It had gotten quiet. Too quiet. One minute, the entire forest was literally shaking like it was being ripped apart. The next thing, it all went silent. The only thing to consolidate the silence was the light rustling of trees when a light breeze passed through the area.

From the shaken underbrush, a rustling sound came from dense foliage that was strewn over the forest floor. Leaves pulled part as a dazed Kricketot fell onto his stomach with a loud "Oomf!". He laid there, trying to gather his bearings after the wind was knocked out of him from that earthquake.

"Ohhh...my head...my stomach..." He staggered to his feet, but hunched over to cough. As soon as the coughing fit came to its end, he looked around at his surroundings. "Woah...wait, what happened? I...it's just like the entire forest just flipped over itself..."

He tapped his antennae together as he turned his body. Subconsciously, the organs in the antennae also exerted xylophone-like chimes. The open atmosphere allowed a small echo of the chimes to reverberate a short distance through the wrecked undergrowth. Every time he turned, the antennae would have that same chime. He scoped the landscape to see if anything he remembered was blown away with him. However, everything was in shambles.

"Great, just when I got comfortable in this forest. Guess I better get going before daylight shines..."

"Cooo...?"

Kricketot jerked to a halt so suddenly that his antennae made another tap. "Who's there?!" He slowly paneled his head around to scope again, but didn't see anything in plain sight. "Phew...thought I heard a Hoothoot."

"Cooo..."

"Eep!" He jumped and turned around. He definitely heard it that time. His glossy amber eyes locked onto a log that was sitting a short distance away. He blinked in wonder before putting a foot forward, making another time. "W-who's there...? I-I warn you! I know Bide!"

He drew a little closer, ready to tense up in case the log attempted to surprise attack him. Even when he was tiptoeing, the xylophone chimes didn't stop. With each step, a babble came from inside the log. Kricketot drew closer, his heart racing a thousand beats a second. He peered inside, with his tilting making a small tune.

"H-hello...?"

There was a silence as he peered inside...until a small figure jumped out, startling him. "Coo!"

"Gyah~!" He fell onto his back, taken back by the sheer surprise scare. He tossed and turned in an attempt to scramble to his feet or several seconds, muttering words that were...within reasonable conduct. He eventually got enough momentum to stand upright. "Heh...? What the...?"

Sitting before him, Junior stared at him in curiosity. The extraterrestrial cloud's appearance alone was baffling, but the way he cooed and blinked didn't sit well with the wild inhabitant. "Cooo?" He scanned the area, as if he was looking for something.

"Yeesh, what did I get into this time...?" Kricketot stammered back, making his antennae move again. "Doesn't look like it'll try to eat me..."

Junior turned left and right, seeing the disaster sight that was the forest a few minutes ago. Realizing his mother-figure was nowhere to be found, his bottom lip quivered as his eyes started watering. "Waaaaaah!" He cried towards the sky, much to Kricketot's annoyance.

"Gah! Geez, what is this thing?! A baby?!" He bent forward and cringed at Junior's wailing cries. They were so loud that it felt like an Uproar was happening. This of course alarmed Kricketot even more. "I can't stay around here much longer now. A bird Pokémon is definitely gonna hear this." He turned away. "Sorry to leave you like this, champ. But babysitting ain't my thing out here. Good luck!"

"Waaaaah!" Junior cried.

Kricketot's antennae rattled from the noise pollution, and not in a good way. "Arceus...why does this thing have to be so damn loud...?" He grunted, but as he hastened his pace, he noticed the crying behind him stopped. "Heh? Wait, wasn't that thing crying like a brat just now?" He turned around, his antennae clinking yet again.

The notes met Junior's nonexistent ears. "Cooo?" His head perked up, looking at Kricketot more focused. "Cooo..." He smiled as he hopped a little closer towards Kricketot.

"Uh, wait, what are you...?" Kricketot saw him reach for his antennae. Junior tapped it, making another chime that made him delighted.

"Cooo!" Junior clapped his hands.

"Hey, those aren't toys, you know!" Kricketot scoffed, but he saw Junior reach for his antennae again. He stepped away. "Don't you know anything about personal space?"

Junior stared blankly, before blinking twice. "Cooooo!" As if it went over his head, he clapped his hands in joy before reaching for the antennae again.

"Get away from me you freaky thing! Aaaaah~!" Kricketot turned and hopped away, each pounce on his heels making his antennae rock and hit another xylophone note. Junior merrily hopped in tow behind him in pursuit of his current amusement.


Deep in another forest outside of Magnolia, there was another commotion that needed tending to. However, the only one who was on the trail of the escapades was none other than Natsu. With his Dragon Slayer nose, he followed the scents of his Pokémon. He was honestly surprised at how far they've gotten in such a short span of time. Both literally and metaphorically.

Once again, Natsu's nose twitched. "Gotcha! This way!" He hopped over a log and planted his heel on the ground. A small impulse of fire expelled from his heel that pushed him deeper into the woodland areas. "You guys can run all you want, but there's no hiding from a dragon's nose!"

He sprung through the underbrush that lied a hundred meters up ahead. Thanks to his propulsion and overzealous amounts of energy, he bridged that gap in a matter of seconds. The shrubs and branches snapped out of place as he dove through, and found himself in freefall for a moment. It took him only half a second for him to register that it was a small ledge that sloped down a few short meters. He slid to the base and hitched off the rock at the bottom, landing on a knee with enough force that a dust wave blew around him. He lifted his head and checked his surroundings for any visible signs of his Pokémon, but as far as what even his Dragon Slayer eyesight was capable of seeing, the area was nothing but trees and evenly spread undergrowth all around. There was more dirt than grass with uneven hitched in the ground where stones stuck out.

Natsu's nose twitched again. "Around here, huh?" He looked left, the right, and then left again. His eyes narrowed in annoyance. "The trail's around here, but where are they...?" In his skepticism, he took another step forward. The instant he did, his hearing picked up shifts in the ground around him. "What's going on?!"

Before he realized it, many of the stones wedged into the surrounding soil moved themselves, as though by some telekinetic force. They all stood upright a few feet in the air surrounding Natsu and glowed brightly, before they hastily closed in and collided with his body.

The crushing sensation of hard rocks against his body was intense. Normally, dealing with rocks was no big deal...but these rocks actually hurt. The dust cloud the rocks made upon impact expelled Natsu as he staggered back, his forearms up to show superficial damage on his skin. He uncovered himself to show his face contorted with a mixture of both anger and confusion.

"Damnit! Who the hell set a trap all the way out here?!" he complained. He watched as the rocks dismember from each other and return to their original lodging positions. "Hm...? Hey, wait, hold up." He blinked in realization. "Where have I seen this before...?"

Before he came to a conclusion, his ears twitched at a sound from behind.

"HRAAAAAAHH!" The loquacious roar was accompanied by a silhouette springing over a nearby ledge, falling onto Natsu. He turned his body at the last second to avoid a set of thick jaws chomping the air. The figure continued and slammed his hind legs into the ground, grinding to a halt several feet away.

Natsu was taken back at first, but he blinked in realization. "Wait...Tyrunt?"

Tyrunt swayed his tint tail, craning his head to look back at Natsu with a sharp gleam in his eyed. He growled and bared his sharp fangs in a show of dominance.

Natsu's eyes narrowed. "If you're here, that means...!"

His eyes widened again. His perceptive hearing picked up on another figure lunging from behind a rock. He leaned back as the body continued with its fists hanging out until it hit the ground. The tiny red figure folded in its limbs and rolled like an egg until its underside's force of gravity made it twirl and rock until it came to a stop.

The large red egg remained put for a few seconds before the limbs popped out, revealing Darumaka. "Haha! Surprise!"

"Darumaka!" Natsu's epiphanies were growing by the second.

"And not just us!" Darumaka sneered.

A blast of black and blue draconic energy flew from out of the blue. Natsu was quick to dodge and land a short distance away. He looked in the direction where the attack came from and saw a familiar figure with a flame-lit tail. His eyes widened once again in astonishment as the figure sprung up from his vantage point and landed on all fours, shooting Natsu a glare along with a snarl.

"Charmeleon?"

Charmeleon gradually arose to his hind legs, giving Natsu a blatant stare. Darumaka and Tyrunt gave the same implied death glares.

"Wait, hold up now! Now I get it!" Natsu came to a realization, pointing an accusing finger directed at Tyrunt. "I remember now! That was your move – Stealth Rock!" He looked angry. "You little jerk, what's the big deal setting that up?! You actually got me!"

Tyrunt stomped on the ground, snorting out steam from his nostrils. "Tyrunt wanted that to happen!"

Natsu blinked. "Wait...what?"

"Hahahaha! Wow, he must either be really sleepy still, or he's always been this slow!" Darumaka laughed uproariously.

"What the hell are they on about over there? Hey, Charmeleon, is this some kind of a prank? Because if it is, it's not a very funny one." Natsu grunted, shooting Charmeleon an estrange look.

His blue eyes didn't show any sway in his death-like glare aimed specifically for Natsu. The mage-trainer frowned as an uneasy nerve ran down his spine. He was hoping that it really was a joke...but the look said otherwise.

"If this were a joke, would we do this?" Charmeleon crouched on all fours, before lunging after Natsu with his limbs extended in swift blurs, via Aerial Ace. Natsu was taken back for only a brief second, but his battle reflexes made him bring up his forearms to block Charmeleon's assault. Charmeleon pulled away in a flip through the air, landing in a striking knee pose.

"Hey! Now what was that for?!" Charmeleon backlashed, sounding more annoyed than he was staggering at Charmeleon's so-called attack. His patience was visibly thinning. "Alright guys, joke's over! I mean it! What's really going on, huh?!"

Charmeleon grunted, along with Tyrunt and Darumaka. The latter two looked at each other as Charmeleon took a step forward to speak on their behalf. "Guess you never really were someone who got the big picture, huh? Even if I explained it to you, what makes you think that you'll understand how we feel?" His eyes squinted. "But hey, guess it's worth a shot. Listen up!" He pointed an accusing claw directly at Natsu's face. "From here on, we're doing our own thing, without the weight of a knuckleheaded trainer telling us how to live our lives!"

"Yeah!" The others exclaimed.

Natsu blinked again. He was more confused than he was before. In fact, he didn't know if he should feel contorted out of the lack of understanding, or how the proclamation was so left-field that it didn't make sense. A part of him even wanted to laugh...but one look into Charneleon's eyes told him that it was a bad idea.

"Wait..." The realization finally dawned. "You guys serious?"

"Do we look like we're joking?!" Darumaka exasperated, jumping up and flailing his limbs.

Natsu's expression turned serious. He was getting a bad feeling about all this. "...alright, so tell me, what made you guys think that you can just up and say I can't be your trainer anymore? Last I checked, you guys wanted to tag along with me, didn't you?"

Charmeleon's eyes widened. "What makes us think?" He sounded offended. "What makes us think?! We'll show you what makes us think!" At that, Tyrunt and Darumaka rushed past him, having open jaws and head tucked in respectively for Bite and Headbutt. Natsu moved out of the way as they both continued their attack into a log, smashing a sizeable chunk of it.

He looked back, visibly warranted by their assault. He caught on just as Charmeleon came at him with another Aerial Ace, claws meeting his forearms, and blocked every single time.

"Back off, jerk!" Natsu swatted his arm, forcing Charmeleon to pull away once more. "If this is all personal like you guys are saying, then tell me, what about me made you want to leave, huh?"

Charmeleon scoffed. "Where do we even start...?" His tone sounded drier than it was before. "How about running me ragged, for starters!" Before he allowed Natsu time to exclaim his confusion, he charged up another Dragon Rage. A beam of draconic energy flames streamed through the air and met Natsu's arms as he blocked. A black and blue explosion engulfed the air around him, forcing him to slide back across the ground.

Natsu grunted. Unlike Charmeleon's Aerial Ace, this one packed a lot more punch. Possibly due to the fact that Dragon Rage's damage was fixed on one's health than actual strength. He shook it off and saw a swift blur beam at him through the smoke. This time, he caught Charmeleon's claw with one hand, keeping a firm, ironclad grip to keep him from going anywhere.

"Go into detail. What's this about me running you ragged again?" Natsu challenged.

Charmeleon sourly scoffed. "Like you'd care anyway." His answer caused Natsu to grip a little tighter, causing Charmeleon to wince.

"Talk!"

"Gngh..." Charmeleon's eye twitched in the discomfort Natsu was giving him. "...fine. Normally, I love a good fight, just like you. I love to battle..." His glance hardened on Natsu. "But...did you ever once consider how I feel? How the others feel?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe I should rephrase that. Natsu...you're one of the most selfish humans I've ever known! You fight whoever stands in your way without so much as even thinking about the consequences. Maybe that doesn't affect you because you're so strong, but I'm not like you! I can't stack up to your expectations and battle day and night just because you feel like it! Someone other than myself can answer that call, you know."

Natsu stood puzzled. He didn't understand what Charmeleon meant by that. Running him ragged? Not like him? He never seemed like this before. If he really felt this way, he would have said something sooner...right?

From close by, Tyrunt spat out splattered bark and turned towards Natsu. "Tyrunt is upset with you!" he complained. "You said you would help me understand what new era be like, but Tyrunt only learned about captivity from you! Tyrunt want to feel free back in his era!"

"Yeah! And some of us need to come out a little more often, y'know!" Darumaka flipped out of the bark chunks sprawled over the forest floor. "How come you always battle with just Charmeleon, huh? That's not fair to us! We want even more action!"

"Yeah!" Tyrunt snorted more steam from his nostrils.

"Where's all this coming from? I battle with you guys plenty, you know that." Natsu reasoned.

"Do you ask yourself those same questions?" Charmeleon argued. He opened his maw again and charged draconic energy once more, forcing Natsu to pick him up and hurl him into the air. Even in midair, Charmeleon was able to balance out and fire another Dragon Rage. This time, Natsu leaped off to the side to dodge the attack, which continued its streaming course and erupted in the dirt.

Charmeleon landed on the ground, his posture slightly hunched over. "Do you ever feel like you're just being used as somebody's tool of fancy? I'm not some kind of guinea pig. I knew that wall was coming down behind that Muk back in the sewers today, but you weren't paying attention to your surroundings, were you?"

Natsu gasped. "Wait, hold on..." He thought back to their job earlier. More accurately, when their Z-Move caused the canal water to flood the sewers. "So you're salty because I wasn't careful? So what? I break stuff all the time, you know that."

"That's not the point!" Charmeleon's eyes showed a heated anger rising. "You always fight on impulse. If it wasn't for me telling you to use Inferno Overdrive during our double battle seminar, we would have lost!"

Natsu's mind did another backtrack. He remembered their seminar battle the other day against Cana and Sophie, and their final clash of Z-Moves against Liepard. It was a close fight. A very close one. Natsu hated to admit it aloud, but he would have wanted to use the Devastating Drake to claim that win, though the Inferno Overdrive powered by Blaze wasn't half-bad either. What Charmeleon was trying to point out about Natsu's judgment was making him feel uneasy inside.

"...you don't know that." He lowly argued. "We could have at least tried! I didn't see the big deal!"

"If we did and ended up losing because of it, you know what would have happened?" Charmeleon paused. "I'll tell you. You would have gotten in a depressed mood like you always do when you lose a Pokémon battle, and later take me elsewhere so we can train till dawn. You take losses personally to where you try and put up a front in front of others. You're too prideful to admit your own faults. How do you expect to become stronger if you're too busy only evaluating only what's in front and not around you?"

"You guys..." Natsu wasn't sure what to say anymore. Darumaka and Tyrunt pincered him on either side, giving him looks of contempt.

"Don't you think I have a say in what we do, too? All you wanna do is fight, do you? You can fight as much as you want...just stop dragging others into your battles!"

Darumaka and Tyrunt sprung at Natsu with all the gusto they had, both using Trash and Bite respectively. However, before they made contact, hands reached out and gripped their faces, stopping them in midflight. Charmeleon's eyes widened.

"What...?"

Natsu stood there, having his grip on both his Pokémon as they flailed in his grip. They grunted as they kicked their legs to find some measure of leverage, but Natsu held them off the ground so they wouldn't go anywhere.

"Yeah...you're right about that...but there's a reason behind that I'm sure even you don't know." In his head, he pictured his old guild hall being destroyed, Lucy's crying face when her spirits were taken over, and finally Sophie when she sacrificed her memories. "It's so that others around me won't have to be put through such misery. I hate seeing my friends get hurt. I wanna get as strong as I possibly can so that they would never have to feel that pain again." His glare hardened with resolve. "So tell me, you call that part of me selfish?"

Charmeleon's eyes widened. Natsu didn't give him a chance to speak. "So yeah, maybe I'm not the smartest guy out there, and maybe fighting is the only thing I'm good at...but if you've been around Fairy Tail long enough pal, you know that the best to solve your problems...is beating it until it isn't a problem anymore." He lobbed Darumaka and Tyrunt at him, making them slam and lob off the dirt on either side of Charmeleon. They struggled to stand as Natsu continued speaking.

"You think that just talking will stop someone from achieving their goals..." He thought about Zeref. More accurately, the time when Mavis attempted to speak to him to stop him from moving forward in taking Fairy Heart...only for it to be her fatal cost. "I might not know what you're on about this whole freeing yourself crap, so if I have to beat the answers out of you, that's exactly what I'll do."

Charmeleon was silent as he shot a glare at his trainer. Tyrunt and Darumaka rose up and looked at each other before looking back at Natsu.

"Then I guess it's a good thing we grabbed these on the way out..." In his claws, Charmeleon held up a familiar Poke Ball. Natsu immediately recognized it as his own. He turned towards Darumaka and Tyrunt, both having their capsules in their clutches.

"Hold on, what're you thinking this time with those?!" Natsu exasperated.

"You said it yourself, didn't you? If words won't make you understand our resolve..." He dropped the Poke Ball, with his claw coming around as it was in freefall. In one fell swipe, his blurry claws slashed clean through the alloy, shattering the capsule like glass.

Natsu's pupils shrank. He felt everything shattering right in front of him. Now it was him who was at a loss for words.

"...then perhaps actions will!" Charmeleon finished.

Tyrunt and Darumaka dropped their Poke Balls onto the ground. Tyrunt turned around and slammed his tail onto his, as to where Darumaka landed a sizzling Fire Punch. The end result were the two capsules shattering into numerous pieces like Charmeleon's did.

"Haha! Tyrunt feels so free now!" Tyrunt declared, beaming with pride.

"Yeah! About time! We should have done this from the start! Now we don't have anything to worry about anymore! I can run around and burn up whatever I feel like until I get tired!" Darumaka cheered.

"Tyrunt thinks that sounds like Natsu." Tyrunt sneered.

"Pffft! Please, don't compare me to him! After all, just look at him." They all turned towards Natsu, who stood fixated with a glare. "At least I don't hold back others from doing whatever makes them happy."

Tyrunt snorted. "Yeah, guess you're right."

Natsu's fists balled tight, fire starting to flicker. "How could you?" he muttered. "You guys would really just break your own balls to make a point...that's a low blow and you know it!" He shot them all a hardened glare. "Out of your mind or not, I'm gonna beat the sense back into ya!"

"Ha! You'll try! But you'll have to take down all of us to..." Darumaka's teasing trailed off as he heard a faint cry that echoed, and it was slowly getting louder. "Huh? Hey, you guys hear something?"

Tyrunt and Charmeleon looked around, their eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Tyrunt hears noise, too." Tyrunt grunted.

"Hey, yeah. I hear it as well. It sounds like it's coming from..." Charmeleon raised his head, only to see a speeding blue star falling down in their direction. "Huh?! What the-?!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Shooting in from the night sky, Happy had returned from his atmospheric flight, his eyes wide with fear as he closed in on Charmeleon, Darumaka, and Tyrunt. He sped so fast that it was like a bullet train that crashed into all three at once. A small dust cloud filled the area, leaving a bewildered Natsu to stare in shock.

The dust gradually cleared away, revealing Happy as he laid on his back, his eyes swirling from the pain and dizziness from impact. His body had paralyzing static on it for some reason as well. "O-owwiieee~..." He mumbled.

All around him, the three Pokémon were sprawled on their sides, their heads ringing from that harsh impact they received. They all groaned and shook their heads to rid of the dizzy spell.

"Ugh, my head...what just...?" Charmeleon sat up, looking over at who arrived out of the blue. "Huh? Hey, isn't that Happy?"

"Blue cat with wings?" Tyrunt blinked.

"Where did he come from?" Darumaka gasped.

"Ugh...bad fishies...really, really bad fishies..." Happy mumbled.

Charmeleon hummed in wonder, but he was quickly brought back to reality when something in the corner of his eye moved closer to them. He gasped. "Tyrunt, watch out!"

"Huh?" Tyrunt blinked. Before he had time to process what was happening, a fist engulfed in fore came straight down on his head, immediately flooring him. The shock from the simple hammer fist was enough to make him gag as everything went black.

Charmeleon and Darumaka looked over, their eyes wide with shock at their friend being stamped out of nowhere. They saw his eyes becoming swirls as he laid on his stomach at Natsu's feet, the latter's fist swelled in a light fire.

"You guys want your freedom that bad...then you gotta go through me first." Natsu challenged. "Come on, just try and land another hit. I'll take it better than what the last guy did."

Charmeleon clutched his claws. He braced himself, but was caught off guard when Darumaka shot at him. "Darumaka! Wait!" He shouted, reaching a claw out.

Darumaka paid no heed. He let out a battle cry as he pulled his fist back for a Fire Punch. He slung it forward and landed a direct blow into Natsu's forehead. He expected the attack to do something, but Natsu just stood there, as if he was unfazed by the attack.

"...heh?!"

Natsu smirked. "Bad move, pal." He opened his mouth a little, sucking in the small amount of fire surrounding Darumaka's fist. "Fire doesn't work on me." Darumaka pulled back, looking perplexed at his attack being...ingested? Once Natsu finished slurping, he gulped it down as smirked more energetically. "But thanks for the late-night snack. Now I got a fire in my belly."

Darumaka looked agitated. He sprung off his heels again and howled. "THRASH!"

"Darumaka! No!" Charmeleon shouted, only for his desperate cry to fall on deaf ears.

Darumaka's haste drove him to go for another punch for Natsu. His fist slugged forward, but Natsu intercepted by catching it with his bare hand once more. "Sorry pal, you've still got a long ways to go before you can knock me off my feet!" He reeled his right arm back, coated in flames once more. "As your trainer, I should show you something...this is how you punch someone!"

Darumaka's eyes widened as Natsu's fist shot right into his face. The impact made an uppercut of flames that followed him as he went soaring in a frantic spin. He yelped as he went flying right past his trainer, who stood there in the uppercut pose. Darumaka crashed into the nearby log that he and Tyrunt struck earlier, smashing through the remaining half of it that splattered bark bits everywhere. He laid in the heap of wood, spirals in his eyes.

As Natsu pulled his arm down, he turned to give Charmeleon his full attention. "So...still think that you're tough?"

Charmeleon gnashed his jaws together. He careened his head back and channeled draconic energy once more. Once fully charged, he unleashed another blistering Dragon Rage. Natsu punched the energy with his fists still engulfed in fire, causing the attack to expel around him rather than engulf him with damage. Charmeleon's eyes slightly widened in surprise.

"I don't think you're there quite yet, pal." He followed through with his punch, dispersing the draconic energy into indigo flakes that illuminated around him. "You go against me, you go against Fairy Tail!" His body roared in heated fire. The heat from his Magic Power alone was enough to make nearby leaves and twigs catch on fire and get blown away, turning into ashes. "And nobody ever beats us!"

Charmeleon got on all fours, lunging at Natsu with Aerial Ace. He went to furiously slash and swipe at Natsu, but every strike was blocked by Natsu parrying without so much as moving much of his body.

'He's keeping up with my attacks! I can't increase my speed with Flame Charge. If I do, he'll just eat my flames like he did with Darumaka!'

"You're not using your fire attacks. You think you know me pretty well, don't you?" Natsu caught another fist by Charmeleon. "Well I got news for you, you may not be able to use fire...but I still can." The flames surrounding his body converged into his palm. "Time for you to wake up!"

Charmeleon couldn't escape. He was about to open his maw and expel more draconic energy, but Natsu's superior grip had him beat.

"Fire Dragon's Grip Strike!"

He clutched Charmeleon's arm, expelling point-blank fire that swallowed a sizeable margin of the forest ahead of him. The fire roared as it expelled Charmeleon, who tumbled backwards across the ground into a tree with a painful thud on his back. His eyes and mouth were wide as shock ran through his entire body. He slid down the tree, barely retaining any conscience from the pain he was in.

"Gnnngh..." He weakly lifted his head, shakily looking at his trainer who had a serious expression on his face. "Natsu..." He desperately tried reaching a claw out to him. "You..."

He tried to say more...but his hazy blue eyes rolled back as his conscience faded. He slumped forward onto his stomach, swirls overtaking his eyes.

Natsu stood there, the fire around his arm dispersing to flaking embers that fizzled out. He took a deep breath and looked around, seeing all three of his Pokémon sprawled around him. They were unconditionally out. As much as he was thrilled with the victory, he was in no mood to feel celebratory.

"Sorry guys...but you asked for this. Don't say that there wasn't any other way." He grunted.

Nearby, Happy arose from the ground. "Owie..."

Natsu turned around, his eyes widening. "Huh, Happy?"

"Guh?! Ah! Don't hit me, too!" Happy sprung up, only for his body to cringe when the paralysis kicked in. "Gngh! Ow!"

Natsu raised a brow. "Relax pal, it's just me."

"Oh...Natsu." Happy managed to relax a little. He slumped down in comedic grief. "Ahhhh~! It was so awful! You should have seen it! So many mean fishies tried to kill me back there~! I didn't think that it was a crime to even think fish Pokémon were yummy! I'll never look at fish Pokémon the same ever again!"

"What are you going on about? And how the heck did you end up back here so quick, I thought I told ya to find Lucy?"

Happy raised his head. "Huh? Lucy...?" He shot up in shock. "That's right! Lucy! Natsu, we have a huge problem! And I mean huge-ow!" He flailed his arms to exaggerate his point, but jolted to a stop when more crackling static halted him.

Natsu furrowed his brow. "Spit it out already, would ya? What's the big deal all of a sudden?"

"It's the Pokémon! They're all acting crazy! They just started attacking people all around town and destroying property!"

Natsu's eyes widened in shock. "Wait...what did you just say?!"

Groans were coming from all around. Charmeleon stirred as his conscience was starting to return to him, albeit weakly. "Gngh...what...? Natsu...?"

Darumaka was starting to come around as well. "Owie...it feels like a train just hit me..."

Gradually stirring as well, Tyrunt shook his head, trying to shake off the headache he felt. "Gnnngh...Tyrunt's head, it feels like mush! It hurts!"

"Gah! They're awake!" Happy panicked.

"Wait, hold on a sec." Natsu intervened, shooting them all a look. He turned towards Charmeleon, stepping forward to face him.

Hearing faint footsteps, Charmeleon careened his head up. "Gngh...Natsu?" He gingerly sat himself up and slumped back to rest his aching body.

"How you feeling?"

Charmeleon begrudgingly scoffed. "Heh...been better, I can tell you that." He looked down at his claw, as if he was discerning something. "My head feels like it's still spinning...but I feel less hazy for some reason."

"Guess that means you're back to your senses, huh?" Natsu looked back to their shattered Poke Ball remains. He frowned heavily, but he knee what was important right now. "Sorry pal, but I need you and the others to hang tight until I get back." He turned towards Happy. "Happy, make sure they stay put. I'm gonna go check out what the deal is."

Before Happy could give respond to him, Natsu started off towards Magnolia on foot, leaving him and the defeated Pokémon behind.

"There he goes again, rushing ahead without any time for a word of say." Happy groaned.

"..." Charmeleon remained silent as he looked on, watching his human partner take off for his friend's sake. He was much too exhausted to move, let alone do anything. Darumaka and Tyrunt were no different. They all just stared tiredly as Natsu left them behind to recover.

A groan got their attention adverted. Tyrunt grunted as he shook his head. "Tyrunt's mouth...tastes bitter!"

"Probably because you bit into wood." Darumaka snickered.

Charmeleon frowned, closing his eyes as he had no energy to even open his mouth. The constant training, followed by the events that transpired in the past few days, left him sore in more ways than one.

"I hate seeing my friends get hurt. I wanna get as strong as I possibly can so that they would never have to feel that pain again. So tell me, you call that part of me selfish?"

He thought about what he said to Natsu, and how he responded. With the very faintest of energy he had, he was able to mutter something to himself. "...yeah...there's a bad taste in my mouth, too."


"Purple Net!" Macao created a net of purple tangible fire in a shape of a rope. The rope snared around his Litwick, who yelped at the restraints set around him. "Son, you're up!"

"Right! Here goes!" Romeo pulled his arm back as blue fire coated it. He shot a thin stream of it across the avenue towards the captured Litwick. Before it made impact, however, Romeo's own Litwick shifted in front, taking the blue flames in his stead. To his shock, the flames dissipated without so much as a sign of injury.

"Hehe, that tickles." She cooed.

"Wait, what? Fire didn't have any effect on her, what gives?!" Macao exasperated.

"I don't know...!" Romeo gasped. "Wait, hold on! That's my Litwick's Flash Fire!"

Romeo's Litwick snickered. She generated a fireball over her head before projecting it at Romeo, via Flame Burst. Romeo was in too much shock of his own realization to dodge when the fireball made impact with him, engulfing him in a small eruption that spat embers everywhere.

"Romeo!" Macao gasped, only for his body to sting from the specks of flames peppering him from the side. The lack of concentration was enough to undo the binds around his own Litwick, freeing him from his clutches.

Macao grunted. "No, not good!"

Both Litwick hummed. Macao's unleashed a streaking pair of black beams in the form of Night Shade, whereas Romeo's tilted her head down, exhausting dark purple fumes, via Smog. The father/son duo were caught off guard as they were enveloped in both attacks, grunting and coughing profusely from the toxins and damage of the jointed attacks.

"This is bad..." Romeo coughed. "We can't *cough* stop them like this!"

"There's gotta be a way to get them to stop..." Macao grunted, but he fell to a knee as his face grew a purplish blush, toxic bubbles erupting from his body.

"Dad!" Romeo gasped.

Nearby, Wakaba saw his friend suffering from Smog's secondary poisoning effect. "Hang on, buddy! I'm here!" He turned towards his Koffing. "Just gotta take care of something over here really quick first..."

Koffing expelled a black pile of Sludge, which seemingly struck Wakaba. A blanket of dirty dust blanketed over him to hide him from Koffing view for a moment. "You're not a shabby shot there..." The smoke cleared, revealing Wakaba surrounded by copies of himself. "But you'll have to do a little better to get one up on my Smoke Fake, little buddy."

Koffing's face contorted with rage. He inhaled, before he expelled a stream of white smog that quickly blanketed the street towards Wakaba. The range of the Clear Smog was enough of a deterrent to leave Wakaba in shock before it engulfed him, clearing away his smoke copies in an instant. He covered up and grunted as the attack prevented him from getting anywhere.

"Shit! This ain't good!" Max yelled, barely dodging Sandslash's Crush Claw. He slid under and backpedaled for safe room from the opponent.

"What do we do?!" Vijeeter panicked.

"I don't know!" Warrod fearfully exclaimed, barely sweeping past his Noibat's swooping Wing Attack.

Mx turned to them, pulling out Sandslash's Poke Ball. "Guys, call them back! Maybe that'll stop'em!"

"Yeah, good idea!" Laki quipped. She reached for Sudowoodo's Poke Ball, with many other members following her lead.

Sandslash saw this, swiping a claw forward. "Oh no you don't!" At his behest, Vijeeter's Lombre jumped up from behind his cover, opening his mouth to expel blue bubbles at everyone. The barrage of bubbles met everyone, making them wince and lose hold of their Poke Balls.

"My Poke Ball!" Laki quipped.

"Mine, too!" Vijeeter gasped. He saw his land not too far from him and went to reach for it. But before he could grab for it, Lombre stamped his heel down on it, shattering the empty capsule with haste. The assault startled Vijeeter to the point where he paled. "W-what?!"

Sandslash hastily came down with Crush Claw, shattering his Poke Ball without a second thought. Sudowoodo created a green energy stump and brought it down onto his, shattering it to hundreds of tiny pieces. Noibat picked his Poke Bal up in his mouth and bit down with enough force to completely break the two halves apart. Many more Pokémon took the opportunity to outpace their trainers and cleave and break their containers without any haste.

"No! Our Poke Balls!" Max panicked.

"How are we supposed to call them back now?!" Reedus exclaimed. Before he had time to consider, wisps of blue fire surrounded Smeargle. Using his tail to project them, the wisps all pelted Reedus, making him scream in pain. Lombre added insult to injury with another blast of Bubble that paneled across the avenue, pelting members nonstop.

As Nab fell to his knees, he noticed a familiar figure standing not too far away with a piece of bread in hand. He looked at him blankly before the realization dawned. "Eh? Munchlax?"

Munchlax stood still, nibbling on the piece of bread he stole from a nearby bakery. With a flick of his wrist, he lobbed the remainder of the bread into his mouth, chewing before finally swallowing. Only after did his expression turn the faintest shades of hostile. He raised his hands and wagged his two index fingers left and right in rhythm, much like a Metronome.

"Uh...what are you doing?" Nab wondered.

Munchlax kept wagging until the tips shined. His mouth erupted in fire before he opened wide once more. A torrential wake of flames in the kanji of fire shot at Nab, via Fire Blast. The wake of the attack was enough of a surprise to leave Nab borderline speechless.

"Are you kidding me?!" Nab exasperated, moments before the flames reached him.


All around the guild hall's perimeter, there were only faint glimpse of a couple figures that appeared one moment and disappeared the next. One would have speculated that it was an illusion show. Others would have figured they were moving so fast they were hardly traceable. But if one was able to observe more closely, it was really two figures in a frantic chase for the other.

Mest used his Teleportation Magic as fast as his body was able to keep up. Left and right, side-to-side; he traversed around the guild hall so fast that if anyone saw him, they would have mistaken him for having several dozen of himself scattered.

'Kirlia can use Teleport, so he could end up anywhere. My best bet at containing him would be to outmaneuver him and take him by surprise!'

A solid plan. Only one problem. When Mest reappeared, he sensed something behind him. He didn't even have to glance over his shoulder to know that it was Kirlia, looking lifeless, if not bemused by her trainer's strategy.

"Crap, he caught on quick!" Mest immediately teleported onto the guild hall's roof, with Kirlia reappearing in front of him. He took a step back and grunted in aggravation. 'Is he able to read my mind? He is Psychic-type afterall...'

Kirlia stood completely still, his red eyes closing as he tried to calm himself. In his head, he pictured a single drop of water, causing a ripple effect that made his mind feel at ease. A red aura surrounded his body that signaled increase of stats. This alarmed Mest.

'That was Calm Mind!'

Kirlia reopened his eyes and twirled around. His skirt sent glowing green leaves at Mest, via Magical Leaf. With another gasp, Mest instinctively teleported away to evade the attack. He reappeared behind Kirlia, a hand on the roof to keep balance afoot.

'He used Calm Mind to increase the power of his Magical Leaf. But that power doesn't mean anything if it can't hit its target!'

With an opening, Mest was about to close the gap. However, he noticed the ongoing green glints in the distance suddenly changing direction. 'What?!' The Magical Leaf didn't dissipate. In fact, it changed its course right over Kirlia's head directly into Mest. Once again, Mest teleported a split-second before the attack could get close. This time he teleported towards the side of the guild hall on the opposite end of the building.

"What was that just now? Don't tell me that attack has some kind of homing on it." He grunted at the prospect. He perked up and saw the glowing green leaves shoot from around the corner, coming in hot. He vanished and reappeared in midair above, yet the leaves immediately took a 90 degree turn and shot up at him from below. 'It's no use! I can't shake them!'

With other option, Mest used his arms and covered up. The leaves shot into him, pelting and cutting his clothing and flesh superficially to where multiple bright green bursts of energy ignited from impact. A smoky eruption blossomed over the guild hall as Kirlia stood there with no emotion. He watched as Mest reappeared in front of him, his body only a little scraped from the onslaught.

'Damnit, I couldn't avoid that...' Mest panted from the excessive usage of his magic. 'If I try and teleport away, his attack will follow me no matter where I am. And what's worse, that Calm Mind powered it up. Crap...how am I gonna snap him out of this?'

He furrowed his brows in thought. Kirlia got on one foot and twirled his body around once again, sending another wave of Magical Leaf at Mest. The latter brace himself with shocked eyes as he knew dodging was impossible.

"Thy winds, be thy piercing blade! Air Bullet!"

A sudden compressed bullet of air projected at lightning-fast speeds that outpaced the oncoming leaves. They intercepted the leaves, causing a shockwave of air to rush past Mest and Kirlia. "What was that?" Mest gasped as he turned to look where the attack came from. Kirlia looked just as surprised.

There, floating in the air, was someone whom Mest had never seen before. He looked to be a mage, if the fact that he was floating in the air wasn't a dead giveaway. The mage retracted his magic staff as the faint green glow receded from the orb on the tip.

Mest blinked. 'Who is he? I've never seen him before...'

"Are you well, young man?" The mage spoke in a deep tone. It wasn't very taxing for Shiin to do such a different tone, but thanks to his Transformation Magic's properties, the vocal chords were also changed so it didn't hurt as badly.

Mest furrowed his brows. "...yeah, I was just fine. Now, just who are you?"

Shiin hummed, choosing to descend from the air like an elevator. Mest looked on with inquiry. 'He can walk through the air just like Dereece? No, that isn't the case. That has to be Air Magic.'

"Pardon my intrusion, but I was just passing by the area when I noticed the commotion. It appears that this is a rather chaotic predicament that this city is in, yes?" Shiin stated, turning towards Kirlia opposing them. "Am I correct to say that is your Pokémon?"

"Yes...but how did you know about that?"

"Many of the Pokémon that have been running rampant through this city appeared to have originated from humans who owned them. I presumed that was the case for you as well. It isn't wise to allow this creature to harm anymore of the populace. I do apologize if I am intruding, but allow me to aid you in incapacitating this one."

Mest pursed his lip in deep inquiry. In all fairness, even though this mage claimed to have been passing by, he didn't have any reason to trust him. But even so, it wasn't like teleporting or running away would solve his own predicament. The mage was right of course, that having Kirlia running loose like this wasn't a good idea. As much as he wasn't comfortable with the idea, he had to at least comply for the safety of the guild.

"...alright. I suppose I can take the offer." He shot him a glare. "But don't try anything funny. I have questions for you as well, but I'll save those for after we take him down."

The mage nodded in understanding. "Very well. Now then, shall we?" He held up his free wrist, showing his magic rings that glinted with power. 'I must retain caution. I must refrain from using my Truth Magic while I am around a fellow mage. He may very well be skeptical of me right now.'

'Ring Magic? Just who is this guy?' Mest pondered. His curiosity got the better of him so much that his left brow twitched. His impulse made him make a beeline towards the flagpole and gnaw on the metal. "I really wanna know! I really wanna know!"

Shiin looked back annoyed. "What are you doing? Focus on the situation!" He turned forward, scoffing. 'Do not digress, Shiin. Remember your priorities. These Pokémon are the enemies for now, focus on them.'

Kirlia slowly lifted a leg, taking a pose to attack once more.


Elfman and Machoke let out manly cries as their fists drove into each other. They shot pass the other's arm and made contact with the sides of their faces. Simultaneous grunts came from them as they felt the force in their punches. A normal man would have had his skull knocked in; thankfully Elfman was not just any normal man.

The two stepped away from the other to recover from their blows. Elfman was a little faster and threw the next punch. Machoke barely caught on and crossed his arms to block the full impact. "A real man doesn't stand by while his Pokémon are out of their minds!"

Machoke's left eye narrowed. "That so? Well then...would a real man be able to stand his ground after this?!"

At the innuendo, Elfman's eyes widened. He didn't have enough time to process something hard and golden hitting the back of his head, swallowing him in a miniscule explosion. The resonator was none other than Rhyhorn, whose Smack Down came from his smoking mouth.

"Strength!"

His muscles pulsating with adrenaline, Machoke uncrossed his arms with sheer strength. Elfman flew backwards with a heavy grunt and barely caught himself. He slid to a halt and leered warily at his Pokémon. "Cheap shot..."

Machoke rammed a fist into his palm, whereas Rhyhorn dug his foreleg into the dirt. Elfman was pincered from both sides. He knew that because of No Guard, dodging Machoke at least would be all but impossible. Even if Rhyhorn attacked and he dodged, Machoke's offense would get to him...and that's when an idea sprung in his head.

'If I can't dodge Machoke, then I'll have to take him head-on. But first...' His body started transforming, magical pixels outlining his frame.

"Take-Over!"

"Bring it on!" Machoke reeled his arm back for another Strength. Rhyhorn grunted as he took a charge after him with the intent to Stomp. As Elfman was completing his Take-Over, the two were taken back when they only noticed only Elfman's arms were transforming into iron gauntlets.

'Iron gauntlets?!'

Elfman first turned towards Rhyhorn as the quadruped beast sprung off the ground, raising his foreleg. Elfman clutched the heel with an iron grip.

"Beast Arm: Iron Bull!"

Machoke's pupils shrank. He was already too close when Elfman pivoted and let out a battle cry as he threw Rhyhorn overhead, slamming him onto the back of his neck with extreme force. The wake was enough to depress the ground heavily, though the cushion only made Machoke's body feel like it was being crushed. Rhyhorn was equally as shocked, if not more so.

Elfman pulled back, his fists clutched. "I know that Rock-types aren't that strong against Steel-types. I'm pretty sure this qualifies. So..." He flexed his right bicep, showing off the iron casket it was encased in. "You knocked to your senses yet?"

Rhyhorn was stunted atop of Machoke. He gradually slid off of him and slumped onto his stomach. He blinked several times and shook his head after reeling from that sudden loss of wind. As soon as his red eyes stopped rattling, he looked ahead at Elfman with a newfound aggression. "I don't like that...!" he sneered.

"Yeah? What, did you just now feel it, big guy?" Elfman taunted. "You were always not the best at keeping track at what's in front of you." He remembered the many battles and jobs he used Rhyhorn in. The jobs especially when Rhyhorn would be too mindless and aloof to be of any assistance other than battling. "If all you're good at is charging at whatever's in your way, then what's stopping you?! Come on!"

Rhyhorn bared his two teeth and roared. He planted his forelegs into the ground as his head crest glowed bright orange. Elfman braced himself for his next attack.

"Rock Blast!"

Rhyhorn jerked his body with every silver energy crest that came from his forehead. Five in total were blasting in a straight line in Elfman's direction. He punched through each one as they dissipated in his ironclad punches. He roared vigorously as he closed the gap.

Rhyhorn, having no other alternative, roared back and charged head-on towards his trainer. Each step quaked the ground as he barreled mindlessly after him. Elfman reeled his fist back and met Rhyhorn dead-center, sending a gust across the area from impact. It only lasted a few seconds before the standoff went in Elfman's favor, his iron-enforced fists pushing harder until he threw an uppercut that sent Rhyhorn skywards. He smashed into the ground not too far with a tremendous thud. The dust cleared away to reveal him on his side, spirals in his eyes.

Elfman deactivated his partial Take-Over, turning his attention towards Machoke as he staggered back to his feet. "Now...it's just you and me."

Machoke leered. "Now I get it. You used Rhyhorn's own stupidity and made him reckless...tch, that's what he gets for not being bright."

"A real man doesn't talk smack about his friends who had just fallen!" Elfman berated.

Machoke huffed out his nose. "Hmph, whoever said that we were friends? It's every 'mon for himself! Only the strongest 'mon can handle themselves!" His eyes narrowed angrily. "And I aim no less."

"That so? Then if you really wanna be the best..." Elfman's body glowed, this time in his Beast Soul: Ape. "Then what are you doing talking about it? Show me!"

Machoke vindictively cracked his knuckles. "Heh...this is gonna be fun."

Nearby, Rufflet hollered as he flew past Lisanna with glowing wings. He landed on the ground and pivoted before shooting at her again. This time, it barely scraped by her head, knocking only a few strands of her hair.

"C'mon, Rufflet! Enough already! This has gone too far!" Lisanna pleaded.

Rufflet didn't listen to her pleas, instead his talons glowed for Slash as he raked them across Lisanna's forearm that she used to block. The wake of the slash was strong enough to send a shockwave through her arm to show it being a critical hit.

Vullaby's tiny wings glowed as she flapped, creating a mild Gust that was directed into Mirajane. She covered herself as the winds were keeping her from getting closer. "Vullaby! That's enough!" she cried out.

However, Vullaby didn't listen. She let up, only for her wings to glow purple. She rushed at Mirajane with Punishment. The smack went right to her left cheek with a loud clap. She stammered back, meeting her sister's back at the same instance as she stammered.

Rufflet and Vullaby pulled away, shooting glares at their trainers.

"Ha! You see that! It doesn't matter if you're a human or not! I ain't afraid of you!" Rufflet squawked.

"Yeah, yeah! And I can do fine just by myself! You can't baby me anymore! I'm a big girl!" Vullaby beamed with pride.

Both girls remained silent as they reeled from the assaults they took. Shadows covered their faces to hide their expressions. It was hard to read them aside from the visible frowns on their faces.

"Lisanna...?"

"Yeah, Mira?"

"What do you say? Thinking a little tough love?"

A malicious smirk came across Lisanna's face. "What do you know, I was just thinking the same thing..."

Rufflet and Vullaby growled lowly before they sprung after their trainers again. However, both Strauss women were enveloped in glows that caused the ground to shudder. They both stopped in their tracks and used their tiny wings to shield themselves from the light.

"You've been very bad birds..." a satanic feminine voice boomed.

Rufflet and Vullaby uncovered themselves, and the visions before them made their eyes shrink in growing fear. Standing before them was Lisanna and Mirajane respectfully, both adorning Take-Overs of their own. Lisanna adorned her Take-Over: Drapion, as to where Mirajane was in her Satan Soul. The looks on their faces showed just how angry they were.

"Looks to me that you children...need to be taught your place." Mirajane's demonic tone hummed.

"Now Rufflet..." Lisanna held up poisonous, strong claws. "You keep being bad, I'll have to get a little rough on you.

Rufflet and Vullaby's faces gradually grew more fearful by the second as claws snipped and crackled. The two feminine disasters drew closer, leaving them afraid of what's to come.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" Their unison cries echoed through the skies above.


Back within the streets of Magnolia, Kinana barely dodged Seviper's Night Slash, her forked tail slashing into the streetlamp pole behind. As Kinana backpedaled away, Seviper hissed and inched closer, not minding the streetlamp collapsing into the middle of the street.

"Seviper, please! This is so unlike you! You don't really have to do this!" Kinana tried again to plea with her. Seviper retaliated by opening her mouth, spitting out purple liquid in a pressurized stream via Venoshock. This time the attack hit her, putting her on her back on the ground.

Seviper flicked her forked tongue in a scornful hiss. "Serves you right." She slunk her body over towards Kinana, the latter's stomach stinging from the venomous liquid staining her dress. "You humans in general are always so controlling. Whenever something doesn't go your way, you find yourselves entitled to throw a hissy fit. And then you leave it up to us to clean up after your messes."

Kinana's eyes widened. She rose to her feet, but Seviper swept her tail at her ankles, immediately downing her with a thud on her side. The pain she felt was excruciating. "S-Seviper...please...is this really what you think?"

"Look at me! Do I look like I'm bluffing?" Seviper shot Kinana a scornful glare, answering her own question. This only served to unnerve Kinana even more. "Perhaps you didn't know this, but back where I'm from, we have a certain Pokémon that we Seviper cannot stand. And no matter what, be it one or a hundred...I want to see them all dead." She envisioned a particular Pokémon, one with white fur with red streaking fur on gash-like fashion. She visibly shuddered when she envisioned that Pokémon slashing with equal frenzy rage in its eyes. She hissed deeper in angst. "That hate is in my blood. Even now, just thinking about it makes me want to raise my tail..." Subconsciously, her tail started sharpening against the edge of the concrete sidewalk. Each side she scraped along the edge finely sharpened each side in repetition. "Before, I couldn't bring myself to course that hate. If I did back then, that snake woman would have tried to make me her supper. Being confined to you humans...has given me something to hate just as much!"

"Wait...Seviper!" Kinana was cut off when she saw Seviper's sharpened tail held out towards her.

"Don't try to defend yourself. I've been around you humans long enough to know that no matter what, the only thing that satisfies you is control. And even then, you take even more from others until they are just putty in your fleshy human fingers. My own blood matters can wait...after I chop off every digit on all your human hands!"

"Seviper...is this really how you've felt this whole time...?"

She raised her tail high, shimmering with a dense edge that seeped in bright purple energy, via Night Slash. Time slowed down enough for Kinana to think back to when she first took Seviper in from the Alvarez Empire.

'I already knew that you just wanted to get away from being enslaved, but...to feel this afraid of being seen as a tool?' She clutched her fist closer to her chest, her inner anger going. '...no, I won't let that happen!'

Seviper cried out as she slashed her tail downwards onto Kinana. The green-eyed woman watched the blade draw closer to her face. Her sclera suddenly turned reptilian before an explosion of purple Magic Power engulfed her. The force of the wake was enough to stop Seviper's tail.

"Gah-?!" She recoiled as a pillar of towering venomous energy swelled around Kinana. It steadily gained height and solidified into a long, serpentine shape whose green eyes glowed through its silhouette. The shadow faded, revealing Kinana in her serpent form.

She opened her huge maw wide, expelling a low roar into the air above her.

Seviper's eyes widened at the return of her trainer's alternate form. "She...turned back into a snake!"

Kinana closed her mouth and turned to look down at the now shaken Seviper. Her size clearly trumped hers. Even so, she wasn't going back to being somebody's pet without a fight.

Both serpents hissed at each other to measure the other up. Seviper sprung after Kinana with her knife tail ready to swing...


Klefki flew left and right, moving around Lucy to leave her in a daze. Even with over a dozen keys weighing on her, they didn't slow her down. Lucy could barely keep track as she zipped left and right with so much energy.

"So fast..." she murmured. With her eyes on Klefki, an illuminating red glow from behind got her attention. She turned around just in time to find Staryu firing a Bubble Beam. Lucy barely was able to dodge. When she did, she gasp upon seeing Klefki directly in her face.

"Draining Kiss!"

Klefki leaned forward, giving Lucy a peck on her forehead. The mark of supposed affection caused an ironically draining sensation to make her body momentarily numb. Klefki pulled away, leaving green energy waves to traverse up Lucy's body into an orb of light that jumped onto the former, replenishing herself.

Lucy put a hand to her forehead, cushioning the numb. "Hey, what gives?!" She didn't have time for an answer before a Psywave from Staryu surged through the air after her. Still reeling, Lucy barely pulled away in time as the attack struck the sidewalk. She watched as Klefki descended next to Staryu, eyeing up their trainer.

'This isn't good. Without my keys, I can't fight back.' She grunted as she felt her side. She made yet another error. 'And I left my Fleuve d'etoiles back home. Great...'

"What's the matter? Don't you want these back?" Klefki flaunted her keys towards Lucy, jingling them.

With no way to fight them, Lucy resorted to using her words. "Listen! Those keys were mine to begin with! You can't just take what isn't yours! It's wrong!"

"Oh really? Well if so, I don't see your name on any of them, which means it's fair game~!" Klefki jingled in glee, but also to gloat in Lucy's eruptive disarray.

Lucy balled her fists, her rage gradually increasing. "Klefki...I've raised you better than this. I gave you those keys to hold onto because I trusted you. Why now of all times do you get off to flaunting what's supposed to be us?!"

"H'oh?" Klefki tilted up, thinking for a moment. "Hmm...why now? Why now...? Oh, I know why!" She smiled brightly. "It's because I feel like it, that's all!"

Lucy blinked in a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. Did she really justify herself with an answer like that? She half-expected that kin of a response from Natsu of all people. How could Klefki just feel so nonchalant about this?

She twirled around in joy. "Yup, you heard right! After all, you humans are one to talk about having your own way? Really, have you seen how you all don't take care of your stuff? Why, if these were my keys, I would hold them so close to me that I would never lose them...especially to somebody like you."

"That doesn't even make sense! You can't even use magic, you don't even know how important those are to me! How important you guys are!"

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP-BEEP-BEEPBEEP

"Yeah, what Staryu said." Klefki harrumphed. "So what about magic? You ask me, these keys are much to dangerous to have in your hands. Didn't you break one before?"

Lucy's eyes shrank with a gasp. Memories of Aquarius' key being sacrificed flooded her mind. It shattered her so much that even after she had recovered that key, it scared her just as much that such a thing could happen again. It was enough to momentarily break her composure.

"You wouldn't know...what I had to do to wish that still didn't come true..." She thought about Sophie, how she was there for her when that happened, and how she returned the favor of preserving Aquarius' life and key with her memories. "The people that were most dear to me...I can't bear to lose them again...nobody..." Her voice cracked as she clutched her chest. She lifted her head, tears in the corners of her eyes. "I'll make sure to get them back! And you! I won't let you go, no matter how much you say otherwise! You hear me?!"

"Oh, we hear you alright." Klefki chimed.

BEEPBEEP Staryu beeped.

"But can you hear this?" Klefki drifted into the air. Lucy watched on as she saw Klefki's body glowed light blue.

"Metal Sound!"

Silver soundwaves accompanied by a high-pitched ringing spread towards Lucy. As soon as they reached her ears, she covered up and lurched forward in distress. She grunted heavily as a bright blue aura enveloped her own body.

"Lucy!" Wendy cried out from above. Even though the attack wasn't directed at her, she couldn't ignore the ringing that her sensitive Dragon Slayer ears were picking up. She saw her friend in trouble to fight against the soundwaves.

"Wendy, look out!" Carla cried out.

Wendy gasped before realization returned to her. She turned back towards Amaura when a cold Icy Wind blew in her direction. Carla pulled them up and away from its range. "That was close..." Wendy muttered. She looked up, realizing Swablu was still present.

The little blue bird hummed to herself before opening her mouth again. She fired another Disarming Voice, making heart-shaped soundwaves envelop the two. They grunted heavily as the soundwaves stunned them for only a moment. But that moment was long enough for Amaura to get good aim from below. Energy concentrated from her own body to a singular point with a bright core.

"Ancient Power!"

Amaura projected the hemisphere of ancient energy up towards the stunted targets. Wendy and Carla managed to keep an eye open and barely reeled away to allow the wake of the attack to intercede the soundwaves. A smoky surge enveloped the sky, which Wendy and Carla flew out of.

"Wendy! We can't just fly around like this! We have to attack!"

"I know, Carla! But..." She bit her lip, frustrated at the prospect of harming her dear partners. "They don't even know what they're doing is wrong! We can't hurt them like this!"

"I know just how you feel, Wendy, but...look out!" She barely veered out of the way of an oncoming Aurora Beam from below. Their eyes fell upon Amaura as her mouth contained an orb of glistening black and kept firing the borealis attack. With her speed, Carla was easily able to outmaneuver the attacks.

"Stop it, Amaura! Can you even hear me?!" Wendy pleaded. "It's me, Wendy! Remember?!"

Amaura frowned heavily. She wanted to say something, but she looked too nervous to do so. Instead, she inhaled deeply and expelled a cold, frosty blast of air once again. This time, her Icy Wind met its mark and put Wendy and Carla at a halt in midair. A blue aura enveloped them both for a brief instance.

"Please! You don't have to do this! Just let me help you!" Wendy cried through the cold winds.

"N-no!" Amaura stammered. She increased the force of her attack, causing a slightly harsher force of icy air that caused Carla to drift backwards. The two girls ended up falling towards the ground below, but were able to catch themselves before hitting the sidewalk.

Swablu and Amaura stood before them, their grimacing frowns doing little to ensure Wendy that everything would be okay.

"Listen Wendy, if things keep going like this, we won't get anywhere." Carla insisted. Wendy still didn't look sure. "I know they're our friends, but right now, they're the enemy. It's not safe having them in this state, who knows who can get hurt?"

Wendy hated it. She really did. She didn't like the idea of having to fight her own friends, especially when they may not be in the right state of mind. But she couldn't deny the validations in Carla's point. Just looking at them was enough to make that tiny defensive mechanism in Wendy's head to start up. She wished she didn't have to, but there would be no other option.

Though reluctant, she balled her fists tight. "...you're right, Carla. We'll have to put a stop them before we figure out what's really happening." She murmured.

Carla nodded. "Good." She glowed, transforming into her human form. "Now look alive! Here they come!"

"Right!" She and Carla took fighting stances against both Pokémon as they eyed them warily.


Azumarill bounced off her heels as she closed in on Juvia. She swung her tail around as water spiraled around the ball tip, extending into a spiraling wave. She swung her Aqua Tail through Juvia's abdomen, but it went straight through her liquid body and into the side of the building right beside her.

"Physical attacks like that with water won't work!" Juvia insisted.

"Hehe...you've ever played peekaboo?" Azumarill teased.

Juvia furrowed her brow. "Huh...?"

"Peekaboo!" Azumarill sprung out of the way, allowing multiple glints in the form of stars to rain down onto Juvia with her guard down. She used her forearms to take the glistening array. Each one made a sparkling eruption until a large bright burst of stars enveloped her. She slid back from the smoke cloud and grunted in slight pain. Her eyes fell onto Vaporeon, who was hiding behind Azumarill.

'She distracted me so I could let my guard down. She must have known that my body can't absorb non-water attacks.'

Having enough, Juvia reached her arms out. "Enough! Water Lock!"

Liquid condensed from the atmosphere into spheres that surrounded the three Water-type Pokémon. Three small spheres filled with water suspended over the ground, trapping them in place.

"There, that should hold you for a while." Juvia was sure that her spell would hold them down...until she heard a splash coming from one of the spheres. "What?"

The sphere keeping Vaporeon confined ended up gradually bubbling, which was gradually absorbed into her body like a sponge. Slowly, the water shrank around her until all that remained were a few droplets that splattered the ground. Vaporeon landed on her four paws, shaking her head to and fro to dry her moist coat.

Juvia's pupils shrank in shock. 'She absorbed it?! Wait...is that because of her Water Absorb? Which means...none of my attacks will work?!'

Vaporeon leered at Juvia angrily. "Hmph! That's what happens when you don't pay attention to others around you!" An orb of icy energy appeared in front of her, channeling into an Aurora Beam that shot directly into Juvia.

With haste, Juvia kept one arm out to hold onto her spell, while she used her other arm and made a concentrated whip of water.

"Water Cane!"

She whipped at the oncoming beam, meeting it with such force that it made a mist cloud with a borealis sprouting of it. It clouded up between the two sides to briefly obscure them from the other.

Wartortle's eyes glistened over. 'Now it's my move!'

He tucked his limbs into his shell, including his head. Only part of his furry tail stuck out as he began spinning rapidly counterclockwise, via Rapid Spin. The acceleration of his spin was so fast that the water vibrated around him. It rippled until he shot himself out of his trap, slingshotting onto the ground and skipped through the mist, hopping into a surprised Juvia's face with enough force to leave a mark on her chin. She fell onto her back, whereas Wartortle landed in a striking pose in front of her.

The lack of control caused the suspended water prisons to collapse. Water fell onto the concrete below, with Azumarill looking unharmed. She shook herself of the slight shock and smiled with glee. "Phew! Way to go, Wartortle! You awesome stud, you!"

Wartortle hummed. "No trouble."

Juvia reeled from the pain in her chin, but she still managed to sit up, wincing in pain. "But how?"

"My apologies Boss-Ma...Miss Juvia." Wartortle's correction was followed with a short pause. "But by all means, if you had taken the time, you would know that with Rapid Spin, I can dispel whatever binds you through at us."

Azumarill skipped on up to his side. "But of course~, she would rather talk all day about how to please her human mate. Really, when do we really have any fun anymore?" she pouted playfully.

Juvia gritted her teeth in angst, both mentally and physically. She could take the physical beatings no problem, that came with the territory of a mage. But the real problem was the accusations thrown at her. The more slander she heard about her relationship with Gray, the more guilt piled up her conscience,

"We were depending on you, and all you cared about was another man. You chose him over your own responsibility as a trainer. What would happen if he wasn't around?" Vaporeon questioned. "You would talk all the time about him, like he's your whole world. Pokémon cuddling up to humans for attention is one thing, but what does that make you? If you're really acting like a puppy looking for attention, then maybe our roles should be considered being reversed."

A shiver went down Juvia's spine. "Attention...? Lost puppy...?" She shook her head in denial. "No! That's all wrong! My darling doesn't think of me that way!"

"We weren't talking about him, we were talking about you." Juvia froze in place. Vaporeon continued. "You see what I mean? Even when something isn't about your potential mate, you make it so it is. How in the world can we respect you if you don't have any respect for yourself?" She frowned as her tone grew remorseful. "You feed and train us, but you really never got to know us to make us feel homely...where's the love?"

"You guys..." Juvia's desperate plea for a way out seemed to be getting farther away by the waning second. 'Am I really...that bad of a responsible trainer?'

"Miss Juvia." Wartortle grabbed her attention. "You remember what you told me when we first met, right?"

"You see, I have someone I'm waiting for. If I never did, what would I have to wait for? I'm sure that, somewhere…there has to be someone waiting for you. Maybe you just have to look."

"...well now, we were waiting. Waiting long enough...but...that person we've waited for never came." He balled his claws. "We've been here the whole time by your side, but you instead were waiting for Mister Gray. Admirable as it is, it still hurts...now look where we are."

"Wartortle..." Juvia was borderline speechless. Whatever excuses she had tried to think of were corroding away.

"Hey, I say we should all play a game! A group one!" Azumarill chimed in, raising a hand.

Wartortle turned towards her. "You don't say? And what, may I ask, is your idea of a game?"

"It's simple! Let's play...keep away!" Azumarill hopped in joy. "Miss Juvia can try and keep our Poke Balls from us, and we try to take them! It's that simple!"

"Hm, sounds like a fun exercise...I'm in."

Juvia subconsciously reached for her empty Poke Balls, holding them tightly. 'My Poke Balls? Is that what they're after?'

Vaporeon swayed her tail from one end towards to other. "Well, Juvia...what is it going to be? You going to hope that your mate gives you strength that you don't want to use on us?"

Having no way out, Juvia grunted and reached for her top. "I won't let this happen! Gray can handle himself just fine!" She threw away her top, revealing her girdle. "I won't allow you to throw anymore slander to the ones that I love!"

Azumarill leaned forward. "Looks to me that she's ready to play."

Juvia leered heavily at them. Whatever was happening, she needed to stop this – now!


"Ice-Make: Lance!"

Gray summoned several ice lances from his hands that he projected at his three Pokémon. As they drew near, Snover's sleeves had a bright green outline as he swiped them across.

"Razor Leaf!"

A multitude of sharp, shredding leaves funneled and shit at the lances. With their cutting edge, they were successful in cutting the lances to thin sheets of ice that split between all three of them. The ice shattered, but they were all left unscathed.

Snover kept an arm pointed outwards. "Let's go, guys!"

"Yeah!" Snorunt and Bergmite sled themselves across the partially frozen ground. Thanks to Gray's magic making the ground partially frozen, it allowed their slow bodies to have greater maneuverability to draw closer. They jumped into the air above, both their mouths glowing for Bite.

Gray gritted his teeth and brought his hands together once more.

"Ice-Make: Shield!"

Snorunt and Bergmite were about to bite down on their intended target, but instead they found their teeth wedged into a thick, cold sheet of ice. They blinked in confusion before it registered to them that it was a shield made of ice.

"There's something to sink your teeth into for a while." Gray smirked.

Bergmite grunted, his nonexistent fangs fading and making him pull away. Snorunt, on the other hand, looked to be delighted. "Oh~, don't mind if I do!"

"Huh...?" Gray was curious at what Snorunt meant by that, but then he heard crunching sounds and saw him doing what he did best – eating the ice. "Hey, c'mon now! This really a time to snack?!"

His shouts went on mute. He watched as Snorunt chewed and chomped hungrily through the ice shield like it was hard candy. Every crunch made smaller ice chunks fall around the shield. Until finally, he ended up eating his way through the shield separating him and his trainer.

"Crap..."

Snorunt sprung right for Gray with his teeth glowing for Bite again. This time, Gray was able to backpedal as Snorunt's teeth bit down on thin air. With enough elbow room, Gray reached his arm out, summoning ice to freeze Snorunt in his tracks. However, when he did, it ended up only becoming a light frost. He raised a brow in mild surprise. "What gives?!"

Snorunt's body shuddered for a moment, but only out of ecstasy rather than bitter cold. "Ooooh, that felt nice!"

Gray furrowed his brow. He knew something about this was wrong. 'Wait, hold on...I know that Pokémon types are important here. I know that Poison-types can't poison others. So does this mean...that Ice-types are immune to being frozen?' He grunted. 'Great, as if Snorunt's appetite wasn't a hassle already.'

Snorunt and Bergmite surrounded Gray's other corners, trapping him in another triangle formation. He looked around and realized all three had blue glows coming from where their mouths would be. He knew what was coming.

"Icy Wind!"

A bitter cold blast of sparkling air came from all three Pokémon at the same time. They all blasted Gray's body with same amount of wind that it felt like he was being pressured from all sides. Sparkles of bright blue and frost erupted upon impact, dowsing their trainer in the thick cold might.

"Did we get him?" Snover worried.

"Hehe, don't worry! He's not going anywhere!" Snorunt exclaimed, undeterred by any sense of worry.

As they kept up the cold winds, however, they felt like something was off. Or more accurately speaking, something sounded off. It was faint in the howling winds, but they could have sworn they were hearing...slurping?

"Huh? You hear something?" Snorunt turned to Bergmite and Snover, the latter duo looking more visibly aware.

"Not good." Bergmite muttered.

Snover's eyes gradually widened as realization dawned upon him. "Oh no..." He watched as his Icy Wind was losing momentum...or rather it was being sucked elsewhere. The cold temperatures and icy frost were being converted into bright blue energy that was being vacuumed into a mouth that belonged to a shirtless, black-haired young man. They couldn't believe their eyes when they witnessed their attacks being eaten by Gray of all people.

"Wait, what?! When did he learn to do that?!" Snorunt exasperated.

"Woah...and here I thought Snorunt had a pension for chewing ice like crazy. This is...wow." Snover nervously muttered.

"Not good." Bergmite repeated. He noticed something off beneath his footing as well. He looked down, seeing the ice layering the ground reducing to concrete. It was all being turned to blue energy that was being sucked down Gray's gullet. "The ground too. Bad. Very bad."

After several more slurps, all the surroundings ice was devoured. With a voracious swallow, Gray sighed and wiped his mouth with his arm. "Thanks for the meal, guys...oh, and by the way, a little reminder: You should never use ice on an Ice Devil Slayer. Now..." He spread his legs as he took a firm stance. "Got any other tricks you wanna throw at me?"

Snorunt visibly reeled back in disbelief. He knew that his Ice-type attacks would be nothing against Gray now. Bergmite showed no emotion, but his single step back was enough of an indication of his wariness. Snover looked the most worried.

"Oh no...oh no, oh no, oh no~! This is bad! What do we...!" In his hasty thinking, Snover gasped. "Wait..." His eyes widened. "That's it!"

Gray stamped a heel onto the ground, the air becoming so cold that it started crystalizing. Devil Slayer icy energy manifested in his hands as he pulled back for a sheathed energy attack. "I don't know what you guys are going on about. All this talk of freeing yourselves and having your own place in the world! Don't act all high and mighty just because you got an ego boost over one night's sleep. This'll wake you up!"

He channeled icy energy to a singular point, swirling into a solid blade of purplish devil ice that he held in his hands.

"Snover. Eat." Bergmite insisted.

"I-I can't eat that! I've tried!" Snorunt exclaimed angrily. "No matter how much of it I try to chew, it's not going anywhere!" He nervously turned towards the blade, seeing the frosty mist surrounding it. "Oh crud..."

"Ice Devil's...!"

Snorunt and Bergmite braced themselves for the impact of Gray's spell...only it never came. In fact, the sounds of an impact never breached. Instead, they heard a loud, eerie chime that resonated in their area.

Gray, hearing this music, stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened when he felt his body losing its momentum. It was like he was frozen instead. 'What's happening...? My body...it's like I'm feeling sleepy all of a sudden...' His eyelids were getting heavier by the second, as opposed to his head getting lighter. An overwhelming sense of drowsiness overcame him. 'Crap...what's doing this...?'

With what his heavy eyes could see, he gazed at a blurry white figment, whose leafy hand was glowing and pressed against the mouth. As he was struggling to stay awake, the less focused he was in controlling his magic. His icy, demonic blade gradually faded away as he was on the verge of sleep.

"Sno...ver..." Unable to stand anymore, Gray finally succumbed to slumber. He fell over to his side with a thud, leaving Snorunt and Bergmite to stare in both awe and relief.

"Did he...he really just...?" Snorunt blinked, barely processing what happened.

Bergmite turned back towards Snover, who finished the eerie pitch on a long note. "Grass Whistle. Very effective. Appreciative of assistance."

Snover sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe, i-it's nothing special..." He turned towards Gray's sleeping form. "But still, we were lucky he was close enough to be in range."

Snorunt gave Gray a scrutinizing look. "So...how long you give it until he's back up?"

"I don't think I wanna know. Let's hurry and smash those stupid prisons we were in and get as far away from him as possible!"

"Affirmative." Bergmite sauntered closer to Gray's side. Snover and Snorunt quickly caught up. Snover, having the longest hands, reached into Gray's pockets and scouted for anything that felt like Poke Balls. After several seconds of scrounging, he pulled out three shrunken Poke Balls. He dropped them onto the ground, where Bergmite picked himself up and dropped onto the capsules. A loud crunching sound was heard beneath him, which was music to their ears.

When Bergmite lifted himself, the Poke Balls were revealed to be in shattered pieces; some of which was still pressed against Bergmite's white underside. As he walked away, some of the shards pieced off his icy flesh.

"Great! Now, let's get going while the going is good!" Snorunt urged.

"Good idea." Snover turned to leave with his comrades. Before he got too far, he turned to look behind at the still sleeping Gray. He let out a small sigh. "Sorry, Gray...hope you understand." He slowly turned back forward and shuffled across the ground. "Wait up, you guys!"

Above the area, the hailstorm finally let up, while Gray laid close to a pile of shattered Poke Ball remains.


"Hraaaaaah!"

The cries of a disoriented Gajeel ran through the avenue. He turned towards a nearby building and broke it with an iron fist. He morphed his arm into an iron sword and slashed a streetlamp in half, before stamping window glass.

"Stop it, Gajeel! What do you think you're doing?!" Levy yelled fearfully.

Gajeel grunted, as though he didn't hear her. He clutched his shaking head before letting out a loud cry into the air above.

"Levy, stay back! He's confused by that Swagger!" Pantherlily warned. He gripped his Musica Sword tightly in defense. "I doubt he hardly hears us, let alone recognizes us. If we approach him carelessly, he might mistake us as the enemy!"

"Grrrah!" Another streetlamp was sliced in half by Gajeel's iron blade. It slowly tilted into their direction, causing them to advert their attention towards the falling accessory. With a battle cry, Pantherlily gripped his sword and let out a furious cry of his own. He sliced the streetlamp down the middle, causing the metal to clang on either side of them.

"At this rate, he'll more likely be doing more harm than the Pokémon are. We need to find a way to snap him out of it."

Levy looked worried. She had every right to be. Seeing her man out of his mind did little to comfort her own well-being. Her brain was going a hundred miles a minute just thinking of how to snap him out of the confusion.

"Let's see...I know for poison, they use Antidotes and Pecha Berries, and for burns they use Burn Heals...if I remember correctly, the confusion should wear off on its own-!" She gasped when she saw an iron column beam her way. She and Pantherlily veered out of the way as the Iron Dragon's Club extended past them.

The confused Gajeel cried out as he extended his leg back and pulled it around. The iron club extension swung around into the buildings on their right, shattering windows and brick. The wake of his kick sent debris flying over Aron and Shieldon's heads as they took the opportunity to glow a bright aura around their bodies.

"Rock Tomb!"

"Ancient Power!"

"Gajeel, watch out!" Levy warned.

Gajeel's draconic hearing picked up on the distorted cry. It echoed in his head, but with his senses completely warped and a hazy vision, he couldn't recognize it. He looked back towards Levy, his hazy glare fixed on her. It left him wide open for Aron to lob rocks from above, with Shieldon shooting a silver hemisphere with a bright core at his back. The sphere struck first, exploding against his back and making him grunt. The next thing he knew, multiple gray rocks piled onto him, burying him in their wake.

"Gajeel!" Levy cried out.

"He'll be fine! It'll take more than that to keep him down. You know how stubborn he is." Pantherlily turned towards Aron and Shieldon. "That said, we need to find a way around this, and fast. Levy, I'll buy you some time. If anyone can bring Gajeel to his senses, let it be you."

Without much room for objection, Levy nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Alright...you asked for this!" With a battle cry, Pantherlily sprung towards the Pokémon with his fangs bared.

Shieldon braced himself. "This no-Rock-type is just asking for trouble."

"Then I say we give it to him." Aron sneered.

As Pantherlily closed the gap with his extended Musica Sword, Levy was left to turn her attention towards the rubble that Gajeel was under. She hurried and raced up towards him with panted breaths. "Gajeel! Say something! Are you alright down-?!"

Before she had time to finish her sentence, the rubble erupted, sending rocks flying over her head. She flinched and stopped in her tracks just as the Rock Tomb remains scattered around her feet. She looked back, seeing Gajeel still standing with his posture hunched and a hazed look in his eyes. A blue aura enveloped his body as his speed decreased.

"RAAAHH!" He let out a battle cry into the air once more. He made an abrupt turn towards a nearby house and began ramming his head into the thick brick wall repeatedly.

Levy blinked as she watched him hurt himself in his confusion. A part of her was skeptical if he was even confused at all. This – to her – wasn't necessarily too far from when Gajeel would have a tantrum. "G-Gajeel...?" She reached her arm out, but chose to pull away. Her expression gradually turned serious.

"Think Levy. Let's see, there's a cure for this...now what was it?" She furrowed her brow as she thought long and hard about the multiple berries and medicinal means to status conditions a Pokémon could give and receive from others. Suddenly, she got an idea. "Wait...that's it! I remember now!"

She reached into her pocket, pulling out what looked like a medium-sized golden spray bottle with a spray nozzle.

"This Full Heal...it can cure any status ailment. Yes! This will definitely work!" She steeled herself and turned towards Gajeel. "Now...I just need to get close enough to administer it."

Gajeel was still preoccupied banging his head against the wall to notice Levy drawing closer. He couldn't tell which way was up or down. All he saw was a blur. A haze. Everything was so distorted around him that it was giving him a headache – that, or it could be the mild concussion he was giving himself. At this point, all that mattered was making this sensation go away, however possible.

Levy walked closer, making sure to keep her footsteps as light as possible. She inched closer to the back of Gajeel's head with the Full Heal aimed for his head. 'Sorry Gajeel, but this will fix you right up.'

As soon as her fingers tapped the trigger, the smell of something sharp made it to Gajeel's nose. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder with a hazed visage, glaring daggers at Levy like she did something wrong.

She gasped in shock before suddenly pulling away from a quick punch by Gajeel. It smashed into the ground, shattering the stone by a large margin in a small diameter around him. She landed a short distance away with a worried look.

"Stop it, Gajeel! I'm trying to help you!"

Gajeel glared hazed daggers at the figure before him. In his eyes, he only had a bloodshot scope around a hazy feminine figure before him. When he heard her voice, it sounded more like a distorted muffle that only served to make his headache intensify. His right eye twitched before an impulse made him jut his left arm out as it turned into a jagged iron spear. Out of fear, Levy moved herself, barely evading the iron dagger by a hair. Her eyed were wide as she looked back with surprise.

"That was close..." She spoke too soon when she turned back and gasped at another longsword heading her way.

"Solid Script: Guard!"

Letters spelling the word 'GUARD' appeared in front of her. The iron blade beamed through and pierced the lettering without much effort. "Gyah!" She shrieked as she backpedaled from her defenses being brought down. "It's...it's no good. That Swagger increased his strength too much. My defenses can't keep up! At this rate..."

Gajeel reeled his arm back, his vision still warped. He grunted angrily before cringing and shaking his head. Levy took the opportunity to make more letters.

"Solid Script: Bind!"

Letters spelling the word 'BIND' appeared around Gajeel. The letters bent and compressed around him until they constricted against his body. He found himself grunting harshly as he was trying to break free.

"That should hold him long enough. Better make this quick." Levy rushed in and held the Full Heal up to Gajeel's face. "Sorry, Gajeel! But this is or your own good! Snap out of it you metal-brained jerk!"

Gajeel suddenly stopped moving. His eyes widened as he looked directly at Levy. The way he looked at her...it was like he was discerning her. His hazed red eyes were peering into hers and vice versa. For a moment, Levy hesitated to pull on the nozzle. It looked like he was trying to figure out what was happening.

"Gajeel...?"

After several seconds of staring blankly, the headache in Gajeel's head suddenly pulsated. He grunted in discomfort and started tussling around in the letters. Levy hurried to administer, but was too late when Gajeel flexed his arms with a loud cry. His sheer strength dispelled the words and made iron spikes jut out from underneath. Levy shrieked as she was thrown back.

"Levy!" Pantherlily cried out, but caught on at the last second and parried Aron's metallic energy claws and Shieldon's glowing frame with the flat end of his blade.

Levy fell onto her side a short distance away, and with her, the Full Heal fumbled onto the ground a short distance from her. She made an effort to sit up and look over at the remedy. "The Full Heal!" She sprung to her legs to reach it, but was cut off by iron columns coming between them. She backpedaled away with a gasp, and another set of iron columns cornered her.

She found herself trapped from all sides by iron columns. The only open direction was sitting directly in front of her...and Gajeel staggered right towards her. "Gajeel..."

In his confused angst, Gajeel cried out as he jumped into the air, creating another iron sword in the process. It barely missed Levy, but at the cost of leaving a cut on her cheek. She fell onto her back as Gajeel stood over her. And yet, even in the face of possible death, the look Levy had reassurance.

"Gajeel...you're better than this." His hazy glare narrowed. "I know you would never try to hurt me. You're stronger than this. I know you are."

Gajeel's fists shook. He tried making heads and tails of what she was saying, but her voice was so corrupt. The way he heard it made it sound like a dare. He pulled back his fist slowly to ready a punch.

"You remember, don't you? All those fights you've won, I was there. Gajeel...you're stronger for other people, that's why I know that this time...you can wake yourself up." She saw him shaking. He needed just one more push. "Because...I won't settle for anything else, but for the Gajeel that I know! So please, wake up already!"

Gajeel's eyes widened. His fist finally slung forward and Levy braced herself for the impact.

BANG!

The fist met a body, hard. Time slowed down for a brief moment as Gajeel was nearly slung off his feet by the force of his own punch across the face. Levy's face was painted with bewilderment as Gajeel caught himself and kept his head down, his fist still slung across his face.

Everything was silent for a moment as Levy stared. "Gajeel...?"

"Gnnngh...I thought I heard a familiar voice..." Gajeel lifted his head, showing his fixed red eyes with a smile through the bruise his fist made with his own cheek.

Levy smiled endearingly, her eyes glossing from the verge of tears. "You big jerk."

He smiled back until he noticed the small trail of blood coming down her left cheek. Immediately, he dropped to one knee and cupped the side of her head with worry. "Levy, you're..."

"Huh? On, no, this is fine. It's just a scratch." She assured.

While she was right, it didn't sit well with Gajeel. He knew he caused that injury. His iron heart sank as his breathing grew steadily deeper. He knew who was to blame. He slowly looked back over his shoulder, his visage focused on the small battle happening a short distance away.

Aron charged at Pantherlily with an Iron Head, which met the steel end of the Musica Sword. The collision made silver sparks fly around them as they had a momentary standoff before they both reeled away. With his superior reflexes and bodily built, Pantherlily quickly recovered and sprung after him again.

"Rock Tomb!" Aron made several gray boulders manifest around him in a ring before lobbing them at Pantherlily.

"Think again!" Pantherlily swung his blade around, making fast cuts that left white lines hashing over each other as he pressed on. The boulders sliced to clean bits before exploding into dust behind him. "You're mine!"

From the corner of his eye, a silverish hemisphere shot his way that he managed to intercept at the last second. He sliced it in two, making it explode behind him. He stared at Shieldon, who grunted angrily at him.

"You won't blindside me that easily!" He readied another swing, but he noticed Shieldon's stance was firm.

"Swagger!" A red aura appeared around Shieldon as he focused his glare on the oncoming Exceed.

Pantherlily's eyes widened. 'Swagger?! No! This was a trick! He lured me on purpose!' He slid to a stop and pulled away. 'I have to keep my distance!' He made an attempt to pull back, but an intense force met his back like a large metal punch. He grunted in pain as he reeled forward from Aron's Iron Head that he didn't see coming. He fell forward onto his stomach in pain as the aura around Shieldon passed onto him. The aura engrossed him until it filtered throughout his body, until finally it vanished.

Pantherlily staggered back up, this time with a staunched posture. He lifted his head, showing hazy, disoriented pupils that only saw bloodshot vision and deformed silhouettes. He immediately darted for a nearby boulder from the earlier Rock Tomb remnants and began bashing his head against the stone.

Shieldon scoffed at the sight. "These pathetic no-Rock-types are too fragile. They don't even know how to hold their own ground without stumbling on their two legs."

"I know." Aron sneered. "Can't believe that they have the nerve to stand above us when we have four legs...wait, is having four legs that big of a deal to you?"

"Of course it is! Last I checked, by this era's terms of measuring, four is greater than two. Isn't that right?"

Aron blinked. He didn't know where this conversation was going, but he was aware enough that it wouldn't do him any good with having to relay to Shieldon the sheer configuration of anatomy. "Whatever. Let's get going. I'm done wasting my time with these humans."

"Hey...forgetting something?"

They both turned to leave, but saw a familiar figure glaring heated daggers at them. They looked equally shocked as they were disappointed. Shieldon especially was surprised. "W-what the-?!"

"GRAAAH!" Before Shieldon could finish his sentence, an iron column shot up beneath him, smashing into his stomach. His eyes went white as he jutted into midair, where Gajeel grabbed his head. "HRAAAAH!" He brought him overhead and smashed him into Aron's head, making a loud metallic clang that sounded like a church bell. The ground gave in beneath Aron from the impact and made a small magnitude.

The wake of the attack was enough to grab the confused Pantherlily's attention. He turned around, seeing a silhouette standing before a crater that had two unconscious bodies wedged into the dirt.

"You guys caused a bunch of trouble..." Gajeel cracked his knuckles. "If you don't want to be eaten...you better stay down."

"Gnnngh...!" Pantherlily growled, deciding to stagger after the silhouette before him with his sword. Gajeel calmly turned around and waited until Pantherlily was close enough for him to grab his sword with his bare hands.

"Now, Levy!"

"Right, here goes!" Behind Pantherlily, Levy was positioned with the Full Heal. The nozzle was set and she sat her fingers on the trigger. "Wake up, Lily!"

Her fingers squeezed on the trigger, expelling a sharp-scented fragrance that engulfed Pantherlily's upper-half. As he was grunting with a hazed look in his eyes, he was consumed in the small fragrance cloud, which vanished only seconds soon after. As soon as it left, the look in his eyes were normal once more.

"Wait, what the...?" He looked around, finally making sense of his surroundings. "Gajeel?" he looked forwards, realizing his sword was pinned between Gajeel's hands. "Hold on, why are we fighting?"

He pulled away with his Musica Sword, reverting it back to its smaller form.

"Alright, it really worked! Thank goodness!" Levy cheered.

"Yeah..." Gajeel's tone was more mild than relieved. He wasn't at all happy with what happened, especially with how long he was confused for. He looked around at the destroyed property and the possible collateral that was pinned on him. He looked down at the unconscious Aron and Shieldon with a solemn expression. "So they really think that we're that below them, huh?"

"It's possible. Maybe something triggered their inner most opinions and made them act upon it." Pantherlily pondered. "Why? What's on your mind?"

"I just got a gut feeling..." He turned away. "But we'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to find the others and regroup fast."

"Right." Levy nodded.

Gajeel gave Aron and Shieldon one more look of disgrace. He fell silent with a sigh for what had to happen. "...after we fix up these guys."


Gyarados' outrageous roar shook the air around him. His fangs glowed bright white as he lunged for both Joey and Dereece. The former got in front and held an arm out.

"Barrier-Make: Prism!"

A multi-sided barrier surrounded Joey and Dereece. Gyarados' jaws snapped down onto the solid structure with enough force to crush boulders. However, only a strong airwave erected from the force his Bite inflicted. He repeatedly kept ramming the prism with no signs of the spell wearing itself out.

"Captain Joey...what now?!" Dereece exclaimed.

"Can't you see that I'm a little backed up here?!" Joey snapped. As he kept the barrier up, he was trying to understand the situation they were in. 'We're already outnumbered, but even if we attack, our physical strength was weakened because of Gyarados' Ability. Gotta find a way around all this...'

Gyarados kept ramming the barrier, until he finally let up. His purple eyes shrank a little as he snarled in growing anger. Around him, Tranquill and Yanma flew in steeply and fired a barrage of Air Cutter and Signal Beam onto the surface. However, just like with Gyarados, the attacks were deflected off the surface by the angled edges, instead sending air crescents above the other Pokémon's heads. The Signal Beam's trajectory shot into Gyarados' face, causing a small-scale eruption engulfing his face and making him recoil.

"As long as the barrier holds, they can't touch us. And if they attack, they'll just be shot right back at them." For Joey's sake, he hoped that this would be how they would win.

Heracross steeled himself and suddenly shot into the ground beneath the barrier. His horn was stuck in the pavement and wedged beneath the barrier's footing. Joey and Dereece looked back, startled by the development.

"Dereece...what's your Heracross doing...?" Joey muttered worriedly.

"Oh no..." Dereece's eyes shrank. He remembered just how physically strong Heracross' horn was at lobbing heavy materials. He had a grim feeling of what came next. "Heracross! No!"

Heracross lifted his entire upper-half with all the force he could muster. The horn dug up the barrier's underside and shot them into the air above. The duo screamed as they went airborne inside the prism's escalating height.

"HOLD ME, DEREECE!" Joey cried out.

Gyarados shook his head and recovered from the attack. He snarled vengefully before raising his tail and swinging it around as the barrier was coming back down. He smacked it with his tail, sending it and the two people inside into the side of a building on the other side of the street. The barrier wedged into the outer wall, lifting itself shortly after. Joey fell onto his stomach below, with a dazed – and slightly nauseated – Dereece landing atop him.

"Okay...I'm hurt now..." Joey muffled, his body cringing from the shock of both gravity and Dereece's weight against him.

"Ooooi...my head..." Dereece groaned. He barely got out of his disorientation when he noticed shadows closing in on them. His eyes widened when he looked forward. "Captain Joey...?"

Joey picked up on the innuendo and saw Palpitoad upfront and stomping down. Brown water swirled around his base and gradually gained momentum. "Bupta!" He expelled the swell in a large wave with high pressure towards the two trainers in a rush similar to Gyarados' Waterfall. Joey managed to react on an impulse and reach an arm out.

"Barrier-Make: Barrier!"

A large, wide version of a barrier appeared in front of Joey. The impenetrable screen blocked the murky squall that still covered a large range. Only it ventured into the alleys around the damaged homestead to reduce collateral damage. With the small window for cover, the two managed to get to their feet.

"We can't just defend forever! Captain, we need to do something, and quick!" Dereece insisted.

"You think I don't know that?!" Joey bit his bottom lip. His brain was running a hundred miles an hour trying to burn through any misplaced angles in their plan. He knew that in a physical confrontation, they would be at a big disadvantage thanks to their lowered Attack prowess. And he was well aware enough to know that there wasn't a lot of time before they work their way around. The least he had to do was stall until an idea would spring into action.

"Dereece, listen! You try and distract your Pokémon for as long as possible! Stay in the air so you stay out of range while I try to knock them out one at a time!"

Dereece nodded. "You got it!"

Joey turned back forward. Most of the Pokémon were gathered closely together behind Palpitoad. He took a small inhale through his mouth and focused under the pressure. Meanwhile, Palpitoad shot callous glares. "Bupta~!"

"KRAAAAAHHH!" A monstrous cry came from Gyarados, who sprung himself over everyone's heads and arched into the Muddy Water's wake. "WATERFALL!" The brown water surrounding him turned crystal blue as he shot himself towards Joey's barrier. The look in his eyes spelled murderous intent, though Joey didn't back down.

"Barrier-Make: Crash!"

He shot his arm forward, pushing the barrier with an unseen force towards Gyarados. The two forces connected in between, creating a shockwave that forced the brown water to split into waves along the sides. The collision went straight into Gyarados' head crest, putting him at a stalemate for a short time.

"Now, Dereece!" Joey shouted.

"On it!" Dereece hurried and started "running" straight up away from the danger. However, he was quickly swept away by a blurry force in the form of Yanma. He yelped as he was tugged away, much to a baffled Joey's displeasure.

He facepalmed and shook his head. "Seriously, man?! Come on! You're gonna make me do all the work here?!" He groaned as he rolled his eyes towards the sky.

With Gyarados occupied with handling the barrier impeding his path, Tranquill soared overhead with glowing wings. "Air Cutter!" He glided over Joey's space and flapped and spread his wings rapidly, sending bright blue blades that struck the ground around the trainer. Waves of dust erupted that obscured Joey's vision. Fortunately, the attack didn't hit him, he knew he had to be careful.

'An ambush strike?' That was the base ideology that went through Joey's head. Sure enough, his intuition was right when he noticed a silhouette lunging through the obscurity. He was fast enough to pivot and spin out of the way of Trubbish's Take Down. As she sprung through the dust, Joey suddenly found his waist and torso wrapped by some sticky thread. As he straightened out, he noticed that his diminishing momentum had dropped by a great margin.

'What...?' He looked down as the dust settled. His eyes fixed upon a sticky thread that covered his stomach region and clung onto him. A large blue aura engulfed his body that sharply reduced his speed. "String Shot...?" He followed the line towards the one responsible for this.

"I got him! I got him!" The cheerful tune came from Larvesta, who was a short distance off to the side. "Take that, mean Mama Joey!"

"Mean?" Joey wanted to dawdle on that question, but he didn't have that luxury when he noticed Quilladin charging at him. He shifted his body weight to prepare for the attack. He watched as his arm pulled back and become encompassed in bright green, spiky energy barbs.

"Needle Arm!"

'This is gonna be close!' Joey had to act, and fast! Though he lost an ideal amount of speed from the String Shot, he had a few second gap to undo the barrier that blocked Gyarados' path and reshape it in front of him. Quilladin's arm met the stronghold with a powerful airwave exerting from the wake. It ultimately shoved him away and slid backwards against the pavement to a halt.

Joey breathed out in relief. 'Barely made it.' He retained caution at its highest. He didn't dare to dispel his barrier so his Pokémon could get him when his guard was down. 'Not only am I physically vulnerable, but I'm also slower...I've gotta at least get them out one at a time. The biggest problem is Gyarados, but there's also Trubbish with her Sludge. If that hits, I could end up being poisoned. Then there's...!'

Just as he was about to finish his inner strategy, he noticed something shocking. A burst of flames suddenly exerted from Quilladin, surprising everyone present. He yelped in shock as his body staggered backwards. "Yeow! That hurt!"

Joey's breath hitched. "A...burn?"

Palpitoad turned towards Quilladin. "Hej! Čo sa stalo?! Si tam v poriadku?!"

Quilladin shook his head as the remaining flames dissipated around him. "Geez...yeah, I think I'm fine. Just...a little shaken by that was all." He steadied his glare onto Joey. "More importantly...we've gotta take this guy down! The sooner, the better I'll feel about living a free 'mon!"

"Oooh, good idea!" Tranquill chirped.

Joey frowned. He knew that burn didn't just come out of nowhere. Something was off here. 'Wait a minute...is that burn from...!' His pupils shrank as he shot a glance over towards Larvesta. 'From Larvesta earlier!'

It just hit him. That Ember that was deflected by his barrier earlier. When it struck Quilladin, it didn't do much damage at all given the difference in experience and his Special Defense far outweighing her Special Attack. But the small burn affliction, though as slim as a chance it was, was what made a light go off in Joey's head.

'I need to take out Quilladin. He's the most vulnerable right now.' He looked around, realizing that he still was severely outnumbered by his other Pokémon. 'Now I gotta wonder...just how am I gonna get to him?'

A short distance away, Dereece managed to straighten himself out from being dragged away a minute ago. His brown eyes locked onto Joey's predicament. "Captain Joey..." A sudden shimmering beam with pixilated energy around it sped right by him, spooking him. He backpedaled in the air and jerked away when a black and green energy beam sped near his shoulder. He turned to find Yanma and Seel firing multiple rounds of Signal Beam and Aurora Beam respectively. He levered himself to and fro around every beam fired, but each one made his arms and legs move in unorthodox mannerism. It was hard to tell if he was dancing or wasn't good at dodging. Whatever the case was, neither Yanma nor Seel let up.

Watching his trainer in distress, Stunfisk meekly chuckled. "Looks like the pudding sac is losing a few carbs up there." He smiled wide and chuckled uproariously. He then noticed something off to the side. "Hey, Heracross, you pitchin' in or what? You missin' out."

"Hm?" Heracross was a short distance from Stunfisk, turned to his side with his claws halfway into his mouth drenched in the Honey jar he still had in his claws. "Oh...right, sorry." He mumbled.

Stunfisk nervously blinked. "You just might become that sticky dressing if you keep eating it."

"Well, you're not a Bug-type, so you wouldn't understand!" Heracross said defensively, moving the Honey jar away.

Stunfisk eyerolled. "Right, cuz that would bug you more! Hahahaha!" His uproarious laughter was met with a blank, shallow stare from Heracross. "Haha...ha...oi. tough crowd tonight. Well, after tonight, we'll be having the last laugh." He turned towards Dereece with a mischievous smirk growing. "And I know the perfect punchline to start with..."

While Dereece had his hands full, Palpitoad's bumpers vibrated vigorously. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth wide to exert a massive Hyper Voice towards Joey.

'The barrier isn't immune to sound!' Joey acted fast by reaching to his ears. He turned the knobs in his hearing aids until all he heard was a consistent light ringing that shot through his ear canals. He stood perfectly still inside the enclosed barrier as the Hyper Voice's sound blast deflected around the barrier, distorting air and making heavy objects vibrate upon impact.

Gyarados snarled aggressively. He swung his tail around, swaying it back and forth in small loops before letting loose one fell swing. "TWISTER!" He unleashed a tornado that snaked across the airspace. It struck Joey's barrier and swallowed it whole. High-pitched, audible howls echoed as the tornado kept the barrier trapped in its center. All while Joey retained his safety inside the boundaries of his magic.

'Twister?' Joey was surprised to say the least. But he had to think as rationally as possible. He turned to look at his surroundings and quickly picked up on something. 'Wait...I can't tell where they are! This is just like when Dereece and I threw tomatoes at Bro way back then. Are they expecting me to drop my guard?'

He wasn't going to make that same mistake. He had to take evasive actions.

"Barrier-Make: Ball!"

He changed his barrier's shape into a large ball. With mobility and weight under his barrier's glass-like structure, he rocked himself back before running forward out of the Twister. The ball rolled and shielded him as he was heading towards Quilladin like a bowling ball to a lone pin.

Trubbish jumped in front and positioned herself in Joey's runway path. She inhaled through her mouth before shutting her mouth. Her cheeks puffed before she exerted her Acid Spray into the ground in front of the barrier's wake. The acid melted into the cement and stone, making a sizeable ditch that smoldered hot steam upon impact. The corroding cement was what made Joey's barrier make a small bump, making him falter. He grunted as the momentum turned against him. His barrier ball bumped and flew a few feet into the air before coming down on a loud clang reminiscent of glass. It was enough to make Joey lose his momentum and fall forward.

Larvesta hissed before she fired another round of her silky threads, this time lacing around the faltering ball. It snared in her sticky silk and remained in place for only a few seconds. She nudged her head, pulling on her own string with enough force to yank the ball towards her. Joey spun madly inside with no control in hand. Larvesta twirled with a small chirp in midair as the ball continued past her into Gyarados.

"WATERFALL!"

Joey had no idea what happened. One minute, he was seeing clear visuals. Next thing he knew, a rush of water followed by an intense, ramming force made him defy gravity. All while his hearing aids were on silent. All he felt was intense head trauma upon bouncing nonstop into the building again, inflicting more collateral damage.

With his conscience disoriented, the barrier undid itself. Joey barely had any bodily function as his head rung like a bell. All he saw were blurry images closing in on him that didn't make a sound. He fought back the urge to spew as he tried retaining his breathing, and made sure to move and adjust his hearing aids.

"Pozri sa na neho! Mal by to byť náš tréner? Je skôr ako ragdoll, ktorý je príliš zbitý pre svoje vlastné dobro!" Palpitoad gurgled.

"Yeah, it really does feel unfair, doesn't it?" Quilladin stepped forward, looking at Joey's disoriented state callously. "How about this? We just back off, and let this take care of the rest..."

Joey finally adjusted his hearing aids, but the first words he heard weren't what he wanted to hear.

"Leech Seed!"

His eyes shrank when he heard a small spatting sound, followed by green seeds heading his way. He wanted to move, but his body and aching head hindered his movements. The seed planted in front of him and quickly sprouted green roots that laced around his body. They wrapped around his arms and legs; while not fully restraining, they did feel like a vise that gradually sapped him of his stamina.

"Are...you kidding me right now?!" Joey labored, barely keeping his sentences in line with a sudden drain of stamina.

"That'll make things nice and smoothly for-gngh!" Quilladin grunted when flames erupted around his body. They quickly receded, but he seemed fine nonetheless. "That...didn't hurt so bad."

Joey gritted his teeth. 'Damnit, I didn't react fast enough. If I don't take them all out here and now...' A shadow swooped in overhead, getting his dreary attention. He recognized it as Tranquill. 'Tranquill?'

Tranquill squawked as he flew circles over his trainer. He took a glance at his Pokémon. His brow furrowed as an idea came to mind. 'No...I can't reign them in this state. I need help. And I think I know just who's available to do just that...'

He struggled to his feet, but he eventually managed to stand upright. He glared forward with a serious expression.

"It's my turn now!" Tranquill's wings glowed metallic gray as he glided down from above. "Steel Wi-!"

"TRANQUILL~!" The sudden outburst stopped him from further descending. Joey looked mad. "GET YOUR FEATHERED BUTT BACK DOWN HERE TO MY SIDE, WHERE YOU BELONG, MISTER! I AIN'T HAVING NO OTHER WAY!"

Tranquill's feathers ruffled as he looked spooked. "Me...?"

Joey glared directly at him. "What? There an echo around here? Maybe I should say it louder for you to hear...I AM YOUR MASTER JOEY, AND AS YOUR MASTER, YOU HAVE TO OBEY ME, AND NOBODY ELSE! UNDERSTAND?!"

Trubbish burped with a hitch.

"Čo si myslí?" Palpitoad inquired.

Quilladin blinked. "Beats me. But it's not like we'll be coaxed to side with-!"

FWOOP!

In an instant, Tranquill dropped and stood in attention in front of Joey. The avian didn't even seem perplexed with his decision. The others around him looked dumbfounded.

"That's more like it." Joey smirked.

Quilladin went slackjawed. He couldn't believe what he just saw. "...I spoke too soon."

"Tranquill...?" An innocent Lavesta looked confused, if not disturbed, by the sudden change in sides.

Joey folded his arms as he looked down at Tranquill with pride. 'If I know ANY Pokémon that will listen to me without a second thought, it would be Tranquill.' He remembered when Tranquill was still a Pidove, how he would follow his commands even though he didn't catch him at the time. 'Even brainwashing won't make Tranquill turn against me. That's a fact that'll get them on my side.'

Gyarados snarled with deathly intent. "Tranquill, he's the enemy! Remember?!"

Tranquill tilted his head. "But he's also my master. He just said so."

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN...!" Gyarados' short temperament got the better of him. In his spite, he bared his jaws as the fangs glowed brightly, via Bite. "ENOUGH OF THIS! YOU'RE SO SIMPLE, I'LL DESTROY YOU AS WELL!"

"Wait, Gyarados! Hold back just a little-!" Quilladin's plea was cut short when Gyarados suddenly sprung forward with a deafening roar. Joey reached an arm out and created a barrier that Gyarados' snout smashed into. The force was so strong that it made him careen backwards.

Trubbish burped in shock, with Palpitoad and the others just as surprised.

'Now's our chance!' Joey swiped his arm. "Now, Tranquill! Use Air Cutter on them!"

"I shall obey, Master Joey!"

Larvesta hastily brought her head back and spewed out an Ember to intercept Tranquill. The bird was much too fast and flew skywards, much to the young larva's shock. Tranquill's wings glowed bright blue and he flapped them, unleashing energy blades that rained down onto all of them. They all scowled and cried out in pain as the blades met them head-on, each one making lethal explosions as a show of critical hits.

Larvesta looked just as shocked as one crescent headed her way. It reflected in her emerald eyes as the blade engulfed her, swallowing her in an especially large eruption.

The wake of dust expelled Quilladin and the other Pokémon as they reeled from the aerial attack. The dust settled, revealing Larvesta laying on her side, moaning with swirls in her eyes.

"They got Larvesta?!" Quilladin gasped.

Trubbish hiccupped.

'I knew that would work. Tranquill's Super Luck and Air Cutter's critical hit ratio worked out this time!' Joey thought triumphantly. 'Sorry, Larvesta...' He felt his body cringe as Leech Seed sapped even more of his energy. His eyes twitched in a dizzy spell. 'I have to speed this along...I don't have much time!'

Palpitoad gurgled a growl. He inhaled before firing Bubble Beam alongside Trubbish, who used Sludge.

"Barrier-Make: Barrier!"

Joey created a barrier to block the two attacks. An explosion erupted that provided cover for Quilladin to roll through. His Rollout barreled around the barrier, charging towards Joey's left with heavy rotation speed.

'He can only make one barrier at a time! And he's too slow! If I can hurry, he'll he history!' Quilladin rationalized his thoughts as he closed the gap onto his trainer.

Joey caught on, swiping his arm into Quilladin's direction. "Steel Wing!" Tranquill swooped down with his wings glowing a metallic gray. He tilted himself so that he flew vertically over the ground with his right wing speeding into Quilladin. They met in the center with a strong gust picking up.

It took only a second, but the burn lowered Quilladin's physical prowess enough that he lost all momentum. The wing sent him flying backwards with a loud cry, but Joey wasn't done.

"Now...GUST!"

"Yes, Master!"

"Barrier-Make: Crash!"

Joey created a barrier that he sent after Quilladin. Tranquill's wings glowed bright blue as he generated a windstorm by flapping. The strong winds gave the barrier a tailwind that made it too fast for Quilladin to block. The shield smashed into him, sending him past a shocked Palpitoad and Trubbish.

They both turned around to find Quilladin laying on the ground, swirls in his eyes. They knew he was knocked out. They looked back at a frowningJoey.

"I know you're my Pokémon...but it's like Gyarados said. You're the enemy right now. And my responsibility right now is reigning you guys in. If you chose to fight..." He held up a fist enclosed in a barrier. "Then don't expect to be given any chances."

"Yeah, go Master Joey!" Tranquill cheered.

'That's three down...let's hope I last long enough.'

Meanwhile, Dereece was struggling to tell his left from his right. Yanma had a red aura enveloping her as she sped around him as a blur. No matter where he turned, she reappeared in a different spot. 'She's too fast! Her Speed Boost is becoming too much!'

With him distracted, Seel inhaled and took a sharp breath. "Icy Wind!" She blew a cold blast of air into Dereece, who was too distracted until the last possible second. The icy drat buffered him, putting him at a stalemate in the air.

"GWAGH! COLD! CO~LD!" He quipped. A blue aura enveloped his body, signaling a speed depletion.

"Haha! Thanks, lasse! He need to chill anyways. Now..." Stunfisk lifted his tailfin high and slammed it onto the ground, springing him into the air. "This'll ground him! Mud Shot!" His beak glowed bright orange inside as he fired multiple brown balls of mud straight across the air into Dereece. Each one met its mark, engulfing him in murky explosions.

Dereece let out another cry of pain as he dropped towards the ground. Another blue aura enveloped him, depleting his speed further.

Heracross was too engrossed within his Honey to realize a cry coming from above. He looked up to find a familiar, broad man harrowing down onto him.

THUD!

"Ooooiii..." Dereece groaned. He found himself on the ground with a dazed fixation. When he opened his eyes, he realized that he was really close to Heracross. "Heracross-!" He lifted himself off the ground...but felt something off. Something...sticky?

"What the...?" He looked down at his arms. Not just them, but all over his body, his clothing and skin was coated in a thin layer of Honey. "Seriously...? Seriously?!" he snapped. "Oh man...this is gonna take forever to wash out!"

As Heracross regained himself, he picked up the strong scent of Honey. However, he noticed that he didn't have the jar like before. He looked down ti realize that it was spilled. He gasped and frantically looked around for wherever it spilled onto. When he saw Dereece lacerated with Honey, he blinked in surprise.

"Heh...?" An uneasy chill ran up Dereece's spine. He slowly backed away as Heracross took steps towards him. "N-now, Heracross...take it easy..." He tried to get farther away, but his reduced speed made it impossible to outspeed Heracross. In a last-ditch effort, he put his hands out. "I bruise easily man! Gyah!"

He waited for the inevitable to happen. He just knew it...but it never came. Instead, he felt something ticklish against his hand. It wasn't being torn apart or anything. No, it was like it was being rubbed against a set of nostrils.

"Hm...? What the...?" Dereece opened an eye, with a sight that surprised him.

To his utter disbelief, Heracross stood there, staring at his hand like he was having an epiphany of his own. It was hard to tell if he was borderline thinking, or mesmerized by sweet, delicious Honey slathered against his hand.

"H-Heracross...? You okay...?" Dereece nervously asked.

Heracross sniffed Dereece's hand, entranced by the sweet aroma that the Honey had about it. Yet as he stared at it, he couldn't help but feel puzzled. Almost like a case of déjà vu had taken over. The shocked look Dereece had proved he was aware of this, too.

'Hang on, this is just like...!' He remembered when they first met at that Honey Tree. Back then, he had no idea what he was getting into. Even now, Heracross was attracted to the Honey. "He really loves Honey that much, huh...?"

Heracross sniffed around Dereece palm. He was skeptical about tasting it, but his overwhelming lust for sweet nectar got the better of him. His tongue licked the palm. As soon as it did, a wave of shock ran over his entire body.

Visions of his first encounter with Dereece appeared in his mind. The Honey Tree, as well as the battles against Beedrill. The battle aboard the ship in Alvarez, the island, and more importantly...how it came to fruition by this man.

"You got a lot going for ya, okay? What you did was pretty amazing, and you know…you're a pretty cool Pokémon."

The hazy gleam in Heracross' eyes suddenly vanished. He gasped as he looked at Dereece with shock surmounting him. "Dereece...?"

"Heracross? You're back to yourself?" Dereece was just as surprised as he was. But, as much as he wanted to question it, he saw that Heracross was quickly entranced by the Honey on his hand and proceeded to lick it off. 'Was he really...brought back to his senses because I smelled like Honey? Huh...guess the Captain's donuts aren't his sweets wake-up call after all.'

"Hyaaah~!" Yanma shot down from above, humming with a Quick Attack targeted for Dereece.

Dereece yelped in shock. Heracross turned to look towards his oncoming companion, and by reflex alone, he got in front of Dereece and used his horn as a blockade against Yanma. The dragonfly found herself pinned against him as his horn gave off a rainbow-coated shine.

"Counter!"

Heracross flexed his body, expelling a force stronger than what Yanma used against him. It shoved her away in a hectic spiral until she was able to adjust herself in the air above. She shook her head and looked down at Heracross with mild surprise.

"Hey now, Yanma! Let's not do anything hasty, please! The delicious huma...er, Dereece...isn't the enemy here!"

"Heh?" Yanma tilted her head, visibly confused. "What are you talking about? Did you get hit too hard or something?"

"Heracross, what are you doing...?" Dereece nervously whispered. His response was a look and nod from his insectoid companion.

"Listen. You may not have to trust Dereece, but do you at least trust me?"

"I..." Yanma opened her mandibles to respond in defiance...but no words could come out. More accurately speaking, it was like she couldn't find a reason to not say he was in the wrong. It's true, she didn't like Dereece in the slightest, that alone was an impulse; but if she wanted to get technical, what exactly was wrong about him that she detested?

Her answer: Nothing valid.

As she flapped her clear wings, she locked eyes with Heracross and thought about what they've been through. She liked him, not like-like him by any means, more like a brother-sister familiarity. He was strong, she was fast. And he was perceived s an excellent perch for her. She remembered the first time she perched herself atop his head back in Alvarez. Right then, it just...clicked.

After what felt like an eternity of pondering inside her simple mind, she found enough reason to be on the fence for this argument. She lowered herself until she was eye-level with him. "You really think so?"

Heracross nodded. "Of course...I know so."

Yanma looked at Dereece, then back at Heracross. Then back at Dereece, then Heracross again. The repetition happened about four more times until she decided to perch herself on top of Heracross' horn. "...okay! If you say so!"

Heracross grew incredulously thrilled. "Great! Guess we're in this together!" He turned towards Dereece with a confident smile. "Don't worry, Dereece, you can count on us!"

A soft smile crept along Dereece's face. "Thanks, guys."

"Yeah...I mean, as long as we get to lick you."

"What?"

"Nothing." Heracross eyerolled away, feigning innocence. It did little to comfort a very anxious Dereece.

"Oh, shoot. Looks like they gone and made some bad choices on us." Seel grimaced.

Stunfisk beat the ground with his tailfin. "Hmph! This is why I'm glad I ain't a Bug-type. I never liked that sap anyway." Static began crackling around his body as a mischievous smirk appeared on his face. "But since we're at this point, let's say we give them a little spark to rejog their place."

"Oooooh, gosh. I hate it when it results in pointless disputes like this. Let's just try to be a little gentle now, alright?"

"Ha...no promises."


"Dark Pulse!"

Honchkrow opened his beak, firing a beam of jumbled dark rings that blasted the ground and traced towards Duncan. In defense, Duncan shifted the gears of his staff to the purple lacrima. It shined vibrantly as darkness enclosed the two tips. He spun the staff to make a shield that blocked the Dark Pulse's direct line of fire. He was able to deflect it off his body, but the strength of the attack outweighed him by a large margin.

Gradually, he slid back every few feet, gritting his teeth in the ever-failing struggle. Not too far behind Duncan, Magmortar stood with his arm morphing into a cannon. He fired a Flamethrower at Duncan's back that burned the ground it traveled across. Duncan barely caught on and responded promptly. He withdrew himself off to the side, allowing the flames to meet the Dark Pulse, resulting in a black and fiery implosion that expanded outwards. Duncan yelped as the wake of the conflict sent him flying through the air.

Before he could hit the ground, he was caught by an invisible force. It took him only a split-second to realize that Medicham was using her Psychic and kept him high up above her. She brought her arms up, and then down, immediately sending Duncan into the ground with a painful thud.

"GAH!" The impact with his back towards the ground made Duncan's vision momentarily go black.

"Hmph...for a human, I'm fairly disappointed." Medicham hummed pompously.

Honchkrow scoffed. "You're telling me. This guy supposed to be our honcho? How embarrassing. Haha!"

Duncan gnashed his teeth as he tried standing back up. He had to. He couldn't just lie down and take this crap. But just as he was about to get his feet under him, Gastrodon fell from the sky with a Body Slam, immediately pinning Duncan back down onto the ground with a suppressing slam. The wake was so surprising that he yelped again from impact.

'Crap...my reaction time was too slow again!'

"We got you now." Gastrodon sank his slimy body further onto Duncan, pinning him further onto the ground.

Torterra grunted. He let out a loud roar as he raised the elongated stump skywards. He held it at a near-perfect 90 Degrees for optimal momentum. The sight alone was enough to make Duncan's eyes shrink. 'C'mon body! Move!'

"WOOD HAMMER!"

Torterra swung his stump downwards towards the earth. Gastrodon carefully timed it thanks to his prior training with Duncan and unlatched himself from his host. Duncan's eyes reflected the downward stump and brought up his Elfen Forja to block the attack in the form of a bunt. It only stopped the stump mere inches from his face, but it was so heavy and strong that he couldn't overpower it. He was pinned yet again.

'This is bad...my body is partway numb from all that damage...and if I let up, even a little...I'll get crushed.' He winced as he barely opened an eye towards Torterra.

The Continent Pokémon said nothing. Unlike his fellow colleagues, he just glared at Duncan with judgmental red eyes. He neither showed malice nor care. To Duncan, it was like a veteran warrior testing the will of a novice.

'Torterra...' A resounding image came to Duncan's mind. He recalled the day long ago when he walked past Professor Rowan and looked down at the medium-sized table, where three Pokémon were present to be chosen by him.

While the Chimchar looked jumpy and energetic to be picked, Piplup stood on his left with a prideful look. He didn't seem to mind at the time, but he wanted something that could prove more focused...that's when he locked eyes with the last choice.

There, standing with a completely laid-back and indifferent demeanor about him, Turtwig looked at him with seemingly no opinion. It wasn't that he looked boring, but more like – in a word – neutral to the small competition to what Chimchar and Piplup were pulling off.

Someone who cared little for the surroundings and opinions of others...something that Duncan can focus on. That's when he made his decision.

"So, young man. Have you decided whom you'll select as your Starter Pokémon?"

"I've decided...I'll go with Turtwig."

While Chimchar and Piplup floored on the table, Turtwig paid no heed and slowly raised his head. "(Guess that settles it.)"

That look of focus and indifference; even now, Torterra had that, but it was more serious with severe experience behind it. And right now, Duncan needed to feel that. He coursed Magic Power through his grip into his staff, causing the flame lacrima to ignite.

"Hraaaaaaah!"

With all his might, the flaming staff engulfed part of the stump. He kept pushing until he was finally able to hammer skywards, making an explosive burst of flames with shrapnel of the stump's end flying everywhere.

"Hmph..." Torterra lowly grunted at his trainer's counterattack. Duncan brought his staff back and swung it brought with flames flowing behind.

"Gear One: Fire!"

Torterra's red eyes shrank slightly as he raised up to his hind legs. "STONE EDGE!" He brought his heavy physique down with a thunderous slam. His forelegs impaled the ground, sending staggering, bright blue glowing rocks at Duncan. Instantly threatened, he gasped and was forced to dodge the stones.

As he slid off to the side, his heels grinded to a halt. His shadow blackened beneath him before it suddenly shot up and uppercut him in the chin. Once again, he staggered back and was brought to a knee. Nearby, Spiritomb grunted as her Shadow Sneak did its job.

"Hmph, embarrassed much?" Duncan lifted his head towards Honchkrow as he roosted on a nearby branch. "How the tables turn so soon, isn't that what you humans say when the situation becomes ironic?"

Duncan grunted. He attempted to stand, but he wavered off to the side from the damage he's sustained. His back and chin ached so much that he felt like lying down. But out of pride, he retained footing.

"Isn't very fair, eh? One against so many at once. Personally, I'd rather not dirty my feathers that are so trivial as revenge, but, just for you, I can make an exception." Honchkrow reached under his right wing and began pruning the feathers with his beak.

"Is this what it's all about?" Duncan breathed heavily. He expected Honchkrow to answer him, but all he did was continue to trim his plumage. "Well?"

Honchkrow rolled his eyes at him. "H'oh? Did you say something? Last I checked...we never had room to talk, did we?"

Gastrodon fired an Ice Beam at the same time Magmortar unleashed another Flamethrower. Duncan's eyes widened before he voluntarily fell forward to dodge both attacks. 'My body...it won't listen to me! Damnit...move already!'

Spiritomb maliciously cackled above, descending above Duncan. "It's futile."

Duncan glanced back. He was about to shift hears, but his arm throbbed with pain, making him wince. Spiritomb's one eye glowed as she glared at him.

"Hypnosis!"

A hypnotic wave resonated from her glare, peering into Duncan's own glare. He was fixed on the hypnotic array that he was too weak to dodge, resulting in him becoming even weaker. He tried to fight it, but the longer he did, the harder it was to stay awake.

"Hehe...have a nice nap." Spiritomb chimed.

Tried as he did, Duncan's conscience unfortunately gave out. He gradually faltered back towards the ground and fell onto his stomach. He laid sprawled before Spiritomb with his eyes shut to indicate sleep.

With the trainer sound asleep, the other Pokémon were finally able to find some solace and converge onto him. Spiritomb lowered herself to set her Odd Keystone on the ground.

"Heh...well that was underwhelming. And here I was hoping that he'd muster up some big argument." Honchkrow scoffed, raising his beak. "But...the guy had a lot of guts to stand up to us, I'll give him that much."

"To be fair...we did outnumber him." Gastrodon slowly turned to find his colleagues giving him estrange looks. He looked back down at Duncan with slight guilt. "I mean...doesn't it seem rather unfair?"

"I understand how you feel, but you must remember, he asked for this." Medicham reminded him, looking down at her trainer's sleeping figure. "He wanted this in the first place. If anyone is at fault, it's him for not knowing his boundaries between our experience and his."

"That's true..."

Magmortar raised his head, scoffing. "Heh, he doesn't look so tough now that he's out like a baby. How embarrassing!"

As his Pokémon taunted their trainer's sleeping frame, the only one who didn't seem involved in the taunt was Torterra. He stood a short distance away as he watched with a straightforward expression. "..."

Magmortar turned towards Spiritomb. "Say, why don't you use that Dream Eater you have and make him squirm around a little?"

"Hehe! That's some dark thinking you've got...I'm down for it!" Honchkrow squawked.

Spiritomb lowly snickered. "Hehe...sure. I just might, since you all asked me so nicely." She slung herself forward until she stood in front of Duncan. She looked down at him, ready to project her move onto him with a wily, crooked smirk on her face. 'Hehe...say goodnight! Duncan!'

"Spiritomb!"

A voice inside Spiritomb's head made her flinch and stop in place. 'Huh...wait, did I just imagine that?' Her mind started to throb, making her look down with a distraught expression.

'There's no need to stoop that lowly. I know you can do better than what you are. You're made up by bad spirits not at rest...so at the very least, use your power to give them a second chance."

That same, familiar, calming voice burned into her ethereal mind. Her spiritual green orbs fluctuated as she was fighting an episode that was erupting. She thought she had forgotten about that voice belonging to someone. 'No...why am I feeling so contorted about this? He's gone! He...he was holding back what I wanted to feel! I was created with the purpose of vengeance! Nothing else!'

"Huh? Hey, what's taking so long? What're you up to?" Magmortar was standing with his patience running thin. From the way he looked at Spiritomb, he was less than amused. "What's her deal?"

"Hmph! Beats me." Honchkrow beamed with prideful ignorance.

"..." Torterra raised his head and looked on in silence at Spiritomb. 'Is she...?'

While the others were idle about, their voices were distorted around Spiritomb. She looked like she was in a trance of her own. In her head – or rather, her Odd Keystone – there was a coalition of voices that were all speaking at the same time. Some had coherence, but many of them were angry screams and hollers belonging to the damned.

'Kill the worthless bastard!'

'What good is he? What good are you?'

'Kill them! Kill him, then kill them all! They're nothing to you!'

'What point is there to any of this? We're all going to Hell...then again, this is Hell! Ha!'

These were just some of the ones that she could hear clearly. All the spirits she had inside her body were rummaging judgmental calls that were making her feel congested. 'No...these voices...make them stop! Silence! All of you! I...WE wIlL SILence you aLl mysELf!' Her one eye had its pupil dilating. It was swirling with a fixated glow inside.

'The humans are guilty! ALL are guilty!'

'Don't beg for forgiveness! THEY should be the ones begging for that!'

'Let's riot! Don't let anything hold you back!'

The voices were making her lowly cackle. It wasn't very loud, but sinister for the others to feel uneasy from where they stood. Medicham especially looked unnerved with sensing Spiritomb's composed aura wavering. "What's this...ominous sensation?" It thickened by the second, making her stand in a defensive stance. "Her mind...it seems unbalanced?"

"Beg your pardon?" Gastrodon worried.

Spiritomb stood completely still, her mental seizure muting the sounds from outside her jumbled, spiritual frame. 'My...OuR conscience...listen to us! AnD us ALONE!' In spite of the few spiritual bodies that were objecting, the majority of the spirits had the overall say. 'NONE SHALL BE FORGIVEN!'

"Don't focus on what you hear from others. Instead...why don't you just listen to my voice? After all, no matter how many there are, the only voices that should matter are the ones closest to you."

The resounding voice echoed in the cornucopia of wailing, ill-mannered spirits. 'NOOOO~! The majority matters! This is OUR...M-my...ouuurr~...GNNNNNGHHH!'

As this was all happening, Duncan stirred in his deep sleep. The disturbance made Honchkrow look down at his condition. "Looks like he's gonna be waking up any time now."

Stepping forward was none other than Magmortar, who towered over Duncan's sleeping frame. "Leave it to me...I'll make sure he has a hot sleep." His right arm turned into a cannon he pointed at his head. "Very hot."

"Sounds rather excessive, don't you think?" Gastrodon had his doubts. Sure, he was all for making Duncan suffer for putting him through the wringer and berating him. It didn't do well for his confidence, but he still had morality when drawing a line between acknowledging defeat and blatant murder.

"It'll be fine. The sooner he's fried, the easier it is for us to get on with our lives." Magmortar reasoned. When nobody said anything, he looked back down and aimed the tip towards Duncan's head. "Heh...nice knowing ya."

WHAM!

Before any form of flames could be produced, a harsh yet swift force socked the back of Magmortar's head. The impact made him lose focus and misfire. His broiling flames ended up searing into Honchkrow's path. He was incinerated on the spot and erupted in fire that burst into smoke. He was shot a short distance away into a tree with a harsh thud. He barely collected himself and shook his head to alleviate the sudden blast of fire.

"Hey! You were supposed to shoot the human! What was that for?!" Honchkrow demanded. He lifted his wings to show charred tips on his plumage. "And I just cleaned these? You know how long it's gonna take for me to fix this coat?!"

"I didn't hit you on purpose!" Magmortar turned around to see who attacked him, but was blindsided when his shadow jabbed him in his side. The impact made him slide backwards against the grass to a stop several feet away. He winced at how harshly it impacted his side.

"Gnnngh...who's the wise...guy?" He looked back at who his attacker was...only to be met with a chill running down his molten spine.

"Hehe...HEHE...HEHEHEHEHE!"

"What the...?" Magmortar took a step back out of surprise. The way Spiritomb looked at him was like a demon condemning him for something he unknowingly did. Even for a Fire-type, her devilish glare didn't fix him in a comfortable position.

"Hypnosis!"

Hypnotic waves emanated from her one eye, giving off an eerie light that Magmortar was unable to escape from. With a sharp hitch in his breath, he gradually lost consciousness and slumped to his knees, then fell onto his front with a thud.

"Dream Eater!"

Spritomb's eyes flashed red and created a shadow-like image of her ethereal frame. It reached out and beamed through Magmortar's sleeping frame, causing his entire body to convulse and be shot back to its feet. The shock from the attack made his eyes wide open in gaping shock and pain before they rolled backwards. He fell backwards with a loud thud, swirls in his eyes.

"Hehehehehe...I make my own decisions! Stay down! Less you want to suffer even more of my wrath!"

Everyone's eyes widened as they got on guard. Her voice didn't sound anything like it did before. It sounded like multiple tones speaking at once. Each tone sounded scratchy, and angry. A complete opposite of the singular tone that she had before.

"What's going on here...? Is anyone else a little freaked out by this?" Gastrodon worried.

"You're telling me." Honchkrow turned towards Medicham, who looked heavily on guard. "What's your deal?"

"Her mind...it's like it's completely contorted." Medicham muttered. "I know earlier I said that as a Psychic-type, I can read minds. But...it's like she doesn't even have one to read. All I'm seeing...is...a mess."

Honchkrow looked ahead as he saw Spiritomb continuing her laughing fit. She cackled one moment, then started whirling her head around in pain. She pulled away from Magmortar's unconscious frame and raised her circular frame towards the sky, laughing some more. If Medicham was anymore accurate, Honchkrow would have commended her. Unfortunately, like the others, he was just as startled.

"GYAHAHAHA...gnnngh...no...this isn't right...YES IT IS...but...GYYYAAAAAAAAHH!"

A sudden cyclone of green winds mixed with energy leaves shot straight into her back with enough force to shoot her through the atmosphere past Honchkrow and the others. The hurricane of shredding leaves tore the air in two as it arched into the sky, sending Spiritomb sailing in intense pain. Instead of howling from internal pain, it was by external leaves engulfing and spiraling her into submission.

"Wood Hammer!"

A bright green wooden energy beam shot straight through the spiraling leaves, aiming directly at Spiritomb's frozen fixture. As she looked at the green circle's expansion, time slowed down around her for a brief second to collect any of her scattered thoughts...but her short-sighted seething only made her howl at the energy wood before it stamped her face and Odd Keystone, sending her beaming through a tree branch and into the tree trunk behind with a deep indent into its trunk. Bark caved in as she gawked in pain.

"What the...?" Honchkrow turned his head towards the sender of the attack. At the end of the stump, Torterra stood completely stiff as red sparks made his body cringe only a little.

"Y-You...you...cannot do this to US...to...me...?" Spiritomb's voice trailed off from the shock finally getting to her. The log's energy dissipated and alleviated the pressure from her body as she dropped to the ground. There, said laid with both eyes becoming swirls to indicate her unable to battle.

Torterra grunted lowly as he gave Spiritomb's unconscious frame his stale look. He then turned towards Magmortar, then finally back at the remaining conscious Pokémon. "This has gone far enough."

"What?" Honchkrow blinked.

"You heard me. You want your freedom? You've got it. All you have to do is turn away. I won't stop you."

The three Pokémon gave each other conspicuous looks. They looked down at Duncan's sleeping fixture and saw him stir. They didn't have a lot of time to make their decision. Their own decision. As if by universal agreement, they turned with light scoffs and took off. Honchkrow cawed as he ascended into the night sky, while Medicham jumped onto a nearby log and flipped off. Gastrodon, being a slug, moved at a relatively slow pace, but managed to get to the underbrush.

Torterra looked on in silence as they all fled to their own way. He meant what he said; he didn't have any valid reason as to oppose their rebellion. That went for himself included. But as he scoped the vicinity, he shot the unconscious frames of both Magmortar and Spiritomb looks of scarce dismay.

"Gnnngh...what...happened...?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Torterra turned his head towards Duncan. The trainer was finally waking up, but was much too weak to do anything. Duncan's hazy stare focused on Torterra as much as possible as he saw the large turtle gradually sauntering towards him.

"Tor...terra..." Duncan weakly reached out to him moments before everything went black. The last thing he saw was Torterra's shadow looming closer.


Saltwater projected from Staryu blasted across the avenue towards Lucy several meters away. She evaded the attack by only a hair as she moved off to the side. She made an attempt to get closer, but she was blocked off by Klefki when she attempted to attack her from the side. She followed through and swept back around behind Staryu.

'I have to get those keys back somehow. If I can at least summon a spirit, we can turn this around!'

Klefki hummed upon seeing Lucy's astute stare on her keys. "Hmph! Good luck with that! Metal Sound!" Her key atop her head have off a silver aura before emitting a high-pitched hum. Shimmering soundwaves projected into Lucy's direction, causing her to stop in her tracks and cover her ears.

Another harsh blue aura enveloped her, reducing her Special Defense by another margin.

BEEP-BEEP! Staryu blinked before spinning around. It generated several glowing stars that spun through the air after Lucy. With the blonde incapacitated by the harsh ringing, they shot into her body, exploding into dazzling flashes.

"AAAHH!" Lucy screamed in pain as she slammed onto her back against the concrete.

"Lucy, no!" Carla shouted from nearby. She realized she was caught off guard and turned around just when Amaura fired an Aurora Beam. It met Carla's forearms as she made an attempt to block it. She tried to hold her ground, but it became futile and ended up being shoved back several feet. She caught herself with a grunt.

'It's no good. I can't get close enough to land a kick.'

Amaura inhaled before she blew out another icy-cold breath towards her. The Icy Wind drew closer until Wendy got between it and Carla. With a valiant stare, she opened her mouth and took a deep inhale. The cold air began being sucked into her lungs by a slurping sound.

"W-what?!" Amaura looked spooked to see her attack getting swallowed by Wendy.

"Wendy?" Carla looked on with surprise.

Wendy kept sucking up the air heading her way. All the cold air was making her mouth numb from the cold, but she kept enduring it. 'This should be fine. Icy Wind is still technically air. Which means...I can ingest it!' She kept eating the air until all the Icy Wind's frosty extracts sprinkled around her. An audible swallow came from her gullet as she stood perfectly fine.

"Are you alright, Wendy?" Carla worried.

Wendy gave a nod. "Yeah, of course I-gngh!" She suddenly clutched her throat as an abrupt sense of numbing cold was starting to choke her. 'That was so cold...it feels like I'm getting a brain-freeze!'

"Wendy-!" Carla made an attempt to move, but once again was stopped by something. A familiar, musical tune that made her cat tail stand up.

"C-Carla...?" Wendy choked. Her draconic hearing picked up on the melody's volume from above. Her eyes gradually scaled the air until she locked eyes with Swablu.

Musical notes were drifting everywhere around her. The soothing hum she gave off continued its eerie tunes against Wendy and Carla's chagrin.

"Oh, is this...?" Carla started to sway left and right, her strength starting to fade from her body.

"...Sing?" Wendy made an attempt to cover her ears, but her hearing made it impossible to ignore. Her eyelids started getting heavier by the second, until she dropped to her knees.

"Wendy...don't fall aslee..." Carla didn't get to finish her sentence before she got too drowsy from the lullaby. Just as Wendy collapsed, so did she by her side.

Lucy opened an eye and turned towards their predicament. Her teeth gnashed as she had to fight back the pain in her body. "Wendy...Carla..." She then noticed something peculiar. She witnessed Swablu and Amaura getting closer to their trainer. The former gently coming down to her clothing. "Wait...what are you guys...?"

Swablu rummaged through whatever she could find in Wendy's clothing. When she finally found what she was looking for, her hairs stood straight up. "Oh! Here they are!" She wriggled her way out of the pockets, with two shrunken Poke Balls in her beak.

"W-we should make this quick..." Amaura muttered.

Swablu nodded. She dropped the two Poke Balls onto the ground, where the buttons touched the cement and made them large. Amaura hesitated for a moment, but after a brief second of cringing, her body shined and manifested an afterimage of herself that distorted and swirled into a hemisphere. She lurched forward and fired the hemisphere into the Poke Balls, shattering them upon impact. All that was left was a partially dented crater with sharp shards of what was their signs of capture.

Lucy's eyes gradually shrank. What did she just witness? She couldn't believe it. Did Wendy's Pokémon just...no, it couldn't be. It was so unlikely, yet she was brought out of her shock when Klefki swept closer to her. "Wait, what're you...?"

In the blink of an eye, she reached for the shrunken Poke Balls that were on Lucy's belt. She pulled away just before Lucy could swipe at her.

"Hey! Stop! Don't you guys dare!"

"Teehee! Sorry, Lucy! But I don't wanna go in there...well, I never go in anyways." In spite of the irony, Klefki lobbed the Poke Balls towards Staryu. "Do it!"

Lucy gasped. It felt as though time slowed down around her. She only had the time to spring to her feet and reach out from the distance between the Poke Balls and Staryu projecting more stars. With the superior Speed, the latter's attempt at attacking their capsules happened just as Lucy had touched one of them. The capsules exploded upon impact with Swift, creating another burst of golden starlight that engulfed Lucy. Once again, she was slammed back onto the ground with a grunt, this time on her shoulder.

"Gnnngh...!" She laid there for a second as the sounds of sprinkling metal rung around her. She weakly blinked, and the first thing she saw was a piece of red meta tipped over to show its shattered edging. Her eyes shrank yet again from the shock running through her body.

"Phew! Glad that's done!" Klefki twirled above with a bright smile. "Now we're truly free!"

BEEPBEEPBEEP!

"What now? Well, I don't know about you...but I wanna find some more keys!" Klefki chimed enthusiastically. "I'm sure the fleeing people forgot to lock up. Ohh! This is so exciting!"

"How could you...?"

Klefki and Staryu turned towards the voice. They saw Lucy weakly sitting up on her knees. Her bangs covered her eyes to conceal her expression. What they saw otherwise was a deep, saddened frown.

"Huh? What was that?" Klefki asked, barely catching what she had heard.

"How could you...? You...you..."

Klefki scooted slightly closer. "Hm...?"

"You...!" Lucy lifted her head, revealing to them her face stripped of any happiness. Her eyes were full of guilt and anger as tears ran down her cheeks. "How COULD YOU~! Why did you guys even think of doing that?!" Her voice borderline cracked. Her grief was so intense that she was nearly chocking.

Klefki huffed, turning away. "Really? I thought we were over this already? You humans are so clumsy. You don't even deserve to hold us to you like we're your accessories."

Lucy balled her fists. She wanted to get back at them so much. She needed to. As she scrambled to her feet, her tears fell from her face as she stood upright with a grievous passion. "I swear to you...I'm gonna fix this! YOU HEAR ME?!"

BEEPBEEP-BEEPBEEP-BEEEP-BEEP

"Yeah, we hear you...but how are you gonna do that?" Klefki challenged. The counter caused Lucy to stiffen. "No keys...no Poke Balls...just another human who's all bark. Ah~! Well, a little jingling of my beautiful collection can mute that." She swayed her lower-half side-to-side. Her keys jingled loudly closely to her body. "Ah~! Now that's a sound that never gets annoying to me."

Swablu turned towards Amaura while Wendy and Carla were still sound asleep. "Hey, we should hurry and go. I don't want to be around humans anymore..." She shuddered at the thought. "How about it? To the woods?"

Amaura nodded gleefully. "Yeah! We can get going right now!" She turned to look down the avenue as her sails atop her eyes shimmered blue. "Um...which way is that?"

"Hmmm, I think it's...huh?!"

Before Swablu could finish, she and Amaura were suddenly engulfed in beams of light that momentarily blinded Lucy. She covered herself from the light until it dissipated. When she looked back, her eyes widened in astonishment. "Wait...what the-?!"

In place of the two Pokémon before, there were two tarot cards, containing both Swablu and Amaura. They had shocked expressions on their faces as the cards flew past Lucy's head between an index and middle finger, belonging to a smirking brunette.

"Hey, mind if I cut in?"

Lucy's eyes brightened with shock rising at her savior. "Cana!"

Wendy stirred in her light sleep, gradually coming back around. She blinked several times before she recognized the brunette a short distance away. "Wait...Cana...?"

"Looks like I made it just in time. That's good." Cana turned towards Wendy. "Think fast!"

Wendy gasped before Cana swiped her arm at her. The cards went flying towards her hands and landed safely atop her palms. When she saw Swablu and Amaura in the cards, her eyes shrank with shock. "Swablu! Amaura!" she quipped.

"Relax. They're fine. They're just trapped in the cards for a while till we sort this mess out." Cana reasoned. She turned towards Lucy. "You okay, Lu?"

Lucy slowly arose to her feet again and nodded. "Y-yeah...wait, how did you deal with your Pokémon?"

"You mean these guys?" Cana flicked her other wrists with two cards between her fingers. The girls looked surprised when they saw Prinplup and Liepard clawing and hissing angrily against the invisible barrier inside the card.


Prinplup jumped into the air and fired another Bubble Beam. The blue bubbles shot across the pavement into Cana, who barely dodged the attack.

"Alright, that's it!" Cana reached into her purse and pulled out two Poke Balls. She crossed her arms and clicked the buttons to make them full-sized. "You guys need a time out!"

Liepard hissed, reeling back on her hind legs. "You would make us go back in there? It's so cramped...and uncomfortable."

"Hmph! As if you can get me back in that thing." Prinplup taunted.

"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Cana reached her arms out and aimed the Poke Balls at her Pokémon. "Now, return!" The buttons fired red lasers that beamed towards Prinplup and Liepard. The latter used her nimble frame and maneuvered around the laser. She dodged every shot and closed the gap.

Prinplup dodged the laser and brought his wing back, glowing with metallic energy. "Metal Claw!" He raced after Cana with Liepard, evading the lasers until the distance was shortened enough for them to strike.

Cana grunted when they got within range. She made a last-ditch attempt to make their bodies at least touch the buttons, but Liepard was too smart to allow that to happen. She pivoted and swiped her scythe-like tail, smacking the Poke Balls out of her hands into the air. Prinplup made a valiant jump overhead and slashed across, shattering the capsules into halves that fell before Cana.

"You're kidding!" she exasperated.

Prinplup landed with a smirk. "You see? Heh, that's what you get for being lazy and sitting around all day at a human bar. Now, let's say we finish this."

Cana grunted. She was running low on options at the moment. She needed something to keep them occupied for at least a little while until she found a way out. 'I've gotta keep them trapped somehow, but they busted their own Poke Balls! Damnit! Now how am I supposed to-!' An idea sprung in her head. 'Wait a minute...trap?' Her eyes widened. 'That's it!'

"Let's make this quick!" Prinplup leaned forward as his beak glowed white. It condensed and sharpened similar to Liepard's claws that she pulled out. The two sprung at Cana at the same time, while she stood there waiting fir them to draw close enough for her to act.

'Let's hope this works...' She reached her right arm across and pointed her index and middle finger forward.

"Peck!"

"Fury Swipes!"

'Now!' Cana's eyes narrowed as she swiped across. "Card Dimension!"

Prinplup and Liepard closed the gap onto Cana, getting mere inches from her face before a strong light enveloped them both. The light beamed heavily for several seconds before it finally vanished. In place of the two Pokémon were two tarot cards with them trapped inside.

"Huh?! Hey, wait! Where am I?!" Prinplup looked around at the small dimension cramped around him. "I wasn't here a second ago!"

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Liepard hissed.

Their cards drifted towards the ground, where Cana kneeled to pick them up. "Heck yeah! I almost forgot about this little trick! Good to know I have a backup in case Poke Balls don't always work, huh?" She smirked.

Prinplup began banging against the invisible barrier with his wings. "Let me out! Fight me fair and square , you...you...!"

Cana didn't buy the empty taunt and piled the two cards together. "Hey, you just cram up for one sec alright?" She turned away and looked down the avenue. "Right. Now that we've got that settled, best to find out where the others are."


"I just gave them a time-out is all. And that brings me here." Cana finished her tale with a smirk.

"Amazing..." Wendy awed. She was so relieved. For a moment, she thought that Swablu and Amaura were going to be gone forever while she was sound asleep. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

"Great timing, Cana." Lucy smiled as she turned back towards Klefki and Staryu. "Now, just two more to go."

"Right." Cana stepped up to her side to focus on them.

Seeing the situation make a turn for the worst, Klefki backpedaled. "Uh-oh~! Looks like trouble!"

BEEPBEEP-BEEPBEEP Staryu blinked.

"Yup, I think we should get going while the going is good." She drifted backwards away from them. "Uh...bye-bye! If you have anymore keys, I'll be there to give them a better home~!"

"Oh no you don't!" Cana pointed her index and middle finger and readied her spell.

Klefki turned around and faced Cana and the others. "Fairy Lock!" Ethereal chains expelled from her body that channeled across the area around the girls. Wendy, Carla, Lucy, and Cana found their ground completely blocked off by an enclosed net of crossed chains with locks on them that clicked.

"What?!" Cana found herself unable to do her spell with the target out of range. "Hey! Get back here!"

"Cana, wait!" Lucy tried to warn her, but when Cana touched the chains to get through them, it was like hitting an invisible wall.

"The hell?!"

"We're trapped!" Carl gasped.

"Oh no, they're getting away!" Wendy fret.

Lucy turned and watched as Klefki turned and drifted away in a hurry. Staryu's core blinked before it jumped back into the riverbank and started downstream once more. The look in her eyes showed the hope she had before beginning to dwindle towards despair. Her fists started balling tightly. 'You guys...'

She banged against the chains, immediately met with denial. She could only hope they would let up soon.


"Emanation Beam!"

A teal aura beam raced across the air towards the surrounding Pokémon. Delphox jutted her wand out as the flames and eyes had a bright glow. Her Psychic caused the beam to split in two around her. The two halves dissipated, leaving sizzling air that Magnezone and Venusaur aimed through.

"Tri Attack!"

"Energy Ball!"

Three orbs; each being blue, yellow, and red, manifested around Magnezone. Each eye fired a different elemental beam of fire, lightning, and ice. Venusaur opened his maw wide and made a hemisphere of glowing green energy that he projected at Vanessa. Vanessa brought both her hands up to create another forcefield made out of teal aura. The two attacks made impact and dissipated into smoke.

Vanessa undid the barrier as her aura sensory was heightened. There was nothing in her surroundings she couldn't detect. She weaved towards her right, narrowly missing Mawile's metallic iron jaws swinging for her. As she followed through, Vanessa reached out and latched a teal tendril around Mawile's ankle.

"Huh?! Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Mawile exasperated.

Behind Vanessa, the smoke cleared away to reveal Krookodile with his jaws opened wide and fangs glowing, via Crunch. She narrowed her eyes and glanced back before slinging her arm around. The extension of her aura followed her momentum and dragged Mawile by her leg into Krookodile's cheek. The harsh smack toppled the duo together with a thud.

"Power Whip!"

Vanessa heard the outcry and turned around to see an extension of thick horns coated in bright green energy. She pivoted and swung her tendril around to deflect one horn, but the other shot closer, prompting her to create another shield. This time, the impact made a much stronger impact, managing to buffer Vanessa as she slid a few feet back.

She regained her composure and looked back to whom the horns belonged to. "Goodra!" Nearby, Goodra looked dismayed at her own trainer. She looked angry, but her large green eyes couldn't show it. Though Vanessa felt it with her aura.

'Their aura hasn't changed. I'm not sensing any fluctuations in their negativity.' She sensed Krookodile attacking from the side, bashing his tail where she was a second ago before she dodged. 'It's not like they're possessed...it feels too natural.'

She slid to a halt and saw Venusaur aiming his flower petals at her. The huge stem aimed directly for her as a dark purple liquid bubbled up.

"Toxic!"

He fired the intense liquid in a straight, gaping line. Vanessa was well aware that dodging a Toxic was pointless, so she stood her ground and congregated another aura barrier, which took the liquid that stuck and melted into its surface. The shield dissipated as Vanessa brought her hands up and loosened her wrists. Teal aura concentrated around her as she opened her glowing eyes.

"Lustrous Spire!"

She brought her arms up and crossed them. Two spiraling helixes of teal aura shot high into the atmosphere until they met each other. The collision created hundreds of slim but swift meteors of aura that rained down over the forest. Magnezone fired a Flash Cannon, whereas Delphox aimed her wand and fired a Flamethrower. Venusaur fired another Energy Ball, while Goodra opened her maw and fired a Dragon Pulse that beamed skywards to meet the attack. Their unified offense created explosions that engulfed the skies above and expelled airwaves that blew everywhere.

Mawile put her arms up and made a turquoise, circular barrier to protect her from the shockwaves. Meanwhile, Krookodile let out a roar before he arched into the ground, via Dig.

Vanessa narrowed her eyes and pressed into the earth. "Nugatory Burst!"

The ground began lightly vibrating, gradually escalating in magnitude. A burning teal aura melted from the ground halfway across from them and erupted condensed teal into the sky. The pillar had Krookodile in its center, roaring out in pain.

Vanessa refused to let up. She manifested aura and extended six tendrils; one of which slung and wrapped around Krookodile's waste and pinned him to the ground. The remaining tendrils wrapped around the other Pokémon and kept them locked in place.

"Now then...I hope that you're snug enough to explain to me what's really going on here?" Vanessa prodded with a serious undertone.

Krookodile lashed out in his restraints. He found himself unable to pull off the teal binds laced around his waist and snarled menacingly. "Gnnngh...let me tell you something, Vanessa Pularis! Nobody pins Krookodile to the ground like an underweight boxer! Krookodile is the one who puts you...gngh...into the ground!" He grunted as he tussled, but it only caused the restraints to tighten around him and restricting movement.

"You say that, yet you're the one who knows Dig." Mawile criticized.

Vanessa wasn't in the mood for this. She added a light bind around Mawile's mouth to keep her from talking. She ignored the muffled grunts and shouts she gave off and turned towards Venusaur. "Venusaur. You mentioned earlier that you had to turn away from your duties to deal with the problem before me. I'm quite curious, why is the problem me?"

Venusaur frowned heavily, though it was more out of displeasure than remorse. "I'm sorry...even if I told you...I'm not sure that you would understand." This caused the binds around him to tighten. "Gngh!"

"You say that, and yet here you are. Is the subject that sensitive that you aren't willing to indulge your culprit even a little? I know you aren't one to boast your weight or anything, but still...is it because of something I did?"

Venusaur hesitated to answer. As the aura tendrils tightened around him, he found his bulky body feeling pressure suppressing him. It would be a matter of time before he would have to confess. "...because...the problem was you...with you...owning us as though we were animals..."

Vanessa's eyes narrowed slightly. "Like animals?"

"Yes...we are sick...of not having our own purpose. I never asked much from you, Vanessa. But you constantly ask power that I lent you...especially when we use Mega Evolution. I gain so much power...and for what? What am I doing when I can live in solace away from the scuffles you humans in this world constantly cause?"

"He's right..." A grunt came from Magnezone. "For as long as I could remember, you humans have subjugated me to doing your bidding. I didn't have any purpose than to be obedient towards my trainer, no matter what...I can still remember his shouting ever so faintly in the back of my mind."

Vanessa frowned, but she knew who he was talking about. Even from a young age, the sounds of her father commanding Magneton to induced violent harm upon her brother was a scar that wouldn't fade so easily. She soon came to terms with the situation and forgave him and her mother, but unfortunately, others couldn't let go of such traumatic events so easily like she could.

"Amongst the Pokémon that were selected, it was I." Delphox stepped forward, a remorseful frown encompassing her face. She looked just as guilty as Vanessa as she recounted the early days bittersweetly. "I questioned to myself, 'Why was I chosen? What about my choice in a partner?'." She closed her eyes and lowered her chin. "If it were the other way around, if you were in my position, how would you feel being treated like some gift for someone whom you've had no prior relationship with? It's rather unsettling, isn't it..."

"Vanessa's breath hitched. "Delphox..."

"While we were able to communicate well and we got along, that thought made me wonder about my own path. So..." She opened her eyes, showing a rare intensity in her stare. "Here we are, carving our own paths!"

Mustering up all his might, Krookodile opened his maws wide with glowing sharp fangs. His Crunch lived up to its name as he snapped his jaws on the line restraining him, tearing the aura clean off his body.

Vanessa gasped as she watched Mawile repeat Crunch, her horned jaws snapping down and biting the restraints off her body. "Thank Arceus! What a seriously bitch move that was!"

Delphox focused telekinetic power around her body and expelled external force in a small vicinity, freeing herself. Magnezone used electromagnetic waves to make a small magnetic pulse wave to deflect the binds around him, allowing him to lever himself freely out of range. Goodra used her horns and pried the aura off her body physically. Venusaur arose to his hind legs and stomped down on the line, snapping it. All six Pokémon shot glares at Vanessa as she looked momentarily stunned.

"Alright...NOW WE'RE TALKING!" Krookodile clutched his fist and slammed it inti the ground. "STONE EDGE!" Several jagged, light blue glowing stones shot upwards heading towards Vanessa.

"Ice Beam!" Goodra reeled her head around with a bright blue orb and fired a freezing beam that soared directly over the ongoing stones.

Vanessa spread her arms and legs, channeling aura until she was set to strike.

"Emanation Beam!"

She fired a compressed beam of teal aura that met the two attacks in the center. There were several sparks and frost that crystalized molecules moments before a cold geyser of energy erupted across the area. Her eyes briefly widened when she sensed something heading her way. She made an attempt to make a barrier, but was a second too slow when a Shadow Ball made impact with her wristguards. Am explosion of darkness erupted and pushed her away. She barely caught herself and grunted when her arms felt numb for a moment.

A blue aura engulfed her body, sharply lowering her Special Defense.

"Hmph!" Delphox scoffed at her attack's succession. "So tell me, do you intend to make us obey you again? If so, you'll have to earn that privilege."

Vanessa frowned heavily. She wasn't getting anywhere like this. 'At this rate, it'll only be a matter of time before they wear me down. Pulling punches isn't an option, not when they have intent to kill.' She knew what she had to do. 'There's no turning back now. I'll...have to go all-out!'

She took a deep breath, relaxing herself in front of her opponents. "Very well then...if you so insist...I'll oblige on the matter. I was hoping that I could reason with you, but..." Teal Magic Power began surfacing around Vanessa. The ground beneath her rumbled as shockwaves traveled beneath everyone. The energy began encompassing her. "You did bring up a valid point earlier, Magnezone. If reason isn't complacent, the most effective way to prove yourself to another...is through violence."

Delphox and the others watched as the Magic Power around Vanessa mounted nd took shape. It started towering over them and casted a shadow upon them. In the center of the humanoid structure was Vanessa, glaring down readily at them.

"Aura Guardian!"

"Looks like she's finally taking us seriously." Mawile huffed. "Great, now we've gotta deal with things bigger than her oversized butt now."

"So it would seem." Venusaur braced himself with the others.

The teal eyes of the Aura Guardian flickered before the fist reeled back and slung forward. From far away, an eruption of teal erupted into the sky.


Sophie's head throbbed like crazy. It didn't help that she was partially sleep-deprived, but that was miniscule as opposed to the alpha waves transmitting from Kadabra as he focused on his silver spoon. The more he focused, the more alpha waves were expelled.

What made the situation even worse for her was that she was cornered by the likes of Araquanid and Finneon. Kadabra maintained his focus as the former two were eyeing up their trainer with harsh intentions.

'My head feels like it's being split apart...is this what it feels like being hit with psychic waves?' The pulsating pressure in Sophie's head spiked, subconsciously answering her own question. It was so intense that it was borderline nauseating. She had to fight the urge to gag.

"So that's just it? Your little parlor trick is just gonna run her through on its own?" Araquanid asked Kadabra, his tone hinting a little disbelief in the anticlimactic upheaval.

As he focused on his spoon, Kadabra answered. "Not quite. Alpha waves aren't that strong as to completely kill off a human...at least at the standard level. This is my first time implementing such a tactic. The best that I can manage at the moment is suppressing her mentally for a little while. I'm relying on you both while I distribute my energy, if that's not too much of a hassle."

Finneon nodded. "Yes, consider it done, Kadabra."

Araquanid turned ahead, hissing. "Fine by me."

All three faced Sophie as she was still trying to gather her bearings. She could barely stand, let alone think. It was rather undermining to attack her this way, but for their benefit, it was worth it. Araquanid took the initiative as tiny grubs expelled from his body.

"Infestation!"

The insects all swarmed like a large mass of flies heading right towards Sophie. The blonde kept one eye open and used her acrobatic techniques to twist and leap out of the way. She landed a short distance away, but didn't have long to recover before Finneon made her attack.

"Water Gun!"

She blasted a steady pressure of water from her mouth at Sophie. Again, she dodged by veering away, allowing the water to hit a glass window. The force of the attack wasn't so strong as to break it, however. Finneon kept up the attack and turned her body to project the water into Sophie, forcing her closer towards the Infestation's wake.

'Are they trying to pincer me?' She had to act fast, however fast her aching head could allow. She had to choose between the spray of water, or the insectoid grubs that would continuously nibble and itch. Of the two choices, she chose to use the iron railing on the building behind her, gripped it, and swung her legs over the water. She spun and landed without much of a hassle.

Araquanid hissed. He lunged straight for Sophie with his fangs in his water bubble glowing bright white, via Bug Bite. Sophie rolled away as Araquanid bit down on the iron railing, making a deep indent with the force of his fangs.

'I can't just dodge. I have to attack!' She got to her feet and faced Araquanid and Finneon. 'Right, I have to take the initiative...' She put a finger to her forehead, trying heavily to concentrate. 'Remember what Rufus said. Envision both magics you've seen before, and fuse them to however you see it...'

"Memory-Make-!"

Kadabra jutted out his spoon. He focused harder to make another set of alpha waves. Sophie stopped midway with her magic when her head ached to where she cringed. She backpedaled to the side of a building wall to support herself.

"My apologies, Miss Sophie, but we cannot allow you to use your magic so freely." Kadabra insisted, shooting a glance at Finneon. "Finneon?"

She nodded in understanding. "Right." She swiveled her wings behind her and shot out of Araquanid's water bubble. She careened her body towards the sky with an elegant pose. "Rain Dance!"

Dark stormclouds appeared above the street in a large, circulative manner. The spiraling cloud thundered before a droplet hit the top of Sophie's head, making her open an eye. "Huh...?" She looked up, seeing that there were even more droplets hitting her face. It soon came to a full-on drizzle blanketing the area.

"Rain..." Sophie looked back down, but was immediately met with a rush of water from Finneon. Her Water Gun had even more pressure behind it than before. She barely dodged as it continued into the same window it did before, this time shattering the glass. Sophie looked back with mild surprise. 'Their Water-type attacks are even more powerful now...'

Araquanid hissed as he lurched forward, expelling a Bubble Beam that bolted straight towards Sophie. She braced herself when the attack suddenly made a U-turn and shifted directions back towards Finneon. Everyone watched as she took the bubbles, though instead of damage, they infused into her body and made a red aura envelop her.

Araquanid hissed in surprise. "What?!"

"Finneon...absorbed it?" Sophie's eyes widened again. "That's right...her Ability!"

"Oh great. Just when there's rain, I can't even attack because of you. Why are you around me again?" Araquanid retorted at Finneon.

"My sincerest apologies, Araquanid. However, I do thank you. Because now...I can do this!" Finneon took another leap into the air, manifesting a blue sphere of water. "Water Pulse!"

She fired a fast-moving aquatic orb at Sophie. Her throbbing head made her a second delayed and made her take the empowered attack. She was engulfed in a misty blue explosion that shook the area around her and was spat out, screaming as she was blown back into a puddle with a harsh splash.

Araquanid's eyes widened in mild surprise. "Woah...forgot about that." He looked back at her with slight remorse. "Er...sorry about what I said."

"It's no trouble. I'll do my best to repay you for your condolence."

Araquanid grunted. "I know a way...help me put her in her place!"

"I'll be happy to oblige."

Sophie stirred on the pavement. Her back was all wet thanks to landing in a puddle. She made an attempt to get back up with her head still ringing like a bell. 'I can't give up here. Whatever is happening to them...it falls onto me to fix this!'

Kadabra narrowed his eyes as he focused intently.

"Gngh! GAH!" Sophie lurched with her eyes shut as pain stirred through her head. She slumped to her side and got into a fetal position. The throbbing was so bad that she couldn't feel her right side getting drenched by the rain.

With her opponent incapacitated, Finneon hummed before she fired another Water Gun. The rain's power made it even harsher than before and gushed her. With heavy gallons of water pressing against her, Sophie could only grunt as she had to struggle both physically and mentally.

'It's no use...everything is too contorted. I can't focus like this...!'

Araquanid hissed vigorously. He crouched before springing over Finneon's Water Gun. He closed in on Sophie from above with his fangs glowing for Bite. As Sophie meekly opened her eyes to see the oncoming visage of Araquanid's fangs, everything around her turned audibly quiet as thoughts kept her lucid for a short time.


It was a clear day over the fields overlooking Magnolia. A few Combee swept by alongside some Hoppip as Sophie sat on a small rock. She stood before Rufus as he was assisting her with some of her magic rehabilitation.

"The fundamentals of Memory-Make Magic can diverge between certain users." Rufus went on about the properties of their magic. "I recall well that while we studied the same magic, our fundamentals also influence our magic. Does that make sense?"

Sophie sat back and moved her right leg over her left. "Yeah, I remember you explaining about that the last time we've met up. You specialized in forgetting spells after seeing them once."

Rufus hummed. "That's good...I was testing whether you intentionally forgot that or remembered it." He turned towards her. "But back to the matter at hand. Magic such as ours can in fact diverge, but we come the same core concept of recollection and experience. In your case, Sophie, you have an abundance of Magic Power. You can make a plethora of spells that you see only once...however, the problem is that you have nothing to recollect."

Sophie frowned. She knew what Rufus said was merely the truth, though to her, it didn't instill much confidence. "...I see."

He cleared his throat. "Forgive me if that sounded rather harsh. It was merely a state of observation. I'll try to be a little more lenient on the matter for your sake."

"No, no...that's alright, really." Sophie pinched one of her locks between her index finger and thumb. "I know you mean well. I appreciate you taking the time to help me compose my magic. I'm just still trying to get used to, well...this."

"'This'?" He raised a brow in curiosity. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well...people just trying to help me back on my feet is all. Though I'm grateful for everyone being there, it still feels a little...uncomfortable."

Rufus nodded in understanding. "Is that so?" He put a hand to his chin and looked down. "Yes, from your standpoint, I suppose that it could be a little cumbersome. But listen, if you will..."

"Okay..."

"To make such a spell, you need to remember as well as forget. You need to remember what you've envisioned to make your spell. But, at the same time, you need to also forget that discomfort you feel. Perhaps I should try phrasing it more simply for you. Are you familiar with meditation?"

"Yes. It's when you sit still and focus on your breathing alone."

"Then that principle is what you should use as a base. When one is in a deep state of meditation, their minds are clear of everything. Anything from headaches to even feeling pain, all that is dulled while they cleanse their minds to focus. Observe."

Sophie watched as Rufus put his finger to his forehead. It was a focal point as he closed his eyes. She watched as a red magic seal appeared behind him, along with an expansive gold helix chain. When the chain flashed a bright light, she was momentarily blinded until it faded away. When she looked back, she found herself surrounded by numerous ice soldiers with lances that floated over the ground.

"I remembered reading of an ancient spell from texts back in the library of Crocus. I envisioned it and committed it to memory. At the same time, I casted out all aspects of thoughts to focus and envision it." He swiped his arm, dispelling all the soldiers back to thin air. "Does that all make sense to you now, cousin?"

Sophie looked down at the ground, processing everything she heard. "A clear mind..."

Rufus grinned. "It wouldn't be so easy in battle, but your body is well adept to it. Now then, shall we give it a try? First, take a deep breath through your nose, and calmly steady your mind to make that image..."


'Clear my mind...forget everything else around me to focus...' Despite her splitting headache, Sophie was able to calmly close her eyes. She took a deep, long breath through her nose, inflating her lungs and chest with air that went through her body. Gradually, the aching feeling inside her head was starting to fade away. She kept a very calm mind, thinking of nothing but relying on her breathing and the blank space she saw.

Araquanid hissed aggressively as he came down with his sharp fangs, but in Sophie's mind, time was too slow to even tell how fast he was moving. All she thought about was feeling her throbbing head becoming superficial.

'What magic do I see...' In her cleared mind, she envisioned Droy's Plant Magic, more specifically, sprouting plants that were his Knuckle Plant.

"Now, use that memory as a base. Envision another magic, and picture what you want those two to do with each other."

'Envision that magic atop of another.' The next vision she saw was swirling dragonfire from Natsu. 'Fire...and vegetation...'

She envisioned the two images overlapping in her mind. As she did, a red magic seal appeared behind her, a chain of memories appearing. Her green eyes opened wide with her sprouting epiphany.

"Memory-Make..."

Araquanid was about to pounce onto her, until the ground flashed red from between the tiles. Thick, thorny plants suddenly burst from the ground with buds that opened to have flytrap-like insides.

"WHAT?!" Araquanid didn't get to bite her as one of the plants shot up and swallowed him in its petals. The stem expanded into the air with Araquanid trapped inside.

"Araquanid?!" Finneon gasped, before plants sprouted beneath and engulfed her.

Kadabra was too busy implementing his alpha waves that he didn't realize it until it was too late. He was swallowed as well and shot up inside the closed petals that shaped into buds.

"Blooming Dragonbomb Garden!"

All the closed petals flickered before they exploded, bursting into draconic flares above Sophie's head. The heat of the erupting plants was so intense that it dried up her wet frame. Meanwhile, Kadabra and the others cried out as they dropped to the ground in smoky trails. Araquanid and Kadabra hit the ground harshly, as opposed to Finneon, who splashed back into the former's water bubble.

"Gnngh...tch...okay, that just pissed me off." Araquanid was the first to get up, turning towards Kadabra. "Hey! I thought you were stopping her, what gives?!"

Kadabra winced as he strained to stand. "I was...she must have ignored the pain to cast that spell." He looked at Sophie getting back to her feet, a calm disposition on her face. "Look at her, she seems completely composed..."

Sophie took another deep breath through her nose, keeping her mind clear of all distraction. She knew that since the attack involved fire, it wasn't that effective on Araquanid nor Finneon, especially thanks to the rain. But at least it gave her some thinking space.

She closed her eyes, making another chain of memories.

"Oh no you don't!" Araquanid hissed as he sent another wave of Infestation, alongside Finneon's Water Pulse.

"Psyshock!" Kadabra made a purple orb that fired three beams at Sophie.

The three attacks closed in on her, but she kept focus and envisioned Elfman's Take-Over, with Joey's Barrier-Make Magic. The image molded in her head to make her see a new spell.

"Memory-Make: Rage of the Armored Beast!"

A demonic humanoid creature that had a muscular structure similar to Elfman's appeared before her. It had reflective armor over its frame, except for its horns and wrecking ball, spiked tail. It had hollow black eyes like a skeleton and a snout similar to a wyvern.

It stood hunched over, before lunging after the attacks heading its way. The barrier-like armored protected it as it continued on while taking no damage. The Infestation deflected off the armor along with the water and psychokinetic beams.

"Our attacks bounced off?!" Finneon gasped. Araquanid hissed in aggravation.

Kadabra stood perfectly still, holding his spoon out as he concentrated. "Reflect!" He made a rainbow, circular barrier in front of him and his allies individually.

The barbaric beast raced up to all three and barreled his entire body into them like a wild animal. The barriers around them absorbed half of the initial impact, but they all were still knocked onto the ground with thuds. The beast faded away just as Sophie made another chain of memories.

This time, in her mind, she envisioned Laki's wood she saw one time, along with Gray's ice.

"Memory-Make: Rise of the Frozen Yggdrasil!"

Araquanid regained his balance on his massive legs and shook his head. "Ow...that actually..." He felt a rumbling beneath him. "Huh? What's going on now?!"

"I'm not sure..." Kadabra got a bad feeling. He turned towards the other two with wide eyes. "Everyone, move now!"

Finneon stayed in Araquanid's water bubble as he lunged off to the side. Kadabra used his psychic powers and levitated away just as the ground beneath them arose with a massive tree. Wood sprouted with spiraling engraves that led towards the ends of the branches, which were nothing but ice. Bushes of ice enclosed on one another, which would have trapped and frozen the three if they hadn't evaded the attack on time. They all looked up, visibly shocked and horrified at what they were witnessing.

"What kind of magic is that?" Finneon worried. "Did Lady Sophie really do that?"

"She couldn't do that before..." Kadabra dreaded, turning to look back at Sophie. "Miss Sophie...is this her potential?" He frowned in worry. 'Did I unknowingly make her create spells that are stronger than her past ones she lost? If so, we might be in trouble...'

Above their heads, the rain gradually stopped, revealing clear dark skies.

'All that training with my magic is finally bearing fruit...I'll have to thank Rufus when I see him again. Right now, I need to focus.' Sophie spread her legs, ready to take action. 'I need to get them all out of it...and I need to now!'


Kirlia spun around once more, sending another wave of bright green leaves at the mage. They closed in on him, but Shiin had his knuckles out with a red magic seal appearing before one of the rings that shined bright orange.

"Firebolt!"

Heat gathered in front until a compressed fireball was in front of the ring. He projected the fireball at the leaves, incinerating them and continuing towards Kirlia. Just when it was about to hit him, he teleported, allowing the flame to continue and erupt in a medium-sized explosion on a nearby rooftop.

"It teleported so fast..." Shiin murmured.

Mest looked around, trying to find where he ended up. His eyes locked onto the top of the guild hall's belltower, where at the top, Kirlia stood perfectly composed while having one leg up. He kept his eyes closed as he had a red aura around him, signifying an increase in stats.

Mest narrowed his eyes. "Calm Mind again?"

Kirlia's eyes glowed bright blue. He emitted a psychic wave that spread towards Mest and Shiin, making them lose control of their bodies remotely. Before they could comprehend that, they were lifted into the air by a few meters before Kirlia brought both his arms down. They smashed into the guild's rooftop on their sides, causing them to grunt loudly in pain.

He suddenly teleported again, this time closer to inspect their bodies. He saw Mest struggle to get back up, but managed to a knee. "Damnit...this isn't getting us anywhere..." he scowled.

Shiin had to keep everything in check. It was taking everything in his power not to allow the Transformation spell to lift. If it did, it would have created problems for sure. It didn't help that he felt pain flaring in his front where he landed. 'That attack had enough force to force me out of my Air Walk! This is bad...'

Kirlia stood completely balanced with an unamused glare. He looked over at Shiin as his eyes glowed bright blue. That same glow enveloped Shiin and he was forced back into the air in a suspended formation.

"No! Stop it now, Kirlia!" Mest shouted.

Kirlia didn't listen. He focused his energy on Shiin and prepared to bring him back down even harder. The mage felt his neck getting tight as he struggled to move, but found it impossible to do so.

Suddenly, a wind of glistening silver sparkles blew past Shiin, striking Kirlia. He covered up as the wind made him slide several feet across the guild's roof. The lack of focus made the Confusion around Shiin dissipate, allowing him to drop back down beside Mest.

"What happened?!" Mest looked back, his eyes wide with surprise. "What?"

"Free~!"

Shiin regained his composure, only to be slightly shaken by a familiar cry. He slowly turned his head and recognized and all-too-familiar butterfly that flapped a short distance from him. "What? You?! What are you doing here?!" he scowled.

"Free!" Butterfree happily chirped at him, before turning back towards Kirlia. "Free~!" His tone grew slightly more annoyed as he fluttered past Shiin to confront Kirlia. "FREE!"

"Come on already..." Kirlia groaned, turning away and banged his head against the small belltower's walls.

"Free!" Butterfree kicked his feet up angrily.

"Huh? Hey, wait. You're saying you wanna help us?" Mest questioned.

Butterfree turned back at him. "Free!" He turned towards the disguised Shiin. "Free!"

In his head, Shiin was dreading what had to be the impossible. 'There's no way. It can't possibly know it's me. I'm well disguised for this job.' He wanted to disregard it, but the look Butterfree gave him made him doubt his speculations. 'What is this Pokémon?'

Butterfree turned back towards Kirlia, a battle-ready expression on his face. Kirlia finished another session of headbanging and turned to face Butterfree. He hopped into the air and spun around, sending Magical Leaf at Butterfree. The butterfly responded with his wings glowing bright blue and flapped repeatedly. A mild windstorm picked up in the form of Gust, causing the leaves to dissipate and cancel out the breeze. Kirlia gave a brief humph before teleporting out of sight.

"He teleported again?!" Shiin exasperated.

Mest looked at his surroundings again, trying to deduced where their opponent would attack from. His eyes spotted something behind him that made him do a full-on pivot. "There!"

Butterfree got the hint and turned around. His antennae made an orb of pink energy and fired a streaky beam of energy with blue and yellow circles, via Psybeam. The attack made impact with Kirlia just as she appeared, although it did make contact, he wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"I hardly felt...that..." Kirlia trailed off as his vision was getting hazy. He started swaying his body back and forth as his hearing was getting muffled. "Uuugh..."

"What's happening?" Shiin watched the scene play out, with Kirlia looking so dizzy that he kneeled down and began banging his head against the guild's roofing.

"That attack must have confused him!" Mest realized. This was the opening that he needed. 'If we can immobilize him long enough, I can focus on rewriting his memories to make him see me as his ally again.'

With Kirlia disoriented and banging his head against the roof, Butterfree fluttered overhead and hovered over him. "Free!" His wings flapped repeatedly, expelling a bright green powder that scattered down onto Kirlia. The pollen sprinkled all over his body and swallowed him. After seconds of dissipating, the air cleared to show Kirlia fast asleep.

"It's asleep. That's a relief." Shiin remarked matter-of-factly. He didn't want to sound neither surprised nor displeased with what was going on. It was within his best interests to retain caution.

'He's asleep. This is my chance!' Mest didn't waste a second. With the opening, he teleported in front of the sleeping Kirlia and placed his hand on his forehead. "Stay still...and come back to me!"

He began using his Magic, making Kirlia's body lightly convulse. The memories began altering as he was dreaming. The process only lasted a couple seconds until he pulled his hand away. When he did, a wave of relief washed over him.

"Alright...that should do the trick. Now..." He reached into his pockets to look for something he needed. After scoping, he pulled out a Full Heal he had on hand. 'I've kept a few of these on hand just in case Kirlia ever got a status ailment. Well...best to try it out.' He keeled down and pressed on the nozzle. A steady jet of spray doused the sleeping Kirlia. The fumes of the spray were quickly used up, until finally the Full Heal was used up.

As the fumes rolled away, Kirlia's eyes flashed wide open. He jolted back upright in shock. "Aaah~, that was a really strange dream...hm?" He looked up at Mest, immediately seeing his face looking contorted with worry. "Uh...what are you looking at?"

"Kirlia, are you alright?" Mest asked in a worried tone.

Kirlia looked down at the guild's roof as he rubbed the top of his head. "I feel weird...I had this really weird dream. I heard this voice...and I thought I was fighting you...now, my head actually hurts for some reason."

Mest sighed out his nostrils. He put on a relieved expression over the irony. "I see...good to have you around."

Shiin gave Mest a deep look. "What did you do?"

Mest glanced back at him. "Relax, I just used my magic to make it so that he thought he was having a dream. In truth, he's my loyal partner."

"I see."

Kirlia looked around, realizing they were on the roof and not in their own abode. "Why are we on the guild? You didn't tell me that I was sleepwalking."

Mest lightly chuckled. "Believe me, I was surprised myself. Don't worry...I'm sure it was just a one-time thing." In his mind, he couldn't stop worrying. 'At least, let's just hope that's the case.'

Shiin frowned. He was well aware of what Mest's magic was. In the highlight of it all, it was extremely dangerous to even think about. He was relieved that, for the time being, his cover wasn't completely blown. 'In normal practice, it would have been practical to incapacitate and await for the government's authorities to take appropriate measures. Those proceedings alone would taken days due to resources, spells, and the paperwork with the article information...but he not only used magic, but also an item from the other world to cleanse his ailments. These Pokémon and these items, they could very well turn our society around if their abilities and these resources aren't in check. We mustn't allow that to happen!'

"Free!" Butterfree chirped merrily as he fluttered around Shiin's disguise. His antennae moved about as he smiled happily.

"Hey, don't get too close. What do you think you're doing?" Shiin berated.

"Free!" Butterfree kicked his feet in glee.

Shiin blinked, a chill running up his spine as he came to a conclusion that he feared. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Don't tell me..." he muttered. "You're...?"

Butterfree chirped again, confirming Shiin's insecurities. He remained composed, but inside he was deeply disturbed. 'He found me out even though I masked myself? Is this Pokémon truly that perceptive?'

"You know that Butterfree?" Mest inquired.

Shiin had to hold back the urge to cringe. He calmly turned back towards Mest and gave him an astute look. "Yes...unfortunately. I encountered this one when I was traversing through the forest before I came across this place." It was a half-lie. He wasn't technically wrong. The Butterfree had been tailing him ever since he left the Pergrande Kingdom for his task.

"Free!" Butterfree fluttered brightly.

Shiin gave him a serious look. "Why do you persist so much?"

Butterfree chirped a response, much to Shiin's ire. As this was going on, Mest looked on with a deep frown. Something about this didn't feel right to him. There were far too many variables at work for this to be coincidental. He was grateful for the assistance by this unknown mage, but that didn't stop his stomach from churning at something that was bothering him. He couldn't describe it. It could have been because of his judgment of character, but the way this mage spoke, his mannerism, the way he was conversing...something about it didn't seem at all genuine.

He really wanted to investigate further into this person, but he had other priorities right now. He glanced back at the chaotic mess that was Magnolia and saw many Pokémon still running about. For now, he would have to stomach this discomfort and continue to give the benefit of the doubt.

'I'll see about him later. Right now, we have to find everyone else. The guild could be in grave danger! But still...' Out of impulse, he rushed over, gnawing on the top of Shiin's head. "What's going on! I really wanna know! I really wanna know!"

"What are you doing?! Get ahold of yourself!"

"I really wanna know!" As Mest was droning on with his estrange habit, Butterfree turned and saw Kirlia resume banging his head against the guild's roof.


Another explosion of teal aura blossomed from below, picking up deep levels of earth. The eruption's shockwaves forced Delphox and the others to take cover behind trees and within the underbrush just outside the clearing. They waited until the dust and aura dissipated before they could relax.

"We could have just decked her early, we could have. But no~! You guys just had to talk!" Mawile complained. "Next time, let's just take Krookodile's way of doing things and ask questions after mangling her!"

"Hey!" Krookodile snapped.

"Are we really having this spat right now?!" Goodra snapped. She looked back behind the tree. Her eyes darted up towards the towering Aura Guardian standing completely still. "We can't get close to her at this rate..."

Magnezone's magnets churned with static. "This isn't an ideal spot. She knows where we are because of our aura. She'll smoke us out one way or another."

Delphox grimaced. She knew her trainer was a resilient one, but she didn't expect her to really go this far. She mentally cursed herself for thinking Vanessa would pull punches. 'She's definitely no pushover. If she resorted to this...she's serious about not letting us go. We have no choice. We'll have to attack.'

Vanessa stood tall in her ethereal aura giant's chest. She scoped the area around her, sensing the aura of her six Pokémon. As soon as she knew where they were, her thoughts grew calculative. 'I'll need to be selective. Taking out Venusaur is essential so that I don't get badly poisoned. I should also take out Goodra and Delphox since their Defense isn't as keen as their Special Defense.' With a plan in mind, she readied herself.

Closer towards the ground, Krookodile's patience lagged as he turned around and sprung forward. "Stone Edge!" He pounded the ground with a fist, sending a large, linear segment of stone that spiked from the earth below. They continued towards Vanessa's heel, but she raised her spell's enormous foot and stomped on the stones, shattering them. A seismic wave of aura expelled with a magnitude, hitting Krookodile and forcing him onto his back.

Venusaur turned around and glared back at Vanessa. He aimed his flower and fired another round of Toxic. Behind him, Goodra and Delphox fired rounds of Dragon Pulse and Fire Blast. The jointed attack effort forced Vanessa to make a larger barrier of aura to protect her. The attacks met the shield and erupted, though dispersed to thin air along with the shield.

"Seriously?!" Mawile exasperated.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Magnezone murmured.

Krookodile got back to his feet and looked back up with a small growl.

'I haven't perfected this knew spell yet...so I'll have to be quick and precise.'

Vanessa closed her eyes to concentrate. Teal aura centered around the back of the Aura Guardian and started taking a new shape. The aura was less solid than the titan itself, allowing its shape to be molded. The more Vanessa concentrated, the more tense her brows furrowed.

"Aura Hydra!"

From her back, the aura sprouted three large, serpentine heads made of solidified aura. They all had sharp fangs and glowing teal eyes. Each head roared as they slung through the air and arched down at Mach speed onto Goodra, Delphox, and Venusaur. All three didn't have the luxury of moving swiftly enough to avoid them as they were plunged into the ground with the force of a meteor. Shockwaves expelled behind the remaining Pokémon as they looked stunned.

"What the-?!" Krookodile gawked in disbelief.

The dust cleared out, revealing all three Pokémon pinned to the ground by the snouts of these hydra heads. They bit into them, keeping them restraint.

"Gnnngh...what...kind of magic is this? It's like how she usually restrains opponents...but-!" Delphox stopped midway when her hydra's head clamped a little tighter around her waist, making her grunt.

Vanessa took a deep breath to relax her body. 'I'm able to make three heads at the max right now. Using it too long takes a lot of concentration...I need to knock them out quickly.'

Goodra was using her horns to try and pry the fangs off her gooey body. She was starting to show progress when the heads gradually arose from the ground, taking the three with them. "Huh? Wait...we're getting off the ground?"

"This is bad." Venusaur realized.

Delphox's eyes shrunk in realization. "No-!"

Vanessa huffed before closing her eyes. She reached her arms out and then up, clamping the fingers shut. The Aura Guardian mimicked these motions and guided the three heads into the atmosphere high above. They all separated before they arched into a singular point. Goodra, Venusaur, and Delphox all screamed before the heads rammed into each other, creating an intense teal explosion that made the air quake intensely. Airwaves expelled from high above that made trees below quiver. The explosion dropped the Pokémon with smoky trails following their deep descent.

Vanessa was quick to catch them in her giant hands. They all were caught safely in her clutches, but at the expense of their bodies rendered unconscious. They all had swirls for eyes as they were held by their trainer's magic.

She morbidly frowned with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

The hydra heads above dissipated throughout the air until all that was left were stubs on the back of the Aura Guardian, which faded along with the energy. 'That's as long as I can manage the spell at full capacity. Using three heads while in Aura Guardian definitely makes the spell a lot stronger.'

BOOM!

The titan rumbled with an intense rupture from below. Vanessa quickly gathered that she was still being attacked. The smoke around her bottom half receded to reveal Magnezone ascending higher, his middle eyes glowing to charge up another Flash Cannon. The beam fired past Vanessa when she shifted her weight to her left. The beam continued and struck the trees below, reducing them to smoldering bits.

'I'll have to deal with them now.' Vanessa gingerly moved the unconscious Delphox, Goodra, and Venusaur off to the side. Once they were soundly secured, she turned back towards Magnezone and the others.

"Let me tell you something, Vanessa Pularis! Nobody makes a fool out of leaving Krookodile as seconds! I'll show you respect...WITH MY CLAWS!" His eyes gleamed bright red as a red aura enflamed around him. "GWAAAAH! OUTRAGE!" He shot off the ground and reeled back a fist to strike the titan's heel. With all his might, the impact made a large shock run through the entire leg, but not enough to completely make Vanessa kneel.

Vanessa retaliated by going for a kick. She swung her heel into Krookodile and sent him flying with a wild cry. As he passed over Mawile, she looked up and grunted. "Great...any other bright ideas?"

"She's bound to run out of magic. If I remember, using Aura Guardian is essentially her whole reservoir. But it's resilient and it doesn't run out as fast as it used to." Magnezone explained.

Mawile eyerolled angrily. "Way to state the obvious. I could have said all...that..." She blinked in her realization. "Resilient you said?" She slowly turned towards him with a raised brow, a gesture that made Magnezone blink.

"Mawile...that face you're making...do you have a plan?" He didn't sound very confident, as if he knew Mawile had something underhanded in mind.

"Tell me, how much damage did you take already?"

"I've been cautious enough to take no such damage, why?"

The smirk on Mawile's face widened. "Heh, then this should work just fine..."

Feeling a change in their auras, Vanessa knew something was happening. 'I need to end this now.' She took aim for Magnezone and raised her arms up. She gathered aura into a singular point, making a wide area of it that gradually engulfed the front of her.

Meanwhile, Mawile had just explained the plan to Magnezone. "You got that? It'll be simple."

"Right, I see. I suppose since we have no other options." Magnezone braced himself as he glared at Vanessa. "Right. I'm ready."

Mawile nodded and jumped away. Magnezone faced the sphere of charging aura with diligence in his glare. "I won't run! I will stand my ground and take my rightful place!"

Vanessa narrowed her eyes before she finally took the shot. "Trace Shot!" She fired the large, teal, sphere of aura directly into him. He stood there and took the massive attack without flinching. A large-scale explosion broke apart the ground and exploded skywards. The ground violently erupted with shockwaves that sent earth and debris past Mawile as she guarded herself and a winded Krookodile with Protect. Trees that stood too close ended up being blown over and having their trunks snapped. Bark and earth flew in the strands of teal leaking into the forest from the attack's excessive force.

Vanessa remained relaxed but deeply focused. She knew that attack had some measure of impact, no matter how big or small...but when her aura still sensed something, her eyes widened when her eyes were cast down towards the sphere, which was still intact and rippling energy waves across the ground.

"Gnnnngh!" To her moral shock. Magnezone had a reflective surface over his body as he was a few inches off the ground. His body made for a shield that Vanessa recognized all too well.

'That can't be...!' Her pupils shrank at the realization. She was played.

Magnezone grunted as the Trace Shot's rippling energy magnified, making its size double as the force on his body was ready to spring it off.

"MIRROR COAT!"

He reflected the humungous sphere towards Vanessa at thunderous speeds. She was about to bring her arms up to block, but she was too slow. The sphere struck the chest of the Aura Guardian and Vanessa. Her blue eyes widened as the force of the reflected attack engulfed everything around her in a bright light...

BOOOOOM!

The entire giant's top erupted in a mountain of teal explosions that shook everything. The magnitude was so great that it could have been felt for miles on end. Mawile and Krookodile watched as the titan's massive bulk dragged it backwards in a smoking heap into the clearing, thudding against its back. They all watched in shock and partial disbelief as their plan actually worked. They witnessed the energy comprising the spell lifting, leaving their trainer on her back with scrapes and bruises all over her body.

"...oh shit. That actually worked." Mawile muttered.

Magnezone grunted as he drifted left and right, until he settled for the ground to rest. His magnets were so loose that they dangled beneath him. He was so drained that he could barely move.

Mawile walked up to him, smirking with pride. "Heh...what do you think? You thought I forgot your Sturdy Ability, right?"

Magnezone weakly glanced over at her. "That was...awfully perceptive of you..."

She hummed. "I pay attention." She turned towards the incapacitated Vanessa afar. "So, what do we do about her now? Feels almost criminal to leave her in one piece like this after everything."

"That's true."

"I got this." Krookodile walked between the two and trudged towards Vanessa. He snarled lowly as he got closer to her unconscious frame. "So...you want some more? Because we've still got plenty more to spare for you!"

"..." Vanessa was too weak to give a proper response. Her head was rung pretty hard from that impact. She had a concussion.

"Hmph! I'm not one for mercy, but I'll make this quick!" Krookodile stepped onto her stomach, forcing a gag out of her. "Nighty night!"

Vanessa could only weakly stare as she saw Krookodile's massive jaws open once more, revealing his sharp incisors and extremely powerful jaws – capable of crushing a car! If what he was gonna do was what she thought, she knew she had to move...but couldn't.

Just as Krookodile was about to come down for the head bite, a silverish blur with jingling keys passed by. "Huh?! What the-?!" He turned his head towards rushing tarot cards and snapped down on them instead. The sudden intrusion, he stepped off Vanessa and backpedaled away.

"Now what?" Mawile groaned.

"It looks like we have some more company." Magnezone murmured.

"Vanessa!" Racing through the forest closer towards Magnolia, Cana rushed out, along with Lucy and Wendy. The three immediately saw their guildmate on the ground and rushed to her aid.

"More humans. Just great." Mawile grunted. "I'm exhausted from all that fighting. I say we split."

Magnezone nodded. "Agreed."

"You're not getting away from me!" Cana swiped more tarot cards at them. Mawile retaliated by swinging her iron jaws as they shimmered with metal, via Iron Head. She swung it around and knocked the cards away. "Damnit!"

"Krookodile, we need assistance in escaping...please." Magnezone said politely.

Krookodile snorted harshly and turned away. "Fine! But not because you told me to!" He turned around and glared heavily at Vanessa and the girls. "This isn't over!" He turned back towards the ground and began digging rapidly with his claws. In no time, his Dig had gotten so deep and wide that it allowed Magnezone and Mawile to drift down and follow their comrade to safety.

"They're getting away!" Lucy shouted.

"It's too late. They're gone." Cana frowned, turning towards Vanessa. "Vanessa..." She turned towards Wendy. "Wendy!"

"Right! I'm on it!" She kneeled before her side and placed her hands atop her chest. Green energy emanated from her palms and enveloped her patient in a healing light. "Don't worry, you'll be just fine. These wounds don't look so life-threatening, so you should be okay for now."

With the little strength that she had, Vanessa gave Wendy a meek glance. "Thank you, Wendy..."

"Don't worry about it. Just hurry and rest up. It'll be okay, promise." As optimistic as a sentiment it was, Wendy felt anything but. But for the sake of her friends, she opted to put on a brave face.

Cana looked around the clearing, seeing the large-scale destruction that happened. Trees were blown over, the ground was a mess; hell, she was just amazed that part of the town wasn't flattened by the flashy display a few minutes ago. "What a mess...can't believe she put up this big of a fight."

As she was being healed, in the underbrush hiding away, Klefki looked back towards Lucy. Seeing her focused on Vanessa, she used this time to drift away further into the forest.

Lucy gasped upon realizing something missing. "Klefki!" She shot back up and looked around. "Did she come through here?! Klefki?!" Seeing no sign of her, Lucy's expression fell into grief. "No..."

Cana furrowed her brow, grimacing for her friend. "Lucy..."

"She just went through here, didn't she? Maybe we can still catch her!" Wendy insisted.

"We can't...not while leaving Vanessa like this. Look at her." Carla looked down at her condition.

Nearby, bushes began to shake, immediately bringing everyone's guard up. The tension in their bodies immediately loosened when they recognized Natsu bursting through frantically.

"Lucy! There you are!" Natsu shouted

"Natsu!" Lucy's heart thumped with a wave of relief.

"Happy told me what happened! I smelled your scent over here and then I saw..." He trailed off as he glanced over towards the other girls corralled around a half-conscious Vanessa. He looked around and saw Delphox, Goodra, and Venusaur in a daze of their own as they were barely getting around. "What happened here?"

"Natsu..." Lucy mumbled, barely keeping back her grief. Tears started swelling up in her eyes. "It's...it's all just a big mess. And Klefki and Staryu, they..."

Natsu's eyes shrunk as he was catching onto what she meant. If what he went through was any indication, he had a good idea what they did to break her heart like this. His gaze fell towards the ground in gritting teeth with fury. "...damnit!"

Delphox was very weak, but she saw her trainer's condition with a morbid frown. She laid with Venusaur and Goodra and stayed very quiet as Wendy was using her magic to fix her up. "Vanessa...we're so sorry..."

As Wendy was healing her body, her head still rung. But she could feel a change in aura from nearby. More specifically, from Delphox. As she swayed in and out of consciousness, a slight wave of relief washed over the Pularis woman. '...me too.'


Finneon flapped her glowing blue tailfins, creating a strong wind that blew into Sophie. She stood her ground against the winds and kept herself steady. She was quick-witted enough to realize Kadabra was concentrating energy to singular point nearby.

"Psybeam!"

He fired a streaky beam with pink and blue circles at her, but much to his utter shock, the attack went through her. His eyes widened with a gasp.

"What?! When did she use illusions now?!" Araquanid exasperated. He felt a presence behind him and turned around. To his shock, Sophie appeared unscathed. "When did you-?!"

A smirk spread across her lips. "Did you forget? I learned a few more tricks from my cousin...including making 'memories' of myself to make afterimages." A chain of memories appeared behind her and started creating multiple images of herself, similar to a Double Team. Kadabra and the others found themselves surrounded quickly by statues of 'memories' by their trainer.

"My goodness, which one is the real one?" Finneon worried.

Araquanid's eyes glowed brightly with anger. "I hate games, especially mind games!"

"Remain calm! Remember what she said, these are just afterimages of her." Kadabra reasoned. His eyes narrowed as he grew steadily discomforted. 'She's adapted fast, faster than we imagined. Just like how we've been battling and training, she's been improving on her skills...this is definitely not the person who trained us before.'

BA-DUMP!

A pulse ran through Kadabra's head that made his eyes shoot wide open. A memory of him as an Abra alongside a smiling Sophie surfaced out of nowhere. 'What...why did I feel that just now? Is it because I was thinking about her? But why...why did my conscience feel so contorted just now?'

The three Pokémon scoped around looking for where the real Sophie was amongst the afterimages planted. Araquanid was starting to lose his patience. "Alright, I'm starting to get annoyed. Either she comes out, or we'll make her!"

Finneon frowned as she was thinking of what to do. She came across an idea. "...maybe that will work." Araquanid and Kadabra watched her spring out of the former's water bubble onto the air, striking another pose. "Rain Dance!"

Dark clouds spiraled above, gradually expanding over the small area they covered. Once again, it started raining, casting droplets that came down harshly in the ongoing shower.

"Huh? What're you up to now?" Araquanid exasperated.

"Look carefully. This should make things easier."

Araquanid looked back in curiosity. He and Kadabra stared into the downpour, seeing the rain come down on all the illusions surrounding them. They paid attention to everything each one did and how they reacted. However, none of them looked fazed by the ongoing shower.

Then, a small detail was picked up. It was small, but didn't go unnoticed by Kadabra. He gasped when he saw clothing on one of the illusions starting to dampen. Compared to the other clones, they were all still dry as opposed to the one hidden amongst them.

"I see...excellent move!" Kadabra praised.

"Heh, not bad. I got her now!" Araquanid's eyes glowed as more grubs expelled from his abdomen. "Infestation!"

The grubs rushed through the air and ground, making their way towards the real Sophie. Realizing she was caught, Sophie backed off and dodged the insects again. When her foot landed, however, a Water Pulse was fired from Finneon, making an explosive burst of water near Sophie's leg.

"Gngh!" The wake of the explosion caused her to fall onto her side...into the wake of the grubs. Immediately, they engulfed her, sticking and nibbling into her clothing and skin. "GAH!" She yelled in a panic as the grubs quickly surrounded her.

"About time that got her. Now she won't be a problem with her taking damage constantly." Araquanid sneered. He watched as Sophie struggled to stand with the discomfort all over her skin. "So much for your mind games, huh Sophie?"

Sophie gritted her teeth as she tried to fight back the urge to scratch and get the grubs off. Knowing that it would be futile, she shot a glare at her Pokémon. 'They were able to figure out my strategy so quickly! This is bad.'

Finneon sighed. "Honestly, this doesn't feel so eloquent...but that's what you expect of a human. I won't bring myself to harm a pretty face. My apologies."

"Say no more. You've done plenty, Finneon. Allow me." Kadabra held up his spoon as his eyes glowed bright blue and widened. "Confusion!"

A psychokinetic wave emitted from him that surrounded Sophie. With her focus completely off, she was caught off guard when she was lifted off the ground and ascended several feet into the air. She found her body slowly turning upside-down as she faced the ground five feet below her. "Wait, Kadabra...what are you...?"

"Humans are supposed to expire when they generally fall from a high enough height, is that right? My psychic abilities may be limited, but this should suffice."

Sophie's pupils shrank. She couldn't believe it. She looked back down and realized what Kadabra intended to do. It was true that at this height, it may not kill her...but of she landed on her head on solid pavement, that would be another story.

"I'm not a monster, Miss Sophie. Unlike you, I find myself to be reasonable. If you let us go free without a complaint, I won't drop you." He reasoned.

Sophie's body itched from the Infestation; that alone didn't help her with her traumatic issue. She was as far away from focused as possible. She was in more disbelief if anything. "You wouldn't..."

"Hmph, speak for yourself. My head's so hard I can crush boulders. You humans just got the short end of the evolutionary tree is all." Araquanid mused, turning around with Finneon. "I'm out of here. She's all yours."

"We appreciate it if you kept it clean. If anyone is to be sullied with going this far, it won't be my fins." Finneon's tone was astute with her warning.

"I'll take full responsibility. I'm willing to fight for the cause." Kadabra didn't bother looking back as the two leaped back into the riverbank that went through Magnolia. He kept his hold onto Sophie as tightly as possible. "You've always meant well, Miss Sophie. Very well in fact. For a short time, I was content with being by your side. But the problem doesn't change, no matter who it is. And do you know what that 'problem' is exactly? I'll tell you...it's the never-ending scuffles and destruction of you humans."

Sophie's eyes widened as she listened. "You've dragged me into several wars and battles now. As an Abra, all I wanted was to sleep soundly. Eighteen hours a day. A simple life, right? And yet being caught by you, that peace of mind was stolen from me. So now, I'll reclaim that peace that you robbed from me...by robbing that from you!" He reached his hand out slowly towards her, ready to direct his attack. "I'd say it was a pleasure...but as things stand, or float on your case, it'd be pointless to lie."

"Kadabra...no...!"

"Goodbye, Miss So-!"

BA-DUMP!

Kadabra froze, his body becoming stiff when something painful arose inside his head. The sudden pulse made his focus lag. 'What...? My head...it's throbbing again...!' Another pulse made him wince, this time harder than before. "Gnnngh!"

Sophie looked on in silent surprise. With Kadabra's focus off, the Confusion keeping her airborne steadily lowered her back towards the ground. She sat of on all fours with tiny insects crawling around her still as she saw her Pokémon in pain and distress.

"Kadabra? What is he...?" She observed while murmuring her thoughts aloud. "Is he in pain? It's not because of my magic, is it...?"

Kadabra grunted heavily as he felt his head splitting apart. His head – his mind – he could feel something suppressed in there that was starting to crack through the shell. 'These thoughts...what is all this...?'

"Kadabra. You were my first Pokémon. I remember catching you as an Abra, and the jobs we've been on…I'm glad you were there for me this whole time. Please, keep being there. I trust your head that much."

The memory of Sophie's parting words blossomed in his subconscious. He could see it all; the tearful smile; the grief; the sincerity; all of it was there and more. The image of her face and warm smile when she said those genuine words made another impulse run through Kadabra's head.

'That memory...why do I remember that one?' He remembered how he felt when he saw her sacrifice her memories to save everyone she loved. The battle that she had with Joey that night, and how she laid out her insecurities and had gotten ahold of herself then and there. It was all there.

Every time his head throbbed, a different memory surfaced. And each one was one that he remembered and...cherished? No, that wasn't right. He was supposed to hate them! He shouldn't be sorry for what happened to Sophie! That was her choice! And yet, somehow, in the dark corners of his mind, something was telling him that this was wrong.

'This feeling in my head and chest...I can't shake it. Sophie trusted me and my head on my shoulders back then.' He lifted his head, seeing a still shocked Sophie looking at him in inquiry. 'She was so scared of death a second ago...is she truly thinking about me that intently?'

As he was fighting his own mental scuffle, Sophie gradually returned to her feet. "Kadabra...!"

"Gnnngh...sorry, Miss Sophie...I'm not sure...what is happening right now, but...it looks like something in my mind...is telling me something else. It hurts...so please...knock me out."

Sophie gasped, once again baffled at the request.

"Hurry! Before I change my mind! I just...feel like this is wrong somehow...these doubts are holding me back...but the more I fight...the more it hurts!" His head throbbed again, making him wince. "Just please...do it already!"

"Kadabra..." Sophie was speechless. No words came to mind. One second, he was threatening her life. The next second, he was begging her to defeat him. It was a complete 180, but to her, this meant something invaluable.

'If he's really asking me to do this, he must have found a reason to trust me again...' She furrowed her brow. She knew what she had to do.

"Please...help me!" Kadabra yelped.

Sophie nodded. "Right..." She put a finger to her forehead and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and clamed herself. Her skin itched, but that didn't matter. She persevered and made another chain of memories.

Kadabra remained stiff as he waited for the attack to finally relieve him of this revelation.

"Memory-Make: Shower of Thunderous Swords!"

With a memory of Erza's Requip combine with seeing lightning from a spell she saw Laxus used one time to quiet down the guild, she combined them to make thunder and lightning in the storm clouds above. It flashed repeatedly, until dozens of swords made of pure lightning rained down onto Kadabra. He only got a glimpse before the swords met the Reflect barrier. It saved him from the stabbing, but he was still struck by the blades that made electrical bursts. The raging swords kept coming down until several moments passed and the storm clouds above eventually receded back to the norm.

With the night skies cleared over Sophie's head, she saw the lightning clear out. Static filled puddles surrounding Kadabra as he laid on his side, swirls in his eyes.

With enough if her stamina depleted, Sophie dropped to her knees and panted. The insects around her body dissipated as the scuffle was finally over. She raised her head and stared at her Pokémon. "Kadabra..."

"It's just the feeling that I get from him. I'm not saying that I'm bothered by that at all." She placed a hand on Kadabra's head, petting the star that sat on his forehead. "I won't live in the past...so there's no need to feel worried for me."

The irony fell off her shoulders like a weight. A small smile crept onto her face. "You really worry too much for me..."


Scizor let out a cry as she slung her glowing blue pincers. Erza used her Black Wing sword to parry the punch, making sparks and a metallic clang run across the area. Airwaves expelled from the force of their parry. Scizor didn't let up as she threw repeated jabs at her. Erza blocked and parried each one with skilled precision. She spun around and slashed across, forcing Scizor to back off. Jumping into her place was Houndoom as he sprung through the air, firing a Shadow Ball that soared down onto Erza.

"Moon Flash!"

Erza slashed in a cross formation, slicing the attack into four smaller dark spheres before they erupted into smoke. She was quick to catch onto a beat of wind from behind and knew what came next.

Talonflame let out a cry as she came through with Steel Wing, meeting the Black Wing Sword in an explosive parry. The wake of the attack forced Erza to flip away, whereas Talonflame ascended back into the air with a red aura enveloping her body to indicate her Defense increasing.

'The longer this battle drags out, the more I'll be at a disadvantage.' Erza evaluated where she stood in the ensuing struggle. 'Even with the Black Wing's sword to make my attacks stronger, it's till not enough to compensate the effects of King's Shield.'

"Icicle Crash!"

Cloyster lifted his head and expelled cold air above Erza's head, which solidified into large icicles. Erza requipped into her Flight Armor and sped out of the way and raced across the battlefield. 'I need to break their formation. That's the only way to catch them off guard...' She eyed all her Pokémon, making sure to keep in mind their individual stat increases. 'If that's the case...'

Watching their trainer move around swiftly like a blur around them, Houndoom was starting to see a small motion. "Heh, you think that I'm stupid?" He opened his maw, firing a Dark Pulse that beamed across the grassy terrain. Grass blades below flattened as the attack went in a straight line directly in front of Erza.

Her eyes narrowed, she made a sudden sharp turn alongside the attack towards Houndoom. She requipped her Sea Empress Armor's blade and slashed through the Dark Pulse down the middle towards Houndoom.

"I'll make you wake up...even if I have to be torn to pieces! I shall succeed!"

Houndoom squinted. "Hmph...careful what you wish for."

Erza closed the gap and cried out with all her might. The aquatic blade slashed diagonally, but just when it was about to strike Houndoom, a hexagonal barrier appeared and knocked the blade out of Erza's grip. She looked over her shoulder and saw the blade pierce the ground several yards away. When she looked forward, the barrier faded to reveal Aegislash in her Shielde Forme.

"See? What did I tell ya?" Houndoom mused.

Erza gritted her teeth. Another blue aura enveloped her body, depleting her offense even more. She watched Aegislash switch to her Blade Forme and swing her glowing blue blade above her head.

"Sacred Sword!"

Erza ducked back before the blade could slice into her. Only a few hair strands were sliced off as the blade struck the ground, causing a shockwave that repelled the knight. She managed to catch herself and requipped a standard sword to plunge into the ground to reduce traction until she came to a complete halt.

"You're a noble one...but equally flawed with the lack of wits about your situation." Aegislash floated closer towards her. "You charge into battle with the spirit of a knight. While it's commendable, that is equally as poetic as establishing your own weaknesses before your enemy. That pride you have will be your greatest downfall."

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Erza rose back to her feet. To be honest, she was sore and completely out of breath. It was taking everything in her just to stand. She was at her wit's end with the whole ordeal. But no matter what, she refused to surrender to common sense. She snagged her sword from the ground and braced for battle.

"You are an intelligent young woman. A valiant knight who has seen many of struggles. Tell me, what is it that you hope to gain just from defeating us?" Aegislash asked.

"It's not what I gain. It's what I fear. The fear of losing those precious to me is what gives me my strength to fight."

"So you claim that we're those closest to you, or perhaps you value us so much as your assets that you can't bring yourself to fight on without us?"

"Neither."

"Hm?" Her one eye narrowed.

"You are all neither belongings nor assets. Each and every one of you I've taken time to know. From the start of being a Pokémon Trainer, I made it my responsibility to make a promise to bring out the best in not just myself, but for all of us. You make it sound like I've treated you all as misused materials, that I was in the wrong here...yet when I heard all your pleas, I questioned who really is in the wrong here." She shot a glance at Slurpuff. "Slurpuff. You told me just now you only followed because of our common interests in sweets, right?"

Slurpuff gasped in shock.

"Houndoom." She faced her Houndoom. "You were forsaken by your pack because of your short-sightedness. You blame me for making you choose me over your pack?"

Houndoom bared his fangs, snarling aggressively.

"Talonflame. You had expectations for me as your trainer to make you stronger. I did just that, and yet you still aren't satisfied. Your standards sound like they need to be reevaluated."

Talonflame flapped intensely, flapping her wings out of anger.

"Scizor...because of me, you've lost your mate and a life you've wanted. And yet you voluntarily chose to follow me and make a new name for yourself."

Scizor brought up her pincers and glared daggers.

"Cloyster...I fished you up from the depth of the ocean where you feared for your survival, especially against Clauncher and Clawitzer. I'm sure that was tough."

Cloyster meekly groaned. He didn't like remembering such an ordeal.

Erza turned back towards Aegislash. "You consider my actions selfish, yet it sounds like you all are entitled above what anyone else says. I might not know where you've got this new ego from, but for your sake..." She pointed her sword at Aegislash. "I will prove to you that I am your trainer. I will make you see reason through battle."

If Aegislash had a mouth, she would have sighed out of it. She had a feeling that this would be something that Erza would say. She was trying to be noble and offer her an easy way out, but that was a fool's fantasy. She should have known that this was the knight's way of taking their stand.

"I respect your resolve...very well then." She held herself high with pride. She elongated herself and slashed into the ground in front of her peers. The others backed off when they watched the energy trail of her swing leave a deep line into the ground.

"Aegislash...?" Cloyster mumbled.

Aegislash poised herself in front of Erza. "If she is so insistent on valor, then I'll take it upon myself to accommodate her desires. I apologize for this, but as her sword and shield, let it be my blade to strike her down."

Erza glared back. "I respect your nobility. I'll be sure to remember that." She requipped again, this time reverting to her Heart Kreuz Armor and a normal sword.

A long silence fell between them as a cool nightly breeze swept blades of grass off uneven earth around them. Their eyes were fixed with the one thing they both wanted to achieve: Victory. In battle, there was always one winner, that was how it would normally go. To defend what held themselves up, they had to put their merits to the test.

After what felt like an eternity, the wind finally settled, leaving a singular leaf that was blown out of the trees to dwindle down between them. Their eyes widened before they suddenly charged at each other and swung their blades back.

CLANG!

Metal clashed and sliced the leaf clean in half. The sparks and leaf halves cast over Erza and Aegislash's eyes as time nearly stood still for a few precious seconds. They pulled away and shot towards one another. Erza slashed horizontally, making Aegislash parry by using her shield on her arm to guide it around. She jutted her shield ahead with a heavy grunt, but Erza backed off quickly to avoid damage. She jumped into the air and requipped a halberd that she threw at Aegislash. Once again, she deflected it with her shield effortlessly...but time slowed down again as her shield passed over her eye, revealing Erza requipping the Holy Hammer. She raised her hammer high and brought it down.

"Night Slash!"

Aegislash's ridged edging on his blade glowed bright purple and slashed skywards. The hammer and her eloquent blade met in the middle, creating a powerful airwave that traversed around them. Erza struggled to bring it down further, but tried as she did, she wasn't getting anywhere. Aegislash eventually won the stalemate, sending Erza and her hammer careening through the air.

'My attack...it was overpowered?!' Erza dispelled her hammer as she caught herself. She landed on her heels, rolled onto her back, and used the momentum to spring back after Aegislash with two requipped swords.

"HRAH!" She slashed with all her might, but upon meeting Aegislash's purple blade, they were shattered to pieces.

"Requip!" Erza requipped, this time engaged in her Armadura Aggron Armor. She held up her heavy armored blades with tight grips. She closed the gap onto Aegislash and met the latter's blade-like body centerfield. The impact made a sturdy clang that shuddered the surroundings. For once, the stalemate was actually holding on in Erza's favor.

'These swords are a lot heavier than my usual ones...let's see just how she handles them now.'

Aegislash grunted as her blade kept glowing for Night Slash. She made blows and parries against Erza's attacks, each time resulting in an intense clang. Aegislash didn't let up as she fired constant slashes, some of which managed to make harsher blows thanks to the critical hit ratio Night Slash has.

Aegislash's eye glinted before she raised her blade high overhead once more. Instead of purple, the entire blade glowed bright blue and elongated. Erza's eyes widened at the attack coming down for her.

"Sacred Sword!"

Erza crossed her heavy swords to bunker against the attack, but it proved futile when the super-effective blade slashed vertically down, destroying the blades and cutting her heavy armor into chipped pieces. She had to bite back the urge to cry out in pain as a cut ran down her stomach.

"Requip!" Once again, Erza requipped, this time into her Armadura Fairy Armor. She swung her blade high before bringing it down. As expected, the blade was deflected with ease by Aegislash.

'Even my Armadura Fairy isn't effective?!'

Aegislash raised herself high once more, prompting Erza to slide back and dodge the downwards blade. Once she slid to a halt, she looked on, incredibly disturbed by her physical attack being depleted.

'I have no choice. If I'm going to win her back over...I'll need to divert all my energy to power. This is the only way.'

Aegislash remained silent as she waited for Erza to attack. Her blade was set and ready to end it.

Erza closed her eyes and focused her Magic Power once more. When the light faded, it revealed her in a choice that mildly surprised everyone around her.

"Well, there's something you don't see every day." Houndoom chimed.

Aegislash narrowed her one eyes, glaring at the shimmering katana Erza held. She stood tall, wearing nothing but her Clear Heart Clothing. It wasn't often that she would resort to wearing this particular attire, especially in battle. She stood facing Aegislash with an intense glare.

"It's been some time...but this is the only way I can show you that I'm not shutting you out." Erza stated. "My armors...they help build a wall around my heart. This clothing, it symbolizes my heart being open once more. Aegislash...no matter what you believe, the fact that you and I share a bond will never be broken." She held up her blade once more. "And I will use this sword to do just that. Demon Blade Benizakura!"

Aegislash stared in silence, glaring at what Erza's attempt at her casting away everything to attack head-on.

Erza spring off her heels, an intense look in her eyes as she brought the blade around. Pink magical energy engulfed it as she concentrated all her strength into the sword's might. She drew so close that her sharpened, angered glare reflected in Aegislash's.

"This is it! Benizakura Flash!"

"Hmph!" Aegislash grunted as her eye shrank.

Erza cried out with all the might she had. However, just when her blade was about to reach her target, her body froze in place. She felt an ominous feeling run down her spine as she stood in a frozen posture with Benizakura just a few inches from Aegislash.

Once again, Aegislash hummed.

"What...? My body...it's not moving..." Erza found her strength depleting from her body. "What's happening...tell me?!"

"As my trainer, I'm very disappointed in you, Erza." Aegislash stated, her tone deeply focused. "I thought you of all people would be aware of what all Aegislash are able to do."

"What...do you mean?"

Aegislash sighed. "Perhaps this should clarify what I mean." She looked at Erza, and as if by a subconscious force, got Erza to reach into her pocket and pull out her PokeDex. The mage watched as she got a holographic visage of Aegislash up on the screen.

"Aegislash, the Royal Sword Pokémon. Generations of kings were attended by these Pokémon, which used their spectral power to manipulate and control people and Pokémon."

'Spectral powers? Doesn't that mean...' Erza quickly caught onto the realization. She pieced together what this meant for her. 'No...she wouldn't...'

"You may think this is cheating or unfair, but if I had it your way, it would bring shame to my name as a Pokémon. As hypocritical as I am about talking about pride, I say that in my defense, at least we don't rely on that for our strength. The skills that one accumulates through experience makes up the victor. You may have the heart and soul of one who can rule, but your merit will not help you here."

Erza tried to move her body, but it just wouldn't listen. No matter how much she struggled, it was all for naught as she dropped her sword to the ground and was forced to kneel towards Aegislash.

"And this...shall me thy judgement." Aegislash lifted her body, the blade glowing blue once more. "You casted off all defense you said? That's an unfortunate move...and that you shall pay the price."

Erza didn't get to say anything. Aegislash's control made her keep her mouth shut as she was submitted to the blade.

"Sacred Sword!"

SHLING!

Aegislash brought her blade down onto Erza, slashing an energy graze on her left shoulder that went through a part of her upper body. The knight cried out in agonizing pain at the impact's force going through her.

SHLING!

She made another slash across her body, this time going vertically up along the right side of her party. Erza's mouth gaped as another hoarse cry escaped her lungs.

Aegislash gave her no mercy. She slashed over and over, making cuts and gashes as her blade repeatedly ran across her. She swiftly cut and cleaved away. Yet it didn't full-on split Erza into pieces like it would with trees and rocks. But blood splattered the ground as repeated swings kept hammering away.

Each one felt like a sledgehammer to her soul. And the worst part about it was that she couldn't do anything about it. She felt so helpless. So defenseless. She felt like a puppet-turned-punching bag for those superior to her. She just couldn't stand it. She couldn't take it!

SHLING!

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Erza cried out in pain for the umpteenth time. Aegislash retracted her blade and spiraled a short distance away. She saw her opponent cut and gashed all over her body that she was nothing but torn ribbons. And yet, she still persisted.

There was only one thing to do.

She lowered her head, channeling energy throughout her entire body for the momentum of her attack. She shot at Erza like a rocket at full-speed. Black and blue energy exerted from her head and swallowed her entire frame as she rushed after her.

"Head Smash!"

Erza was still completely frozen as Aegislash came speeding, slamming her head against her core. An airwave went through her entire body as sheer level of pain shot through every corner of Erza's body. Time slowed down as her pupils shrank from unadulterated levels of numbing agony. Blood spilled from her mouth from her stomach getting the brunt of it.

Aegislash followed through, sending her flying onto her back across the ground multiple yards ago. She ended in a long trail, where at the end, she laid with her bangs covering her closed eyes.

Aegislash lowered herself back towards the ground. "It...is done." Suddenly, red static engulfed her body, making her cringe in pain. "Gnnngh..." The pain flared for several seconds until it finally receded. She floated with a slight waver to one side before readjusting. "Right, I forgot about that recoil..."

"Are you well, Aegislash?" Scizor inquired.

She looked back, nodding in confirmation. "Yes, I'm just fine. Thank you for the concerns."

"Wow, looks like she's really messed up." Slurpuff spatted.

"Looks like you went and overdid it." Houndoom sighed out flames. "Man, you know, I almost feel bad for her. That was pretty excessive, wouldn't you say? Even I wouldn't go that far."

Aegislash turned to look back at Erza's body. "...maybe. Perhaps you are right...but holding back against a fellow warrior is but shameful on its own...my apologies, Erza."

"..." Erza was unable to respond. Either she was knocked out or clinging onto dear life, or both. It was hard to say, but Aegislash was certain that she made her point across.

The sword transformed back to her Shield Forme and turned away from the scene. "Let's be on our way, my friends. We have a new start ahead of us."

Talonflame flapped her wings vigorously. "You got that right!"

As the other Pokémon were starting to turn away, Erza's world was going black. She couldn't move her body, let alone feel it. Everything felt like it was on fire, yet at the same time, it wasn't. It was very strange. And yet, she found herself lost in the midst of darkness that was her head.

'Is this really...how much of a fool I truly am?' She thought about the many battles against enemies of the guild and the numerous times Pokémon had always prevailed. She sourly chuckled at the irony. 'Of course, I'm such a fool for even thinking. They're the ones responsible for carrying us this far. Had it not been for them, I may not be here today...'

She clung onto dear life, but her mind was so lucid that she couldn't find the will to fight back against such strong adversaries. Adversaries that she trained. This was the price she would pay for being so reliant on them and not her own power.

'I truly am...weak. I'm sorry, everyone. I'm so sorry...Nic.' When she was about to accept defeat, a light beamed from the corner of her grievous mind. 'Nic?'

The light permeated through the darkness, making her flinch and feel a warmth enveloping her. When she opened her eyes, she found herself looking into a familiar location. 'Wait, this is...'\

The memory of that special night replayed. She remembered the back of Fairy Hills, where she was preparing herself for the war the Magic Council was about to wage for harboring Pokémon and Nic's status as a threat to their society. She wanted to get stronger. No! She needed to! She couldn't stand not being there to protect her lover when everyone was against him. If she lost him, she would have been nothing.

But that memory showed her another important event. The night that she met Honedge. The Pokémon that would come to her aid in the battles that lied ahead of them.

"I can tell this much. It's clear that whoever opposes Nic has no clear view on justice. They're no better than those scoundrels who tried to ambush you. If you'd like, shall I make a course of action?"

Erza turned towards Honedge with surprise. "You really trust my judgment?"

"I see no bitter will in you, human. If I wanted to put my faith in some stranger, let it be one who knows what they're doing and holds a sword of their own. A sword is only as good as its master. Your honed sword, it wasn't dull, so I have no unfair judgment against a knight such as yourself."

She remembered it all. How she had to prove her worth, and how she prevailed. Though Honedge did put up a decent fight against her. She recalled the events of a few days later, when her life was saved before Jango's ghastly blade thanks to her.

"You impudent fool! She is a menace, as well is your kind! A talking sword that can fly is nothing short of the freak taboo of your world! You have no rights here! Begone before I cut through you!"

"I do have a right! This Erza Scarlet speaks so highly of our kind, and she believes that we deserve a chance despite what's happened. I speak on behalf of a true swordswoman, whose swords are as strong as her own views. Humans have always been so curious, and I have found the reason why I thought so!"

'Your own rights...' Erza thought about it. For as long as they've known each other, she and Aegislash had always been on great terms, even from the start. Possibly because of their perspectives on duty and how one should feel. It was strange to think about, but it brought a smile to her face.

"Grab my hilt. Let me be your sword. Let us show this scoundrel what human and Pokémon have to offer when they work together."

Erza's mind was starting to brighten. She felt enlightened to where her heart was thumping even more. 'Yes...of course.'

Back in reality, the Pokémon were walking away from Erza's body. They didn't have a reason to look back before Slurpuff's nose wriggled. "Hm?"

"What is it? More humans? Maybe a passing barbeque stand?" Houndoom questioned, raising a brow.

"No, not that...also, ew! Sticky barbeque sauce is my worst nightmares! Don't bring that up!" They all heard a shifted behind and froze. They gradually turned around with shocked looks as they witnessed Erza's body gradually returning to her feet.

"You were right about one thing...you do have a right."

Aegislash's eye widened as she slowly turned around to look back at her trainer. Despite everything she did, she didn't stay down like she had thought. This went against everything she knew about humans and their wills!

"But...I also have my own rights. I remember everything. Why we battled together...why we worked together...it's so we can live in a world where we can bring about a chance for both humans and Pokémon. A place where my husband can feel welcomed..." She thought of Nic. "He taught me that Pokémon can be kind and reliable beings with hearts. So..." She spread her legs as she requipped another sword. "Until I make you see me the same way...I will not fall!"

Aegislash grimaced. Her trainer was bleeding out, yet she persisted with battle. She had no choice now. "Very well then. But know this...your blood shall stain my sword."

Erza narrowed her eyes. She was well aware of that. With battle-craving adrenaline surging through her, she sprung after Aegislash with her sword out. Aegislash turned to her Blade Forme and presented her blade. The latter went for the first slash, but Erza dodged and countered, which was deflected by the shield on Aegislash's arm. Erza saw a Night Slash swinging vertically and ducked right underneath and pulled away. She requipped a second sword and raced after Aegislash again. When she got close enough, she crossed them with a battle cry.

"King's Shield!"

Aegislash quickly reverted to her Shield Form, creating a hexagonal shield that blocked Erza's crossed swords. The impact immediately made a blue aura envelop her, depleting her offense once more. The force pushed Erza back, making her use one of her swords and throw it at Aegislash. When the shield lifted, the sword struck the golden front of Aegislash, though it did nothing more than break upon impact.

Her eyes narrowed as she squinted. 'My offense is no match for her defense...I'll have to force her to attack!' She requipped another sword and charged again.

Aegislash grunted as her eye shrank. "No you don't! Back off!" She emitted spectral powers once more that caused Erza to freeze in place.

She grew stiff to where she was finding herself only able to grit her teeth.

"You've gravely misjudged the situation. Remember, I can control both people and Pokémon."

Erza tried to break free of the powers restraining her. She thought about the battles she had to sit back and watch while Nic went tooth and nail for everyone's sake. 'I won't...fall behind!' She declared mentally. 'I'll fight...for what I want as well!' She strained her muscles, but she fought off the spectral force keeping her at bay. Her body violently shook as she was twitching her fingers until they balled into tight fists.

Aegislash saw this and her eye widened. "What's this...?"

Everyone watched as Erza's glare was fixed intensely on Aegislash. It was like a queen who refused to give up her throne without a fight. Slowly, but surely, she put one step in front of the others, getting closer towards Aegislash.

"It can't be...how is she fighting my spectral powers?!" Aegislash gasped in awe and horror. "Is she that determined to prove herself right?"

Her muscles cried in pain. It was like dragging lead weights. And yet, Erza didn't dare to slow down.

Aegislash gleamed before knowing she had to attack. Out of pure instinct, she traversed to her Blade Forme and shot into the sky, her blade glowing bright blue. "Sacred Sword!" She swung her blade down onto Erza, but the latter used her two swords and crossed them to block the blade. The force made Erza drop to a knee as the wake of the attack made the ground depress into a crater.

Aegislash looked deeply entranced in the battle. Almost as much as Erza. But both sides weren't giving up, no matter what. They looked each other dead in the eye and showed their resolved.

"I swear to you...I'll make you remember why you chose me as your trainer...AEGISLASH!"

Aegislash's eye widened upon hearing her name called. Erza let out a deep cry as she used her requip. Multiple glows appeared high above their heads that turned to swords, axes, and blades that were in her arsenal.

"Let's see you have a taste...of over a hundred weapons at once!"

The blades came raining down onto Aegislash at speeds rivaling lightning. She immediately lifted her blade off of Erza and shifted away to avoid a few blades piercing the ground. She kept her Sacred Sword active and glimmered in her eye. She focused on the sky above and sharply cut across. In a split-second, half the weapons were split into diced shrapnel. Metal and debris showered past her without so much as sprinkling her steel-coated body.

"Requip!"

Erza requipped one last time, this time for the Piercing Armor's enchanted lance. It dangled over Aegislash's head as she looked up at the oncoming projectile. "A giant lance?" She saw it coming down onto her, quickly accelerating. "King's Shield!"

This was the opening Erza looked for. 'Now!' She picked up one of the swords that Aegislash dodged before and threw it directly at her. As Aegislash was transitioning between forms, her sword was about to connect with the guard until the sword got between the two pieces. Suddenly, Aegislash found herself wedged in place by the blade.

"What's this?!" She gasped in shock before she realized the shadow of the spear blackened the sky above her. Her eye shrank before realizing there was no time to escape.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

The heavy, piercing lance met its mark, making a thunderous eruption of earth and dust across the entire clearing. The magnitude frazzled the other Pokémon as they kept back for their own safety.

Meanwhile, Aegislash was thrown out of the dust with her shield having a massive dent in its center. The piercing armor's impact was so powerful it was actually able to partially fracture it. She was separated from her shield as she had in freefall. Erza took this opportunity to seize her Benizakura and race up towards the freefalling sword.

'This is it! With this blade...I will prove my resolve...to fight on!' Once more, Magic Power focused into the blade, making it stream oink as Erza brought it back. "Come back to my side, so that we may fight together...AEGISLASH!"

Time slowed down for Aegislash as Erza was mere feet from her. Everything around was a bright white as the sword focused on her trainer. Hearing her cry her name, coupled with the shock of what was happening; it jolted memories to surface.

Visions of her as a Honedge bubbled upwards. The battles against Jango, Bellona, even Saboth. Her fights against Tartaros, as well as the many adventures they've shared in Kalos. Each one having her and Erza sharing moments that made her hazy purple eye return to its clear luster.

"Erza..."

"BENIZAKURA FLASH!"

With a mighty battle cry, Erza followed through with the slash so fast that it was a searing flash. Aegislash let out a gaping cry of pain as she felt the attack throughout her entire body.

The other Pokémon were speechless. They looked on as they witnessed their comrade's bravery end with a sudden blazer. They remained distilled in place as Erza struck a slashing pose while Benizakura and the other requipped weapons laying around everywhere faded back into their dimensional storage. All but one sword was requipped away...and that sword fell alongside a shield with a loud clang.

Erza panted heavily. She had exhausted most of her magic, as well as her stamina. She glanced over her shoulder, realizing that Aegislash had a swirl for an eye. The victor had been decided.

With no more strength to stand, Erza dropped to her hands and knees, breathing heavily. A couple drops of blood continued down the side of her face splattering the ground beneath her. 'There...at least...that's one down.' She sighed to herself.

"Well...that sure didn't go the way anyone wanted." Houndoom grimaced. "And here I was actually feeling bad that she may have overdone it on her. That's what I get for underestimating her I suppose."

"Yeah...but now look." Slurpuff gestured to her exhausted condition. "She's completely worn out. I bet she can't even get up if she wanted to!"

"She's right. This might be our chance." Talonflame ascended into the air, looking down at Erza. "If Aegislash was defeated, we can't be guaranteed our safety until we're certain she'll stay down."

"I think I understand what you're saying." Scizor stepped forward, snapping her metallic pincers. "Let's make this quick."

Erza lifted her head and saw her five remaining Pokémon gathering around. She tried to move, but all the strength and stamina she used in fighting Aegislash's bodily control taxed her too greatly. 'I overdid it. My body...it won't listen to me anymore. Damnit...move already!'

Taking the initiative, Scizor sprung after Erza first, her pincer glowing for her Bullet Punch. All Erza could do was glare as the claw grew bigger as it neared her face.

BANG!

It happened so fast that it felt like a blur. Everything went white around Erza as she braced for the impact...but it never came. Instead, she heard an audible grunting sound as well as metal being struck. When she looked back, her brown eyes went wide upon recognizing a familiar head of short, black hair, with an arm stretched out, and had a translucent red shield with that thwarted Scizor cold.

For the umpteenth tonight, Erza was speechless, only muttering one word. "...Nic...?"

Nic kept his arm outstretched to maintain the Quick Guard he had up. In a cross of his Fist and Mind Form, he undid the shield and quickly snatched Scizor by the throat. He spun around used Storm Throw, sending Scizor flying back at high speed near her comrades. She smashed into the ground with a hefty eruption of earth and debris repulsing everywhere.

With space to move, Nic disengaged the barrier and immediately turned towards his wife. "Erza, are you alright?!" He looked down at her injuries, his eyes slightly widening when he saw how much blood was on her skin.

Erza dryly chuckled. "You sure have a way with timing things, don't you?"

"...yeah, guess so." He wasted no time getting to a knee. "Stay still!" A bright pink orb of energy appeared in between his palms. He projected it towards Erza, making the orb explode into a rainbow energy wave that engulfed her.

Feeling the Heal Pulse's effects graciously mending the deep wounds over her body, Erza smiled softly. "Thank you...Nic." When she looked at him, she realized something different about him. 'His eyes and purple. Doesn't that mean...?'

Nic didn't say anything. He couldn't. Seeing his wife cut nearly to pieces was making his blood boil on the inside. Had it not been for the situation, he would have already eviscerated whoever was responsible. Behind him, Erza's Pokémon gathered their bearings as Scizor managed to get out of her daze.

"Where did he come from?!" Talonflame squawked.

"Yeah, didn't he scurry off to deal with his own mess or something?!" Houndoom exasperated. "Did he give them the slip that fast or what?"

Slurpuff sniffed the air, her eyes widening when familiar scents wafted through the air. "Wait, these scents...don't tell me..."

A loud roar was heard in the air above. They all looked up, seeing three figures fall from the sky. They divided into his and fell in front of Nic, making a harsh magnitude upon impact. The dust quickly settled, revealing another set of purple eyes similar to Nic's, with other features belonging to others such as a forked tongue, a flame on the ends of a tail, a red zigzagged stripe, vicious sharp fangs, and piercing red eyes.

Standing before everyone, Nic-Greninja was accompanied by his fellow team, all six healthy and well, and looking more vicious than ever. They all shot glares at Erza's Pokémon with deathly intentions.

"It's them! So they weren't knocked around after all!" Talonflame flapped vigorously, more embers flaking off her wings.

Erza smiled warmly at the achievement. "I knew you could fix them..."

"Thanks..." Nic moved to place a gentle hand on Erza's cheek. The palm had another Heal Pulse that spread and infused all over her body. Once again, her scrapes and wounds began patching themselves up. He shot a glare over his shoulder at the scene ahead of him. "Guys..."

"We know." Nic-Greninja cut him off. "Don't say anymore."

"You focus on tending to your wife. We'll take care of this scrap." Charizard obliged.

"He'sss right. Nic, you've helped usss clear our mindsss of that plague. Pleassse, allow us to do our part." Arbok slunk his body back into a striking position.

"Time for third shift employees to hit the sales floor for some sweeping..." Kecleon hummed eerily.

Garchomp raised his claws, snarling aggressively at their opponents. "Let's hope they try and put up a fight. I won't be so gentle!"

"Yes...the feeling is mutual." Staraptor spread her wings, ready to take flight. "Their minds are still warped. I wouldn't expect them to hold back either."

With everyone set for battle, Staraptor's glare sharpened. A blue aura enveloped everyone as her Intimidate Ability activated. Despite, this, none of Erza's remaining Pokémon didn't back down.

"So you chose to side with the humans on this one, huh? Man, tonight is just full of disappointments, huh?" Houndoom snarked, reeling on his hind legs. "Well, at least this gives me an excuse to use the toxins in my flames."

"Oh, after this, I am so gonna need to find a bakery." Slurpuff licked her wavy lips.

Nic-Greninja and the others shot glares at them. They eyed them all up individually. Once they picked a target, they shot mutual glances at each other in understanding.

Cloyster lifted her head and shot an icy breath high up. Icicles solidified in the air and dropped over Garchomp's head. Staraptor was quick to cover him with a Steel Wing, spiraling around and sweeping the ice to shattered sparkles faster than the eye could blink. Houndoom's maw broiled with searing blue flames that he spouted in a massive volume across the terrain. They closed in on everyone, but it didn't get far when it diverged halfway from a turquoise barrier that appeared out of the blue.

'What?!'

Invisible, Kecleon maintained her Protect barrier as everyone else shot past her towards Erza's Pokémon. The wake from their speed made the air shake and visible streams dissipate; some even disturbing the Inferno's wake. Nic-Greninja reappeared above Houndoom and used his tongue to wrap around and clamp the hound's maw shut. With the flames cut off, the invisible Kecleon immediately closed the gap with a glowing fist, via Brick Break. It slammed into Houndoom's chest with so much force that an airwave expelled in all direction. The hound couldn't even gag as he went flying past Scizor as she shot towards Nic-Greninja with X-Scissor. She was about to close the gap on him, but a pair of claws caught the pincers with no effort.

Scizor gasped when she realized she was caught by Charizard's iron grip, his blue eyes glaring deeply into her own. "No-!"

"Flamethrower!"

Charizard opened his maw, expelling a point-blank eruption of smoldering fire into Scizor. The blaze swallowed her and continued through the forest on a straight line, incinerating everything within its line of fire. A seismic wave of smoke and fire blossomed into the atmosphere, along with Scizor with a charred body.

Still in midair, Nic-Greninja and Charizard exchanged glances. Talonflame came swooping in with Acrobatics against Nic-Greninja, whereas Cloyster took aim at a lower angle and fired a vicious Hydro Pump at Charizard. Nic-Greninja latched onto Charizard as he suddenly flapped his wings and shot into the air like a rocket, leaving Talonflame a hair length shy of her mark. What's worse, the Hydro Pump was heading directly for her. In a panic, she hastily zoomed out of the way and lost the momentum for her attack. As she glided though, a pair of talons by Staraptor snatched her wings, flipping and sending her hurling towards the ground, where Arbok lied in wait as he used Coil. A red aura enveloped his body, enhancing his Attack, Defense, and Accuracy.

"Gunk Shot!"

Arbok concentrated silver energy to a singular point until it became a large black garbage bag with a purple aura around it. With Talonflame spiraling down, he shot directly up, hurling the bag like a meteor that hammered Talonflame. A bright purple glint glimmered in her place before it erupted into a shockwave of purple toxins. Ethereal garbage rained down around Arbok as Talonflame shot down from the sky in a frantic scowl.

Reappearing beside her in mid-fall, Kecleon had her claws lengthened and razor-sharp. She used Slash and struck Talonflame across her chest, making a bright trail that exploded brightly. Her direction changed as she curved towards the ground in a smoking trail and crashed with a deep eruption of earth.

Kecleon descended down towards the ground, where she used Arbok's hood as a springboard and flung back into the air onto Staraptor's back as she swooped around.

Barely gathering his bearings from that gut blow, Houndoom staggered back up and shook his head. He coughed several times before finally managing a little air into his fiery lungs. "Oh man...I forgot just how hard a punch that thing can throw..." He staggered, but he caught himself. He looked around, seeing Scizor and Talonflame were unconscious. 'That happened so fast!'

Cloyster's inner shell glowed bright blue before sharpening into elongated blades, via Razor Shell. He spun his body rapidly like a saw and rushed towards Garchomp.

"Too slow!" He scowled, bringing his claw up. "Dig!" He plunged the claw into the ground beneath, quickly tearing the ground up as dust and earth arose.

Cloyster shredded through the dust, only to be met with thin air. Instead of Garchomp, there was a gaping hole where he was originally. She looked stunned for a moment before looking up to find Charizard beaming down with a fist engulfed in lightning aimed for her.

"Thunder Punch!"

As she jutted her fist down, Cloyster shut herself. She made a Protect barrier a hair-second ahead. Charizard's reflexes caught on and his eyes narrowed. His double-coated fists opened to become claws. Still seared in lightning he touched the barrier and did a handstand. He flipped off it and slid on his heels and pivoted, while still keeping the move active.

Cloyster grunted. She knew she couldn't stay under her shell forever. Her Protect doesn't last too long either. 'It's not safe...I need to stay hidden away until they go away!'

Without warning, a split-second after the barrier lifted around her, the ground cracked before exploding. It was like dynamite was planted beneath and smashed into her underside. Cloyster didn't have a second to gather her bearing when an uppercut by Garchomp sent her flying.

With her in a momentary daze in midair, Garchomp reappeared in front of her and smacked his tail into her, sending her spiraling towards Charizard as he pulled back a Thunder Punch and hit her square in her pearl face. An electric pulse channeled throughout Cloyster's entire frame as Charizard followed through with the punch, sending her back where she came from crackling in static.

Arbok opened his maw and channeled another Gunk Shot. He hissed aggressively as the garbage back was materialized and fired it across the vicinity. Nic-Greninja's eyes glimmered for a second, before time slowed down and he reappeared behind it. He spung his dark purple heel around, using Return and landing a massive kick that gave the garbage a massive boost in speed and momentum.

All Cloyster saw was a dark purple meteor speeding right for her...and she was too slow to even close her shell. The Poison-type attack met its mark and smashed into her insides, making a seismic eruption of purple energy and toxins that swallowed everything close by.

The attack's roaring momentum gradually reduced, revealing Cloyster on the ground with swirls in her eyes.

"Hmph! Ssservesss her right for hiding from the truth!" Arbok snarked. He picked up on a blast of broiling fire from the side and arched his body so the blaze shot right in front of him. It continued until it met a tree and a large spread of underbrush, making a smoky eruption blossom into the sky.

He turned to where the attack came from, and much to his indifference – and annoyance – it was Slurpuff as she licked her lips eagerly. "Hmph...ssso the cream puff wantsss nexxxt, huh?"

"Bleck! I never liked the smell of Poison-types...always ruins my appetite." Slurpuff exasperated. She inhaled once more as broiling fire surged in her mouth. "Flamethrower!" She fired another monstrous blaze focused on Arbok, heating up the air around the area.

Garchomp saw this and took action. "Stone Edge!" He plunged a claw into the ground, creating a wave of jagged pillars of glowing blue stones that beamed their way towards Slurpuff. They cut off her attack on Arbok and continued through the blaze towards her.

"Cotton Guard!"

Cotton expelled around her body as a bright red, intense aura engulfed her. The stones made impact, causing a sudden precipice of various jagged stones to erupt around Slurpuff. The area shook violently once more, sending loose gravel raining above Arbok and Garchomp. They watched the stones dissipate, revealing Slurpuff still standing, if not slightly annoyed.

"Wow...that had some mild taste to it...though the dust makes it a little dry." She smacked her lips, trying to roll the few grains out of her mouth.

"That's not the only thing you'll be tasting. Try my claws for a change." Garchomp retorted.

Slurpuff turned towards Garchomp, raising her brow. "Ha! That doesn't sound edible...but snacking on traitors like you will be a treat!" She jumped into the air, making a somersault as she came down onto Garchomp.

"Play Rough!"

Garchomp remained completely still. He only watched as Slurpuff drew dangerously close to his body. He didn't bother using Dig or Stone Edge to counter. He needed something effective.

As Slurpuff cried out as the gap bridged between them, Garchomp raised his claws and recalled something from his training with Nic a week prior.


"A new move, you say?"

Garchomp stood in the backyard clearing beside the pond. The partial clouds were still blocking the sun, leaving Nic in his Toxic Form to explain it further. "Yeah, I've been thinking about it since we finished that little fiasco in Alola." It wasn't rocket science, but in retrospect, if Nic relied on even an individual Pokémon against all the Tapus – which were Fairy-types – the only one Garchomp would have a distinct advantage over would have been Tapu Koko. Of course he didn't say any of this aloud because he didn't want to make anyone feel like they were at fault. As a Pokémon Trainer, it was his responsibility to ensure that they were all prepared for any kind of battle, be it physical or practical.

"So...wanna try something new for a change?"

Garchomp didn't take long to come to his own conclusion. "You know me, Nic. I'm always up for the challenge."

Nic smirked, his hand coated in toxins. "That's what I thought."


Garchomp pulled his claws and fins back slowly. He timed it just right, as Slurpuff was so close to him to land her attack. Instead of glowing green like before, this time, the claws and find shimmered purple. He didn't waste a second slinging his right arm forward at Mach speed.

"POISON JAB!"

The toxic-enflamed claws met Slurpuff's face, more accurately, her open mouth. True to what he said, he made her eat his claws, along with hazardous levels of poison that sent rippling airwaves through the atmosphere. "Open wide!" Garchomp pushed through, the wake of the attack finally catching up to Slurpuff. A purple wave went through her body as she shot straight ahead.

It was a critical hit.

"That move...it wasn't Dual Chop." Erza slowly turned towards Nic for answers. From his assured look alone, she already knew the answer to her question.

'Dragon-types are at a disadvantage against Fairy-types. It would have been more productive to have Garchomp learn a Steel-type move to have a counter for both Fairy and Ice-types with one attack. But, in a prolonged situation, the best choice for that route is poison.'

Slurpuff crashed into a tree trunk on the other side of the clearing. Her mouth was gaping wide open as she slumped down onto the ground, her eyes turning to swirls. Garchomp crossed his arms as he let out a voluminous roar of triumph.

"Four berries in the basket!" Kecleon chirped.

"Yes...and that leaves one." Staraptor sailed through the skies above, both feminine creatures casting their attention down onto the lone Houndoom who reeled his hindlegs.

"I knew we should have just kept walking away..." Houndoom mumbled. Suddenly, the bushes started shuffling behind him. He thought he was hearing things, but it sounded like a...xylophone? Whatever was making musical clinks, he didn't like it. "What now?"

The bushes shuffled, until a Kricketot came bursting out in a hurry. "Gah!"

"Huh? What the-?!"

"Somebody help! This freaky thing won't leave me alone!" Kricketot cried out as he ran past Houndoom towards the other side of the clearing.

The hound looked stupefied, until the shrubs stirred once more. His patience was starting to thin out. "Now what?!"

"Coooo~!" The bushes expelled Junior, who splashed out of the shrubs across Houndoom's way. "Cooo!" He raced after Kricketot with an obliviously merry expression on his face. He was so engrossed in following the musical creature that he completely disregarded everyone else who was present.

Staraptor's eyes widened in shock. "Junior?!"

"What's he doing...?" Erza was completely baffled. She was so lost in trying to reign her Pokémon in that she didn't realize that Junior was out alone. "Has he just been following that Kricketot all the way back here?"

Nic continued administering the healing, but he didn't lose sight of Junior when he and the Kricketot were about to disappear back in the wilderness. He shifted his Fist Form to his Insect Form and shot thread across the field.

Kricketot cried out as he leaped back into the underbrush that Junior wanted to follow. Suddenly, the thread Nic shot expanded into a Spider Web, blocking Junior's path towards the wilderness. "Cooo...?"

"Hurry!" Nic shouted up at Staraptor.

Seeing Junior threw her off for a second, but seeing him secured in the area made her relax a little. With a nod, she braced for battle. "Right! Kecleon!"

"One order...to go!" Kecleon jumped off Staraptor's back, planting her heel against her talon. With a harsh kick packed with muscle, the sudden spring gave Staraptor a sudden burst of speed towards Houndoom.

Houndoom saw her incoming really fast with her talons and wings ready to strike. He opened his mouth slightly and channeled dark jumbled rings at his defense.

"Coooo? Cooooo..." Junior observed the curious webbing that impeded his path. He was tempted to touch it when he saw a brown bird diving at the corner of his eye. He turned towards the sky and recognized Staraptor as she shot down towards her target.

"Dark Pulse!"

"Close Com-!"

"Coooo!"

FWIP!

Between the two combatants, Junior reappeared between them just before they were about to meet. Both combatants stopped in their tracks yet again from the interception.

"JUNIOR!" Staraptor snapped.

Junior cooed with glee at seeing his mother-figure again. Houndoom, on the other hand, didn't wait too long to bounce back and opened his mouth wider. Staraptor gasped and seized Junior in her talons. She bolted back into the sky just before the Dark Pulse fired.

Staraptor maneuvered around the beaming attack with Junior in her clutches. The infant had a big smile and laughed in glee as he was unaware of the danger was in. 'This is no good. I can't attack like this!'

When Houndoom adjusted his head to follow Staraptor, the jumbled dark ray followed. She turned and around and coated her wings in a metallic energy and crossed them over herself and Junior. The Dark Pulse made impact and diverged into several streams of black with purple outlining going around the metallic wings. Staraptor grunted as she was trying to maintain her stance in the air.

"Cooo...?" Junior blinked in confusion over the bright, firm cover.

"Greninja, now!" Staraptor cried out.

Nic-Greninja nodded in understanding. "Right!" He grabbed the medium-sized shuriken on his back and swung it around. He let out a vicious cry as he shot it across the battlefield, shredding through the air towards a distracted Houndoom.

'Huh...?'

BOOOOOM!

The shuriken met its mark, exploding in a mist cloud that sent sharp waves of air throughout the vicinity. The woodlands nearby lost several branches and tree trunk were severely gashes. Having free reign from the attack, Staraptor unfolded her wings and gently lowered herself and Junior towards the ground to join everyone.

They watched the mist dissipate, revealing Houndoom lying on his side in the wet grass with scrapes and a sizeable mark where the shuriken struck. From the swirls in his eyes, it was clear to everyone that he was unconscious.

Staraptor sighed. "Thank you for the assist."

"Yeah, don't mention it." Nic-Greninja humbly nodded before the energy around him and Nic finally diminished. They reverted back to their original forms; Nic simply having his eye color return to blue.

Kecleon looked around to see the many bodies strewn over the battlefield. The entire area looked like a bomb went off. It was unrecognizable with all the tree bark and debris strewn about in the dirt. "This isn't a very safe playground anymore..."

"No...it most certainly isn't." This wasn't something uncommon. Staraptor has seen her fair share of battlefields and terrain that were leveled because of the training she and the others did. Of course this time was completely different. She looked back in the direction they came from, knowing the destruction they caused was on a far more grave scale. And worse of all, she was completely unaware that Junior was running about alone out there. He could have been seriously hurt because of their fighting.

"Cooo?"

Staraptor looked down at her child, seeing him look at his surroundings with wide eyes. She sighed again, this time as a mixture of both relief and partial grief. "Are you alright, Junior?" She asked, gingerly running her right wing over his head.

"Cooooo." Junior cooed, smiling at his mother. He bounced closer and nuzzled against her chest feathers.

"That's good...but please, don't go anywhere without me knowing next time."

"Cooo."

"That's good."

Greninja folded his arms as he watched Staraptor interact with the child. He and Charizard exchanged looks before they turned towards Nic as he finished healing Erza's wounds. By the time he was finished, the female knight looked a lot better, with all the cuts and gashes on her body healed completely.

"Here, I got you." Nic moved closer to get his wife's left arm behind his neck and over his left shoulder. He gradually stood back up with her. "Think you can stand?"

"Yeah, now I can." To demonstrate, Erza took a step back, showing no signs of visible wear. "Thank you."

Nic smiled softly. "Yeah, don't mention it." He looked around, his frown showing when he saw the other Pokémon knocked out around them. 'Guess it wasn't just mine who were putting up a fight.'

Erza turned around to face her unconscious Aegislash. She walked over and kneeled down to her side. She watched her intently and placed a hand on her purple cloth. "Please...forgive me for this. But it's alright now."

"I...should be the one apologizing." She wasn't expecting an answer, but it made Erza gasp.

"Wait, you're awake?!"

Aegislash winced, from the shouting and the pain immobilizing her body. "It's fine. I just need some time to rest...I should be up soon." She paused. "Erza...I..."

"Don't say it." She cut her off. "I know." A smile crept onto her face. "I'm just glad we're beside each other again."

Aegislash squinted. She curled her cloth's fingers to hold onto Erza's hand for reassurance. Nic and his Pokémon watched the scene nearby, feeling the sentiment linger in the nighttime atmosphere.

"There were a lot explosions and lightning strikes around us. It seems we weren't the only ones having a tiff." Staraptor realized.

"Something tells me we're not out of the woods yet." Charizard grimaced.

Nic looked towards the sky, his brow furrowing. "...yeah." He paused to collect his thoughts. There was definitely a large amount of magic in the area he was picking up on. A lot of it had diminished already, but he was so preoccupied with everything that he didn't realize until now what it could be. His gut wrenched with a disturbing feeling that he was certain wasn't going to fade away anytime soon.

Greninja turned towards Nic. "Nic."

"Yeah, I know. This feeling in our chest...it's only just beginning."


Gyarados let out a mighty cry as his fangs turned to ice with icy aura fangs protruding. He clamped down onto Tranquill, making a misty frost expel in a short range. He flung his head forward, flinging the avian over Joey's head into the debris behind him.

"Tranquill!" Joey gasped. He looked back to find a Sludge and Bubble Beam heading his way. He was too slow to erect a barrier to protect himself and was struck from the side, immediately putting him on the ground.

"Captain Joey!" Dereece panicked.

Nearby, Seel took a deep breath before her mouth glowed bright blue. She expelled an Icy Wind that engulfed Heracross and Yanma, causing both to be blown back through the air. A blue aura encased both of them as their Speed depleted.

With them held back, Stunfisk fired a ball of brown mud at Dereece. With him distracted with Joey's condition, he was struck by the attack, putting him on his back in a deep daze.

"Ooooi...this...this is bad..."

"I've had my fill!" Gyarados snapped, turning towards Palpitoad and Trubbish. "I'm leaving!"

"Aj ja! Títo chlapci aj tak nestojí za môj čas." Palpitoad agreed, turning around.

Trubbish let out a burp as she turned with them as they started off down the avenue. Seel and Stunfisk joined them while Heracross and Yanma were still reeling from the attacks they've received.

"Gnnngh..." Joey blinked as he was gathering his bearings. He struggled to get up, but managed to his feet and started towards them. "Hey, hold it right there!"

"Captain, be careful!" Dereece pleaded.

As they were all making way towards the outskirts, Trubbish stopped to look back and frowned. She opened her maw wide and made a dark purple orb that she shot into the air. The orb exploded, sending smoky, dark purple comets into the ground between her and Joey.

When Joey got too close, his eyes before he realized that it was too late. He took one step too many and felt a stinging sensation rise up from beneath him. "Gah!" He cried out as toxic bubbles erupted from him, a purplish blush appearing over his face as he lost strength.

"Captain!" Dereece panicked as he looked at the ground ahead of him. "Toxic Spikes..."

Trubbish let out a meek burp towards Joey, almost like a "sorry". She turned and started waddling off somewhere, while Gyarados continued roaring and paved his way for the others behind him.

All Joey could do was watch as he was on his hands and knees. He was slowed down, so there was no way he was going to catch up to them. Then there was the Leech Seed sapping his energy, and then the poison. He gnashed his teeth in frustration. 'Crap...this is sooooo bad.' He frowned heavily as he realized he failed. 'This is my fault. Guys...I'm sorry...'

With a final cringe, the Leech Seed and poison took its toll. Joey's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell forward with a thud.

"CAPTAIN!" Dereece raced over to his fallen friend with deep worry.


Machoke grunted. After fighting Elfman for what felt like an eternity, he opted to turn away. "Hmph! This is starting to get boring...I'm out of here." He turned to run off, leaving Elfman behind.

"Hey! Get back here! A real man doesn't run away from a fight!" he shouted.

Machoke glanced back over his shoulder, scoffing. "Ha, well, a real man knows when to quit as well. We'll settle this another time. Maybe then we'll be stronger to throw some serious punches."

Elfman wanted to chase after him, but he knew he had to tend to the unconscious Rhyhorn nearby. He balled his fists and looked down at the ground, disappointed. "Crap..."


Juvia dropped to her knees, hovering over the shattered remnants of what used to be her Poke Balls. She was exhausted and far too out of breath while Vaporeon, Azumarill, and Wartortle turned towards the canal water for their escape route.

"Wait, guys! Please don't-!" Juvia reached out, but she was too late.

With a loud splash, the three disappeared into the water. She looked down at the shattered remains of what bound her friends to her. She winced at the despair her heart felt for letting this happen.

Across Magnolia and its outskirts, some of them were still fortunate. Freed and the Thunder God Tribe towered over their unconscious Pokémon, as did Laxus as he crackled in static over his Manectric.

With a loud cry, Seviper slammed into the side of a building wall, leaving an intend in its side. The long-fanged snake groaned as she slumped to the ground with swirls in her eyes. Descending from above, Kinana hissed as she reverted back to her human form. She looked mournful for Seviper, but relieved at the same time. "I'm so sorry..."

Others, on the other hand, were not as fortunate as them. Gray had just awoken from his slumber, only to be met with grievance and frustration at the sight of his Poke Balls shattered. Macao and Romeo could only watch in horror and dismay as their Litwick fled the city along with the other Pokémon. Even more members were too hurt physically to give chase to their allies.

As daybreak neared upon the horizon, the hell that night brought lingered into the new day.


Well guys, this was my longest chapter up to date. Decided that I should end 2021 big, and I think that 50k+ words would suffice for such a term.

By the way, the little scene with the Kricketot saying he knew Bide, it's ironic because it can't learn that in the new BDSP game. Which brings me to this little reminder, the movesets are still going to be Gen 7 strictly. So tutor moves from Gen 8, no TM moves from those games, none of that. It's going to be primarily Gen 7 for the duration of the story, no matter how many years this fanfic takes.

Since it's also the end of the year, it's time to do the annual total number if chapters I accomplished in total for all my stories throughout the year. As opposed to the past, this is what the total came out to be:

2015 – 96

2016 – 120

2017 – 96

2018 – 63

2019 – 34

2020 – 43

2021 – 20

And this year was 20 chapters combined...wow, that's 1/6 of my personal best. This year was without a doubt my least most productive year in writing and art. I have a lot of work ahead of me this upcoming 2022. To start, I think that I'll have to definitely crack down on whatever free time I have to get some writing and art done. I'm going to aim to bounce back from this and work diligently to get as far in with my stories as I can! I've made it this far!

So anyways guys, that's my overall game plan for the new year. Gonna try and crack down on giving you guys even more chapters and art. Hope to see you all in the new year, and thanks for bearing with me up to now! XD