Okay, so I am going out of town for almost two weeks, so I'll be uploading three more chapters over the next two days! Enjoy!

-Chapter XXVII: Sword Against Leek-

-Victor-

"Mordred, where is Soulburner now? Vincent said that they've detained him when he posed as Nagini, but I need to make sure."

"Yes, sir. He is currently in the lowest level of Magnezone's maximum security prison, in an isolated cell made of psychically reinforced Draconian iron with spectral incantations cast around every square centimeter of the walls, ceiling and floor. He shouldn't be escaping without outside assistance."

"This is troublesome… Why did Nagini not get to him first?"

"Sir, you know how unpredictable he is, and how he does things-"

"I know I know! But I don't care! I gave that Seviper an order, and he failed to do so!"

"Actually… If I may, you never specified when or how he was to acquire Soulburner. Even if he were in Magnezone's prison-"

"Oh… This is marvelous…" He smiled as a new idea came to mind.

"S-Sir?"

"How did I not think of this sooner? Okay, send Widow and Flatline there. Have them get him out."

"But sir… They said they wouldn't-"

"Victor!"

"Widow! And Flatline…? What happened?" He stared at the burning section of Widow's neck, and Flatline's bruised backside and chest, as well as a noticeable limp.

"Your bad information is what happened! You gave us a list of all pokémon affiliated with Team Firestorm, and said you'd pay us to take them out! You never said anything about an Infernape, or that the Charizard specified was the Alpha!"

So… Cinder and Iden have joined forces… I can't say I'm surprised… But I didn't know Iden was the Alpha. I thought that he merely possessed a mega stone.
"I… Am so sorry… My information is only as good as the one providing it. I had no idea that an Infernape was with Iden. Or that Iden was the Alpha Charizard."

"And the Infernape said something about a… male Alpha. Care to specify what he meant by that?" Flatline growled.

Male Alpha…? Don't tell me… are there multiple Alphas per species? One of each Gender? No, that is impossible… For species with multiple branches in their evolution… four Alphas per evolutionary line if it splits? No, that's impossible. If one branch is only a specific gender...

"I… I don't know. I've never heard that term before. As far as general knowledge goes, there is one per species. As such, the idea that there is an alpha for each gender is foolish and improbable. He was merely accentuating the fact that Iden was the Alpha."

"...We're very close to being done with you, Victor. You've caused us more trouble than our payment's worth."

"Are you saying that you are incapable of taking out one team and its affiliates? My, my… It seems that my expectations were too great."

"No." Widow snarled. "I am saying that you have provided us with incomplete information on at least three separate occasions. And each time it has led to further complications. Team Firestorm now knows who we are, due to your miscalculation at the Mountain base. That makes our job exponentially more difficult. And it doesn't help when we get our asses handed to us by two fire types because you didn't tell us about the Infernape! Or that Zorro was being chased by them!"

Victor cursed silently. Iden is the Alpha… And Cinder is even more powerful than I had previously anticipated. "...I apologize for the… current situation. I will provide four reviver seeds and six oran berries for your wounds, and I'll double your pay... if you can do one more thing for me."

Their eyes lit up, and he replied innocently. "Ah, now that the payment is compensating for the misunderstanding, you're willing?"

"...We're more prone to listening to the offer, yes."

"I want you to break Soulburner out of Magnezone's prison. I will provide you the specific details, should you accept."

She visibly and audibly hesitated, but eventually tilted her head down once. "Victor… Magnezone's prison is made to allow only select individuals in, and only with permission from Magnezone or one of the higher-ranking officers."

"I don't believe that will be a problem." Victor smiled and pulled out a scroll of paper. "If it pleases you, I'll pay you both fifty thousand poké to do this, in addition to doubling your original payment."

"Fifty thousand apiece?" Widow said with a hint of interest.

"Yes. If you can pull this off without a hitch and do so without casting suspicion upon my group."

"...We can." She affirmed.

"Good, good… And I will also send a Zoroark with you. After all, it's impossible without one. And I will keep an eye on you from here."

"How do we know it won't trick us? We're walking straight into Magnezone's most well-guarded facility. If we're caught, we're finished."

"You have my word, Widow and Flatline, that as long as you follow my instruction, no harm or inconvenience will befall you. And surely you know how much authority my word carries."

"...Very well. Give us the layout of the prison."

He pulled out a massive sheet of parchment outlining a massive base carved into a mountain, like a giant Durant hill. "Now it won't be easy, by any means. It's very structure is made to hinder every type of pokémon's movement except Magnemite's evolutionary line. Small, narrow, underground tunnels for flying types, walls that heat up when adequate pressure is applied, to combat Bug-Types that cling to the walls, spectral incantations for ghost-types and psychic types that can teleport, pressure-sensitive floor panels that shoot out electrowebs for water-types, as well as regular webs for every other ground-dwelling pokémon, Draconian Iron cells that cannot be bent or melted except by a Son of Arceus, psychically reinforced walls for fighting-types and powerful psychic types, I could go on."

"Why are you telling us this? Are you trying to talk us out of it?"

"No, only making sure that I don't give you any more misinformation. I should clarify… As long as you follow my directions to the letter, none of this should be a problem. If you vary even slightly, then there will be an issue. Not only from me, but from the police force, and they are not in a very good mood, since I destroyed their 'go-to team's' home."

"...Fair enough. Flatline, what do you think? Should we at least hear him out?"

"...Fine."

She shrugged slightly and moved closer to him, looking at the sheet of paper. "Tell us everything we want to know. Then we might consider it."

-Grovyle-

It was another beautiful day, as usual. He sat outside while the rest of the Insurgo trained with Team Firestorm. He leaned back into a hammock he fashioned out of sticks and vines and stared at the cloudless sky. He didn't like how out in the open the new location was, but Amber had insisted it was safe, and he trusted her judgement. He sighed and reached upwards, towards the sky. He was the final Temporal Guardian, and the newest one as well. He was chosen only a matter of months ago, in the future. This guardian of time thing was still a bit much. And… Amber had mentioned that Temporal Guardians weren't allowed to have relationships with mortals, but apparently he got the wrong message from that.

According to the code of the Temporal Guardians, they were forbidden from having children with anyone. So how did his parents both become Temporal Guardians and still have him as a child? He hadn't ever thought to question them ever since then, since they had been too busy with figuring out what had happened to Team Firestorm.

For now, that wasn't important. This moment, this… incredible day… it was worth looking at. "It's incredible, isn't it, Celebi?"

She smiled and moved closer to him. "No matter how many times I look to the sky, my breath is always taken away by the beauty…"

He smiled back and placed his arm around her gently. "We made this possible… for everyone in the future. You and me."

She smiled, then looked at the sky again. "Grovyle… what would happen if… we were to have a child?"

The question caught him by surprise, so he sort of stammered. "...I… I don't know." Where had this come from? She has never been one to say things so suddenly.

"Could we be stripped of our titles as Temporal Guardians? Do you think that is a possibility?"

He took extra effort to not look uncomfortable with the situation. "...Nothing is impossible, Celebi. We both know this. Nine of the twelve Temporal Guardians are residing here, in this timeline, at the same moment. Normally this should be impossible. The Temporal Tree couldn't handle the strain of our powers combined."

"I know, but recently, I've been thinking about it a lot… what it would be like."

"Celebi, you know that Dialga forbade it after… the last time."

"I know, but we're not like her. And she had an affair with a mortal. You and I would never abandon our duties. We both fought to have a place here… We've been through too much to give it up. And we're both Temporal Guardians."

"Are you saying that you wish have a child?"

She blushed, but shook her head. "No… Not entirely."

"Celebi… It's honestly much too soon to be thinking about..." His voice trailed off as he felt a change in the air around him, and when he looked up, black clouds had gathered overhead. They glowed blue and white, and he dashed forward as fast as he could. "EVERYONE, GET DOWN!"

Then the thunder attack hit. When he stood up, his father had mega evolved and drawn it into his tail without even flinching. The ear-shattering boom that followed afterwards made him fall to the ground, but he stood up and ran directly to the Pikachu, who was the only one capable of summoning a thunder strike, let alone bold enough to do so on a clear day. "What happened?!"

"I-I don't know! My electricity went haywire all of the sudden!"

Grovyle glared at him, then at Vincent. "What happened? Were you two training? Thunder isn't a move to use freely like that!"

Vincent nodded slowly. "I asked if he could shoot a thunderbolt at me. I was going to show him how to direct his attacks mid-strike."

"Thunder and Thunderbolt are two very different moves. Aaron, what is the meaning of this? Was it a miscommunication, or-"

"Hey, lay off, man! I already said I lost control! I had a surge! It won't happen again!"

Grovyle grabbed his arm gently and said, "I know. But to lose control like that… people could have gotten hurt."

Aaron's cheeks buzzed with electricity, making Grovyle's arm go numb. "Let go of me."

"Aaron, you need to get this under control. You're fortunate that Basileus has Lightningrod as his ability, otherwise that could have- gah!" A shocking pain went up his arm and coursed throughout his entire body, forcing him to take a knee to avoid falling to the ground, and Aaron growled, "I said... let go of me."

Grovyle stood up and tried his best to remain calm, but a newfound anger managed to work its way into his head. "I showed you mercy when you attacked me in the forest… This time… I won't be so lenient."

Grovyle rushed forward in spite of Vincent's protests. He didn't think about it too much, but he was inexplainably impatient with this Pikachu, which was strange. Normally he wasn't one that succumbed to his emotions.

He swung with his leaf blade, but it was stopped by a glowing stick that appeared out of nowhere. He gasped and looked up to see a Farfetch'd glaring at him with a small smile at the edge of its beak. "Excuse me… He is mine."

Grovyle tilted his head slightly and swung again with his other arm experimentally, but the Farfetch'd parried another strike with what appeared to be little effort. Grovyle narrowed his eyes and focused more on this pokémon. What? A Farfetch'd?

Both of his arms' leaves condensed into single leaf blades as he crossed his hands in front of his head, and he started with an uppercut, but the Farfetch'd parried and deflected the attack into the ground, all in one motion. Grovyle roundhouse kicked at its head while pulling his arm out of the dirt, but it ducked beneath his leg and slammed his stick, -no, it was a leek- into his thigh. He winced as his leg tensed up and his muscles contracted, but he swung with his other arm while he regained his footing. The Farfetch'd blocked the strike again, and Grovyle's eyes widened. This pokémon… can match my speed? How?

The Farfetch'd smiled defiantly while they were at a standstill, with Grovyle's leaf blades pressed against its leek. "Grovyle the Time Gear Thief… Your speed is certainly no exaggeration."

Grovyle gasped and tried to kick the flying-type again, this time in the gut, but it blocked with a partial protect barrier focused around where he striked, (1.) then charged up an air slash with its other arm while he held the leek to block Grovyle's downward swing with his leaf blade. "However, while you may have the upper hand in speed, I can read your preparatory motions and react before you have time to strike."

Grovyle got over his shock and used his temporal power to slow down time. He stood up from his deadlocked position and swung at the Farfetch'd, but it blocked his swing just the same. He gasped and was thrown out of his temporal field after his attack was blocked, and the Farfetch'd shook its head. "Tsk, tsk! That's a dirty trick, Grovyle! I hadn't expected it from you!"

"Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Leroy. Merely a humble Farfetch'd who's come to make sure his apprentice wasn't getting into trouble like he normally does. He's honestly been through so much… you'll need to cut him a break here and there."

"Aaron? You're that Pikachu's... teacher?" Grovyle's confusion overcame his anger, and he retracted his leaf blades. This Farfetch'd was only defending Aaron, so there was no need to waste any more energy than was absolutely necessary.

Leroy smiled warmly and lowered his leek. "Of course! Did you think he learned how to fight by himself? No! When I found him, he was unable to use Agility without running into a wall! Oh, goodness… That seems like so long ago… Then I sent him off to train on the Forest Continent."

"How did you know I slowed down time? And how did you still move at the same speed?"

"Oh… By doing that, you're merely decreasing our perception of time while increasing your own. My reflexes are swifter than a Lucario's, and I have mastered the use of focus energy. You'll find it difficult to beat me in sword-to-sword combat, no matter how fast you are."

"How does your leek block my leaf blades?"

"My, you are quite the curious one, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. I want to know how you could tell that I slowed down time, and a lot of other things."

" I am not a Temporal Guardian, if that's what you're wondering. I haven't received that honor."

"But that's the only explanation! Unless you're a Temporal Guardian, it's impossible for you to move that fast!"

"Grovyle… didn't you just tell your girl that nothing is impossible?"

He stared at the Farfetch'd in shock. The flying-type smiled and turned back to Aaron and began prodding him with his leek. "Now, how have you been holding up? I know you're a bit punch-happy, especially when people touch you... but you need to lighten up."

"Lighten up?! Leroy, you know-"

He put the leek over the Pikachu's mouth to silence him. "Shhh…. instead of getting angry, focus on the positive things around you… For example, I found you. It took a while, but I didn't give up on you. Not after what happened. And the sky. It is a beautiful shade of blue. And to think that you actually joined an Exploration Team! I never thought I would see the day…"

"Shut it. You're not that much older than me. And Team Firestorm's pretty cool, actually."

"Hm… Tell me about your new friends."

"For one, we want to know who you are." Connor stood behind Grovyle, along with everyone else, Insurgo and Team Firestorm alike. Leroy smiled and bowed humbly. "Team Firestorm. It is an honor to meet you. Before you ask any further questions, I would first like to apologize for intruding on your training grounds so carelessly. I am Leroy, the one responsible for this Pikachu named Aaron."

Dawn scoffed and crossed her arms. "That sounds rehearsed."

Leroy's eyes narrowed only slightly as he continued. "...Furthermore, I see that you have already accepted him as a member of your team. May I convince you to let me stay with you without granting me membership? I wish to keep an eye on my hot-headed apprentice." He smiled slightly as Aaron rolled his eyes.

Connor moved closer and appeared to be sizing him up. The Farfetch'd was only about two and a half feet tall, but he stared Connor down fearlessly. Connor humphed and said, "Dawn. Give me a background check."

"On it," Dawn's voice replied. She sounded a little bit angry, but her expression betrayed nothing.

Leroy simply stood there patiently. Grovyle tried reading his face for any signs of dishonesty, then Dawn nodded after a few seconds. "He's telling the truth..."

"Good enough for me. But… You're a flying type… Training an electric type? Pikachu aren't usually known for fighting in the air."

"He's a special case, you see… He doesn't rely on electric attacks as much as most of his species. He enjoys more of a hand-to-hand style of combat, which is what I excel at. I don't typically use flying in my day-to-day training."

"So Aaron doesn't actually have any training using his electricity?" Vincent asked.

"Not from me… But when I sent him to the Forest Continent, he picked up a few things."

"Huh. Alrighty then. That explains the big ol' thunderbolt. Aaron, you up for some electricity lessons in a minute?"

The Pikachu shrugged nonchalantly. "Why not?"

"So, Leroy, you just want to stick with us? How long were you thinking?" Vulcan asked.

"As long as you accept my company."

"...So you'll leave if we tell you to?"

"If that is what you wish, then I have no choice but to honor your command. But seeing as I am the only one that can calm Aaron's rather… fiery temper, in addition to my skill in the art of combat, I believe that you will find my presence more useful to your team than it is a hindrance. I will do my best to stay out of your way if you choose to accept my request."

Connor seemed to be rethinking his decision, but he eventually nodded. "...Geez, we're accepting anyone nowadays, aren't we? Well, if Dawn says you're good, then I guess you can stay with us."

Leroy nodded and bowed again. "Thank you, Connor."

"No prob. Just be sure to keep a close eye on Aaron if you're staying here."

Leroy smiled and bowed again. "Of course."

Grovyle walked up to him after everyone else had drifted away. "Leroy."

"Yes?"

"I want to know."

"You want to know… what? How I move so swiftly?"

"Yes... I am… intrigued, to say the least."

The Farfetch'd sighed and waved Aaron away while materializing a substitute clone. "Behave yourself, boy. My clone is still more then enough to take you on."

Aaron nodded and went off with Vincent and the fake farfetch'd, and the real Farfetch'd sat on the ground. "Well, ask away. I've got nothing to hide."

Grovyle sprouted a seat of vines and twigs and sat in it. Leroy didn't seem too fazed by that, which surprised him as well. "So…" Grovyle began, "I take it you've been around a while?"

"Oh, not that long. But… I have been around a lot longer than any of these kids."

"Kids?"

"Yes. They're just children. All in their late teens or early twenties. It is rather easy to tell based on the way they talk and hold themselves up. That Swampert's the leader, obviously. He's the first one that walked up to me, and at least half of the pokémon behind you were looking at him like they were waiting for his command."
"So you don't know who Team Firestorm is?"

"I haven't a clue. Although I recall something about stopping the destruction of time… But it slipped my mind."

"How old are you?"

"I'm forty-seven. But after you hit thirty, your aging process slows down to a fraction of what it was." (2.)

"Then you're in no position to be calling these pokémon 'kids'."

"If we're getting technical, any pokémon that's twenty years younger than you can be classified as a kid. But that's beside the point."

"I expected you to be a bit older…"

"With all the skill and whatnot, if I were in your position, I would expect myself to be in my one-hundreds, even late one-hundreds."

"How did you get so good at such a young age?"

"Practice. Nothing to it but practice every day. I would say I have talent, but with that mind-reader on the loose, I don't want to be lying. Heh." He was already joking with him. Grovyle quickly got back on topic, trying to avoid an easy, conversational tone. "That still doesn't explain how you could still block my strike while I slowed down time. Or how you threw me out of my temporal field."

"It's all in reading the preparatory motions and reacting with enough speed. Time is relevant. I've already mentioned that all you do when you slow down time is increase your perception of it while decreasing others' around you. And if my perception of time is increased, say, with focus energy, and I manage to break your focus, then it simply negates your hold on the fabric of time around me."

"...What?"

"Really? I thought with being a Temporal Guardian and whatnot, you would be explaining this to me!"

"Wh-what you're saying doesn't make any sense. Just answer my question."

"I already have. If you wish to fight me again in the same manner as before to prove that my assumption is correct, I will gladly oblige."

Grovyle nodded and stood up and honed his mind. This Farfetch'd was good. He pushed the thought aside and dashed forward with quick attack. The Farfetch'd sidestepped and blocked Grovyle's tackle with steel wing. Grovyle's fist hit the flying-type's iron-hard wings with a devastating impact, and Leroy smiled as he stepped back and was enveloped in a white glow. Grovyle growled and dashed forward again, this time using razor leaf mid-stride as he closed in, but Leroy deflected the projectiles with his leek in one fluid motion while charging up an air slash with his other arm. Grovyle gasped, and before he could stop his dash, Leroy launched the air slash. Grovyle crossed his arms and used protect, then used quick attack again, but the Farfetch'd blocked with a protect barrier of his own. Grovyle growled again and used Razor Leaf, but Leroy moved to the side of the attack in a fraction of a moment, letting the leaves fly past him harmlessly.

There's no way he's not a Temporal Guardian… but even if he were… There are already twelve beings chosen. And I have never seen him before.

Then the Farfetch'd flapped its wings once. Before Grovyle could think about what the attack was, hundreds of feathers appeared out of thin air and stuck to his skin like velcro, coating him in over six inches of feathers. Leroy casually moved forward and placed the end of his leek on Grovyle's chest, while he was powerless to stop it due to his restricted mobility. "You fought well, Grovyle."

He stared at the little flying-type with awe. "How…"

"Like I said, it is difficult to beat me in sword-to-sword combat."

"...Hmph. So it is." Grovyle shook the feathers off and began to walk away, and the Farfetch'd bowed respectfully. "You have my respect, Grovyle. You are the first opponent that I have ever had to apply myself to best in a one-on-one battle."

"Thanks. You too."

That pokémon… he's good. Really good. But I only used leaf blades and razor leaf. I haven't used anything else. But from the looks of it, he wasn't giving it his all, either. But… how is he so good? And more importantly… how can he still move while time is stopped?

D'awww snap! This Farfetch'd is a beast! How did it beat Grovyle?! Big question! Bam! Also, what is Victor planning...?

As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and liked this last fight scene! I thought it was pretty awesome, even if Grovyle did lose... If you guys have any questions, comments, concerns or theories about what might happen, leave them in the form of a Review or PM! It is always appreciated! Now for the Authors' notes!

(1.) With enough practice, a pokémon that uses protect could concentrate it around a certain area to block more effectively. Even though Protect is practically indestructible, when Leroy blocked right where Grovyle was going to strike, it allowed for him to follow up with a counterattack without lowering the barrier. Thus... Sometimes it works better to use a partial protect barrier.

(2.) In my stories, if you haven't already figured it out, the Pokemon age a lot like elves in The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit. They age normally for about the first twenty-five to thirty years of their life, then pretty much stop aging. So pokemon are children for about ten years, then become adolescents in their teenage years, then grow into adulthood, then take forever to actually grow old. But, if they've lived a full life and want to grow old, then they can consciously speed up their aging process. But they really have to mean it.

Okay, I hope my notes made sense! Once again, thank you all for reading, and thank you Chille3001 for submitting Leroy the Farfetch'd! I will see you all in the next update! Much Love!

-PL