The incessant, practically omnidirectional buzzing just at the periphery of her hearing was getting to Honnoji. If there was a way to make their journey any more stressful than it already was, this was it.

Adding Okehazama to their group made everything more difficult. The Glaceon refused to get into a Pokeball, forcing not-human to avoid faster methods of transportation. Instead, they had to sneak out of the city, and then walk to the place where they could recruit Nagashino. Every day, not-human had to waste literal hours on grooming his fur and mane, until the Glaceon was satisfied enough with his looks.

And the Ice Type did not make it easy personally for the Absol either, frequently getting into her personal space, brushing against her, and talking down to her. He saw how much it got to Honnoji, and relished in this fact. Not-human tried to talk to him, but Okehazama pointedly ignored her.

After that, not-human made a point of trying to at least let Honnoji hide in the ball, or shielding her against Ice Type's harassment, to varying degrees of success.

A miserable routine, but one they had to go through. And this stretched patience paid some dividends once they reached Nagashino.

She and not-human needed to recruit three specific Pokemon to their cause. Surprisingly (and unfortunately), Okehazama was bound to be the easiest out of the three. He might have had been an absolute nightmare on a personal level, but he was prone to, for the lack of a better term, 'playing with his food', which allowed for the greatest chances of actually getting him to listen.

By contrast, Nagashino was calculated and careful to a frightening degree, and this in turn meant, that getting the Vespiquen to listen required to survive against an opponent who was trying to kill you as quickly and efficiently as possible. And they were nearly killed, with not-human not falling prey to venom only because of some biological tick that made her slightly more resistant to toxins. Though she had to stay in bed for two whole days to overcome it.

This was when recruiting Okehazama proved to be useful - thanks to his mastery over cold to the point of being able to create illusions, he was able to sneak past Nagashino's defences, and then actually talk to her, convince her to join their group.

And now, they had to pay for their success, because Nagashino refused to get into a Pokeball as well. And unlike the Glaceon, she had retinue.

Countless Combees were following their group. Some were foraging through the bushes and forest floors, to collect food and carrion. Some were high in the sky, ready to attack on a moment's notice. Some were following a contingent of Pokemon carrying food, and jars, all looking like they only had enough strength to put one leg in front of the other while carrying their burden.

Slaves. Nagashino had Pokemon slaves.

Honnoji hated this so much.

But her pleas to let them go fell on deaf ears with the Vespiquen, and she could not afford to rock the figurative boat any further. Not with the fate of the entire world at stake.

Either way, the staggering amount of Pokemon that followed them now was not good news for them either. The reason they were able to pinpoint Nagashino's location was due to a combination of her visions, and the human technology to see everything from really high up. Which meant they were probably going to notice what amounted to an off-season mass migration.

Although, this technology was not omniscient.

The humans knew where the Villages were - but they did not know who the 'Plague of Nagashino' was, and where she was hiding. They thought that the influx of Combees in surrounding areas was because the Bug Types were misplaced by the real threat, and Nagashino's battle tactics left mixed enough messages that the humans were just unable to pinpoint WHAT they were looking for.

For Okehazama - the humans knew what they were looking for, yet did not know where he was, since he was unknowingly hidden from the sky eyes by the building of the Contest Hall. A somewhat inverse situation of Nagashino's.

The third…

The humans knew what they were looking for. They knew where. Yet they were unable to capture their target.

Honnoji could only hope that their group was better equipped for this. Recruiting Okehazama and Nagashino played into this, but even then, she was not sure. Not sure if overpowering or reasoning with THAT was even achievable.

Still, she had to try. THEY had to try.

"Well, mutt, I think I've got you figured out," a voice sounded right in Honnoji's ear, causing her to jolt, jumping to the side, and putting not-human between her and the sudden presence.

It took her several long seconds of hearing and seeing nothing but her heartbeat before she processed those words and who they belonged to. Okehazama.

"W- wha?.."

"Be a dear and stop me if I'm off-mark somewhere," the Glaceon smirked, slowly walking around not-human. She was unconsciously stepping to the side, to keep the living barrier between her and the Ice Type, "Born and grew up in the wild, far from any human settlements, but not in a Pokemon Village either. One or two loving parents, maybe a couple of friends, and absolute freedom, as far as you're concerned. Except for that Absol instinct to warn people of incoming disasters, that is."

She could feel cold shiver going up her spine. He… How much did he know? He could not possibly read her mind - she was immune to Psychic effects, that's the sole reason she had to suffer so much. Was… Was she so easy to read?

"You make frequent trips to warn humans of dangers, and then retreat into the safety of your territory, all happy that you probably saved some lives. With time, you see more and more disasters, those trips become more frequent, and you warn more and more humans of dangers, both wide-scale, and personal. Maybe even make some human friends in the process. Just chasing that feeling of pride and accomplishment from saving lives. Since that's not hurting anyone, right?"

She froze. Could not help it. This hit too close to home. The Glaceon used that to approach closer.

"Except the humans took a special notice of you. And one day, they came to your territory," his tail brushed against Absol's face, prompting her to loose strength in her hind legs, falling on her rear, "Did you fight back? Probably not. Not at the start. Your friends and family fought for your sake, didn't they? Was any of them captured? Then again, what use were they to humans? Maimed, or just killed, if they were lucky. You were the only one captured~"

"Okehazama, that's enough!" despite not understanding Glaceon's words, not-human decided to intervene, only for a dozen of icicles to appear threateningly in front of her face.

Huh? Was Honnoji shivering?.. Was this cold?..

"Ohhh, what could humans possibly do to you?~ I almost wish I knew in full detail, they can be surprisingly creative for such dull creatures," Okehazama smirked, "And what was worse? The torture they subjected you to? Or the guilt from what happened to your home because of you?"

"W- why are you doi-doing this?.." she looked at the Glaceon. Her cheeks were wet for some reason.

"Looks like I was right," Okehazama noted, hints of glee in his eyes. With that, he turned away, tip of his tail lightly hitting against her nose, "Don't make it too easy, mutt~"

With that, Glaceon slowly disappeared behind the tree line, leaving Honnoji sitting there, unable to muster the strength to even move.

"Do… Do you want to rest in your Pokeball?.." not-human asked, making sure not to touch Absol.

Did she?..

Probab-

"Several humans are approaching our location," previously silent Nagashino declared, causing Absol to shudder, "League affiliated"