"So let me get this straight," said Professor Sycamore. "Half the wild Pokemon population in Kalos has been hunting Marcus's Drapion for months, at the behest of this 'Swarmlord', and they finally succeeded in Laverre, and this entire assault was a distraction so that they could slip past Vaniville undetected?"

"That's 'bout the gist of it, yeah," said Connie. By now, all the Pokemon had recovered and had been sent out; they were now gathered around Professor Sycamore's lab, watching as the Trainers sat around a table in the center of the lab.

Professor Sycamore buried his head in his hands. "How have I never known about this?" he asked. "In all my years as Pokemon Professor…I knew there were a lot of the Skorupi line in Kalos, but I never found evidence of such an organization."

"Don't blame yourself, Professor," Serena said comfortingly. "It's not like they've gone out of their way to reveal themselves to Trainers."

"This must be communicated to the League, if nothing else," Valerie added. "Racing to stop them is one thing, but now that we are in a momentary lull, we must contact Diantha and inform her of this threat."

"Agreed," said Professor Sycamore. "Kidnapping Pokemon from the team of a Gym Leader will draw at least one member of the Elite Four."

Marcus nodded. "Against half the wild Pokemon population of Kalos, we'll need all the help we can get," he said. "Preferably someone with locating capabilities."

"Emma's your best bet on that front, but she's in Alola," said Professor Sycamore. "Drasna and Wikstrom both focus more on power…Valerie, let them know we'd like Siebold, if that's possible."

"Very well." Valerie turned towards Marcus. "If you'll excuse me." She withdrew into a side room, reaching for her Pokedex as she went.

As the discussion resumed, now without Valerie, Houndoom glanced over at Kriesh. The Fearow had looked absolutely wretched ever since she'd lost the Swarm's trail. "You hear that?" he asked. "They're sending a member of the Elite Four over to help us out. Medicham and Drapion are going to be fine."

"They might already be dead," Kriesh murmured.

"Don't think like that," Houndoom growled.

"I wouldn't even know." It was like Kriesh hadn't even heard him.

"Look." Houndoom tried changing tactics. "You beat that Dragonite, right? It's not like-"

"Did I?" Kriesh snarled, rounding on him. "Sure, I knocked him out. But he got his friends past. So who really won?"

"Kriesh, that's enough," said Cloyster, rolling up to the Flying/Normal-type. "You did the best you could - we all did. Being angry about it isn't going to solve anything."

Kriesh sagged. "I…I can't stop feeling like this is all my fault."

"It's not," said Houndoom. "I promise you, it's not."

"I promise you, it's not."

Kriesh shook her head. She wanted so badly to believe Houndoom's words. And yet she knew it was her fault.

For she knew exactly what had caused Medicham to disappear from her Luxury Ball. But she could not tell anyone. That, more than anything, pained Kriesh greatly. It felt like that detail - that Medicham had been plucked straight out of her Luxury Ball - had been forgotten by the Trainers in the midst of their worry about the Swarm, but that only made the knowledge more painful.

"Give me a moment," Kriesh whispered, quickly slipping away from Houndoom and Cloyster, her eyes locked on a very specific target. Furling her wings, she stepped through the group of Pokemon clustered around the lab.

Her target quickly came within hearing distance. "Seeker," Kriesh whispered.

Seeker-Of-Endings glanced over. Recognizing Kriesh's intent, the Absol stepped back behind a cluster of crates. Kriesh followed, eyes narrowed.

Seeker-Of-Endings turned to face Kriesh. "I know why you're here."

"Have you contacted them?" Kriesh asked.

"I can't," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "I can only do that when I have enough free space, and I can only be sure of that when I'm in my Pokeball for an extended duration of time. Serena's keeping me out of my Pokeball - I don't think she even realizes that's preventing me from calling for help!"

"Then tell her!" Kriesh hissed. "She knows about the Heralds, at least to an extent!"

"When?" Seeker-Of-Endings asked. "She's surrounded by Trainers everywhere she goes! Trust me, Kriesh, I've gone over my options! If I could contact the Heralds, I would have done so by now! Don't you understand? This problem could destroy years of work!"

"Work?" Kriesh spat. "Is that-" She took a deep breath. "Of course that's all you damn Heralds care about. Your work. You don't want to rescue Medicham and Drapion because they're your friends. Just because they're your work. Just because it's your Arceus-damned job to do it."

"No, Kriesh, I-"

"Go ahead and save your work," said Kriesh. "I'm going to go save my friends." Twisting, she stalked off, leaving Seeker-Of-Endings alone in the corner.

In a way, she regretted snapping at him. She knew he was technically an ally. And she knew that the Heralds were likely one of their best bets for rescuing Medicham. But she despised working with them. She despised everything about them.

No matter the good they'd done and would do, the pain they'd caused far outweighed it. She'd do anything, work with anyone, to save Medicham and Drapion. Even the Heralds. But that didn't mean she'd ever feel good about it.

I just hope, Kriesh thought to herself, that they're all right.

For Medicham, the last few moments had been a blur. She remembered being removed from Drapion's back, being carried out of the sunlight and into a place shrouded in darkness. Now she was suspended against some kind of wall, held by something that was twined around her limbs and body. She didn't know what this thing was, only that it was warm and moving.

She was able to make out the Swarmlord standing in front of her. His back was turned to her as he ushered a pair of Drapion - probably the ones who had been carrying Medicham - out of the cave. As soon as their shadows had disappeared from view, the Swarmlord turned towards Medicham. Medicham could faintly see his features in the light streaming in from the cave entrance; his eyes glowed as he stared at her, wariness in his eyes.

"You're scared," Medicham whispered.

The Swarmlord snorted. "Fear is weakness," he growled. "I feel none."

"Then what is that I see in your eyes?" Medicham asked. "You're scared of me, aren't you?"

The Swarmlord bared his teeth at Medicham. "You're barely conscious, tied up, and one of your arms is practically destroyed," he snarled. "Why would I be scared of you?"

"Because you know I was winning that fight," said Medicham. "And you know that your Swarm saw that. You talk so much about weakness. You've drilled it into your Swarm's heads that weakness is bad. What happens if they decide you're weak?"

The Swarmlord took a swift step forwards, glaring into Medicham's face. "It doesn't matter who was winning," he growled. "All that matters is who won. Talk all you want, Medicham. Soon enough, your defiance will dissipate."

"That I doubt," Medicham retorted.

The Swarmlord shook his head. "In this world," he said, "the strong stand over the weak, and the weak are submissive to the strong. You have lost to me, and therefore, are among the weak. That means you, Medicham, are in my power. And I can do whatever I want to you. That is the right of the strong. We'll just have to see how long you hold up."

Medicham lowered her head. "How can you do this?" she asked. "How can you even believe what you're saying? Can you not see how wrong that is? How can you possibly justify those beliefs?"

The Swarmlord's expression twisted into a sneer. "You want justification?" he asked. "Very well. How much do you know about the Great Migration?"

"Not that much," Medicham admitted.

"We were once natives of the region known as Sinnoh," the Swarmlord growled. "But when the humans known as Team Galactic attempted to exploit us for power, those who managed to escape fled to this region. I was among them. I watched as we ingratiated ourselves with the Skorupi and Drapion native to Kalos. They lived in Tribes, rather than Swarms, and one of these was the Darkwalker Tribe. These Skorupi and Drapion had made a pact with multiple species of Dark-types, including Malamar, Pangoro, and Absol."

Absol? Medicham frowned at the species name. What would the Heralds want with a random tribe of wild Pokemon?

"As part of our ingratiation, I married into the Darkwalker Tribe," said the Swarmlord. "My lover's name was Midnight. We were happy together for a time, and eventually, she laid my eggs. Four of them. But a few days later, a formerly Trained Aggron came to our lands. He led an army of Lairon and Aron, and he proclaimed the Darkwalker Tribe's ancestral home as his lands. The Darkwalker Tribe marched out to meet him. But they failed, and that day the Darkwalker Tribe was exterminated, all save for Midnight, who had been too busy with the eggs to come."

Medicham's eyes widened. An entire population, wiped out just like that?

"Driven by anger, I wandered," the Swarmlord continued. "And on my wanderings, I found a strange disc lying on the ground, abandoned or forgotten. When I touched it, I was assailed with strange knowledge - knowledge that gave me the capability of shaking the very ground."

"Earthquake," Medicham whispered.

The Swarmlord nodded. "With the new technique, I led my tribe into battle and destroyed Aggron and his army," he said. "Those Lairon and Aron that you see outside are the remnants of Aggron's army, subsumed into my Swarm. I was crowned the Swarmlord for my actions, given command over the greater Kalosian Swarm. But that was not the end of it. For the Darkwalker Tribe had shown themselves to be weak. Weakness, Medicham, is a disease, an infectious malady that destroys all it touches. If the Darkwalker Tribe's weakness was allowed to persist, it would infect my entire Swarm. As the new Swarmlord, it was my duty to purge that weakness, to ensure the Swarm were as strong as they could be. And so Midnight, and any eggs of hers that carried Darkwalker techniques, had to die."

"But she was your lover!" Medicham protested. "Doesn't that amount to anything?"

"Sacrifices must be made for the good of the Swarm." The Swarmlord's voice didn't hold an ounce of sadness or remorse. "The fact that she was my lover was, admittedly, a complication. Others might not have accepted it. So I decided to pretend that she had died of grief over the destruction of her tribe, and that any eggs that hatched into those who exhibited the Dark-type powers of the Darkwalker Tribe had merely been stillborn."

Medicham could hardly believe what she was hearing; she did not say anything more as the Swarmlord kept speaking. "However, a couple days before the eggs were due to hatch, an Absol came into our camp. The day of the Darkwalker Tribe's massacre, the Absols had left, not willing to take part in the battle against Aggron. So Midnight railed against him. Threatened to tear the Absol about herself. But the Absol did not respond. He bent down and touched his horn to one of my eggs. And then he looked up at me, and he said, 'Thus I mark this egg. This special Skorupi will be the one to carry on the legacy of the Darkwalker Tribe. I will be watching. Guard it well.' He left without another word.

"My worst fears were confirmed when two of the hatchlings were born with Darkwalker abilities, including the one the Absol had marked. I killed Midnight and the other hatchling, but word of the Marked One had already spread. So I tried to work with it. To train the Darkwalker techniques out of the Marked One. But the opposite happened. Other Skorupi began to approach him, wanting to know how to learn Dark-type techniques. I realized if I did nothing, the weakness of the Darkwalker Tribe would infect my Swarm. So I took the Marked One out of camp and pushed him into a river, hoping that the Absol, if he was indeed watching, would be fooled into thinking it was an accident."

Medicham just stared, aghast, at the Swarmlord.

"His teachings were arrested with his disappearance," said the Swarmlord. "The last vestiges of the Darkwalker Tribe were purged. Or so it seemed. For when Pincer brought word that he was still alive, his legacy began to reestablish itself. Some foolish older Skorupi who remembered his teachings began to practice Dark-type techniques again. Others began to learn from them, and soon I saw the Marked One's weakness permeating my Swarm again. So I sent my forces out to find and capture him. Told them that the Marked One was a monster that would destroy the Swarms. The ultimate goal, of course, being his execution."

The Swarmlord sighed. "You see now, Medicham? That is my justification for this. As the Swarmlord, my duty is to make this Swarm as strong as it can be. For it was weakness that forced us to abandon our homes in Sinnoh, and it was weakness that drove the Darkwalker Tribe to destruction. If I allow the Marked One's legacy to infect my Swarm, we will become weak again. The only way to stop that is to show the Swarm just how weak the Marked One is - by personally executing him. Only then will my Swarm become strong again."

Medicham shook her head. "I don't see that," she said. "All I see is a monster who uses his ideals as an excuse to slaughter anyone he doesn't like. Your own family, for Arceus's sake! How can strength and weakness matter when it comes to them?"

"When you fought me," said the Swarmlord, "you lost. And because you were too weak to overcome me, you're going to die when you could have lived. Think on that, Medicham, before you claim that strength and weakness do not matter."

With that, he turned and stepped out of the cave; Medicham heard him shouting something to someone out of view as his shadow disappeared from her sight.

Finally left alone, Medicham allowed her body to relax. She was still bound, but nothing was stopping her from falling asleep. Finally, she could contact Darkrai. She despised the Heralds, but at this point she'd take help from anyone.

But even as she closed her eyes, a voice came from right behind her. "I wouldn't try that if I were you. It'd just be a waste of time."

"What?" Medicham was wide awake in an instant, glancing around. "Who…who said that?"

"I did." A large, three-tipped green-and-red vine snaked into Medicham's view, waving slightly. "I'm the Wall - you can call me Wall, if you want."

Now Medicham realized that it was other vines that were binding her to the wall - no, to Wall. What kind of Pokemon is this?

"I'm a Tangrowth," said Wall, quickly answering that question. "And as for the whole sleeping thing, the Swarmlord always makes me use a few of my moves on Pokemon who I bind. One of them is Worry Seed."

"Which prevents the target from sleeping," Medicham realized with horror. "But why?"

Wall shuddered slightly. "He doesn't want them to escape," he said. "Either physically or mentally."

Medicham felt a surge of revulsion. "How can you work for him?" she demanded.

"I don't have a choice!" Wall cried.

Choice? Medicham hid a slight smile. There has to be some way I can use this…

"I was abandoned by my Trainer," said Wall. "The Swarmlord took me in. Said all I had to do was do what he said, and he'd give me everything I wanted. By the time I realized what he actually wanted me to do, it was too late."

"I'm sorry," said Medicham.

"You shouldn't be," Wall responded. "I'm your jailer. You shouldn't feel anything towards me. We shouldn't even be talking."

"Then why talk to me?" Medicham asked.

"Because sometimes I just need to unload," Wall admitted. "Express my true feelings. And it's better if I do it to someone who no one will believe. If you tell the Swarmlord what I said, he won't believe you."

"Is that really want you want?" Medicham asked.

"No!" Wall cried. "But like I said, I have no choice! I'm a Grass-type, and they're all Poison-types! Even if I had help from you, or some other prisoner, it's still two against hundreds!"

"I can get help," said Medicham. "If you just let me sleep, I can get help."

"How?" Wall asked.

"Just trust me, okay?" Medicham asked.

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Wall retorted. "We only met a couple minutes ago! No." Wall's vine-like hand retracted into his body. "It's too risky."

"How is this preferable to taking that risk?" Medicham asked.

Wall sighed. "I hate this," he said. "I hate everything about it. I'm forced to watch everything the Swarmlord does to his prisoners. I'm forced to hold their bodies as he has his way with them! But…" Medicham felt a wetness streaking down the left side of her back. "At least…at least here, I'm safe…and well fed…and nobody hurts me. And…the Swarmlord might be a monster…but he never calls me worthless. Or a burden. Or a mistake."

"Oh, Arceus…" Medicham whispered. "What did your old Trainer do to you?"

Wall didn't answer, but the second stream of wetness oozing down the right side of Medicham's back was answer enough.

"Here." The Tangrowth's voice was quiet. "I may not be able to shield you from what's coming…but I can at least help with the pain."

Medicham felt a surge of vitality rush through her. The pain from her broken bones and mangled arm began to subside, the constant agony withdrawing to a dull ache.

"I've trained my Regenerator Ability," said Wall, "so I can use it to heal others as well as myself. It won't repair your injuries, but it'll numb the pain. It's the best I can do."

Medicham smiled. "Thank you, Wall."

"Don't," said Wall. "I'm your jailer, remember?"

"Wall," said Medicham, "if nobody else is nearby, nobody else knows, right?"

"Yeah," said Wall, sounding wistful. "Nobody else knows."

They'd left Drapion here an hour ago, alone in the darkness. By now, Drapion's eyes had long since adjusted to the lack of light, allowing him to take in the confines of his prison. He was deep underground, that was for certain. Earthen walls on three sides, floor and ceiling both made from densely-packed dirt, a massive stone boulder that took two Drapion to move blocking the way out.

Drapion wondered when the Swarmlord would visit him. He knew he would. The Swarmlord's pride would make sure of that.

But he also knew that the Swarmlord would want to deal with Medicham first. And the more time that passed, the more worried Drapion grew.

It's not like he's going to kill her yet, Drapion thought.

He knew exactly what the Rite of the Great Marsh entailed. It had originally been meant as an alternative way of death - a Drapion, and only a Drapion, who had been accused and convicted of a crime could, in lieu of execution, call upon the Rite of the Great Marsh in order to die with honor. It was almost expected of Drapion who had been convicted of a crime; those who did not call upon the Rite were considered cowards.

The Rite required that the convicted Drapion, upon calling upon the Rite, must be given a full day for the purposes of any last goodbyes and prayers to their ancestors. After that, they would be sent to the arena to face the Swarmlord's champion, the Behemoth. No Drapion had ever overcome the Behemoth; Drapion had never seen the Behemoth, as the Swarmlord had always barred him from attending these ceremonies, claiming that 'only the strong get to participate', but he knew that the convicted Drapion's family, friends, and loved ones were required to watch. The purpose of this was twofold; to symbolize the regaining of the convicted Drapion's honor in the eyes of those who knew him best, and to, at the same time, ceremonially separate them from the accused Drapion.

Since Drapion had claimed Medicham as his lover, the Swarmlord could not kill Medicham until Drapion had died to the Behemoth. Drapion harbored no illusions that Medicham would survive longer than that. He could only hope that help would come in that time.

And that, if it did, the Swarmlord hadn't hurt Medicham too much by then. For Drapion knew that the requirements said nothing about 'unhurt', and he knew the Swarmlord knew that as well.

In front of Drapion, the boulder shifted aside. Drapion was at once on alert. Is it him? Has he finally deigned to see me?

But it was not the Swarmlord that stepped through the crack between the boulder and the wall. Rather, it was Tooth and Claw. The two wild Drapion slid the boulder closed and then turned on Drapion, both of them grinning.

"Ah," Drapion growled. "So mah dear brothers finally decide ta talk ta me in person."

Claw spat. "You dare to call yourself our brother, Marked One?" he snarled. "You're nothing but a worthless weakling!"

"Ah ain't worthless or a weakling," Drapion snarled. "Want me ta show ya how strong ah really am?"

"'Want me ta show ya how strong ah really am?'" Tooth imitated mockingly. "Oh, that pathetic accent of yours! Now that's one aspect of the Darkwalker Tribe I definitely don't miss!"

Claw chuckled. "We're better off without weaklings like them."

"Watch yer mouth," Drapion growled. "That's our mother yer talkin' about."

Tooth stepped forwards and lashed out with one arm, punching Drapion across the face. "Yeah, I know," he said as Drapion staggered from the blow, planting his feet on the ground to stop himself from stumbling. "And I stand by what I said. We're better off without weaklings like her…and you."

"You've always been a weakling," said Claw. "And worse, you've always tried to pass it on to others. All you ever wanted was to make our Swarm weak!"

Drapion glared at Tooth and Claw, crouching down. He spat out a spray of blood. "Care ta try that again, brother?"

Tooth sneered. "Look who's acting tough," he mocked. "Let's see how tough you are after a slug from my Battle Armor-boosted punch!"

"And maybe a dozen spikes right between the chinks in your armor," said Claw, "courtesy of my Sniper Ability!"

Snarling, both wild Drapion lunged. "Battle Armor: Tooth Slam!" "Sniper: Claw Shots!"

"Block," Drapion snarled. Tooth had come at him full-force; his body bounced off Drapion's Protect and landed on the ground with a comical splat. Drapion whirled to face Claw even as Claw fired a flurry of Pin Missiles from his body; all of them curved towards Drapion's eyes and mouth. "Battle Armor!" Drapion's chitin arose along his head, deflecting the Bug energy-laden spikes with ease.

"Stupid Trainer tricks will only get you so far!" Tooth snarled. "Take this! Battle Armor: Tooth Fist!"

"Battle Armor: Slam!" Drapion formed his own Battle Armor across one arm, enhanced it with Dark energy, and raised it to block Tooth's descending Battle Armor-covered arm. The two massive appendages met with a powerful thwoom, energy exploding against energy as Drapion's defense held off Tooth's assault.

"There it is again!" Claw cried. "That useless Dark energy! How about this? Sniper: Claw Fist!"

Claw's arm was unprotected by Battle Armor, but it curved as Claw charged, twisting over Drapion's other arm and streaking straight for his face. "Block!" Drapion bellowed, and it was Claw's turn to be frustrated by the Protect.

"What in Distortion is this crap?" Claw snarled as he recoiled.

"It's called strength," Drapion retorted. "Ya should try it sometime. No Escape!"

"Argh!" Claw screamed as the unexpected Pursuit slammed into his body; already off-balance from putting his full weight into Drapion's Protect, Claw overbalanced and toppled to the ground.

"Battle Armor: Tail!" Drapion whirled, lashing out at Tooth. Unfortunately, Tooth had learned from last time; he was ready with his own defense. "Battle Armor: Tooth Tail!"

The two chitin-covered tails slammed into each other; another thwoom of energy shook the room. "No Escape!" Drapion snarled, and it was Tooth's turn to take a barrage of Pursuit rays. He staggered backwards, stopped only by the room's wall.

"Come on, Tooth, don't fight stupid!" Claw roared. "Attack him together!"

Again, the two wild Drapion leaped, this time hauling back simultaneously. "Sniper: Claw Fist!" "Battle Armor: Tooth Fist!"

No way I can deflect them both at the same time…but then again, I don't need to.

"Burrow!" Drapion snarled; Ground energy flared around him as he raised his arms and drove them into the ground. As he'd expected, Tooth and Claw ceased their charges immediately. Drapion knew exactly what they were thinking. He'd grown up 'learning' from the Swarmlord; of course he knew what the Swarmlord's secret technique was.

Earthquake.

What if you told the ground to erupt instead of collapse? Like, say, in a circle around you?

Drapion shook his head. Not now, when I'm under pressure. But later…

The ground dropped out from under Drapion, and Tooth and Claw disappeared from view.

He could still hear their startled cries as he turned his head to the surface and began digging back up. "What in the-" "How did he-"

Drapion lunged upwards, slicing through the earth with ease, and exploded out of the ground directly under Claw.

Claw screamed in agony as the gathered Ground energy slammed into him along with Drapion's head. He was carried bodily off the ground and straight into the ceiling; Drapion recoiled, allowing Claw to fall back to the floor. Claw landed in a heap, groaning in pain.

Drapion rounded on the suddenly ashen-faced Tooth. "Let me make two things clear," Drapion growled. "One - ah ain't the same weaklin' ya beat all the time back when we were just Skorupi. Ah've been with mah Trainer fer a good few months - ya can bet ah picked up some things from him. An' two? Ah can get outta this room - outta this prison - whenever ah want. The only reason ah haven't-"

Before Drapion could finish his sentence, a pair of sharp points suddenly jammed into the small of Drapion's back, piercing through his armor.

"Sniper: Claw Fist!"

Damn it - I thought he'd stay down for longer!

"Battle Armor: Tooth Fist!" Tooth's demeanor changed in an instant; taking full advantage of Drapion's momentary lapse of attention, Tooth slugged him with a vicious blow across the face. As Drapion staggered, he felt Claw's full weight descend on his back, pinning him to the ground.

"Talk tough all you want," Claw whispered in Drapion's ear. "But a weakling like you could never defeat us."

"You'll remain alive until the main event, of course," Tooth growled. "But nothing says you have to remain undamaged."

The wild Drapion delivered another punch to Drapion's jaw, then another. Drapion thrashed as best he could, but even his strength was defeated by the full weight of Claw sitting on top of him.

As Tooth went in for a fourth punch, the boulder shifted behind them. "Enough."

All three Drapion stopped moving at the sound of the Swarmlord's voice. All three turned to look at him. The Swarmlord was frowning. "Tooth, Claw. Do not waste your strength on weaklings like him. Leave."

"Yes, Swarmlord." Tooth and Claw scurried away, rushing past the Swarmlord and through the gap in the boulder.

Drapion rose, wiping some blood from his chin. "Father."

"Stop calling me that," the Swarmlord snarled. "I do not appreciate you hurting my sons."

"Ah'm yer son too, in case ya forgot," Drapion retorted.

The Swarmlord let out a furious growl. Drapion glanced over his shoulder. "Actually, ah'm glad ya showed up. Ya see that?"

The Swarmlord peered where Drapion was pointing. "A hole?"

"Ah made that," said Drapion. "Ya can ask Tooth an' Claw; they'll tell ya. Ya know what that means? It means these walls are only holdin' me because ah'm lettin' them."

"And why is that?" the Swarmlord asked. "Oh, I see. It's because of that Medicham, isn't it?"

Drapion shook his head. "Even if Medicham weren't here…ah know that if ah run, yer just gonna keep chasin' me fer the rest of mah life. So ah'm lettin' things go as they may. Fer now. But ah'll tell ya this - if ah hear or see that Medicham's been hurt, or killed…ah'm outta here. Ya needn't bother tryin' ta hide it, 'cause ah'll know. Ya got that?"

The Swarmlord grinned evilly. "You think you can give me orders?" he growled. "Just for that, I'm going to inflict upon her as much pain as I can possibly-"

"No. Ya won't." Drapion stared levelly at the Swarmlord. "'Cause ya want me ta die, more than anything. An' ya know yer never gonna get an opportunity like this again."

The Swarmlord's grin disappeared as fast as it had arrived. He narrowed his eyes at Drapion. "As you wish," he snarled. "She will be left unharmed until the time of your death."

The Swarmlord leaned closer. "But once you're dead," he said, "there is not a single agony I will not visit upon her. Not a single inch of her I will leave unmolested. I wonder how long it will take her to die? I estimate…three weeks?"

Drapion's only response was a withering glare.

The Swarmlord chuckled. "That is the right of the strong," he said. "If you had just been smart enough to abandon those Darkwalker techniques and join me, you could have been strong too. But you chose to cling to them, and worse, to try and spread them. You brought this on yourself, Marked One…and you brought this on her."

The Swarmlord stepped back. "Close it!" he barked as he moved through the gap; the boulder rolled closed, leaving Drapion alone once more.

Normally, Drapion would have slept at that point. He knew he needed all the strength he could get. But Sylveon's words continued to nag at him.

Erupt instead of collapse.

He knew what he would call Earthquake, once he learned it. Quake. A simple name, like he preferred. Drapion opened his mouth, raised one leg, and drew upon the Ground energy he knew lay in his power to wield.

"Quake," he whispered, and dropped his leg at the same time.

Ground energy rumbled forth, a small wave of it emanating from the limb; the earth dropped out from under his foot, and only a swift adjustment kept Drapion's leg from dropping into the newly created hole.

Drapion stepped back. I'm still subconsciously using Dig…I have to practice. But that's all right. I've still got twelve hours.

I can learn Earthquake in twelve hours. Can't I?

Again Drapion raised his leg. "Quake."

The sound of rippling energy drew Kamado's attention, and he turned just in time to see two beings, one human and one Pokemon, materializing in one of the corners of Professor Sycamore's lab. The human was a blonde male garbed in white clothing; the Pokemon was a Starmie who had evidently just used Teleport.

"Siebold," said Professor Sycamore. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

Kamado stared at the member of the Elite Four. He looked like a member of the Elite Four; his posture was one of a Trainer who was confident in their strength, and he held a commanding glint in his eyes as he surveyed the other occupants of the room.

"No problem, Professor," said Siebold. "And Calem and Serena, I remember you two quite well. Valerie, good to see you…and Marcus." He smiled thinly. "I thought I recognized the name. Congratulations on your new position - more formalities can come later. I hear you have a problem?"

"Yes," said Marcus. "My Medicham and Drapion have been taken by the Swarm - a group of wild Pokemon."

Siebold raised an eyebrow. "Our newest Gym Leader is having trouble with wild Pokemon? Valerie, did you-"

"Look outside," Calem interrupted.

Siebold leaned over to the nearby window and did so. Kamado clearly saw his eyes widen.

"That," said Marcus, "was the diversionary force. They were meant to distract us while the rest slipped off to their main camp with my Pokemon."

Siebold withdrew from the window. "My sincere apologies," he said. "How many wild Pokemon are in this Swarm?"

"Half the wild Pokemon population in Kalos," said Serena. "Not an exaggeration."

Siebold nodded. "I can see why this is a problem," he said. "If such a large force is so brazen as to kidnap two Pokemon from a Gym Leader's team, they must be dealt with immediately. Have you been tracking them?"

"I am afraid not," said Valerie. "They succeeded in slipping past Vaniville while we were occupied dealing with the attack. They hid their trail well enough that it cannot be found by normal means, and my Mr. Mime is currently laid up in the Pokemon Center with an incredible migraine."

"We were hopin' you could help," said Connie.

Siebold shook his head. "Starmie doesn't know Role Play," he said; Kamado's heart sank. "And the rest of my team won't be a help on that front either. I can provide strength, and I can provide seven more sets of eyes, but that's about it."

Marcus clenched his fists; Theo quickly stepped to his side. "We're grateful for the assist."

"We have to figure something out," said Serena. "Does anyone have any tracking capabilities?"

Kamado glanced around as Trainers and Pokemon alike began to murmur. A thought slipped into his head as he began to hear suggestions fill the air. "We can cover more ground flying than walking." "Starmie and Calem's Alakazam can Teleport, we can use that." "What if we do…" "What if we…" "How about…"

"I…I have an idea."

All of the Pokemon instantly stopped talking to look at Kamado, who suddenly realized he was the only non-fully-evolved Pokemon in the room. The humans, registering the sudden change in their Pokemons' demeanor, did likewise. Kamado shrank back under all the stares.

"We're listening," Trevenant said comfortingly.

Kamado looked up at the group. "The…the Onix," he said. "Do you remember the Onix?"

Nods came from Theo and Marcus's various Pokemon.

"They…they didn't like the Swarm," said Kamado. "Maybe…maybe they could help."

"Onix?" Valerie's Azumarill blinked. "Elaborate?"

"There's a group of Onix living in the woods," said Kriesh. "They have some sort of agreement with the Swarm, but they don't like the Swarm. Kamado's right - if anyone can help us find the Swarm, they can."

"Well, do you happen to know where these Onix live?" Siebold's Blastoise asked.

"Not…really…" Kamado admitted.

Blastoise snorted. "Well, there goes that-"

"But I do know where we can find them!" said Kamado. "There's…a patch of boulders…near Vaniville. They were there."

Blastoise glanced over to the rest of Siebold's team. "I guess it's worth a try," he rumbled.

Evidently the various Psychics in the room had communicated the exchange to the Trainers, for Professor Sycamore stepped forwards. "All right, then," he said. "Let's get to searching. Kamado, was it?"

Kamado nodded nervously.

"How about you take a small group to this boulder patch?" Professor Sycamore suggested. "Take a Psychic with you, so you can communicate with the rest of the group if you do find the Onix. Meanwhile, the rest of us can start searching the forest. Who knows, with all of us working, maybe we'll stumble upon it through blind luck."

The gathered Trainers and Pokemon quickly began to move out, all of them united in the desire to find the Swarm, rescue Medicham and Drapion, and end the possible threat posed by the Swarmlord.

No matter what it took.