A Dragon's Tail
Tail 6: Baromyteus' Tail - Deception
Tail 6-7: The Last Tranquility
"Knock! Knock!"
"Come in."
"Greeting, President Voltson."
"Thank you for coming today. Please, sit down."
"…Thank you, president."
"And… How are things in the Civilight Laboratory? I have heard that the explosion caused by Experiment Alpha was… quite extreme."
"It could be worse if the wall of Experiment Alpha's Room isn't made from the strongest reinforced steel, so the overall damage done to the Civilight Laboratory is quite minimal. The only problematic part we have with this explosion is the hole that was caused by Experiment Alpha's rampant, making the explosion become noticeable for anyone who was in the Underground Tunnel by that time."
"Yes. This is quite problematic, as the legion of Civilight Metropolitan Officer was on duty of chasing after the thieves who stole an old train from the Train Storage, so they were able to feel the explosion too. It was not easy to convince the inspector who led that legion that the explosion is nothing to worry about, but if we don't do this, the news of what happened in Civilight Laboratory would leak out, and then we won't be able to do anything about our mistake of letting a group of Pokemon trespassed into the most secured place in the Republic of Civilight, and then we will not be able to do anything about it, especially since we have already lost Experiment Alpha."
"Yes. Losing Experiment Alpha is a great loss. If we still have it, it would be easy for us to get a hold of power within our grasp…"
"By the way, is there any interesting news from other part of Symmetria?"
"Yes. President, did you remember the news of Pontifex Hawkins' demise?"
"Of , even without Pontifex Hawkins, Venturnome still has Archsage Iris, so I don't think that we can think less of the Nation of Light, at least until Archsage Iris is gone."
"Exactly. However, according to our spy, Archsage Iris is still skeptical of Pontifex Hawkins' demise, and she even called the Hero of Justice to discuss on what to do about this."
"Hero of Justice? The leader of the Hero of Legend who saved Symmetria from the Fallen Crisis 30 years ago, as well as… Hm… Now this is getting interesting… Now… Tell me more about him…"
"Actually, we have just got a message from the Hero of Justice himself, sir."
"A message from the Hero of Justice?"
"Yes. Actually, it sounds more like his request."
"Hm… Now this is getting more and more interesting. Now, pass me the message from the Hero of Justice."
-Several Days Later…
It had already been more than a week since a group of Pokemon from the world outside Valley of No Return had arrived in the Hidden Village of Dragon within the area that the 'outsider' called 'Inaccessible Valley'. This group of Pokemon consisted of Rachael Lustermist the Latias, Richard Lustermist the Latios, Zetarus Quakersand the Garchomp, Diego Pyrotorch the Mega Charizard X, Claura Pulsawhirl the Kingdra, Xavier Stormwing the Dragonite, Anastasia Wyrmscale the Goodra and Baromyteus Drawyvern the Shiny Haxorus, and they soon were joined by Freya Mirasert the Flygon, the young princess of Dustorm Empire and Zetarus' half sister, as well as the mysterious Pokemon in the form of an almost-identify Pokemon, who was still unconscious until now...
In the first night after their arrival to the Hidden Village of Dragon, there was a Village Meeting at the village's center square to declare the main intention of their visit, at least for the Kingdra and Dragonite, as their intention of visiting this village, unlike their other comrades, was to pass the request of the Dragonqueen for everyone in this village to move to the place where most Dragon type Pokemon called home, Kingdom of the Dragonking.
As expected, after hearing the request of the Dragonqueen, none of the Dragon type Pokemon in the Hidden Village of Dragon was able to immediately give their answer to the Kingdra and Dragonite, as they did not want to leave the very soil they called home, but again, being a dragon at both body and soul, they knew that living in the place where their kin called home would absolutely be a better choice…
In the end, as everyone thought, the dragons of this little hidden village asked for some times for them to make a decision about the Dragonqueen's request, so they welcomed the visitors from the outside world to stay with them in this village for some time, and everyone accepted.
Ten visitors from the world outside Valley of No Return were invited by Elder Baldr, the elder of Hidden Village of Dragon, to stay at his home, and they all accepted his kindness. However, staying at the home of the village elder with a warm food and warm bed everyday, all of them couldn't stand staying still without doing anything to repay the kindness that the Elder Baldr and everyone in this village showed them, so they decided to help the denizens of Hidden Village of Dragon in the way they could with the power they possessed.
"Whew! I think this is all we can harvest for today!" Rachael said as she put a basket of berries that she had just harvested from the field down and wiped her sweat.
"Thank you so much, Rachael. You are very good at cultivating!" An Alolan Exeggutor said as she walked toward the Latias with her tall figure.
"Aww… I just really want to help in what I can, and planting and harvesting are the only thing that I could do…" Rachael said with a meek voice after receiving a compliment from the Alolan Exeggutor.
Rachael Lustermist the Latias, being the adopted daughter of an owner of the berry farm in the Principality of Leafburg, had a passion for cultivating, so she used this trait as her advantage to help the people of the Hidden Village of Dragon by helping them in planting and harvesting the berries and other edible plants that were grown in the farm beside this village, and her assistant was appreciated by everyone in this village.
"Oh, look! The hunters have finally come back!" While Rachael was talking to the Alolan Exeggutor, another Dragon type Pokemon who helped them during the harvesting, which was a Hydreigon, said as he noticed a group of Dragon type Pokemon walking into the village. All of them carried several games they got from their hunt. Among them, the most standout of all hunters was the Garchomp who carried twice amount of game of other hunters.
"Oh! Zetarus is with them too! Over here, Zeta—EEEAAWW!" Rachael said as she quickly approached the Garchomp when she noticed the presence of the blood-soaked corpses that the Garchomp was carrying, and she couldn't stop herself from screaming out.
"Geez…" Zetarus mumbled as he heard Rachael's scream. "Rachael, you don't have to shout like that, especially after all the trouble I did to catch these things…"
"Put that thing away from me!" Rachael said and closed her eyes.
"Why?" Zetarus spoke with a crafty voice. "It's just a bunch of today's game. Wanna see them a bit closer?"
"No!" Rachael quickly got away from the Garchomp as he tried to show her his games.
"Come on, Rachael!" Zetarus said as he approached the Latias. "The very meat I am holding is the very meat you will be eating this night, so what's the deal with seeing it a bit sooner?"
"EAAH!" Rachael started screaming again.
Zetarus Quakersand the Garchomp, while having a very little experience in the common things due to his past as the prisoner of the Dustorm Empire, was very skilled in hunting, and he also loved to shoot thing with his weapon, so he chose to go hunting with other hunters of this village. While he didn't speak much of how good his hunting skill was, the amount of game that they got after hunting drastically increased after the Garchomp had joined a hunt.
"… That's enough, Zetarus."
Before Zetarus could reach Rachael, a cold and sharp voice was heard by both of them, and the owner of that voice was none other than a Latios who stood not too far from both of them. He was holding several books in his paw.
"Onii-chan!" Rachael said with a relieved voice and quickly approached him. "Did you finish your work already?"
"Yes." Richard nodded. "Today's class went smoothly, and everyone paid their full attention to my lesson… Which is a good thing."
"Aww… That's so cute, Richard." Zetarus said as he approached both Latios and Latias. "But why did you have to be such a cxxxxxxxxr to me?"
"…If I were you, I would either go and give those games to the chef or put them into the underground storage to preserve them from being rotten by the heat of the air." Richard said with a cold voice, but if listened closely, one could hear that his voice was a bit shaking.
"…Well, since I don't understand anything you say, why don't you do it for me instead?" Zetarus said with a crafty voice.
"Wait, wha—"
"Catch!" Zetarus said as he suddenly threw one of his game at the Latios!
"!"
"Onii-chan!" Rachael cried.
Richard Lustermist the Latios, having a frail body, was no good at doing a physical labor as he would always collapse after a few minutes of hard work, but because of the vast amount of knowledge he had, both from the Chronicle he possessed and his experience in the Republic of Civilight, he decided to use his knowledge as a 'drink' to satisfy the 'thirst' of knowledge of the children of the Hidden Village of Dragon about the world outside Valley of No Return, as well as the history of the World of Pokemon.
"Hm? Hey, Richard, it isn't nice to sleep in the field like this!" Zetarus spoke as if he didn't do anything wrong after seeing that Richard had collapsed onto the ground after he threw one of his games at the Latios. "Come on, get up! And why didn't you catch my game I threw? And why does your face as pale as bone like that?"
"Zetarus! Stop teasing Onii-chan like that!" Rachael scolded the Garchomp before quickly grabbed a bottle of healing potion and gave it to her brother. "Here, Onii-chan, drink this and you would feel better…"
"T… Thanks, Rachael…" Richard spoke with a shaking voice as he grabbed a bottle of healing potion from his sister and drank it.
"There, are you alright, Onii-chan?" Rachael asked after her brother drank the healing potion.
"I… I think I would go back to Elder Baldr's house and get some rest…" Richard answered as he handed over the empty bottle back to Rachael and stood up.
"Then, I will go with you too, as I have to put away these games, and I don't care if you want me to come with you or not." Zetarus said.
"Fine, Zetarus, but no harm done to Onii-chan and me, okay?" Rachael said.
"Whatever, but could we stop by the forge to pick up Diego?" Zetarus said.
"The forge? That's Dimitri's house, right? Then it's okay as it's along the path to Elder Baldr's house." Richard nodded to the Garchomp
"Okay, then… Let's go." Zetarus said before he started walking from the field into the urban area of the village, with the Latios and Latias following him.
-A Few Minutes Later…
"Oh! Claura! Over here!"
While walking toward the center square of the village, Rachael, Zetarus and Richard ran into a female Kingdra who was also walking toward the center square too, and she was none other than Claura.
"Hm? Well… If it isn't Rachael, as well as Zetarus and Richard." Claura greeted as she saw the Latias, Latios and Garchomp walking up to her.
"Have you finish your work yet, Claura?" Rachael asked.
"Right. Today's work wasn't as hard as yesterday's, so I finished it a bit early." Claura answered.
Claura Pulsawhirl the Kingdra, the water dragon from Kingdom of the Dragonking, had a good skill in all kinds of work, so she usually helped out with different work around the village depends on the need of each work. Sometimes, she would go hunting with Zetarus or help Rachael in the field, and for today…
"But I remember that you went to help with training at the Battle Ground with Baromyteus, right? If you are here, what about him?" Rachael continued asking the Kingdra.
"That Dragon Jerky? Usual." Claura answered with a hint of displeasure after she heard the name Baromyteus.
"Sigh…" Richard sighed. "You know what, Claura? You and Baromyteus sound like a married couple every time each of you mentions each other."
"WE ARE NOT MARRIED COUPLE!" Claura suddenly burst out the words of anger after she heard the Latios' words.
"Woah! Hey, calm down, Claura, or your voice are gonna ruin my fine game!" Zetarus said.
"Sigh… Just get those games out of here, Zetarus. And Richard, you sound just like Xavier, which I don't appreciate, and if you keep going, you may lose one or two of your teeth." Claura said.
"…" Richard said nothing in response.
"What did Claura mean, Claura? I don't understand…" Rachael said with an innocent voice. "Wait, Onii-chan, don't tell me that you have been secretly eating candy without sharing with me?! You meanie!"
"… What? Of course not, Rachael." Richard answered.
"Hmp! Just don't EVER do anything like that, okay?" Rachael said and pouted at her brother.
"Fine." Richard sighed.
"Hey, can we go now? The forge is just up ahead." Zetarus spoke up.
"Okay! Claura, do you want to come with us? We are going to the forge to pick up Diego before going back to Elder Baldr's house." Rachael turned her attention to the Kingdra and invited her to come with them.
"Hm? Well, I don't have any better thing to do right now, so I guess I will." Claura answered.
"Yay! Let's go, everyone!" Rachael said with a cheerful voice as she and everyone continued walking toward the forge.
-A Few Minutes Later…
"Knock! Knock!"
"Sorry, we are clos— Hm? Rachael? And Zetarus, Richard and Claura too?"
After a few minutes of walking, a group of four dragons had finally reached the forge of Hidden Village of Dragon. This was the place where the weapons used by the denizens of this village were forged, as the owner of this forge was the best blacksmith in this village, and apparently, one of their friends was working here too.
"Hi, Diego!" Rachael said.
"Geez…" Diego mumbled. He was holding a hammer in his paw, and his body was covered in sweat after a long day of work. "Why are all of you here at all time?"
"Zetarus suggested that we came here to pick you up." Richard answered. "If I remember correctly, the forge already closed at this hour, so you are already finished with your work, right?"
"Yeah, I just finished cleaning up today's mess." Diego said. "Today's work is hard, but I managed it thought."
Diego Novaflare the Mega Charizard X, the former Gladiator of Brawl Arena, had been proving his skill of forging weapons several times during his journey, so he chose to work as the assistant of the blacksmith of this village, where he could learn about forging weapons from the blacksmith. So far, he was doing a great job.
Also, the blacksmith of this village happened to be none other than…
"DIEGO!"
A loud voice suddenly came out of the inner area of the forge while Diego was chatting with his friends, following by the appearance of a tall and muscular Haxorus, who was none other than the blacksmith.
"Sigh… What is it this time, Damos?" Diego turned his attention to the Haxorus.
"Where is my hammer, you dumbass!" The Haxorus roared as he approached the Mega Charizard X.
"…" Diego didn't say anything. Instead, he just tossed the hammer he was holding to the Haxorus, which almost made the blacksmith burst out with anger.
"YOU MORON!" The Haxorus roared before he quickly grabbed the hammer that was thrown by the Mega Charizard X. "HOW DARE YOU THROW THAT HAMMER AT ME?! A BLACKSMITH NEEDS TO TAKE A GOOD CARE OF THEIR TOOL, NOT USING THEIR TOOL LIKE SOME SORT OF TOY!"
"AND HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT UP YOU OVERGROWN AXE-FACE?!" Diego roared.
"WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME WITH SUCH A NAME LIKE THAT YOU LIZARD-IN-A-BLUE-BUCKET?!" The Haxorus roared back at the Mega Charizard X.
The Haxorus and the Mega Charizard X continued their argument for several minutes, leaving four other Pokemon watching them in awe.
"Sigh…" Claura sighed. "A fiery fighter meets a fiery blacksmith… This always happens every time I came here…"
"Every time?!" Rachael seemed to be surprised after hearing the words from the Kingdra. "T… This is bad!"
"Oh, don't worry about them." Zetarus spoke up. "Diego and that blacksmith… Err… What was his name again?"
"… Damos Drawyvern the Haxorus." Richard mumbled.
"Right, Damos." Zetarus nodded to Richard's words. "They always quarrel with each other over such a small trivia like this… Well… After all, that Damos is the father of—"
"Are you finish yet?" Damos' voice turned the attention of everyone to him instead.
"Yeah." Diego said. "I am finished for today."
"Good." Damos said before he walked back to the shelf that stores several weapons he had just forged, and then picked one and walked back to Diego. "Now, take these and give them back to that walking armor suit."
"Why don't you just give it back to him instead of burden other with your personal chore?" Diego asked with a sarcastic voice.
"So, you are too heartless to do this chore? Fine." Damos the Haxorus said and walked up to Rachael, Richard, Zetarus and Claura, who were standing at the entrance of the forge. "You all are the friends of that Baromyteus guy, right? Can you all give these weapons back to him?" Damos asked with a softer voice he used when he spoke with Diego.
"Of course!" Rachael said with a cheerful voice.
"Hm! Thank you so much." Damos said before giving the weapons he was holding to Rachael. As the Latias received them from the Haxorus, she realized that these weapons were none other than…
"Hey? Aren't these swords Baromyteus' Dragon Horn Swords?" Rachael asked after seeing the swords that were just given to her. "Did he ask you to upgrade them, Damos?"
"Of course not." Damos answered. "I just did it as a thank for taking a good care of my son, that's all."
Everyone nodded to the blacksmith's words. After all, everything he said was absolutely the truth.
"Then, if you would excuse us, we would take our leave right now." Richard said. "Have a good evening, sir."
"Hm, good evening." Damos said before he disappeared into the deeper part of the forge, and Rachael, Richard, Zetarus, Diego and Claura left the forge.
"And now, we will have to do another stupid errant…" Diego mumbled. "Does anyone know where that black dragon would be right now?"
"I guess that dragon jerky would still be at the training ground." Claura answered.
"Good." Diego said. "Let's get this over with."
-A Few Minutes Later…
"So, this is the training ground?" Richard asked as he and his friends now stood in front of a large building at the outskirt area of the village. From its outside appearance, it could be seen that this was the place where several warriors would train together to become stronger.
"Right." Claura gave the Latios a short answer.
"I think I heard the sound of someone inside this place." Diego said. "This sound… It reminded me a lot of the time when I was in the arena."
"Oh, you were in the arena?" Claura turned her attention to the Mega Charizard X.
"Yes. I was once a gladiator in the Brawl Arena in the Fireview Kingdom." Diego answered. "And the sound I heard coming from inside this building… It reminded me of a fight-to-the-death in the arena."
"Oh, no!" Rachael said. "Does that mean that—"
"Oh, cut it out." Claura said. "Despite everything that might happen, nothing wrong would happen in here, trust me."
As she finished speaking, Claura opened the door of the building and led four other Pokemon into the training ground. As they stepped into this place, they immediately realized that there was no one else in this place as everybody had already left, except for two Pokemon.
"YAHHH!"
"CLANK!"
"GRAAAAA!"
"SHIINKKK!"
"ARRRG!"
"HMMM!"
The sound of blades clashing and the battle roar came from the only two Pokemon who were still in this place. They were fighting against each other with much ferocity as if they held a great grudge against each other for over a thousand years.
"TAKE THIS YOU BASTARD!"
"DO YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME, THINK AGAIN, CHUMP!"
Two Pokemon who were fighting against each other were a male Fraxure, who was one of the denizens of this village, and a Pokemon of an unknown specie in a black armor suit. However, Rachael, Richard, Zetarus, Diego and Claura all knew that this Pokemon was the male Shiny Haxorus, as well as one of the Pokemon who came to this village along with them.
"Those are Baromyteus and Dimitri!" Rachael said. "Oh, no! It seems like they are trying to kill each other! We have to stop them!"
"Oh, don't sweat it." Claura said. "That's just them training with each other."
"Training?! Are you sure, Claura?!" Rachael said. "They look like they want to kill each other instead of train with each other!"
"That's normal for both of them." Claura said. "Look, if you see closely, you could see that none of them bleed. It's because the swords they were using for this training don't have any blade, so they wouldn't get hurt very much during this training, especially since both of them seem to be an exceptional fighter."
"And look." Richard spoke up. "I think both of them had already done their training."
Everyone turned their attention to the Pokemon in the black armor suit and the Fraxure after hearing the Latios' words and saw that both of them had already stopped fighting with each other, and they were now holding their paw with each other.
"Nice battle today, kid." Baromyteus said.
"Hm! That's all you got, big guy?" Dimitri said.
"I guess so." Baromyteus said. "I am not a trained knight or paladin. I am just a savage beast who fights by following my instinct."
"Same as me." Dimitri said. "I don't need any code or law of battle. All I need is my weapon and my claws to slice and kill and—"
"…Um… You guys?"
A voice of someone interrupted Baromyteus and Dimitri's conversation, which made them immediately turned their attention to the source of the voice and saw five Pokemon walking up to them.
"Good evening, Baromyteus, Dimitri." Diego greeted. "Hope that we didn't interrupt anything, did we?"
"Yes, you did." Baromyteus and Dimitri gave out the same answer at the same time.
"Sigh…" Richard sighed. "Anyway, Baromyteus, how was your work today?"
"Decent, I guess…" Baromyteus answered. "But I still don't understand… Why would they want me to train everyone here? I am a savage beast, not a kindergarten teacher!"
Baromyteus Drawyvern the Shiny Haxorus, a mysterious dragon who always wore a black and sinister armor suit that made him look like some sort of the demon from the underworld to conceal his body, his identity and his story, was a ferocious fighter who fought like a savage beast, even more savage than the former prisoner and gladiator like Zetarus and Diego, was asked by the others to train the youngster of the Hidden Village of Dragon, which he reluctantly accepted.
However, because of his ferocity in the battle, most of the warriors who trained with him couldn't withstand his power, so some other Pokemon, such as Claura, had to assist the black dragon in his training instead. However, there's yet one warrior from this village who could withstand the black dragon's wrath and fought him with as much ferocity as he had, and that dragon was none other than…
"Kindergarten?!" Dimitri said with an unpleasant voice after hearing Baromyteus' words. "I am sorry, big guy, but, for your information, I am already 18, so I think I am FAR from being a kindergarten."
"You are 18?!" Rachael said. "Wow! Then you are older than both Onii-chan and I! I couldn't believe it!"
"How old are you, girl?" Zetarus asked.
"What?!" Rachael pouted at the Garchomp. "Zetarus, you meanie!"
"…What?" Zetarus seemed to be confused after Rachael suddenly became angry and pouted at him. "What happened to her? Did she suddenly in h—"
"Sigh…" Richard quickly interrupted Zetarus' words. "For starter, it's rude to ask a girl about their age, as the woman doesn't like having someone asking for their own age—"
"Oh, you think so, nerd?!" Claura suddenly turned her attention to the Latios. "Do you think that you are a bit rude by stereotyping all women, hm?!"
"…" Richard said nothing after hearing Claura's words.
"…Enough annoying chitchat." Baromyteus spoke up. "Tell me, why are all of you here?"
"Oh, here! Damos asked us to give these back to you." Rachael said as she handed over Baromyteus' weapon back to their owner.
"Hm! Finally!" Baromyteus mumbled as he received the swords back from the Latias. He then pulled them out of their scabbard and carefully examined it.
"Well… What do you think about them?" Diego asked.
"… The blades are a lot sharper, and also lighter." Baromyteus answered. "Good, because it would fit my battle style much better. Alright, I am counting on you from now on, my Dragon Claw Swords."
"Of course, it would be good." Dimitri said. "After all, my father is the best blacksmith in this village."
"And I must accept that it's true." Baromyteus said. "But since I now have the upgraded weapons, I need something to test how good they are. Kid, do you want to be the first person who died by my blades?"
"Ha! As if you can!" Dimitri said.
"Sigh…" Richard mumbled as he saw Baromyteus and Dimitri started another conversation with each other. "There they go again."
"Right…" Rachael said with a concerned voice. "They always speak as if they really want to kill each other."
"But I think they are quite… cute." Diego said. "From my point of view, I think Baromyteus and Dimitri, somehow, look like a father and a son."
"A father and a son?! Pfff…" Claura mumbled and let out a sarcastic laugh.
"I agree with you Diego." Zetarus said. "It sure seems like a good family… With Papa Baromyteus, little Dimitri and Mama Claura—"
"DIEEEE!"
"ARRGGG!"
Before Zetarus was able to finish his words, Baromyteus, Dimitri and Claura suddenly shifted their attention to him and started ganging up on him, which continued for over five minutes before the three Pokemon finally left the Garchomp in a very poor condition.
"Remember this, you bastard." Claura, Baromyteus and Dimitri spoke up at the same time. "DO. NOT. SAY. THAT. SXXT. AGAIN. EVER.!"
"Arrrr…." Zetarus was unable to say anything due to the condition he was in right now.
And then…
"Oh, no! Brother!"
A cute and sweet voice came from someone who had just entered the training ground. She, along with another Pokemon, who was a male Hakamo-o, then quickly ran up to the unconscious Garchomp. "B… Brother! W… What happened?! Why are y…you in such a condition l…like this?!"
"Princess Freya?!" Rachael said after seeing the Pokemon who approached the Garchomp, who was none other than the youngest princess of the Dustorm Empire, as well as Zetarus' younger sister.
"H… Hang in there, brother!" Freya said before she reached her paw forward and closed her eyes, making a refreshing aura of healing started flowing from her body to the Garchomp's body. After a few seconds, the Garchomp regained his consciousness!
"F… Freya?" Zetarus spoke after seeing the female Flygon in front of him.
"O… Oh, I am glad that you are alright, brother." Freya said. "I was so worried when I saw you in such a poor condition… B… But… What happened to you, brother?"
"Err…. Nothing, I guess." Zetarus decided not to say anything about the incident that happened just before Freya arrived. "Anyway, Freya, why are you here? I thought that you would be in Elder Baldr's house."
Freya Mirasert the Flygon, the youngest princess of Dustorm Empire, didn't act like the princess even a bit, as she acted more like a servant who served the royal, not the real princess. That's why she chose to stay at Elder Baldr's house and took care of the chore of that place, as well as taking care of Elder Baldr.
"I… I came here with Korben." Freya said, making everyone turned their attention to the Pokemon who came into the training ground with the Flygon, who was none other than Korben the Hakamo-o.
"Nice to see you here, Korben." Dimitri greeted.
"Good evening, Dimitri." The Hakamo-o greeted before he turned his attention to the Pokemon in the black armor suit. "Um… Excuse me, Baromyteus…"
"…" Baromyteus pretended not to notice the young Hakamo-o by focusing his attention at his Dragon Claw Swords instead.
"Have you finished training with Dimitri yet?" Korben continued asking. "Can you train with me next?"
"No." Baromyteus quickly gave him the short answer.
"What?!" Korben said. "Why? Why do you always refuse to train with me?!"
"Because I don't want to." Baromyteus answered.
"That's not all!" Korben said. "You always train with everyone, especially Dimitri, but you always refuse to train with me, and I don't understand!"
"… If you came here just to ask some stupid question, fxxk off." Baromyteus said.
"Wha—" Korben was about to say something, however, his words were cut off by the voice of another Pokemon.
"Sigh… If you all want to waste your time that much, at least go back to Elder Baldr's house first."
The owner of the voice was another Pokemon who had just entered this training hall, and he was now walking up to everyone. It didn't take long for everyone to recognize who he was.
"Sigh… What's it this time, Xavier?" Claura said as she saw the Dragonite walking up to her, and this Dragonite was none other than her cousin. "Aren't you support to take care of Elder Baldr today?"
Xavier Stormwing the Dragonite, the sky dragon from Kingdom of the Dragonking, also had a good skill in all kinds of work, but because of his laziness, he always chose to do the chore that required less physical labor or the indoor work so that he would always have a time for a nap. However, despite his laziness, every work he did was flawless, so no one complained about his laziness.
"Yes, of course." Xavier said and released a yawn from his mouth. "But there's something that you would want to see at Elder Baldr's house right now."
"And what would that be?" Richard asked.
-A Few Minutes Later…
"BANG!"
The door of Elder Baldr's house suddenly opened when a group of ten dragons suddenly barged in. They then were greeted by a female Goodra who was in this house, and this Goodra was none other than the younger sister of Baromyteus.
"Welcome back, everyone." Anastasia greeted as everyone entered the house.
Anastasia Wyrmscale the Goodra, while she was not very good at the physical labor due to her frail body, was a great caretaker, so she usually stayed at Elder Baldr's house and, along with Freya, took care of the house, as well as cook for everyone, but not this time…
"Anastasia, is it true?" Baromyteus asked as he and everyone stepped into the house. "Is it true that…"
"…" Anastasia said nothing as she slowly turned her attention toward the kitchen of the house, revealing that someone was there.
"…Oh." As he saw a group of ten Pokemon that had just entered this house, he then quickly left the kitchen to greet them. "Welcome back, everyone. Would you like some of my finest drink in order to quench your thirst after a long day of work?"
The appearance of this new Pokemon gave a huge surprise to everyone else in this room. Normally, everyone who had seen this Pokemon for the first time would be surprised as this Pokemon possessed a very strange appearance that matched none of the existing Pokemon, but for everyone in this room, they were surprised because, as far as they knew, this Pokemon had been unconscious for more than a week!
"S… Snow?!" Korben said as he had his attention focused at the Lapras with a draconic appearance in front of him.
"Ah, you must be Korben Forcenter the Hakamo-o." The Draconic Lapras said and bowed at him. "Elder Baldr told me everything about you, that you were the one who saved my life, and I am forever in your debt."
"And I am glad to see that you have finally recovered." Korben said. "But… Shouldn't you stay in your bed for a bit longer since you have just recovered today."
"Thank you for your concern, Korben, but I assure you that I am perfectly fine right now." The Draconic Lapras assured the Hakamo-o. "Moreover, I really want to repay you for your kindness, Korben."
"Well… If you want to, then I won't stop you." Korben said. "By the way, Snow Tundrafrost…"
"Snow Tundrafrost?" The Draconic Lapras said. "Is that… my name?"
"!" Everyone was shocked after hearing the words of the Draconic Lapras, as it could be interpreted as…
"You… can't remember your own name?" Rachael said. "T… Then, you can't remember anything about yourself?!"
"No…" The Draconic Lapras said. "I can't remember who am I, as well as what happened in my past before I regained my consciousness here and why did I possess such an… unnatural appearance like this."
"Y… You lost your memory?!" Dimitri said.
"Sadly, yes." The Draconic Lapras said. "But… Did you just call me by the name 'Snow'? I felt that… it's my real name…"
"…" Everyone said nothing after hearing the Lapras' words.
"By the way, if I may…" The Draconic Lapras continued speaking. "Since you know my real name, perhaps you all can tell me about my past life? Please?"
"Well… Actually, other than your name, I don't know anything else about you, Snow." Korben said. "And the one who recognized your name are these two."
As he finished speaking, Korben made a gesture toward Baromyteus and Anastasia. However, upon seeing the black dragon in the black armor suit, the Draconic Lapras' eyes suddenly widened in fear!
"W… Well… I…" Snow said. "I… Is anyone hungry right now? I will prepare my finest cuisine for all of you right now."
"Well… Now that I think about it… I am hungry too." Diego said.
"Then I will prepare the cuisine for everyone." Snow said.
"Oh, and you can use this." Zetarus said and handed over the games he got from today's hunt to the Lapras.
"And this too!" Rachael said and gave Snow a basket of berries that she harvested today to the Draconic Lapras.
"Thank you, everyone." Snow said as he received the games and basket of berries from Zetarus and Rachael respectively. "Now if you would excuse me…"
After finished speaking, Snow quickly walked passed Anastasia without saying anything and went back into the kitchen.
"…What a tragic Lapras…" Freya said. "His past life must be very cruel…"
"Right…" Richard said. "But why did he act so fluster when he saw Baromyteus?"
"Sigh… That's what an ordinary Pokemon does when he saw me for the first time." Baromyteus said.
"But he seemed to be very scared of you, Baromyteus." Richard said. "It's as if you are among the things he feared most. Moreover, he completely ignored Anastasia. I wonder what happened to him before he came to this place."
"Whatever…" Zetarus said. "But now, like Diego, I am hungry too."
"So, w… while Snow prepared our dinner, I will p… prepare the table s…so that we would have dinner together." Freya said.
"Anyway, Dimitri…" Korben turned his attention to his Fraxure friend. "The dinner's on the line. Would you like to join us tonight?"
"Sadly, no." Dimitri said. "I must go back to the forge, or else my old man would burst his anger at me again."
"Well then, see you tomorrow, Dimitri." Korben said.
"See you soon too, Korben." Dimitri said before he turned his attention to Baromyteus. "Later, big guy."
"Same, kid." Baromyteus said as Dimitri left Elder Baldr's house.
-Later, that night, in Rachael and Richard's room…
"Whew! I am full!"
Rachael said as she sat down on the bed after dinner made by Snow was over. She was now relaxing in her room along with her elder brother.
"Tonight's meal is so yummy! I have never eaten anything this delicious before!"
"Agreed." Richard said while his attention was still focused at the Chronicle of Darkside in his paw. "Despite that we have never eaten anything luxurious before, Snow's food is definitely the food that would be served in the five-star restaurant."
"Yes…" Rachael said. "But the ingredient he used to make tonight's meal is just the games that Zetarus hunted and the berries I picked today. He didn't even use anything luxurious or expensive!"
"Rachael, something of high-quality doesn't have to be expensive." Richard said. "The meat and the berries he used are very fresh because they had just come out of the wilderness, and as he claimed, Snow seemed to be a very talented chef. That's why his food was very delicious."
"I see…" Rachael said. "Actually, not only Snow's food, but this week is so amazing! I loved everything about this village! I loved planting and harvesting berries here, and everyone was so nice to us!"
"Hm… For me, it's nice to have someone who would willingly listen to my words for several hours without getting bored…" Richard said.
"…Onii-chan…" Rachael continued speaking. "Did you remember the proposal that Claura and Xavier gave everyone here?"
"Hm? Yes, of course."
"Well…" Rachael continued speaking. "What if… Everyone here decided to stay here and not moving to Kingdom of the Dragonking? Perhaps… We could… continue staying here…"
"Hm?!" Richard turned his attention from the Chronicle of Darkside he was reading to his younger sister. "You think so?!"
"What?" Rachael looked at her elder brother. "You too?"
"Well… You know…" Richard continued speaking. "Since both of us are Pokemon, not human, there's no reason to return to that filthy world, so we should stay in this world for the rest of our lives. However, as we travelled through this continent, I couldn't see anything place that we could call home… Except this place."
"…" Rachael said nothing.
"Perhaps because we are orphans, so we yearn to have a place to call home." Richard continued speaking. "However, the home for us must be a place we can live happily without any harm. Since this village is located in the inaccessible valley, there's no worried of the harm from the world outside this valley. And we can continue doing the thing we love in this place too… So, in my opinion, this village… is our ideal home."
"Me too, Onii-chan." Rachael said. "I could say that… this is the place we could call home… for the rest of our lives…"
"…" Richard said nothing.
"…" Rachael said nothing.
"… It's getting late, Rachael." Richard broke the silence. "Let's call it a day and go to bed—Oops!" Richard was about to stand up and moved up to his bed when he realized that he had dropped something on the floor.
"Silly me…" Richard mumbled and was about to reach his paw toward the thing he dropped on the floor when he suddenly stopped moving.
"Onii-chan, what's wrong?" Rachael moved up to where her brother was and realized that he was having his full attention at the object on the floor, which was a thick yellow file that she had seen before somewhere… Which she soon realized after seeing the words that were written on the cover of this file.
"Onii-chan…" Rachael spoke slowly. "Is this…"
"…" Richard didn't say anything.
"… Now that I think about…" Rachael suddenly became sad. "…Onii-chan, what should we do about…"
"…For now, there's nothing that we can do…" Richard said. "But… Someday…"
-Meanwhile, in Zetarus and Diego's room…
"BLARRGGG!"
"Zetarus, you fxxxxxg bustard!" Diego roared at Zetarus after the Garchomp let out a loud belch.
"Why not, Diego?" Zetarus said as he laid on the bed. "Man, tonight's meal is so good that I could eat a lot more!"
"True." Diego said. "It's such a perfect meal after a long day of work."
"Work?" Zetarus said. "For me, I wouldn't call it a work. I would call it… A vacation. You know, wake up, eat breakfast, go out and kill everything I see, eat lunch, continue killing, eat dinner, sleep. I couldn't ask for a better life than this!"
"Hey…" Diego looked at the Garchomp. "Don't tell me that you forgot about your task already?"
"Of course not." Zetarus said. "Soon, I will go back to the Desert Palace and kill that bastard emperor, but for now, I could use a little relaxation."
"…Hey, Zetarus." Diego asked. "After killing Emperor Garland, what would you do next?"
"Hm?" Zetarus got up from the bed and looked at the Mega Charizard X. "What's with this sudden question?"
"You know what I mean, Zetarus." Diego continued speaking. "After killing that jerk at the Fireview Volcano, I start to wonder what I should do next. Of course, I will accompany you and help you until you kill Emperor Garland, but what about after that?"
"Hm… For me, I haven't thought about that much." Zetarus said. "Because I have to pay for my action of killing Emperor Garland with my life…"
"Seriously?" Diego said. "Zetarus, I have known this since the first day I met you that you aren't pathetic, so I am sure that you wouldn't meet such a pathetic death like that. You know, if I think that you are pathetic, I would slay you since the day we met each other, so the reason why you are still alive right now is the proof that you are at least decent."
"Heh… I think I should feel better after your 'encouragement' after all." Zetarus said. "Well, then, I think I may resume my life as a wandering outlaw in the desert of Dustorm…"
"And won't you return to your status as the prince of Dustorm Empire?" Diego asked.
"The answer of this question is the same answer as the question 'Won't you return to your status as the crown prince of Fireview Kingdom', Diego." Zetarus said. "I have already abandoned my birthright as the prince of Dustorm Empire, and I am not going back for sure."
"…" Diego said nothing after hearing Zetarus' words.
"Well, that's me." Zetarus said. "Let me return your question, Diego. After I killed Emperor Garland, what would you do next?"
"I probably do the same thing as you." Diego answered. "After all, all I know is killing people."
"Then—" Zetarus was about to say something, but he was interrupted by the sound of door knocking.
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
"Come in!" Zetarus said.
After Zetarus finished speaking, the door of this room opened, revealing that the Pokemon who knocked the door was none other than…
"Freya?" Zetarus said. "What are you doing here this late? It's already past your bed time."
"U…Um… Zetarus?" Freya said as she flew into the room. "I am s…sorry, but I don't have a bed time."
"Oh, really?" Zetarus said. "So, then… What bring you here, Freya?"
"W… Well…" Freya spoke. "I… It's nothing important. I… I just want to have a little chat with you two… Just like when we travelled together from the Windsky Village to Dustorm City."
"…Hm…" Zetarus looked at Freya. "Freya, are you lonely?"
"W… What?!" Freya was surprised after Zetarus suddenly asked her a question.
"Tell me the truth, are you lonely?" Zetarus said. "I know that stuck here with me must make you lonely. I guess you must miss Terrus and others, right?"
"N… No! Of course not!" Freya said. "E… Everyone here is so nice to me, just like everyone in the Windsky Village. I… I just want to know more of both of y… you. S… Since… We may not have any chance to know more of each others… after we left this place."
Zetarus nodded to Freya's words, as he truly understood the meaning of the last part of her sentence... Which was the thing he intended to let it be.
"… Fair enough." Zetarus said. "Tell me, what do you want to know about me, my sister?"
-Meanwhile… In Claura and Xavier's room…
"Whew… Another day is over…" Claura mumbled as she sat down on the bed.
"You spoke just like an old woman, Claura." Xavier said while lying on the bed.
"Yeah, yeah, knock it off." Claura decided to ignore her cousin's sarcasm.
"Heh…" Xavier looked at his cousin. "Claura, you seem to be more… casual than usual. Did something good happen to you recently?"
"What? Nothing." Claura answered.
"…Did Baromyteus confess his love to you—" Xavier continued speaking, but his words were cut off by a pillow that was thrown by an angry Kingdra, which the Dragonite could easily dodge.
"XAVIER!" Claura roared at the Dragonite.
"That's better…" Xavier said. "This attitude suits you a lot better, Claura."
"Hm!" Claura grumbled as she sat down on the bed again. "Whatever! I am going to bed now! We still have a lot to do tomorrow!"
"A lot?" Xavier said. "What are you talking about? Tomorrow is the Rest Day, a single day of the week that everyone would stop working and use the entire day for relaxation."
"Really?" Claura said. "Who told you that?"
"Elder Baldr himself." Xavier said.
"Fine, whatever." Claura said. "However, despite that we don't have the village's work to do tomorrow, we still have our mission."
"But none of the villagers have already given us the answer." Xavier said. "I guess we would have to wait a bit longer."
"Ugh! This is so frustrating!" Claura said. "How long must we wait until they give us the answer?"
"…" Xavier said nothing.
"Whatever!" Claura said. "If they still refuse to give us the answer, then I will stay here until they give in the answer of the Dragonqueen's request!"
"… And then you will have to stay here for the rest of your life." Xavier said.
"… What do you mean by that?" Claura turned her attention to her cousin.
"Can't you see through their action?" Xavier said. "They already gave us the answer since the day we came to this village."
"I don't understand your words, Xavier." Claura said. "All they did for the first day we came to this village was saying that they need to think about the Dragonqueen's request and invited us to stay in this peaceful village—"
"!" Claura's eyes widened, as she had just realized something while speaking her own words.
"You already understand that, didn't you?" Xavier said. "None of the denizen of the Hidden Village of Dragon wants to leave this place, as they already enjoy their isolate but quiet and peaceful life here, but they wouldn't dare to refuse the request of the Dragonqueen, so they made us staying here in order to realize what they are thinking, in hope that we would soon understand what they think, and we would finally leave them here."
"…So…" Claura said. "Our mission… is failed, right?"
"I think not." Xavier said. "The Dragonqueen said that she would respect the decision of everyone here, so whether they want to move to Kingdom of the Dragonking or not doesn't give much different consequence."
"And so…" Claura said. "If they think so, then there's no reason for us to stay here any longer."
"Maybe not…" Xavier said. "Maybe the Dragonqueen already knew the answer of everyone here deep in her mind, but she still sent us here because we could use such a good vacation."
"What?!" Claura said. "You think that a secret mission from the Dragonqueen herself is no more than a vacation?"
"Yes." Xavier said. "And now, I am sleepy. Let's call it a day for now. Oh, and since there's no time limit in our mission, why don't we stay here for a while longer? Think of it as a vacation."
"XAVIER!" Claura roared.
-Meanwhile… In Snow's room…
"…"
Normally, there would be two Pokemon in this room, but since right now, Freya was in Zetarus and Diego's room, there's only one Pokemon here…
Snow was sitting on the bed. He was now alone in this room. Right now, he had nothing else to do, so it would be the best for him to go to sleep by now. However, for a certain reason, he couldn't sleep.
"…" Snow's attention was focused at the object on his palm. It was a beautiful emblem in the shape of a blue flower. This emblem was one of a few things that he had with him since he woke up, other than his dagger. However, this was the only thing he had that could unlock the mystery about his past life before he woke up, so he tried to look at it, in hope that it would help him remember something. However, for some reason, every time he looked at this emblem, a strange feeling started flowing into his mind. It was a feeling that's a mixture of misery, grief, regret and unfulfilled soul…
"Knock! Knock!"
The sound of door knocking interrupted Snow's train of thought. He then turned his attention to the door and said 'Come on in' with a thought that it was Freya, his roommate, who finally came back. However, the Pokemon who opened the door and entered this room wasn't Freya, but was someone else…
"!" Snow's body was frozen when he saw a female white dragon who had just entered the room. This dragon was none other than the dragon that always took care of him while he was still unconscious, as well as the first person he saw when he regained his consciousness.
"How are you feeling right now, Snow?" Anastasia asked with a gentle voice as she approached the Draconic Lapras, who quickly turned his face away.
"… I am fine right now." Snow answered with an emotionless voice.
"Are you sure?" Anastasia said. "You sound like you aren't quite alright."
"I am really fine right now. Thank you for your concern." Snow still insisted on his answer.
"If you say so…" Anastasia said. "But if you still don't feel right, or if you need anything, feel free to ask me. I would be happy to lend you my help."
"…Shouldn't you go to sleep by now?" Snow spoke up. "We still have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Oh, right…" Anastasia said before walking up to the door. "Then, good night, Snow."
After she finished speaking, Anastasia left the room, leaving the Draconic Lapras alone in this room again.
"…Why?!" Snow let out a small roar after the Goodra had already left the room. "Why did I… I don't understand! Why?!"
-Meanwhile…
"…"
On the roof of Elder Baldr's house was a single dragon sitting there alone. Despite this place was located in a valley with an almost-complete roofing over the entire valley, the moon was still able to shine its light into the area of this valley, revealing the appearance of the dragon who sat on the roof of this house as a dragon who wore a black armor suit to cover almost all parts of his body. This dragon was none other than Baromyteus the Shiny Haxorus.
"…" Baromyteus' attention wasn't on the sky above, but was at the entire village down below. Right now, since it was already night time, everyone had already gone asleep, except a few Pokemon who was still awake, including him.
The reason why he was still awake was because he had a lot to think in his mind, but he didn't want to trouble his sister with his thought, so he decided to come here alone to let out his train of thought into the darkness of the night…
… Which was soon cut short.
"Found you."
Baromyteus' train of thought was interrupted when another Pokemon appeared and jumped onto the roof of this house. The moonlight revealed this Pokemon as a Hakamo-o.
"…" Baromyteus said nothing after the Hakamo-o appeared on the roof, however, he unconsciously reached his paw to his sword by his side.
"… Can I sit with you?" Korben started a conversation with the Shiny Haxorus with a question.
"No." Baromyteus answered.
"Oh, fine." Korben said and sat on the roof at a spot away from the Shiny Haxorus, and the silence returned again after the Hakamo-o sat down.
"…" Both Baromyteus and Korben didn't say anything, neither to themselves nor to each other. In fact, Baromyteus seemed to pretend that Korben wasn't even here…
"…Baromyteus." Korben broke the silence by calling the name of the Shiny Haxorus. "Tomorrow is a Rest Day of the week, which is a day where everyone would stop working for relaxation, so… Tomorrow, would you spar with me?"
"For the hundred times, no." Baromyteus answered.
"Why?" Korben continued asking.
"Because I don't like you." Baromyteus answered again.
"… I have heard about you from your friends, Baromyteus." Instead of asking another question, Korben decided to speak about something else. "… And I heard that you hate lie and deception above all. So, could you please tell me the truth of why did you always refuse to spar with me, especially since you were about to kill me when we first met."
"…" Baromyteus said nothing in response.
"…Fine…" Korben continued speaking. "I promise that, if you tell me the reason why do you always refuse to spar with me, I will not ask you to train with me anymore."
"… Fine." Baromyteus said. "I don't want to spar with you because your fighting style won't benefit much from training with me."
"What?" Korben looked at Baromyteus.
"I have observed your fighting style, kid." Baromyteus continued speaking. "You fight like a Paladin who always follows a strict code of law and fights with honor, while I fight like a Dark Knight who follows the instinct of chaos within our heart and battles without mercy. Our fighting styles are too different, so there's no reason for us to train together."
"… Is that a problem?" Korben asked. "I don't think a different style of battle would be a problem in our sparring. After all, everyone is equal to each other, so there's no real reason to refuse a spar just because the difference of their battle styles—"
"And that's the main reason why I refuse to spar with you, kid." Baromyteus interrupted Korben's words.
"What?!" Korben said.
"The way you say, the words you speak, the way you act, your appearance, your battle style… Everything about you reminds me of the person that I hate most." Baromyteus said. "You remind me of the person I hate to the deepest part of my heart. Every time I see you, I could see a great resembled of that person appears in front of my eyes, and it really drives me mad. I could hardly hold back my rage every time I see you, kid."
"... That's why you want to kill me when we first met, right?" Korben said.
"Right." Baromyteus said. "In the end, I have to use almost all of my power to hold back my body from tearing your soul from your body. However, your ignorant has let you into asking me to spar with you. Think of what would happen if I spar with you, kid."
"… I would die, right?" Korben said.
"Yes, kid." Baromyteus said. "In order to unleash my full potential in a battle, I would give up some parts of my own consciousness and let my instinct to gain an upper control over my body. But… What if I have to enter a battle, allude a friendly one, with my opponent as the silhouette of the person I hate most? I would not be able to hold back all of my rage, and soon, I will lose all of my own consciousness to my own instinct, which I couldn't stop myself from savoring the taste of the battle until the silhouette of the person I hate most is totally annihilated, despite being just a friendly sparring. This is why I refuse to train with you, kid."
"…I see…" Korben said and stood up. "It's getting late. I think I should go to bed by now…"
"…No." Baromyteus said nothing. "You can't go yet."
"Hm?" Korben turned his attention back to the Pokemon in the black armor suit.
"I already answered your question, so before you go, you must answer my question first." Baromyteus said.
"Fair enough." Korben said. "This would be the best way to remain our equality. Okay, what do you want to ask me?"
"… Where're your parents, kid?" Baromyteus said.
"!" Korben seemed to be shocked after hearing Baromyteus' question.
"I have seen that you lived here with your grandfather." Baromyteus continued speaking. "However, I don't see your parents anywhere. So, where are they?"
"…My mother's already dead." Korben answered slowly. "And I don't know who my real father is."
"Hm?!" Baromyteus turned his attention to the Hakamo-o, who was standing beside him.
"As far as I remember, I had grown up here with my grandfather." Korben said and sat down beside Baromyteus. "I have no memory of my parents. All I know about them is what everyone in this village told me."
"…" Baromyteus remained silent in order to let the Hakamo-o continued his story.
"Everyone told me that my mother, who is Elder's Baldr's daughter, was a Kommo-o, my evolved form. She once lived in this village, along with everyone. However, one day, she left this village." Korben continued his story.
"She left… this village?" Baromyteus repeated the words he had just heard.
"No one know the reason why she left this village." Korben said. "She didn't tell anyone why she left this village, not even her father, Elder Baldr. Maybe because she had grown bored of the peaceful life. Maybe she hated living here for the rest of her life. Maybe she sought to find something outside this place. Or… Maybe something else."
"… And?" Baromyteus said.
"And… There's a curse of our village." Korben said. "From what I have heard, everyone who had left this village would forever disappear, never return to this village again. As far as I know, there's no rule about forbidding the dragon who left this village to return again, but… With this going on, everyone has come to believe that it's a curse…"
"… " Baromyteus said nothing.
"Two decade had passed since she left our village." Korben said. "One day, 20 years after my mother had left the village, the scout team of our village found my mother at the entrance of Cave of Ages. However, her body was cold, and she didn't breath, or, in other words, she was already dead."
"She's… already dead?" Baromyteus said.
"The scout team mentioned that my mother didn't have any mark of battle anywhere on her body, so it's most likely that she died due to either illness or lack of power."
"…" Baromyteus said nothing.
"However, despite her body was cold, there was something warm in her body. It was… a Pokemon Egg that she held within her grasp."
"… That egg…" Baromyteus said.
"Other than the egg, there's a small piece of leather with the word 'Korben' written on it." Korben said. "And soon, the egg hatched into a young Jangmo-o, which was given the word that was written on that leather as his name, and the surname of his mother as his surname. In other word, that Jangmo-o was me."
"…" Baromyteus said nothing.
"And so, my mother was buried in the village's grave, and I continued living here with my grandfather. However, because I was still in the Pokemon Egg at that time, I have no idea who my father is. The only clue I have about him is the word 'Korben' that was written on that leather. The handwriting on that leather wasn't my mother's, so there's a high possibility that it was my father's."
"… And what would you do?" Baromyteus asked.
"Right now, I am only 15…" Korben said. "However, someday, when I become older and stronger, I plan to… leave this village to find who my real father is."
"You would leave this village, despite knowing that you may never return again?" Baromyteus asked.
"Yes." Korben answered. "I knew it sounds like a child's dream, but I just want to know who my real father is, as well as what happened to my mother before she came back to this place. I may soon find the answer I want, or I may have to spend the rest of my life searching for it."
"…" Baromyteus said nothing.
"And that's all of my story." Korben said. "I am sorry if my story bored you, Baromyteus."
"…No." Baromyteus said. "A life story can never be boring."
"Now that I think about it, it's quite strange…" Korben said. "I have never told anyone of my idea of leaving this village to find my real father. The only one I have told this dream is Dimitri and you, Baromyteus."
"Heh…" Baromyteus mumbled.
"And now…" Korben said as he stood up again. "I think it's time for me to go to bed. See you—"
"… Korben." Baromyteus' voice turned the attention of the Hakamo-o back to the Pokemon in the black armor suit.
"Baromyteus?!" Korben seemed to be shocked after hearing Baromyteus' voice, as this is the first time that Baromyteus called him by his name!
"Life is such an ironic thing, isn't it?" Baromyteus said without looking at the Hakamo-o. "I used to see you as the silhouette of the person I hate most, but now, after hearing your story, I start to see you… As the silhouette of myself."
"!" Korben was shocked after hearing Baromyteus' words.
"Korben Forcenter the Hakamo-o, isn't it?" Baromyteus said. "Don't you dare to die within the first few decades of your life. If you do, I will imprison your soul forever, so that you would be stuck in the eternal imprisonment."
"W… What?!" Korben said.
"Heh, just kidding." Baromyteus said. "Still, don't die a young life, okay?"
"I… I will, Baromyteus." Korben said.
"Good." Baromyteus said. "Now, you can go."
"…Then… See you tomorrow, Baromyteus." Korben said.
"See you tomorrow too, Korben." Baromyteus said as the Hakamo-o jumped down from the roof of the house, leaving him alone in the darkness once again…
-Meanwhile… Somewhere in the world…
"…Is everyone already here?"
"Ah! Welcome, Hero of Justice!"
"It's an honor to meet you at last, sir."
"And I must thank all of you for coming this far at my request."
"It's nothing, sir. We trust that you would bring the justice to the criminal scum who murdered Pontifex Hawkins, so the special force of Theocracy of Venturnome is here to assist you."
"And since Theocracy of Venturnome is in a deep diplomatic relationship with the Principality of Leafburg, Daimyo Augustine also decided to dispatch the special force of the Principality of Leafburg, with me as their leader."
"Emperor Garland, the younger brother of Pontifex Hawkins, also heard your request too, so he sent me, as well as the special force of the Dustorm Empire to assist in your cause."
"The young Prince, I mean, King Apollo also heard the request of you, the old friend of the Volcano Guardian, so he also dispatched the special force of Fireview Kingdom here too."
"Despite the Queendom of Riverbrine is still in a state without a ruler, we couldn't ignore such a huge problem like this, so the special force of Queendom of Riverbrine is here at your service."
"And I, along with the special force of the Republic, came here by the order of President Voltson after hearing your request, sir."
"Thank you for coming, all of you. But what about the Shadowlost Territory?"
"There's still no response from the nation of darkness, sir."
"Damn it… Fenrir, what are you doing ? Why didn't you…"
"Sir, what should we do next? Should we stand by a bit longer in order to wait for the response from the Shadowlost Territory?"
"…No. Tomorrow, we march."
"Are you sure, sir?"
"Shouldn't we wait for the reinforcement from the Shadowlost Territory too?"
"Our opponent this time is a group of criminal who murdered Pontifex Hawkins. Being able to murder Pontifex Hawkins, they are among the most dangerous Pokemon on the continent of Symmetria. That's why we need the force of all nations on the Continent of Symmetria. However, if we waste any more time, they would soon aware of us, and they may either prepare for our assault or try to escape from our grasp. That's why we must strike fast."
"We all trust in your judgment, sir."
"Thank you, everyone… Pontifex Hawkins is one of 14 Hero/ine of Legend who fought valiantly to save Symmetria from the Fallen Crisis 30 years old. He had done a lot of good deed to the World of Pokemon, and I am proud to call him as my comrade, but there's a group of worthless Pokemon who couldn't see through his benevolence and instead murdered him. We couldn't let this injustice go any further. We must do everything in order to preserve the justice in our world! We must bring those criminal scums into the way of JUSTICE! Everyone, tomorrow, we will march right into their lair and bring them back to justice! For Pontifex Hawkins! For the peace of Symmetria! For justice! Who's with me?"
"Yes, sir! We are with you all the way!"
"For Pontifex Hawkins!"
"For the peace of Symmetria!"
"For justice!"
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: Again, sorry for a long hiatus. Other than the writer's block, I was having the final exam, and I was sick too…
Anyway, here's another chapter. I am sure that you can tell what would happen after this chapter… This would be the last chapter before the first climax of this story…