Brilliant Meadow - Noon.

Things had been going relatively well for the traveling group. It was true that the straight open path kept them from running into any hostilities barring that Seviper incident. Indeed, wild pokémon tend to not expose themselves in the open especially when they really had no motivation to, making the trip mostly uneventful. Unfortunately, this also made the trip fairly boring which is why Edge and his students had engaged in a little trivia game to pass the time.

"Alright, here's another new one. I boost the damage output of all offensive attacks but I'm hazardous to the holder's health. What am I?"

"Life orb." Valor gave his quick reply.

Edge nodded. "Mm-hm. Alright, I'm a special seal that stimulates your body and puts it into overdrive when hit by an attack you're weak to. What am I?"

"Weakness policy." Stalwart answered this time.

Edge smiled at one of his students giving yet another correct answer. That battle item catalogue they got from the library seemed to be getting pretty good use. Maybe he should up the difficulty of the questions a little. "Okay how's this... I'm a special jewel that raises the strength of both dragon and steel type attacks. What am I?"

All his students looked back at him but kept walking forward. Never had they heard of such a thing even in the informative catalogue they had. An item that boosts the power of two types at once? Did such a thing even exist or was their instructor just pulling their legs?

"Did you make that up?" Gallant finally asked.

"Not at all."

The group of male Kirlia looked at one another in confusion. They didn't have anything in mind that matched the description that their instructor gave. Was it an item so new that it hadn't yet been recorded in books? Or perhaps a dangerous item that no one talked about? Or maybe even a one of a kind item that someone stumbled upon and Edge had only learned of through the berry vine himself?

"Alright, we give up. What is that?" Intrepid was the one to speak up this time.

"It's an Adamant Orb." Edge simply said.

"Sounds made up."

"It does."

"Too over the top for it to be original."

"I already assured you that it is not made up."

Gallant looked back at him again. "Okay. So how do you know what it is if it's so hidden that no one else does?"

Edge closed his eyes. "I'm an adult. I know a lot of stuff." That... wasn't a very good answer. "Seriously, though, it's a special item that was created by Arceus and given to the legendary Dialga to boost its power to near invincibility... Or something like that. Truth be told, I don't have much information on it either. All I know is that it exists. Heard about it from a few expository travellers here and there. Their stories all had consistency which was proof enough for me."

"Who's Dialga?" Resolute asked the question that was on everyone's mind and Edge was more than happy to answer that.

"He's-"

"-A legendary dragon and steel type pokémon. He's one of the first pokémon to be created by Arceus and is the embodiment of time itself. Said to live in another dimension parallel to ours or something." Gallant smirked at his superior who just looked at him in surprise along with his peers. He answered their question but that just raised others.

"That's astounding. Where did you learn that, Gallant?"

"A friend's book." It was obvious who this friend was.

"That girl, Angel, right?" Valor questioned his friend.

"Yeah, Angel. She got this book that has heavy details about the many legendary pokémon. I would ask to borrow it but it's more likely that she steps into this very meadow by herself than letting me have it."

"Maybe there's another one in the library we can borrow? If there are time-controlling dragons running around in different dimensions, I'd want to know about them too." Intrepid played with his twisted spoon out of habit.

Gallant shook his head. "Not likely. According to Angel, that book she has is a one of a kind. Only one was ever distributed and she got it first. Does it all the time."

Valor blinked and faced his friend. "Sounds like she reads even more books than Flora and that's no small feat. She must be well informed."

"Understatement... Although she didn't appear to know what this is." Gallant gestured to his muscle band. "So I'm assuming she doesn't have much interest when it comes to battles. Preferences, I guess. Everyone has 'em."

"It didn't look that way to me yesterday. Your friend seems to be able to handle herself quite well even if I rarely see her in the Training Hold." Edge was one of the supervising pokémon around that morning when Angel and Sylvia visited and it was obvious to him that the female Kirlia was not an amateur battler.

Gallant shrugged. He knew that Angel's lessons came directly from her mother since she preferred not to hang around lots of pokémon but they didn't know that and it wasn't his business to tell them about his friend's private life. "Guess she just has a natural talent."

The group was silent again, the only sounds coming from their marching feet. A little distance ahead, they could see where the meadow stopped and a forest begun. On the other side was the Pokémon Settlement but it was still quite a trek away.

"Hey Edge... What's the Pokémon Settlement like?" Valor decided to break the silence.

The Gallade thought on that for a moment before answering. "It's a lot like our own realm, really. Difference being its much larger size to accommodate all the kinds of pokémon that live there. The settlement by itself has a larger population than any of the realms. Not combined, of course. It's the source of all the trade networks the realms have with each other. When a requisition is made, it passes through the Pokémon Settlement first and then the order is sent of to the respective realm. For example, when we make our requisition for Dawn Stones, it will be processed and sent out to the Steel, Earth or Rock Realms since the Rugged Peaks and Seismic Highlands are known for having the most deposits of minerals. Then in time, the Dawn Stones will be sent to the settlement and that's where Jubilee comes in."

Edge looked at his students who kept walking forward but paid close attention to him, occasionally looking back. Seeing this, he continued. "The Pokémon Settlement itself is protected by a high wall that surrounds its entirety in a closed circle. I mean a really high wall. We're talking 'straining your eyes just to see the top' type of high. Incredibly fortified too such that even many legendary pokémon would have trouble breaking in. The only way into the settlement is through a series of eight gates located in specific locations around the wall." The Gallade started to motion with his arms. "The North Gate, accessible through Still Lake, the North East Gate through the Brilliant Meadow, the East Gate through Tempest Peaks, the South East Gate through the Volcanic Summit, the South Gate through the Seismic Highlands, the South West Gate accessible through the Spectral Forest, the East Gate which is accessible through both Swarm Forest and Spirit Peaks and finally, the North East Gate accessible from both the Spirit Peaks and Rugged Peaks."

"What if someone tries to fly in from the top?" Gallant asked.

"Then the Porygon-Z sentries and flying type scouts situated on top of the wall shoot it down. The gates themselves are always closed and are operated by the Klinklang line. It's pretty secured, I assure you. Trying to force your way into the settlement makes you an enemy of every pokémon in there and you don't want that."

The Kirlia all looked at each other. "Sounds like a serious place. Like a stronghold or something." Gallant finally said.

"Don't fret, you'll be fine. As long as you don't misbehave so please keep your youthful competitiveness to yourselves." Edge said firmly.

"Yes, sir." The young pokémon chorused.

Edge nodded and continued his description of their destination. "The inner part of the settlement has two circular layers of buildings. The outer layer which is composed of the main housings of the pokémon that live there and the inner layer, where all business centers are located like the Postal Service and other shops like the Stone Emporium or Berry Market. In the center of it all lies Apex Lake. It's a mon-made lake, drilled right through the world all the way into the ocean and serves as the resting place and means of transportation for the water types that take up residence in the settlement. That's the gist of it."

Finished with his lesson, Edge looked back up and was pleased to find that they had passed enough time that the forest area was now right in front of them.

"Okay. Here, everyone. Eat a Sitrus Berry." The Gallade used his psychic power to open his bag and float five Sitrus Berries to his students and eating one himself. "These are so you all stay in top form and hydrated. Just a few more kilometers through this forest and we'll get to the Pokémon Settlement in short order. Let's proceed but please be on your guard."

His students all nodded to him and with that, the six pokémon all entered the forest towards their destination.

Fairy Realm - Life Tree

Angel delivered yet another Dazzling Gleam upon her unidentifiable foes, lighting up the entire garden and vanquishing them instantly. She didn't know when or how things got this bad. One minute, she's slumbering with her friend, Sylvia and the next moment these things invaded, forcing them to flee to the Life Tree and were now fighting for their lives against the sudden onslaught of enemies. She didn't know what they were, what they wanted or how they got in the realm in the first place. They didn't look like any pokémon she had seen or even heard of. Just shadowy visages with hateful blood-red eyes and mouths full of razor-sharp teeth that attacked anything and anyone. Whenever they attacked, they gave out these spine chilling shrieks that shook her to the core. Another thing about them is that there was no thought to their actions. Just a mindless desire to lay waste to all around them and they were doing a good job at that, if the dead plants and scattered bodies are anything to go by. Most of the populace were in the main part of the realm and handling things there which left Sylvia, herself and a few others protecting the Life Tree... Although you couldn't exactly call it the Life Tree at the moment.

"Keep pushing them back, my fellow fairies! These vermin will not best us this day! I will not allow it!" Xerneas yelled out further back from Angel's location. None of them knew when he had awakened from his slumber but they were all glad he was fighting with them in this time of need. His marvellous antlers glowed brightly with all the colors of the rainbow and he unleashed a strong, booming flash of energy all around him that incinerated a good number of the unknown beasts. His inclusion in the battle proved to be of great importance. Not just the morale boost that came with fighting alongside a legendary pokémon but also his Fairy Aura ability which powered the fairy type moves of himself as well as his allies in battle. With it, the fairies of the realm had a fighting chance against the black, screaming creatures, though that's not to say there weren't any casualties. There were just too many of them and it didn't look like they were stopping any time soon.

Angel took a quick look to her left and found that Sylvia was holding her own impressively against their foes. She nimbly dodged backwards when one of them tried to dive bomb her with the intention of biting her head off and she retaliated with a super charged Moonblast which completely disintegrated it along with a few others unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast zone. She looked to her right and saw a Granbull that had its powerful jaws clamped down on one of the ugly things and shook it side to side in order to make sure it was dead. Clamping down hard, the captured foe gave an echoed shriek before exploding into a thick black mist that had the unfortunate side effect of temporarily obstructing the Granbull's vision. Seeing an opening, more of them were upon it, fangs bared with intention of ripping the fairy to bloody shreds. "Sylvia!"

Hearing her name, the Sylveon looked at Angel to see her holding her hand out to her with a look of urgency in her amber eyes. Sylvia didn't hesitate, sprinting to where her friend was, wrapping a ribbon around her wrist and empowering her body using Helping Hand.

Now charged, Angel's eyes and horns glowed fiercely and she threw her free arm out towards the pitch black creatures and they were suddenly halted in mid-air, their teeth inches away from the Granbull. With the creatures in her firm psychic hold, she raised them higher into the air and focused even more power to her attack. The things shrieked a good while before Angel's unforgiving psychic pressure caused them all to explode into a thick miasma that slowly disappeared into the air.

"Good save." Sylvia complemented. "But we're not done yet. Here they come!"

Both girls directed their attention to the garden entrance where more of the creatures invaded through. "There's just no end to them."

"Nothing left to do but to keep fighting!" Sylvia tapped into all the energy she could muster and fired projectile after projectile of her Moonblast attack, picking them off group by group in a brilliant light display before they became too big a problem to handle.

Angel followed suit, horns glowing brightly and releasing yet another Dazzling Gleam that destroyed anything directly in front of her. She continued to fire off waves of her attack but more replaced the ones she had defeated still. Another attack. Another fresh wave of enemies. They continued to shrieked as if to undermine her efforts which were quickly becoming futile. Dropping to her knees, Angel found it difficult to support herself, let alone attack. She was fatigued. She could not go on any longer. She didn't have the endurance her friend had who continued to fire her attacks in rapid succession.

"Come on, Angel! You can't quit now! Keep fighting! Our realm depends on it!" Sylvia was sweating bullets as she used every ounce of her being to try and repel the assault but it was all for naught. They were too many. They couldn't defeat them all. Not like this...

"Lord Xerneas!" Angel tiredly looked behind her and her world instantly shattered. She watched but could do nothing as the red-eyed creatures sailed down from the sky upon and all around her lord and master. She knew him to be great and powerful but even he wasn't prepared for the sudden swarm of beasts. The legendary pokémon charged his horns and expelled a powerful electric charge around him but it was as useful as trying to stop a flood with a small log. Being so many of them, the violent beasts easily filtered right through Xerneas' last line of defense and begun their mass assault. What happened next was a vision that would forever be etched into Angel's mind. Tears welled up in her eyes and the sounds of her lord's dying screams invaded her ears as she watched the creatures rip off chunks of Xerneas' body in a gory display. First his legs, which caused him fall over and left the rest of him completely open. The creatures went for his stomach next, ripping it open and causing his innards to spill out only to be eaten by even more of them. They continued to swarm the fallen legendary, still, using their strong teeth to shatter the Life Pokémon's antlers like twigs. It never stopped there. More and more piled all over the defeated fairy type until it was completely covered by them in a large black heap and all that was heard were the sickening wet and crunching noises coming from within.

Angel was left speechless, tears staining her face and slouched pathetically on the ground. She looked around and saw that everything had quickly become a tragedy. With Xerneas' Fairy Aura no longer influencing them, the fairies of the realm lost their boosted power and that was more than enough for the creatures to begin picking the rest of them off. Angel closed her eyes shut and placed her arms on the sides of her head in an attempt to block out the blood curdling shrieks of the horrid beasts all around her and the dying screams of her fellow fairies that accompanied them. She could have sworn she also heard Sylvia's scream followed by a loud crunching noise but she dared not look.

"Angel... Help me..." She heard her friend call weakly to her but she remained in her position.

"Angel... Please."

"Stop." Angel's body started to shake violently.

"Angel."

"Stop!" Her body continued to shake against her will and she was sure those things had finished devouring everyone and she was next.

"Angel!"

Finally she opened her eyes but instead of seeing dismembered bodies everywhere, she instead saw Sylvia's gentle blue eyes staring back at her and had been using her paw to shake her awake. Carefully sitting up, she noticed that she was back in the small clearing where she had fallen asleep.

"You okay? It looked like you were having a nightmare. Or a daymare in this regard, eh?" Sylvia tried to lighten the mood for the sake of her friend and raised a ribbon which she used to wipe off Angel's tears. "A pretty bad one from the looks of it."

"Sy... Sylvia? But you... And the others... In the garden... Those things..." Angel babbled incoherently.

"Calm down, Angel. Deep breaths. Whatever happened, it's over now." Sylvia held onto the hysterical Kirlia and channelled that serene aura through her body.

"But... But... We were... And Lord Xerneas was..." Wait... "The Life Tree!"

Sylvia blinked in surprise when her friend suddenly disappeared in a flash. Now alone in the clearing, the Sylveon sighed and stood up, stretching a little. Using her ribbons, she gathered Angel's belongings, placing her book into her bag and fastening it to her side. With all of that done, Sylvia started to make her way to where she could guess Angel was.

"Sure wish I could teleport too..."

Life Tree

Beautiful flowers, tall trees, sun shining down on the marvellous garden. It was just as she last saw it. If anything, it looked even more impressive considering her last vision of it. What mattered the most to Angel, however, was the large white tree in the center of it all. It radiated the same aura that made her feel safe. Her Lord Xerneas was still very much alive.

"Guess I overreacted." Kneeling, Angel reached out and touched the large tree at its roots and felt a rush of rejuvenation course through her body that made high sigh in bliss. "I was a fool to ever think you'll leave us, Lord Xerneas. Forgive me." She gave a weak smile.

"Angel?"

The addressed pokémon looked behind her and found the red flower Florges that nurtured the garden she was in staring down at her.

"Oh... Miss Fleur." Angel got up and dusted her knees off. "Good afternoon." She bowed respectfully at the Garden Pokémon.

"Good afternoon to you." Fleur de Lis gracefully returned the gesture. "I didn't expect to be seeing you here today. Did you come to make another tribute?"

"Um, no. You see..." Angel looked away and rubbed her right arm. "I just... I wanted to make sure everything was alright."

Fleur looked at Angel in confusion before floating closer to her. "What ever do you mean, dear? Did something happen?"

The Kirlia now rubbed her hands together. Indeed it was a terrifying dream that came right out of the blue but how would she explain it? It consisted of the deaths of every resident of the Fairy Realm including Xerneas so surely it would sound absurd and maybe even insulting to their patron legendary. She never shared the contents of her dreams with anyone other than her mother because they always made her feel self conscious and it wasn't any different here... But when she gazed up into the mature pokémon's concerned eyes, she felt like she could trust her enough to relay her plight to her instead of keeping things bottled up.

"I... I had a nightmare. These... These things suddenly invaded our realm and attacked everything. Lord Xerneas was there too. We all tried to fight them off but there were too many." Angel's body trembled a little just remembering them. "They killed us all... Even Lord Xerneas. They..." Angel closed her eyes shut and her voice cracked a little. "They stopped at nothing to eradicate our entire home. They laid waste to all our plants and feasted on our flesh..." The Emotion Pokémon was now in hysterics. "There was blood everywhere! They tore us all to pieces. Including Lord Xerneas! Those things... They eviscerated his body... And then Sylvia... Redolence... Mom... And even yourself. The sounds... The screams... We all died! Wiped out off the face of the world by those frightening beasts! I hadn't even... How could such a thing-"

"Angel." Fleur's gentle voice instantly calmed the young pokémon that was on the brink of fresh tears. The Florges placed her hand on top of Angel's head which caused her to look back up. "Please do not be so afraid. I want you to know that what you experienced was nothing but a bad dream. Everyone has them now and then and even though they are quite terrifying, they aren't real." Fleur turned Angel around and made her face the Life Tree. "As you can see, everything is fine. Behold our majestic garden in all its beauty. Even in his state, Lord Xerneas is doing everything in his power to keep us safe and our flourishing realm is evidence of that. He gave us the gift of life and continues to do that even to this day. Any hostile pokémon that would be foolish enough to enter our realm invites the possibility of being vanquished by our combined power. Even the wild pokémon patrolling the outskirts know that ours is not a simple settlement and will never risk doing anything drastic. Someday you will evolve into a Gardevoir and the Fairy Realm will become that much stronger." The Garden Pokémon made Angel face her once again and she saw the sorrow in her eyes replaced by a small bit of hope. "No matter how dire a circumstance can be, never doubt Lord Xerneas' power or your allies. And never doubt your own. Do you understand?"

With her fears washed away by Fleur's calming words, the Emotion Pokémon wiped her eyes and nodded her head. "Y-yes. Thank you, Miss Fleur." Angel smiled and wrapped her arms around the Florges' lower body in gratitude.

"You are most welcome, child." Fleur would have hugged the Kirlia back but she was too short so she settled with gently rubbing the top of her head.

"Awww. How nice. Angel has a knight in shining armor."

Angel's eyes opened and she looked behind Fleur de Lis to see her friend seated at the entrance of the garden who was smiling back at her. "How long have you been there?" Angel's cheeks already started burning at the thought of being exposed to her friend like this.

"Long enough." The Intertwining Pokémon got up and started making her way towards the pair. "That was quite a lovely speech, Miss Fleur. I can't remember the last time I was made to feel so safe in our realm. You have my thanks as well." Sylvia stopped in front of Fleur and politely bowed her head.

"You're welcome, my dear Sylvia." The Garden Pokémon separated herself from Angel. "Are you fine, child?" Angel gave her a small nod and Fleur nodded back. "Then I shall leave you two to your business. Let us speak again sometime, hm?" With those parting words, Fleur de Lis floated deeper into the garden to tend to her flowers while the two friends watched her for a short while.

"She's so nice. Wouldn't you say so, Angel?" Sylvia watched from a distance as Fleur picked a bundle of different flowers and combined them into a charming bouquet.

"Yeah... She is." Angel openly agreed with her friend. The only other pokémon that had ever offered her this level of comfort was her mother, Sana.

"Are you really fine, though? You looked pretty shaken when you woke up." Her friend gave her a concerned look.

"Yeah... I'm fine now."

"Good."

"Ah!" The Sylveon once again manoeuvred her body underneath the Kirlia and rose up so that she was now on her back.

"Come on. Let's go to Fiore's Berry Shop. I've got a craving for some Oran Berries. Don't worry, I won't cruise this time." Sylvia didn't wait for her friend's response and started walking back towards the main part of the Fairy Realm.

Angel looked down at her friend but did nothing to stop her, figuring she may as well enjoy the ride she was offered. With a smile, she supposed that it was a privilege to be blessed with friends like her. Life was good.

Sylvia made a smile of her own when she felt Angel's arms wrap gently around her neck. Even the smallest bit of comfort she could offer her friend made her feel happier than anything. Now in an even better mood than when she woke up, Sylvia broke into a small trot towards the mentioned shop.

Forest Area - 5 Kilometers from the Pokemon Settlement.

"Alright, I'm next. I spy-"

"Probably a tree." Gallant interrupted Stalwart's chance at their game.

"You didn't let me finish."

"Am I wrong?"

"...No." Stalwart conceded.

"This isn't a very good game to play if there's only one thing around us. How were we even able to go twelve rounds in this game?" Resolute was genuinely baffled.

"Perhaps another game then?" Stalwart asked.

"Like what?" Valor looked at his friend for a suggestion.

"How about we sing one hundred bottles of berry juice on the wall?" Intrepid suggested.

"No!" Came everyone else's reply. Even Edge.

"Geez, fine. Hostile work environment."

"This is a hostile environment altogether and I'm sure the native pokémon wouldn't appreciate your bad singing." Edge was one of their means of inspiration well and good but he wasn't going to have his students sing on his watch.

"My mother says I have a lovely singing voice." Intrepid defended himself.

"She's your mother. She's suppose to say stuff like that. But now that you're with pokémon that would gladly hurt your feelings, we can tell you that your singing can scare a Hydreigon away." Valor shared his painful honesty with his friend.

"You could have let me down easy." Intrepid's voice was laced with irritation.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"If we ever run into one of those things, though, I don't know what I'd do. I've seen a picture of a Hydreigon before and it didn't look friendly." Gallant recalled the image of the three-headed, crazy-looking dragon. How was the guy who sketched that able to return home, he wondered?

"Pfft. I'd kick its ass." Valor boasted and his statement made Edge roll his eyes.

"And how will you do that?" Their teacher inquired.

"Dragons are weak to fairy type attacks, right? On top of that, as fairies, we're completely unaffected by dragon attacks. It's especially bad for a pokémon like Hydreigon since I heard it also has a dark typing and that makes it even more vulnerable to our attacks."

Edge smirked at Valor's logic. It seemed his students knew a lot about type match ups than they let on. However, he had his own knowledge to dispense as well. "That's an insightful look of things, Valor, I'll give you that. But having a type advantage over your foe doesn't always guarantee a victory. Did you know that a Hydreigon could learn Flash Cannon, a steel move?"

Valor looked up at his teacher with surprise. "They can?"

"Sure they can. It's not limited to Hydreigon either. A lot of dragons are known to carry poison and fire attacks to compensate for their weaknesses. Dragons are very versatile pokémon and that's what makes them dangerous. There are also incidents of electric type pokémon getting the upper hand on ground types using Grass Knot or Hidden Power so you can't always rely on brute forcing your way to victory just because you're confident in your type. My final point being, and this is the most important one, that you won't be a fairy type for long so you better brace yourselves for those Draco Meteors if you plan on fighting dragons in the future."

And just like that, everyone's eyes widened in realization. When they evolved into Gallade, they lost their fairy type to have it replaced by the fighting type, giving them new strengths as well as weaknesses. They were literally turning into a different pokémon and they would have to work through many experiences in order to get used to their new bodies.

"Well damn, you're right." Valor was going to say that fighting beats dark but if he did, it would look like he wasn't paying attention to his lesson.

"Of course I'm right. You're all still green, after all. Heh. Little joke there." Edge's students all cringed at the poor joke.

"Awful."

"I agree."

"You could have come up with something bet-"

"Stop." Edge said firmly, halting in his tracks and causing the Kirlia to do the same. He rubbed the red crest on his chest that was sensitive to emotion. Yet, he felt only one kind of emotion and that was hostility. "We've got company." His elbow blades were already extended which made his students stand back to back and assume battle positions. After it was now brought to their attention, they felt a tingle in their own horns and they didn't like it.

"Doesn't feel like the good kind of company either..." Gallant commented, looking around, not knowing where the perceived threat would strike from.

Edge looked first to his left and then his right, trying to scout the enemies' locations. There was sudden surge in his chest protrusion which told of his enemy's hiding spot. "Hmph. Gotta try harder than that." Edge narrowed his eyes to the right and eventually a white-furred pokémon leaped out of some bushes with its arms raised high in an attempt to slug him with an overhead strike. The Gallade responded by crossing his arms above him just as his foe swung its own arms down at him. Unfortunately for it, the entire underside of a Gallade's arms were incredibly sharp and its forceful attack only ended with its own paws getting chopped off. Edge withdrew from his defensive stance and crouched down a little before rising up with an uppercut to the chin that sent the Vigoroth screaming back into the bushes from whence it came.

"Woah. That was amazing E-" Intrepid's compliment was cut short as another one of the normal types tackled him from the left, separating him from the rest of the group and pinning him to the ground.

The Vigoroth raised one of its arms high then brought it down in a quick jab, sinking its claws into the dirt where its prey had just been a second ago. From his new teleported position on top of the Vigoroth, Intrepid drew forth from his twisted spoon to power himself up and struck it with a strong psychic blast point blank at the back of its head which further caused it to slam face first into the ground, knocking it out. "How do you like that?"

"Focus, everyone. Here come more!" Edge got into a standard battle stance as more of the wild pokémon appeared around them. "One, two, three, four, five... Six... Seven. Damn." The Vigoroth had them surrounded, some standing in a slouched posture while other hanged from trees, all hopping in place and making jeering noises at them. "I think we're in their territory."

"Great." Stalwart wrapped his focus sash around his waist, knowing that anything could happen in this situation. "Just what we need..."

"Everyone eat a Salac Berry." Gallant shared some of his to those that didn't bring their own. "These things are known for having such a vital spirit that they can't sit still. They're very agile so we'll need a boost in speed to keep up with them." Gallant popped his own Salac Berry into his mouth and swallowed it, already feeling the enhancing effects. "The Pokémon Settlement isn't that far from here. We'll clear a path and then make a break for it. Understood?"

All his students nodded, not entertaining the idea of fighting so many hostiles at once either.

With a cry, the first one ran on all fours towards the easier targets while its partner engaged the Gallade. The one with Gallade in its eye jumped at him with its claws bared and Edge took aim, quickly swinging his arm outwards and sending a crescent-shaped projectile vertically at it that chopped off one of its arms. The Vigoroth cried out and its attack was interrupted, causing it to land painfully on the ground and hold onto its bleeding stump. Edge wasn't done as he ran up and punted the floored pokémon in the face, sending it flying into another Vigiroth that tried to avenge its fallen comrade. Another one was upon Edge, this time from the rear and restrained his arms by curling its own under them. A new Vigoroth took the opportunity to rush the Gallade, intending to end him once and for all.

"You sure about that?" Just as the foe in front of him swung one of its claws, Edge leaned his body down, a motion that made the Vigoroth behind him rise up onto his back, making it the new target. The attack was already in motion and its partner could not stop itself from slashing it across the face and knocking it off the Blade Pokémon's back. Now free, Edge delivered a rising right hook straight into the remaining pokémon's gut followed by a left hook that fractured its jaw and sent it flying into a tree, out cold. "Don't think I forgot about you." Edge spun on his heel and charged the Vigoroth that had restrained him. The enraged Wild Monkey Pokémon met him halfway and took a swing at him with its sharp claws but Edge went low, spinning on his arm and striking out with an extended leg, sweeping his foe's legs out from under it and dropping it to the ground. The Gallade quickly finished things by jumping back up and delivering an elbow drop that impaled the Vigoroth at the base of its spine, killing it. "Tch. Gotta clean that up later..." Edge commented, brushing some of its blood off his arm.

The situation on the other end was still heated as the young Kirlia fought diligently against the opposition. One of them was already down, missing a few teeth and Gallant ran towards a fast approaching second one. The Kirlia crouched low at the last moment just as the normal type attempted a pounce, sliding underneath its body, avoiding its attack and firing an unseeable force at a Vigoroth that was behind it, catching it off guard and knocking it to the ground. The primary Vigoroth looked behind itself in confusion, leaving its back open. Valor wasted no time in sending a psychic blast aimed at the back of the target's head that caused to topple and flail its arms in an attempt to regain balance.

"Valor!" Gallant called for his partner.

"On it!" Valor appeared beside Gallant in an instant, grabbing his arm, spinning him around once and tossing him at the Vigoroth that had just stood back straight. The airborne Kirlia flipped through the air and threw his legs out, delivering a drop kick to the normal type's face and at the same time, Intrepid expelled another psychic force at the Vigoroth's feet, causing it drop painfully to the ground from the choreographed assault with Gallant delivering a final telekinetic blow to the face that spelled lights-out for their foe.

"Score one for the little guys." Valor smirked. His victory boast was short-lived, though, as the Vigoroth that was knocked off its feet earlier had gotten back up and was rushing at the exposed Kirlia, wanting nothing more than to impale him on its claws.

"Valor!" Without thinking, Stalwart teleported in the way of the attack meant for his friend. He cried out in pain as the claws penetrated his skin but he was lucky enough to grab onto the Vigoroth's arm and use some of his psychic power to keep the claws from sinking too deep into his body and cause serious harm. The focus sash around his waist glowed for a moment before dissipating, saving him from what would have been a life threatening blow. "Damn. Paid good money for that too..."

Seeing their friend injured by the Vigoroth, the remaining Kirlia were suddenly filled by a seething fury. They all teleported around the Vigoroth, surround it and their horns and eyes begun to glow. The Vigoroth shook for a moment before withdrawing its claws from its prey and placing them beside its head. It started to scream as all its senses were assaulted by a most unpleasant sensation. Dropping to its knees, it continued to scream, this time with blood leaking from its eyes, nose, mouth and ears. It shook violently for a few more seconds, eyes rolling up into its head and then falling over, dead.

"Choke on it."

"Piece 'a crap."

"You got off lucky, asshole."

"How's Stalwart?"

"He's gonna be fine." The Kirlia all looked towards Edge who had taken the time to treat his injured student. His bag was open and the young fairies all noticed the first-aid equipment in it. He had already cleaned the wound along with giving him some manner of small pill to eat and was currently wrapping a bandage around the affected area. All done, Edge packed up his kit and sat the treated Kirlia upright. "How do you feel?"

"It hurts... But I think I'll be fine..." Stalwart's wince of pain turned into a peculiar smile on his face and he stared blankly ahead of him. Looks like the first-aid was a big success...

"...I don't know what you gave him but I think he likes it. Look at him." Resolute commented, watching his friend waver side to side in content. Medicine shouldn't be able to work that fast, should it?

"I'll have what he's having." Intrepid smirked.

"No time for jokes." Edge hoisted the incredibly happy Kirlia onto his back. "It's almost sundown. We need to make it to the settlement before it gets too dark."

Edge started jogging towards the direction of their destination along with the rest of his students only to have five more Vigoroth appear in front of the Blade Pokémon with one of them shouting profanity at him. "We don't have time for this. Gallant, your vial!"

"Yes, sir!" Still running, Gallant opened his bag, removed the red vial, uncapped it and used his psychic power to propel it at the noise-making Vigoroth.

With its mouth wide open, the offending pokémon got a full taste of the putrid fluid. Its eyes widened and it started rolling on the ground, clawing at its own throat in a frantic attempt to expel the foul liquid from its mouth. Its companions would have helped it but the stench was so terrible that it caused all of them to flee deep into the woods. Being so preoccupied with the cruelty that was inflicted upon it, the screaming Vigoroth never noticed the six psychic pokémon run past it.

Pokémon Settlement - North East Gate.

"Woah." It was all that could be said. After a little running following their engagement, the forest didn't just give way to a more open path. It revealed to them the high wall of the Pokémon Settlement in all its splendor. The solid stone wall not only extended for miles on either side, it also rose up high and Edge wasn't kidding when he said one would have to strain their eyes just to see the top. The wall itself was colored red and the bricks which about fifty centimeters wide were tiled on top of each other in an orderly fashion. The main gate which was directly in front of them was embedded into the wall and was built using gray bricks, all cemented together in an eight meter wide, ten meter high slab.

"So this is the Pokémon Settlement huh? It's... Big." Gallant summed it all up.

"Very big."

"How long did it take them to make this thing?"

"Not sure. Years probably. This settlement has been here long before even I was born. Stalwart, we're here." Edge shook the sleeping pokémon on his back awake.

"I'll have mine with a side order of honey..." Stalwart drooled on Edge's shoulder.

"Just let him be, Edge. He's in no condition to walk anyway and I'm not talking about his injuries." Intrepid gestured to his sleeping friend who still had a wide smile plastered across his face.

"I suppose. Come on, everyone." Edge motioned for them to follow him and follow they did. Walking just a few meters more, the group came up to the front of the large gate flanked by two Klinklang.

"Halt. Identification is required to proceed any further." The one on the right said.

Edge reached into his bag and pulled out a small circular stone with the settlement's crest that depicted a conjoined trio of a talon, a paw and a fin. "Edge of the Fairy Realm. Visiting. Here to make a business transaction. This is my charge." The Gallade motioned to the group of Kirlia under his care.

Satisfied, the Klinklang moved their bodies and joined them with the two gears on either side of the gate. After properly adjusting themselves, they begun to move their own gears, activating the mechanism and causing the massive gate to begin rising. Inch by inch, the gate revealed to them more of the settlement. The visiting group could already see the large multiple buildings as well as a few pokémon, both familiar and unfamiliar alike going on about their business. Due to the time, though, the streets were mostly empty and most of the residents had already called it a day. "Welcome to the Pokémon Settlement. We hope you enjoy your stay."

"Come on, everyone. Let's find an inn to bunk in. We shall make our requisition in the morning." Edge walked passed the gate and into the settlement, followed closely by his awestruck students.

Gallant grinned, excited to get some food in his belly after the day's ordeals. He proceeded forward but then suddenly stopped on his second step when he felt his horns tingle ever so slightly. He looked up to where he felt the emotion coming from and he could have sworn he saw a black figure zip through the dimmed sky, coming from the same direction as him and his team. What was that? A pokémon? He barely got a good look at it. Could it have been the cause of what he felt?

"Gallant come on!" One of his friends called from ahead of him.

"Uh, coming!" Gallant briefly looked back up but found nothing this time. Shrugging, he ran and caught up with his teammates, ignoring the sorrowful emotion he felt but knowing it still lurked at the back of his mind.

END CHAPTER.