[Part 1]
"Keep your formations! Cavalry, prepare for another charge!" he yelled, before a flying piece of flaming debris hit him in the shoulder, and… Stuck?.. No, wait, that was not de-
FLASH.
Wait… Was he back in his hut?.. Huh…
"This is a terrible mistake, Elder!" Shiftry yelled, "You've heard what the Hive is capable of! There is no way for us to win! We should-"
"Roll over and let them do whatever they want? No, I'm not doing that," Incineroar laughed mirthlessly, "You, however, are free to do that. I'll be taking everyone both capable and willing to fight. You will stay behind, and if we lose, you shall lead the village in my stead. Make it count."
Shiftry stared at him in dull disbelief for a few moments, before turning and leaving him alone.
Another flash. This one was accompanied by pain.
Next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, as all Hell broke loose around him. He got knocked out for a bit, huh. That explosion did not wound him all that much, but it sure did rattle the ol' brain around the skull. He attempted to stand up, and just fell back on his ass, nearly splitting his head against a rock. Or was that a Graveler? Damn, whatever. He had to just sit there, like a target, waiting for this dizzy spell to pass over, while others around him fought. Some Elder he was, huh.
How did it all come to this?..
A mere year ago, the Hive arrived to these lands, sending a messenger to all three Pokemon Villages residing on the tri-coasts. A single Combee, demanding their immediate surrender. Naturally, they declined. This was a mistake, if an unavoidable one. They had no idea of just how horrifying the Hive was.
Faced with their rejection, the Hive declared war.
A column of Rapidashes mounted by Infernapes, Monfernos and dark Marowaks dashed through the battlefield, spewing fire in every direction. Normally, this would've been a great tactic against a swarm of weak bugs, but the Combees moved out of the way before heat could even reach them, flying as if unhindered by each other's presence. And in return, tens and hundreds of these weak bugs cooperated to lift entire boulders that were thrown against the fire types with surprising precision. The cavalry's numbers were shrinking by the second.
The newcomers took a part of the Eastern Village's land as their home base - so naturally, the Village Elder gathered his strongest warriors to teach them a lesson. None have returned, leaving the Village stew in anxiety and uncertainty for over a week. A week, during which nothing happened to the settlement, yet those who went out to gather food or reach other Villages disappeared without a trace. Then, as the tensions grew unbearable, the Hive descended upon them like an avalanche, overwhelming those who tried to resist with their sheer numbers, and devouring them alive. Those who did not resist, were enslaved, forced to grow food for their conqueror's ever-expanding swarms. Few managed to flee to the remaining Villages, telling horrifying stories of the Hive's conquest.
For the next few months, the Hive quieted down, not taking a single metaphorical step across the rivers, seemingly satisfied with sitting on the Eastern coast. However, anyone venturing into their territory, did not return.
Then, they suddenly appeared on the Western coast.
A flock of Pidgeottos, Braviaries and Staravias, led by a couple of Corviknights, flew through the air, trying to use their superior maneuverability to route Combees. They had some success, though most of the Bug Types just flew out of the way, as if predicting the birds' attacks, before singling one of them out. Whenever a part of the flock made even a tiniest mistake, Combees descended upon them, promptly and efficiently stripping their wings of any feathers, and leaving the now helpless bird to plummet to the ground. The unnerved flock made more and more mistakes as time went on.
By the time Hive made its next move, the Western Village was in a state of deep, horrified panic. Knowing of the Eastern Village's fate, their leadership splintered into two factions - those who wanted to surrender immediately, and those who wanted to fight. This disagreement led to a coup, in which the Village's Elder was overthrown, and the new leader met the Hive with a declaration of surrender.
A Steelix, several Onixes, and a dozen Gravelers were standing their ground around Incineroar, forming a small, still immovable island of stone and steel in the horrible sea of insects. Every few seconds, a Combee descended from the skies, forcefully ramming into one of them with the power of a battering ram, even though the insect itself died on impact. It would not take long for them to fall.
Those who escaped the Western Village, but still wanted to fight, fled to the Northern Village.
After that, the Hive went silent for several months. Because of all the refugees from the other two Villages, the situation in the Northern Village grew unstable, bordering on unsustainable. Not enough capacity, not enough resources for everyone. Still, those still willing to fight, trained. Some fled North, hoping to find a new place to stay, though Incineroar knew - there were none for tens, if not hundreds of kilometres. Some were just waiting for the inevitable, as the Hive's shadow loomed from over the horizon.
This morning, the scouts returned panicked. The enemy was coming to the Northern Village.
If only, instead of fighting on their own, the Elders gathered a united army! They could've stood a better chance at repelling, if not defeating, the Hive! If only they were not so nearsighted and prideful!
"There you go. Good as new," Audino smiled shakily. He and the few others capable of healing were practically wrought dry during this battle, and it seemed like things could only go downwards still.
"Thank you," he smiled, standing up slowly.
Two more Combees descended from the sky, simultaneously striking against two Onixes. Both fell on the ground unconscious, burying the few remaining Gravelers underneath their bodies. This was when the swarm suddenly descended upon the remaining Steelix, wrapping the steel snake in a thick, sickening layer of insect bodies. Steel Type began thrashing around, trying to crush as many of them as possible - but his movements were getting weaker and slower by the second.
Damn it!
As he approached, Incineroar FELT the heat emanating from the steel snake. The Combees were somehow cooking their victim alive. Unable to use any fire - which would've hurt Steelix far more than it would help - the Elder began punching and clawing against the bugs, who were not even attempting to evade, just clinging to the metallic body with all their strength and emanating this heat. Some outright popped the moment he touched them, as if using smaller version of the Explosion move. So that's what-
Despite Incineroar's attempts, the Steel Type soon stopped moving, and so did the Combees that clang to him.
They… Just sacrificed their lives like that?
In a daze, the Elder looked over the battlefield. The cavalry was nowhere to be seen, and so were the healers. The last remaining Corviknight was weakly thrashing on the ground, completely enwrapped in insect bodies. Was…
Was he the only one left standing?..
But why?..
The sounds of battle died out completely, and now there were only the buzzing of insect wings, and Incineroar's heartbeat. Hundreds, thousands of eyes looked at him blankly, as if waiting for something to happen, but… What could he do?.. One last defiant charge before his inevitable demise? Yeah, he could do that, but… What was the point for THEM?..
Were these damned insects feeding off despair?
"I did not have a lot of expectations for your army," a low, buzzing voice sounded from the skies, "And yet, you have managed to disappoint me utterly."
A bulky, angular, insectoid figure of a massive wasp combined with a beehive. Sinister, crimson eyes shining with cold intelligence. A Vespiquen. This one was missing her left arm from mid-shoulder.
"You're the commander of all these bees, huh?" Incineroar looked at her plainly, before pointing at the missing arm "Did the Western Elder did that to you? Or the Eastern? I wanna know my chances."
"…" the enemy leader ignored his words, instead focusing on something else, "I was not mistaken. You still carry his stench"
"The hell are you about?"
"Your old master. The human that released you. He was the one responsible for my Hiveguard's death," there was no emotion in that voice, she was just… Stating facts?..
"Your 'Hiveguard'? Hold on, hold on. Are you saying that you did all THIS just to avenge that 'Hiveguard' or something?!"
"No. All of this was to protect and grow the Hive," suddenly, he felt her gaze grow much, much heavier, "You being here, however, is a happy accident. I shall allow myself a moment of levity as I watch your demise."
"Ah, I see. But have you-" and with that, he suddenly moved, approaching the enemy commander at breakneck speeds. One of the oldest tricks in the book - start fighting mid-sentence, to catch the enemy unawares. His fist caught ablaze, and he put his all into this one punch - to the point where it would hurt him as well. A mere moment later, he felt his punch connecting, going through chitin like hot knife through butter.
Vespiquen's eyes glowed crimson, as she glided in place, completely unharmed. In front of her, was a cluster of Combees, impaled on the Elder's fist. Those still alive were staring at him blankly.
Next moment, the swarm descended on him.
[Part 2]
Soon, there was nothing left on the battlefield, but her Hive.
The fallen were to become become food for the Hive. Those who could not be eaten, were to be used as construction materials. Then, once they were done processing the resources captured from this battle, they were to move on to the remaining village.
And from there, once she finally made this area her base of operations, she had a new target.
She was going to make all of the islands safe for her Hive.
