After the incident with Ursaluna, the group continued to survey the Crimson Mirelands for a few more days.
"Arezu likely knew Ursaluna wasn't truly frenzied. Yet she said it was. Why go to all that trouble?" Hayase pondered.
"That's quite unusual behavior. You don't think she could be hiding something, could you?" Tsubaki asked.
"Definitely possible. But no one has seen her since that day. Not even the Diamond Clan which calls this place their home." Cricket said. "Well…we can't find her by scent but…" he said, taking out a strange flute. "Perhaps by smell."
"What is that?" Hayase asked.
"A Celestica Flute. It's what the wardens use to summon some of the Pokémon they keep." Cricket said.
"I get it. You wanna call Ursaluna and have him use his nose to sniff out Arezu." Scorpia said.
"That's pretty much the idea." Cricket said as he played the flute as Ursaluna came up to him. "Good boy. Now get a good whiff of this." he said, showing Ursaluna some potato mochi.
"Potato mochi?" Ayase asked.
"Apparently Arezu had a bit of it when in the village. So the scent of it should still be lingering on her." Cricket said.
Ursaluna sniffed it a bit before roaring as he ran off.
"He's got the scent!" Moth said as they followed after Ursaluna. They continued to follow him until they saw Arezu on the ground with Allison and Ace beside her along with a basket of balms.
"Allison!" Siege called out.
"Oh Siege. So glad you're here." Allison said.
"We could use the help." Ace said as he knocked over a basket of balms.
"Are these balms? What's going on here?" Hayase asked.
"Haaaa. Ursaluna was never the one in a true frenzy. Truth is, the Pokémon I care for, the Lady of the Ridge, she's the one that's in a frenzy." Arezu said.
"And you took it upon yourself to gather all these balms to quell her?" Perfuma asked.
"Yes. But my luck ran out." Arezu said.
"She found us in the Diamond Clan settlement and asked for our help to quell the lady's rage." Allison explained.
"But then we got chased by a Hippowdon and she ended up twisting her ankle while we were running away." Ace said.
"I see…" Perfuma said. "Arezu, you should leave the rest to us."
"Huh?" Arezu asked.
"It's not a bad thing to want to care for the ones you look after. But it doesn't hurt to ask for help." Perfuma said. "So let us help you quell the Noblesse you look after."
"You can trust them, Arezu. You have our word." Ace said.
"Just tell us where she is." Gus said.
"Hmm…Brava Arena. It's right past the Diamond Clan settlement." Arezu said.
"Thank you so much for your trust in us." Perfuma said as Scorpia grabbed the balms.
"So you guys have been with the Diamond Clan since we arrived?" Hope asked.
"Yes. It was a nice place to be honest." Allison said.
"Though, the differences between the two clans kinda leaves me in a neutral stance." Ace said. "But nevermind that. We're just glad you and the others are alright, Perfuma. Just curious but have you…"
"We haven't found Mari yet." Hope said.
"Alright, I'm sure she's here somewhere. But for now, we have a Noble Pokémon to help." Ace said.
"Say, has Arezu told you what her noble is?" Scorpia asked.
"It's a Lilligant." Ace said.
"Lilligant? Aren't those native to the Unova Region?" Hope asked.
"Ah…you're only thinking that cause of how they were introduced in each gen. Truth is, Pokémon could have inhabited different areas in the past." Ayase said.
"True. In fact, I've seen a number of Petilil and Goomy inhabiting these parts." Keith said.
"Yes, same with Lilligant." Ace said.
"Oooh, interesting. Once we're done, I'll have to catch a Petilil of my very own." Perfuma said.
"I've already caught one, so I can show you where they are." Ayase said.
They soon arrived at Brava Arena, where Adaman was waiting for them.
"She's right ahead. Even in a frenzy, she's still beautiful to look at." Adaman said. "One piece of advice…be wary of her movements."
"Understood." Hayase said.
(Cue: City of Dawn- Killer Instinct)
They entered the arena as a wind seemed to blow. The group watched as a feminine plant like creature approached. She spun around and danced a bit before posing.
Lady of the Ridge
Lilligant
"Whoa… This Lilligant is a lot more slimmer than the ones we're used to." Tsubaki said.
"You're not kidding." Siege stated as he looked at it.
"It's likely a regional variant." Lizardess said.
"Guess that's why Adaman said to be wary of her movements. She's like a ballet dancer." Ace said.
"Ballet is something I'm used to. I can predict her movements, I hope. I should be able to be fine." Allison stated as she stepped up to begin the fight.
Lilligant jumped a bit before taking a big leap and landing on the ground, creating a shockwave.
Allison saw the attack and leapt the shockwave, chucking large amounts of balms at Lilligant. Lilligant grew frustrated at this as she made larger and wider leaps.
"She's definitely angry now. Moment she's out of energy…we bombard her." Tsubaki said.
"Right!" Perfuma said as Lilligant executed a barrage of slamming attacks. Allison was able to dodge each of them perfectly.
"Now!" She called and sent out her Gardevoir, Alexandria.
"Let's go! Ponyta!" Perfuma said.
"You're up, Monferno!" Rutega called, sending out her evolved Chimchar.
"Time to introduce my new trump card. Come on, Honchkrow!" Tsubaki said as she sent out a Honchkrow that seemed larger than usual.
"When did you get that!?" Rutega exclaimed.
"Honchkrow and its Murkrow brethren only appear at night." Tsubaki said. "It took a lot of late nights before I found the alpha and his minions."
"You are amazing, Tsubaki!" Perfuma said. "Now, back to the fight! Ponyta, use Flamewheel!"
"Monferno, Flamethrower!" Rutega called.
"Alexandria, Psyshock!" Allison ordered.
Lilligant took a lot of damage from those attacks.
"I understand fire…but the psychic…" Ayase said. "I get it…Hisuian Lilligant has Fighting type traits."
"In that case… He's probably not going to respond, but… Go for an Air Slash!" Tsubaki called out.
Honchkrow looked serious as it raised its wings before doing a slashing strike, knocking Lilligant back as one final balm was thrown as the glow from Lilligant faded, reverting it to its normal appearance. It got up and took a bow before handing them the Meadow Plate.
(end song)
"I've got the Meadow Plate back. The Universe has truly been kind to us." Perfuma said.
"What does that bring us up to now… 4?" Siege asked.
"Let's see…. Mind, Insect, Earth… and now Meadow. Yup, that's four down." Hope said.
"That leaves us with 14 left." Rutega said.
"Still, though. That Lilligant was pretty tough. It took an Alpha to have to take it down." Lizardess said. "Any others that you've been hiding?"
"Well… I didn't want to reveal this already, but… If it's alright for her to come out, I don't think she'll mind." Tsubaki said. She sees another of her Pokéballs shaking, signaling that she wants to be introduced. "Okay… Here goes." she said as she sent out a larger Vespiquen.
"Whoa! That's a big girl!" Moth said.
"An Alpha Vespiquen, eh?" Hope said. "That's a pretty good find."
"So what, are we revealing our trump cards now?" Rutega asked.
"Well, no. Remember when I said that I wanted to get David some gifts for his birthday?" Tsubaki asked.
"Oh yeeaaaaah. This is it then, huh?" Rutega asked.
"Yep. These two are it. But, it would be a waste to just leave them hanging. So, they insisted that I take them on a test run before I send them off." Tsubaki said.
"I assume that you intend to keep the normal-sized ones, correct?" Moth asked.
"Well you definitely succeeded by using Honchkrow like that. Though Vespiquen didn't get much action." Cricket said.
"Yeah, she's stronger than Honchkrow is, so I didn't want to make it seem like she was overwhelming you guys or anything." Tsubaki said. "Not to mention that Alphas have a lot of power to them. You have to tighten the reins, or they'll go out of control, you know what I mean?"
"I get that." Hope said.
"Actually…I think I know the perfect opponent for her." Keith said.
It was a little while later that they were in the lower part of the mirelands as they saw a large Torterra looking around.
"An Alpha Torterra?" Tsubaki asked.
"Vespiquen is a Bug and Flying type. Should be perfect." Keith said. "Besides…look what it's got by its side." he said pointing to a few Turtwig.
"Are those…Turtwig right by it?" Tsubaki asked. "It's weird seeing them in the wild like this."
"Well it's not a fully established region yet so all those starters run wild. Besides, we will need data on them eventually. May as well do it now." Moth said.
"Alrighty then. You ready for this, Vespiquen?" Tsubaki asked.
Vespiquen shook its head as it flew out as Torterra let out a roar.
"Okay, Vespiquen. Let's start with an X-Scissor." Tsubaki said.
Vespiquen obliged, and attacked Torterra with a super effective bug move. Torterra responded to it by striking back with Leaf Storm.
"Next, let's mix things up with Ominous Wind!" Tsubaki said.
Vespiquen knocked Torterra back with Ominous Wind as it roared in anger. While the two fought, the group hunted down the Turtwig that was nearby it.
"Nice work, Keith. Keith?" Hope said.
"Sorry…but the Turtwig weren't my reason for coming near here." Keith said, spotting some Teddiursa before catching one of them.
"Oh, I get it. You wanted to catch a Teddiursa so you could raise it to become Ursaluna." Hope said.
"Guess business comes first for him." Scorpia said.
"It's okay. He has his catch. But as for me…." Perfuma said throwing a Pokeball and catching the Turtwig. "Turtwig is my catch. I'm adding him and the Petilil I caught in the area Ayase showed me along the way to my team."
"Let's see…counting Chimchar and Turtwig…only Starter left for this region is Piplup." Gus said.
Torterra continued to battle against Vespiquen before it was soon down on one knee.
"Whew… That was a pretty intense match." Tsubaki said.
"That Alpha Vespiquen is strong, Tsubaki. And you handled commanding it like a pro." Hope said. "Not only that, you really seem to understand how a Pokémon feels. Here's an idea. If you're looking to follow a dream, why not pursue something related to Pokémon?"
"It's weird that the Alphas were able to respond to me without question. I wonder if there's a different sort of reason why." Tsubaki said. She then noticed the Torterra. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to leave you out. So… What should I do with you? Hmm…"
"We don't have data on Torterra yet. Catching it would be a good idea. I mean, what if you face a water type?" Hope asked.
"Hmm… Good point." Tsubaki said. "Is that okay with you, big guy?"
Torterra acknowledged this.
"Thanks." Tsubaki said as she threw a Heavy Ball at Torterra. The ball only did a short hop before letting out the fireworks.
"Alright, that's the way to do it!" Tsubaki said as she collected the ball. "These Heavy Balls are really good for catching Alphas."
"We did really good today. We quelled another noble, and caught more Pokémon." Perfruma said. "Adventuring in Hisui is really amazing."
"Yeah…hopefully we can get everyone back together soon." Ayase said.
"Indeed…this land is peaceful but…there are many things some of us wish to accomplish." Hayase said.
"By the way, Moth. You should know that Dark Water…" Ace said.
"You don't need to say it. Hope and Perfuma already filled me in on what happened." Moth said.
"Ah, good then." Ace said.
"But I'm not going back." Moth said.
"Huh? Why not?" Perfuma asked.
"You know what happened when they sprang that trap? When I was also caught in it? I ran away! Ran away like a coward and left them for dead." Moth said. "In the end, I just crawled back to the same organization I always knew."
"Moth…they don't blame you for what happened." Ace said.
"I don't care if they do or not." Moth said. "I'm not going back. End of story."
"So then, what will you do when we get back to our time?" Hope asked.
"There are other assassin organizations out there. I can always join one of them." Moth said.
"I understand. In the end, that's what your calling is, right?" Hope asked.
"Exactly. And if we meet again as enemies, keep in mind that it's nothing personal…just business." Moth said.
"Gotcha. At least say your goodbyes to them before you leave." Ace said.
"I won't. It'll just make it harder." Moth said. "For both them and me."
"Moth…" Hope said.
"You have no idea how those events messed her up." Lizardess said. "She thought she found happiness but only wound up with it being taken from her."
"I guess… everyone has their own roads that lead somewhere. And we can't always pave them for others. In the end, everyone has their role to play in the world." Hope said.
"A role to play… so what's mine?" Tsubaki pondered.