I am back! And with a new chapter!
"The Forest of Clouds…" Infernape murmured.
"The map says that it's a place where the trees and forest floor are actually made of clouds, but somehow, it stays solid enough to walk on and step on. I don't know how that's really possible, but at least it's true to the name." Luxray said.
"I think I'll take whoever the boss is. I probably have the best chance of fighting in a place with a name like the Forest of Clouds." Staraptor suggested.
"Maybe, but I have an advantage over the sky. Abomasnow does too, but he already fought." Luxray replied.
"Guys, let's just decide when we actually see the boss, alright?" Drapion growled.
"By the way, have you guys noticed that we have been facing down tough Pokémon in every place we go?" Abomasnow asked.
"Yeah. Now that I think about it, it always took a combination to beat them. It didn't just take power, it took strategy. But what's your point?" Machamp asked.
"I don't think these were the places that Lady Gardevoir wanted us to go. They were too tough for the normal Pokémon. Besides, you said that Metagross was sent from the Kingdom of Zarton, right, Machamp?" Machamp nodded, and Abomasnow continued. "I don't think the map we're using is Gardevoir's. I think the Kingdom of Zarton switched the maps somehow and gave us a more dangerous path." Abomasnow said.
"Well, we're on this path right now, and it still leads to the kingdom, so we might as well continue. Although, now that I think about it, why would Dusknoir take us to the kingdom when he could just mislead us?" Luxray asked.
"I don't know, but we should probably focus on saving Team Majesta first. It's not exactly polite to keep a lady waiting, especially if you and that lady love each other." Infernape said with a short laugh.
Meanwhile…
Dusknoir burst into the room that Team Majesta was staying in. Lopunny screamed and dropped the glass she was drinking from, Ninetales looked up in surprise, Swellow started panicking inwardly, Medicham clenched her fists, Kricketune was half frozen, and Roserade glared viciously at the Ghost-Type.
"What do you want, Dusknoir?" Lopunny asked after regaining her composure.
"Since there is obviously nothing you can do to stop me, I might as well tell you my plan. Laxos is going to be taken over, by none other than myself! You can just pray that your beloved mother and father will survive, princess!" Dusknoir taunted.
"No way. I can assure you, Team Valor will stop you." Ninetales growled.
"Oh, please. How can they stop me when they are all the way over here trying to save you. They are only heading to the Forest of Clouds as we speak! And I have prepared a special surprise for Staraptor there!" Dusknoir laughed.
"What? What did you do?" Swellow asked, thinking of her lover.
"There's only one Pokémon who could get in the way of your romance. And I have gained his alliance and sent him to the Forest of Clouds. I can tell you one thing about him, though. He no longer cares about you. He just wants Staraptor's blood on his wings!" Dusknoir said.
Swellow's eyes widened. Everyone else looked at her. There was only one Pokémon like that, and they all knew it.
"Now, I am on my way to Laxos. I will leave you with the best of my Weavile and Sableye guards, so do not even think about trying anything." Dusknoir said. Then he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Team Majesta gained big grins on their faces. "Is he really that stupid?" Roserade asked.
"He must be really underestimating us. Team Valor isn't the only one who's been practicing combinations." Medicham said with a grin.
Just then, a Weavile and a Sableye walked into the room and closed the door. "We are the captains of our squads. Remember, don't try…" They never got a chance to finish.
"Quick Attack into Jump Kick into Dizzy Punch!" Lopunny yelled. She used Quick Attack to boost her speed, jumped into a Jump Kick that allowed her to kick away from Weavile within contact of him and cause pain as an added bonus, and finally finish him with a diving Dizzy Punch. She landed gracefully on her feet.
"Fire Blast into Flamethrower!" Ninetales cried. The Sableye was caught off guard as Ninetales launched a ring of flames that turned into a star of flames and then boost its power with Flamethrower. To put it bluntly, Sableye went down.
"Awww, you two didn't leave us anything to fight." Kricketune complained.
"Does it really matter? We just have to get out of here." Roserade said.
"Not a chance!" a voice cried. Team Majesta looked up to see an army of Sableye and Weavile crowd the now-open doorway.
"Oh, good, this should be fun." Medicham said, cracking her knuckles.
"Team Valor is definitely not the only top Laxos fighting force." Lopunny giggled. The Sableye and Weavile looked around in fear for the sight of another fighting force equal to Team Valor.
"They really are stupid, aren't they?" Swellow sighed.
"Definitely, Swellow. Definitely." Ninetales agreed. Team Majesta nodded and whirled into battle.
Back with Team Valor…
The Forest of Clouds was indeed a strange place. As Luxray said, it was actually made of clouds solid enough to touch and stand on.
"This is not what I imagined the Forest of Clouds to look like." Infernape commented.
"Well, what do you expect? I said that it was made out of clouds, didn't I?" Luxray growled.
"Guys, quiet. Looks like we got another weakling to tackle." Staraptor said. It was nothing but a mere Murkrow, which Staraptor took out with one Aerial Ace.
"Please, spare me! I was only following orders!" Murkrow pleaded.
"That's what they all say. But do tell, who are you following orders from?" Abomasnow asked.
"The Big Boss. He can command a fleet of Murkrow like nothing. Whenever we hear his call, we are drawn to his location easily. He has ruled us for a long time." Murkrow said.
"Hmph, you really are pathetic. Just tell us where he is, and then stay out of our way." Drapion said.
"T-the back of the forest, where that big tree is!" Murkrow said, pointing.
"Good. Now don't try anything." Machamp warned. Team Valor started to leave, but once they had gone a considerable distance, the Murkrow shot up.
"Wing Attack!" he screeched, flying in with his wings ready to strike. Unfortunately, Drapion, who was in the back, extended his tail to its full length, powered up Poison Jab, and struck with all the accuracy of a well-trained assassin. He instantly defeated the Murkrow without even looking back once.
Another Murkrow who was flying above watched, sweatdropped when he saw what Drapion did, and flew away quickly to warn his leader, not wishing the same fate on himself.
Unfortunately, he had been noticed by Staraptor's keen eye. "Guys, another Murkrow just flew off. I'm going to follow it, and maybe see whom their leader is. Just follow me on the ground." Staraptor said. At a short nod from Infernape, Staraptor took off and silently trailed the Murkrow.
Staraptor followed the Murkrow to the large tree, where he could see the exact Pokemon that he thought would never see again. It was his romantic rival, the other Pokemon who had competed for Swellow's affections. It was Honchkrow. He silently used Aerial Ace to sneak some distance behind Honchkrow and waited until the Murkrow flew off.
"So, Staraptor and his pals are here. Lord Dusknoir will be proud of me for taking down those fools. I will finally get my revenge for what that bastard did to me." Staraptor heard Honchkrow say after the Murkrow had finished his report and left.
Staraptor made his move. "And you are still horrible at sensing danger, even after all this time." he taunted.
Honchkrow whirled around. "Dark Pulse!" he shouted. The powerful attack was launched.
"Steel Wing!" Staraptor used the attack and spun, whacking away his opponent's attack with the hard-as-steel wings.
"That's all you've learned over the years? You really are more pathetic than I remember!" Staraptor laughed.
"You shouldn't be talking, Staraptor. I have not even shown the full extent of my abilities." Honchkrow said confidently.
"You're not the only one who's been training, Honchkrow. I can assure you, I am a lot more powerful than when I was a Staravia." Staraptor said.
"Bring it!" Honchkrow shouted, and they whirled at each other.
Below, the rest of Team Valor had just shown up. "Is that Honchkrow?" Luxray asked.
"Never thought he would be here." Machamp said.
"Especially after what he almost did to Swellow. Staraptor barely stopped him before." Drapion said grimly. Infernape nodded gravely, imagining the details that Staraptor had given Team Valor on the events that happened that day…
Flashback…
H-honchkrow, what's the matter with you?" Swellow, asked.
"Shut up! I only want us to have a little fun!" Honchkrow said with a sneer.
"Aerial Ace!" Swellow cried, trying to defend herself. It was a good attempt, too, for Honchkrow was actually pushed back a few yards. However, it didn't keep him from retaliating.
"Sky Attack!" Honchkrow commanded, not holding back. Swellow was near fainting after being hit by the attack, an easy target for Honchkrow. Just when he was about to close in on her, he heard a voice cry out.
"Steel Wing!" It was Staraptor, who was only Staravia back then. He struck with the attack, and stunned Honchkrow for a bit.
"This doesn't concern you, Staravia. Why do you even bother having a girly name like that anyway?" Honchkrow asked when he regained his senses.
"It is my name! And for your information, this does concern me! Why are you abusing your girlfriend, who trusted you! I am her most trusted friend, and even as I watched you two together, I could tell she never trusted you as much as she did me!" Staravia screeched in anger.
"What do you know? My relationships are is my business and my business alone! What is she to you, anyway? I own her! I can do whatever I wish with her!" Honchkrow declared.
"YOU OWN HER? HOW DARE YOU!" Staravia screeched. Swellow, who was watching, stiffened. She had never seen Staravia so angry.
"You're going down, bastard!" Honchkrow screeched in return. They both flew at each other furiously with a whirl of feathers. Despite Staravia's better skills, Honchkrow had the upper hand due to his size, and he was able to cause Staravia to wear out.
"You're pathetic! Is this what Team Valor's training amounted to? Sky Attack!" Honchkrow laughed, using the final attack.
Staravia was nearly unable to move. He started to have doubts. Then they were all pushed away by Swellow's voice. "Staravia! You can do it, I know you can! Do it for me!" That, combined with the memory of the swear he had made a few years ago to protect Swellow, was far more than enough to motivate him.
"Aerial Ace into Brave Bird!" Honchkrow's eyes widened when Staravia used Aerial Ace to dodge his Sky Attack and then loop into a Brave Bird that was powerful enough to finish him.
"Swellow…are you all right?" Staravia asked in concern when Honchkrow went down.
"I'm fine…thank for putting yourself in danger because of me." Swellow said softly.
"For you, I would do a lot of things. That's what friends are for, right? Now, I better take you back to the palace. My Spearow squad will take care of this scum." Staravia said.
As they walked back to the palace, Swellow couldn't help thinking, "Just a friend…but why do I feel like there's something more between us when we look at each other?"
End Flashback
"Now let's see if Staraptor can do it again." Infernape said. The battle between these two longtime enemies was really heating up.
"Fly into Aerial Ace into Brave Bird!" Staraptor cried. He tried the combination that would score him an easy victory with it struck. However, Honchkrow then used the same combination, substituting Brave Bird with Sky Attack .
"Dark Pulse!" Honchkrow commanded. Staraptor was able to dodge all the Dark Pulses he launched except for the last one, which got him directly on the back, blinding his senses with pain. Staraptor was now basically on a collision course with the ground. It would be disastrous if he hit. However, there was one more thing he could try.
"Steel Wing!" This allowed him to spread his wings to give him more leverage. On the downside, it also made him heavier, but he had no choice. As the ground flew up to meet him, Staraptor tipped to the side, the Steel Wing cutting into the cloudy ground. He then looped upward and behind Honchkrow, the Brave Bird still in effect.
"What? Impossible!" Honchkrow protested. He then took a direct hit with the ground, and Staraptor crashed him even deeper into it. There was absolutely no way Honchkrow could have survived that attack.
"You're done, Honchkrow." Staraptor said when he walked out of the dust.
"You finally got your revenge, eh, Staraptor?" Machamp said, giving him a hearty pat on the back.
"My revenge was realized the first time. It was just necessary to fight him again." Staraptor replied.
"Thunderous Plains is next. We all know who will be battling there." Luxray said grimly.
Team Valor nodded. A place called Thunderous Plains would be obvious for an Electric-Type like Luxray. Infernape led, as usual, and they began their trek to Thunderous Plains.
Meanwhile, with Team Majesta…
"Well, that was unbelievably easy." Medicham said.
"Yes. Those Weavile and Sableye are Dusknoir's best? What a joke." Lopunny laughed.
Before they knocked out the last Weavile, he gave them directions on the route that Dusknoir had led Team Valor to take. Now, they were on the way to Eruption Crater, where hopefully, they will meet Team Valor and all of them will get home as soon as they could to help the king and queen save Laxos.
Alright, it looks like Team Majesta are on the move. But Eruption Crater and Thunderous Plains are their destinations. Will Team Majesta be able to beat the challenge that waits for them at Eruption Crater? If they don't, will Team Valor be able to save them after getting through Thunderous Plains? If you want to find out, please review.
Oh, and if you look back at the other chapters, you will see that I changed all of mentions of Togekiss to Swellow because I think that a Swellow would be a better mate for a Staraptor than a Togekiss for a few reasons. One is that Swellow is actually a bird, and the other is that Swellow is actually smaller than Staraptor, unlike Togekiss, who is actually bigger than Staraptor. If you don't like the change, then too bad, because I do not want to change it.