The Galaxy King soared through the skies of the Pokémon World and over the bright ocean as Wingull flew beside it.
"We're now entering Unova Region airspace." Jet said.
"Unova…it's been so long." Ash K said.
"I know, right?" Leia asked.
"Yeah. You progressed through normal while Soursweet was conked out on mushrooms cause Hope pushed her towards it." Jexi said.
"But as we saw in the Perfect Link Tournament, Alder isn't Unova Champion anymore, Iris is. So, yeah. Kind of seeing what Blueberry Academy is going to provide." David said. "Not how I imagined summer vacation would end, honestly."
"Speaking of Unova, do you guys think Ingo found a way back from the past?" Mari asked.
"...You forgot to bring him back to the present, didn't you?" Zeo deadpanned. "Because that's exactly what we did for our Ingo, and he's with his brother again."
"Not her fault. We don't even know how he got there in the first place." David said.
"...Okay, something to do after, got it." Mark said matter-of-factly.
"Now approaching Blueberry Academy." Jet said as they saw a round building that seemed to be floating right on the ocean's surface.
"Wow…it's like a floating school." Luffy said.
"Actually, the school's not floating. That's actually the top. The rest is underwater." Twilight said.
"That's interesting. But why though?" Yuri asked.
"Maybe the school's director wanted to be unique? I kinda like his approach." Mermista said.
They landed right outside the entrance as a man in a suit waited.
"Well well…the self-proclaimed trainers of Paldea. So nice of ya to finally grace my school with your presence," he said. "The name is Cyrano. And I know about you, Mark Anarchy. Carmine's mentioned a lot about you."
"She has, huh?" Mark asked. "What…exactly has she said?"
"Only that you're a skilled battler." Cyrano said. "I think you and your little pals are gonna fit in well here."
"Ah… Yeah. We probably will." Mark nodded with a small smile. "Uh...she's not here is she?"
"She's not at the entrance. She's probably training down below." Cyrano said. "If you have any questions to ask, feel free to field them to me."
"Okay. Why did you build a school underwater?" Ethox asked.
"That's a good question. Let's see…what was that reason?" Cyrano said.
"It's because the school building is attached to an undersea plant that develops natural resources. Right? That's what I've heard." a voice said as a pink-haired girl in white approached.
"Ah. Right you are." Cyrano said. "Always on point, Lacey. Anyway…these are the trainers from Paldea."
"Oh, so these are the visitors." Lacey said. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Lacey, one of the 2nd year students here. You all must be special. It's rare for the director to remember the names of new people."
"You could say that." Adora said.
"Are you here to give us the tour of the academy?" Akira asked. "Especially that undersea plant of this place?"
"Sorry but I can't let you all push something like this onto me!" Lacey said, crossing her arms.
"Hey, is that a battle court?" Himiko asked.
"Oh…yes. We have a number of important battles there." Lacey said.
"Hmm…well…let's get a little gauge in skill going. One of you will be battling Lacey." Cyrano said.
"Sure thing. It'll be interesting to see how the students here battle." David said..
"Not you. Everyone knows your battling style." Cyrano said. "Let's see….how about…you, little lady?" he asked Akira.
"Wait, me?" Akira blinked.
"You said you guys were in Hisui. So you have to have some experience." Jexi said.
"Go for it, Akira. You can handle a challenge." Gaius insisted. "What battle format will it be?"
"All students here generally use the Double Battle Format. I'll only be using three Pokémon." Lacey said.
"Double Battles, huh?" Akira mused before approaching the battle court. "Alright then, I'm game."
"Don't expect Lacey to be a pushover. She's the daughter of one of Unova's gym leaders, after all." Cyrano said.
"Shut up! Which one?" Zeo asked.
(Cue- Unova Trainer Battle- Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Indigo Disk)
"Oh, I wish you wouldn't go spreading personal information without asking first!" Lacey said, crossing her arms. "Besides, that answer will be made apparent soon. So…let's go!" she said sending out two Pokéballs as out came Plusle and Minun.
PreCure Akira Naotora
VS.
Pokémon Trainer Lacey
"Oh, Plusle and Minun! These two." Akira noticed while taking out her two Hisuian Pokéballs. "Hawks! Gastro! You're up!" She sent out Hawks the Hisuian Decidueye and Gastro the Gastrodon.
"Oooh! She uses a Hisuain Deciduye as her starter, just like me!" Perfuma said.
"So you picked that one too, huh? Nice." Akira grinned before observing Plusie and Minun. "(Something tells me that their abilities are not their usual, so I better keep my guard up. So it's best to take down one target instead of both.)" She took a deep breath before giving an order. "Hawks, Gastro, Triple Arrow, and Earth Power on Minun!"
Both attacks landed on one of the two Cheering Pokémon with Minun falling in one hit.
"That's the way, Akira-san!" Hibiki cheered.
"Heh, she's still got it." Kiana smirked.
"Oh…so much for my plus and minus strategy." Lacey said, recalling Minun. "Well…guess I'm bringing out a new ball. "Let's go, Excadrill!" she said, sending out Excadrill.
"Ah… Excadrill. Always a pleasure to see this Pokémon in action due to its speed." Zeo smiled. "I tend to name him Exia when I catch a Drillbur."
"An Excadrill…I see. It makes sense. Her father…is Driftveil's top mining boss, Clay." Leia said.
"Wait, that Clay?!" Gaius exclaimed. "The Ground Type Gym Leader?!"
"Yeah…that's him. But I prefer Fairy Types to Ground types. But we can talk more about that later." Lacey said. "Plusle, use Alluring Voice on Decidueye and Excadrill, you use Iron Head on Gastrodon."
"Alluring what?" Akira blinked as Hawks suddenly took super effective damage. "Tch, so that's a Fairy Type move. Was not expecting that. At least Gastro's okay." She turned to her Gastrodon who's still fine after taking an Iron Head.
"Seems you aren't all that privy to most type matchups." Lacey said.
"Hey, that move is new to me. Can you blame me?" Akira answered with a shrug.
"Can't blame that on ya, I suppose then." Lacey said.
"...Plusle still gotta go though. Hawks, Triple Arrow on Excadrill! Gastro… Strong Style Earth Power on Plusle!" Akira ordered as both opposing Pokemon took super effective hits, even more so on Plusle due to Strong Style which is more than enough to knock it out.
"Styles…don't see those anymore." Lacey said, recalling Plusle. "Excadrill, take down Decidueye with X-Scissor!"
"Agile Style Leaf Blade, Hawks!" Akira ordered as Hawks quickly retaliated with a Leaf Blade before Excadrill could strike with X-Scissor, and with a lucky critical hit, the mole Pokemon is down and out.
(end song)
"And that's game." Akira concluded, recalling her Pokémon back into her Pokéballs. "Good fight, by the way."
"Well done." Lacey said as she recalled Excadrill. "Though shame I couldn't go all out."
"You all should know, just like in Paldea and Kitakami…it is possible to Terastallize your Pokémon here too." Cyrano said.
"It is? Guess we should keep that in mind." Hope said.
"Except that our team does not have Tera Orbs... yet." Zeo pointed out.
"Did we miss it!?" A voice suddenly called out, a duo running into view after a late jump into the world thanks to business over in the dimension they came from, as approaching was what appeared to be Ruby Rose, with slight differences to her compared to the Ruby Rose everyone knew, while the other, the girl who called out, had short brown hair, and was wearing a black jacket over a purple sports bra, black pants, and purple sneakers with black trim, as she sighed in relief. "Okay, we didn't miss joining up with them at least…"
"Hey, aren't you…?" Frosta asked, recognizing FS!Ruby. "Yeah! You're the alternate Ruby, from the Winter Olympics in Beijing! How've you been?!"
"Hah, as a Demon Lord, the answer to that question is always 'splendid,' dear Frosta!" FS!Ruby spoke with a prideful tone. "We got a tip from the Future Seekers Coalition stationed here that you all were having another little fun journey… without us." FS!Ruby stated, emphasizing the last part of the sentence.
"So we decided to hop on over and join the fun!" Her companion spoke up. "Oh, sorry, let me introduce myself! I'm Parvati, a Nikke manufactured by Elysion, nice to meet you all!"
"Ehehehe… sorry we didn't call Richard or Siege up for our little Treasure hunt." Connor said. "But, that letter they sent us really helped us out."
"Wait…" Zeo interrupted before pointing at Parvati and FS!Ruby. "You two are from another team?"
"Correction, another dimension!" FS!Ruby corrected.
"Same boat with these guys. They're the Xross Drive Rebellion. They're our newest friends, from the Xross-Verse." Hope introduced.
"Hah. Neat!" FS!Ruby remarked.
"Hey Hope, are any of the Coalition members joining us? I know it's just two members from our end of things but just thought to ask." Parvati asked.
"Yeah, I actually called Rutega and told her to meet us here. I told her she could bring a plus one too." Hope answered. "She said she was bringing the newest member who became the third addition."
"Whoa, you're kidding!" Parvati exclaimed. "Was this recent!?"
"Yeah, just before we went on the road to find the Emblem Bracelets. Entrapta and I went on this little adventure, long story… but we came back with someone really cool!" Flamberge said. "So where are they?"
"Let me show you where they might be." Cyrano said as he led them into the school.
They got into a lift and were taken to a shaft. He lead them forward before they were taken to a massive area. "Welcome…to the Terarium."
"Whoa… Look at this place! It's huge!" David said.
"As you can see, this is a special Pokémon reserve held at our school. It's divided into four different biomes: Savannah, Coastal, Polar, and Canyon." Lacey said. "Pokemon from all over the world are kept here."
"This is incredible!" Entrapta said, looking out into the Savannah biome, where they entered the Terarium from. "It's like we're actually in the Savannah!"
"I'm not so sure about this…" A voice nervously rang out as the group looked ahead to see a tigress looking about, seeming to be unsure of herself, as Rutega shook her head and chuckled at her.
"Trust me. You'll be fine. You don't need to worry about catching Pokémon, especially since you fight similar to one, Kathlaa." Rutega chuckled before noticing the approaching group. "Hey, it's better already, I see some familiar faces! Heyo! Over here!" Rutega waved.
"Rutega, you made it!" Hope said as the group came up to her and Kathlaa.
"See? Told you they'd be here." Cyrano said.
"So this is the third member, hmmm?" FS!Ruby asked, darting around Kathlaa with a face full of intrigue, looking her up and down, as the Overworld Creature didn't quite know how to react.
"Is she… always like this…?" Kathlaa asked.
"Trust me, I think all Ruby Roses share one trait in common: Comedy levels of hyperactive reactions." Rutega snickered.
"So you beat us here, huh?" Hope asked the Female Saiyan.
"Well, yeah. I mean, the initial test wasn't hard to complete." Rutega remarked with a hum. "Also, you sort of left the gateway wide open and Kathlaa couldn't wait any longer, soooo…."
"Ah, it's okay, I'm glad she's here." Hope said, turning around to introduce those who hadn't met the two of them before. "Xross Drive Rebellion, I'd like you to meet a very good friend of mine from Siege's dimension. This is Rutega. And yes, before you ask, she is a Female Saiyan, and a ridiculously strong one. Trust me, I know."
"Don't worry, Hope. I can tell from her aura that she's powerful" Fu Hua replied.
"So you're also from Siege's dimension, just like that other Ruby…" Kiana mused.
"Mhm! Hey… you all remind me of some allies we have back home. Though, not all of them can be with us. Some Herrschers are just unwilling to cooperate, while… others kinda… died before we had a chance to win 'em over." Rutega remarked.
"I see…" Kiana noted. "You also had to deal with them. For my case, the Herrscher core in my body was separated due to the Dimensional Quakes, but I still have a bit of its power. But I can't let others find those cores or else… well… you get the idea."
"Fair point. Our Kiana still has her core, but she's managed to control it." Rutega remarked.
"That's good. Because that's exactly what I'm going to do when I find mine. And hopefully understand Sirin. She's a victim too because of a certain someone." Kiana replied.
"Oh don't remind me… That's a headache in itself from what I remember." Rutega grumbled.
"So uh… Hope, not to be rude, but are you or anyone else gonna introduce us to the new girl?" Gunvolt asked.
"She's Kathlaa. She's a tigress from a distant land." Hope said.
"Whoa, don't undersell me like that, bud!" Kathlaa remarked, comically holding her heart. "You wound me! …Ahem My name is Kathlaa, and I'm a proud warrior from the Overworld Clan, native to a land called Perim."
To everyone meeting her for the first time, Kathlaa was a 7 ft tall, 220 pound woman who had black hair of medium length, with tiger ears and tail to match, as well as red eyes. She was wearing incredibly light armor which exposes very much skin, primarily her stomach, as it also consists of full-length red and black shoulder-to-arm guards, full-length leg guards, a simple armored red bra that does little to hold back her DD chest, and a black pair of armored short shorts. She had no apparent choice of footwear, going completely barefoot.
"I see… It's nice to meet you." Esmeralda said.
"The pleasure is all mine." Kathlaa remarked with a smile.
"You said you were from Perim? Never heard of that place…" Ethox said.
"I have. It's from an MMO called Chaotic." Sachiko said.
"Lan, you're the card game buff, ever heard of it?" Adora asked.
"It's one of the lamest card games ever made. Wasn't popular enough to get into sadly." Lan said.
"Oof." Shirabe cringed.
"Yeah, I couldn't find myself getting into it either, so… Sorry, Kathlaa. We're kind of out of the loop." David said.
"Well... you can't blame people for having different tastes." Flamberge said.
"Says the guy who I pinned down first from the foreign visitors~" Kathlaa teased, booping Flamberge on the nose.
"Hey now!" Flamberge said.
"You two seem to be very close." Gimlior said.
"Nah, I just tease her a lot because she's got a crush on big dominant tigers~" Kathlaa giggled.
"Wait, she does?" Moltar asked.
"N-No!" Flamberge stuttered. "We just became really fast friends after Entrapta and I went to Perim on a mission."
"Uh-huh~ Suuuure, tell me how you really feel, Flam~" Kathlaa teased again, this time with a tail boop to the nose.
"I'm sensing a certain blue cat going to spout out a line about this." Zeo said.
"Oh. They're in love!" Happy teased.
"Yep, there it is." Zeo nodded.
"Berge, is there something you're not telling us?" Francisca asked.
"I'm not doing anything with her, I swear!" Flamberge said.
Kathlaa only giggled before rubbing on Flamberge and purring a bit to egg it on a bit more.
"Her attitude says otherwise though." Kanade said with a teasing smile.
"Oh, for the love of…" Chris facepalmed.
"Okay, that's enough Kathlaa, you're making Berge uncomfortable," Entrapta said.
"Yeah, you're liable to knock her out at this rate." Mark said. "In any case, any friend of a fellow Star-Buster is a friend of mine. Nice to meet you!" the half-angel grinned.
"Sorry, sorry. Haha." Kathlaa laughed. "Again, pleasure's mine."
"Wait, Star-Buster?" Rutega asked.
"Oh right, we never coined it. Ed named the group that helped take Team Star down the Star-Busters." Mark explained, turning to Kathlaa. "Rutega was a big help during that. Couldn't have done it without her."
"She's also the owner of Miraidon's brother-in-arms." Hope said. "Speaking of Rutega, is Koraidon with you?"
"Oh, yeah! Why wouldn't he be?" Rutega asked, before whistling, having let Koraidon exercise as he came back, happily growling and nuzzling Rutega.
"Whoa! Cool!" Kathlaa smiled.
"I'll say." FS!Ruby and Parvati spoke in unison.
David can feel Miraidon's Pokéball shake. "Alright, alright. I'll let you out too." he said as he let Miraidon out.
Koraidon soon happily ran up to Miraidon after seeing him come out of his Pokéball, nuzzling Miraidon again upon seeing him.
"The guy's turned into a super defensive cuddle bug." Rutega smiled. "Aggressive as in: Screw with anything he cares about and you might as well be a goner if you don't run."
"(Hahaha… It's good to see you again, Koraidon.)" Miraidon said.
"(Same to you. How has your friend treated you?)" Koraidon asked.
"(Very well, in fact. Wish you could've seen some of the stunts we went through.)" Miraidon said. "(Seriously, they were like something out of an action movie, except I was the stunt bike.)" he said with a bit of a laugh.
"(No kidding!)" Koraidon laughed. "(Meanwhile I've been training like a martial artist alongside mine. At times it felt like I was in a training arc of my own. But it sounds like you had fun! …Or is that not the right word?)" Koraidon asked with a laugh.
"(...Should I tell them that I can understand what they're saying because of Luca teaching me Aura?)" Hibiki thought and sweatdropped.
"Wow, they really are like brothers." Megumin said..
"Yeah…why does David get all the…" Kazuma said as a blast of water hit him in the face. "Hey, who did that?" he called out as he looked in a distant watering hole as a Totodile was laughing.
"A Totodile!" Mari said.
"Oh look, my starter in my Johto run." Gaius smiled.
"Ah…You noticed. We've got an assortment of Pokémon here, we also provide Starter Pokemon. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar. And just recently Paldea." Cyrano said.
Upon hearing that, Aether, Lumine and Paimon turned to Mona. "Hey Mona, Paimon thinks this could be your only chance to get that Dendro cat!" Paimon said.
"So it seems." Mona noted. "The question is where to find him, or her."
"How about, we all go explore the Terarium, and find out?" Perfuma asked.
"Now you're talking!" Ultra said.
"I always started out with Water types whenever I played the games. This may be the only chance to get them all." David said. "Along with a few others that may be of interest. What about you, Himeno? Choice is obvious for you, right?"
"Yes. Fire types." Himeno said.
"Are you two going on a starter catching trend? I want to be a part of it too!" Perfuma said. "I want all the Grass-type starters!"
"Well, from what I am seeing, there are multiple of the same species, so whichever ones interest you all, go for it." Nesma said.
"Awesome, cool." Mark nodded. "But first…" he said, before he rapidly flash stepped around, tagging a few certain group members. "Guys, I'm poaching some of your members for awhile, hope you don't mind."
"Wha-!?" Rutega exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah baby! Star-Busters back in action!" Eddy laughed.
"Wait, what's this about Mark?" Adora asked.
"I get it. You tagged everyone that was part of your group in Paldea." Scarlet realized. "Heh, I guess you would want that, wouldn't you?"
"What can I say? We worked well together last time, we'll probably work well together this time." Mark snickered. "In all seriousness though, it's your choice if you wanna skip this or not."
"Why? What are you…this is about Kieran, isn't it?" Glimmer asked.
Mark's good mood deflated a bit at that statement. "Well…I'm not saying I'm gonna go looking for him, but…if we happen to run into him, and he wants a fight, then…" he paused, looking conflicted. "...W-Well, what happens, will happen, that's all I'll say."
"I understand you feel responsible, but we don't even know where he is. You're better off asking his sister." Adora said.
"Well, I'm up for helping out." Simon said.
"We did promise Carmine a battle when we got here. We just have to find where she is." Glimmer said.
"Carmine? She should be training in the Central Plaza. The place where all the Biomes meet up." Lacey said.
"Then that's where we're headed." Adora said. "We'll catch up with you guys later." she said to the others.
"You guys go on ahead. We'll meet up after we're done catching for the day." Hope said.
"As for some of us…it's a chance to meet our one and onlys. Our Perfect Links." Kazuma said.
"Oh, you're gonna go look for a Perfect Link, Kazuma? What're you hoping to find?" Ethox asked.
"Slaking." G. Aqua said before Kazuma could open his mouth.
"No, not a Slaking!" Kazuma snapped. "It's gonna be something cool. Something amazing. Something that comes to me. Something like…" Kazuma said before he felt something on his head as appearing from its camouflage was a Sobble.
"Something like him." Nemo said.
Kazuma had an eye twitch or two before he composed himself. "...It's a start." he said. "Uh…anybody got a spare Pokéball?"
"Here." Gaius complied, giving a spare Hisuian Great Ball to Kazuma.
"Thanks." Kazuma nodded as he used it, catching the Sobble. "My first Pokémon, woo-hoo." he said with a straight face.
"Hey, don't be so down, Kazuma, Pokémon training's fun." Ultraman said. "C'mon, I'll show you the ropes while we're all exploring the place."
"I suppose this is a good chance to find new companions as well." Natyal said.
"I would like to join as well." Baril added.
"You wanna go catching too, Baril?"
"Yes. With so many Pokémon in this area, I can quickly fill out a team I've had in mind." Baril said.
"Well, guess we all know what we're doing while Mark's group goes to see Carmine," Hope said.
"Well, I've got my idea of what I want to round out a full team." Rutega mused. "And I know my first target. A certain fiery cat…"
"Are you perhaps, referring to Litten? Sorry, it will be mine first!" FS!Ruby exclaimed.
"Bet. First one to the Litten picks a punishment for the loser." Rutega bet.
"You're so on!" FS!Ruby exclaimed.
"Ah ah ah. You girls are acting like kids. Besides…the Litten is mine!" Megumin said.
"Yeah… about that." Kiana said…while taking out a Hisuian Great Ball.
"Oh Arceus, not you too, Kiana." Akira facepalmed.
"Settle down you guys, you heard Director Cyrano, there are plenty of Littens to go around in here." Ristarte said.
"Right…first one to get Litten wins! Losers…will suffer under the greatest magic ever known…Explosion." Megumin said.
"As if!" FS!Ruby exclaimed.
"Hah! You're on!" Rutega exclaimed.
"All you know is Explosion!" Kazuma called out.
"You try and blow this place down and I'm putting a magic seal on you for a week, Megumin." Lumine deadpanned.
"Guess we'd…better get going. We'll catch you a Litten along the way to the Plaza, Rutega. Even though you can take a nuke to the face, you really shouldn't be the one to suffer Megumin's wrath. Besides, Saiyans don't like to lose." Glimmer said.
"Pfft, nah, don't worry about it. I won't lose." Rutega smiled.
"They have their pride after all." Yuri said.
"Yeah…guess I'll be getting my own link too." DH Ruby said.
"Don't think we're being left out." Yang said as both Team RWBY and JNPR headed out into the wild.
"Even though I have my Perfect Link…" Hibiki said, calling out Luca the Lucario, wearing a white dual scarf. "I still want to explore the place."
"Should be an interesting experience to learn, Hibiki-san." Luca spoke using telepathy so everyone can hear.
"You guys can hear Luca, right?" Hibiki asked the Alliance.
"Oh, you can speak to your Pokémon telepathically too? Cool!" Mark said.
"Hai!" Hibiki nodded. "You can thank Luca for teaching me Aura. Also… your Pokémon are a little crazy and weird."
"Yeah…that's what happens when ancient deities reincarnate into Pokémon." Mark said with a sigh and a smile. "Actually, since you're just exploring…why don't you and Luca stick with us? You can get an opportunity to see the crazy and weird in person." he joked.
"Oh don't worry. She's seen plenty of those already." Miku replied.
"M-Miku, don't say that!" Hibiki stuttered.
"Too late, baka." Chris smirked.
"C-Chris-chan!" Hibiki stuttered again.
Chris then felt a shock hit her from behind as she looked at a Zebstrika staring right at her.
"Oi! What the heck!" Chris glared.
"An electric zebra?" Gunvolt noticed.
"Zebstrika. A Pokémon from the Unova region." Leia said.
"...I call dibs." Gunvolt smirked, pulling out a Hisuian Ultra Ball, and immediately threw it at Zebstrika. Once it's inside, all it takes is three shakes and a small firework fired above the Pokéball to confirm the capture. "And you're now on my team." He declared, taking the captured Pokémon and sending him out.
Joule then appeared beside him with a smirk. "Wow, already got to work with that one huh, GV? But I'm not surprised since you're the Azure Striker."
"You know what's special about Zebstrika, he also knows Fire moves. Really good ones." Gaius mentioned.
"More options, huh?" Gunvolt mused. "Sounds interesting. I think he and Lux will get along just fine."
Meanwhile, in the great race for the Litten, Rutega had managed to track one down as she was preparing a Great Ball in hand to catch it, checking around to make sure she was the only one near it, chuckling to herself.
"Perfect. Mine for the taking." Rutega smiled, throwing her Great Ball at it.
"Oh, you got one already?" Kiana noticed, holding a Hisuian Great Ball. "I got mine too earlier."
"Hueh? Earlier!?" Rutega exclaimed as she caught her Litten. "...D'aaaaaw…. Dang it!"
"You girls are way too slow." Megumin said standing on higher as a Litten stood on her shoulders alongside her familiar.
"Not so faaaast~" Ruby's voice called out as FS!Ruby was smiling at Megumin slyly, a Litten curled up on her head. "I think you need to remember who the champion of speed is around here, missy~"
Kiana chuckled. "Looks like you all got one. That's great. And honestly, I'm not competing for anything. I just came here to have fun and relax after that whole Emblem hunt."'
"Yeah…how about we just call it a draw?" Megumin said.
"You know, I'd like that. I'd rather not be on the receiving end of a nuke to the face today." Rutega smiled. "Besides, I got one more Pokémon I need to catch to complete my team. …What I really need is to find it." Rutega grumbled.
"What are you looking for?" FS!Ruby asked.
"A Torchic, or any of its evolutions." Rutega answered.
"Ah, want another Fire and Fighting type on your team besides Infernape?" Glimmer asked. "Well, I think they could be in the Polar Biome. We'll check that place out after we go see Carmine."
"To the Central Plaza!" Ed declared as he ran up, before Mark caught him.
"Ed, no! You are not carrying Rutega!" Mark chided. "Sorry…he gets excited and carries people sometimes. We're working on it."
"Oh, like he's doing to Ruby right now?" Rutega asked.
"Central Plaza, awayyyy!" Ed exclaimed.
"Put me down! HEEEEEEEYYYYY!" FS!Ruby exclaimed.
"Ed!" Mark yelled in a combination of shock, horror, and embarrassment Before he took off after the boy. "You put that Demon Lord down this instant!"
"...It's like this every day with us." Double D sighed as the rest of Mark's group watched the chase unfold.
"Is it…?" Kathlaa asked in concern, before FS!Ruby suddenly shifted herself, and double stomped Ed to the dirt!
"There! Agh… learn to respect a Demon Lord better, you brute!" FS!Ruby scoffed as she dusted off, before leaving Ed comically molded partially into the dirt.
"Y'know that reminds me to ask… are you an actual demon?" Glimmer asked.
"'Now?' What do you mean now? I've always been one as long as you've all known me. I wasn't always one but I have been for a loooong time." FS!Ruby explained.
"Oh, so you're just in a human form. You can always unleash your demon form when you go devil trigger or something." Mermista said.
"...Uh… wha…?" FS!Ruby asked. "...Do… none of you get the concept of a Demon Lord? This is me as a demon."
"Sorry. We've met a LOT of different kinds of demons over the years." Glimmer said.
"But have you met any as powerful or awe-inspiring as me?" FS!Ruby asked with a knowing smile.
"Well…we ran into Devilman in New York while hanging out with Spider-Man. Does he count?" Eddy asked.
"And don't forget about the Demon Primordials." Double D said.
"...Yeah you clearly haven't." FS!Ruby sighed. "No worries, prepare to be amazed. I have a tale that will knock your socks off on everything you know about demons! From Killia all the way to the top, I'll tell you things about Demon Lords that'll change how you look at them! You'll be absolutely enlightened!"
"Like a light bulb?" Ed asked as he pried himself from the ground, causing FS!Ruby to face palm.
"Ohhhh this is gonna take a while…" FS!Ruby sighed.
Kanade chuckled, approaching FS!Ruby. "You'll get used to it. By the way, I got myself a Torchic earlier before coming here."
"Where did you catch it!?" Rutega asked, bowling over Ed again to get to Kanade.
"Just go from where I came. The south." Kanade replied, gesturing her thumb behind her shoulder. "Though you'd better hurry before other Pokémon go after those cute fire chicks."
"Thank you!" Rutega exclaimed, rushing south.
"You really wanted Torchic, huh?" Kiana smirked.
"Can you blame me? She's adorable!" Kanade gushed. "Almost as much as Maria gushed over Piplup due to her love of penguins."
"I HEARD THAT, KANADE AMOU!" Maria shouted from… somewhere.
"...Should've kept my mouth shut for that one." Kanade sweatdropped.
It wasn't long before Mark's group finally arrived at the Central Plaza. There, they saw Carmine chatting it up with another student. She was dark-skinned and had black hair with silver screw accessories on the tips of her ponytails, and both noticed the group coming.
"It's about time! Do you know how long I've been waiting here at school for you to show up ever since you went off on your little fantasy quest?" Carmine asked, shaking her hands.
"Hey, give us a break, we were fighting a big war against an evil dragon," Mermista said.
"All that aside, it's good to see you again, Carmine." Glimmer said.
"Yes…it is a pleasure to meet you too." the woman said as she moved robotically. "I am Amarys. Carmine has told me of you all."
"Has she now?" Rutega smirked.
"You're Rutega… from the 2nd Perfect Link tournament, yes? You made quite an impact then, as well as your friend Siege, as he won the entire event." Amarys said.
"Didn't think we made that huge of an impact but, thank you, regardless." Rutega smiled.
"Carmine, there's something I need to ask you about, how's-" Mark started to ask.
"We'll get to that later. First, you guys need to owe up to the promise you made back in Kitakami." Carmine said.
"...Marrrrk. What's going on." Rutega asked.
"She wants a battle." Mark said with a sigh. "If it'll get you to talk, sure. We can have a battle."
"Alright, there's a battle court here in the Plaza. Get in position." Carmine said.
"It seems as if you all have some catching up to do. I'll be taking my leave then." Amarys said.
"OK, see ya later, Amarys!" Carmine called as the robotic-like student took her leave. "OK Marker, you ready for a Double Battle? You won't know what hit you!"
"Double Battles, huh…" Rutega remarked as she watched with folded arms.
(Cue: Battle! Vs. Carmine - Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)
Star-Buster Leader Mark Anarchy
VS.
Pokémon Trainer Carmine
"I'll give you a special treat since you and your friends came all this way! Get ready to eat Terarium dirt!" Carmine said. "Go, Toucannon! Mightyena!" she said, sending both Toucannon and Mightyena out.
"A flier to back up one of your Kitakami signatures, huh? In that case… you're up, Sai and Kabuto!" Mark sent out two additions from Kitakami. Sai was a Heracross, and Kabuto was a Vikavolt.
"(Looks like the two of us are working together.)" Kabuto remarked.
"(So we are…first one to knock out their enemy wins?)" Sai proposed.
"(Accepted!)" the Vikavolt agreed.
"Two Bug-types? Gee, thanks for the advantage! Toucannon, use Flame Charge on Vikavolt and Mightyena, use Super Fang on Heracross!" Carmine said as both Pokémon moved in for their targets.
"Bad move on her part." Glimmer said.
"One problem with that strat, Carmine." Mark said. "Kabuto's Bug and Electric! And Sai's Bug and Fighting! Discharge and Seismic Toss, fellas!"
Kabuto unleashed a powerful electric surge against Toucannon and Mightyena as Sai grabbed Mightyena and tossed it, both Pokémon falling in an instant.
"Grr…so annoying. Return!" Carmine said, recalling both of them. "I'll get you for that. Go! Scrafty! Sinistcha!" she said, sending out Scrafty and a strange green blob in a teacup.
"Now we've never seen that before." Eddy said as Double D looked it up.
"Sinistcha, the Matcha Pokémon and the evolved form of Poltchageist! A Grass and Ghost type! It pretends to be tea, trying to fool people into drinking it so it can drain their life-force. Its ruse is generally unsuccessful." its entry read.
"Figures you'd have that Pokémon." Mark said as he returned the two Bug types. "Tengu, Titania, you're up!" he sent out a Nuzleaf and Ribombee, respectively.
"You may have gotten me back in Kitakami…but I have something I didn't have back then." Carmine said holding a Tera Orb.
"Oh? Are you sure you want to do that?" Mark asked.
"Yeah. It's time to Tera it up!" Carmine said gathering power as she tossed the orb to Sinistcha, Terastalizing it into a pure Grass type.
"Okay. Titania, Bug Buzz on the fine china, please." Mark stated.
"(Terribly sorry!)" the queen apologized as she struck Sinistcha with the Bug type move, taking it out quickly.
"You will be avenged. Scrafty, use Ice Punch on that bug!" Carmine said as Scrafty leapt towards Titania.
"Tengu, Spite." Mark said with a smile, as Tengu used the Ghost type move to drain Scrafty of the Ice Punch's power. "Now, let's see: what was Scrafty weak against? Oh yeah. Fairy type moves. Titania, Fairy Wind!"
"(Apologies, dear. Do work hard to improve!)" Titania said with sincerity as she unleashed the mythical wind and took the Dark/Fighting type out.
(end song)
"That's a game, Carmine! Mark wins again!" Glimmer said.
"Dangit! I thought all that training I did while i was helping out Ms. Briar with her research would at least gimme more of an edge on you." Carmine said.
"And me without my ace team…" Mark sighed dramatically. "Wow, it's almost like I've been saving up for someone else. Oh, but who could that possibly be, I wonder? Oh, I know… Kieran! Tell me where the heck your brother is, so I can see what I did."
Carmine was about to say something before they heard voices below the court. "Shh." she said as they looked down at two people talking. One of them had hair pulled up into a bun.
"Sorry man. But I had a situation at home I couldn't ignore." one student said.
"You haven't kept up with your BBQs or your studies in the club. I'm starting to understand your resolve. I get it." the boy said as the other one sighed in relief. "I'll go and fill out the form for your resignation from the club." he said walking off.
"Hey, that's not what I mean! Please!" the student said.
"Oh…Kiki…" Carmine said.
"Wait, THAT'S Kieran?!" Glimmer said. "I almost didn't recognize him."
"Yeah, not at all what you were expecting, huh?" Carmine said. "Ever since Mark beat him for Ogerpon back in Kitakami during the school trip, he's looked different, acted different. He's changed a lot. So much so…he's become the champion of our school league here."
"Wait, he's Champion level now?" Mark asked. "No way…That's…"
"Mark, this isn't your fault. Please don't-" Double D started.
"...so cool!" Mark finished. "I mean, this isn't at all what I meant when I said to keep getting stronger, but man! He's actually gotten to Champion! Way to go, Kieran!"
"So, were you just not paying attention to what he just did before? He was acting like a total bully to that other guy." Glimmer said.
"He's just gotten way too serious. I'm sure I can get him to lighten up a bit." Mark said, with a subtle eye twitch. "I mean…it's not like I screwed him up completely. It's not yet another mistake I'm unable to fix. He's not gone yet!" he said with a strained laugh.
"...Oh dear, he's in denial." Double D winced.
"Well, there goes the peaceful break." Eddy added.
"Well, this is painful to watch." another voice caught the group's attention (Carmine stiffening up) as they saw a boy walking casually up to him. "Hey, if it isn't Carmine! And Carmine's new… mystery friends!"
"Ugh! You're the last person I wanted to see right now!" Carmine said.
"Harsh. Think I might've heard of you guys though. Are you all members of the same group with all kinds of wild backstories?" the new boy asked.
"Yeah, that's us." Mark said, regaining his composure. "And you are…?"
"The worst. He's the worst." Carmine said bluntly.
"C'mon now, at least introduce me!" the boy smiled smugly.
Carmine groaned again. "Everyone, this is Drayton…and he's the worst."
"The worst times three?!" the group exclaimed in unison.
"He's the strongest trainer at Blueberry Academy. Well, he WAS, at least." Carmine continued.
"Beautiful intro. Thanks." Drayton replied, cool as a cucumber, before he turned to Mark. "You friends with Kieran?"
"It's a bit complica-"
"Yes. We're friends." Mark replied.
"Ohohoho! I see!" Drayton said. "Say…you and your friends haven't seen any of the clubrooms yet, right? Why don't I show you all the one my club uses?" he said, taking Mark's shoulder as he started leading them off.
"That guy…just what is he scheming this time?" Carmine wondered.