Fire Emblem Fates: Trainer's Revelation

by Insane Dominator

Two worlds that should never have met, intertwined by a twisted fate that would bring out the best and worst of their kinds. When Evan begins his journey, he ends up taking a different one than he thought, along with the most unlikely of allies, and he's not alone, as others like him are caught in a crossfire with Pokemon that they must stop by themselves in order to get home.

4. Connected by a Bridge

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or ire Emblem. They belong rightfully to Nintendo and Game Freak.

---

A new day has risen in Nohr, though as one would expect a dainty cliché sunrise with birds tweeting from tree to tree, there was a constant darkness that loomed over the land. It was like an eternal night, with the only clarifications to daytime is the small tint changes in the clouds. One would be lucky to see dark gray than a dreary black all around.

In the bottomless darkness of the palace where Corrin and Xander returned, the morning brought the former to King Garon's chamber doors. He stood there, trying to catch his breath. He knew his father wouldn't take things lightly, not after what happened yesterday. Thankfully he wasn't alone.

Elise hopped off her heels with exhilaration. "Alright, this is it. You ready, Corrin?"

The young warrior faced the doors with his composition back on track. Though his heart still raced. "…yes, Elise. I think I am ready."

"That's the spirit! Surely he'll pardon you! You're my big brother after all, he has to see that." She turned towards the door, taking a deep breath. "Okay…deep breaths…a~nd, let's go!" She moved closer towards the door with her posture straightened. "Father?! We need to discuss something with you!"

They stood in silence as they waited for a response. Elise waited, but she was pouncing on heel to heel. Corrin was just as jumpy, but was doing much better at hiding it.

Both their ears perked when they heard the sounds of hysterical laughter from the other side. The cackling was anything but pleasant.

"Father…?" Corrin quipped.

Elise raised a brow. "Is he alright?" She pressed her head against the door so her ear was against the material. "I wonder if he's talking to someone…?"

The cackling came to a snort when they heard a stirring. "Hrmph! Who's there?!"

Elise jerked away from the door and stood by Corrin. They both stood straight as Corrin was the first to compose. "Our apologies, Father. Are you well? If this is a bad time, we apologize."

They both could hear Garon's growl of contempt. This didn't do anything to settle the discomfort they had. "…what do you want?" he sneered.

"Corrin and I, we came to apologize." Elise came out straightforward. "Right, big brother?"

Corrin nodded. "Right. Father, is now appropriate?"

Garon's response was a brash one. "You may enter." With the command, the doors opened slowly, creaking loudly like rusted cellar doors that weren't pried in years. Inside, the long red carpet paved its way towards the throne room where Garon sat on. There was dull gold embroidery all around and decorated the rims of the room like roots along the walls leading up to his throne.

When Corrin and Elise went in to speak, they saw that Garon was slouched to his side somewhat, like he was impatient. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs and took a quick glance around…nobody else was there. 'That's weird…I thought we heard him talk to someone…?'

"Corrin." The mentioned snapped back to attention at the sound of his name. "You know what you have done? You've disobeyed a direct order from me."

"I know, Father. I apologize for my…lack of understanding."

Garon snorted it off. "If it were anyone else, they would be executed for their inanity." He adjusted his position on the throne, giving Corrin a glare. "However, I have considered your brother's request, and I have decided. This one time, I shall allow you leeway."

Corrin looked shocked, but he wasn't going to question it. He looked at Elise as she smiled. "Big brother, see? I told you he'd forgive you!"

Corrin grinned. "Yeah-!" He trailed off when a thump almost shook the room. They turned towards Garon, who had a fist clutched against his armrest.

"Silence! I wasn't finished!"

Corrin bowed his head. "Right, sorry…"

"Now then, back to the matter…Corrin. Your actions have leeway, but not pardoned. I have a task for you to do. If you can accomplish it in full success, then you will be granted my full pardon. There is an abandoned fortress on the Hoshidan border. I want to know if the fortress is still active and accommodates well. This is a reconnaissance, no quarreling required…" his face scrunched with bared teeth. "Understand? No one fails me twice."

"Of course, Father." Corrin nodded. Elise looked to see the smile of relief on Corrin's lips. Even she looked happy.

"Good. Now, fetch your guards and make headway." Garon ordered.

The opened doors suddenly showed one guard, who ran up behind Elise and Corrin. They turned around as the soldier bowed before them. They saw the sweat on his face from running.

"What is it?!" Garon lashed out. "I told everyone, absolutely none are permitted beyond this room without my consent!"

His booming voice rattled the unsettled soldier. "I-I apologize, your majesty. Please, forgive me!" he raised his head. "But we have an emergency! Some of our outside patrols have been attacked!"

Garon furrowed his brow, slamming his fist against the armrest again. "Bah! Those meddlesome Hoshidans!"

The soldier shook his head. "No, sir! It wasn't the work of Hoshidans, we've confirmed it. Soldiers were provoked, and in turn wild animals began attacking them. Many of them are in stable condition, but others are suffering ailments. Some haven't been able to come back."

Corrin's eyes widened at this information given. In his head, the description of the wild seemingly rung bells that went back to a certain someone. 'Wait a minute, wild animals?' He thought about the possibilities, but even Nohrian soldiers were equipped to handle bears. 'Does he mean like those things Evan had…?'

Elise turned towards her brother's stammering expression. She was completely lost. "Wild animals that can make people sick? That's a new one."

Garon sat back in his throne, seemingly dismissive. Though from the raised brow he had, he seemed piqued by this. "Enough." He groaned. "Fine. I'll have Xander and the others sent to investigate this matter." He turned towards Elise and Corrin. "As for you, don't think you haven't forgotten about your mission."

Getting over the initial shock, Corrin nodded. "Right. I'll do my best."

---

The siblings gathered around as soon as they were called in from their closed quarters. As soon as Camilla heard Corrin was going off somewhere, she came running on the spot. "Corrin, sweetie. Are you sure that you'll be okay?" she cooed somberly.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Leo dismissed. "Although, it is rather odd. I've never known Father to be so forgiving."

Corrin blinked in surprise. "Really…?" He was so caught up with the recent news as well. 'First Father's forgiving, now these creatures attacking…something's odd around here.'

Elise suddenly smacked Leo on the back. The older brother stepped forward to catch himself before his own fall. "That's for making Corrin worry, Leo! Boo!"

Leo gritted his teeth as he slouched back up. He didn't know Elise packed this much strength. "Geez…"

Camilla sighed. "Oh, Corrin. How I wish I could go with you to make sure that you stayed safe, and away from danger…" Corrin raised a brow, but he chose not to back away from Camilla's swoon personality showing. "But it seems that Father has us attending matters elsewhere. Perhaps he'll let me come along…"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that is not possible at the moment." A voice said.

Everyone turned to where the voice from. It was from a tall, slender figure who had white paint on his face. He had shaggy, wavy long hair that went down his back into a majestic wizard-like cape with sharp golden embroidery around the head like a crown, with a horn-like headpiece that sat above the forehead. This was Iago, and from the eccentric attire he had and the armor he had, even Leo showed some unnerving glares at him.

Unfazed by his appearance, Camilla confronted the man. "Iago, what is the meaning of this?" she sounded so demanding as she was tempted to reach for her axe.

Iago raised his nose up as a sign of arrogance. "Because, Lady Camilla, his majesty has made it very clear. This is a test that Corrin must prove of his own terms. And by doing so, he must use his own accord." He sneered. "And as for you, his majesty gave you orders. These odd animals have been all over the place since yesterday, and they're causing a ruckus."

"I understand." Corrin faced Camilla. "I'm sorry, sister. I won't let you down, I promise."

"Not entirely, Corrin." Garon came out from close by. His appearance surprised even his children as they turned towards him.

"Father, it's you." Corrin spoke in a surprised tone. "I didn't see you there…" He frowned at what he said. Now he was questioning how long's it been since he's been watched by him. It was a creepy thought.

Garon ignored the commentary and looked down at him. "Rest assured. You won't be venturing alone."

At that remark, someone else came up from behind the shadows. His boots echoed as he walked to his majesty's side and overlooked everyone down below. He was a tall, muscular man in his possibly mid to late 40's. He had no hair and was bald, but he had many battle scars littered all over his body. He carried with him a club that was laced by a strap to his side of his black and magenta armor.

The man gave a solemn nod. "…Milord." Even his voice was deep and ragged. The way he gleamed at everyone was crude; Xander especially.

Xander's furrowed brow twitched. "Hans?"

Corrin looked at him in surprise. "Wait, Xander. Do you know him?"

Xander continued to shot leers at Hans as he replied to Corrin. "Afraid so." He got close to Corrin, so close that he leaned in to whisper into his ear. "Be very wary around him. He was a criminal and murderer long ago. I should know, I arrested him."

Corrin flinched at his brother's remark. He looked at Hans and back as Xander gained some distance. "But…Father insists he's rehabilitated himself. Hasn't he, Father?"

Garon raised his head at his son's crude remark. "He won't cause trouble, do not think otherwise. This is your only warning, Xander." To that, Xander bowed his head and looked away. "Now, Corrin. This is Hans. He is a veteran warrior. I am entrusting him as well as Gunter and Felicia to you. They will make sure no trouble befalls you."

"I see." Corrin turned toward Hans to see his disposition. He seemed reliable, so he would have to put his faith in him for the time being. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Alright…I'm ready!"

"Good. Now then, move out at once! I expect you all back here before sunset! Dismissed!" Garon walked away, leaving Iago to observe Hans as they both shared looks before Hans walked pass him to Corrin's side in silence.

"Right. Guess that means I have to go. Be careful." Corrin turned and walked away, with Hans silently observing him.

Elise waved them off proudly with a big smile. Leo on the other hand, showed no concern. "Come. We have our own matters to attend to."

Camilla sighed in remorse, but she turned around and straightened her buxom-filled posture. "Yes, we must see what the cause of this is." She walked along, with Xander and the others leading the way. As she walked off, she had a grim feeling in her gut as she looked over her shoulder towards Corrin leaving for his mission. She mustered up the strength to push on, but she knew something had to go wrong. 'I sure hope everything will be alright.'

---

In the Nohrian wilds, a set of dead bushes rattled back and forth. The snapping of bark confused Nohrian soldiers stationed close by as they were doing their patrols. The endless rustling made them pick up their spears and hold them up.

One soldier jabbed the bark, making creaking twigs snap. "Who goes there?! Show yourself, scum!" he demanded coldly. However, he was met with more rustling. It only agitated him and the guy who was posted by him. "I said, show yourself!"

With another harsh poke, the bushes hissed violently. A very opaque noise bellowed that followed by a raw smell. Something purple burst out of the bark, revealing a purple, skunk-like creature with a face that resembled a butt.

The skunk turned around, hissing at them. "(Eh?! What ye poking dem long sticks at?! I was trying to sleep, ye bastd's!)" he growled.

The two Nohrian soldiers backed off, seeing nothing too wrong here. "A skunk?"

The other plugged his nose with two fingers. "Phew, that explains the smell of the outhouses alright. Smells like cow manure."

It was a big mistake. Stunky turned around and lifted his tail, expelling a smoke-like gas leakage that sprayed right in their faces. They flinched as their faces were sprayed by the insidious musk; it was so bad their eyes were watering.

"GAH! OH GOD! SWEET GOD, THAT STUFF STINKS!" one soldier cried out as he cowered away. "MY EYES!"

"BASTARD WILD CAT!" the second soldier yelled out, his eyes being shut he wasn't definite where he was yelling at. "YOUR ASS IS GONNA GET SKINNED TONIGHT!"

Stunky hissed as he turned around, opening his maw to expel black smoke. The cries of the Nohrians suffocating could be heard from several yards away. In fact, it reached out pretty far beyond the trees, where just around their location, there was someone else there.

Over a hedge of twigs and rocks, the dark sky rolled along as Nathan was walking around aimlessly. He's been doing so for Arceus knew how long. But from the look on his face, he was not very comfortable. He had twigs and leaves on his back, indicating he was sleeping in some foliage earlier. He only woke up because he was hungry. No surprise there.

Two girlish shrieks got his attention, perking head skywards. "What the hell was that?" he pegged. He suddenly got an awful whiff. His nostrils crinkled from this bad smell. "Phew! Was that me…?" He smelled the air again to be sure. He gagged. "Ugh…better not be. Unless it was chili, or onions in that soup I had the other day, then I guess I'm good." He waltzed away from the smell, the audible cries

He continued his path through the woods, being mindful of his surroundings. He's seen the scenery for several times already. There wasn't any green, and there sure as hell wasn't a toilet anywhere. He still got the shivers when he had to remember yesterday's little "problem in the lower areas" as he'd say aloud. It was a hassle to say the least, but seeing wild Pokémon everywhere, he knew he had to be at least somewhere where maybe a few people knew about Pokémon.

The sounds of bushes and shrubs got his attention. Suddenly a Raticate sprung out from the woods, looking around with gnashing teeth. He seemed to be looking for something that was getting his attention. "(…mmhm…?)" he moved to another spot. "(Hm…?)" He moved towards Evan's shoe. He was awfully close when Evan pulled away. He shot up alarmed. "(Gah! Trainer! That means…)" his nose crinkled. He blinked. "(Uh…gas? No, no. FOOOOD! Oh my god, I could eat anything right now! I…I could really go for a pizza right now…yeah, with extra pepperoni…)"

As he was dazed, Evan had no qualms when he brought out his Poke Ball. It popped open, revealing his Bagon. The little blue dragon looked towards Evan, who faced the Raticate.

"Be careful, Bagon." Evan instructed. "Looks pretty tough."

"(…with a little bit of mushrooms, and some bacon…ohhh, yeah, Humans make the tasties meals, that's for sure.)" He was so dazed by his hunger that he didn't realize the broiling dragonfire gathering behind. "But the crust, oh god, now that's a no-no! I mean, seriously, who in their right mind eats crust! It's like dried parts without cheese. Ugh, and don't get me started on pizza without cheese. What are those people, lactose intolerant or something…well, I guess I am, too…)"

"Dragon Breath!"

"(Huh? What?)" Raticate turned around, only to meet a face full of explosive dragonfire that swallowed him. He hollered as he slammed into a tree, his body falling to the ground. "(Ohhh…oh, man…spicy like a meatball…)"

"Can't take any chances, Bagon. Get ready." Nathan ordered.

"Hey! You there!" a voice shouted in the distance. The sounds of footsteps closed in from south, alarming Nathan. He turned around, finding several soldiers that were close by.

Nathan looked at their attires, which were the first things that caught his eyes. He certainly didn't '…what the heck is this supposed to be? A medieval roleplay or something?' He straightened himself. "Uh, excuse me, w-who exactly are you?"

The soldiers pointed their swords at Nathan, immediately alarming him. He jerked back with Bagon at the sight of authentic weapons aimed for them. Nathan looked down and then up at them.

"You there, are you Hoshidan?!" a soldier demanded. "If so, how did you get this close?!"

"A hoe? Do I look like I swing leg, pal?!" Nathan backlashed sarcastically. "I ain't no hoe, and I don't know no she. Now…what's the big idea with the swords?"

Another soldier had the audacity to come closer to his neck. "We have orders to kill Hoshidans on the spot! If you don't comply, it's the end of the line, Hoshidan!"

Nathan angrily groaned, sulking his head. "Once again, who is this she-hoe? I haven't seen anybody the past day now! Swear!"

"Don't play dumb!" A soldier backlashed. "That's it! Men, execute!"

Nathan turned towards Bagon. "Bagon, Hydro Pump!" Bagon opened his maw, summoning a mirror of water that unleashed a massive jet of water into the Nohrian soldiers. They all fell onto their backs, slammed hard by the pressure of the attack.

At that, more Nohrian men were coming out from the distance. They started surrounding Nathan and Bagon at the resistance they were putting up. In a matter of a few moments, they were completely engrossed in a full circle of men clad in armor.

"This is your last warning, Hoshidan scum!" a soldier foreboded. "Surrender yourself now, and your execution shall be by King Garon's hand!"

Nathan furrowed his brow. He had a feeling they wouldn't be listening to him. At least he tried though. Still, with how things were, he wasn't gonna get out of this that easily.

Seeing his lack of response, one soldier aimed his crossbow at his head. He took aim before something swift brushed against his leg. The crossbow accidentally fired pass Nathan's head, zipping into the soldier of the Nohrian behind him.

The Nohrian that went down yelled out as the Raticate from before was nibbling on his leg armor. It was thin, but it sure as hell looked tasty…at least to Raticate's hungry look in his eyes. "Damn rodent! Get it off! Get it off!" he squealed.

Raticate munched on the metal continuously, loving how it was tasting. A little rusty, but strangely…satisfying. "(Mmm…not pizza…)" He nibbled some more. "(But yummy!)" As he chewed, he was kicked across the side off the soldier's leg. He hit the ground off the trail's edge, thumping.

"What the hell was that?!" a Nohrian screamed.

Nathan turned around, swiping his arm. "Bagon!" At the command, the little blue dragon charged up dragonfire and fired it into a sweeping fashion. Dragon fire swung across and swallowed Nohrians that weren't prepared. Grabbing Bagon, Nathan hoisted her and jumped through the blazes that burned marks into the ground. He darted through the dead underbrush through the decrepit valleys.

"After him!" Several of the soldiers took after him, while a few stayed behind and cornered the giant rat. They watched as it stirred and looked at them with surprise.

"Kill the rat, now!"

At that command, the men had swords raised. The Raticate realized that it was time to go. "(Thanks for the meal! It was tasty!)" He sped through their legs, showing the Run Away Ability it had. He quickly disappeared into the underbrush, leaving the soldiers grimacing.

"Damnit!" A soldier yelled. He heard some rustling from afar, and his sword pointed in that direction. From the thick bark, a swift-moving ghost-like creature got into his face, its yellow eyes and red sclera piercing into his heart and mind. He jerked back from the shock, as did his colleagues.

"(Boo!)" the wild Misdreavus teased. Her orb-like necklace shined, making her lips moist. "(Mmm, man, scaring people is so tasty it almost makes me full.)"

"What the hell is going on here?!" a soldier panicked. He watched the Misdreavus float off, too shocked to even react. But before it went too far away, a vague enchantment encircled the small ghost before an explosion of energy blasted her off into the distance. The soldiers turned to the sounds of flapping and horseback to see familiar faces approach.

"What's the situation?" Leo asked upon arrival. He was the first to arrive, along with his other siblings. Xander moved in front of him.

"Is everyone alright?" He looked around, seeing embers of dragonfire littering the ground, along with soldiers that were down. His teeth gritted. "What abomination…"

Leo turned towards his sister. "Elise, tend to the wounded. We'll need them for questioning later. As for us…" He looked towards the Misdreavus that was laying in the dirt several feet away from him. "We have a little…infestation it seems."

"Right! I'll do my best!" Elise unmounted her horseback and raced off towards the soldiers that were laying on the ground. "Stay still, okay?" She aimed her staff at the one soldier and summoned a green glow. Slowly, the soldier began stirring as his dazed state was recovering.

"There must be more around here somewhere." Leo deduced. "I wouldn't believe it to be just one of these abnormal animals skulking about."

"Agreed." Xander turned towards Camilla. "Sister, we shall handle searches along the ground. Leo and I shall handle the area, can you search in the air?"

Camilla dutifully nodded and tightened the reigns on her wyvern. "Of course, brother." She whipped the leashes, getting the dark-armored wyvern creature to emit a shriek that spread out. The creature ascended into the air, shrieking into the dark skies.

Xander took one more look around. His brow furrowed when he saw soldiers running away from what looked like a large skunk that chased them. In another tree, he saw a cocoon with large red eyes glaring down at them. He even turned back around to see something that looked like a deer with eyes for antlers that was minding its own business. He was getting an uneasy feeling that ran down his spine.

"It appears that we have work ahead of us, brother." Leo deduced.

Shaking his head, Xander upright himself. "Yes, it appears so. His majesty would probably want to see this…" he glanced down at Leo. "Don't go overboard."

Leo faced the Stantler n the distance as its ears whipped up at the sounds of people. It turned to see a magic circle around Leo's hand as he gave the Stantler a glare. "Depending on how the situation goes…I make no such promise."

…

Murkrow cawed as they fluttered away in fear. Bringers of bad luck…for them. The shrieking of dragons was enough to bring about their unwelcoming. There was a hot mess of them that Camilla was seeing as she saw the unnatural hats and tails. As her wyvern continued its course, her interests were caught to the mountains, where she could see even more creatures shuffling below. She saw rocks with arms, and large mice with yellow hunched backs that were digging.

As her wyvern sailed over the forest, below and in cover, Bagon looked up to see the wyvern. She gasped at the sight as her blood almost ran dry. "(Nathan…is that a…?)"

Nathan covered Bagon's mouth to keep him from making any unbridled sounds. He was already a hot mess with the situation he was in. He cringed with the sounds of explosions from afar. The cries of other Pokémon was causing a serious ache in him that he struggled to ignore. But despite everything, he had to get away from the mess…from everything.

He heard a loud shriek n the sky and looked up. He saw what Bagon was reacting to. A large dark draconic creature sailed across, chasing the flock of Murkrow that went into the mountains. For a moment, he thought he was seeing ropes around the mouth and purple wavy hair. Someone was riding it.

He couldn't get a good look, but as he saw the dragon spewing fire, the Murkrow hastily separated. Some were unlucky and were caught on fire. They fell to the ground as balls of fire. Each thud made it hard for Nathan and Bagon to keep themselves together.

"…let's go." Quiet as he could, Nathan recalled Bagon before more explosions happened behind. He looked over his shoulder to find the Stantler in the distance whimpering as Leo used magic to damage it. His face scrunched to annoyance as he looked to the skies to see the figure on top of the wyvern reaching out her battle axe. His teeth gritted in hostility, but there was nothing he could do about it right now.

"Take this you foul cretin!"

"It'd be wise to do as we say on our lands."

The voices of Xander and Leo could be heard clearly, and Nathan had to stomach running away from human problems again. If it wasn't for his empty stomach, bile would've come up at this point.

He darted away, silently making way into the grottos that would lead east. He managed to get away…but from the look in his eyes, he sure as hell wasn't going to forget this.

---

Evan and Freya were walking through the bare wastelands that was Nohr. They had lost sight of the dead grass that they had used for cover a short while back and are now on foot through nothing but dirt and rock. And from the looks on their faces, they didn't like the experience so far.

Evan rubbed the back of his head, grumbling to himself incoherently. "Swear, I should've packed a sleeping bag or something." He grimaced to himself. "That's what you get when you don't listen to Patrick, sheesh…" he groaned. "Oh well, at least there was that stream."

Freya was minding her own business, paying attention to what laid ahead of them. She looked towards the skies but didn't see any signs of blue. If anything, it was getting worse. 'Just where are we? I know we're not in the Galar Region or Kanto…but a place like this…' She tried to think of ways to distract herself from the distress. That's when she turned towards Evan. "Evan."

Evan turned towards her. "Hm? Yeah?"

"I'm just curious here. Is it alright to ask questions?"

Evan shrugged. "Well I guess, like what?"

Freya held her bagpipes tightly. She tried to think of an appropriate response as she turned away. "Well, I'm not sure if this is relevant or anything, but…what's Kanto like? Is it…a nice place?"

Evan raised a brow. She was definitely on the ball with no relevance, but he was getting where she was coming from. He rolled his eyes to the ground. "Well…I guess it's not as bad as you think." He suggested, his tone on a contemplative state. "I mean, there's a lot of places like Mt. Moon and the Safari Zone, but other than that, people say that it can be bland."

"I see…"

Evan looked skywards as he put his hands into his pockets. "But I don't mind. I didn't graduate early just to talk smack about a dream that I had since I was a kid. Let me tell ya, it wasn't easy getting those grades when I just wanna see myself off."

Freya found herself piqued by this information. She didn't know much about Evan considering they only met yesterday, but he seemed like a relatively nice guy…and he dreams pretty big as well. This made her half-grin.

"What is it? Did I say something?" Evan asked.

Freya shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm just curious is all." She paused before shifting to another subject. "Where did you learn to battle like that? You said that you were a beginner Trainer, right? But those moves you've made were all tricky…" she squinted. "Are you lying?"

Evan stammered. "N-No, no. It's just something I learned back in school." He skipped right over a rock. "Back in grade school, our teachers let us play and battle with Pokémon during recess. I almost always battled because it's something I found out I liked. I got better when I watched those yearly Indigo Plateau Leagues."

Freya raised a brow. "So a Trainer Schooling…" She turned away, humbly grinning to herself. "That must be nice."

"Yeah, I guess." Evan shrugged. "But the work was like hell served on a silver platter…but what about you? What's Galar like? Hopefully it's not like school was."

Freya humbly grinned, tossing a lock behind her head. "Well, since you were so kind to ask…I guess you can say that Galar is vast. We have a large mine that was ran by the most prominent businessman in all of Galar."

Evan raised a brow. "A mine? Is that all?"

"Well, not necessarily. The region is a lot more industrial than you think. Tell me, have you ever heard of how large our gyms are to accommodate the Pokémon that battle inside?"

Evan raised a brow. This bit of news actually got his attention. "A large stadium…?"

"Exactly. Our gyms might be a lot bigger than you think, because they house Pokémon Gym Battles on top of settlements that allow Pokémon to Dynamax. Have you heard about that at least?" Once again, she saw Evan shake his head. She sighed. "Really? I thought you learn this stuff in school."

"Well does every tree spawn the same fruit?" Evan sarcastically inquired back.

Freya had to think for a minute what he meant by that statement before sighing. "Right, sorry. My bad. I keep forgetting you're from another region, so you're not familiar with other cultures probably."

"Yeah, it's alright though." Evan reached up and adjusted his beanie. "Still, it sounds pretty cool. Maybe one of these days I'll look into the Galar Region a little more. There's a couple of regions I wanna see for myself you know."

Freya observed Evan. He had a rather ambitious mindset for someone who was 16. She was 19 and was older than him, but the way he spoke so fondly of his opportunities afoot made it sound like he was prepared. She looked down with a humbled smile.

Evan looked over at her with wonder. For some reason, the face she was making made him a little guilty, but he didn't know why. But he was more aware when he looked ahead. "Hey, watch your step!"

Freya snapped out of her musings when she was about to step onto a small rock that rolled a few feet away. She watched the rock roll and unfold its arms, revealing its eyes towards them. This caught the latter by complete surprise.

"A Geodude." Evan pulled out his PokeDex to analyze the creature in Freya's place.

"Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Found in fields and mountains. Mistaking them for boulders, people often step or trip on them."

The wild Geodude turned towards Freya since she was the one who was about to step on it. The living rock sneered as its attempts at surprising them backfired because of n extra set of eyes. Its fists balled tight as it reared for battle.

"You good for this one?" Evan inquired towards her.

Freya nodded. "Sure." She turned towards Geodude and pulled out a Poke Ball. Having confirmation that it was part Rock-type, she knew this was going to be easy for a certain Water-type. "Go, Sobble!"

The Poke Ball opened, revealing the small timid chameleon creature. Fully rested, Sobble blinked several times before realizing she was in battle. "(Oh, uh, a-are you my opponent?)" she quipped. She looked towards Freya nervously. "(Um…I don't think I can do this.)"

Freya shook her head. "You'll be just fine, Sobble…now, get ready!" She reached out ahead of herself. "Use Water Gun!"

Sobble swallowed a lump and faced the oncoming Geodude. Becoming impatient, the rock charged ahead with a Tackle to push Sobble down. Squealing in panic, she expelled a forceful blast of water that doused Geodude, sending the rock through the air and onto his back. The rock laid unconscious, while Sobble blinked in confusion.

"See? That wasn't so bad." Freya encouraged, patting her head in support. "You did fine."

Sobble's shivering settled some. She looked over at Geodude and seemed relieved. "(O-oh…thank you.)"

Withdrawing Sobble back to her Poke Ball, Freya sighed in relief. She turned towards Evan with a look of sincerity. "Thanks for the info."

"Don't mention it. We gotta stick together with whatever knowledge we got, right?" He walked passed her as she slowed down. "Now then, next time, it's gonna be my turn, cool?"

Freya rolled her eyes. "Sure…"

---

Walking further down the valley slopes, Evan and Freya were making small progress towards…wherever the hell they were going. Evan hopped over a small ledge, reaching up as Freya threw down her bagpipes for him to catch. He sat them down and saw Freya up on the ledge still.

"Think you can make the small leap?" he questioned.

Freya looked uncertain as she was seeing down the ledge. She was actually surprised at the jump Evan made down the other point. It was like an eight-foot plummet and he landed like a cat. She tossed a lock back and bit her lip.

Evan groaned at her situation. "Fine, I got this." He pulled out a Poke Ball, bringing out Caterpie. The worm looked up to Evan with curiosity. "Hey bud, I want you to use String Shot to make a small support and help her down. Think you can do that?"

Caterpie nodded in understanding. He looked up the ledge and spat some silky thread from his mouth. The worm felt a serious recoil as he was pulled upwards by his own thread. He gave it a lot more force than intended. He clung to the rocky slopes and worked his way up towards Freya. He wagged his tail behind, signaling something.

"You want me to hold you?" she inquired.

Caterpie nudged. "(Is that okay?)"

Unsure of what he was saying, Freya turned towards Evan to see him nod. She looked back at Caterpie as he spat some thick silk that he attached to the ledge to support himself and her. Deciding the gamble, she held Caterpie's sides as the worm turned. Very slowly, Caterpie increased the length of his silk as he gingerly came down like a spider down a ceiling.

"Nice and easy, Caterpie." Evan instructed. "Nice, and easy…"

Caterpie continued producing more silk that was thick and increased to a couple feet. Evan reached up and helped Freya bridal style before bending his knees and settling her down on her feet. "There, that wasn't so bad." He watched Caterpie latch onto his shoulder, grinning. "Nice work."

Caterpie modestly grinned, pink beneath the eyes. "(I didn't even know what I was doing to be honest. But it worked…heh.)"

Evan gave him another word of thanks before withdrawing him into the Poke Ball. He bent over and gave Freya back her bagpipes. As he handed it, he didn't realize how heavy it was. 'What is this thing made of?'

Freya received her bagpipes and strapped them back around her side. "Thanks."

"Yeah, don't mention it." With the ledge cleared, he turned around to continue down the small valley. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the ground vibrating. He looked down awfully surprised. "Hm? What the…?"

He managed to veer away in time as something tunneled up from below. Surfacing was a dark gray, mole-like creature with a long snout and a pink nose. The creature blinked several times as its claws had dirt that it had to clean off from tunneling.

Surprised by the encounter, Evan pulled out his PokeDex to analyze who their little friend was.

"Drilbur, the Mole Pokémon. It brings its claws together and whirls around at high speeds before rushing toward its prey."

"A Drilbur, huh?" He looked towards Freya, grinning. "Remember what I said…"

Freya huffed. "Yeah, I know. Just get it over with."

"I know." He walked over, standing in Drilbur's way. The mole's nose crinkled as it smelled a Trainer. Baring its claws, it watched Evan pull out a Poke Ball. "Sorry pal, but if you don't move. We'll have to this the old-fashioned way."

Drilbur bared his claws. It seemed eager. Evan sighed. "Alright, don't say I didn't say so…" he threw the Poke Ball. "Go, Squirtle!"

The Poke Ball popped open, revealing a fully healed Squirtle. The mild turtle stretched his arms up and moaned as he got a nice flex in his joints. "(Mmmm…that hits the spot.)" Loosened up, he acknowledged the wild Drilbur as his foe. "(Okay…I'm ready!)"

Drilbur sneered. He raised his claws and went after Squirtle in a swift rush.

"Dodge it!" Evan shouted. Squirtle took the opportunity to step back and evade the swipe. "Now, Bubble!" Squirtle took a deep breath of air before exhaling. He spat out a spray of blue bubbles that pummeled Drilbur across the face and sent him onto his back several yards away. Squirtle finished exhaling and sighed.

Drilbur groaned as he stirred back up. His anger seemed to spike. Growling, he opened his mouth, unleashing a stream of mud that went into Squirtle's face. It moved so fast into Squirtle's face that he couldn't dodge. The spray blinded him, causing a short stammer as a blue aura enveloped him.

"Mud-Slap…?" Evan furrowed his brow. "That case…" He reached out. "Straight ahead, use Tail Whip!"

Squirtle was rubbing the mud from his eyes when he heard his Trainer's command. Though blurry, he made out the command and turned around to wag his tail cutely. Drilbur's Defense fell with a blue aura. The mole responded by racing into Squirtle's back with claws raking the shell. He fell over with a grunt.

"(Gngh!)" Stammering back up, Squirtle wobbled about. He shook his head to rid of the uneasy feeling and glared back at Drilbur. "(I'm not totally blind yet.)" he warned.

Eager, the wild Drilbur's response was another rush of Scratch. The claw this time missed when Squirtle sidestepped, leaving him open.

"Now use Tackle!" Evan commanded. Squirtle quickly leaned in and charged into Drilbur's side, sending him onto his back. The mole grimaced, but rather than quit, the mole pinched his claws together and slashed the air multiple times. The shimmering of the claws indicated a red aura, enhancing its Attack and accuracy as they looked far sharper now than before.

"Bubble!"

Squirtle took in a sharp breath and exhaled outwards. The spray of bubbles projected at Drilbur, but they were a little off, and instead hit the rock behind the mole. Drilbur brought his claws together and whirled around in a swift spin. He drilled across the ground at an alarming rate, crashing into Squirtle.

Squirtle cried out as he crashed onto his back, groaning in pain. "(GAH!)" Gagging, he was on his shell and unable to get up. He was all worn out, too. The pain he felt had left his energy depleted to where he was dazed.

"Squirtle!" Evan grunted. He looked at Drilbur as a red aura enveloped his body, and he started pinching swiftly. 'Damnit, Rapid Spin? What is it with Speed?!'

Squirtle wobbled from side to side until he was able to get on all fours. "(Aw man…that was heavy…)" As he breathed heavily, he was clutching the ground tight. A blue aura enveloped his body slowly as he turned around, glaring daggers at Drilbur.

Freya's eyes widened in surprise. 'Is that Torrent again?'

With his Ability activated, a huffing Squirtle glared ahead at Drilbur, though the Drilbur seemed far from deterred. Evan knew he had to make this next attack count. Furrowing his brow, he braced for what could be the last straw.

Drilbur raised his sharpened claws and charged into Squirtle with his back turned. The turtle was stumbling when he saw the blur close in.

"NOW! BUBBLE!" Evan yelled.

At that instant, Squirtle inhaled as Drilbur's claws came for his face. He spat a beaming spray of large bubbles that projected enough force that even Drilbur's hardened claws weren't strong enough to work through. The spray enveloped the mole and was blown onto his back in the dirt. The mole laid unconscious as the bubbles fizzled out.

Squirtle's Torrent aura quickly faded. He sloped onto his bottom and sighed in relief. "(Geez, cutting it close again…)"

Evan sighed. 'Thank god that Bunnelby and Rolycoly we fought before helped with timing. Gotta remember that.' He frowned as he walked over to set Squirtle up. "Easy bud, you did a good job."

Squirtle meekly smiled. "(Thanks.)" He watched the wild Drilbur regain consciousness, but hastily tunneled away beneath. Squirtle's frown was almost exactly like Evan's: Uncertain. They both stared quietly as thoughts clouded them.

Freya walked closer. "Evan, are you okay?"

Evan shook his head. "Huh? Y-yeah, yeah." He withdrew Squirtle and stood back up. "C'mon…let's go."

The two silently made way down the valley.

---

Finding a suitable spot beneath a crooked dead tree, Evan and Freya sat on individual small roots to rest for a few minutes. They were tired, that much was certain. They've been walking all morning, and while it was cool out, they still needed nourishment. And Evan was starving.

Freya was eating the last half of the bologna sandwich Evan offered earlier. She swallowed before looking at Evan. "Hey, are you sure you wanted to give me this?"

Evan scoffed. "Trust me, that stuff is like somebody was trying to gag me…but with food. It's torture!" he grunted. "Don't get me started again!"

Freya didn't seem to understand, but she didn't want to hear this again. She sighed and just accepted it. Thankfully Evan pulled out what looked like a granola bar that he had still saved and wrapped safely from wild animals. The two savored the small silence they had going for themselves and tried to nourish themselves while they still could.

After what felt like a long period of silence, Evan was the first to speak. "At this rate, we're gonna run ourselves dry before we find some new place to hide out." He bit into his granola again. He chewed as he was murmuring. "I only had the one thermos on hand, and we're just about out of water from the stream we came across…what should we do?"

Freya swallowed another morsel and looked down. She was just as worried as he was. They were totally unprepared for this whole thing. "Honestly…I don't know. Where exactly are we heading?" She looked towards the pathway they came. "We came from Nohr, right? You said that was far that direction, but I can't read landmarks very well." She looked towards the sky. "And if the sun was out, we would be seeing the position of the sun."

"Yeah, I could've done that." Evan admitted. "It's another camping trick I learned back in grade school." He shook his head. "A-Anyways, you said that you came down from the mountains, right?"

Freya nodded. "Yes. That's where I bumped into the Rolycoly from before."

"Okay, so we can't go back there…" He looked down with concern. They were running low on options, and worse, they didn't have any maps or supplies left. He furrowed his brow and tightened his fists. The situation was becoming more drastic than he had intended it to be. 'A world of magic…and Pokémon here, but there's no guides, and we don't have anymore rations…this is bad…what are we gonna do?'

Another hush of silence fell across them. The munching of roots came from Caterpie as he was trying to chow down on any kind of green, no matter how hopeless it was. Squirtle was healed up with a Potion, but the tiny turtle was less than satisfied because that was the last one. He sighed, while Sobble and Rolycoly shared awkward glances.

Freya realized that she had finished her sandwich. Realizing that she was still hungry, she looked towards Evan and back towards the sky. The skies were beginning to thunder again. It must've been signs of a rainstorm to come.

"…we should keep moving. It might thunderstorm soon." She trailed off on a contemplative note.

Realizing her point, Evan sat up and straightened his posture. "You're right. We've gotta find a settlement somewhere…" He looked towards the rumbling skies, seeing meek flashes. He looked back the way they came, knowing disaster would be there, too. This was a no-win situation. He helped Freya up with a hand and the two silently continued their treading with their Pokémon.

It was another half hour or so as they had to climb up a small peak that Evan was able to reach first. He looked down and assisted in the bagpipes Freya had. 'Geez this thing's annoying.' He made sure to keep the comment to himself as Freya was hoisted up with her own strength this time. The two took a small breather before more thunder flashed over them.

"Eep!" Freya flinched.

Evan cringed as well. The lightning bolt crackled to the distance. Uncovering, he went wide-eyed at something that caught his attention. "Look!"

Freya looked down, seeing what Evan was pointing to. Even to her bewilderment, there was a massive bridge that lead to the other side of a canyon. On the other side, they could see a stale stone fortress that looked abandoned. To them, it was a sign of relief.

"Hey, Freya…you see that?" Evan pointed towards the fortress.

Freya nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"You think it's abandoned or something…?" The sounds of footsteps alarmed Evan. "Get down!"

He hastily lowered Freya with him so that they laid on the dirt ledge. The woman was particularly stunned for a moment at the sudden movement, but before she could question, she heard the nays of what sounded like horses. She turned to see what Evan was alarmed of.

Towards the bridge, there were several figures who had clad armor, and one of them was on a horse. The others were traveling on foot towards the end of the bridge. In total, it looked like four figments that showed themselves.

"So…this is it. The Bottomless Canyon…" a familiar voice trailed off.

The man on horseback nodded. It was revealed to be Gunter as he looked dead ahead. "Indeed. This is the natural boundary of the two kingdoms: Hoshido, and Nohr." He looked towards the thundering sky as it flashed again. "A place even us mortals are wary of…"

Felicia looked down, seeing nothing but bottomless black engulfing the canyon. "Wow…this is my first time here, too. I never thought it's be so…vast." A nervous shiver went down Felicia's spine.

"Believe me, this was how I felt as well when I first came here." Gunter responded. "Most Nohrians choose to go around…however, this is where the fortress in which his majesty wishes to be inspected. I trust that you are okay under these conditions, milord."

Corrin softly smiled. For the dumbest reason, he was far from fazed. In fact, he looked lively. "I don't know…I feel pretty good right now. Compared to being inside that cramped fortress, this feels like fresh air."

Gunter raised a brow. "My, what a ways to put into perspective, milord."

As lightning flashed over, atop the ledge, Evan peeked over to see the figures talking. He remembered the stallion rider as well as the maid with knives. It still somewhat scared him she knew how to use those things. But his attention drew towards Corrin. His eyes widened again.

'No way…Corrin?'

As if a sixth sense, Corrin blinked. He looked back over his shoulder, but saw nothing. Instead it was an empty ledge. He fell silent.

"Something the matter, milord?" Gunter asked. "Have you finally obtained shivers about this place?"

Corrin dismissed himself from the distraction. "…it's nothing." He turned back forward, only to widen his eyes. "Everyone, look!"

They all heed his warning and saw the Hoshidan fortress ahead of them. To their own surprise, they were seeing several Hoshidans pop out all of a sudden. They were spotted, and nearly a dozen were gathering around the border up to the labyrinth of bridges that embarked the canyon's rock formations.

"Blast it! It seems we've been spotted!" Gunter cursed. "Hoshidans, and quite a few of them!"

"Hoshidans?" Freya overheard along with Evan. The latter was familiar to the term, but knew better than to yelp. They fell silent as the situation unfolded.

A random Hoshidan soldier ran up to the rock formation at the bridge's end. "Nohrian soldiers! Halt this instant!" he instructed. "Don't come any closer!"

Corrin furrowed his brow. 'Wait, Father said this was abandoned. Why are there so many Hoshidans?'

At the center of the fortress entry, there was another Hoshidan in particular. He endowed a reinforced headband with spiked plating on it. He had black bladed arms, much like what Kaze had on him. He also had a huge red scarf as he gave them all a stink eye. "Don't they know, crossing that bridge is a violation of our border treaty." The Hoshidan scoffed. "These Nohrians aren't very bright it seems."

Felicia approached Corrin with worry. "Prince Corrin, what do we do?"

Corrin backed away slowly, not bothering to take his eyes off the enemy, as per his training. "…we'll have to fall back. We need to report to Father about this."

Gunter nodded. "Wise decision, milord."

Hans gave the old man a detestable scoff. "Pfft, who asked you lot?"

"What?" Gunter turned towards him, but was stunned when he saw Hans racing towards the nearest Hoshidan. "Wait!"

But Hans wasn't listening. Without any remorse in his weapon, he cleaved into the Hoshidan and made him cry out as he fell over. Evan and Freya held their tongues as they witnessed blood spilling from the falling man's corpse. The thud sickened them, but they were too stunned to react.

Placing his foot over the fallen corpse, Hans bitterly sneered. "Hmph, die you scumbags!"

"Hans! What have you done?!" Corrin yelled, racing up to him.

"Hm?" Hans turned back towards him with a stink eye.

"We shouldn't have resorted to that! There could've been an easier way out of this than that! Have you lost it?!"

"Pfft, speak for yourself, weakling." He turned towards the Hoshidans. "I didn't come here to here babble…I came to fight!"

Corrin eyes shrunk with his gasp. "What…?"

While recovering from the horrid scene, Evan was noticing something vague about Hans. He couldn't quite place it, but staring at him, he was somehow bringing up a rather painful feeling that made his head sting some. 'Wait…where have I seen him before…?' His eyes suddenly widened. "Wait a minute…that bastard!" he hissed.

"What?" Freya turned towards him in confusion. "Evan, what's going on?"

"You saw what he did to that guy?" Evan pointed out, specifically towards Hans. "I know that face. That's the guy that knocked me on the back of my head." He subconsciously rubbed his cranium. Even now, he could feel the bump through his beanie. "Man it still aches…"

The Hoshidans who saw the murder of one of their own didn't take it lightly, the head of the Hoshidans at the gate glared daggers at them with gritting teeth. "You…you all shall pay for this!" he scowled. "Men, don't let them get away with their lives, you hear me?!"

Corrin's teeth gnashed together. "Damnit, I didn't want this…"

"It appears we have no choice now." Gunter raised his lance, his horse neighing as it readied for battle. "Everyone, prepare yourselves! We must seize the building, that is what we must do!"

The two Hoshidans that were at the bridge waiting for them on the other side of the formation charged. Their swords were raised as Corrin charged with Ganglari. "Gunter, with me!" To his call, the veteran general whipped his steed as the horse neighed again. The two Hoshidans raised their blades, but Corrin and Gunter parried effortlessly. They slashed back, breaking their swords as well as befalling the Hoshidans on the bridge.

"Stop them at once!" a Hoshidan cried out. Many more Hoshidans on the other side of the bridge, bracing themselves within a fortress that seemed to be made of manmade stone. Around and through it, the numbers were a lot.

"Damnit, we can't get through there!" Corrin cursed. His grip on Ganglari tightened further as the haze around it thickened.

Gunter turned towards him. "Do not forget your training, Prince Corrin." He told him. "Remember, there are more ways than one to get pass an enemy. Find a Dragon Vein."

Corrin mentally facepalmed. "Right!" He looked at his surroundings, ensuring if he could see anything. Looking at the far reaches near the formation off to the south, he spotted one. "There! We can use that!"

Hans, however, saw little to the plight and beamed arrogantly. "Speak for yourselves." He raised his blade and charged pass them towards the fortress afoot. "Hoshidans! Die!"

"Hans! Wait!" Felicia cried out. But the brute was ultimately too far out of reach and she recoiled. "Oh…"

"C'mon, let's go!" Corrin raced alongside Gunter as they trotted towards the southern bridge. Felicia nodded and knew she had to follow his lead. The maiden pressed on while Hans went and charged straight into the Hoshidan territory of his own accord. Corrin and the others couldn't bare to look over their shoulders as their comrade chose his own way.

Hans raced towards the fortress opening and held his blade to two Hoshidans. He slashed at them, but the target's ally moved in front to parry. The target Hoshidan circled around and cried out as he drew his blade onto Hans. The man received a deep cut, but he only stammered back. He grunted, but he refused to falter as he roared back into the fray. But what he didn't see was an archer that was keeping an eye on him from inside fortress.

"FIRE!" The Hoshidan let the arrow go, springing it loose at high speed into Hans' shoulder. The thin twig-like arrow punctured his skin and ligament, and he ultimately let out a yell as the blow made him fall onto the wooden bridge.

The bridge bounced as his body laid with a little of his blood oozing. He shielded himself away to hide himself from the others. 'Tch…guess that's enough for now. Better lay low to see how this goes…'

"Oh my god…" Freya was completely speechless. She had her hands cover her mouth to keep her audible gasp from giving herself and Evan away.

Evan was wide-eyed at the situation they were in. He watched Hans make an idiotic attempt to see how the fortress was not the best option, and instead was seeing Corin reach the next formation, where he seemed to be glowing a green light.

Taking a deep breath and concentrating, Corrin mustered what energy he had in himself before his eyes opened again, flashing a new draconic emblem. With a battle cry, the young prince pointed Ganglari ahead and the rock formation on the other side of the ledge materialized. Evan was once again befuddled by this.

'No way! He did that back in the…' He trailed off as he thought back to something. His eyes widened once more. 'The courtyard! He did the same thing there…what kind of people are these guys?'

"Evan, what do we do?" Freya pondered.

Evan furrowed his brow. By all means he was all for running away back to god knows where. He wasn't a part of this, and he so didn't want to die. But then again, he watched Corrin and the rest of his party members brace themselves as they went over the bridge. He looked back at Freya, then towards Corrin again. He wanted to bang himself against the wall for something he had intended. But when he saw the fortress archers taking aim for them as they were crossing the bridge, he could see that Corrin would very well end up being pincer attacked.

Groaning loudly to himself, the Trainer rested his head on the rock ledge. "I'm gonna regret this…" He pulled out two Poke Balls, readying his charged.

"Wait, what?" Freya gasped. "Wait, don't think about-!"

"I know that one there." Evan cut her off, leaving her momentarily surprised. "Look, that's Corrin…he's an ally. He won't hurt us…" he furrowed his brow. "Besides, we can't stay here forever. You wanna go around?"

Freya stopped to interject on his behalf, but she stopped with her mouth open before looking back the way they came. Lightning flashed over the valley, making it even more ominous than before. She looked back at the men on the other side, waiting for their targets to draw near. She huffed irritably.

"…suppose if I really must." She pulled out two Poke Balls. "I'm counting on you."

At the fortress, Corrin, Felicia, and Gunter had made it across the bridge. It was here they knew better than to handle the other fortress and go for the obvious more Japanese-style housing. As they turned in said direction, the other fortress' men were preparing to run out with blades and yumi set to launch.

"Nohrian scum." The one in charge of the castle eyed Corrin's back with a fierce glare. "Now…taste the sting of our vengeance! Die!"

Men readied their bows and yumi and aimed high for extra distance. However, a black smoke cloud billowed in from out of nowhere. The smoke obscured everything, making it impossible for the Hoshidans who were aiming.

Others were coughing, including the leader as he was obscured. "Gah!" he kneeled, inhaling the smoke. "Blast it!" he coughed again. "Where is all this…smoke coming from?!"

The smoke made it hard for the archers to see through, nevertheless, they took aim and fired into the sky. The arrows shot high, arching into the direction of Corrin and his group as they went south. Unfortunately their aim was off and they punctured the dead tree bark and the earth beside it meters off from their intended target.

"Did we get them?" A Hoshidan wondered. Suddenly a soggy jet blasted his face, sending him to the floor.

Another Hoshidan looked through the smoke cloud with his partner. They raised their weapons in defense from their vision, but they didn't realize the web of electricity coming down before it was too late. They were electrocuted by static thread that paralyzed them.

The leader of the fort was looming around the smoke on his high perch. Looking down at the smoke, he could see jets of water as well as electricity surging. And all he heard were the bodies falling as the smoke kept coming.

"What in the world…" He turned around, but came face to face with a turtle's cute tail wagging in his face. His face scrunched annoyingly. "What in tarnation-!" He raised his brass sword to strike.

"Rolycoly, Tackle!"

"Squirtle, Tackle!"

From the smoke cloud, the coal creature rammed his back, forcing him to fall forward onto Squirtle. Squirtle bent his knees and skyrocketed into the man's face, the force strong enough to make him stumble off and fall off the perch. He screamed in agony as he fell towards the floor, where he fell onto the electric web along with his colleagues.

Squirtle smiled mildly as he turned towards Rolycoly. "(Thanks for that. I owe ya.)"

"(…)" The Rolycoly silently stared at Squirtle.

"(You don't talk much, do you?)"

Outside the fortress, hiding behind a tree, Evan and Freya were peering from the sides to see smoke coming out of the domain. They could hear the bodily cries of the other soldiers as water sprayed everywhere, and they couldn't see where.

"Looks like they're doing their job." Evan smirked. "Nice work, guys."

Freya smiled with a raised brow. She was looking at Evan as she thought back to what he said before.

As they were making headway across the bridge, they passed the fallen Hans as their Poke Balls were all set. "Okay, here's the plan." Evan started, glaring ahead. "We're gonna make sure that those guys are targeted on us. We'll use your Rolycoly's Smokescreen, a whole ton of it. With that, I'll have Caterpie's String Shot and Electroweb snare them. So while they're snaring and causing smoke, that's when Squirtle and Sobble lay low and attack with Bubble and Water Gun to keep distance."

She was genuinely impressed with Evan's way of thinking. She knew first-hand just how tricky he was as a battler, but to see him at work like this, even she was at a loss for words. 'Did he learn all that from school?'

Inside the fortress, Sobble was trying her damnest to keep her mouth shut, only opening it to expel water. As Rolycoly was exerting even more black smoke around the fortress, Sobble was gingerly crawling from corner to corner. She jet men in the back and quickly scurried away. Likewise, from another perspective, Squirtle was using bubbles that blasted through the area into men.

"Crap! Where's the exit?!" a rogue Hoshidan was looking around for an exit, or some kind of clearance. From the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw what looked like the arched doorway out. He made a break for it.

Caterpie was nearby when he saw the nearby Hoshidan make a break for the door. "(Nope! String Shot!)" He spat out long, sticky thread that became a net that entangled the front door.

The Hoshidan's eyes widened as he darted head-first into the netting. He glopped the thread, which ended up sticking to his body. He fell over onto his stomach, his armor buffering his fall. "Oof! Gah! Damnit, where this thread come from?!" He started squirming around, but the thread stuck to him good. He was so distracted he barely caught a glimpse of something looming over him.

Looking up, he saw a kid with a thick tree branch over his head. His eyes widened in realization. "Wait, what're you-!"

Before he could finish, Evan used all his strength to slam the branch into his head. The ringing of the metal against the thick, long branch knocked his lights out. Evan sighed heavily at the unconscious Hoshido beneath him.

"Good god…somebody just had to branch off like that." He chuckled to himself, but looked back to Freya. "Sorry." He looked back inside the smoking fortress and whistled loudly. "Guys, out now!"

With the smoke beginning to thin, Sobble was the first to zip out and cuddle up to Freya's leg. Next was Squirtle, then Rolycoly. The last to follow out was Caterpie as he squirmed his way through the door.

"Caterpie, use Electroweb to seal up that door!" Evan ordered.

Caterpie nodded and looked back the way he came. Following the direction, static thread bloomed into a massive net that stuck to the doorway. The discharge of web-like energy crackled so that Hoshidans inside would get out, then get a very shocking experience. He scuttled away behind the nearest tree with the other Pokémon.

"(Oh my god, oh my god! Did…did we really do all that?!)" Sobble quipped, She was trembling in a mixture of shock and fear of what she's done. "(I…I think I'm gonna cry...!)"

As she was beginning to weep and sniffle, Squirtle rushed over to wipe away the tears. "(It's okay, it's okay.)" he told her. "(Not our fault. We were told to.)" he looked towards Evan with a skeptical look. In a way, he didn't want to feel offended for something that seemed cruel, but the situation he was in was no different from yesterday. "(We had to, you understand?)"

Sobble sniffled, trying to calm down. "(I…I guess so. Please hold me!)" She clung onto Squirtle's shell, making him topple onto his back.

"(Gah! Hey! Calm down! Your crying is gonna get us killed!)"

Rolycoly again said nothing as he looked back at the fortress. He watched a random Hoshidan stumbled towards the web as the smoke was thinning. He watched him get electrocuted before falling over, static all over the body. The coal looked back without blinking.

Evan sighed in relief. He was so glad it didn't go as badly a she thought. "I think we lost them…" He looked at the static web thread around the castle, the towards Caterpie. "Nice going, Caterpie."

Caterpie meekly blushed. "(It's nothing, really…)" He started getting a strange feeling, and it wasn't hunger he was feeling. It was something else building up around him. "(I…I feel…)"

There was a soft blue glow emanating from the worm. Everyone backed away out of surprise when the light got too bright for them to handle. The radiant glow was bright enough to grasp some surprise.

As Felicia threw knives into weakened soldiers, they fell as Gunter rode on his steed, with Corrin holding the backburner as he covered Felicia. Though there was a strange small glowing light from the corner of his eyes. He turned around piqued, but knew better than to digress too much. 'What's that light…?'

Evan looked stunned at what he was seeing. "Woah, Caterpie…you seriously…"

The light began changing Caterpie's shape, the worm's posture seemingly straightening as the length of his body increased by a few inches. The glow diminished, and the Pokémon gathered around looked stunned as the Caterpie before had taken on a solid green, curved cocoon creature.

"(Oh god! What happened to him?!)" Sobble panicked. "(Is he okay?!)"

"(I don't know.)" Squirtle eyed his ally suspiciously. When the creature's yellow eyes fluttered open, Squirtle chose to backpedal. "(Um, hey. Caterpie? You okay?)"

The cocoon creature blinked several more times before looking at his turtle companion. "(Huh? Squirtle?)" He looked around at the stunned faces; even Rolycoly looked surprised. "(What is it? Is there something on my face?)"

Sobble nervously shivered. "(U-Um…actually, it's, um…more than just your face…)"

"(What do you mean by…!)" He tried squirming but felt unnaturally stiff. "(Hey, what happened to me?! Did I…)" His eyes slowly widened at the realization. "(I just…evolved!)"

"Caterpie evolved just like that." Evan murmured. He pulled out his PokeDex and saw the information that was on the new addition to his roster.

"Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon. Even though it is encased in a sturdy shell, the body inside is tender. It can't withstand a harsh attack."

Evan smiled victoriously at the evolution. He was proud of what achievement the newly dubbed Metapod was able to do, but they weren't in the clear yet. "I'm proud of you, Metapod…" He frowned as he looked towards the other Hoshidan fortress. "But right now, we've gotta move while we can."

Freya nodded in agreement. "Alright."

While on the bridge still lying, Hans weakly opened an eye. He glanced at the duo with a stink eye.

---

"Sorry about this!" Corrin slashed with Ganglari into Omozu. The swift ninja somersaulted away from the swing and held up his arm blades.

"You Hoshidan scum! This will not go unpunished!" he growled. "You will die from this act! Now!"

Corrin heard the sound of flapping and turned around. Much to his shock, he found two women with flying horses sailing from above. He barely dodged the one, before Felicia managed to intercept the other with daggers to draw her attention.

'An aerial attack? These Hoshidans mean business.' Corrin grunted. A whiff of air brought his attention before he barely saw Omozu reappear in front of him. In reflexes, he pulled up Ganglari and intercepted the slashed.

"Felicia, assist Prince Corrin!" Gunter ordered. He whipped his horse, who hollered into the air as the armored stallion charged towards the flying fray.

"Right!" Felicia turned and ran to Corrin's side, applying daggers. "I'm ready!"

Gunter let out a battle cry as he raised his lance at the two Pegasus. The horses neighed as they moved away, keeping themselves and the riders safe from harm. One woman circled around to go for a strike from behind, and the one remained in front as she aimed her own lance at Gunter. He looked back and forth to see the pincer attack drawing near. He whipped his steed again and the horse jumped away. The lances pierced the ground, while the Pegasus' head rammed each other. They fell over, along with their riders. Gunter swung his lance like a blade across the chest of one woman. She cried out as she was downed and scathed in red. Gunter turned towards the other woman, who was hastily back on her Pegasus that was grounded. This became a charge between them and the two horses. Stallions snorted as they glared at each other, before long they rushed at each other with the riders with lances stuck out. Gunter roared with all his might as he leaned in with perfect timing, piercing and slashing across the Hoshidan warrior mounting the Pegasus as it went on. His horse came to a stop as the Pegasus trotted off to a sail into the air, while the rider fell with her corpse onto the ground close by.

The veteran general kept a stern frown as he looked on as he watched Felicia swipe daggers that stopped Omozu's advances. This gave Corrin the opening to slash with Ganglari, cutting into his arm and blade alike. The Hoshidan cried out as his blade on his left arm was snapped in two, but the shock didn't stop when he heard a feminine cry from the side.

When he turned around, Felicia was firing daggers again. The kunai-like projections stabbed his other shoulder, causing him to cry out as he fell over. With both arms unable, he could only lay in angst.

"You'll all…suffer for this…" He sneered darkly, but ultimately his world went black.

Corrin took a sharp breath as he looked at his surroundings. He saw the many Hoshidans who were down, most of which just suffering mild injuries from cuts. Others like what happened to the Pegasus women made him frown is dismay, but there wasn't anything he could do about that.

"Looks like the fort has been secured." He relieved. "Are you all okay?"

Felicia nodded. "Yes, I'm well." She turned towards the dead trees, her frown evident. "Uh…"

"What is it?" Corrin turned towards the direction of her panic. He realized what she was looking spooked about when he saw another ninja, though this one had a black scarf around his neck and a mask over his nose and lips. Over his right eye was a scar, which made his eye shut entirely. He had short red hair, and sported a muscular frame with black ninja wear. He was accompanied by two other ninjas. This was what gave Corrin doubts. "Oh…"

The head ninja, Saizo, gave a look at the surroundings and saw the ninjas and troops laying about. He shot another glare at Corrin. "Tch…so this is what we're reduced to. How shameful."

Corrin took a defensive stance with Ganglari. "Who are you?"

"My name is Saizo." The ninja introduced himself, taking an offensive stance. "I've come to take your lives! Attack! Now!"

Corrin gritted his teeth. He was already worn down from having to fight the other Hoshidans. Before he realized it, Saizo was already in front of him. His eyes widened at the breathless distance that was closed.

'So fast!'

"Corrin, look out!"

Corrin flinched when a electric thread came between him and Saizo. The ninja pedaled backwards to avoid the netting that electrocuted the spot that he was in. He looked surprised at such an attack, but was caught surprised a second time when a jet of water sped his way. He easily dodged that, but the Hoshidan behind was hit. It pushed him down, much to his shock.

"Rolycoly, Smokescreen!"

A thick cloud of smoke rolled in from around the area. The spray covered around Corrin and the others hastily that no one saw it coming. Saizo covered up quickly and stepped away from the jet brimming. Unable to prepare, bubbles jet across the smoke, striking the unprepared Hoshidan.

"What the-?!" Corrin looked around, unaware of what was going on. "Who's there?!"

Suddenly a force grabbed him from behind. His voice got muffled as he was dragged away through the smoke.

Saizo snarled as he glared into the smoke. Without a hassle, he unleashed a large shuriken that went into the smokescreen. The shuriken's velocity packed enough force to make it shred the smoke apart. However, when it did, it only struck the building wall, leaving a massive dent in the material that it was made of.

His two men got back up, only partially drenched from the jets. Where they were standing, the electric thread fizzled into the ground. But that didn't stop Saizo from glaring and furrowing his brow. 'Impossible. Where did that tactic come from?'

From behind him, there was another person who was running up towards him. And much like Camilla, she had her own womanly frame that was fit in a magenta ninja attire. "Saizo!" She was Kagero, and she worked alongside Saizo. She had a voluptuous frame for a woman her age, as well as an ample chest that stood out in her tight ninja attire. She adorned a peach-orange scarf, as her right eye was shielded by her brown bangs, and the rest of her hair was in a ponytail.

Saizo turned around and faced his associate. "Kagero, what is it?"

Kagero furrowed her brow as she caught up. She noticed the look of confusion of the other Hoshidans. "What happened?"

Saizo grunted. "I'm…not sure." He shook his head. "What is the status? Has reinforcements come?"

Kagero nodded. "Yes. The oath is clear for Lord Ryoma. He shall be here shortly."

"Then it seems we have nothing to worry about. They couldn't have gotten very far…not from me, anyways." He turned towards the building, retrieving his massive shuriken. "Whatever it was…it won't happen again."

---

Corrin shook his head to get the confusion out of his system. When he opened his eyes, he noticed he was at the wooden bridge. "What the…? What in the world just happened?" He looked around, seeing Gunter and the stallion he mounted. "Gunter, are you hurt?!"

The veteran soldier hoisted himself upright. "Believe me, milord, I've been roughed up worse in my heyday." He teased before a serious frown crossed his face. "However, I believe we've come to some…mishaps."

Corrin turned towards the direction where Gunter referred to. His eyes slowly widened upon seeing a familiar set of blue eyes and a beanie covering someone's head. Instantly a case of déjà vu setting in. "Wait a minute…"

Evan looked at Corrin, grinning. "S'up."

"…Evan?" Corrin blinked quickly. He wanted to believe it was him; it was so unreal. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story…one that happened because a certain someone didn't give me a goddamn map." He shot a leer at Corrin, causing him to turn bashful. Evan chose to cool down a little and sighed. "But that's not the issue. What are you up to? Last I saw you were back at that city."

"I was sent here on a mission." He explained. He noticed Freya beside him. "And who might you be?"

Freya shifted her bagpipes and meekly smiled. "I'm Freya." She turned towards Evan. "So Evan, you really know him?"

"Yeah, that's what I just said." He deadpanned. "So I guess that's why we ended up like this, huh. Talk about coincidence…"

They heard the sounds of shouts and footsteps approaching them. Sobble shifted into the direction where the sound was coming from. She started shivering in fear.

"We gotta leave, now!" Freya shouted. "You two can play catch-up some other time!"

Corrin nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Let's move!" He hastily moved with Gunter as they went across the bridge. Evan and Freya were behind while their Pokémon were tailing slowly – really slowly in Metapod's case. Groaning, Evan picked up Metapod himself and hurried to catch up.

As they traveled across the bridge, Corrin suddenly came to a stop. Something crossed his mind. "Guys, what happened to Felicia?"

"Fe-who?" Evan didn't have much brain power at the moment to think another step. He was trying his damnest just to stay conscious of what was happening. He was sure he was speaking of the maiden that followed him. He looked around, but didn't see her anywhere. He and Freya shared worried looks that didn't sit in their stomachs.

"(B-Behind you! Behind you!)" Sobble warned.

The two Trainers heard the Sobble squeal in fright and took the warning. Turning around, they saw an axe raised up to their heads. Lightning crashed down in the mountains as they saw the visage of Hans with his weapon ready to cleave them down unprovoked. Unable from shock, they could only see their lives flash before their eyes.

"Watch out!"

Hans swung down onto Evan first, the boy unable to look away as the blade drew towards his face. In speeds that rivaled lightning, a lance intercepted the metal and redirected into the shoulder of another male. Evan stood completely baffled in place as he saw Gunter save him by the skin of his teeth.

"Gunter!" Corrin yelled.

The veteran and his stallion held their flooring while Hans dislodged his axe. He took a step back and glared at Gunter with a devious smirk. "Heh, now that's more like it!"

Gunter winced as he maintained his wound for as long as he could. His stallion neighed in warning for his rider's health. He glared ahead, snarling. "Hans…what have you…?"

A sly smirk crossed Hans face. Without remorse, he slashed once more into Gunter. Everyone gasped until their lungs were deprived of oxygen over what just happened. They watched the veteran stumble on his horse before the support became too much. Beneath, the wood started breaking.

"Gunter! NO!" Corrin reached out for his friend, but it was too late.

Gunter slowly turned towards Corrin, the soft smile on his face all but assuring. "Milord…be safe." The bridge beneath cracked one more time. The wood ultimately snapped, seeing Gunter and his armored horse into the pits of the Bottomless Canyon. They all froze in shock as they watched them fall the pitch-black.

"GUNTER!" Corrin cried out.

Freya and Evan used the suspension ropes to keep themselves from toppling over. They were well near that line upon seeing the incident. Evan was looking down at the hole where Gunter fell, startled at how he was saved from death. He bit his lower lip to suppress his angst.

"(Hold me…)" Sobble whimpered, slowly crawling behind Squirtle's shell. The turtle obliged and stayed as mild as he could…though even he was unsettled by this.

Corrin was on his hands and knees, grieving for his ally. He didn't know what to say, but Hans was right above him, holding an axe. "Hmph, seems that your babysitter tripped and fell. Bummer. But don't worry…" he held his axe up. "If you really want him back, all you have to do is jump."

"CORRIN, MOVE!" Evan quipped.

Corrin looked up at the massive axe ready to cut his head in two. In his brink of shock, his body was beginning to boil. With a fearful cry out, a sudden force of silver energy protruded from his right arm into a lance, knocking Hans' axe out of his hands.

"W-what the?!" Hans saw his axe fly off and turned towards Corrin. The overconfident look he once had was replaced by terror when the protrusion changed. The entire bridge shuddered from the wake of the draconic protrusion becoming large claws that opened to reveal a hemisphere in the palms. It was launched at near point-blank, erupting on Hans and sending him onto his back.

Evan and Freya stumbled. For the umpteenth time, they witnessed something that scared them. They didn't have the words.

"Wha…what kind of freak are you?!" Hans gritted his teeth.

Corrin stepped closer, holding Ganglari close to him. The blade's fog darkened as his glare was like that of a feral beast. It actually made Hans' blood run as cold as ice.

"Tell me now…" he snarled. "Why?!"

Hans stammered to his feet, his knees partially shaken. His thrill for battle was replaced by uncertainty. "…I was just following orders, understand?" he snarled. "It was King Garon! He ordered me to!"

Evan's eyes widened. The name sent a large amount of realization down his spine. 'Is he talking about that king from before?' His spine shuddered at the thought; it didn't help that Corrin's aura was quaking the bridge. 'Corrin…'

"Liar!" Corrin held Ganglari out. "There's no way my father would do something like this!"

Hans sneered in retort. "Believe what you want. My business is done here." He turned and ran off with his axe seized along the way.

"Hey! You get back here, NOW!" Corrin was about to charge, but the whole bridge rocked. The momentum was making the whole thing wobble uncontrollably. "What now?!"

Freya looked over her shoulder, gasping in fright. "…oh no."

On the other side of the bridge, Saizo and Kagero were there, along with the two Hoshidans that accompanied them. The male ninja glared hate-filled daggers as he held kunai up to the rope suspensions. The others turned around with shrunken eyes at what was going to happen.

"Oh no…" Evan tightened his grip on Metapod. Coincidentally, the cocoon hardened himself with his new Harden move. Even he wasn't liking where this was going. "No, no!"

Saizo brought his arm back. "Die here! Nohrians!" He swung the large shuriken with deathly precision. In one fell swing, he sliced the supporting rope to the one end of the bridge. This caused the entire side to collapse and fall into the canyons below.

Evan, Corrin, and Freya all looked at each other in horror before the wood beneath them snapped. They all screamed in terror as they fell into pitch-black below.

---

Party Data:

Evan

-Squirtle (Male)

Lv: 9

Item: None

Nature: Mild

Ability: Torrent

Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Bubble

-Metapod (Male)

Lv: 7

Item: None

Nature: Modest

Ability: Shed Skin

Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Electroweb, Harden

Freya

-Sobble (Female)

Lv: 9

Item: None

Nature: Timid

Ability: Torrent

Moves: Pound, Growl, Water Gun, Bind

-Rolycoly (Male)

Lv: 7

Item: None

Nature: Quiet

Ability: Steam Engine

Moves: Tackle, Smokescreen, Rapid Spin

---

So I chose to get yet another update out of my system, hopefully before 2020 rolls around. So this chapter, I basically derived some off the Chapter 3 in the Fates game, so you can definitely see parallels here and there. I didn't expect this to be over 14K, but I wanted to give the other Trainers a small preview, if possible. I managed to squeeze in Nathan at least. If you're wondering why his data and his Bagon aren't part of the Party Data yet, it's because they haven't officially joined the others yet. Right now, it's just Freya and Evan.

Be sure to share your thoughts on how you're feeling about this fanfic so far. Constructive criticism and reviews are more than appreciated! Happy Holidays, peeps! XD