"And those are all the plans that you had in mind?" Hyberion's tone was neutral amongst his fellow councilmembers. They were all glaring at the projection of Arthur using a projection lacrima on their end.
"Yes, my associates and I came to an agreement that this level of challenge should be more than adequate for your guilds to handle." Arthur insisted.
"How interesting." Ruge smirked, resting his cheek against his knuckles. "Well, I can't say that I've heard worse propositions. Sounds as entertaining as the games themselves."
Wolfheim sneered beside him. "Speak for yourself, why don't ya."
Ruge raised a mocking brow at him. "Hm? Why, that's what I'm doing right now."
Hyberion bared his fangs, glaring angrily to the point where his magic was starting to make his fist get rougher. "Enough, Wolfheim. That's premature of you to act so callously. Especially in front of our associates." Maryam scolded.
"True that…but it's still kinda funny to watch." Jeff chimed. He was met with glares from his fellow councilmen that made him nervously chuckle. "Heh…just speaking the truth is all. Better to be truthful than seen as conceited about your faults."
Leiji gave a tired sigh, shaking his head. "Agreed, Jefferey. We've been carrying this conference too long. Perhaps we should summarize everything we have now?"
"Indeed. Now then, Arthur, if you will do so?" Hyberion motioned, paying no heed to the squabbling of his fatigued councilmen.
Arthur nodded. "Very well then. As of now, the events are as listed. If you all look down at your sheets one more time, those will be the events in their specified orders." The councilmen looked down at the list and reread them for the umpteenth time. "Each of these challenges should give just enough reign for the mage participating with their Pokémon to have equal footing. There should be enough room for where many should see plenty of battles by these pairings."
Justice looked at the preliminary section of the list in hand, furrowing her eyebrows. "And you're absolute about this?"
"I can honestly say that this would be the most beneficial approach. Much of this is similar to how we of PokeEarth construct our Pokémon League within each region. Of course the overall schematic is like such, my associates and I found a compromise to the way the previous Grand Magic Games rules."
"I see…"
Hyberion cleared his throat, asserting his position. "Now, Arthur. I understand that much at least, but can you explain to us about these 'Prerequisites'? I presume they are another factor added in from your world's structure?"
"I can explain vividly if you allow me. You see, from where we come from, not just anyone can enter the Pokémon League. You need more than just certification and a Pokémon to enter. Only the most skilled Trainers are enabled to participate, and to see which ones specifically, Trainers must go around the region, challenging 'Gyms'. When a Trainer wins, they are rewarded with a badge. Once a Trainer receives eight badges, only then will they be qualified."
Hyberion looked back down at the sheet in his hand, putting his spare hand to his chin. "I think I understand."
"Bah! So you would say." Alfredo scoffed, earning looks from his fellow councilmembers. "The way I see it, I don't see any reason why we should have more qualifications than what we already have. You're basically saying that we should be selective about who should be part of our new regiment. Besides, how do we know that we'll have others that will cheat and commit forgery to meet these qualifications?"
Arthur calmly lowered his head. "I understand your point of view, Councilman Alfredo. The prerequisites will have a special stamp that will be pressed personally by the Cambire Foundation. We'll administer the job requests with a stamp that will be marked with a magical signature that will go through the tallying process. If anyone attempts to copy the stamp using just paint alone, the readers will undoubtedly catch it. It's a process similar to how Pokémon League officials know between real and forged badges."
"So that's the idea you're going by." Montgomery pondered, raising a brow. "Well, I suppose that wouldn't be such a bad idea. We would at least know which guilds wouldn't be qualified to enter anyway. That's killing two birds with one stone."
Alfredo's scowl sounded like a snarl. "So you say…"
"I am also with Alfredo on this matter of guild selection." Maryam stood up, surprising Alfredo. "While I do agree that we do accept the idea of a joint mage and Pokémon display, I feel that we should include as many parties as possible. As opposed to the hundreds of guilds we've had prior to last year, we've lost more than half of them in the Alvarez war. Not to mention several more guilds hence after have been disbanding. We need to show the world that there is still guild work for those suffering financially."
"If you ask me, Maryam, I think this is no different." Maryam's leer went towards Ruge. "Don't get me wrong, I agree. We've seen how the decline of guilds is affecting us, so many are turning towards Pokémon battling for money. But…" He slowly straightened his back and folded his arms. "If the X791 games showed us anything, it's that even those left in the dust can catch up to speed given the right motivation."
Maryam raised a skeptic brow. "You mean an incentive aside from 30 million Jewel? What more could a guild require?"
Hyberion put a hand to his chin and hummed.
"Tch, well I'm not against these ideas, but we do need a better competition. After that ruckus that repulsive Salamander did at last year's games, we need a better incentive to keep the numbers optimal." Wolfheim harrumphed.
"Hehe, sounds like a pickle indeed." Jeff chimed, rubbing his Poliwag. "Guild morale needs to be in high spirits by the time we decide on these games. We only have until the end of September."
"We know, Councilman Jeffrey. Thank you for the reminder." Justice leered.
"So let me get this straight." Leiji paused. "You intend to have prerequisite jobs that will be personally stamped by the Cambire Foundation. You intend a certain number that must be completed, and then set up the preliminaries to knock the remaining guilds down based on a tournament basis. Is that how you determine we assess the qualifications and effectiveness of the guilds?"
Arthur rested his cheek against his knuckles. "More or less, that's the agenda that we'll be appealing by. Let me remind you all of the goal we are trying to make here. Our goal is to show both of our worlds that there can be a compromise between humans and Pokémon in a world that relies on magic for an everyday usage. These events can be a testament to show that there can be a balance between these two odds. We're not aiming to show that our way and lifestyle are superior to your own. This isn't our world, and that you have rules that have been questionable through many angles. If anything, hearing through another perspective may help you find the peace in mind that you are looking for, Councilmen Alfredo and Maryam."
Both of them frowned at him before they chose to take their seats again.
"Is that so?" Hyberion got everyone's attention, making them turn towards him. "Then I would like to be enlightened by something. Tell me, how exactly is your 'Pokémon League' structured?"
Arthur readjusted himself in his wheelchair and clasped his hands on his desk. "Well, many of our regions have a common setup for our Pokémon League. Trainers who received eight badges would be permitted to have one shot against the Elite Four, whom are the top four Trainers of their respective regions. And standing at the top of them, there's the Champion of that region. Only when the challenger defeats all four members of the Elite Four would they be given the privilege to battle the Champion."
"I see. And, if they lose?"
"If one defeats the Champion, they themselves become the new Champion. However, those who lose, their paths then on vary. But many of the regions have adopted a tournament style Pokémon League for re-runners that are held once a year. The winning Trainer will win the opportunity to challenge the Elite Four and Champion once more."
"This 'Elite Four' you speak of, I presume that is an equivalent to a Wizard Saint in our country." Justice explained.
Montgomery gave an audible cough. "Well, we may not have such a bracket for your Trainers, but yes, the closest thing to correlate would in fact be the Wizard Saints…or rather, it would have been the Wizard Saints. Such a system now has been completely unresolved. Such pity."
"Yes, we know." Hyberion noted. "Much of our spots have been left vacant for some time now. After our recent civil and international wars, the power of Wizard Saints has been brought to question. Many have either retired or have since expired. Much like God Serena and Bolton. At this rate, it might not be long now until the jurisdiction for abolishing such a title would be brought out to the public."
"Hmph! I call that statement hogwash! We might be changing directions here, but that's unacceptable, even by my standards!" Alfredo slammed a fist into his wooden desk. "Relinquishing such a tradition is saying that there was no meaning to begin with! So are we to presume that there are mages out there far superior in the continent that we can't put claim on?!"
Justice closed her eyes calmly. "The title of 'Wizard Saint' was primarily used as a base of security. I believe that Fairy Tail's late guild master was an example that you remember well, Councilman Leiji."
Leiji lowered his head in shame. "Don't remind me…"
Montgomery let out a long sigh. "While we're on that subject, we only have six Wizard Saints, but we still lack a top spot I'm afraid. If you are implying that we have a traditional Pokémon battle against a Wizard Saint similar to this Elite Four, that might be up for candidacy."
"But a Trainer can use six Pokémon. Would that even be a fair fight against a lone mage?" Maryam countered.
"No…suppose not. Especially considering Nic Pularis' alone dealt with God Serena and many other Wizard Saints before."
Wolfheim scoffed again. "Don't you remind me that."
Hyberion leaned back in his chair. "I believe that we are digressing here, everyone." They all fell silent as he glanced at Arthur. "Our best mages are no more I'm afraid. So as stated, it wouldn't be a fair matchup unless we discontinue tradition and move everyone up based on rank. If that were the case, I would be the top spot…but it would scar my own vanity in doing so. Not to mention that we cannot approve such a transaction unless we have verification from the Magic Government."
"I see…" Arthur frowned, thinking about any possible alternatives to their dilemma. "No doubt there would be plenty of Pokémon Trainers still out there, and supposedly many wouldn't align with anything they aren't familiar with…wait a minute."
"What is it, Arthur?" Ruge raised a brow.
"…I believe that I may have just found a compromise that will benefit the both of us. Especially for you, Councilman Alfredo."
Alfredo raised a brow. "I'm listening…"
"We have someone that can help us kill three birds with one stone. At the moment, that person is also the most infamous for his disposition. And as you all know, he's not a Wizard Saint…but I'm sure he'll suffice for a goal for many Trainers out there."
Hyberion squinted. "You mean…"
Arthur smirked. He knew this would get their attention. As he was going to talk more, he knew in the back of his mind, he was going to pay for this somehow. 'Hopefully he understands.'
A cry came from Gyarados as he reared his head back, before diving for a Tackle straight at Yanma. She evaded the attack, zipping at high speed past Gyarados's wake. Heracross stood in his path as he drew near.
"Now, Heracross! Counter!" Dereece commanded.
Heracross braced himself for Gyarados, digging in his heels and taking the hit head-on. The impact was strong enough to shove him several feet backwards, but a red aura engulfed his body at the moment of impact. He brought his fist forward, scoring a punctual blow into Gyarados' face that sent him recoiling back.
With Gyarados preoccupied with the recoil bash from the Counter, Yanma was able to get a safe distance high up to get a clear shot on his opponent. "Now, Yanma, Sonic Boom!" Dereece shouted. Yanma fluttered her wings rapidly, creating a bright blue energy before a shockwave-like crescent sped down towards the dazed beast.
"Barrier-Make: Prism!"
Gyarados' frame was engulfed within a prism-shape barrier made up of Joey's magic. The shockwave hit the prism and ricocheted towards Heracross. His eyes widened before he instinctively opened flew up to evade. The crescent kept going towards Dereece, but Heracross and Yanma were too late to realize this.
"Oh no!"
"Look out!"
Dereece was well prepared. He balled his fists and activated his magic. Immediately, he placed a hell angled at 45 degrees and ran at a diagonal angle sideways. He managed to avoid the shockwave that exploded in his place, kicking up dust that he was able to evade.
"Phew! Now that was a close call!" Dereece looked ahead at his newly adjusted height, seeing Tranquill at a perfect position to strike. "Yanma, above you!"
"Heh?" She looked skywards, but she was too late.
"Now, Tranquill, use Gust!" Joey shouted.
"Yes, Master!" Tranquill's wings glowed bright blue and he flapped them, summoning a powerful windstorm that blasted Yanma viciously. The dragonfly was unable to evade in time when the super-effective storm buffered her exponentially. Though she tried to fight it with her position, she was still blown back.
"I gotcha!" Heracross beelined right for Yanma, catching her in his claws and scooted back towards the ground to a grinding halt. His heels left deep trails on the earth, but he remained undeterred. "You okay?!"
In his claws, Yanma groaned heavily, but she shook her head and perked up. "Yup! I'm okay, see?!" He flew back up, circling around and perched herself atop of Heracross' horn.
Dereece sulked his shoulders and groaned heavily. "Oh geez…woah!" He was caught off guard when a barrier was launched his way. He instinctively dropped to avoid it and stopped a few meters above the ground.
"Eyes wide open, Dereece!" Joey shouted from the other side, looking seriously determined. "No time for sulking and groaning! Get your game face on like these two over here!" He gestured towards Gyarados and Tranquill, the former more so intimidating – that, or it was because of his Intimidate Ability. Either way, it did something to get Dereece to wipe the sweat off his headband and glare back.
"Right, sorry Captain! Won't happen again this time around! Heracross! Yanma!" Heracross spread his claws while Yanma took flight once again.
While the two were out practicing in the middle of the backyard, Duncan chose a more reserved part of the area that was spacious enough for him to move around. He glared ahead, focusing on his grip of the metal staff he used as a makeshift weapon. He took one breath in, and slowly exhaled out. He breathed deeply, until he felt a clear semblance in his mind's eye.
'Remember what the books said. Visualize your Magic Power, and force it to where you need it to go.' He closed his eyes, concentrating harshly on the Magic Power into his staff. He started to show a vein on his forehead. 'More than this…more…!'
His knuckles got tighter as he started seeping his magic into his staff, enhancing its strength. His eyes flashed open as he suddenly took a fighting stance with the staff held back.
"Gastrodon, now! Ice Beam!"
On the opposite end, Gastrodon obeyed and created an orb of icy energy that fired freezing beams. He froze up a portion of the ground, building up from that spot to make a medium-sized ice pillar. He aimed at another spot, repeating the process to make four more copies. With five ice pillars in his way, Duncan had solid targets to strike with his Holding Magic.
'NOW!' He dashed as fast as his legs to carry him across the field, towards the nearest ice pillar. He pivoted and brought the metal staff around with a rainbow outline around the edge, giving it enough strength to break off the cap. He followed through the pivot and swung clean through the second cap. He jumped and brought the staff down on a third cap, smashing it apart and splattering ice around him. He twirled the staff with two hands and dashed for the fourth pillar, where he vaulted over and twisted his frame, doing a vertical hammer that smashed the cap. He rolled across the dirt and got to his feet at the base of the last remaining pillar. He cried out with all his might before jutting the staff's end into the cap, causing it to fracture and crack drastically. However, unlike the last four, this one didn't break immediately.
Duncan panted lightly. He lightly pried his staff from the ice as he watched the fractured cap lose its front face. Ice shards fell to his feet, but he backpedaled and held a firm grip in two hands. 'Damnit. I lost power at the end.' He stamped a heel in the ground. 'Keeping my magic at a higher consistency for more power takes a lot more mentality out of the mage.' He couldn't afford to get sloppy now, not after all he's been through. He inhaled a sharp breath as he started gathering more Magic Power.
"Gastrodon, again!"
As Gastrodon was prepared another icy orb, a fair distance away from them within some shrubs. A lens was peering behind some shrubs beyond the fencing. The lens was catching a good view of Gastrodon creating more ice pillars that Duncan batted at. The instant he did, the lens took a snapshot, showing Duncan frozen past the suspended ice shards scattered through the air.
Shiin observed through his cover within the shrubs, using his cloak's camouflage frame to blend in. 'Duncan Roserto, one of the few Pokémon Trainers a part of Fairy Tail.' He watched him swing clean through another ice pillar, cleaner than the last set. 'It appears that his magic enables him to strengthen any weapon in hand by concentrating his Magic Power through said weapon, amplifying its destructive power.'
The theory was proven correct when he witnessed Duncan swinging the metal staff, smashing the top half rather than just the cap. He saw him visibly pant and stammer, but persisted onto the next one.
'It seems that he is trying to surpass his maximum limitations by constantly flowing magic at full power. By continuously exhausting his magic, it allows his natural magic capacity to increase and draw in Ethernano faster. He must have been studying the conceptual arts of magic.'
Yanma flew in for a Quick Attack, but when she closed in on Tranquill, she was met with a large barrier that blocked both her and Heracross' Chip Away on Gyarados. Both Pokémon glided back, giving Tranquill room to fire an Air Cutter.
"Yanma, Detect!" Dereece shouted.
Yanma's eyes flashed bright green. She saw the numerous crescents of air fly in her direction. With her Speed Boost as a benefactor, she seemingly vanished from sight. Heracross flew skywards, barely evading the crescents that created a massive dust cloud.
"Gyarados, Bite!"
With Heracross over the dust wave, he was caught completely surprised when Gyarados lunged out of the wake, snapping his glowing fangs against his hard skin. The giant serpent-fish reared his head back and then lurched forward, projecting Heracross through the air with a huge cry.
"Heracross!" Using his magic, Dereece "ran" through the air and caught his partner. He was heavy as hell, but when he was falling, his feet locked firmly upside-down, allowing him to suspend the dazed Heracross. "Hey, you alright?"
"Gnnngh…I…think?" Heracross suddenly cringed. The flinch effect of Bite had just taken over.
"Keep up the pace, Gyarados! Tackle!"
Shiin watched the giant fish taking orders and got out his camera once again. He held the lens to the shot of Joey commanding Gyarados as the Tackle barreled for Yanma, only for her to speed away, getting even more speed in the process. He took a snapshot of Joey's back and looked at the profile…in addition to the half-dozen other shots he got from the last time he did a "photo-shoot".
'Joey Haycliff, another Pokémon Trainer, and supposed leader of…The Freaks.' He shuddered at the name. 'He uses Barrier-Make Magic to help defend his Pokémon while making openings to strike. He commands a Gyarados, one of larger and seemingly more destructive Pokémon I've seen.'
He looked at Dereece, who had given Heracross a small but very subtle lift to the ground. Meanwhile, he used his magic to stride vertically skywards. He took the chance to take another picture with him, Heracross, and Yanma regrouping.
'Dereece Iwoda is Joey Haycliff's right-hand man. He is another Pokémon Trainer that had joined him at his side to live in this world. He uses magic that enables him to walk on any element at any given angle, including air. He also has Pokémon that are insectoid based, one relying om strength, and the other relying much on speed. Respectively, that are labeled 'Heracross' and 'Yanma'.'
"Gyarados, Twister! Tranquill, Gust!"
"I shall obey, Master Joey!"
"You're both going down!" Gyarados raised his tailfin, swaying it around until a tornado was summoned. Tranquill flapped his glowing wings and summoned another powerful windstorm that mixed with the growing tornado, causing its velocity to skyrocket.
Dereece was wide-eyed, but he had no choice but to "run" to the ground and kneeled as the wild winds swallowed Heracross and Yanma. Both flyers were unable to fight back as they were whipped around until they reached the top. When the winds receded, Tranquill and Gyarados watched as both Yanma and Heracross fell before them harshly, making two dust clouds.
When they dissipated, they revealed Heracross on his front, with Yanma on top of his head, both swirling in their eyes and unconscious.
Dereece up towards them. "Are you both okay?!"
Yanma weakly groaned, her compound eyes blurry from the whirlwind she was caught up in. "Everything is…blurry…"
"Gnnngh…some Honey would be nice…" Heracross murmured.
"Alright guys, nice work there!" Joey praised. Tranquill squawked with glee as he flew in circles overhead. Gyarados raised his head and roared in victory.
Shiin got a little lower behind the bushes. He did not want to approach them, especially Joey's potentially massive weapon of mass destruction. 'With power that strong, it could potential wipe out dozens of our intermediate-leveled mages, perhaps one of our higher-ranked ones if this keeps up.'
He heard a small fluttering from behind, followed by a tweeting. He froze up for a moment before he realized his cover was blown. He glanced up to see the perpetrator, but his caution immediately shifted to annoyance by the return of Butterfree.
"Why do you keep following me?" he whispered angrily. "Do you intend to blow my cover?"
The Butterfree looked at Shiin before looking at what he was observing. He saw Duncan stabbing into a stalagmite of ice. The entire front was blown off from the force, but left a sizeable amount left intact. He panted heavily, while Gastrodon slithered over slightly.
"Are you alright?"
Duncan caught his breath and glared up at him. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me." His tone was anything but considerate, a note that made Gastrodon silence immediately. "Now, use Water Pulse!"
Gastrodon complied, creating a sphere of water at the mouth. As Duncan braced for the move, Butterfree was watching with Shiin. While the white-haired man was more invested with observing the properties of all these mages and Pokémon, Butterfree was more inclined with seeing Gastrodon doing what Duncan said. He was even more intrigued when he saw Duncan swing into the attack, causing the sphere of water to explode into water spouts around him.
Butterfree started chirping merrily at the scene. Shiin looked at him angrily. "What are you doing?!"
The Butterfree chimed lightly as his wings glowed brightly and flapped, summoning a strong wind, via Gust. The wind breached the fencing, buffering Gastrodon's side very lightly. It wasn't strong, but it was enough to get his attention.
"Hm?" Noticing the vague windstorm, Duncan immediately diverted his staff towards the woodland between them and the house behind. "Water Pulse!"
Gastrodon complied and created a sphere of water. He fired the shot, causing an explosion of water to erupt when it struck some trees. The spray deluded onto the grass and shrubs, but in the end, nothing was in sight.
Joey immediately turned around. "What was that?!" He looked towards Duncan with a heightened guard. "Duncan, what's out there?!"
The more experienced Trainer glared at the few trees and shrubs. The Water Pulse left the tree wet, with a slight crater within the bark. He leered warily for any movements, but he could tell something was just there a minute ago. Whatever it was, it wasn't there anymore. "…nothing."
Joey and Dereece exchanged wary looks of their own. Even Joey wasn't that dumb to know something was amidst. 'I let my guard down again.' Joey thought. One of the lessons Broly warned him about: Always be mindful of your surroundings.
Duncan gave a light scoff before turning towards Gastrodon with his Poke Ball. "Return." Gastrodon complied and reverted to energy that went inside the capsule. "Captain, I'm going to train elsewhere if that's alright with you."
Joey gave a consenting nod. "Yeah, sure. Dereece and I were pretty much wrapped up anyway. I'm gonna get ready to help ole' Soph' with her hair." He walked away. "C'mon Dereece, let's heal up and head over."
"Yeah, sure thing." Dereece followed behind.
As they were all walking away, Shiin was hiding behind a tree, his cloak having turned to a bark brown to conceal himself. He slowly peered over his shoulder to watch The Freaks take an awkwardly timed leave. His disposition darkened at a wasted opportunity. 'That was a close one. They almost caught me.'
Butterfree hummed above him, getting him to shoot an angered glare skywards. "You almost compromised me right there! Are you trying to expose me?!" he hissed.
Butterfree chirped and fluttered off.
"Hey, hold it! I'm not done with you yet…damnit." He looked down and gritted his teeth. Whatever that was about, the Butterfree's objective was seemingly made clear. But Shiin was more concerned about keeping his whereabouts unknown.
'Perhaps because they're so new to magic, they couldn't have sensed me. I need that magic concealment cloak by tonight. I probably won't get off so lucky again a third time.' He watched the Butterfree flutter away freely, making his teeth clench tighter. 'What are your real intentions in our world?'
A Pager Charizard docked onto the cool sands of the shores of Brooklet Hill. Professor Burnet hopped off, taking a moment to spread her legs and bend down to touch the sand. "Mmmmmm! Haven't taken a Pager Charizard in a while. Forgot how much those saddles do a number on your legs." She looked over at the Pager Charizard. "Oh, no offense to you of course."
Pager Charizard snorted smoke from his nostrils. "(None taken…)"
Burnet loosened her shoulders and took a sharp breath through her nostrils. "So, this is where the energy trail led to…" She gazed around, looking across the water to see only Wishiwashi mingling with Magikarp beneath the surface. 'I'm not seeing anything suspicious. Did I perhaps misread the signal?'
She took out the space detector she kept strapped to her side and looked at the readings. The spatial energy detected definitely was fresh. A greenish-yellow space that she was in indicated the energy pool, but through her eyes there wasn't a trace anywhere. In fact, the basin pool looked as it always did.
"Shoot, I must have just missed it." She looked down at the tracker again, seeing that it was making a green trail that followed its way out towards the sea. "Is it really on the move again…?"
When she took another step, she nearly tripped over. She caught herself before she could have fallen into the basin's clear water. She looked out, noticing that while the Brooklet Hill waters were looking fine, there was something off where the bordering was. She noticed that amongst the large boulders that kept irrigation and Pokémon from flowing too far out to sea, the center boulder was reduced to pieces, sitting at the bottom.
"What happened here…?" She backpedaled, but found herself looking down again at the ground. Uneven trails that looked like snake slithering and various prints of animals were present. These were all fresh, too. What's more, there were two sets of human feet.
'Were people here earlier than I was? Maybe I'm not the only one who's seeing these spatial readings…' She shook her head. Now was not the time to diverge on theories. 'Right! This trail is still fresh. It couldn't be anymore than an hour old. And from the looks of it…it's heading towards Ula'Ula. I better get back to the lab and report this to Lusamine, pronto!'
Heading back to her Pager Charizard, she strapped herself back in as the dragon raised himself. "To the Dimensional Research Lab!"
"(I better be getting extra for this.)" Pager Charizard groaned as he took off from the ground.
Compared to last night's windburn from riding Garchomp, Nic and Erza were feeling much better. With it being the daytime now, the early morning sun was shining in their faces as they rode on Charizard's back over the ocean waters.
"So Nic, what's the plan this time?" Erza asked, holding onto Nic's waist with her arms. "You did think this through, didn't you?"
"Yeah, something like that." He paused, just as Charizard flapped to gather momentum for his glide. "We've been making a pattern ever since we came to Melemele. It seems that the island guardians know when we arrive. And that they come to us first, and not the other way around."
Erza furrowed her brow. "Yes, and let's not forget that the Island Kahunas are dutiful to the Tapus' judgement…if Hala and Olivia were of past example."
"Yeah…so before we look for that parasite, we should clear the other problem out of the way, that being the misleading with the Tapus. If Tapu Lele was connected to Tapu Koko, she might have alerted the other remaining guardians about us."
"So rather than them finding us at an inconvenient time, we'll find them first. And hopefully we can straighten out the conception with us. Maybe then, they'll comply with us and help in our cause."
"Exactly. But if we find that parasite along the way, we'll have to improvise then and there." Nic finished. "We're heading for Malie City, right?"
"Right. I heard from Konikoni City that there should be a library. I think first and foremost we should target there first. If we were to know anything about these island guardians, or anything else about these Z-Crytsals, that's a good place to start."
Charizard glanced down at the oncoming island's port. "(Look alive, Nic! We're there!)"
Erza glanced down at the very large island. Mountains covered it, but even more so, this was where their next point of destination was to be. "So this is Ula'Ula Island."
They held on tight as Charizard went for an angular dive closer to the seawater. He jettisoned across the ocean waves, creating an air force that separated water in his wake as he closed in on Malie City. Yet again, just looking at it from the oncoming port, Nic could already see a diverse architecture with the buildings compared to Hau'oli City and Konikoni City. Just from the looks alone gave the place a foreign look within a foreign look itself. If that wasn't a paradox itself, Nic must have been in the sun too long the past three days.
Despite the domestic appeals to the place, this didn't stop Nic from glancing over at the far reached of the pier. "Let's stop over by the edge. That spot doesn't look very populated right now."
Charizard complied and slowed his gliding down. With the sun starting the get higher over the horizon, the morning folk were all up and about. But it was still too early for any fishermen or any of the yacht owners to go out and enjoy the sun. But that time wasn't far off either.
Once Charizard reached the far end of the pier's corner, he landed promptly, allowing Nic and Erza off his back. Nic turned around, giving Charizard a fist bump. "Nice job. Save your strength for later, okay?"
"(Can do.)" With that, Nic recalled Charizard back to his Poke Ball.
Nic and Erza looked at each other and chose to proceed. They took a deep breath to help them cool down. For now, they aren't exactly fugitives, but if anything they were still wanted by the Tapus. And given the past few experiences with the Kahuna, they knew best to keep themselves away from people.
"Let's head to that library you spoke about." Nic insisted. "And let's try to stay as careful around people as we possibly can. We don't know if any of them are the Kahuna."
"Right. Let's stop by the Pokémon Center first. I'm sure that they need to be checked out." Erza said. "And, if we're lucky…" Her smile widened with glee. "We'll get to try this island's Malasadas as well!"
He gave an exasperated sigh. "Yeah…sure thing."
In the southern area of Malie City, Nanu was inside the Malasada shop. He crossed his arms as he was giving the man in front of him a blank stare. Though with a never-ending scowl present on his face, it was hard to tell if it was placid at all.
The man had on a scaly cap over his head, with him wearing a sporty tank top with a sea cucumber pattern on it. He sported long shorts with the same design, with red mirrored sunglasses.
"Mmm!" The 'patron' sitting across from Nanu gave a muffled sound. He lurched forward when he swallowed the remaining green malasada in front of him. "Geez, you weren't kidding. The malasadas here are bitter. Thank you for the treat, Kahuna."
Nanu snorted. "You, if you got any cornier, I would have given a medal to whomever wrote your playacting script. It sounds like they knew just what to say."
He leaned back in his seat. "Really? I thought I was playing the part well. Then again, it has been a while since I've gone incognito."
"You think? And here I thought I'd be getting rusty after I retired. Looks like you fell apart without me." He smirked maliciously. "Guess that's what happens when ten years gets by ya, eh Looker?"
"I thought we'd agree to keep this discrete." Looker reprimanded. "You don't know who's listening in on us."
Nanu shrugged. "Meh, us out here in Alola are fairly laxed. You learn to be out in the sun long enough that even your skin starts to turn tan." He looked at his own forearm. "Shame mine didn't."
Looker lowered his head, sighing heavily. "You know, Nanu, things haven't been the same since you went and retired. Things with the International Police has changed quite a bit since you've decided to stay here. Matters without one of our elite have left a few cases to go unhinged."
"Hey, I'm not irreplaceable. I'm human. They should have just found someone else to take the spot as soon as I left." He slouched back further. "Besides, after all this time, I should have figured you'd be an elite as well."
"I am now because of your teachings. You've taught me everything I need to know." He took another bite of the bitter malasada, causing him to cringe slightly. "Bleck! How do you like this stuff?"
Nanu nonchalantly shrugged again. "Meh, it's an acquired taste." He looked around, seeing if anybody else was in the shop. As soon as he saw a patron leave, it was just him and Looker. His expression turned serious.
"So…I take it you didn't come all the way to Alola just to catch up, didn't you?"
Looker swallowed and repressed a gag. He looked back at Nanu with a serious expression finally setting in. "…I got a call from your Aether Paradise. Miss Lusamine was the tip."
"That gal? What's she got to do with this?"
Looker reached into his bag, scrounging around until he felt what seemed to be newspaper. He pulled out several articles and laid them out before Nanu. Many of them were about the earlier prints of the incidents that happened on Melemele and Ula'Ula "Do these seem familiar to you? I think this says it all."
Nanu looked down at the many articles, seemingly unfazed by them. "Yeah, sure rings a bell in there. I saw them on the news when they happened. I keep my TV on at least. I'm not that lazy like our island guardian."
"And you didn't go to investigate?" Looker's glare hardened, enough to make Nanu feel challenged. "You're an International Policeman, aren't you? Don't you think that you should have at least given us the tip instead of letting someone else phone us instead?"
"You're sounding just like Acerola, you know that? I get nagged enough because of her. Can't a man just be in peace around here for once?" He saw Looker's serious gaze and sighed as rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I get it, alright? But it's like I said, I'm not an International Policeman anymore. I have a different duty now. If the world were at stake, then I'd consider giving you a call. But you know only Ultra Beasts appear here in Alola."
"And yet why am I here then? If you're the Kahuna as you say, then shouldn't you be solving this problem by now?"
Nanu sighed. He could tell that Looker wasn't letting this slide. While he did understand his position, he wasn't feeling like going over the top to explain to him the differences between a Kahuna and an International Policeman. That was a different case itself, and this discussion had its own personal qualms itself that he didn't want part of.
"Look, how should I put this without being too lengthy…let's just say, something screwy happened that caused our guardians to get so warped. Normally, they sense a beast and they do cleanup."
Looker folded his arms. "Okay, but if that's the case, what's the point of a Kahuna if they do the part themselves?"
"Beats me. We're just in charge of heading to their ruins when necessary and picking new Trial Captains for our trial-goers. I had to pick Acerola because it keeps her off my case, but then she went and became an Elite Four member."
Looker sat his cheek on his knuckles. "So you're saying something else is interfering with the island guardians' duties, is that what you're saying?"
"Yeah, possibly. But all we have to go on are these incidents and the victims."
The doorbell chimed, immediately silencing Looker's rebuttal when a Slurpuff pranced in, merrily licking her own lips. "(Mm, mmmmm! I smell sweets~!)" She saw red and green malasadas behind the glass, making her mouth salivate sticky saliva.
"Slurpuff, what did I tell you about running up to sweets?!" A stern voice immediately froze Slurpuff in her place. Walking through the door was Erza. "You know not to go off like that. The next time this happens, no sweets for the rest of this vacation!"
Slurpuff gulped. "(S-sorry…)"
"I'm sorry about that." Erza apologized to the clerk. "We'll take one bitter malasada, and one spicy malasada. Both to go."
"That's no problem." The female clerk insisted, putting in the order. "That's going to be 400 Pokedollars please."
Erza reached into her handbag and pulled out the exact amount. She handed it to the cashier, who accepted it and went to pick up plastic grabbers and pulled out the trays. She picked up the bitter one first, then the spicy one. She folded the top of the paper bag they were put in and handed it to Erza.
"There you are! Thank you and have a nice day!" she chimed.
"Thank you. Come, Slurpuff." Erza turned, reaching into the bag immediately to pull out the bitter malasada first. Slurpuff was on pins and needles in a tiny dance until she officially got it. With a gleeful smile, she bit into it and waddled beside Erza out the shop, where Nic waited.
"Got what you needed?" Nic asked.
"Sure did. Now, let's find that library, shall we?" She turned and walked ahead, with Nic paddling beside her.
Looker and Nanu were keeping an eye on them until they were certain that they were gone. After a few seconds, the former glared back at him. "Did you see who that was?"
"Can't say that I care." Nanu shrugged.
"That was Nic Pularis out there. Are you familiar with what happened two years ago? The night of the Dark Legendaries?"
Nanu's eyes slightly widened. He started showing real interest when his own skin started crawling. And that almost never happened. "…yeah, why's that?"
"What's he doing here in Alola? This calls for a change of pace…" He got up and put all the articles back into his bag. "So, are you coming, Island Kahuna?"
Nanu sighed. "As if I had a choice anyway." He stood up as Looker left the shop doors. He sauntered behind with a less than amused frown. 'Why do I always get dragged into these kinds of messes?'
Erza found herself with Slurpuff, the two munching on two malasadas. "Mmm…this is pretty spicy." Erza noted. "What about yours, Slurpuff?"
The meringue was eating her sweet as her feet paddled behind. However, her expression was rather bland, as a bitter taste was left in her mouth. "(Bleck…a little too bitter for my liking.)" She shot Erza's malasada a glance. "(Eh, did you say that one was spicy…? Sweet and spicy doesn't sound so bad I guess. Um…I wouldn't suppose that you could spare a piece…?)" She wiggled out a stubby limb towards Erza's waist, a signal that the knight understood.
Sighing heavily, Erza gave the rest of her malasada to her fellow sweet-lover. "Here. Hopefully you think it's better than what I think."
Immediately, Slurpuff's attitude brightened. "(I love you, Erza! You're the best Trainer ever!)" She hastily grabbed the half-eaten malasada and chomped it in one go. "(Mmmm…this is definitely better than that bitter tasting one. It's not sweet, but it's pretty ho…ho-ho-HOT!)" She opened her mouth, showing her panting tongue and gagging. "(GAH! TOO SPICY! TOO SPICY! AAAAHH!)"
Erza watched Slurpuff gag, sighing heavily. "Good grief…" She nonchalantly pulled out a Fresh Water from her bag that she had at her side and held it out over the panting meringue. She lightly poured into her mouth as they walked, not minding the steam that exaggerated from Slurpuff's mouth. "So, Nic, where does the map say the library is at?"
"Let's see…" Nic looked down at the layout of Malie City as they kept their path northward. "It says it should be up this road past the Kantonian Gym…" He raised a brow. "Huh, they actually have Gyms here? That's a surprise."
"We'll have to check that out some other time then. I'm sure it'll be a collective experience." Erza prompted. "I think I can see it coming up now."
Nic and Erza looked up and saw a two-story building coming up straight in their way. The exterior design of the building was as big as any public library, if not bigger. Vertical windows were evenly spaced apart from each other to show the many shelves and patrons already inside. With the sun rising behind it, the light beaming around it gave a questionable heavenly vibe. What gave it away especially was the large sign of an open book over the entrance.
"This is the library?" Erza looked down at the map Nic had and back up. "It's not as big as I thought…shameful to the library back in Fiore."
"Probably." Truth be told, Nic hardly went to the Magical Library. In fact, libraries in general; he wasn't a sit down and read kind of guy, but he'd rather agree than out up any kind of fuss. "Guess we better see what's inside, huh?"
Erza nodded before turning towards Slurpuff. "Make sure you behave, alright?" Slurpuff nodded and followed her inside. Nic made sure to get the door for her as she passed through. When she got in, her impression of the place seemed to have change a bit.
Inside, there were several patrons that were checking out books at the desk on the far left, which was consulted by a single woman. The first floor had tan tiling that complimented the bright lighting coming from the windows outside, as well as the sunlamp chandeliers that hung overhead. Green cushions were reserved for numerous stools, where brown tables were evenly spread for people to read.
"This…doesn't seem as bad on the inside." Erza admitted, scouting the bookshelves across the building. "I wonder where we should start?"
Nic looked to the second floor up the flight of stairs. "Guess we should look around. It's not a big library, so maybe we're bound to find something that's favorable."
"Alright. I'll look down here. You can go check up there." Nic looked at her and nodded. He went up towards the second floor, leaving Erza to oversee the shelves on the lower floor with Slurpuff. She sighed. "Well, guess we should see what they have. If you see anything, smell it out."
"(Can do!)" Slurpuff slurred.
They walked towards the shelving that stood off to the left-hand end of the area. There were several rows of hardcover textbooks that covered the walls. Some were hundreds of pages thick, while others were more modest. Erza's eyes scouted out any titles that appealed to her.
"What's this?" She reached for the book, reading its title name. "'Biography of the Alolan Grimer'?" Though it had nothing to do with their objective, curiosity won in the end. She flipped open a page, revealing a black and white picture of what was supposedly a standard Grimer. "So they were immigrated to help in the waste on Alola, huh? I had no idea these Pokémon were imported…"
She put the book back and scouted across the many other titles out there. She was amazed at the variety of books that were enlisted in the library. Ranging from materials such as "The History of Malie City", and "The Life of a Butterfree". A few other titles stuck out, but she was still scrolling to see if anything in particular caught her eye.
"I wonder if they have anything with swords or knights…?" She skimmed through the index via alphabetical order. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her calf. "What is it, Slurpuff?"
"(I found something you might like!"
Looking down at her, Erza's eyes almost immediately popped open when she saw a bright pink book with a picture of a variety of malasadas on them. They came in several colorations that looked like a rainbow. But what got her attention was the lettering in bold yellow font that read: "Malasadas".
Blinking once, she looked left and right to see if anyone was watching. Once the coast was clear, she kneeled to Slurpuff's height as they opened a page. "Maybe just a little peak wouldn't hurt…"
"(Uh-huh…)" As she looked at the process of the batter, her tongue started getting sticky.
"Slurpuff, you drool on these pages, you'll be asking for it."
…
Nic sauntered about, looking upon rows upon rows of fine Alolan literature. Some of the hardcovers had some appeal to them, but nothing in particular that was catching his eye. He wouldn't call himself book smart, but spending ages in writing- though he had an affinity for the fine arts – wasn't part of his full-time practices.
As he paneled his head around at the many textbooks that were scattered, he didn't know where to begin. 'Maybe we're not looking in the right place. If we're looking for anything on the Z-Moves and why they're only in Alola…' His glanced shifted towards the right wall. 'Then maybe we should start from the beginning.'
His attention drew towards the label on the long wall that was marked 'History'. He went over and gazed at the long selection of books that were available to him. So many with a lot of names involved. Some of them looked old, but compared to quite a few libraries out there, these all looked well preserved.
His eyes shifted towards what looked like a red book, with a gold print on the side. Immediately that caught his interests. With it standing out, he furrowed his brow. His fingers gripped it and pulled it out between two heavier books.
'What do we have here?' He looked at the title, with it having a familiar golden bold lettering along the front. "The Light of Alola". 'Light…? Guess it's worth scoping at least.'
He went over to one of the large tables close by and sat on one of the cushioned seats available. He took a short breath and opened the first page to see the date. He had to hold back his shock from how long ago the date was.
'Hopefully it's not too out of context…'
Snips were heard every few seconds. With every snip, very small follicles of blonde hair drifted to the ground around Sophie's feet. She sat in front of a full-scale mirror with a cloth tied around her neck that caught more and more of her hair with each snip that Jory took off.
"Let's see…a little off over here…" Joey held one of Sophie's bangs between two fingers, snipping off the edges. "And, now over here…" He moved the lock between his opposite hand's fingers and gingerly snipped more of the edging off.
"Joey…" Sophie lightly muttered, trying not to be too sudden so that he didn't accidentally poke her in the eye. "I know this may sound a little rude, but, how did you of all people learn to cut and style hair?"
"Heh, that's a story in itself." He glided over Sophie's head of hair, seeing any uneven trims that he may have missed. "My mom's the top fashion designer in all of Lumiose City back in my world. You want the fashion police, just call her."
"Oh, I see…that does sound like something with standards." She watched as another snip made a portion of a lock fall and slide down her black cloth.
"Oh, girl, trust me, that woman knows how to drill style into you. She even made me wear women's clothing for sizes and measuring reasons. This one time, on Halloween, I actually went as a Trash Cloak Wormadam cosplay. I really didn't get why I got looks, at least until I got older."
"Is that like a feminine Pokémon I take it? That must have been embarrassing. I'm not sure whether I should laugh with you or feel sorry."
Joey dismissively waved her off. "Pfft, it's whatever. It's really become a hobby now that I'm 18. And she even made me wear wigs that she would style. Guess you can say I picked up a thing or two from the higher branch hanging over my head."
"But I thought Lucy had a Celestial Spirit that does this?" Sophie questioned.
"Eh, she probably does. But I…" Joey beamed his chest out as he twirled the scissors around his index finger. "…I have my own style of doing things. You wanna look stunning, girl, you've gotta take pointers from ole' Captain Joey himself! Now hold still."
"Whatever you say, Captain." Sophie teased, before Joey gingerly snipped a portion of the lock that was covering the bridge of her nose. She was actually impressed with how gentle and accurate Joey was being with the cuts. It was like being cared by an actual cosmetologist.
Dereece came in with a box of hair care products. "Got the stuff you asked for, Captain."
"Alright, thanks Dereece." Joey reached for one of the spray cans inside the box. He pulled out what looked like a can of volumizer with a picture of a model with bright blonde hair that was silky and glossy. "Here we are…" He started shaking the can and aimed at Sophie's long hair. He started spraying, immediately coating her with a gloss to thicken it up.
In a need to change subjects, Sophie spoke up again. "So does Dereece go everywhere with you?"
"Of course. I don't go nowhere except anywhere with my wingman. Otherwise I'd be pretty much flightless." Joey chimed.
"Yeah, he's speaking facts alright. But trust me, this guy knows how to throw your day off." Dereece commented, pointing a thumb to Joey.
"Yeah, we've been bros since we were born. I still remember when we first met. We even wore the same underwear when we were five. If that doesn't show how tight we are, I don't know what will."
Sophie blinked. "I…don't think I needed to know that…but it's good to see that you have a dear friend by your side, Joey." She realized something else. "What about the other one? What was his name again…?"
"You mean Duncan, right?" Dereece answered. "Yeah, he's not here. Knowing him, he's probably off training somewhere else. He's not very friendly, but at least he's cooperative…at least he's starting to be…"
Sophie started catching onto Dereece's notion. "So he wasn't very close? That's a shame…"
"Yeah, he's pretty cold like an Ice-type at first, but honestly, in some way, he means well. And he actually knows his stuff." Joey replied. "To be honest. I don't think I wouldn't be as responsible if it wasn't for him laying it out then and there. He's pretty up front about pointing out people's flaws." He raised a brow. "Hm? What got you invested in him? You spoke to him or something?"
Sophie shifted her gaze away from the spray running along her left side. "No…I just pass by him. I haven't had much of a chance to make conversations with him like I can with you. I was just curious if he's as docile as you. He didn't seem like the one to make small conversations."
Joey and Dereece looked at each other in suspicion. They didn't know why Duncan was the most aloof of them all, but they were able to rely on his experience on a number of occasions. He was no novice, that was a given.
"It's like…when I pass by him, there's this odd tension between us. I'm not sure if it has to do with him personally, or if it's something that I did before my memories were…" She trailed off into an awkward silence.
Joey shifted her long hair and leaned into her. "Sophie, I'm sure it wasn't your fault. Don't worry about it. Remember, you don't owe anyone anything." He stopped spraying through her hair and stepped away to let it air out. "There, nice and stunning. Anyways, even if something did happen between you two, I don't think it's in Duncan's nature to put it against you."
"He's right, just give him a little time. I'm sure he'll say something." Dereece said.
Sophie lowered her head and smiled sincerely. "I truly am blessed to be here now." She turned towards Joey. "Thank you, Joey. for being such a good friend. You, Dereece, and Vanessa. That goes for Kadabra and my other Pokémon, too. I don't know where I would be without all of you."
Joey gave her a flashy wink. "Hey, that's what friends are for, right? Friends party until they drop…and then Dereece picks me up and I wake up with a splitting headache." Dereece eyerolled with a long sigh. Joey bumped his shoulder into his bicep. "Ah, don't be like that, Dereece. You love it."
Dereece shook his head. "Well, someone's gotta keep an eye on you. Arceus knows how dangerous you are unattended."
Sophie looked at herself in the mirror, admiring Joey's craftsmanship. Her hair was barely hinted at a change in length, aside, from trimming along a few inches of her bangs on either side. She went to move one of her locks when she felt her hair silky smooth with a cool sensation running from it. 'How, Joey really does know what hair care to use.' She saw him head over to a sink and start the water, while Dereece reached for a bottle to hand over. She watched Joey squeeze it into the warm sink water.
When she looked over at Dereece, she saw that despite the way that he sighed and looked unsatisfied, he still followed Joey no matter where they were. She was starting to grow envious of such loyalty towards a friend. 'Vanessa…' She then remembered what Vanessa warned her of last night. 'I'll be sure to keep them close this time. They watch each other's backs. So I should do the same.'
Joey stepped back from the sink, seeing the suds filling up the hair wash. "Alright, this'll finalize that gloss." He turned towards Sophie. "Alright, right over here, Sophie."
"Alright." Before she stepped towards the sink, she gave him a serious look. "Joey, Dereece, listen…"
"What's wrong?" Dereece asked.
"There's something I should warned you about. It's about what Vanessa told me about Shiin…"
Nic was scrutinizing the index of the book and jumped page after page. He was reading where the information started, but his furrowed brow remained unchanged.
"Nic, did you find anything?"
Hearing the sounds of footsteps, Nic looked up and saw Erza, with her Slurpuff promptly in tow. He looked back down at the book before turning another page. "Not much so far. Just got a starting point going."
Erza looked at Nic skimming over texts with a smile at the corner of her lips. "Looks like you've gotten better like than what we did." She shot a look at Slurpuff, whose tongue moved to the other side of her mouth. She had no guilt over reading all about malasadas. The boo itself had a few recipes on how to make some from scratch. Erza definitely would have wanted to get it if it wasn't for the objective at hand. She would have to push that to the back of her mind for the time being until a better time made its roundabout.
Nic turned yet another page, but it was mainly long paragraphs. Just reading the small print was enough to make him squint. When he turned the page again, he finally came across something that piqued his interests in an instant.
His eyes slightly widened when he saw the next page over having some form of mural artwork. It showed a picture of what looks like the moon, and within its diameter was a creature that looked all too familiar to Nic. Its wings were in the shape of the full moon, radiating down through Alola's twinkling night sky.
'That Pokémon…' He thought about his battle in Glacidia, when he fell into the Moon Drip. 'Is that really the same one?'
Noticing Nic scrutinizing the picture, Erza walked around to his side. "Did you find something?"
"Take a look at this. Doesn't this look familiar to you?" He shifted the book closer towards Erza as she leaned over his shoulder. When she saw the page, she also had a case of déjà vu in mind.
"What is that? A Pokémon?"
"Looks like it. But somehow…I know that I became this one before. Doesn't that seem like it?"
Erza thought about the numerous Legendary Pokémon that Nic had become over the many courses taken since she's known him. It was only recently that he became something that was unfamiliar to her. Her eyes widened when realization dawned. "You're talking about the Moon Drip incident, aren't you?" She looked down at the picture. "What was that called you were?"
"Lunala…" he muttered low. His mind thought back to when the moon was full and felt that power. 'Don't tell me, is that Pokémon tied to all of this?'
"What else does it say?" Erza asked.
"Let me see…" Nic glanced at the picture once more, making sure to keep that as a mental picture in his mind. He looked at the next page over, seeing at the top, there was a passage in quotes. He read them aloud.
"The empty sky broke asunder, a hole appearing where had been none.
A single beast appeared from in it: it was named the beast that calls the moon.
The king of Alola bowed before it: the beast that stole all heavens' light.
The island guardians fought against it, but in the end they lost the fight."
"Island guardians?" Erza parroted. "Then do you think they're talking about…"
Nic furrowed his brow. He had a very vague feeling of whom the passage meant. Another chill ran up his spine as he kept reading.
"The did the beast that brings the dark cast its pall on the line of kings.
So would the beast that had won mark the path for such finished things.
Beast of sun and beast of moon.
Their union, they brought new life.
A fragile heir in Alola born that island guardians would keep from strife.
The ancient kings sang their thanks for Lunala with song of flute.
Two tones rang out across the altar – a perfect pair, even after mute."
With the rest of the passage read aloud, Nic crossed his arms and frowned. "So I guess it really was Lunala…" He looked back at the picture on the neighboring page. He saw the picture of Lunala, along with what looked like four spirits beneath at its mercy. 'So was there bad blood between the Legendary Pokémon and the island guardians in the past?' His eyes widened. 'Wait, I can become Lunala…do they sense that part of me and immediately grew active?'
"What else does it say about the Tapus and Lunala?" Erza asked.
Nic glanced down at the text following the long quote. "Let's see…"
"Excuse me…" Before Nic went back to reading some more, he felt footsteps getting too close for his own good. His guard up, both he and Erza looked up to see two unknown, middle-aged men approaching them. The one looked a lot like a tourist no doubt, and the other was pale with red eyes.
Erza blinked. "Hm? Yes, is there something wrong?"
Slurpuff coincidentally smelled the air of these two. Her nose picked up an unfamiliar scent. Nothing that isn't human, but her own suspicions left her to wrinkle her nose. Nic looked down at her and furrowed his brow. 'Something's off about this.' For good measure, he shot a glance at the book's page number and closed it. Out of sight, out of mind as they say.
Looker stepped forward first. "Pardon me, both of you. But are you perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Pularis?"
Upon recognizing their own surname, Erza grew wary. She furrowed her brow further. "Yes, but who's asking?"
Looker reached into his handbag, pulling out a black leathered wallet that flipped to show a golden badge with a logo with the letters I and P together. "My name is Looker, and this is the Island Kahuna, Nanu." He gestured towards Nanu, who shrugged his shoulders. "We're part of the International Police."
Erza's eyes slightly widened. 'The International Police? What are they doing here?'
Nic gave them a firm glare as he crossed his arms.
"I assure you both, you're not in any kind of trouble. I just need to have a few words with you." The way Looker was saying it with heavy eye contact on Nic didn't allow any levity for them to say otherwise. They both watched as Looker and Nanu took the two seats across from them. The four sat themselves down and looked each other in the eye. An awkward tension settled into the library as they all waited for what the other would say.
The first to break this stalemate was Nic. "So…you're with the International Police?" He raised a brow, scanning Looker's disguise from top to bottom.
"Oh, this?" He pulled on his top's fabric. "This is just so folks wouldn't know of my identity. It's a habit that helps me in my detective duties."
"Right…" He wanted to say something about the way he dressed up for the occasion. He probably should, but he chose to hold back on the possibly rude sentiment.
"Heh, judging by the way the kid's looking, he's thinking you could use a few tips on how to dress." Nanu snickered. "Told ya."
Erza cleared her throat and intervened. "So anyways, Detective Looker. You came to us to discuss something?"
"Oh yes, that's right." Looker hunched over the counter, giving them both a serious look. "Actually, the matter has to address with you, Nic Pularis. We've been looking into the past incidents with you and your abilities. Suffice to say…you've left much of the International Police at a loss for words. We've never gotten any reports or any past incidents with humans with the power of Pokémon."
Nic crossed his arms. "Just get to the point."
Looker gave him a leer back. "If you insist. First of all, we thank you for what you have done for all of us. And thank you for thwarting the likes of Team Flare from ten years ago, along with stopping Lysandre and the threat that was Acnologia. You have done the world a valiant service indeed." He frowned. "But, that being said, I have to ask you. You live on Earthland, do you not? Exactly, what are you doing here in Alola?"
"Well, actually…" He looked at Erza, then back at Looker. "My wife and I are here on our honeymoon. We've been working on Earthland to get Pokémon situated in a lot of places, so we haven't found a good time to settle for a vacation until recently."
Nanu cocked a brow. "Honeymoon, huh? Heh, well make sure while it lasts, kid. Because the more you grow older, the more she'll be on your back." He noticed a glare from Looker. "Hey, just saying."
Looker sighed and looked back at them. "A honeymoon, I see. In that case, sorry to bother you two. But can I ask you both something really quick?" He reached into his bag, pulling out folded news articles that he laid out before Nic and Erza.
They looked down, scanning the reports of the Ula'Ula incident involving two Aether Foundation workers that were seen in black gunk being taken to an ambulance. They had to hold back their shock due to how closely they might be observed.
'Black gunk…'
'Just like what was described on Brandish, and that woman we saw on Melemele.' Erza thought, remembering her and Nic's battle against the parasite infesting the tourist.
"This was taken early yesterday morning, a few hours before sunrise. Tell me, where were you both when that incident happened?" Looker asked.
There was a slight hint of accusation underneath his tone. That was the first thing that Nic and Erza accounted for. They had to be careful with how to word what they said next, let alone what to say. They'd rather not say too much because that would blow their own cover. They were already trying to cover up their tracks from the past few days. They needed as much space as they could.
"Yesterday morning, you said?" Erza repeated, giving Nic a look. "We were still asleep at the time on Melemele Island, weren't we?"
Nic nodded. "Yeah, we were."
"Melemele, I see…" Looker didn't bat an eyelash as he pulled out another article. This one showed the article of a man with a bandaged shoulder, with a cropped-in frame of a woman that was attached the breathing machines and equipment attached to her head. "Then I don't suppose this may ring any bells either, right? This happened the day before."
Nic and Erza looked at the article, almost immediately recognizing the two tourists. Again, they had to mask their surprise, but the evidence was starting to pile up about the parasite's mayhem.
"These tourists were named Jason and Cecilia. They were attacked by an Ultra Beast the day beforehand. If you were at a hotel at the time, that's to say that you were on the island on that same day, were you not?"
"I'm sorry…did you say 'Ultra Beast'?" Erza repeated, the term not ringing any bells.
"(Bleck, doesn't even sound sweet.)" Slurpuff scowled.
"Yes, exactly. Ultra Beasts." Looker nodded. "I presume that you might have never heard about them before, haven't you?" He saw the conspicuous looks they shared, answering his question. "Well now, how should I out this…?"
"Basically, they're Pokémon from different dimensions." Nanu cut him off casually, earning surprised looks from the others. "Look, I'll keep it simple. For some reason, Alola gets a lot of these things coming through Ultra Wormholes. They're what brings those things here and drive the island guardians in a fritz."
"Pokémon from other dimensions…" Nic found himself heavily skeptical about the matter at hand. Immediately, the first thing that came to mind was Edolas and his version's Pokémon. But considering how the parasite didn't look anything earthly, he dismissed that theory in an instant.
Looker took the articles away. "I had a hunch, that perhaps it was from Earthland and it may have crossed over. Hence why I presumed why you were here." He tipped his cap. "But if you weren't aware, my sincerest apologies."
"Don't worry about it. It happens." Nic dismissed. "So basically, you want us to let you know if we come across any Ultra Beasts, is that it?"
"There isn't any definitive proof that it's an Ultra Beast, but if so, we'd really appreciate the cooperation." He stood up, tipping his cap. "I must make my leave. I have a lot of investigating to do in order to capture the culprit and bring justice to all these victims. Thank you for your time."
He got up and started away from them, leaving Nic and Erza to gaze over to Nanu. "What he said." Shrugging, he stood up. "Listen, not saying this as an International Policeman or anything like that, but consider this a little advice as a Kahuna." He turned around, keeping his shoulders slouched as he walked away. "Don't do anything too rash, otherwise you can't be keeping those gazes down for too long. I hate looking people in the eye…remember that. Have fun."
He started for the steps, making his way behind his protégé. Nic and Erza waited until they were gone to turn to each other with less than sedated expressions. "This is going to be a lot harder to cover up if we get caught in the open again." She glanced at Nic. "Nic…"
His brow furrowed, with his glare still fixed on the stairwell that departed the International Police detectives. "At least we learned something new that'll help solve our puzzle." He leaned back in his seat and gazed at the ground. "First Lunala…now these 'Ultra Beasts' and 'Ultra Wormholes'…I don't even want to begin with how they came up such a term for those two things."
Erza crossed her arms. "True. It sounds like something Joey would come up with." She momentarily wondered how he and the rest of the guild were doing. She shook her head and focused again on the subject before digressing any further. "Still, it seems that we should watch ourselves that much further. I think we've got enough from here that we needed, what do you think?"
"Yeah, you're right. If the International Police are focusing on these beasts, that should allow us room to focus on these island guardians and any ties this might have to Z-Moves. We better keep up the pace while we're still ahead." He looked at the spot where the book was originally and slid it back into place. "You still have that map, don't you?"
Erza nodded, pulling out a map from her handbag. "Yes, I was sure to get one when we stopped by the Pokémon Center." She rolled out the map, giving them a pinpointed view of everything the huge island had to offer. She pointed to the desert that was below the vast mountain range. "If the island guardian hasn't caught on, we should go find the ruins somewhere within this desert that's south of us."
"Guess that settles it then. We better try and keep as much distance from the International Police and Kahuna as we can this time." He really didn't want to get into another scuffle with authorities again. It was bad enough he had to wipe Hala and Olivia's memories. Now with the International Police on this case, they needed to solve this matter, and fast.
"In that case, we should get moving while daylight is still fresh."
Nic nodded before he and Erza started down the stairs, with Slurpuff trotting along close behind.
"Wow, Sophie! Your hair looks amazing!"
In the Fairy Tail guild hall, Wendy's compliment was putting Sophie out in the spotlight. She was surrounded by quite a few admirers around the table. She ran her fingers through her long hair, which looked brighter and silkier than what it felt like in the past. "Honestly Wendy, this is nothing, really." She modestly insisted, twirling one of her locks around an index finger.
"What are you talking about, you shouldn't have to act so bashful." Carla chimed, her human form's tail waving to the other side.
"Yeah, she's not wrong." Lucy chimed. "And you're saying that Joey helped you with this?"
Sophie snickered. "Believe me, even I was a little surprised myself." She looked at another lock in her rolling fingers. "But after seeing the results, I can't say anything he did was out of place. He said this volumizer will keep this gloss on for a few days."
Hearing all this, Lucy was starting to get a little jealous. 'Better hope Cancer doesn't get a whiff of this.'
Vanessa was in the middle of drinking freshly squeezed lemonade through a straw when she caught onto something. She turned towards Lucy. "Is Natsu and Happy not here? They're usually around, aren't they?"
"Well, you see, how should I put this…?" Lucy found herself rubbing the back of her head.
"Allow me." Carla interjected, crossing her arms. "Apparently, Natsu was thrown off by yesterday's defeat against Joey. Pretty sure he and Happy went into the woods to train. They said that they'll be here shortly, but we'll see."
"And Gray and Juvia are off on a small job today, too." Lucy sighed. "Man, talk about all dried up. It feels like everyone's busy doing stuff now!" The poor celestial blonde found herself planting her head against the wooden table, clutching her hair with a muffled. "Hmmphf!"
Wendy nervously leaned over, patting her back. "Um…there, there. It's not all that bad."
"She's right. Stop being overdramatic." Carla chastised.
"This is just a suggestion, but why not go on a job? It's what Sophie and I plan on doing for the day." Vanessa advised. She sat the emptied plastic cup of lemonade down on the wooden table, smacking her lips lightly to get any sour residue she might have missed. "It's much more productive than sauntering about, wouldn't you agree?"
Lucy gradually raised her sulking head. "Guess you're right. That heat wave yesterday really caught us off guard."
Sophie smirked. "Sure, blame the heat. Not the humidity."
At the far end of the guild hall, the sight was being overseen by Shiin, as per his usual. He kept his eyes out on the guild hall with deep scrutiny while the others were resuming their daily routines. He noticed Mirajane walking over to take the empty plate away that was his breakfast. "Thank you."
Mirajane offered a warm smile. "It's my pleasure. Did you need anything else?"
"No, not at this time. I'll place my next order when I feel famished. Thank you." He was mentally relieved when Mirajane understood and walked back behind the counter to clean the dirty dish. He glanced back at Sophie and the others conversing with Vanessa and Sophie alike. 'So, Miss Pularis has a preference for sour foods. How unappetizing for such a Trainer's taste.'
As they were talking, well across the other end of the guild hall, Joey was trying to do everything in his power to not flip the table. If it weren't for Dereece holding him back on more than a few occasions, he would have gone and stormed towards Shiin for stalking Vanessa.
'The nerve of that guy. I'd oughta go over there and give him a piece of my mind…' Joey crossed his arms, bitterly gripping his forearms. From the corner of his blue eyes, he could see that Shiin was still looking at Vanessa. It was only when he resumed scanning the room did he and Dereece looked at each other so they didn't give away any hints.
"Remember what Sophie said, Captain Joey." Dereece whispered. "Please, keep your cool."
Joey's fastened grip loosened only a little, but his expression was still serious as he shot a sideways glance. "Yeah, I know that Dereece. Thanks for reminding me." His sarcasm was mild at best.
They both frowned heavily, thinking back to what Sophie spoke to them about earlier.
"Hit the pause right there, Soph'! What?!"
The yelp from Joey did little for the discomfort that settled in. He was so in shock that he almost forgot to turn the warm water off in the faucet. Luckily, Dereece was there to do just that.
"It's true. Vanessa told me herself." Sophie admitted. "After talking with her in the guild hall, she sensed his aura in the market area. She believed that he was stalking him on accounts to some personal information."
"I knew something wasn't right about that guy!" Joey furiously snapped his fingers. "Dereece, didn't I tell you that this guy was up to no good?!"
"You tell me a lot of things, Joey…" Dereece answered, before putting a hand to his chin. "But you know, now that I think about it, didn't Duncan's Gastrodon attack the bushes outback for some reason? If we're really drawing those kinds of conclusions, then…"
Joey leaned back, giving his cohort a raised brow. "Hold the phone there…you think that we might be spied on?" As much as Joey would have loved to laugh off such a claim, he knew he had to take this matter seriously. It wasn't like his personal nitpicks with a certain other Pokémon Trainer that stalks him. Though considering how Kane acts, that possibility wasn't entirely excluded either.
Dereece rubbed the back of his head. "Then again…we might be overthinking this just a little." He turned towards Sophie. "So why are you telling us this?"
Sophie looked down, pivoting her heel side to side. "I just figured…Vanessa is usually so relaxed. She doesn't always have any lingering doubts…at least, that's what I picked up on about her anyways. She wouldn't say such things if they weren't that concerning, wouldn't you think?"
Being a Pularis fanatic himself, Joey was getting a semblance to what Sophie was forewarning him about. He was very much aware of the attributes that Nic and Vanessa had, from head to toe. He knew of Nic's distance from people, to the omelets that he likes to make. Hell, he even remembered he was an artist in his spare time. Vanessa was much livelier a couple years back, but has since mellowed out and matured. He even knew her love of lemons, to even the products she uses for her hair and skin…not that he needed to share any of that with anyone.
With a long sigh, Joey decided to cool his heels. "Okay, okay…fine. Dereece and I will figure something out later, okay? No need to get worked up just yet." He looked towards Sophie. "Still, thank you for telling us, Sophie. I really do appreciate this."
Sophie smiled softly. "I'm just looking out for my friends is all. If anything happened to you because I didn't say anything, I'd hate to be living this life with such guilt, you know?"
Joey cheekily smirked, sliding over and bumping his elbow into her shoulder. "Now you're learning. See? It's not bad leaning on others when you're looking for help. At least that's something that Nic-senpai taught me. Alright…" He went over, tapping his fingernail against the porcelain sink. "Time to apply that volumizer. When I'm done with you, your hair is gonna gloss like it's made of glitter!"
"So Captain, what do we do about Shiin?" Dereece whispered quietly. "We don't exactly have proof that he's really spying on us. And Guild Master Laxus said to leave him his space while he observes. And I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not see the big guy angry."
Joey crossed his arms and looked down at the table. "Yeah, Dereece. Guess you do have a point." He looked up to the lighting above. "He said that he came here to observe Nic-senpai, but he must have gotten something from Vanessa-senpai, too. If he's after us for something too, then we clearly need to keep as much distance from him as we can."
"So what are we gonna do?"
"Well first, we're gonna relocate our usual training spot away from the open. We'll try the East Forest since that has plenty of wild Pokémon we can battle against. Plus, it's much more versatile and less open than the plains and the mountains."
"Okay…but what if he tries to question us directly? What do we say?"
"Relax, okay? I'm getting there." Joey replied. He took a deep breath out his mouth before resuming. "He was stalking Vanessa when she was alone in the market, right? We'll be sure to keep ourselves together at all times. That goes for Duncan, too. No one is allowed any distance unless it's for an emergency."
"Okay, got it." Dereece nodded. "So how should we start? Should we go on a job?"
Joey leaned back in his seat, resting his right arm against the chair's top. "Yeah, we'll round up Duncan. We'll see about taking more time to train and do work, that way it'll put our interactions with Shiin to an absolute minimum. And Sophie said that if he asks anymore questions with Vanessa, she'll let us know."
"Okay, so I guess we go find Duncan, right? I'm pretty sure he said that he went out to train and then run a quick errand."
"Alright." Joey stood up. "Let's grab some donuts along the way and then meet up with him for a job. Now's the time to get snappy!"
Suddenly, the guild hall's saloon doors kicked wide open. Nearly everyone turned towards the front as Natsu appeared with a deep breath. "Joey! You hear?! I'm ready for my rematch, ya jerk!"
Running up behind, panting and out of breath, Charmeleon hunched over and breathed heavily. "Heh…heh…geez, Natsu…my legs are stronger than when I was a Charmander, but…" He held back the urge to gag. "Give me a minute…"
"Natsu?!" Lucy yelped. "Where have you been all morning?!"
Natsu continued beaming with a smirk. "Heh, sorry about that, Lucy. I was surprised yesterday was all. But don't worry, Charmeleon's back up to speed so we can have another go-around." His eyes darted towards Joey. "Heh, talk about good timing! I knew I smelled ya here! So Joey, wanna accept my rematch?"
Joey was taken back at first, but he quickly remembered the rules of two Trainers' eyes meeting. "Well, guess I can't say no now, can't I?" He replied. "But how about this: Let's make this a double battle this time! Oh Dereece~!" He sang.
Groaning, Dereece sauntered to his side. "Here we go, I guess…"
Natsu raised a brow. "Huh? You wanna change it up like that, huh? In that case…" He shifted his glance at Lucy. "Lucy, wanna battle?"
The blonde blinked in earnest shock. "Really? Uh…sure. I guess it beats sitting around, huh?"
Sophie stepped up between them. "Mind if I referee for this battle?"
"Sure, why not?" Natsu shrugged, turning towards the two members of The Freaks. "You guys ready over there?!"
"Dereece…" Joey turned towards his teammate with a battle-serious expression. "You ready?"
Dereece nodded. "Count on it."
"Oh yeah! This is gonna be manly for sure!" Elfman declared.
Gajeel snickered. "Sucks Juvia and ole shirtless ain't here. Ah well." He got up with Pantherlily, the two warriors heading out to see the battle.
"Deal me in! I wanna bet my money on Joey again!" Cana shouted.
Liepard lazily followed behind, her tail drooping. "Honestly, you can be so one-track minded sometimes…"
As much of the guild was filing outwards, Vanessa looked over to see that Shiin was getting up as well. His stoic expression didn't change, even as he walked past Vanessa. The Aura Mage kept her eyes fixed on Shiin as thoughts of yesterday surfaced. She felt better after talking with Sophie, so she decided to not pry any further.
'Suppose this might be entertaining to see how far Joey has gotten.' The thought musing her mind, she grinned lightly as she followed her guildmates outside.
Looker and Nanu continued roaming through Malie City, both taking nothing more than a leisurely stroll down south. The sun was coming up just a little more, and that meant even more people were coming out. With daylight brimming closer towards the east, it was starting to pick up in the heat, just enough to make Looker wish that he bought some sunscreen earlier.
"Well, I suppose this is where we part ways for now it seems." He frowned, turning towards Nanu. "So, what are you going to be doing?"
Nanu turned and gave a small shrug. "Beats me. Just plan of heading back home." He reached into his pockets and pulled out a Ride Pager to call for a Pager Charizard.
Looker nodded in understanding. "I understand. Still, if there's any inclinations to any Ultra Beast sightings you might know, I would really appreciate it."
"I'll keep that in mind." He turned away. "Though if you want any leads, you should try Route 10. That's where the crime scene happened, apparently. That's just what I know. For all I know, Tapu Bulu would have stopped them at this point. But if not, well, we'll know if we see one."
Looker gave him an empathetic frown. "You've really mellowed out, haven't you? I don't suppose that you still blame yourself for what happened, didn't you?"
Nanu closed his eyes. There was a stale tension in the air that Looker immediately felt. The corners of his mouth frowned a little further. "…the mission came first, that's what's most important. What happened, happened. I'm sure I taught you that."
"No, I didn't forget." Looker frowned. "But still, it could have ended differently for her."
"You don't have to tell me twice. It's just part of the work." He looked up at the rolling clouds above. "It's just part of life. Sometimes we're given choices, and sometimes some of us just aren't lucky enough to get those choices. I wasn't asked to be Kahuna, yet the guardian decided to pass the torch to me." He nonchalantly shrugged. "But hey, beats having to worry about being an Elite Four. That's enough even for someone like me to handle."
"Well, I most certainly can't fault you there. Suppose this is for the best." Looker felt something vibrate in his pocket, making him reach into his pocket to see his smartphone having a call. "Huh? It's from Lusamine."
"What does she want?" Nanu questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Curious of his own accord, Looker tapped the green button and put the phone to his ear. "Yes, Miss Lusamine? How may I be of assistance?" A voice was heard on the other line, one that he seemingly listened to. "Is that so?" His eyes widened as the voice went on. "Yes, I'm on Malie Island. I was greeted by Kahuna Nanu…I understand."
"Hm?" Though it wasn't entirely his business, Nanu was starting to get somewhat intrigued.
"…of course, we'll inform you if we find anything related to the energy readings. Thank you for the notice." He tapped the phone, ending the call.
"Was that Lusamine I take it? What was that about?"
Looker looked directly at Nanu as he put his phone away. "That was indeed Lusamine. She called me to let me know of some very interesting details that just came up."
Nanu slouched his shoulders. He had a feeling that he had to hear it, whether he wanted to or not.
"I was informed that Miss Burnet of the Dimensional Research Lab had just sent data regarding the spatial energy that she's been graphing. There was a sizeable reading on Akala Island as of yesterday that started immigrating over here towards Ula'Ula."
"A moving spatial energy? Huh, that's new to me."
Looker put a hand to his chin. "This shouldn't be possible…unless…" His eyes slowly widened. He looked back to the Malie Library. An idea was springing to his mind at what might be the possible case. 'Could it be that…'
Nanu saw the focused look that his cohort had. He recognized the look all too well. Even beneath those shabby shades, he knew something of a hypothesis was formulating inside hos brain., and he knew that it wasn't that easy to stop. "Just don't overdo it, alright?" A howl from above caught his attention. He looked up as his Pager Charizard had arrived and lowered to the ground. He mounted his back and strapped himself in.
"I'll be careful, Nanu. Thank you for showing me around. If I get any inclinations, you'll be the first to know." Looker replied.
"Yeah, sure. I've got nothing better to do for my day." Nanu's sarcasm was as deep as the ocean floor itself. "Route 17 police station."
"(Roger that! Hang on!)" Charizard spread his wings, adjusting for his weight before giving a large flap, propelling himself and his rider into the air towards west.
Nanu couldn't help but see him off with a frown. He wanted to see if he would be inclined to help, but it wasn't in his obligations anymore. He had to respect that. "Right…guess I might as well go with what leads I might have."
The sound of doors opening brought his attention. Upon instinct, he shifted behind the walls of a nearby building. He peeked over, seeing Nic and Erza dart out and head down the street that took them to Route 11. His instincts were telling him something was up, and whatever the case may be, somehow, in some way, it had to do with the abnormal human.
'This spatial trail can't be a coincidence. He was on Melemele Island yesterday morning when that happened…unless something covered its tracks. I better take the path towards Route 10 just to be sure.'
Heading west, Looker started for his investigation.
Much of the guild that was watching had taken themselves outside the guild hall. They followed the two members of The Freaks with Natsu and Lucy to the battlefield outback. Two combatants took one side while the other occupied the other. They were evenly spread and glared the other side down.
Sophie took a moment to clear her throat. She raised her head and announced for everyone. "This battle between Natsu and Lucy, and Joey and Dereece, will now begin! This will be a double battle, and one trainer each will be allowed to use only one Pokémon. The battle will be over when all of one side's Pokémon are unable to continue."
"Go, guys! Nail them!" Happy cheered.
"Wow, they sure look excited." Wendy commented, looking at Natsu and Charmeleon's heated expressions. She remembered just how shocked Natsu was yesterday when he lost. Today he seemed ready.
"Well given this is between two meatheads and two semi-decent characters, this does seem balanced." Carla chastised. "It all looks fair to me."
Cana smirked as she stood beside her Liepard. "This is gonna be a show."
Vanessa folded her arms as she watched with the rest of her guildmates. She was about to go on a job with Sophie, but she didn't have anything against seeing Joey battle either. More so than that, she was looking at Sophie and noticed how instantaneous she decided to be referee. Whether it was because she felt elated to help Joey or for her to get a better sense of battling up close was up in the air, but she chose to not pry further than what was necessary.
A short distance from her, Shiin was glancing over at Vanessa, seeing her fixated gaze on the battle of mages and Pokémon alike. 'Two of Fairy Tail's superior mages against two Pokémon Trainers with Magic Power.' He narrowed his eyes. 'I have a feeling this may turn out to be a very unbalanced outcome.'
Natsu smirked as he pointed out towards the field. "Alright Charmeleon, go!"
"Yeah!" Jumping out to battle, Charmeleon landed on his heels and spread his arms out evenly. He growled at Joey and Dereece in an act of intimidation.
Lucy grinned. "Well in that case…" She swiped her arm out. "Klefki, you're up!"
"Yippee~!" Klefki chimed happily as she drifted past Lucy towards Charmeleon's side. She twirled in place and grinned brightly. "Don't worry, Lucy! I'll do my best. Now that I have all these keys!" She swayed her curved arms, jingling the many Celestial Keys Lucy had in possession.
"A Fire-type and a Steel/Fairy-type…okay, got it." Joey held up a Poke Ball. "Then this is my pick! Gyarados!"
"Seel!" Dereece threw his Poke Ball as well.
Two capsuled popped open, unleashing energy that summoned Dereece's Seel, right beside a larger energy that erupted into Gyarados, who expelled a loud roar with an intimidating glare on his stand.
"A-aaaaaaaah~?!" Happy was so stunned that his tail fur stood on end. "GAH! GIANT FISH MONSTER!"
Carla looked up, her brown eyes growing small in shock. "Is that really a Pokémon?"
"A Gyarados?" Vanessa unknowingly smirked. "That's most certainly a surprise." Though it genuinely was, she didn't seem all that fazed. 'His Magikarp already evolved. That's impressive.'
"Now that's a manly Pokémon!" Elman shouted, balling his fists.
Levy looked down at a book she had on hand. She was flipping through the pages as Gajeel glanced down at the picture of a Gyarados surrounded by fire and a destroyed city. "Here it is!" She pointed to the description. "Gyarados are dominant Pokémon that are known for their destructive dispositions. There are records of these Pokémon that have been known to go on rampages for days on end. Some were known to have toppled cities in their wake."
Gajeel raised a brow. "Topple cities you say?" He shifted his gaze at Joey. "And it's own by that guy of all people? Something tells me this'll be it's own kind of disaster."
'A Pokémon known for destruction and rampages…I see.' Shiin's eyes glared heavily on the battle about to unfold. He was prepared to pull out his camera again if needed. But with the public beside him, he might get the attention of everyone else if he did. Not to mention Vanessa can sense his aura. For now, he would have to put this into the report.
"Woah! That thing's so big!" Natsu said happily. "Betcha it's strong, too. Hope it is." He balled his fist tight. "Charmeleon, don't hold back! Just remember our training, okay?"
"Right, you too, Klefki! Give it your best shot!" Lucy chimed.
Charmeleon and Klefki braced themselves, as did Seel and Gyarados. The latter gave another growl as a blue aura enveloped both Charmeleon and Klefki. His Intimidate Ability lowered their Attack power.
Seeing both sides ready, Sophie stepped back and chopped the air. "Then…let the battle begin!"
Natsu smirked as he jetted his fist out. "The first move's all ours! Charmeleon, Flame Charge!"
"Right!" The red lizard bent his knees as flames welled around his body. He stamped the ground and promptly shot across the ground towards Gyarados.
"Oh no you don't!" Dereece grunted. "Seel, Aqua Jet!"
"Sure thing!" Like Charmeleon, she swelled her body in a mass of water. "Here we go!" She jettisoned off the ground, speeding in in a jet-like bullet towards Charmeleon.
Both the flaming and aquatic jets streamed into each other. They bulleted to create a powerful explosion of steam on the spot. The humidity instantly escalated through the area, clouding up the midst of the battlefield.
From the center of it, Seel slid away on the remnants of her water jet. The glide was smooth. However, Charmeleon doubled over, slamming hard on his back, much to Natsu's shock as a red aura enveloped his body. "Charmeleon!"
"That looked like it hurt." Cana whistled.
"Remember, Gyarados and Seel are both Water-types, which have a type advantage over Fire-types." Vanessa explained. "Add in Gyarados' Intimidate Ability lowering their physical prowess puts Charmeleon at an even greater risk."
Natsu balled his fists, visibly squinting.
"Then we'll get in there and throw him off!" Lucy shouted. She reached out her arm and swiped it across. "Klefki, use Astonish!" Klefki chimed lightly as she closed in on Seel. A black ghost face with pink eyes and a keyhole smile was projected out towards her.
"Run interference, Gyarados! Tackle!" Joey commanded.
Gyarados reeled himself away before he shot straight ahead for Klefki. His head crest completely dissipated the ghost wave, shocking Klefki enough to leave her open to be struck by the head. She went flying back with a loud yelp and dropped hard.
Lucy gasped in shock. "Klefki!"
"Gnngh…ow." Klefki gradually got up, along with Charmeleon. They both looked at each other, before returning to face their opponents. Now they got the message.
"Okay, time to get serious!" Natsu turned to Lucy. "Lucy, can you cover us?"
The blonde nodded. "Yeah, sure."
Natsu punched forward again. "Charmeleon, keep it going! Flame Charge!" Charmeleon engulfed himself in flames once again, eyeing up Gyarados. With his target picked out, he bolted after him with a faster pace than before.
"We've got this one." Dereece insisted. "Seel, Aqua Jet!" Once again, Seel eyed up Charmeleon's oncoming visage and exploded into a water jet. Once again, she bolted across the battlefield after him.
"Oh man, it's gonna happen again!" Happy warned. "Look out!"
Natsu kept glaring ahead, eyes narrowing. His fists balled tightly. "Now, Lucy!"
"Right! Klefki, use Metal Sound!" She shouted, pointing directly at Seel.
Even from so far back, Klefki's top had turned to solid metal before she jingled her arms, pushing two keys against her key-like top. A cloud clanging soundwave echoed outwards, projecting at speeds much faster than Charmeleon into Seel. Even with the water diluting the sound, the screeching was enough to permeate the water and strain Seel's hearing.
"Gnnngh…garsh! So noisy!"
The sound throwing her off, Charmeleon's eyes narrowed and he suddenly jettisoned into her stomach. The water diffused and the flames made impact, causing a small explosion of embers that caused Seel to slide backwards with an "Oomphf!"
Charmeleon backpedaled with a claw to the ground. Another red aura engulfed his body, making him smirk. This didn't go unnoticed by his peers.
"Seel, you okay?!" Dereece shouted.
Seel shook her head and redoubled her focus. "Yeah, I'm just dandy-woah!" To her shock, Klefki was closing in fast. "So quick!"
"An opening…" Lucy reached her arm out. "Quick Klefki, Draining Kiss!"
Klefki closed the gap between her and Seel, going in for a quick kiss on her cheek. "Come here!"
"Oh no you don't!" Joey barked back. "Gyarados, Waterfall!"
Just as Klefki was about to pucker up for a more than unpleasant kiss on the aquatic mammal, a loud rush of water suddenly got her attention. "Hm, what that-?!" She was caught off guard when a harsh rush of water ploughed her, stopping her dead in her tracks. "Yikes! Cold!"
Gyarados let out a boisterous roar as he tucked in and followed the path he created. He streamed up the waterfall, creating a tidal surge as he blasted into Klefki, sending her screeching painfully overhead. Lucy gaped with horror while Natsu looked shocked. Everyone had a similar reaction as they watched the water dissipate, and Gyarados hovered beside Seel.
The harsh thud of Klefki slamming into the ground left many to cringe. She grunted heavily, laying on the ground covered in bruises and soaked.
"Klefki!" Lucy gasped. She looked up at Gyarados, completely shocked. "What power…has Joey been training that hard, too?"
Gyarados let out a dominant roar, one that got Natsu balling his fists so much that embers were starting to flicker in and out of them. "Now I wanna take that thing down even more. Charmeleon, let's get back in there!"
Charmeleon lifted his claws. "You bet!"
"Flame Charge!"
Once again, Charmeleon shrouded himself in flames. He sped off in a flaming blitz once again, but much faster than before.
'So fast!' Joey's eyes narrowed. 'We can't counter in time!'
Charmeleon closed the gap in Gyarados' face, briefly stopping to tilt his axis and extend a heel. "Take THIS!" He stamped his heel into his head crest, causing an eruption of embers that made him grunt. However, Gyarados was hardly fazed by the power of the attack, even if another red aura indicated a Speed boost once more.
Charmeleon grunted as Gyarados looked more annoyed than above all else. "That actually tickled."
"Bite!" Joey commanded.
"Pull away now!"
Charmeleon's eyes widened for a split second just as Gyarados' fangs glowed and went to bite at him from so close. However, Charmeleon was quick to somersault off the head crest and glide backwards across the ground a safe distance. Gyarados snarled at Charmeleon and vice versa.
"It's gotten faster…it's gotta be those Flame Charge increases." Joey realized.
Happy's eyes widened in realization. "Of course, now I get it!"
"What do you mean, Happy? Explain." Carla insisted.
"The reason why Natsu lost yesterday was because Joey's Palpitoad slowed him down and used long-distance moves. Natsu's Charmeleon's moves involve close-range. So he's been working on a strategy where he could pick up his speed beforehand and evade those powerful attacks for an opening."
Pantherlily raised a brow. "So you mean like a hit-and-run tactic? That's something unexpected even for Natsu."
"But still, it just might prove effective. Charmeleon is fast enough right now. Let's see what they do next."
Charmeleon swayed his tail as Klefki drifted back up. She looked completely drained, but not enough to completely down her just yet. She wanted to get back at them badly for almost hurting her – Lucy's – keys.
"If they're picking up speed, then we'll slow them down!" Joey looked towards Dereece. "Dereece, remember what I did before?"
Blinking, Dereece remembered what Joey had done earlier today. He caught wind and glared ahead. "I think I'm catching on."
Seel braced herself. "I'm ready when you are, up there!"
Gyarados snarled. "Let's do it!"
"Klefki, use Metal Sound!" Lucy shouted. Once again, Klefki brought her keys together against her key top as it turned to metal. A high frequency soundwave went in ripples towards Seel.
"Charmeleon, Dragon Rage!" Natsu commanded. Charmeleon took a deep breath as a blue, spiraling, energy core surfaced on his body. Once enough of a mass was gathered, his mouth widened and expelled a draconic black and blue beam at Gyarados.
Joey flexed his fingers as he reached out towards the field. "Gyarados! Twister!"
"Seel, Icy Wind!" Dereece followed up.
Gyarados glared ahead at the oncoming soundwave and dragon beam just as he whipped his tail. The swing of the tail summoned a tornado that surrounded the tail. He slammed it down on the battlefield and swung it again, projecting it at the attacks. Seel's mouth glowed bright blue as she summoned a cold wind that she blew right into the tornado, giving it a cooler, sparkly visage.
The soundwave and dragon beam both struck the tornado, but the instant they did, they were distorted and diffused around the attack, overpowered in an instant. Natsu and Lucy's eyes widened in utter shock.
"How'd they do that?!" Natsu gasped, with Charmeleon equally as baffled.
Vanessa's eyes slightly widened, coming to an epiphany. "What is it, Vanessa?" Kinana asked.
"I think I understand. Joey is using Twister to block both the attacks at once. On top of that, Dereece's Icy Wind is adding extra wind to that momentum. On top of that, Twister and Icy Wind both hit all the adjacent targets, while inducing flinching as well as a Speed decrease."
"And if you combine those attacks…" Kinana gasped. "Oh my!"
Charmeleon and Klefki both backpedaled. The icy, draconic tornado traveled across the ground closer towards them. With how much more massive it's gotten with the Icy Wind, their chances were much lower than they were to get away.
'I can't outrun that range!' Charmeleon looked over at Klefki, seeing her frightened expression. Making a break for it, he dove and grabbed Klefki and turned around to shield her.
"Klefki!"
"Charmeleon!"
Charmeleon covered Klefki up as much as possible with his arms. He was instantly struck by a powerful and very cold windstorm that spiraled around him. He grunted heavily to the point where his cries were going hoarse. The icy twister created frost across the ground, spreading in its path. More and more frost concentrated around Charmeleon as he kept curling over to cover Klefki.
Everyone else was left stunned. Lucy was being hit by cold winds, in which Natsu's magic instantly heated up the area. Joey and Dereece stayed back as the drafts were shifting their clothing, too.
It took several seconds for the churning storm to dissipate. Mist and frost covered the battlefield, especially in front of Natsu and Lucy. They both uncovered and blinked, shocked at what they saw.
When the mist dissipated enough, it showed Charmeleon sprawled on the ground, his body covered in frost and bruises. The attack had done massive damage, but even so, he was struggling with all his strength to get up. As he did, it was revealed that Klefki was still beneath him, completely shielded thanks to his body. A blue aura covered him briefly, showing a Speed decrease.
"Hey…you okay?" he mumbled.
Klefki uncovered herself, but looked up, deeply shocked. "Huh?! Y-Yeah…"
"That's good…but that one…" He stumbled to the side, but caught himself. "Gngh…really stung."
"Way to hang in there, Charmeleon!" Natsu shouted.
Charmeleon looked back, smirking. "Heh, don't worry about me. Because I'm just…getting started!" He spread his heels, expelling a loud cry as a red aura engulfed him. His tail flame suddenly exploded into a larger volume and shined brightly.
"It's Charmeleon's Blaze Ability!" Happy realized.
"Which means his Fire-type moves will deal more damage. This should be good." Pantherlily acknowledged.
"But both Charmeleon and Klefki are low on stamina. Not sure if they can take another attack like that again. This might be close." Carla noted.
"C'mon! Be a man and give it all ya got!" Elfman shouted, flexing his muscles.
"Stop that…" Evergreen chastised, glaring him down.
Charmeleon balled his claws tightly as Klefki levitated by his side. They both glared down Gyarados and Seel, who looked just as serious.
Natsu balled his fist tightly and punched out. "Okay, Charmeleon! Give'em Fire Fang!" Charmeleon's maw opened wide, with glossy, deep flames inside that burst with heat. The frost beneath him melted away in an instant before he darted with swiftness after Seel and Gyarados.
"Seel, use Ice Shard!" Dereece shouted.
Seel lifted herself onto her back flippers and channeled an icy orb of energy at her tongue. The ice crystalized the air and fired rapid-fast shards at Charmeleon. Charmeleon, however, opened his mouth wider than before and bit into the shards, instantly melting them on the spot. He continued his path with an even quicker pacing.
"Stop it with Waterfall!" Joey shouted.
As Charmeleon was going for Seel, his blue eyes glanced over at Gyarados' visage sending water as he shot straight down his way. He stamped his heel onto the ground and jumped up at the last second. Gyarados passed beneath, barely outsped by the smaller lizard.
Charmeleon landed on his back as he kept going. With his claws dug in, he snapped down, causing an explosion of fire on Gyarados' backside. The serpent-dragon careened his entire body up with a heinous shriek of pain. Joey gasped in shock.
"Don't think we're beat yet. We're still faster." Natsu smirked.
"Garsh! That looked painful, even for him." Seel gasped. She watched as Gyarados wriggled around, towering above her as he was trying to get Charmeleon off him. In his tiff, his tail swayed across, almost hitting her. Luckily, she plopped to the side and scooted a safe distance away.
With Gyarados preoccupied, Seel was wide-open, something that Dereece caught onto. "Seel, look out!"
Seel turned around, but Klefki was in her face. "Hello there! Got any keys~?"
"Klefki! Draining Kiss!" Lucy shouted.
Klefki sped in, pecking Seel on the cheek. She pulled away as Seel's face flushed red with a slight shock with embarrassment. "G-Gosh! This is so awkward! I…I-!" Suddenly, energy waves started transferring from her body into a hemisphere above. Seel's entire body was left stiff as the orb went towards Klefki, entering her frame as green waves went up her body, restoring her energy. Meanwhile, Seel was left dumbfounded as the kiss did a little more than what she would have wanted.
"Oh...dear..." Suddenly getting wobbly, she toppled over, completely drained.
"Seel!" Dereece gasped.
Seel was unresponsive as she laid on her side, swirls enveloping her eyes.
Sophie raised an arm for Natsu and Lucy's side. "Seel is unable to battle!"
"Alright!" Lucy cheered. "Nice going, Klefki!"
Klefki looked back, smiling proudly. "Thanks, Lucy! I feel much better now!"
'That Metal Sound from earlier must have lowered Seel's Special Defense for a solid strike.' Vanessa realized. 'That looked like a critical hit, too.'
"GRAAAAAAH! GET OFF ME YOU PEST!" Gyarados violently swayed left and right, trying to shake Charmeleon off his backside. The lizard hung on with all his gusto.
"Don't let go! Use Fire Fang again!" Natsu shouted. Charmeleon kept his grip on Gyarados' back as he pulled his mouth away for another round of searing fangs.
"Gyarados, just swat it off with your tail!" Joey commanded.
Gyarados momentarily ceased his thrashing and realized the situation. He did as told and lifted his tailfin up, smacking it into Charmeleon to throw him off. The lizard's flames diffused as he stammered on the ground. He looked up, seeing the angry visage of Gyarados ready to charge at him.
"Tackle!" Gyarados complied and charged downwards for Charmeleon.
"No you don't! Dragon Rage!" Natsu shouted.
Charmeleon quickly gathered energy into a single point and opened his maw right at Gyarados' face. He cried out as a draconic black and blue beam shot directly into the giant creature's face, exploding into bolstering dragonfire that enflamed his entire face. He screeched madly in pain as his front half careened out of the smoke cloud, falling back with a ground-shuddering slam on his side.
Joey flinched at how hard that struck his Pokémon. His eyes widened as he looked over for assurance. "Gyarados?"
Gyarados grunted heavily as he was stirring back up. But that attack right to his face did him in. He looked beat, but also annoyed.
Joey furrowed his brow. "Stay strong, buddy. You've got this!" Gyarados opened an eye at his trainer, who nodded and gave a thumbs up. He opened his other eye slowly as Klefki was drifting a little too close for comfort.
"Lucy, time to finish this!" Natsu said.
"Yeah, let's do this!" She replied.
"Charmeleon, Fire Fang!"
"Klefki, Draining Kiss!"
Charmeleon beelined across the ground with searing, massive flames around his maw. Klefki drifted in just ahead, but he was quick to catch up. As they paddled closer, Gyarados' purple eyes shrank as he braced himself.
Unknowingly, a cold, frosted aura was starting to shine on his teeth, quickly chilling into ice.
"Here we come! Pucker up!" Klefki shouted.
"He's all mine!" Charmeleon roared.
Gyarados' eyes narrowed before he suddenly jerked back at the very last second, leaving Klefki and Charmeleon in freefall. Time seemingly slowed down for the two as everyone was caught off guard with how fast that was.
"I...AM DONE WITH YOU!" Gyarados' temperament made him go for Klefki first, his fangs covered in thick ice with an icy aura enveloping them. The reenergized key ring was caught off guard when the icy fangs snapped down onto her, exploding ice and frost all around her.
"Wah?!" Charmeleon covered up from residue ice falling onto him. This left him open for Gyarados to swing his head around and throw the frozen Klefki into him, making him grind his back into the ground. A dust trail followed as they were given distance once more.
"Charmeleon!" Natsu panicked.
Lucy looked just as horrified. "Wait a second..." She blinked. "Was that Ice Fang just now?!"
"Ice Fang?" Joey looked at Dereece, who looked just as surprise. This in turn made Joey smirk. "Now that's what I call coolly-o! Nailed it, Gyarados!"
"Thank me after I crush these two!" He spewed, his glare fixed on his opponents. "I'm ready to destroy them!"
Charmeleon grunted as he got up. He didn't take any damage, but when he looked over, Klefki was still completely frozen. "Huh?! Klefki!"
"Charmeleon, look alive!" Natsu warned.
Joey pointed forward. "Give'em Twister!" Gyarados roared vehemently as he swung his tail around once more, summoning another tornado that expanded towards Charmeleon and the frozen Klefki.
Natsu grunted heavily, his teeth gritting. "Keep it back! Dragon Rage!"
Charmeleon instinctively got in front of Klefki and inhaled once more. He exhausted a powerful dragonfire in the form of black and blue that struck the base of the tornado. The two attacks battled it out with each other in a momentary stalemate until they imploded in the center, sending whirlwinds and sprays of dragonfire across the area. Everyone covered up again at the drastic force pushing against them.
"Waterfall!" Joey roared. Gyarados roared as he jettisoned across the battlefield, summoning a large wake of water that swamped the battlefield. He started right across towards Charmeleon.
This time, Charmeleon jumped out of the way by going to the side. It saved him from the damage, but the wake pushed him away. Gyarados continued into the frozen Klefki, bashing her so hard that she was sent flying through the air yet again.
Lucy gasped with shock. She saw Klefki's ice shattering as she started falling and caught her. "Klefki!" She looked down at her, seeing the swirls in her eyes. "Oh no...!"
"Is she okay?" Natsu fret.
Klefki groaned, but her eyes read only swirls. She laid still in Lucy's arms as Sophie made the call.
"Klefki is unable to battle!" she declared.
"That was a good hit!" Alzack gasped.
"Now it's just down to Natsu and Joey." Bisca commented, eyes narrowing.
Cana waved her hand around repeatedly from the bystanders. "Joey! You better not lose this! I've got 50,000 Jewel on the line because of you!"
Lisanna sweatdropped beside her. "Should you really gamble every time Joey or Natsu battle somebody?"
Cana shot her a look. "Eh? Not every time."
Shiin kept his arms folded the entire time. He was watching the fight, between mages and Pokémon doing battle. Seeing the fire in Natsu's eyes, as well as the tenacity of Joey's Gyarados...it was enough to make his own skin crawl. His nails dug into his own forearms.
Gyarados turned towards Charmeleon, glaring him down. "Your turn, you charred lizard!"
Charmeleon bared his claws. "Bring it, ya overgrown sushi!"
"Gyarados is a lot bigger, so if we get it even in a single spot, this battle's ours." Natsu smirked. "Charmeleon, Aerial Ace!" Charmeleon's body suddenly got light as he shot after Gyarados head-on.
Joey seemed very defensive. "Not gonna happen! Twister!"
Gyarados careened his head back and roared once again. This time, the tornado swung around his tail as he swatted it. The cyclone was kept compressed as it swept in Charmeleon's wake. The lizard jumped again, getting directly above as it dissipated.
"Dragon Rage!"
Charmeleon's stomach shined with brightening energy that quickly channeled into a concentrated dragon beam. Gyarados' eyes shrank as he glared at the Dragon-type attack abut to fire.
"Not this time!" Joey shouted. "Gyarados, Ice Fang!"
Gyarados opened his maw wider as the glowing blue fangs solidified into ice. An icy aura extended from the mouth that shrouded the fangs further.
Charmeleon closed his mouth briefly before he expelled one more blast of blue and black energy. The attack morphed into another dragon head that opened wide as it closed in on Gyarados, who lunged for Charmeleon as well. The icicle-like fangs met the dragon beam, resulting in Gyarados barreling in deeper. With it being so cold and stronger in terms of typing, the Dragon Rage's momentum was being overrun. However, Charmeleon kept the pressure on as he cried out, magnifying the attack's range by only a bitter more. Gyarados continued bisecting through, freezing it up until he reached Charmeleon, resulting in an eruptive explosion that expelled across the battlefield. Everyone watching covered up as a single shockwave pushed everything back. The cloud of dragonfire and mist shot skywards, looking like a mushroom cloud.
Once it all cleared up enough, everyone uncovered to see the results. Sophie was the first to see through it to find two silhouettes standing separately apart from one another. The dust faded, revealing both Charmeleon and Gyarados still standing. Everyone looked stunned to see them both bruised up.
"Who won?!" Jet worried.
Charmeleon stood completely still as the ice around Gyarados' maw receded. Natsu and Joey looked at their partners to see who would give in...
The big thud came from Charmeleon, who feel to his knees before slamming on his side. He laid sprawled on the battlefield, swirls filling his eyes as the Blaze flame around his tail returned to being normal.
"GRRAAAAAAAHHH~!" Gyarados careened his head skywards, expelling a victorious roar.
"Charmeleon is unable to battle, Gyarados is the winner!" Sophie declared. "And that means, the victory goes to Joey and Dereece!"
"Aw man!" Natsu raised his head, grabbing and ruffling his hair. "You've gotta be kidding me?! And after we've trained so hard, too!"
Lucy nervously patted his shoulder to console him. "It's okay. It was still better than last time..."
Joey pumped a fist. "Boom! That's how we roll!" He walked up to Gyarados, offering a pat on his side. "Hey, Gyarados! How ya feeling, buddy?"
Gyarados gave Joey a side glare as he hunched over. "I feel tired...but that felt good to put them in their place." He glared.
Dereece bent down, holding Seel in his arm. He picked out a Revive and held it up to her mouth. Her pink tongue subconsciously receded into her mouth and swallowed. "Seel, you doing alright...?"
"Ggggngh..." Seel groaned. "D-Dereece...shoot, what happened...?"
Dereece sighed out his nose, thankful that she wasn't hurt too badly. "Don't worry about it. You did just fine..." He looked up at Joey patting his Gyarados' side. "Though we've still got a long ways to go it looks like..."
Joey pulled out a Super Potion from his coat, giving it a good shake before putting it against Gyarados' side. "This'll sting a bit. Stay still."
He sprayed the Super Potion against the spot where Charmeleon bit down on. "GYAH!" Gyarados flailed his tail, slamming it so hard against the ground that Dereece almost fell over.
"Hey, calm down! I warned you that it would hurt!" Gyarados gave him a slightly hardened glare and looked away. Joey pulled the medicine away and moved to a different spot. "You've gotta learn to get that anger flash of yours under control there. You're gonna hurt somebody doing that, you know."
"Yeah...and I worry that might actually be me..." Dereece sidenoted dryly.
Natsu walked up to Charmeleon and kneeled by his side. "You did good there, buddy. Take a rest." He got out his Poke Ball and recalled him back inside to rest up.
He stood back up, looking at Joey as he went around, lightly spraying Gyarados' bruises. "Gotta say, that was pretty awesome there, Joey. Wasn't expecting that from you of all people." He beamed pridefully. "But next time for sure, I'm gonna take you down. That's a guarantee."
"Heh?" Barely catching Natsu's notion, Joey offered a platonic grin. "Yeah, sure thing." He looked up to Gyarados. "I was just glad we learned a move that gave us the win. Nice job, Gyarados."
Gyarados offered only a mellow snarl.
"Aw yeah. Pay up! It's payday for me!" Cana cheered. Those who betted on Natsu begrudgingly passed bags of coins and bills towards her. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"
"Grrr! Damnit, Salamander! I lost a handful of cash because of you!" Gajeel barked. "You just had to make us Dragon Slayers look bad, huh?!"
"Hey, I didn't make us look bad! If anything, those nuts and bolts on your face are what make you ugly!" Natsu countered, pointing a finger to his face.
Gajeel menacingly smirked as he towered over Natsu. "Oh, so you still want more, huh? Well fine! Let's see Aron and Shieldon crush the rest of yours!"
"You're on! Darumaka and Tyrunt are just aching to get in on the action here!"
"Uh, please guys, let's just calm down..." Wendy persuaded, but her commentary was falling on deaf ears.
Lucy sighed heavily. "Oh boy, here we go again..."
Off to the side from the loud threats of Natsu and Gajeel, Vanessa was eyeing Joey, observing the battle that she just saw. 'Learning Ice Fang in place of Tackle...that was a very fortunate call on his part.' She thought back to that last Dragon Rage. 'If it wasn't for Gyarados learning a move that overpowered a Dragon-type attack like Dragon Rage, it wouldn't have worked. Joey is very lucky.' A smile crept onto her face as she saw him gloat about the win in front of Dereece, who was despondently frowning knowing that Joey was going to run him through the wringer for lagging behind. 'He's working hard for sure.'
Shiin glared ahead, witnessing the results of the fight. Suffice to say that his expression looked more reserved than it led on. 'So this is what happens when a superior mage relies on Pokémon to do their job...' He looked over towards Natsu and Gajeel, who had made it out towards the field for their arbitrary showdown. 'I never would have figured our society would sink so low...I must address this problem as quickly as soon as the next time frame allows my report to get in.'
Knowing the sun was still rising, he was going to be waiting for some time. He looked away from his peers while they were all excited for the fight. Once he saw that he had no one eyeing him, he started on his own course.
'I must seek answers. I can't do it in the open. Therefore, by process of elimination, there may be someone whom I can ask.'
Following overhead, Butterfree was looking down at the entire scene. Having watched that entire battle, it made his antennae stand on end with glee. He looked down, scanning the area for anything else exciting. When he spotted Shiin leaving, he chirped merrily and followed him further into Magnolia.
Hope you guys liked this chapter! I was fairly satisfied myself with the results. Maybe I could have gotten a little more than just Malie City, but I think this wasn't too bad either. To be honest, originally, I wasn't intended on adding that double battle. But I thought about giving Gyarados some spotlight again. Maybe I could have gotten more out of Sophie or Elfman, or Gajeel, but I'll save them for another time.
Next one will have a whole lot more focus bent on Nic and Erza in their search for Tapu Bulu! Hope to hear in reviews what you have to say, and I'll do my best to be swift on the next update!
