others take the fall for my mistake. "It was my fault." Dillan answered. "I heard a rumor that Arlon would be at the ruins. I wanted to capture him, so I left the guild. Koa's team followed me out because they were my team realized I was gone, they followed as well."

"Koa is dead." Garth said. "Let me tell you a story. This story is about a boy. Let's call the boy Leo. Anyways, Leo was going up to every stranger that passed by and said, "Please, sir. Both of my parents are sick and my mother is pregnant. They can't work for any money, so we don't have any food. Can you please spare a simple berry?" Everyone said, "No. I couldn't possibly. Taxes have gotten higher, so it's getting hard for me to put food on my own table, so you'll have to find someone else." Leo went to fifty strangers, each of them said no. Even though this was the case, Leo still went on with his day, begging strangers for food. Each day he would get at the most two berries, but that was it. The family of three wasn't getting along too well.

"One day, Leo was going about on his daily routine, when a pokemon stopped him. Let's call the pokemon Josh. Josh was a kid. He was around the same age Leo was. Anyways, Leo begged Josh for some food. Josh told Leo that he didn't have any food with him, but he did have something better. Josh gave Leo a crystal. Leo knew exactly what the crystal was. See, that crystal was a Z-Crystal. It's an item that's highly sought. Pokemon love the item for the abilities it gives in battle. Leo asked Josh if he was sure about giving the crystal to him. Josh said it was more than fine. Leo thanked Josh for his kindness. Leo went to a shop and sold that crystal for fifty thousand pokes. He had enough money to help his family get back on their feet. Even better, he could afford medicine so his parents could get better. So, after three weeks, Leo's mother was full of health. But the same could not be said for his father. Leo was running out of money. So, he was back to begging on the streets while his mother took care of his father.

"There he was, back to begging for money. For two weeks he begged. But, just like last time, no one would help. Leo was about to give up. "How can I help my family survive when I can't even get them food?" he asked. That's when Josh showed up. Josh asked Leo what the problem was. Leo told him everything. Josh then asked Leo about fighting for money. You see, before Leo's father became sick, he was a fighter. He would participate in fights so he could earn money. He was pretty famous. That's why Josh suggested that Leo start fighting for money. Leo was very surprised at the statement. He didn't think he'd be any good. That's when Josh gave him a crystal. Josh told Leo to participate in a fight and use that crystal. Josh showed him a dance that had to be done in order to use the crystal. Leo thought it was silly, but Josh told him to have faith. So, that's what Leo did.

"Leo participated in a fight like Josh had told him to do. When the match began, he did the dance. He felt a sudden burst of energy in his body. Leo used a Z-Move for the first time. It was the best thing I had ever seen. Such raw power. It destroyed Leo's opponent. Excluding the money he made from the Z-Crystal, Leo found he had made more money in that single fight than he had ever gained from begging. He had to thank Josh. That's when he found out Josh had helped him win the battle. You see, Josh had another Z-Crystal. He used his second one to help Leo win his battle. Josh had helped Leo from the very beginning.

"The two were friends for a few months afterwards. They met up with a girl and decided to make an Exploration Team. You see, they never named their team. They were always fighting about what the name should be or what it shouldn't. In the end, it didn't matter. Josh ended up dying. I'm assuming you know who this story is truly about."

"Koa and Bolt." Dillan said grimly.

"What repercussions Koa's death is going to have on the remaining members, I can't say. All I can say is that you, Dillan, made a mistake. Not only did you disobey an order from me by exiting the guild, but you defied the quarantine note from the king. You also got one of your fellow guildmembers killed. For that, I have no choice but to exile you from the guild."

"Say what?" Ryan asked.

"Sir, please reconsider." Hazel asked.

"I've made up my mind-"

"Stop!" Adelina said as she came through the door. Dillan was sad to see Adelina's face was wet from her own tears. "It wasn't his fault! It was mine!"

"What?" Garth asked with surprise.

"Dillan isn't telling you the truth! I took my team to the Castle Ruins when I heard it had been changed into a mystery dungeon. My family lived in Castellum Town, so I wanted to make sure they were alright. My team didn't know about the quarantine, so we went inside. Dillan knew we went to the Ruins when we didn't come back from the Shadowed Brush, so he left to find us. Hazel and Ryan went looking for Dillan when he wasn't there."

"Wait a minute." Garth said. "You and your team went to the Castle Ruins and Dillan followed to make sure you guys would be alright?"

"Yes, sir." Adelina said.

"But your team didn't know about the quarantine, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then why lie?" Garth asked Dillan.

"He wanted to make sure we didn't get kicked out of the guild after Koa..." Adelina's voice trailed off.

Garth looked at Dillan. "Is this true?"

"Uh..." Alright Adelina. I'm trusting you. "Yes, sir."

"Well, then what about Arlon?"

"Um..." Dillan didn't know what to say.

"He must have been hunting down Dillan." Ryan cut in. "He must have been waiting for him to be in the open for an attack. That's why he attacked in the Ruins."

Garth hummed as if thinking. His tail was swishing back and forth. "Alright, then." Garth said. "Let me make this clear. Do not go out of this guild. I've sent word to the king about the rioters. He is sending some royal guards to deal with them. As we speak, they are on their way. After the guards deal with the rioters, they will take Arlon to Giratina's Isle; or as others call it, the isle of no return. He will remain there for the rest of his life. He will not take another life today." Garth walked forwards to Dillan. "I hereby reappoint you as a Guildmember. Please accept my apology." I didn't want an apology. I just want to make sure Arlon can't hurt me or my friends again. "As I said before, no one is allowed to exit the guild; not unless I agree to it. Other than that, I have nothing more to say. Now, if you don't mind, I need to think about what has happened today. If you could all exit the room, I would be very appreciative." Garth walked towards the violin and picked it up. He then walked across the carpet to the window. He looked outside and began playing his violin. A sad tune drifted through the air.

Team Rapture walked out of the Guildleader's room. Adelina followed.


They found themselves in the guild's lobby. Team Rapture stopped walking in the center of the room. Adelina walked passed them and headed towards the dorms.

"Adelina." Hazel called out to her. She was trying to sound sympathetic.

Adelina looked at Team Rapture. "Please don't thank me." she told them. Adelina sounded on the verge of tears. "And don't tell me things will be alright. Not now. I need time to think about everything."

"Alright." Hazel said. "But if you need anything, feel free to ask." Adelina looked back. She stared at Ryan for a few seconds before walking off to the girl's dorm.

"Adi!" Ryan called out to Adelina. She didn't look back. Adelina quickened her pace.

"Ryan," Hazel said. "She just needs some space."

"But..." Ryan said. He tried to protest, but he couldn't think of anything. "What now? We can't go out anymore."

"That will change soon, right?" Hazel asked.

"I don't know." Dillan admitted.

"Stop it!" Hazel told Dillan sternly.

"Wh-" Dillan started. He was caught off guard from the question.

"Stop letting that shiftree get to you!" Hazel said. "It's not your fault! Don't let Koa's death kill you!" Dillan felt his heart thump against his chest. Those words hurt.

"Hazel," Ryan started. "Don't you think you're being harsh?"

Hazel thought about it. She gave a sigh and tried to make her face look more empathetic. "You're right." Hazel said. "It was a little harsh. But Dillan, you need to realize that it isn't your fault. I'm not sure why you went to the Castle Ruins, but I know that you didn't intend what happened to happen. You didn't go there to hunt Arlon, did you?"

"No." Dillan admitted.

"Well, then Arlon being there wasn't intended. As a result, it isn't your fault, so stop blaming yourself."

Dillan thought about the words. "Alright." he said. "You're right. I let Arlon get into my head. I shouldn't blame myself. Even so, I can't promise you that I'll get better immediately. I need some time, but I promise I won't blame myself."

"Alright, then." Hazel said. She gave a sigh and looked around the room. "Guess this'll be a familiar sight to see for a while. I'm going to go explore the guild. Wanna come with me?"

"I'm in." Ryan said.

"I'll pass." Dillan said. "I want some time alone if you don't mind."

"You sure you don't blame yourself?" Hazel asked.

"I'm sure." Dillan said. It was true, he didn't blame himself anymore. Dillan just wanted to take a look through Reya's stuff for some clues as to what to do next.

"Suit yourself." Ryan said. "But if you need anything, just come looking."

"Alright." Dillan said.

"We'll see you later." Hazel told Dillan. She and Ryan walked towards the west part of the guild. They passed down a hallway and exited from sight. Dillan decided he would go to the boy's dorm. He assumed it would be pretty empty with Dean guarding the front gate and Bolt... Just stop thinking about that. Dillan walked towards the boy's dorm room.


Dillan entered the room and looked around. There was no one in the room. Dillan's eyes fell upon Koa's bunk bed. He stared at it. I met you in this very room. I didn't know much about you, but you did seem like a nice pokemon. Dillan's mind flashed back to the gruesome scene of Koa's death. I'm so sorry that happened to you. Arlon won't hurt anyone else. I promise. Dillan went to the center of the room. He sat down on the circular rug. He removed Reya's bag and began searching through its contents.

Dillan began searching through different objects. Most of them were obviously for adventures. Berries and items were in different pockets. When Dillan thought he had finished with the contents of a pocket, he closed it and opened a new one. Dillan searched through the contents until he found a scroll. He took the scroll out of the bag and rolled it out. Dillan was surprised to find it stretched out to form a folded piece of paper. Once Dillan unfolded the paper, he was shocked to see that it formed a piece of paper that was three feet by three feet.

It looked like a family tree. There were figures all along the paper that were connected by thin lines of coal. Each figure had words below it. Dillan's eyes drifted to the top of the paper. It had words that read, "The Enemy's Forces". Below the words, Dillan found a lone figure that branched off to figures below it. Those figures would branch off and etc. The first figure was named, "The Enemy". The figure was black, as if a shadow had consumed what was once a creature. The Enemy was connected to four figures that rested below. One was scratched off. The scratched one was called, "Arlon". It was replaced by a nuzleaf that was labelled, "Kieth". Next to Kieth was "Thalia". Dillan recognized the Nidoqueen that went with the name. Next to Thalia was a blackened figure named, "Reya".

"So you did work for them." Dillan said to himself. Dillan followed the branches that went off of Reya's name. He was shocked to find them all blotched out with coal. Some looked torn while others were worn away from the coal that scratched against the surface. Reya's name had no ties that weren't blackened. Dillan wondered why that was. Did all of your ties leave with you? Or did something else happen? Dillan decided to move on. There was one other figure next to Reya. That figure was one of a pokemon Dillan didn't recognize. He stared at the figure. It was just the head.

Colors were impossible to see because the art was grey-scaled with coal. The pokemon had white fur surrounding its furless face. It had a round muzzle that protruded from the head for three inches before it rounded at the nostrils. Its mouth was pretty wide. It had small lips and a toothy grin. The pokemon had big, hairless eyebrows above its eyes. The most noticeable feature was the massive fire that came from the top of the pokemon's head.

Dillan looked below the Infernape. It led to a single figure. It was blotched out with coal. It was labelled, "Unknown".

"What 'cha looking at?" a pokemon asked from behind Dillan. Dillan jumped from the scare. He darted around to see Wallace the watchog looking over his shoulder at the paper Dillan had layer out. "That's a pretty big family tree." he pointed out.

"I know you." Dillan stated. "You're the watchog that guarded me."

"And you're the gabite from Team Rapture." Wallace pointed out. He sounded confident. "Incase you didn't know, I'm Wallace; top guard here at the Palando Guild."

"You're a guard?" Dillan asked. "Then why aren't you outside with Dean and Haily?"

"That's because..." Wallace started. "Because... Um... Honestly, I'm not sure."

"Really?" Dillan asked.

"Don't get me wrong!" Wallace announced. "I would love to be out there! It's just that the Guildleader doesn't know my true potential yet! Yeah! I could be the greatest guard in the world if I was given the chance! Even better than Dean!"

"Suit yourself." Dillan said. He turned around and went back to the massive piece of paper.

"Hey, you!" Wallace shouted. "You didn't answer my question!"

"And what question is that?" Dillan asked as he continued to scan through the piece of paper. His eyes started following the branches that came down from Kieth's name. All of the pictures were of nuzleaf. He looked through the names.

"What is the paper for?"

"I'm not sure." Dillan said half-heartedly. He had already guessed the paper was a list of the members of The Enemy's army from rank to rank. Reya must have made this to keep track of who worked for the enemy. There was a lot of missing names on the paper. His eyes went through Kieth's ranks. They all seemed to be nuzleaf. Some had names while others didn't. His eyes stopped on a new figure amongst the nuzleaf. The figure was of a pokemon that had a scruffy mane below its head. The pokemon had two pointed ears that seemed fused together at the top of its head. The pokemon had two fangs coming from its mouth. It also had a heart for a nose. He stared at the pokemon. The swoobat's was named, "Logan Bailer". That's strange. Why is this pokemon with a group of nuzleaf?

"And that's why I think it is actually a family tree." Wallace finished. Was he talking the whole time?

"Hey Wallace," Dillan began. "I don't mean to be rude, but... This stuff is from my friend who's been kidnapped. I'm trying to find something in her bag that would lead me to her. Don't take this the wrong way, but I came in here to be alone and think-"

"Oh." Wallace said. He sounded hurt. "I see. You don't want me around."

"N-No." Dillan said. "It's not like-"

"No no. It's fine. I get it. Actually, I think the Guildleader wanted to talk with me, so I'll be going now. I'll be seeing you." Wallace walked out of the room in a hurry, leaving Dillan alone.

Dillan did feel bad, but then again, this is too important to be interrupted. Dillan turned back to the paper. Now then. He decided he had seen enough of the paper. He began folding it up. It was difficult with his claws, but Dillan was doing surprisingly well. Maybe it was the fact that there were already creases, so folding it up was easy. Then he got to the hard part. How on earth am I going to roll this up? Dillan tried for a few seconds before he decided that he wasn't physically capable for the task. He picked up the folded paper between his claws and set it back in the bag. He then looked through it for something else. That's when his claws set themselves on the hard, leather cover of an old book. Dillan took the book out of the bag. Dillan was beginning to lower it onto the floor when it slipped through his claws and landed on the floor with a "thud". Right. The black words, "The History of Ganderosa", looked at Dillan with their intimidating gaze. The pages in the book seemed to be even larger than normal. Dillan stared at the book. How am I suppose to read this whole thing?

"Hey." Hazel's voice called out from behind Dillan. Dillan turned around to face the charmelion. He noticed Ryan wasn't with her. Before he could say anything, Hazel said, "Ryan's with Adelina."

"Didn't she say she wanted to be alone?" Dillan asked.

"That's what she says, but I don't think she meant it. Besides, you can't stop Ryan even if you wanted to. He really likes Adelina, you know?" Hazel looked at the book that was on the floor. Her face almost instantly lit up. "Is that the History of Ganderosa?!" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah." Dillan answered. "Why?"

"It's only my favorite book in the world!" Hazel said. "Where did you get it?" Hazel moved past Dillan and picked the book up. "It's so old. I wonder if it even has the Great War in it."

"The Great War?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already. It was the war against the Armadines and the Arvaines."

"Alright. I may have forgotten." Dillan admitted. "But can you blame me? I'm a mess of memories on legs."

"I wouldn't say that. You just can't remember anything before your meeting with the nuzleaf. That's all." Hazel opened the book to the first page. "Are you planning on reading this whole thing alone?" she asked.

"I don't have much of a choice." Dillan said.

"Sure you do. You've got me."

Dillan was taken aback by her response. "You want to read a book that long?" Dillan asked.

"Of course not." Hazel said with a warm smile. "No. About one third of the book is random history involving Maxamillian's adventures. The rest is about the Armadine family leading up to the Great War." Hazel flipped through the pages until she reached the end of the book. "This chapter is on Gunter Arvaine's rule over Ganderosa, so the Great War should be here. This book has so much history inside of it. Where did you get it?"

"The Castle Ruins." Dillan said. "I picked it up because-" Dillan stopped himself.

"You know, you have to tell us eventually." Hazel told him.

Hazel looked at Dillan. She squinted her eyes. It looked like she was staring at his chest. Dillan felt a little uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" Dillan asked.

"Where do you keep finding these crystals?" Hazel asked.

"Oh." Dillan moved his claw to his neck. He prodded the green crystal that rested on his chest.

"It looks amazing."

"Reya gave it to me." Dillan admitted. He thought about what to say next. Should I tell her about what happened? Would she believe some of the things I have to say? Or would she say I'm crazy? If I left some things out, told her about certain things, would she believe me? Would that work; or would there be something missing? "Do you really want to know what happened?"

"Kind of." Hazel said with a curious glance to Dillan.

"Alright." Leaving things out is the only way. Otherwise, it might get too confusing. Dillan took a deep breath and started. "I left Palando Town because Reya wanted to meet with me in the Castle Ruins. She wanted to give me this crystal so I could find the Sapphire Star."

"The Sapphire Star?" Hazel asked. "Is that the crystal that was stolen in Kerroshia?"

"Yeah." Dillan acknowledged.

"Why is it so important?"

"Some bad pokemon want it, but I'm not sure why. Reya had a rock that was similar, but smaller. She used is to freeze everyone in place so she could talk with me."

"That's crazy." Hazel said. "It sounds like something out of a book."

"I'm not sure why the crystal is so important, but I need to find it. I've been looking through Reya's things in order to find some clue as to what I need to do next."

"Wait. Why do you have Rey's things?"

Dillan didn't answer. He looked at Hazel with a saddened expression.

"Did something happen to her?"

The gabite gave a sigh. "Here." Dillan pulled out "The Enemy's Army" tree from Reya's bag. He moved the book to the side and laid the tree out. He pointed to Thalia and said, "She took Reya in the Ruins. Reya use to work with her."

"The Enemy?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah. From what I've gathered, Reya use to work for The Enemy. Something happened to change her mind, so she left. Thalia had some kind of relationship with Reya, so she was hunting her. Arlon captured Ryan, me, and a bunch of others for the enemy, though I'm not sure why. From what Reya's told me, The Enemy also wants the Sapphire Star."

"That's a lot of information." Hazel said. "But what's with the History Book?"

"Reya seems to think it has something to do with why I'm here."

"Why you're here?" Hazel asked with a curious glance.

Dillan felt his face grow hotter. "U-Um..." Too much. Dillan shuddered, trying to think of a recovery.

"You mean like, your destiny?"

"Y-Yeah." Dillan said, trying to sound confident in that answer. "Destiny."

"Alrighty then." Hazel seemed to suspect he wasn't telling her everything; though she seemed to ignore it. "Well then, you need to learn about the basic history in Ganderosa?"

"Yep."

"Well, you've come to the right place. My father use to read me stories about Ganderosa's history as a bed time story. Not the best reading material for a six year old, but it worked. Anyways, I know all the important details you'll need to learn vs. The details that are just stories and have nothing to do with how the world is today. I'll be your tour guide on this adventure through history, so get comfortable because the first lesson starts now."

"What?" Dillan was very shocked by Hazel suddenly commandeering Dillan's education on Ganderosa. "You're going to teach me?" he asked.

"Well, sure. Why not?"

"Do you even know where to start?"

"That's easy. You start with the creation of the world." Hazel closed the book and reopened it on the first page. She flipped through a few of them, scanning the page, and stopped about ten pages in. "Here we are."

"Wait. You want to start now?"

"What's wrong with me reading the book?" Hazel asked with a curious smile.

"I-... Um... It's not you. It just feels kind of... sudden."

"What's wrong with that? There's nothing else to do due to the rioters and the guild's lockdown, so I figured it would make sense to start now since there isn't anything else to do."

"Alright." Dillan said. "If you really want to do it."

"Okay." Hazel said with a friendly smile. She sat down next to Dillan. The gabite looked over to the book she had sitting in her lap. Hazel began to read from the book. "'Long ago, before the birth of the world, there was nothing. A gigantic black void that infinitely stretched off into every direction. It seemed to consume everything. Then, things changed. An omnipotent being of immeasurable power created a pokemon named Arceus. Arceus was to be the creator of the world, but there needed to be rules; otherwise everything would collapse the moment it was made. Arceus created two pokemon named Dialga and Palkia. Dialga was created to establish time in the world while Palkia created the laws of space. The two pokemon worked together in order to create a world. They also helped create the guidelines to form the lower beings that would live on the planet.' That's us. 'That's when the world was created. Arceus created everything while Dialga and Palkia set the rules for creation. Arceus started with the world. He created the land that some would walk. He created the waters some would swim. He created the sky where winged pokemon would soar. He created trenches where some would explore. He lifted the land and crafted mountains and hills. He created divots in the earth for lakes or valleys. Then, he created life.

"'He crafted pokemon with wings for the skies. He gave pokemon legs to walk the lands. He created fins for pokemon of the sea. Then, he went an extra step. Arceus created pokemon with fins that worked as legs. Those pokemon could walk the ground and swim in the sea. He then created pokemon with legs and wings. They could fly through the sky as a way to travel. Then, they could walk on the ground when they got tired. Arceus created the most amazing pokemon imaginable.' Even to this day, there are pokemon that no one knows about. They live in the deepest parts of forests that have yet to be explored. There are some in the deepest parts of the ocean where the pressure is so great, it crushes most pokemon just being there. What I'm trying to say is that Arceus created so many pokemon with unimaginable differences and natural abilities. It astounds me just thinking about it. Then, when he was done, Arceus took it a step further.

"'Arceus gave each pokemon a natural type based on where they live or where their natural habitat is. Some pokemon', Steel Types, 'live with shinning, impenetrable skin. Others have skin so hot, it would burn an entire forest down.' Fire Types like me. 'Arceus put so much effort into the world. His energy consumption was too great. He needed to rest. So, he put Dialga and Palkia in charge of making sure the world survived while he was asleep.' And that ends the chapter."

"So that's who Arceus is." Dillan said.

"Pretty much; though most pokemon don't believe in him. Sure, he's part of our history, but no one has ever seen him."

"Well, what do you believe?" Dillan asked with curiosity.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I believe that this world has a start. How it started, I'm not sure. Some pokemon believe it just happened to spring into existence through something they call evolution. It's like the evolution everyone does, but it happens over a long period of time."

"And what is the evolution everyone does?" Hazel looked at Dillan with a dumbfounded expression. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You don't know what it means to evolve?" Hazel asked. Dillan gave a shrug. "I can't believe you forgot! Actually, I can believe that."

"That makes me feel better." Dillan said sarcastically.

"Don't feel bad. I blame myself. I should have told you about it earlier.

"Evolution is like a change in your natural appearance. You usually get bigger with evolution. You learn a new attack, get stronger, and sometimes you get a new type."

"That sounds cool." Dillan said.

"You've gone through an evolution already, based on you being a gabite.

"Anyways, back to the subject. Evolution has some ground to being how we started based on how we all experience it, but it doesn't explain what created evolution in the first place. If everything has a start, then what started evolution?"

The door to the boys dorm slammed open. Hazel and Dillan darted around to face the cause. Wallace was standing there. His eyes were wide open. He was breathing rapidly.

"Wallace?" Dillan asked.

"What's-" Hazel tried to say.

"The rioters..." Wallace tried to say through rapid breaths. "Some of them... Got into... The guild."

"What?" Hazel asked.

"They're... Mobbing Dean... Hurry..." Wallace turned around and turned the corner. He headed for the girl's dorm.

"That's not good." Hazel said as she and Dillan got up. They darted out the door towards the guild's main room.


Dillan and Hazel ran into the main room. Dean and Haily were bracing the main door. There were big "thud"s coming from the door. With every thud, Dean and Haily moved back slightly. They would then immediately brace the door again. Jess was hovering above the two.

"They're gonna get in!" Jess shouted with joy.

"How many are there, Jess?" Haily asked.

Jess floated through the wall above the door. Dillan and Hazel rushed forwards towards the door.

"What can we do?" Hazel asked.

"Brace the door." Haily said with a strained voice.

"Got it." Dillan acknowledged. Hazel got in between Haily and Dean while Dillan braced the door on Dean's other side. "What's happening?" Dillan asked Dean.

"A bunch of protestor got restless and jumped the gate." Dean said with a grimace. A thud came at the door. Dillan felt himself being pushed back. He then tackled the door again. "They started attacking me and Haily. We fell back into the Guild."

Jess floated back through the wall. Hazel jumped from the ghost types sudden intrusion. She put her head down and another thud came on the door.

"There's a zillion of them out there!" Jess said.

"And how many on the door?" Haily asked sternly.

"Oh. About ten with more on the way."

"More?!" Dean asked.

"Yep!"

"What's going on?" Garth asked as he came into the room.

"Protestors!" Hazel said. She sounded strained. Dillan noticed Jess hovering right above Hazel's head.

"Is your name Jess?" Dillan asked.

"Sure is!" Jess said proudly. Another thud hit the door. This time, Dillan felt more force. He was pushed back, but it wasn't enough to keep him down.

"How many more are there?"

"Let me check!" Jess stated. She flew through the wall. Garth came to the door on Haily's right. He began pressing against it.

"Janette!" Garth shouted. The arachnid came through the door and scuttled along to Garth.

"What is it, sir?" she asked. Another bang on the door.

"We're not going to be able to hold the gate!" Garth shouted. "Do you have the bracelet?"

"I have it right here, sir." Dillan looked at Janette. He noticed she had a new bracelet on her front-middle-right leg. It had a rainbow jewel rested in the middle of it.

"Good! When I say so, touch the jewel!"

"What's happening?" Ryan asked. He, Adelina, and Wallace were now in the room.

"Guildmembers," Garth said. "When I say now, you're going to let go of the door!"

"Are you crazy?" Dean asked. "They'll kill us!"

"No they won't!" Garth said.

Jess floated through the wall. "There are fifteen of them on the door! The other protestors seem too scared to jump the gate!"

"Good!" Garth said. Another thud hit the door. Ryan and Adelina rushed over to hold the door. "Don't help!" Garth ordered. Adelina and Ryan stopped. "Adelina, I want you to make sure no one gets too banged up! If someone gets taken down on either side, help them get out of the fight!" Another thud hit the door. Dillan felt his arm beginning to bruise.

"Alright!" Adelina acknowledged.

"Janette, use string shot on the floor behind us!" Garth said. "Also, try to slow down the opponent with your attacks!"

"Yes, sir." Janette said. She began spitting web on the floor, covering the surface.

"Everyone else is going to fight! Are you ready?"

"Yes, Guildleader!" everyone said.

"Alright! Now keep in mind that these are still civilians! I don't want anyone to cause too much physical damage. Now, on my signal!" Another thud hit the door. "Now!"

All of the guildmembers got off of the door. They went to the side as to avoid the web. The doors flew open with force. Creatures of different colors and body-types bustled into the room. The five pokemon in front got stuck in the webbing. They fell forwards and covered the surface. The other pokemon crawled over them and went for a guildmember.

Garth was attacked by a primeape, rhydon, and a breloom. The primeape attacked first. It put its arms together in an X and rushed in on Garth. The ampharos slammed his tail on the floor. The orb that sat on the end began to glow.

"Janette!" Garth shouted.

"Right, sir!" Janette replied. She touched one of her legs to the bracelet she had on. It began to glow with a purple light. Dillan was shocked to see the ampharos become enveloped in a purple flash of light. When the flash died down, Garth was changed. He had a massive mane of white fluff on his head. There was a lone jewel sitting on his forehead. His tail became enveloped in a cloud of fluffy white fur. he also had red orbs in random places all over his tail. Garth immediately swung his tail through the air. It became shiny and grey. It slammed into the primeape's attack. The primeape was thrown back with immense force. Dillan was amazed. Garth then ran up on the two other pokemon.

Dillan looked around. Everyone seemed engaged in their own battle. Some of the guildmembers were faced with two opponents while others had to deal with one. That's when Dillan was punished for paying attention to a different part of the fight. He was slammed in the face with a solid force. Dillan felt himself stumble onto his leg. He looked forward to face his attacker. There was a dewott looking angrily at him. It had shells in its hands that extended with a blue light into blades.

"Cowards!" the dewott shouted as he rushed Dillan.

The gabite focused on his claws. They both extended into blue blades. Dillan intercepted the dewott's Razor Shell attack with his Dragon Claw attack. The two blades intercepted. Sparks flew off. The dewott pushed back Dillan and slashed his shell at Dillan's left. Dillan blocked the attack. The dewott came at Dillan with a right. He blocked the attack again. The dewott began a rapid onslaught of attacks. Dillan only had enough time to block them. The gabite started walking backwards in an attempt at getting away from the dewott, but it didn't work. The dewott kept attacking. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up! Out of nowhere, Hazel attacked the dewott with a fire spin attack. The flames consumed the dewott for a few seconds. It wasn't very affective, but it did catch the dewott off guard. The pokemon took its attention off of Dillan and turned to face Hazel. That was Dillan's opening. Dillan slashed at the dewott's arms. He lightly cut them, forcing the dewott to drop his shells from the pain. The dewott fell to the floor, gripping his arms. Dillan then brought his knee into the dewott's face, knocking the pokemon unconscious. Dillan turned to face Hazel, but she was engaged in her own battle now.

Adelina came in to help the dewott out of the fight. That's when a delcatty went for Adelina, but Ryan rushed in with a swift attack. The swift attack smashed into the pokemon, catching the delcatty off guard. Ryan attacked the delcatty with a bite to its leg.

Dillan noticed a houndour running up to attack Ryan. The pachirisu must have left his battle to help Adelina. Dillan decided to aid his friend. The gabite slammed into the houndour's side, forcing it away from Ryan. The pokemon gave a cry of pain. The delcatty began slamming its spare front leg into Ryan, trying to remove the pachirisu. Ryan used a nuzzle attack on the attacking leg, paralyzing the delcatty. The pokemon fell to the floor and was knocked out.

Dillan attacked the houndour with a flamethrower attack. The houndour jumped head-first into the attack. It head-butted the gabite in his stomach. Dillan's lungs were deprived of its air. The houndour went to bite down on Dillan when Ryan jumped onto its back. He then brought his hand down in a chopping motion. The Brick Break attack hit the houndour's head, making he pokemon pass out. The houndour landed on the floor and skidded to Dillan's feet. Ryan jumped off and ran to his friend.

"You alright?" Ryan asked.

"I'll be fine." Dillan said.

"These guys are amateurs." Ryan said.

"Yeah, but this doesn't feel right."

"I know, but they attacked first." With that, Ryan turned and ran into the fight once more. Dillan watched as a pokemon scratched at Jess futilely. Jess just floated there, yawning and looking bored. Dean threw one pokemon at another and knocked them both out. Dillan was impressed with Dean's strength. Dean then went to defeat another group of pokemon.

Dillan turned to his left just in time to see a white beam flying towards him. Dillan jumped out of the way. He felt a chilly breeze accompanying the white beam. Dillan looked at the source. It was a quadrupedal pokemon. It was sky blue with cerulean paws. The pokemon had a long tail that extended to a cerulean diamond at the tip. The pokemon also had a tuft of azure fur on the top of its head. It had two azure locks of fur that stretched down from its head like sheets of ice. Its sky blue ears shot up from its head and ended with a sharp point. It ended with cerulean diamonds. The pokemon had cerulean eyes with white pupils. The glaceon stared down Dillan with an angry expression.

"Why are you attacking us?" Dillan asked.

"Ha!" the glaceon yelled as it swished its tail through the air.

Shards of ice began flying towards Dillan. The gabite jumped out of the way. The shards flew passed.

"Why are you attacking us?" Dillan asked again.

"You guildmembers think you're helping us!" the glaceon shouted. It had a girlish voice. "Well, you're not! Life's been nothing but cold to me ever since your precious guild ruined my life!"

"Let's talk about this!" Dillan said. "We don't need to fight!"

"Speak for yourself!" the glaceon said as she ran up on Dillan. She lunged at the gabite. Dillan dodged the attack. The glaceon quickly turned on her heels and began to spin. She was going towards Dillan. He didn't have any time to move. The glaceon's tail began throwing water around the room. Her tail slammed into Dillan's side like a tidal wave. Water seemed to soak Dillan's side as the force shoved him onto the floor. Dillan tried to get up, but the glaceon was really fast. She swung her tail again and more shards flew towards the gabite. Dillan tried to get out of the way, but he didn't have any time. The shards slammed into him. Dillan felt his body scream out for mercy against the chills that spread across his scales. Dillan felt the shards that clung to his scales. Dillan gave a cry of agony. The ice felt like spears going into his legs and chest. He stared at the ice that clung to his body. It didn't look like they went in all that deep. Then why does it hurt? Dillan turned his attention back to the glaceon. She was running up on him once again. She looked ready to finish him off. Dillan tried to get up, but his body felt frozen in place. What's going on?

"This is for my mother!" the glaceon shouted as she leapt into the air. An Ice Beam attack soared through the air to hit its target; Dillan. He tried to get up, move, anything. His body felt uncooperative.

"Ryan!" Dillan shouted out of pure desperation.

"Enough!" a male voice demanded. A massive burst of fire intercepted the ice beam, disintegrating the attack. Dillan looked at the source of the blast. A massive pokemon stood at the guild's entrance. It had a yellow and red fire pattern on its big stomach. The pokemon had round thighs that protruded form its body. Its black legs ended at the pink feet it used to walk around. Its shoulders had a fire that streamed and danced in the air. Its arms were yellow with two black bands around the middle. Its hands were like tubes with claws. The pokemon's hands were like the barrel of a gun. The pokemon's head was like a flame had engulfed most of it. The only parts of the head visible was its big, pink lips. It had scowling white eyes with black pupils. Smoke wafted off of the left arm the magmortar had pointed at the glaceon.

"Everyone stop, now!" the magmortar's voice was very commanding. Everyone stopped fighting; guildmember and rioter alike. They looked at the entrance to the guild. There was a group of five pokemon standing at the entrance; magmortar included. The other four pokemon were metagross, gothitelle, tyranitar, and bisharp. They spread out throughout the room. "You're all under arrest for disturbing the peace, vandalism, and assaulting members of the Palando Guild."

"And who are you, yahoos?" the glaceon asked.

"We're the King's Royal Guard. Resist and you will pay dearly."

"I don't take orders from anyone!" the glaceon shouted as she ran up to the magmortar. She slammed into the pokemon. The magmortar didn't even budge. Instead, he grabbed her by the tail.

"Miss, how old are you?"

"What's it matter to you?"

"Laurel." the magmortar looked towards the gothitelle.

"She's fourteen." the gothitelle, Laurel, said.

"Barely old enough to join a guild." the magmortar stated. He put the glaceon down. "Go home, kid."

"No!" the glaceon shouted.

"Fine." Laurel said. She put her hand up. Everyone watched as the gothitelle used a psychic attack. A pink aura formed around the glaceon.

"What gives?" the glaceon shouted. She floated through the air and out the exit. The metagross then shut the door, blocking the glaceon out.

"Now. Everyone else is under arrest."

"You can't do that!" Ryan shouted. "We're part of the guild!"

"Not us, pipsqueak." Dean said smugly.

"What makes you think we're going to surrender to you?" a pokemon shouted.

"Well," the bisharp said calmly. "We're a group of specially trained pokemon who guard the king. Based on that alone, trying to oppose us is a mistake waiting to happen. You can fight us and get yourselves killed or surrender and be arrested for a few months. Your choice."

"We've lived in tyranny for far too long!" a pokemon shouted. "No longer will we be stepped on by the guild or the king!"

"Just shut up!" the gothitelle ordered. She raised her hand. Five of the remaining rioters flew into the air. "You." Laurel pointed to Garth. "Where's the dungeon?"

"At the end of the hall." Garth stated. He pointed towards the west hallway.

"Hank." Laurel ordered.

"I came here for a brawl!" the metagross stated.

"Hank!" Laurel shouted again.

"Fine." Hank surrendered. He used Psychic on the rest of the rioters; conscious or not. They were all struggling in the air, trying to break free of their psychic prison. Laurel took up the lead by going down the hall. Hank followed.

"You're all part of the guild?" the magmortar asked.

"Hah!" Wallace shouted. He ran up to the magmortar and stopped inches from the pokemon's stomach. He looked up at the magmortar's face. "You're General Ozzy of the Fifth Battalion of Jarondai! You're part of the Royal Guard! It's an honor to meet you! Can I have your autograph?" Wallace held out a book towards the magmortar, Ozzy.

"You're part of the guild, right?" Ozzy asked with a scowl towards Wallace.

"Yes sir!" Wallace acknowledged.

"Then stop drooling over me. It's undignified."

"Yes sir, General Ozzy sir!" Wallace dropped the book and straightened his back. He then put his paw up to his head in a salute.

"Now who here's the Guildleader?" Ozzy asked.

"I am." Garth said. Dillan watched the ampharos walk towards Ozzy. Garth flashed with a purple light and transformed before Dillan's eyes. He reverted back to his original form.

"Woah." Dillan said softly. What did he just do?

"I know, right?" Hazel said from Dillan's left. Dillan looked around. His two teammates were on either side of him.

"I wish I could Mega Evolve." Ryan said. "I could've wiped the floor with all of those rioters."

"Mega Evolved?" Dillan asked.

"It's like evolving, but its temporary." Hazel explained.

"You're Garth Amoux?" Ozzy asked.

"Guildleader Amoux will do." Garth said. "You must be General Oswald Hanson. Did King Judah the Third send you?"

"He did." Ozzy acknowledged. "But please, call me Ozzy."

"No." Garth said blatantly. "You are in my guild. Therefore you will receive as much respect as your rank demands. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

"You will address me as Guildleader. Do you understand, General Hanson?"

"Yes Guildleader." Ozzy looked at Garth with respect.

"Good." Garth stated. "Did you remove the rioters outside?"

"Not yet, Guildleader." the tyranitar stated.

Garth faced the Bisharp. "Bisharp and Tyranitar. State your names."

"I am Stue Keller of the Fifth Battalion of-" the bisharp tried to state.

"I know your battalion, Keller. I only want your name and your rank." Garth said.

"Yes, Guildleader." Stue acknowledged. "Lieutenant Stue Keller."

"Good." Garth said. He turned to the tyranitar. "And you?"

"Private Johnson Garcia." the tyranitar stated.

"So you're new to the Royal Guard?" Garth asked.

"Yes sir." Johnson said.

Garth moved up close to the tyranitar. He was practically breathing on the pokemon. "I expect nothing short of respect from the King's Royal Guards, understand?"

"Yes sir." Johnson said.

Garth turned to Ozzy and stated, "Not very bright." He turned back to the Johnson. "I said refer to me as Guildleader. I've worked years to get to my position; longer than you. As a Royal Guard, I expected you to be more disciplined. Tell me, how did you get to your position without learning how to listen to your superiors?"

"I'm not sure, sir." Johnson said with a stern look on his face.

"It's Guildleader, Garcia."

"Yes, Guildleader." Johnson said.

"Now remember it." He took a few steps back and said, "Garcia, get your friends from downstairs. Tell them to see me in my office when they're done with the rioters. My quarters are right through that door." Garth pointed to his door at the back of the guild.

"Yes sir." Garcia said.

"Garcia." Garth said sternly.

"Sorry, Guildleader." With that, Johnson left to find the others.

"Hanson and Keller." Garth said.

"Yes Guildleader." the two guards said.

"Get those Rioters off of my guild's doorstep. They've disrupted the Palando Guild's operations for far too long. If they don't comply, arrest them. You two can handle that, can't you?"

"Yes Guildleader." the two said in unison. They saluted Garth and left.

"Wait!" Wallace shouted out. "I'll help, too!" Wallace left the guild to follow the two Royal Guards.

Garth exhaled and turned to Team Rapture. "Sorry to get all stern on you guys. I've learned that when it comes to the Royal Guard, they'll only listen to you when you demand their respect; otherwise they'll treat you like a second-rate citizen." Garth took a look around the room. "What a mess."

Dillan decided to look around as well. He saw destruction wherever he turned. Missed attacks had caused damage to a lot of the room. Banners were either burned or torn apart. The carpet had been iced from the glaceon's attacks. Parts of the walls had dents or holes. The place looked like a mess.

"I'll have to hire some pokemon for repairs." Garth stated. He moved his head in several directions as to have everyone catch his eyes. "You all did great work today. Defending the guild is not a job that will go unrewarded. Tonight, I say we have a feast in honor the members who are with us today; as well as those who aren't." Garth turned towards Adelina. "Do you think that would be fine?"

Adelina looked torn. "I think it's a nice gesture, Guildleader; but my whole exploration team shattered in the course of a day. Bolt left when we got back from the Guild. I'm going out to see if he needs any help. You understand, right?"

"I do." Garth said sympathetically. Adelina turned towards the exit to the guild and walked off without another word. Garth turned to Janette and said, "Looks like we're cooking tonight."

"Yes, sir." Janette said.

Garth turned to the other guildmembers. "We'll call you six when the food is ready." With that, Garth left for his room and went inside with Janette.

The members of Team Force walked up to Team Rapture. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"You guys fight well, for losers." Dean said with a grin.

"Can't you be cool for one minute?" Ryan asked with an angry look.

"We could've taken them all, pipsqueak." Dean said.

"Yeah!" Jess added.

Dillan looked at Haily. If he didn't know any better, he would have guessed Haily looked amused.

"We don't need this from you." Ryan said sternly

"Dean." Hazel said calmly. She tried to look at Dean, but Dillan could tell Jess was bothering her. Dean looked at Hazel with a smile.

"You're still the same as always, Sigourney." Dean said calmly. "You're still hanging with losers."

"Yeah!" Jess said loudly. "Losers!"

Dean walked towards the guild's exit. "I think I'm going to stretch my legs." he announced. "Come on, guys." With that, Team Force exited the guild.

"What a jerk." Ryan said. "What's his problem, anyways?"

Hazel didn't seem to take Ryan's comment into account. She just looked at the exit with a light smile.

"What now?" Dillan asked.

"Well, I'm not sure." Ryan admitted.

"Agreed," Hazel said. "But I feel like taking a nap."

"I'm going to take a look outside." Dillan said.

"Alright." Hazel told him. "Well, I'll see you during dinner." Hazel waved goodbye and she headed off to the girl's dorm.

"I'm with Hazel on this one." Ryan said. "I'll see you later, Dillan."

"Alright." Dillan said. Ryan left for the boys dorm.

Dillan started walking towards the exit of the guild.

"So who are you suppose to be?" a voice said from behind Dillan. Dillan stopped in his tracks. He turned around to face the source of the voice. He stared at a pokemon he recognized. It was the greninja from Team Armageddon; Molan.

"What are you doing in here?" Dillan asked.

"Relax, kid." Molan said. "I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"You lead a group of pokemon to attack the guild."

"That's not correct. I don't lead Team Armageddon. I'm just a commander. And I didn't incite an attack against the guild. I merely... Persuaded the people to see what was in front of them."

"And what do you see that they don't?" Dillan asked with a suspicious tone.

"That the end is coming." The greninja took a few steps closer to Dillan. He was now uncomfortably close. Dillan was now looking up at the greninja. His height made Dillan feel as though he was in the wrong room. "Armageddon is upon us, gabite. There's nothing you or I can do about it."

Dillan tried to find his voice. Molan was eyeing Dillan with a look of intrigue and want. "Then why w-warn pokemon about the guild? Wh-What's the point?"

"The king is hiding something from the pokemon of Ganderosa. I know that much." Molan brought his webbed hand against Dillan's chest. Dillan took an uncomfortable gulp. "Not that it's any of my business. I could care less about what that fat dragon does at the top of Ganderosa's food chain. No. I only care for one thing." Dillan felt Molan's hand drift upwards, towards his bandanna and his... Dillan took a step back. He felt the string around his neck give a tug as Molan's grip slipped from Dillan's crystal.

"You're a thief." Dillan stated with shock.

"What gave you that idea." Molan asked with a glint in his eyes.

"Why do you support Team Armageddon if you're only interest is in money?"

"Nothing is as it seems, gabite. Learn that fact while you still have the things you hold dear. One day, they'll be gone with the wind."

"What happened to your talk of evil that exists in the Guild?"

Molan gave a shrug. "It's called 'talk' for a reason."

"Why are you here?" Dillan asked.

"You guildmembers are all the same. This is good or this is bad. You don't look between the lines and see what's right in front of you. No one does."

"And what's that?"

"There is no good or bad; only agendas. I'm here to tell you to stop looking in your small little world and to join the bigger picture in Team Armageddon."

"Why would I do that?"

Molan gave a smile to Dillan. "You work for free here. I saw the way you were hurting when we passed. I watched the way you brawled my men from the shadows. A gabite is a worthy opponent, but an even better ally. Join our team. I promise to make it worth your while."

"I don't have any interest in dealing with a thief, let alone a group who makes the guild look like a bad thing."

Molan gave a sigh. "That's too bad." There was a moment of silence. "Your name is 'Dillan', correct?"

Dillan didn't say anything. He eyed the greninja suspiciously.

"Believe me when I say to you, Dillan, I'll remember you. The next time we meet, it will be as enemies. What I'm trying to say is that you won't survive our next encounter."

"Is that a threat?" Dillan asked, half-way between angry and scared.

"Goodbye, Dillan the Gabite."

Molan exhaled a cloud of smoke in Dillan's face. Dillan turned away from the Smokescreen, covering his eyes with his fins. Dillan took in some smoke and coughed a few times. When the smoke dissipated, Molan was gone. Dillan searched the room for any sign of the greninja, but he couldn't find any.

What the heck was that about? Dillan thought about any possible reason for why the greninja was there, but he couldn't think of any. He was definitely eyeing my crystal. Was he really a thief or was he just trying to mess with my head? And what about Team Armageddon? If he's bad, then is Team Armageddon tainted too? All of those questions flooded Dillan's mind.

"Hey, Dillan." Hazel came into the room. Dillan turned towards Hazel. She saw his expression. "Is something wrong?"

"W-Well... Just worried about Team Armageddon."

"Don't worry about them." Hazel assured. "They can't attack you without me or Ryan knowing about it. Unless you leave without us again, there's no need to worry; so lighten up."

She's right. Even if Molan were to attack me, my friends would be there to back me up.

"I don't plan on splitting up again any time soon." Dillan said.

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

"You're right." Dillan gave a warm smile to Hazel. "Weren't you going to take a nap?"

"That was before I realized I'm your history teacher; plus Wallace interrupted our lesson. So come on, student Dillan. Class will begin shortly." Hazel grabbed Dillan by the arm and pulled him forwards.

Dillan looked at Hazel with a smile. She's trying to be cheerful. I can tell. Hazel's had horrible problems that are hard to imagine, yet she stays positive. I need to trust her; as a teammate and friend. Dillan walked onwards with Hazel. He was unsure of what was to come, but Hazel's words convinced him that whatever dangers lurked ahead, they would all face it together as a team.


(Author's Notes)

Hey guys! MasterKnight2142 here! Just wanted to tell you that nothing new has happened, so thanks to those who continue reading! I'll see you in the next chapter!