Draco: Erratic inspiration is a LOT better for a oneshot collection than it is for a proper story.

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.

A Clash Between Friends

"You're going to Yaksha?"

Evia nodded in response to Oichi's question. "I've been meaning to for a while, now," she admitted, "but I kept putting it off." Her gaze fell. "The last thing I want is to ignore the kingdom for too long and discover Kotarō's had his way with it again."

"...Point," Oichi conceded. "I know Keiji's been stopping by and picking up the slack when he runs off, but we really ought to..."

Kaguya looked rather worried. "Are you gonna be away for long?"

With a smile, Evia gently tousled her hair. "I'll only be about a week," she assured her. "Maybe I'll bring you back a souvenir."

Footsteps dashing in from the hallway drew everyone's attention as Espeon dashed in, giving a joyful cry.

"Brother's come by again, has he?" Oichi mused. "Here's hoping this one's just a social visit. Did he come alone?"

Espeon shook her head.

Kaguya beamed. "Oh, Mitsuki!"

Evia giggled. "Maybe he'll let her stay a while."

+x+x+x+

Nobunaga was indeed willing to let Mitsuki stay for a while - in fact, the main purpose of his visit was to let her come to spend some time with Kaguya, and ask if Aurora would be willing to host her for a while. Oichi assured him that Mitsuki was welcome to remain for as long as she was allowed to be away from the Dragnor Trigram, and the two were enjoying themselves before Nobunaga had even departed.

He'd also dropped something off for Oichi - and she was reading it in the living room when she heard the little ones dashing down the hall. "Lady Oichi!"

"Careful," Oichi warned as Mitsuki came in first, Bagon hot on her heels and Kaguya and Ralts following swiftly behind. They were both 'armed', so to speak, and with a sigh Oichi got to her feet. "What do I tell you about running through the halls with your weapon?"

"I'm sorry, Mama Oichi," Kaguya pleaded.

"Um... don't be mad at her," Mitsuki asked. "That was my fault, I ran ahead first."

Oichi sighed. "Well, at least you admit it," she mused. "What did you need?"

Mitsuki smiled awkwardly. "Kaguya said she's not allowed in the battlefield on her own. I wanted to ask if you'd take us out there to try a real battle!"

"You two want to try battling each other?" Oichi asked. "Why is that?"

"Because we're having a lot of fun with training!" Mitsuki insisted. "I wanted to see how it goes with a real battle! But it looks like it's a bad idea to try and do it in the training room, and besides, we don't know the rules."

"I see," Oichi mused. "And the Pokémon are okay with it?"

Ralts nodded with a smile; Bagon gave an eager cry as well.

It hardly seems fair with this matchup, Oichi observed. But... maybe she should learn it the hard way. A smile rose on her face. "Alright, I'll take you out there." Then, as she was getting to her feet; "But if something comes up, you have to promise you're gonna stop when I say to stop, alright?"

"Okay!"

Oichi collected her staff and led the way out to the battlefield. "In a proper battle," she mused, "whoever's in charge of the kingdom starts over here. And the one who's come to attack starts at that end."

Mitsuki hummed. "Since I'm just visiting," she observed, "how about I play the attacker?"

Kaguya nodded. "Makes sense."

"You and Ralts stay here, then," Oichi instructed, "and Mitsuki, you and Bagon come with me." Once they were at the far end, she stepped back. "We'll set the limit on this battle for thirty minutes, or until all the Pokémon on one side are defeated. It doesn't matter how the Warriors are doing; if your Pokémon is knocked out, you're not part of the battle anymore. If the battle runs out of time, the defender wins."

"Okay!"

"Got it!"

With a smile, Oichi held her staff before her like a standing microphone; when she spoke, her voice passed through the water in the head and struck the crystal within, amplifying the sound. "Begin!"

Mitsuki charged forward with her mock sword at her side, Bagon charging at her side; Kaguya held her toy spear in both hands, her pace more cautious as Ralts advanced ahead. Despite her pace, the girl from the north was close enough to swing by the time Bagon was in attacking range, and the Rock Head Pokémon unleashed a ferocious Dragon Rage onto Ralts, who raised her hands before her frightfully.

The dragon mist passed by her on the left as Kaguya raised her spear in defense; Mitsuki managed to move her sword to jab the younger girl in the ribs, but the smile on her face vanished when she glanced at the battlefield. Ralts took the opening while she had it, stepping back and hitting Bagon with a burst of Confusion; it wasn't enough to disorient him, nor was the attack enough to knock him out. Kaguya pushed Mitsuki's sword away and thrust the soft head of her spear forward, causing the older girl to stumble back; Bagon quickly recovered and loosed another Dragon Rage, but this blast missed Ralts on the right, and again she moved away so she could hit the Dragon-type again.

This time, when Mitsuki swung her sword, Kaguya evaded rather than blocking, stepping around while she was in the downswing and then thrusting her spear at Mitsuki's shoulder. The older girl dropped her sword and grabbed Kaguya's spear, and the two found themselves tussling for it as Bagon zeroed in on the Feeling Pokémon, charging up to point-blank before loosing another Dragon Rage that slammed into Ralts full-force.

The dragon mist scattered around Ralts harmlessly, and the two Pokémon stared at each other in surprise.

Mitsuki turned in shock. "Huh?!"

"Let go!" Kaguya managed to wrench her spear out of Mitsuki's hands, causing her to stumble forward, and the younger girl bashed her in the head and left her stumbling as Ralts leapt away to loose another Confusion. This one left Bagon disoriented, stumbling away and trying to steady himself.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Mitsuki pleaded, stumbling towards her fallen sword; Kaguya lowered her weapon, and Ralts turned towards them as well. "What happened? He hit her dead-on and it didn't do anything! And now he's all..."

Bagon gave a woozy cry to finish the sentence for her.

Kaguya turned in surprise. "You're not hurt?" she asked.

Ralts looked over herself to double-check before shaking her head.

Oichi stepped forward. "There's more to a battle between Pokémon than just how strong they are," she informed them. "You need to know all sorts of things about both your own Pokémon and your opponent's. What their attacks can do - like leave a Pokémon dizzy, and struggling to stay standing. Or the type matchups. I know little Dragons can hit really hard, but that doesn't matter against a Fairy-type like Ralts."

Kaguya looked surprised. "You mean... Mitsuki can't ever win?"

"That's why you need to be careful," Oichi insisted. "Not just with fighting Warriors, either. If you pick a fight with a wild Pokémon you can't even hurt, you're gonna be in lots of trouble."

"But that's not fair!" Kaguya protested. "How are you gonna- OW!"

Mitsuki had picked up her sword with surprising speed, and now swung the mock weapon at Kaguya; the foam-lined blade still had enough power to startle her grip on her spear, knocking it out of her hands. Bagon had recovered from his confusion, and before Ralts could react, he loosed another Dragon Rage at her; Ralts ran straight through the dragon mist, letting it disperse around her without effect as Oichi stormed forward.

"MITSUKI!" Before the little ninja could react, Oichi seized the blade of her prop weapon, wrenching it out of her hands. "What are you doing!?"

"Her fault for letting her guard down!" Mitsuki insisted. "It hasn't been thirty-"

"Don't you give me excuses, young lady!" Oichi scolded. "You said to stop the fight!"

"I just meant stop for a little bit!" Mitsuki defended. "I didn't say I was giving up! You said-"

A pained yell from Bagon drew her attention; psychic energy was scattering in the air around the Rock Head Pokémon, and now he fell to the ground, consciousness fading. Ralts looked furious despite her small frame, and as Oichi glanced at Kaguya, she found angry tears welling in the child's eyes; she picked up her fallen spear and ran back towards the castle, Ralts dashing in after her.

"Wait, Kaguya!" Mitsuki made to chase after her.

Oichi lowered her staff in the little ninja's way. "Don't," she reprimanded. "This is your fault."

Mitsuki looked baffled. "I didn't do-!"

"Yes, you did," Oichi warned. "You said you wanted to stop, and then you started again without letting her get ready for it." She stepped in front of Mitsuki, letting her staff stand tall. "If you wanted to just take a break, so you could figure out what happened, you should have said you wanted to get back to it, and let her get ready."

"If I let her get ready, I was gonna lose!" Mitsuki argued. "In a real fight-!"

"In a real fight, your enemy isn't gonna stop just because you say so!" Oichi retorted. Mitsuki stepped back, and the healer took a deep breath. "...You said you were here because you wanted to have fun with Kaguya. Is that true? Or did you just think it'll be easy to beat her?"

"N-No," Mitsuki insisted, "I wanted to have fun."

Oichi shook her head. "Then you need to make sure Kaguya is having fun, too. If you're play dirty tricks and hurt her because you just want to win, you're going to make her feel bad. And she's not gonna want to spend time with you anymore."

Mitsuki hung her head. "...I'm sorry, Lady Oichi."

"You better be," Oichi warned. "Now, let's go inside." She set her staff against the ground; a soft light washed over Bagon, and Mitsuki approached him to help him to his feet. "You're gonna wait in the living room until I say. And once I know Kaguya's alright, you're gonna apologize to her. Okay?"

"Okay."

+x+x+x+

Kaguya had her face buried in her pillow when Oichi came after her; Ralts was sitting at her side, though her attention was drawn to the door as the healer stepped in. "Are you two alright?"

Ralts glanced back at Kaguya, who didn't seem to have notice Oichi's approach, before giving a concerned cry.

With a sigh, Oichi stepped up to the bedside and set a hand on the little one's shoulder. "Kaguya?" Then, when she started to react; "Hey, hey, it's alright. It's just me."

"...Oh." Kaguya's voice sounded very weak, and there were tear streaks down her face. "S-Sorry, Mama..."

"Are you okay?" Oichi asked. "Let me see your arms." Sniffling, Kaguya held out her arms; there were no noticeable marks, and Oichi's hand running over her skin didn't earn any notable reaction to say something was tender. "Looks like your body's not hurt. How about you? Are you okay?"

Kaguya tried to rub the tears away. "I just... Mitsuki just..."

"I know," Oichi assured her. "She shouldn't have done that. It's okay to be upset. But deep breaths, okay? In..." She took a deep breath through her nose, and Kaguya mimicked the motion. "Out..." She blew gently to exhale, and Kaguya did the same. "In... Out..." After a few repetitions, she was doing it on her own, and Oichi pulled her into a hug. "How do you feel?"

"...Better," Kaguya murmured. "A little bit."

"Can I tell you something?" Oichi mused. "You won." Kaguya looked surprised. "It's like I said. It's the Pokémon that matter in a fight - when your Pokémon can't fight anymore, you lose." She turned to Ralts with a smile. "And you knocked Bagon out. Which means you two win."

Kaguya's gaze fell. "But... there was no way for Mitsuki to win," she argued. "It wasn't fair! I shouldn't have-!"

Oichi's eyes widened. "Is that why you're so sad about it?"

"Uh huh," Kaguya confirmed. "I just wanted to battle like Warriors because I thought it would be fun. I didn't want her to be in a way that she can never win!" Her gaze fell. "When she said to stop, I..."

"Easy," Oichi assured her, "easy. You didn't know, right?" Kaguya raised her gaze. "You didn't know Bagon wasn't gonna be able to hurt Ralts. You just wanted to have fun. Right?"

"...Right," Kaguya confirmed.

"Then it's not your fault," Oichi insisted. "You just made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. And now that you know, you can make sure it doesn't happen again."

Kaguya took another deep breath. "Where's Mitsuki?"

Oichi rose off the bed. "She's in the living room. Are you okay to talk to her?"

"Yeah."

+x+x+x+

"Two-two!"

The type disadvantage might stop them from having a true battle as Warriors - but there were still ways that Kaguya and Mitsuki could have a 'close enough' battle to have the same kind of fun. When a certain Warlord in a singing dress came to Aurora to pick up Mitsuki, the little ones were in the battlefield - and while Mitsuki and Kaguya traded swings with their toy weapons, Bagon and Ralts were launching attacks at each other, not trying to deal damage but simply trying to see who could land the planned amount of blows before time was up.

Evia's call accompanied a well-aimed blast of dragon mist that had burst over Ralts; the Warlord noticed Nō's arrival, but raised a hand to her in a 'wait' motion, and the Spectran moved to find a seat as the little ones kept swinging. The Feeling Pokémon dashed away, leaping over a log in an effort to stay away from Bagon; the Rock Head Pokémon was about to follow suit before gazing at the log, and as Mitsuki's mock sword was knocked out of her hands, he swiftly unleashed a Dragon Rage that sent the log tumbling across the battlefield, striking Ralts and throwing her back.

Kaguya winced in shock as the blow resonated through her Link, turning to the battlefield in surprise. "Huh?"

"Three hits for Bagon!" Evia proclaimed, and the little ninja lowered her sword in surprise. "That's Mitsuki's win." Then, stepping towards Ralts; "You alright there?"

Ralts got to her feet, a bit dazed as she cried out in response.

"Are you hurt?" Kaguya asked, stepping towards her. "How...?"

"Looks like Bagon figured out how to use the battlefield," Evia mused. "Was that on purpose?"

Mitsuki shook her head. "No way. I didn't even think we could do that."

A smile rose on Evia's face. "If your whole team is has to use the stuff around the battlefield, you're probably gonna lose," she admitted. "But when it's just one who's got a bad matchup, you gotta make every little bit count."

Someone stepped into the battlefield from the castle side. "How are things goin-" She cut herself off when she saw their guest. "Oh, Nō."

Nō smiled. "Not to worry," she assured the Aurorans. "I've just come to pick up Mitsuki."

Mitsuki turned to her. "Already?"

"None of that," Nō insisted. "You can get the Pokémon patched up, but then you're coming home."

"Oh, come on, Lady Kichō!"

Evia, Oichi, and Kaguya all started. "Kichō?"

"Huh?" Mitsuki turned to them in surprise. "Wait, how do you guys not know? I thought Lady Oichi was her sister?"

"Sister-in-law," Oichi insisted. "She married my brother. What's this 'Kichō' about?"

Mitsuki crossed her arms. "Really? That's her real name. Lord Nobunaga calls her that when they think nobody can hear. You mean you guys have been calling her-"

A hand around her mouth from behind caught her off-guard. "Alright, young lady," Nō warned, her face flushed with crimson and her expression one of fury. "You and I and Nobunaga are going to have a long talk about this back in Dragnor."

Oichi had a grin on her face. "No need to be in such a hurry," she insisted. "Let's get the Pokémon cared for, at least. And maybe I can get you some tea before we go?" Nō looked very upset when Oichi beckoned her inside. "We did order some Roserade blend from Alola. I'm told you rather enjoy it... Kichō."

"Distortion take me now..."