Haha! You (probably) thought this story was dead! You've been duped! Bamboozled! Smeckledorfed, even!

All jokes aside, welcome back to Traitor!

Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter. In all honesty, I didn't expect to take this much time off. It was a combination of overworking myself and a bit of procrastination. But because of my long hiatus, I have a tiny bit better idea of how the story will play out. I don't have the specifics figured out yet, but I have a broad sense of what I want this to look like.

That being said, I have no idea when Chapter 12 will come. We'll leave that up to fate.

Constructive reviews help me a lot! (If you don't want to leave a public review, but have thoughts you think will help, you can always PM me.)

Hope you enjoy this chapter, and the start of Act II of Traitor!

- Splak R.


Meanwhile... back at Jett Kingdom...

Dr. Bliz strolled down the hall of his workplace, located on the second to top floor. He had seen these lavish purple walls hundreds of times before. Although, he didn't see it as much as his personal doctor's office, a room filled with bookshelves of medical records and educational books, along with enough medications to quell an ancient beast.

A patient was seated on a bench near the desk, specifically, a soldier from Platoon One.

The handle on the door to the Beartic's office was a bit rusty, but that didn't prevent him from having the same smile he always did.

Dr. Bliz waved, "How've you been doing? It's been a while!"

"Heh. You were just in the room a minute ago."

"Yeah, I know, heheh. I was grabbing your medical records, son."

Dr. Bliz handed a piece of paper to the soldier patient.

"You're giving me medication for this infection?"

"Yeah, we can just throw some of these pills at it, and it'll go away."

"Are you sure that it'll work?"

"I've had five patients come in with the same problem, of course it'll work!"

The patient sweatdropped a little. "Okay... I'll try it. If it doesn't work, I'll come back."

Dr. Bliz made a reassuring smile. "Sounds good."

Suddenly, another patient of Dr. Bliz's burst through the door.

"Dr. Bliz! The medicine you gave me worked wonders! Thank you so much!"

"Heh. Anytime, old friend."

The first patient seemed a little more comfortable now.

After they both left, Dr. Bliz went back to his desk. It was funny to him how all of those patients can be treated without him having to really do anything. Just give them the pill that works, and let them heal. Of course, if the pill didn't work, he would try a new medication. To not do that would just be ignoring his very important job.

Suddenly, a familiar and old voice came to his ear, "Been working up a storm, huh, Dr. Blizzard?"

Bliz turned around in his swivel seat. "Yep. Actually just finished a diagnosis, Kreg."

The aged Kommo-o leaned against the wall, "Y'know, you're not the only doctor in here. You can honestly take a break whenever at this point."

"Of course you'd talk about that. You're retired, ya old geezer. All you do is tend to the garden."

"Hey, you're not far behind me, number eight."

Bliz had facepalmed at the mention; he wished he hadn't used the ranking card. It bothered him to no end, but he would hide it for now.

"Sigh... Anyway, did you hear?"

Kreg rubbed one of his scales, "I heard something about Tammy, but I can't remember what."

Bliz threw his arms up, "She resigned!"

"Aw, you gotta be kidding me... That damn monkey... Morshu is gonna be the top noble now..."

Refusing to engage Kreg's complaints, Bliz turned around, "Yeah, that'll suck, but do you know why she did that?"

"I haven't a clue. Last I heard of her was from the meeting we had."

Bliz scanned a paper he grabbed, "It's baffling that she would suddenly do that... and to add insult to injury, she didn't give us a reason or anything! She just straight up left!"

Just then, the both of them heard another voice.

"Never fear, my dear nobles! I can answer some of your burning questions."

Both Bliz and Kreg whipped their heads around behind them to see Jett.

Bliz shot up out of his chair, "Jett? What're ya doing here?"

"I happened to overhear your conversation about her."

Kreg started to rub his temples, "Yeah, what's going on with her? Did she want to leave all of the sudden?"

Jett's expression turned grim, "Not all of the sudden. Apparently she's planned this getaway for a long time."

Bliz sat back down in his beloved swivel seat, "Well, give us the deets, Jett!"

Jett leaned his upper back against the wall, "Okay, you know how I gave Andrew a vacation, right?"

Kreg gestured him to keep going.

Jett leaned in a bit, "That was a mistake on my end. Now, I'm paying the price for it. Tammy and Seb went to follow Andrew to give him the details of their plan to take us down."

Kreg and Bliz shot up and said in unison, "Wait, they're planning on taking us down?!"

"Exactly. So, to remedy this, I sent Sydney over to assassinate all three of them, but she broke her transmitter. I doubt she'll be of any use to us now. I currently don't have a way to track them, but I'm sure we'll find out where they are soon."

Kreg chimed in, "If I may, Jett... Andrew's transmitter is still going. We can find where they currently are."

Jett didn't register what Kreg said at first, "Wait, what?"

Jett had thought for moment, what if Andrew's transmitter was off? What if it was stored in a place where he couldn't get to it anymore? If Andrew's transmitter was still on them, though, he would be able to track down exactly where they are!

Jett got a malicious smile on his face, "Amazing... The perfect filling to the cavity in my plan."

Jett then suddenly turned to Kreg and Dr. Bliz, "Do any of you have your trackers on you?"

Dr. Bliz shoved through a cabinet over his desk. About a year's worth of papers came flying out. After scrambling through the cabinet, he managed to pull out what looked like a screen.

Dr. Bliz cheered, "Got it!"

With a bunch of papers strewn all over the floor, Dr. Bliz tapped a few times on the screen and pulled up Andrew's transmitter location. A red dot represented Andrew's transmitter, and there was a map of Subon island on the screen.

Kreg pointed out, "The dot seems to be moving."

Dr. Bliz pointed out, "It's leaving Quilar, and heading towards... I forgot what that town was called. Remind me again, Jett..."

Jett scrunched his snout in anger, "He's going to Gron."

Jett had established a training ground in the entirety of Gron. He, in all truthfulness, needed more warriors for his ever expanding army. To lose that town would be a big strike on his bigger plans. To have all four of those traitors screw up what he's been working on for so long would be a direct insult to him.

"I have to go."

Jett stormed out of Dr. Bliz's office. He was greeted by soldiers and officers alike, but that didn't faze him one bit. He was determined to find a solution to this problem, even if it was only temporary. Jett stomped into his office, and swung his door open with enough force to make a resounding smack on the wall.

Once he strutted into his office, Jett took a deep breath and grabbed the transmitter on the desk.

He took a moment to contact the captain in Gron. "Hey, Bing Bong Bonehead. Come in."

A scratchy, bellowed voice came through. "Jett? How ya doin' over there? It's been a while! Bing bong."

"Heh. It has, ya doofus. Anyway, Perutio, I got some important news for all of your crew. It's a new mission... probably unlike anything you've ever done before."

"A new mission? What do you mean, bing bong?"

"Let's just say it's not a drill."

"Oh okay. You can actually address my platoon in real time, bing bong."

"Oh really? All of your platoon is with you?"

"Yeah, we were just finishing up a meeting in the Mayor's Office, bing bong. Cherry, the First Lieutenant, is actually putting you on video right... now. Bing bong."

"Oh that's so awesomely convenient! Lemme have a word with the entire platoon then."

Just then, Jett heard cheers of barbaric joy from the headset he was wearing. It rung his ears a bit, but he didn't mind in the slightest since they were coming from his own members.

From the video feed, Jett was turned sideways. He started spinning in his chair, "Let me know when I'm facing you guys."

He soon heard a bunch of screams as he came to what he assumed was directly facing towards them.

"Hello, Platoon Four! How're you all doing?"

Another cheer resounded in the wooden office.

"Man, you all look stronger than ever! That's great news, because I have a special mission for you all."

Along with the cheers, one voice shouted, "Do we get to fight?!"

Jett replied, "Potentially."

Murmurs filled the huge office.

"Now, your main task is to be on the lookout for these four."

He showed photos of Tammy, Sydney, Seb and Andrew.

The crowd gained whispers, "Hey, aren't those the ones who escaped?"

"Those are the ones running rogue!"

"Why is Sydney up there? How did she get involved?"

Jett calmed the whispers down, "These are the four who've been running amuck recently. They have the potential to take you all out. So, I ask that you be on the lookout and/or neutralize these four and report to your Captain with any sightings."

Jett continued, "If you absolutely have to engage in self defense, please do so. If they start going loud and fire shots collectively, you have my permission to engage. Do not start a fight with them individually under any circumstances, because you will not win. We have a vague idea of what they're trying to do, but we do know one thing, that they are directly opposing us. If you do manage to beat them in a fight, interrogate them on their specific motives."

Deadlock, the Second Lieutenant, chimes in, "Do we know their current whereabouts?"

Jett nodded, "Yes, we do. They are actually starting to head this way from Quilar. So get ready, organize your positions so we can quell this threat while it's early."

An uninterested voice came from the crowd, "How important is this mission, anyway?"

Jett answered with a bit of anger in his voice, "This mission is possibly the last one you will ever take, depending on how you do. It's crucial that you get rid of them somehow or another. I would recommend strength in numbers. It's do or die, baby! LITERALLY! WOO! SO... if you would be so kind as to take this a bit more seriously... I would really appreciate it."

He waved goodbye to them, "That's all. Happy trails~!"

Perutio, the Captain, pointed out to the town, "Alright, you heard him. Get ready! Bing bong!"

The Tyranitar heard a mass of war cries as they stormed out of the Mayor's Office.


Andrew woke up with an itch in his eyes. He rubbed them to get rid of that annoying sensation, but as soon as he removed them, he realized he was in a black void; all he could see was darkness. His mouth was rough and dry, as if sand was poured down it. He sniffled the air a few times to find a familiar scent, but nothing seemed to trickle into his snout.

In an effort for contact, he whispers. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

A mysterious voice murmured, "I can still... feel your presence..."

Andrew swiveled his head around, "Who's there? You sound awfully familiar..."

Andrew tried to find a figure to match the voice he heard, but no fruit came from his efforts.

The voice continued, "We will meet again... one day. Sniff... I hope that day... comes soon..."

Andrew scrambled around in the pitch black darkness. He imagined his paws were going to burn from how cold they were.

He tried to respond to the mysterious voice once more.

"What are you talking about? Can you even hear me?!"

No response came from them.

Soon, another voice, crescendoing in volume, washed over his ears.

"Andrew... Andrew? Andrew!"

Andrew lifted his heavy eyelids to see Tammy calling his name.

"Hm?"

Tammy offered her claw to Andrew, "Oh, you're awake! I've been trying to wake you up for five minutes. Are you ready to go?"

Andrew chuckled a bit, "How the tables have turned. Usually I'm the one waking you up!"

Tammy snickered a little. "You ready or not?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to go. Sorry to keep you all waiting."

Both Pokémon trudged out to the open town square, where the others were waiting. The dirt ground was thin and well-kept, it was like a massage to their feet.

Tammy rolled her shoulders, "I've been meaning to ask, how are you feeling about all of this, getting ready to overthrow Jett Kingdom?"

"Honestly, it's a little surreal, having to be against the syndicate I was a part of."

"Do you regret your decision at all? I mean, I don't want you to go back, but do you like the way this all panned out for you?"

"I actually do like it, I wouldn't have met Naomi, Elle or Shawn if I didn't go through with this. Besides, I have the best parts of Jett Kingdom with me; you, Seb and Sydney, so that's a huge plus."

Tammy patted Andrew on the head, "Aww, you're always so sweet. Well, if that's the case, I think we're ready!"

Seb turned to face Andrew and Tammy, "We're ready to go whenever you two are!"

Elle jumped around a bit, making dust clouds, "Oh, I'm so excited! A real adventure! I've always wanted to go on one!"

Naomi suddenly came up to Andrew and placed him on her shoulders, giving him a piggyback ride. "We've got a long journey ahead of us. I can't fight much, so I'll help in any other way I can. Like helping you up there conserve your energy!"

Sydney came up next to Seb and looked at Andrew, "Seems like you're on top of the world up there, champ."

Andrew replied with a grin. "Heh. I think we're ready. We can take this plan one step at a time. Let's go!"

All seven Pokemon said goodbye to Quilar for the first time, as they were off to pursue bigger goals.

Sydney made a point of leading them down Quilar so they wouldn't be spotted on their way out. They slipped their way through dark alleyways and dumpsters. Sydney knew that if they were spotted as Jett Kingdom members, they would be toast, not only because of the civilians retaliating, but because other Jett Kingdom personnel would come find them. She was sure there would be at least one spy, if not multiple.

At one point, they came up on a window of light that could probably expose them.

Sydney signaled them to stop. She took a peek around the corner and saw two Pokemon, Glalie and Charizard, exchanging... something. Her eyes weren't cooperating right now. Not that it mattered, though, all they needed to do was get through without being spotted by them.

She went first by zooming past the two shady Pokemon. Both of them didn't notice anything.

Now it was time for the others... this was going to be the hard part.

Without making a sound, she communicated that all of the others would need to roll or dive in order to not be seen. Andrew and Seb went first with their roll, and they did it almost as stealthy as her. Once again, no looks from the two Pokemon in conversation.

Tammy and Shawn went next, and they managed to get away with no looks as well, although it wasn't as pretty as Sydney's dive.

Naomi straight up flew past them at a blinding speed. While they didn't get noticed, the Charizard looked over for a split second. Naomi let out a sigh of relief once they looked away.

Lastly, was Elle. She decided to roll, but with her spikes coming out of her neck, it was easier said then done. She got caught for a moment on her spikes in the dirt, but managed to get away, though in a messy way.

Both the Glalie and Charizard heard a little sand patter from Elle. They took a few seconds to look for any signs of Pokemon there, but they were met with the brick wall deeper into the alleyway. They saw nothing more.

The Glalie spoke, "Must've been the wind."

All of them got away as soon as possible, they were inches away from an altercation. Sydney kept leading, though not in the way of any openings or cracks whatsoever. She made sure that they weren't going to get spotted in any way.

After slipping through what seemed like Quilar's alleyway system, they reached the forest that guarded the border of Quilar.

They were really about to leave.

Still following Sydney's lead, they stepped into the forest and were on their way.

Everyone had started conversing with each other as soon as they were out of sight from Quilar.

It hit Shawn like a ton of pillows. He just left for a huge journey with his friends. In all honesty, he missed his treehouse so much right now... To go back and sleep on his bed again... Alas, he had a job to do, along with his friends. He wondered if Elle and Naomi were feeling the same amount of dread as he was. He could die from all of this, so why weren't they nearly as scared as him? Do they like Andrew that much? Not that he didn't, but it's like they were laughing in danger's face. It was weird for him. Maybe he was overthinking, and all of it would work ou-

"Hey, world to Shawn! You in there?"

Elle put her face in Shawn's view.

Shawn shook his head, "Oh yeah, sorry. I was thinking about this whole journey we're taking..."

"I personally think it's super exciting! Wouldn't you agree?"

"To an extent...? I don't know how I feel about it yet."

"Well, I think you'll soon come around. It's an extravabent journey to experience!"

"Extravabent? Don't you mean extravagant?"

Elle snickered, "Yeah. But that doesn't mean you need to correct me all the time!"

Shawn chuckled, "How many is that... twice in a few days?"

Elle pushed Shawn around with a grin on her muzzle, "Shut up! You were worse last week!"

The two canines kept running around each other, one trying to find ways to mess with the other. They created a nice atmosphere for the others to be in.

Past all the commotion, Seb and Sydney were taking in their surroundings with the laughter in the background.

Their eyes met a thick grassy trail, one that tons of Pokemon could hike and commute at the same time. All around them were trees of varying green... the Blaziken and Zoroark also crushed a bunch of dead leaves as they were strolling. They looked up, and saw a bunch of trees without leaves. Since it was the summer, the so-called Icicle Trees typically didn't have their leaves at this point in the year. Since they also don't have much limbs, they looked like an icicle in the summer.

Sydney tapped Seb on the side, "You see the rocks around here, right?"

Seb took a look to the ground, "Oh, those? It's mainly just limestone. But if you take a closer look..."

Seb picked up a few pieces from the ground.

He continued, "...you can also find marble and slate."

Sydney had taken the time to look around the trail after he gave her that information, and there was limestone in practically every direction she looked. Although it didn't take up the entire trail, she was surprised at how much there was.

It seemed they had fallen behind to Andrew and Naomi, who were taking in the scenery, same as Seb and Sydney.

It was then that Sydney noticed a satchel on Naomi. She went up to her and gave it a closer look.

"Is this your satchel? I. Love it."

Naomi got a bright smile on her face, "Oh thank you! I got it a few weeks ago, I'm able to carry a lot of supplies in it."

Andrew chimed in, "It is a great satchel. Looks just as good as Tammy's sunhat does on her."

Sydney snickered a bit, "Now you're claiming it's her sunhat when you bought it for yourself?"

Andrew rubbed the back of his neck, "It was kind of an impulse buy, not gonna lie..."

Naomi looked up to Andrew, "Wait... you got that sunhat for yourself? I wanna see you in it now."

"Oh do you? I don't know how you're gonna like it, but okay."

Andrew turned to Tammy, "Hey Tammy! Can I borrow your sunhat for a sec?"

Tammy handed him the hat, "Sure! Although be kind of quick, my scales are going to get burned, hehe!"

Andrew smiled at her and put the sunhat on.

No words could come out of Naomi's mouth for a second.

She put her claws up to her muzzle as she got a light tint of pink on her cheeks,"He looks absolutely ad- I mean... It looks amazing on him!"

Naomi put her claws down, "I-It looks great!"

Andrew chuckled, "You really think so? Thanks!"

Sydney chimed in with a playful smirk, "This is the first time I've seen you in that hat, and you sure look like a grade A doofus."

Seb cackled at that remark for a few seconds.

Ignoring the comment, Andrew gave the sunhat back to Tammy, "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

Tammy smiled, "No problem!"

All seven Pokemon had reached a clearing in the forest; the grass became a brighter green from the sky. Shawn even pulled at a couple weeds growing out of a rock.

Tammy started to lay out a picnic for everyone, "Well, I guess we can take a little break. Anyone up for lunch?"

Everyone obliged, but they all stopped right in their tracks when they heard a slight rustle from the dense trees.

Tammy put her picnic away one piece at a time to not make much noise; it didn't bother her since she wasn't in any way done setting up.

Shawn got a chill down his spine. He whispered, "What was that? Did you all notice, or was it just me?"

Andrew nodded in acknowledgement. The wind could've been responsible for the noise, but they all needed to be on high alert for potential enemies. He was glad Shawn had that sense, too.

Seb tip-toed near the dense forest, where Andrew stood. "If it's an enemy, this might be our first real fight."

A whisper from the forest emerged, "Shit! They know!"

Andrew's ear twitched at the whisper, "So it is a Pokemon. Enemy or not, they've been super stealthy."

Elle apparently heard the whisper also. Shawn noticed her taking a huge step towards the hiding spot of the Pokemon. Shawn covered his eyes with his paws and thought, "Elle, no! I know what you're about to do! ANY TIME but now! We need to save our energy!"

The Lycanroc took a huge breath in, "Show yourself, you idiot! You're not sneaky, you're just acting dumb right now!"

Shawn became too pale to do anything. The others all stared at her with deafening silence, while Naomi dragged her away from the forest as slow as possible.

The figure in the trees replied with toxicity, "You want me to show myself? Alright. Here I come~."

Shawn's maw hung open, "We're fucked..."

A black and purple blur rushed out and tackled Andrew like a wrecking ball. He was dazed at first from the impact, but when the daze went away, he saw a Salazzle in a purple beret.

Tammy gasped, "Wait... aren't you Floris from Platoon Four?!"

The Salazzle conjured a grin, "Why yes... Floris is my name. I am, sadly, your enemy now. Though, you'd be delighted to know, I am very interested in this..."

Floris gazed at Andrew, "...handsome specimen."

Andrew suddenly felt a wet streak coarse across his chest and face. It was clear that Floris had licked him... if he didn't need a shower before, he certainly did now.

Once Floris got out of her trance staring at Andrew, she looked ahead at an orange-yellow blur coming at her at Mach Four.

The green-leaved tree that Floris flew into must've been saddened that it's own life was now over.

Andrew lumbered up to see Naomi panting a little after the huge punch she threw.

Naomi looked in his eyes, "You okay?"

Andrew nodded as the lick from earlier soaked into his fur, "A little uncomfortable, but otherwise, yes."

The tree Floris murdered was blown away as she came back with a dropkick to Naomi's forehead. Naomi tried to retaliate, but Floris zoomed over to headbutt Andrew in the same place.

Thankfully, Andrew took this opportunity to ready an Aura Sphere. The drag from the air made his motions slower, but stronger. Using the muscle in his right arm, he threw the Aura Sphere, point-blank into her chest.

Floris was sent into the air, the wind blown out of her.

Once she regained her ability to breathe in midair, she swooped down onto Andrew and slashed him with Cross Poison over the shoulder. She knew the Lucario couldn't be poisoned, so she had to inflict damage any way she could.

Andrew winced at the slash, his shoulder stung because of the little bit of blood forcing its way out from the gash.

Floris then started charging a point-blank Flamethrower. Andrew's eyes widened; if he got hit by that, it would be bad news for him. He knew couldn't stay pinned by the Salazzle forever. He had to think of a way out... and fast.

That's when he got a brilliant idea.

Andrew suddenly yelled, "Seb! Get behind me and go long! Get ready to attack!"

Seb, with a grin on his face, got in position. This was going to be exciting.

Floris didn't question his motives since she was too busy getting ready to release her Flamethrower. As soon as she was ready to attack, though, she felt two punches in the gut.

She flew directly upwards via a Force Palm from Andrew as her flamethrower dissipated.

Andrew grunted, "Dang it... Not the direction I wanted her to fly in."

Suddenly, Sydney leaped up to where Floris flew. She wasn't too high in the air, making the jump was not too hard for her.

Sydney pinned Floris in a bear hug, "It's alright, champ, I got you! Seb, get ready for real this time!"

With a terrifying Night Slash to the Salazzle's sides, the Zoroark sent Floris plummeting towards Seb.

Seb felt like he was a kid again. He hadn't had this much excitement since his first gem find.

Seb's leg flamed and burned with anticipation, "She's going... aaaaaaand..."

With a back roundhouse Blaze Kick, Seb launched Floris towards Tammy, who was at the ready to catch the Salazzle.

Seb grinned again, "She's gone."

Tammy caught Floris after she was launched by Seb's blaze kick. The Flygon took this opportunity to say a couple words to her.

"Whenever I throw you back to Gron, I want you to relay a message to your captain."

Floris's eyes became wide as a plate of waffles. Tammy was going... to throw her?! To Gron, no less?! Floris scrambled in her grasp, but couldn't move much since a couple of her ribs were most likely broken from Seb's kick.

Tammy adopted a smirk, "We're coming."

After saying those two words, Tammy spun Floris around a few times. The Salazzle was already dizzy as is, she might go unconscious after what Tammy's about to do.

Thus, Tammy finally let go of Floris, sending her all the way across the Icicle Tree forest.

All the Salazzle could see was a faint blur as she was hurled through the sky towards Gron.

Gron was known across the island as a town of warriors, everyone was enthusiastic about becoming stronger in some way. But since Jett Kingdom raided the town a few years back, the citizens have gone through intense and non-stop rigorous training.

The citizens wondered why. Why did they have to train? Other than the fact that they would be killed if they didn't, it did not seem reasonable.

Their passions to become the greatest drifted away over time as they slaved over training.

In the middle of Gron laid a courtyard made of dirt, where the citizens used to mingle... But it's practically a ghost town since the raid happened.

There were only soldiers appearing every once and a while for patrol. One soldier in particular noticed a slight speck in the sky.

The soldier squinted their eyes, "Huh... that's funny... the speck's growing bigger."

They soon realized that the speck was now speeding towards the courtyard. The soldier ran out of the way to not be hit by the projectile.

It soon touched down onto the ground, with a sickening crack to boot.

The soldier took a closer look and realized who it was.

"O-Officer Floris?! She got beat to all distortion world! I gotta tell someone, fast!"


Naomi helped Andrew up with her claw.

The Dragonite got a chill down her spine, "Sheesh... talk about frightening! You want me to do something about that gash of yours, Andrew?"

Andrew started jumping up and down in excitement, "That was our first real win! Can we talk about that punch you did?! That was so cool!"

He continued, "Also, yeah, this cut kinda hurts."

Naomi started to tend to his gash after he calmed down a bit.

The Dragonite smiled, "Glad you liked my part! But it was mostly you that did the work so..."

Andrew looked to Tammy, Seb and Sydney, "I couldn't have done it without you all."

Seb snickered, "That's a big fat lie and you know it. You could've taken her on, I feel like."

Andrew rubbed the back of his neck, "It was a lot easier with you all there."

Naomi looked around the clearing, "Hey, where did Elle and Shawn go?"

"I WAS SCARED FOR MY LIFE! YOU CAN'T SAY YOU DID IT FOR OUR SAFETY!"

Not even a few yards away, Elle and Shawn were arguing.

The Lycanroc countered, "She would've attacked us anyway!"

Shawn, pale as a ghost, shrieked, "BUT WHAT IF SHE DIDN'T?! WHAT IF SHE WAS GATHERING INTEL? WE COULD'VE AVOIDED THAT WHOLE FIGHT..."

Elle finally gave in, "Okay. I'm sorry I scared you. They were most likely going to jump at us though."

Tammy patted Elle's back, "Honestly, you scared us all for a moment. Thank Arceus it was just an Officer. If that was a Captain, we would've been in much deeper trouble. We'll try to avoid fights until we get into Gron, because that's where we need the most energy."

Elle widened her eyes, "I didn't even think about that."

Shawn shook the Lycanroc, "You don't think at all!"

Elle pointed out his face, "Hey, you're looking a little less pale than before!"

"Yeah... The shock is starting to go away. Promise me you won't do that again?"

"Yeah. I got you."

Sydney announced, "Are we ready to get going again?"

Naomi scrambled a bit, "One second! I'm almost done here."

Seb mentioned to Tammy, "Oh yeah, we never had lunch!"

Tammy then laid out her picnic once more in record time, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's eat!"

Everyone gathered around Tammy to get their share of various foods, with dishes such as Slowpoke Tail and Poke-Puffs.

After they ate their lunch, all seven Pokemon started to head towards Gron once more.

Sydney led the group once again, since they were technically going onto enemy territory now, coming onto the far outskirts of Gron.

Seb decided to join her at the front, "I tell you what, if we can handle an Officer like that, I'm excited to see what we do to the captain!"

Sydney nodded her head, "For sure. I've barely talked to the other Platoons, so I have basically no idea who they are."

"We must be dangerous if they had to send a scout, though."

"Well, obviously. We're probably the best team out there. I'm just worried about that Houndoom and Lycanroc."

Seb nodded, "Once they catch up to speed on what's actually gonna be going down, I think they'll be fine. I don't think Elle and Shawn have been in a fight before, along with Naomi."

Sydney tilted her head, "Just checking, Naomi was initially Elle and Shawn's friend, right?"

"Yea. She seems to be capable of taking on a few enemies. Plus, she's a great medic, it looks like."

Sydney then tapped Seb on the arm and pointed towards a huge structure in the distance.

"There it is. My old stomping grounds."

"Wait, you used to live in Gron?"

"Before it got raided, yeah. I was with Jett Kingdom right before the raid happened."

"Wow. Surprising he convinced you to stay afterwards."

"I wasn't even aware it happened, I was blissfully ignorant."

"That sounds real fun."

"It was. Anyway, are those walls made out of granite? Or am I delusional?"

"It looks like it. At least with the granite on, it's a strong wall."

"Although, it doesn't look very good, I'm gonna be honest."

Soon, all seven Pokemon were together again, looking onto the granite walls of Gron. The whole town was built like a medieval castle, with its huge wooden doors, along with grandiose structures and buildings inside the castle-like walls.

Andrew's feet scratched the grass under him in anticipation. He was really about to do this. Of course, he wasn't alone, he had his family and friends with him. But it still made him quiver a little bit with excitement and nervousness.

He was about to start overthrowing the syndicate he was a part of...

...and that thought made him feel a tiny bit better about the whole situation. He didn't know why, but he was sure he would get answers later.