Morning soon dawned again in Jubilife village, the members of the expedition having just returned to the village.
"Well last night went well." Ayase said.
"Yeah. I mean, there really is a lot to discover here." Tsubaki said.
"What's wrong, Tsubaki? You seem kind of down." Rutega said.
"Well… It's just that… I don't really have much going on back home. I'm only a mere convenience store worker. Everyone has their own sights set on the future, but… I don't know what I want. Where does my path lead after I graduate? Even now, I still don't know." Tsubaki said.
"Least you have more together than those guys." Scorpia said, pointing to a couple of people in front of the building.
"So you've finally decided to stop bowing to a sham?" asked a tall man in blue.
"There you go again, insisting that almighty Sinnoh is a ruler of time. No…they are without a doubt the creator of the very basis of Hisui: a ruler of space." said a young girl.
"Ugh…that is just your own delusions. This is, almighty Sinnoh forgive me, a huge waste of time." he said. "I'm going to Commander Kamado's office, like I should've been doing instead of arguing with you."
"I believe it was you who started it." the girl said as they both walked inside.
"Great…those two are here." Granite sighed.
"Who were those weirdos?" Rutega asked.
"Those 'weirdos' are the chiefs of the Diamond and Pearl clans." Granite said.
"So those are the clan leaders." Perfuma said. "I see why you wanted me to not say the S word so much. Those two really believe that their respective ruler is the real almighty you-know what."
"Yeah. Those two seem to take their beliefs very seriously." Tsubaki said.
"Yeah. The guy in blue is Adaman, leader of the Diamond clan. The girl is Irida, leader of the Pearl Clan. When they aren't together, they can be very reasonable." Granite said.
"Wonder what's got them going to the Commander's office?" Scorpia asked.
"You didn't know? You were even in the area. A Pokémon has actually gone into a frenzy in the Obsidian Fieldlands." Granite said. "What's worse, it's one of their nobles."
"It must be that Kleavor thing." Scorpia said.
"Yeah…though we were gonna get involved even if the chiefs didn't show up." Granite said.
"Why?" Rutega asked with curiosity.
"Let me show ya." Granite said, leading them inside and into the medical wing where a number of people were lying up in bed.
"Oh damn… Kleavor really hurt all of these people?" Tsubaki asked.
"Yeah. It's starting to become a problem for the Security Corps." Granite said.
"He's right!" a voice said as they saw Hope, Gus and Siege arrive. "We saw it for ourselves."
"Hope!? You made it!" Perfuma said.
"It's good to see you, Perfuma. You too, Scorpia." Hope said.
"I knew it was just a matter of time before you and the others showed up." Scorpia said. "So wait… you guys saw this Kleavor thing?"
"Yeah, we wound up in its arena when we first arrived here." Hope said. "It was this gigantic bug, plated with rocks and had two stone axes for appendages."
"Way to state the obvious…also very obvious as to why Kleavor is dangerous." Granite said. "The commander will likely send out the order to deal with it pretty quickly. I bet it will be a good old fashioned put down."
"What?!" Perfuma said. "He can't give the order to kill a creature like that, especially a revered noble of one of the clans!"
"Doesn't matter what you think. He's the commander. He makes the rules." Granite said.
"Well, there's got to be a better way to calm these Noble Pokémon down." Tsubaki said.
"Calm it…yes. We could use a balm. Mix all of Kleavor's favorite foods together in a balm, toss it at it, and maybe it'll calm down." Perfuma said.
"The problem is…Kleavor is a completely new Pokémon. We don't know what kind of food it likes." Siege said.
"But maybe there's someone that does." Ayase said.
"Lian…he said he was Kleavor's warden." Hope said.
"Then he's the guy we gotta ask." Scorpia said. "Let's head out to meet him. Where is Lian's post?"
"He guards the entrance to Grandtree Arena. It's deep inside the Heartwood. I'm sure you guys know where that is." Hope said.
It didn't take long before they headed out to the Obsidian Fieldlands and deep into the Heartwood where Lian stopped them.
"Don't even think about getting any closer." Lian said.
"Lian, please. Let us pass." Hope said.
"No…as warden…it's my duty to protect Almighty Kleavor." Lian said. "Now turn away or I shall be forced to face you with Goomy."
"Lian…let them be." a voice called out they saw Irida approach.
"L-Lady Irida!" Lian said.
"You know how much Kleavor means to the clan and we cannot stand by and let it suffer some power by some false almighty Sinnoh. I was hoping we could handle this ourselves without issue from the Galaxy Team and the Diamond Clan but…there is no other option." Irida said.
"I see…" Lian said.
"Lian, we have a solution for calming down your frenzied lord." Perfuma said.
"Yes…all we need is…" Hope said before silk wrapped around him. "Huh? Whoa!" he said before being dragged up a tree.
"Well…funny meeting you here." a voice said as Hope saw the Cricket standing in the tree.
"The Cricket?!" Hope said.
"Expecting someone less I'm gonna kill you?" Cricket asked. "Honestly, I'm relieved. Now I put an end to you before the other assassins."
"Um… I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… the assassin organization has already been disbanded." Tsubaki said.
"Excuse me?" Cricket asked.
"It's true. It's been disbanded for almost a full month when I was brought here." Hayase said.
"Well crap. Okay girls. We're calling it off." Cricket said as Moth and Lizardess emerged from the bushes.
"Moth? You're here too?" Hope asked.
"I was with these two when we got transported to these woods…preparing a trap to finish you." Moth said.
"Honestly, we thought we were up a creek without a paddle till we saw you arrive here last night." Lizardess said.
"I get it. The three of you were working together to try and track me and the others down." Hope said.
"Actually, just you. We had no idea anyone else from your group was even here." Cricket said.
"Ah. Anyway, if you could let me down, I can tell you guys what happened while you were away." Hope said.
"Yeah…don't care." Cricket said as Hope was dropped to the ground. "Besides, doesn't really affect me much."
"It does us. This loser just cost us our jobs!" Lizardess said.
"Whoa, settle down there, lady. There's no need to get all riled up." Tsubaki said. "Hey, wait a minute, you look just like one of those guys that kidnapped Naomi a while ago."
"No…you're probably thinking of my brother, the Lizard. He got his ass kicked by a couple of high schoolers." Lizardess said.
"Oh, crap. Ayase, I think that really WAS us." Tsubaki whispered.
"Yeah…I know. Honestly, I don't really care. He was an idiot anyway." Lizardess said. "Wait…" she said, picking up Hope. "What about Swan and Hawk? Did you kill them?"
"No…they're still alive." Hope said.
"Whew… Thank goodness. That's a huge relief." Lizardess said.
"Look…we can get everyone home. But we gotta work together. So…truce?" Hope asked.
"Until we can get back to the present…yes." Cricket said.
"Okay, so now that this little dispute has been settled…" Tsubaki said.
After getting information from Lian, the group went about mashing together the foods into a set of balms.
"Okay…balms are successful." Hope said.
"And what a haul it is. It's practically limitless." Tsubaki said.
"But this was the easy part." Hayase said. "Next part…we need to actually get in there and toss them at it."
"Right…round 2." Hope said as they entered the arena.
They soon heard rustling above as Kleavor ran along the edge of the arena as it jumped with a spin, chopping down a tree in the process before landing before the group.
Lord of the Woods
Kleavor
"Yep…he's still as fierce as last night." Hope said. "Well…let's see if…" he said tossing a balm at it as it had some effect. "Okay…the balms work…but looks like using just one isn't gonna do the job."
"Then don't just sit there. Chuck a bunch at it!" Siege exclaimed.
"And avoid being sliced up while we're at it." Tsubaki said.
"Here goes…!" Gus exclaimed, as he began to aim his balms at Kleavor, landing a few on different parts of the Pokémon's body, which actually made the Pokémon flinch slightly, although it was only for a brief moment. "...It worked! But how much…?"
"No one's gonna worry about keeping count as long as we keep hitting it!" Siege exclaimed, chucking multiple balms at Kleavor at rapid pace.
Kleavor roared as it went into a chopping frenzy before crashing into the edge of the arena.
"It's dazed…wait…I wonder…come!" Hayase said, sending out Oshawott.
"What are you doing?" Moth asked.
"It may be a Noble…but it's still a Pokémon. It has weaknesses. Water Gun!" Hayase said as Oshawott hit Kleavor with water, causing it to stagger and try to catch its breath.
"It worked! So if it becomes staggered, then we can use our Pokémon!" Siege exclaimed.
"Yes. The balms should be able to have a bigger effect once it's been drained of power. Meaning…this is…our chance!" Tsubaki said as they started hurling multiple balms at it.
Kleavor gave a final howl before the glow vanished from its body as it returned to its normal color as it looked at the group.
"It worked…it calmed down." Ayase said.
Kleavor gave them a nod before handing over a light green plate.
"That plate…that's the one that brought me here." Cricket said.
"Guess all the Noble Pokémon have the plates." Ayase said.
"This is all a big mystery, isn't it?" Perfuma said. "These plates that brought us here, the spacetime rift in the sky, and now the frenzy of all the Nobles."
"I suppose that there has to be some reason for all of this…" Gus remarked.
"I think we'll solve it all eventually. For now, working together with the Survey Corps is the best idea." Hope said.
"Heh, at least we met back up, eh Siege?" Rutega asked, patting Siege's back.
"Yeah. That's two parts of the group back… but Allison's still out there somewhere." Siege said, concerned about his ally.
"I'm going to need a Pokémon soon." Gus winced. "It's best that I have a partner to ensure that I can keep pace with you all."
"I can help ya catch one, Gus." Rutega offered.
"Thanks for the offer. I'll let you know which one seems to suit me." Gus nodded back.
"For now, though… Let's report back to Cyllene and see how this all fits." Tsubaki said.
The group then returned to Jubilife village, finding Volo waiting for them.
"I saw the light fading from the sky. You all must've quelled the noble." Volo said. "And what do you have there….? Yes, those are two of the fabled plates that the myths have spoke of."
"Legends huh…" Hope said.
"Please…keep me in mind if you ever want to talk legends of Hisui." Volo said as he walked off.
"Well, he's as eccentric as ever." Tsubaki said. "Why is he so interested in these plates?"
"Not sure. It must be for some reason." Siege mused.
"The mystery deepens, I suppose…" Perfuma said.