Something different was happening.

That was the best way he could describe it. Normally the Slumbering Weald was a quiet, calm place, mostly left untouched by Trainers who dared not venture into it and risk witnessing the truth behind one of the many, many ghost stories told about the dark, mist-shrouded forest. The woods were left undisturbed, the Wild Pokemon free to go about and do as they pleased. Sure, occasionally some brave or foolish Trainer would stumble into the woods - such was the nature of Trainers - but oftentimes they soon left again, with or without a freshly-caught Pokemon, and all was calm once more.

But this was different. On the edge of his senses, ranging over the entirety of the vast forest, he could feel chaos. The stirring of hundreds, upraised in fear or rage or something else entirely.

He grunted. It was his duty, as one of the foremost protectors of Galar, to investigate. From far away, hopefully, for he did not prefer to be seen.

And so Zamazenta rose from where he lay and began to step into the surrounding forest.

"Sniper: Aspectum," Kriesh murmured, tapping into Sniper to enhance her sight. With zoomed-in vision, she began to look around, searching the surrounding hilly, pasture-covered landscape for any sign of Hop or Gloria.

"Keen Eye?"

She'd momentarily forgotten Leon's Charizard was right behind her. Kriesh shook her head. "Sniper - I'm just using it to aim my vision further away than I could normally."

"Heh, not a bad trick," Charizard admitted. He said nothing more as he moved to Kriesh's side, straining his own eyes.

Sense enhancement had been quite a difficult trick for Kriesh to learn - when Medicham had first suggested it, she'd thought the Fighting/Psychic-type had gone insane. My Ability is Sniper, not Keen Eye, she'd told Medicham.

That doesn't mean you can't approximate the latter by using the former, Medicham had pointed out. Look at Connie's Tyranitar! Sand Rush is supposed to be the Ability that lets you turn into living sand, not Sand Stream. But he figured out how to approximate Sand Rush through training and experience - what's stopping you from doing something similar?

Kriesh would freely admit that Medicham had been right. Her sense-magnification techniques - plus Vox - had proven to be some of the most useful utility moves in her arsenal.

The names had also been Medicham's suggestion - actually, they'd been Darkrai's, apparently taken from an ancient language spoken even before the War of Legends. Despite them not following her usual theme for attack names, Kriesh had ultimately decided she'd liked the ring of them. Vox. Aspectum. Auditus. Gustus. Odoratus. Tactus.

Of them, Tactus - touch - was the only one she hadn't yet figured out. When mastered, it would give Kriesh the power to 'aim' the point of impact of her melee strikes at another point entirely, essentially allowing her to turn a melee attack into an insanely accurate ranged attack. But unlike the others, which simply allowed her to point a single sense at a specific direction, tactus had to be combined with another attack, which was the difficult part. She simply couldn't wrap her head around the concept of doing so much at once, and the technique always seemed to fizzle out.

Kriesh started as she realized she'd gotten lost in her own head, and that Charizard was looking at her as if waiting for a response to something. "I'm sorry?" she asked.

Charizard's voice held an obvious undercurrent of irritation. "You're flying too far to the left - I doubt they would have strayed too far from the path."

"I'm sorry," she said.

Charizard sighed, expelling a small gout of flame from his nostrils, and looked back down at the hills. Kriesh glanced over at him; the Champion-level Pokemon seemed outright alarmed, eyes filled with something resembling desperation as they scanned the area.

Of course. Hop's his Trainer's brother…no wonder he's so irritated. Kriesh swallowed. Does he think I'm not taking this seriously enough?

Tapping into Aspectum again, Kriesh resumed her search of the hills below. Every time a new hill came within sight, she tried to calm her fluttering heart by telling herself that Hop and Gloria were probably on the other side of it. Every time she was disappointed, and with each disappointment her heart fluttered faster and faster, until she thought it would leap straight out of her chest with how hard and fast it was thumping.

"Look."

Charizard's voice came out as a whisper, barely audible over Kriesh's own heartbeat. But Kriesh heard, and so she looked to where Charizard was gesturing. He was pointing to a fence gate that Kriesh recognized after a few seconds as the one that Marcus, Hop, and Gloria had seen a Wooloo trying to tackle down.

The gate was now open, and that Wooloo was gone.

"That gate is never open," Charizard growled. "It leads straight into the Slumbering Weald - if it's left open, wild Pokemon from the Weald could easily come out and attack passing Trainers."

Kriesh focused her Aspectum-enhanced sight on the gate - and let out a quiet gasp. "What?" Charizard asked.

"Two sets of footprints," Kriesh murmured. "Human. Fresh."

Charizard let out a curse. "We must alert our Trainers."

"Can't we just go in ourselves?" Kriesh asked.

"The Slumbering Weald spans hundreds of miles," Charizard growled. "We could search for days and not find them."

It's the Swarm all over again. Kriesh nodded. "Then let's not waste any time," she said, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

Ten minutes later, Kriesh and Charizard were flying towards the gate to the Slumbering Weald once again, this time with their respective Trainers on their backs and at the fastest speed Kriesh could manage. Charizard, who definitely could manage a faster speed, was hanging back to allow Kriesh to keep up - she knew this by the fact that he occasionally put on a burst of speed, fear disrupting his steady pace.

Leon was equally worried, judging by the fact that his hands were white from gripping Charizard so tightly. He'd practically hurled himself onto Charizard's back the instant he'd heard Hop and Gloria were likely in the Slumbering Weald - and, judging by what few snatches Kriesh had picked up about the place, there was good reason for that worry.

The Slumbering Weald was, simply put, a forest filled with Wild Pokemon that was easy to get lost in. A strong Trainer likely wouldn't encounter that many dangers in it, but Hop and Gloria, who had just two young and inexperienced Pokemon each?

Kriesh thought back to her first meeting with Marcus. He'd just had Meditite and Skorupi then, and she, by herself, had defeated both of them and likely would have badly wounded Marcus, if not killed him outright, if he hadn't managed to catch her while she was off-balance and wounded.

The thought of Hop and Gloria encountering something like that - and what might happen if they did - was not one Kriesh wanted to entertain.

"We're here."

Leon's voice was curt. Kriesh at once maneuvered into a dive, noting Charizard doing the same. Air whirled around him, slowing him as he dove - a calculated use of Tailwind, perfectly calculated so that it would slow his descent just enough to ensure he wouldn't be hurt by the landing. Kriesh wished she could do something like that - Tailwind was a fiendishly complicated technique, and easily one of the most versatile Flying-type moves available for a Pokemon to learn.

Kriesh was forced to content herself with a normal, much slower landing. She'd grown quite practiced at Fly, but even so she was slow enough that Charizard was shifting impatiently by the time she finally settled onto the ground.

"We'll need to split up," said Leon. "Cover more ground."

"Agreed," said Marcus. "You go right, I'll go left?"

"Sure." Leon wasted no time, striding into the forest with Charizard, taking to the air once more, flying close behind.

Recalling Kriesh into her Luxury Ball, Marcus followed.

Normally the gel inside was comforting, but at this point no amount of comfort could assuage Kriesh's worry. Oh, Arceus, she thought, please let us find Hop and Gloria soon…and please don't let them have gotten themselves into trouble…

Grookey tried and failed to stop the trembling of his body. It was impossible to stop himself from feeling afraid; how could he not be scared when facing such a terrifying foe?

Even if we can somehow beat this Corviknight, there's still that horde of Rookidee and Corvisquire. Not to mention that Mandibuzz. Grookey saw the Dark/Flying-type that had led them to this clearing, standing up on her own branch and watching the proceedings with a terrifying smirk on her face. How are we going to ever get out of this?

Throughout the first two months of his life, when he and Scorbunny and Sobble had all been growing up in the laboratory together, things had been so very carefree. They'd played and sparred and eaten together without a care in the world. There had only been two things to disrupt that playful atmosphere - firstly, the knowledge that eventually they would be forced to split up, given to different Trainers, probably even forced to fight each other in real battles.

And secondly, the stories, told by older Pokemon, about the dangers of the Slumbering Weald. And about how they were to never, ever go in there.

This would be why.

But even as fear temporarily froze Grookey in place, he saw out of the corner of his eye a fluffy white shape on the opposite side of the clearing. A trembling Wooloo, watching with widened eyes, a Rookidee on either side of him. That's the Wooloo we've been hunting, Grookey realized. So he got captured by this 'Great Flock' as well…was this all one big trap that we've just walked into?

"What's the matter?" Corviknight asked mockingly. "Scared? You should be. I wouldn't expect mercy if I were you…after all, you've already made your choice."

"Scorbunny, Ember!" Gloria shouted. "Bunnelby, get up close and keep him away from Scorbunny!"

"Grookey, Wooloo, join Bunnelby!" Hop cried. "He won't be able to concentrate if everyone comes at him at once!"

All four Trained Pokemon sprang into action at their Trainers' commands, Scorbunny hanging back while the other three lunged for Corviknight.

Bunnelby was the first to reach Corviknight; with a cry of "Swift Ear!" she swung a Quick Attack-boosted ear-swipe at Corviknight's side. Corviknight raised his wing to block the attack; his steely body didn't even budge from the powerful swipe, and with a growl of "Mirror Wing," Corviknight lashed out with a Steel energy-enhanced wing-strike that caught Bunnelby in the chin and sent her flying backwards head-over-tail.

"Mirror Wing," Corviknight snarled again, twisting to catch the incoming Wooloo with his other wing. As Wooloo flew off to the side, Scorbunny finally launched his Ember with a yell of "Goal Kick!", while at the same time, Grookey swung his branch at Corviknight with his own yell of "Branch Stroke!"

"Hmph." Corviknight dug his claws into the ground, and in one fluid motion unleashed a spray of Ground energy at Grookey. Reasoning his resistance to Ground might help, Grookey kept running, but as he flung himself into the teeth of Corviknight's attack he felt a sudden stinging agony in his eyes as his vision practically shut down. Grookey reeled, swinging his stick wildly; the attack hit empty air, and a rough growl of "Mirror Beak" was all the warning he got before something hard and sharp struck his stomach and sent him flying backwards.

Rubbing his eyes to try and clear out what was definitely a Sand-Attack, Grookey opened his eyes just in time to see another of Scorbunny's Embers falter in the face of Corviknight's Sand-Attack. The cheers of the surrounding Rookidees didn't help the situation.

"We have to get an opening for Scorbunny to land an Ember!" Gloria cried.

"Got it!" said Hop. "Wooloo, Rollout! Grookey, go in again!"

Shaking his head - the Sand-Attack was still irritating his eyes and blurring his vision - Grookey charged, watching Wooloo do the same, calling out "Woolly Rush!" as he did so.

"Idiot," Corviknight spat. "Mirror Wing."

"Twist and Double Kick!" Hop cried.

At the same time, Gloria called out, "Bunnelby, Agility and Quick Attack!"

Unfortunately, Corviknight was a lot faster than any of them had expected. "Iron Mirror!" he cried; his entire body erupted in a sheen of Steel energy, and as Grookey, Bunnelby, and Wooloo all slammed their attacks into him, they were all met and disappointed by what had to be Iron Defense. Corviknight, completely unscathed, glowered at the trio. "Dual Mirror Wing," he growled, lashing out with both wings in a sweeping double-blow that knocked all three of his attackers away once more.

"Goal Kick!" Scorbunny cried, but once more Corviknight was fast enough to send up a Sand-Attack to overwhelm the Fire-type Starter's Ember. "Don't you get it?" the Steel/Flying-type cried. "I am your superior in every way! You're nothing compared to me. You should just give up and let your pathetic excuses for Trainers be slaughtered!"

A tiny flare of Dark energy seemed to spark in Corviknight's eyes as he spoke, and Grookey felt a sudden flash of rage. "He's using Taunt!" Hop warned; Grookey, who had been about to throw himself at Corviknight without any strategy whatsoever, felt himself snap back to reality just in time to see Corviknight coming at him with Flying energy coursing around his beak. "Mirror Beak!"

"Branch Poke!" Grookey thrust his stick forwards, attempting to contest, but Corviknight's attack was simply too powerful. A loud sound of cracking wood rent the air as Corviknight's beak pierced straight through the Grass energy surrounding the stick, then the stick itself, cleaving it in two before slamming straight into Grookey's chest. Grookey fell back, pain exploding across his chest; the only reason he wasn't unconscious was because his now-shattered branch had managed to blunt the impact somewhat.

"Dual Hoof-"

"Mirror Wing." Corviknight casually backhanded Wooloo with a swing of his Steel energy-wreathed wing. Hop's Normal-type slammed into a tree and fell to the ground, clearly winded if not unconscious. "Now, let's see about-"

"Full Speed: Rapid Ear!"

"Iron Mirror!" Corviknight snarled as Bunnelby slammed an impressively quick ear-strike into him, though again his Iron Defense completely blunted the attack. "Mirror Wing," Corviknight growled, but to both his and Grookey's surprise, the Agility-boosted Bunnelby was fast enough to duck the attack and come up to deliver another Rapid Ear to Corviknight's stomach. Again, though, Iron Defense frustrated Bunnelby, and this time Corviknight simply lashed out with a point-blank Mirror Beak and sent Bunnelby flying away once again. Gloria's Normal-type rolled uncontrollably across the ground; even before she came to a stop, Grookey could tell she was out of the fight.

But she'd given Scorbunny the opening he needed, for now the Fire-type was leaping strongly towards Corviknight, an Ember larger than anything Grookey had seen from him before atop his left foot. "Corner Kick!" he cried, sending the mote of flame streaking towards Corvknight from a high enough angle that no Sand-Attack would be able to counter it.

Corviknight smirked. "Mirror Armor."

Instead of the Steel energy of Iron Defense, Corviknight's armor erupted with a shining sheen. Scorbunny's Ember struck true, striking right at the center of one of the Steel/Flying-type's wings; the wing flashed with light, and to Grookey's shock the Ember bounced off and flew back at Scorbunny. Completely unprepared, Scorbunny was tossed away by his own Ember, landing in a crumpled heap on the ground.

Corviknight let out a shrieking laugh. "All that work and all you did was make me use my Ability!" He glared at Scorbunny, who was staggering to his feet, and Grookey, who was still standing, holding half of his broken stick while the other half lay ruined on the ground. "Mirror Armor allows my body to act like a mirror! Any attack you launch at me, I can simply reflect it back at you! With Iron Defense to stop physical attacks and Mirror Armor to counter everything else, nothing can overcome my defense! I'm unbreakable!"

Grookey looked over at Wooloo and Bunnelby's fallen forms and gulped. He's right…with how weak our attacks are, none of our physical hits can possibly make it through his Iron Defense. And if he can deflect Embers that easily…we lost this battle before it even started.

We're all going to die here.

Corviknight erupted into another bout of triumphant laughter as around him his Great Flock cheered for him. "Do you all see?" he called to the sky. "You need not be afraid of Trainers, for that is how weak they truly are! Now, my Great Flock, it is time! Descend upon these Trainers and rip them apart! Tear them into bloody pieces for daring to believe that they could possibly be stronger than us Wild Pokemon!"

Grookey rounded on Hop. "We have to run now!" he cried; knowing Hop couldn't understand him, he punctuated the statement with a rapid thrust of his hand in the opposite direction.

Hop glanced at Gloria. "Let's get out of here!" he cried, running his fingers over his Pokeballs to recall Wooloo and Grookey into them. Gloria did the same with Scorbunny and Bunnelby. As the entire horde of Rookidees and Corvisquires began to come down upon them with echoing screeches, Gloria turned and ran as fast as she could away.

So did Hop. But not away.

Instead, in a move that Grookey at once realized was at the same time extremely brave and blindingly stupid, Hop dove forwards. The two Rookidees guarding the captured Wooloo hadn't expected him to charge, and leaped backwards, startled; Hop scooped up the Wooloo in both hands, turned on his heel, and hared after Gloria.

The horde fell on Hop; he paid for his recklessness with a few claw-swipes and pecks that left small pinpricks of blood on his face, but he managed to somehow get clear. Grookey couldn't see where Gloria was, couldn't see the path that they'd come here by.

Hop was faster than the pursuing horde. Gradually, Grookey could hear their shrieks and cries growing further and further away, their wingbeats echoing more and more as Hop kept running heedless of where he was going.

Only knowing that he needed to get away.

"You lost them?"

"We didn't think they would be so fast." The Corvisquire addressing Corviknight was trying to keep from trembling. "Once they got out of sight, we-"

"Decided to turn around and start complaining to me?" Corviknight interrupted. "Idiots. They can't run forever. Their stamina is lesser to ours. You would have caught up with them if you'd kept pursuing."

"We apologize, Corviknight," said the Corvisquire with bowed head. "What should we do now?"

"Split into groups and find them," Corviknight snarled. "If they are allowed to leave this forest alive, no one will take us seriously. Do you understand the stakes of this?"

"Yes," said the Corvisquire, "I do."

"Then go," Corviknight growled. "And do not return until you have found and slaughtered every last Trainer and Trained Pokemon in this forest!"

"All right, here's the plan." The gathered members of the team looked up at Marcus as he addressed them. "At this point, Hop and Gloria could be anywhere in this forest, so we're going to have to split up. Teams of two - Drapion and Houndoom, Liepard and Pangoro, Kriesh and Trevenant, Kamado and Cloyster, and Medicham, you're with me. No one stray too far - no less than half a mile away. We don't want to get lost ourselves."

Liepard nodded along with the rest of them. But she couldn't help but feel a small amount of confusion as the team began to gather into their respective groups. She was quite good at sneaking, and would be difficult to spot for any wild Pokemon who might want a piece of her, but Pangoro was about as good at stealth as a drunken Hydreigon. Houndoom would have been a much better partner for her in this situation.

"Well, shall we?"

Pangoro's gruff voice stirred Liepard from her thoughts. She looked up at the towering form of the Dark/Fighting-type. "Which direction?" she asked.

"I'd say we head to the left," Pangoro growled. "The rest seem to be moving straight ahead or to the right."

"Bien, then to the left it shall be," Liepard agreed.

Ten minutes later, Liepard was already realizing exactly why this forest had earned its reputation.

It was almost unnatural how easy it was to get lost in. A fog constantly swirled across the ground, covering tracks and ensuring that one could not retrace their steps. Every tree looked identical to every other tree. Half the ground was covered in thick bushes that were also nigh-indistinguishable from one another. And there were absolutely no paths through this endless tangle of nature.

The only reason Liepard and Pangoro hadn't gotten lost yet was because Liepard had been marking their path via swift and careful claw-slashes across the various tree trunks, producing a trail that would lead them back to Marcus when the time came. The Trainer and Medicham had stayed where they were so as to make sure none of Marcus's Pokemon got lost.

A loud crack came from beside, and Liepard turned to glare at Pangoro. This was the third branch he'd stepped on in the past five minutes, and each snapped branch nearly made Liepard jump. Pangoro huffed, turning his head away from Liepard, his eyes scanning the sea of tree trunks and swirling mist.

"Are you…sensing anything off about this forest?" Pangoro asked.

Liepard glanced up at him once more. "You're not scared, are you?"

"Of course not," Pangoro growled. "Remember, I lived a full life in the forests of Alola before I even met Marcus. I know what kind of dangers lurk in them, and I conquered those dangers long ago." He paused. "But I am slightly unsettled."

"Ah, pray tell," Liepard murmured.

"Listen," Pangoro. "Hear anything?"

Liepard stopped. Listened. Her fur began to rise at the realization that no, she couldn't hear anything. Not even the typical faraway cries and shuffles that marked the presence of wild Pokemon. It was as if the forest was completely barren, empty of all but the two of them.

Liepard allowed herself a quiet sigh; even that seemed far too loud. "I see," she said. "I think we can both safely admit that something is not right here. We should probably-"

The remainder of Liepard's sentence died in her throat as a sudden rush of wings assailed her ears. She twisted to see a group of half a dozen Rookidee lunging out of the bushes behind her, battle cries emanating from their beaks. Their outstretched, energy-wreathed claws left no doubt as to their intentions.

But if they'd intended to launch a surprise attack, they'd chosen the wrong Pokemon to conduct it on.

"Farceur," Liepard hissed, tapping into her Prankster Ability. Once she had merely used it to increase the speed of her moves, but under Medicham's tutelage, she had learned to imbue her muscles with it as well, increasing her own speed and reaction time. As such, even before all of the Rookidees had left the bush, Liepard had already spun and launched herself at the group of assailants, claws outstretched.

"Farceur: Tranche Furieuse."

Again augmented by Prankster, Liepard's claws lashed out with a Fury Swipes, slashing one, two, three, four, five times in the space of a single half-second. By the time the sixth Rookidee had emerged from the bush, the other five were already tumbling to the ground. Their unconscious bodies landed with a thump-thump-thump-thump-thump on the mist-covered forest floor; the sixth Rookidee, suddenly realizing that it might just be outmatched, abruptly backwinged, trying to lunge to the side to avoid Liepard.

Unfortunately for that Rookidee, that put it near Pangoro.

"Iron Fist: Bullet Blow."

A loud crack echoed through the woods as Pangoro's Bullet Punch broke what had to be a good few bones and sent the Rookidee flying into a tree trunk. The Flying-type bounced off and joined the rest of his fellows in unconsciousness.

Another flutter of wingbeats sounded from the bush. Liepard crouched, ready for more enemies, but instead she beheld a seventh Rookidee ascending in the opposite direction, flying away from the clearing as fast as its tiny wings could carry it.

Liepard glanced at Pangoro. "Let's see if we can't take that one conscious."

Pangoro grimaced. "Fine." He stepped forwards so that he had clear line-of-sight to the fleeing Rookidee, narrowed his eyes, and tapped into Quash.

Marcus, inspired by his first encounter with the Pancham line before he'd even caught Pangoro, had decided to teach Pangoro the move fairly soon after the Battle of Alola. It hadn't really caught on - Pangoro preferred to simply punch his way out of problems rather than apply any sort of mental strength - but in a situation like this, when the quarry was out of melee range and not closing for a fight, Quash was most definitely the best option Pangoro had for simple incapacitation.

Liepard watched as a wave of pressure lanced out from Pangoro, crossed the distance between him and the fleeing Rookidee, and slammed into the Flying-type; instantly, the Flying-type's wings locked up and it fell into a bush. Liepard was hurtling forwards in an instant; still augmented by Prankster, she cleared the bush in front of her in a single bound and was at the one the Rookidee had fallen into in four more.

She reached the bush just in time to see the Rookidee stumble out, clearly badly unbalanced by the slowing effect of Quash. Liepard fixed it with a glare, tapping into her rarely-used Growl to add that extra intimidation factor. It worked perfectly; the Rookidee stopped moving, gazing up at Liepard and the approaching Pangoro with terror in its eyes. "What…what…what kind of Wild Pokemon are you?"

Wild Pokemon? Liepard glanced over at Pangoro before looking back at Rookidee. "We're Trained Pokemon, not Wild," she said. "Why did you and your group attack us?"

"Trained Pokemon?" The Rookidee's eyes widened even further. "That…that's impossible! Corviknight said that all Trained Pokemon were weak! He showed us how weak they were!"

"Corviknight?" Pangoro growled. "Who's he, your leader? Did he tell you to attack us?"

"He…he said that we had to hunt down and kill the two Trainers he beat!" Rookidee was obviously terrified, and obviously not focused on keeping secrets. "He says all Trainers and Trained Pokemon in the forest should die! When…when we saw you, we…assumed you were Trained Pokemon, because we didn't recognize you, so we attacked. We didn't think you were actually strong!"

"Two Trainers?" Liepard's eyes narrowed. "What did they look like?"

"Um…um…" Rookidee seemed barely able to get out a coherent sentence now. "A…dark-haired…male Trainer, and…a brown-haired female…"

Pangoro's eyes darkened. "We need to get to Marcus now," he growled.

"Agreed." Liepard's paw lashed out, striking straight between the Rookidee's eyes and dropping it like a stone. The two whirled and raced back in the direction they'd came, not even paying attention to the clearing behind them.

The clearing where a single fallen Rookidee was beginning to feebly stir.

Hop was lost.

There was no other word for it. Any attempt at retracing his steps had been thwarted by the mists of the Slumbering Weald, and as Grookey watched from inside his Pokeball, he could see nothing but an endless maze of identical trees in all directions.

"Well, this is a right mess…" Hop murmured, grasping the Wooloo he'd rescued tightly with one hand while reflexively brushing his finger across one of the scratches the Rookidee horde had left with the other. "I'm never, ever gonna rib Lee about getting lost, ever again."

Grookey's ears perked up, for he had begun to hear a sound coming from behind them.

Hop clearly had heard it too, for he began to look behind him, his expression shifting into a frown. "What is…"

Several seconds passed in silence, save for the sound that was growing louder and louder. Grookey felt all his fur beginning to stand up on end, for now the sound was close enough to make out.

Wingbeats.

Hop let out a muffled curse as he dove for the nearest cluster of bushes he could find, nearly dropping the Wooloo in the process. The Wooloo let out a frightened squeal; Hop quickly clamped a hand over its mouth. Ducking into the middle of a copse that lay behind a thick tree trunk, he crouched as low as he could manage. Grookey peered out of his Pokeball, curiosity warring with fear, and saw the vague outlines of a Corvisquire and at least a dozen Rookidee flying swiftly past the tree trunk, disappearing into the foliage in an instant.

It took five more seconds after that before Hop moved again. Grookey's Trainer slowly rose and stepped out from behind the tree, looking around slowly and carefully, getting ready to run. But Grookey saw the rise and fall of his chest, heard his breaths coming out harsher than usual, and knew Hop couldn't run much further before exhaustion overcame him.

"All right," Hop said to himself. "C'mon, Hop, think! There's gotta be a way to figure out which direction to-"

A loud screech galvanized both Hop and Grookey into action.

In an instant Grookey was out on the forest floor - Hop's own Wooloo, being unconscious, didn't join him - and Hop was diving to the side as a Rookidee exploded out of the treetops, throwing several leaves aside in its haste to assault Hop. It missed, its claws slashing through empty air as Hop landed on the ground, grasping the Wooloo tightly. Grookey rounded on the Rookidee as it landed; it twisted, staring into Grookey's eyes with nothing but hatred.

"I thought I heard something back here," the Rookidee growled. It was female, with a voice filled with malice and triumph. "Too long have I been just one of the Great Flock. But when word gets out of my success here today, I will be hailed as a hero to all Wild Pokemon in the Slumbering Weald!"

Despite his own tiredness, the aching from the wounds inflicted upon him by Corviknight, and his lack of his stick - shattered and left behind - Grookey faced the Rookidee with fists clenched. The Rookidee snorted. "And if you're all he has left to stop me, I've already won. A Trained Pokemon could never defeat a Wild Pokemon, and I have a type advantage!"

"What is your problem with us?" Grookey asked. "What have we done to you?"

"For generations," the Rookidee growled, "Trainers like him have assaulted us. Captured us. Taken us from our homes and our families. Why shouldn't we rise up against such tyranny? Your Trainer may not have done anything wrong, at least not yet…but he represents a people that have endlessly wronged us Wild Pokemon! And if you choose to stand in the way of me exacting my vengeance, then I will kill you where you stand! Power Talons!"

Fighting energy, of all things, flared across the Rookidee's talons as she lunged. Grookey dove to the side as the Rookidee impacted upon the space he'd been standing, punching a divot in the earth through sheer force. The Rookidee skidded, unable to stop herself momentarily, but by the time Grookey had recovered and whirled around, the Rookidee had managed to halt her skid.

"Power Beak!" This time the attack was formed of the more traditional Flying energy, but that by no means made Grookey more comfortable. Again he was forced to dive to the side; this time the Rookidee's attack only missed him by inches.

I can't do this without a weapon!

Swiftly, Grookey reached out and grasped the nearest stick. It was irritatingly flimsy, little more than a twig, but it was better than nothing. "Power Talons!" he heard the Rookidee cry again.

Grookey spun. "Branch Stroke!" Grass energy blazed across his stick as he twisted and swung it as hard as he could into the oncoming Rookidee. The stick snapped with a horrifically loud shattering noise, and the Rookidee was sent tumbling to the side, missing Grookey completely.

Swiftly, Grookey snatched up another stick - it wasn't like they were hard to find on the forest floor - and turned to face the Rookidee. What he saw shocked him; the Rookidee was stumbling to her feet, one wing upraised awkwardly, and Grookey took in a rapid breath as he beheld a jagged splinter of wood sticking out of that wing, blood oozing from the point where it had stuck.

The Rookidee glared at Grookey. "You piece of crap! Power Beak!"

With her injured wing, Grookey hadn't expected the Rookidee to go back on the offensive; all he could do was bring his new stick up in front of him in a two-handed grip, trying to ward her off. He was only partially successful - the Rookidee's beak slammed into the center of the stick, shattering it, and the force of the impact sent Grookey stumbling backwards, but he did manage to avoid the worst of the attack.

Of course, that was rendered moot when the Rookidee simply followed up with another Power Talons. Grookey felt the air leave his lungs as the Rookidee's Fighting energy-wreathed claws slammed into his stomach like a vicious punch. He fell to his knees, gasping for air.

The Rookidee twisted and swatted him across the face with another blow from her talons. She cried out as the blow landed; as Grookey tumbled to the ground, his face stinging, he saw her fall as well, having seemingly worsened her own injury through overexertion.

Reaching out, Grookey grasped yet another stick, this one a thick knobbly one more like a club than an actual stick, and began rising, bracing his hands against the forest floor to allow himself to stand. The Rookidee, too, was rising back to her feet; she was nowhere near as badly wounded, but her wing was clearly hampering her.

"Damn it!" the Rookidee cried; Grookey could have sworn she was actually crying. She shook her head. "Come on…" She let out another cry of pain as she rose to her feet, her eyes narrowing at Grookey once more. "How in Distortion are you still up? You took three hits from Corviknight, and that from me - how can you possibly be standing?"

To be honest, Grookey didn't really know. But he chuckled anyway, even though his mind was screaming at him not to provoke the half-mad Flying-type. He glanced over at Hop, who was standing again, the Wooloo in his arms, readying himself to recall Grookey and run should this battle go badly or more Flying-types arrive. But the Trainer had not recalled and ran yet; instead, he was watching the battle closely.

"Because…my Trainer is trusting me to win this!" Grookey retorted. "And I won't let him down!" He flung himself at the Rookidee, surprising even himself with how much energy he was able to dredge up. "Branch Poke!"

The Rookidee tried to dodge, but as she twisted her wing hampered her again, and she wasn't quite fast enough to avoid Grookey's stab. The blunt end of the clublike branch caught the Rookidee right in her already injured wing. She screamed in agony, crumpling to the ground.

"Branch Stroke!"

"Power Beak!"

The Rookidee's beak met Grookey's descending club-stick, and while this time the branch didn't shatter, it still was stalemated by the Flying-type attack. The Rookidee twisted. "Power Trip!" Her uninjured wing, enhanced with Dark energy, came around and slammed into Grookey's chin with an uppercut, knocking him to the ground once more.

"You've got this, Grookey," Hop encouraged.

"Come on…get up!" The Rookidee sounded on the verge of tears. "Get up!" There was a vehemence in her voice that pained Grookey's heart, but he shoved that feeling away. This was an enemy. An enemy who wanted to kill him and his Trainer.

He could not feel sorry for this Rookidee.

"Grookey, she's using all her weapons," Hop said. "You're only using one."

Grookey blinked as he rose to his feet, his entire body aching. Of course. He'd gotten so caught up in replacing his stick that he'd forgotten he had other methods of attacking.

"I…I won't lose!" the Rookidee cried. "Not to you! Hone Claws! Power Talons!"

Mingled Dark and Fighting energy wreathed her talons in a red-black hue as she lunged wildly, hurtling across the ground. Without flight, the Rookidee was nowhere near as fast as she had been, and so Grookey had plenty of time to prepare for the attack. He whirled his stick. "Branch Poke!" he gasped out, jabbing his clublike stick forwards once more, meeting Rookidee's charge.

For the fourth time today, Grookey's stick shattered on impact, the wooden shards flying everywhere but thankfully missing both him and Rookidee. But it had served to stop Rookidee's charge. And as Rookidee stopped short, temporarily motionless, Grookey summoned all the remaining strength he could muster and hurled himself forwards, his non-stick-wielding paw glowing with Normal energy.

Grookey hauled back and delivered a vicious Scratch to the Rookidee's face.

The Rookidee fell once more; Grookey winced as she topped right onto her injured wing. He hadn't known a Pokemon could scream that loudly. Forcing back sympathy once again, Grookey reached down, picked up another stick (without even looking this time), and began to stumble towards the fallen Rookidee.

As he reached her, raising his stick, the Rookidee looked up at him. Her eyes were wild and desperate, and when she spoke there was no more malice. Only terror.

"Please-!"

Grookey couldn't stop himself. The branch slammed into Rookidee, and she crumpled again, her screams finally, mercifully, silenced.

Grookey fell down himself, dropping the branch, sucking in greedy gulps of air. At this point he was pretty sure a strong breeze would be enough to knock him unconscious. He looked over at Hop exhaustedly, but instead of triumph, the boy's eyes were filled with terror, and both he and the Wooloo he was carrying were staring over Grookey's head.

And as Grookey turned his head, trying to see what was wrong, he became suddenly aware of the sound of incoming wingbeats.

Of course the Rookidee's friends were alerted. How could they not have been, with all the screaming?

His heart sank as the Corvisquire and the group of Rookidee that had flown past them earlier emerged. Their eyes flashed with fury as they beheld their fallen compatriot. "Typical Trainers," the Corvisquire snarled. "Separating us to hunt us down one by one like the cowards they are. Rookidee, eliminate-"

Distortion folded in the center of the clearing.

"Hundred Dragon Darts."

Grookey's eyes widened as the ghostly form of a Dragapult materialized, a near-solid wall of Eterna-formed projectiles forming in front of it. The Corvisquire didn't quite have time to shriek, give orders, or really do anything before the barrage of Eterna shot forwards, blasting the entire group of Flying-types back the way they'd come in a flurry of explosions, their shrieks of pain abruptly cut off.

"Lee!" Hop cried joyously as the form of a Trainer - Leon, Grookey recognized - burst into the clearing in a full sprint.

We're safe, Grookey knew, and with that thought darkness came.

Gloria hurtled through the woods, practically hurling aside any branches that got in her way, ignoring any cuts she got from the wood. Scorbunny wanted her to stop. Knew she was hurting herself. But at the same time, he knew that stopping wasn't an option.

The wingbeats behind her made that quite obvious.

Her mistake had been stopping when the wingbeats had receded. Scorbunny could understand the decision - she needed to catch her breath - but she'd held still for far longer than necessary. And now Corviknight's 'Great Flock' had found her again; Scorbunny could tell there were at least two dozen behind her, mingled Corvisquire and Rookidee, their cries indistinguishable from one another as they vied for the opportunity to…

To kill Gloria.

She knew their intentions. Scorbunny could tell by the fear in every shaky breath, the speed she was running despite her clear tiredness. But even terror could only stave off exhaustion for so long. Eventually, she would fall, her body simply giving out. Corviknight's followers would catch up, and…

Scorbunny nearly vomited just from the thought.

Gloria nearly tripped over a root and fell, losing precious time. Scorbunny desperately wished there was something he could do. But no way could he fight off the army behind him by himself.

This could all have been avoided if I'd just managed to take down that Corviknight.

This could all have been avoided if I wasn't so pathetic.

He told himself he could never have won that fight. That even four-on-one Corviknight had beaten Hop and Gloria's teams simultaneously - what was he supposed to do? He'd done everything he could. But that didn't make him feel any better.

I'm such a failure. And that's how I'm going to die. A worthless faliure.

Gloria burst out into a clearing and stopped dead.

"What are you doing?" Scorbunny cried, even though he knew Gloria couldn't hear or understand him. "Run! You have to-"

And then he saw it.

Standing in front of Gloria was a massive four-legged Pokemon with dark red fur. It was covered in scars from many battles, and it dwarfed Gloria in size. Gloria shrank back as the new Pokemon let out a wordless snarl.

Behind Gloria, the Flying-types poured out of the trees, shrieking in ecstasy. All stopped dead as soon as they saw the scarred Pokemon. Scorbunny was pretty sure a few of them gasped outright.

The scarred Pokemon inhaled, and then let out a roar that shook the surrounding trees. "ENOUGH!"

Gloria wobbled, swayed, and then fell. Scorbunny paid no heed to the sound of rapid wingbeats as the Rookidee and Corvisquire took flight; he was focused on his Trainer, who now seemed unconscious, fallen from fright or exhaustion or a mixture.

And on the gigantic form of the scarred Pokemon as it loomed over her, its gaze unreadable.

"What?" Corviknight's eyes glowed with fury. "You're saying that your team of seven Rookidees lost to two Trained Pokemon?"

"They were strong," the Rookidee protested tremblingly. "One of them took down five of us before we could all even engage, and the other-"

"Silence," Corviknight demanded. "I will not hear excuses. It seems that the Great Flock needs another display of my power. Call back the search parties. Which direction were these two Trained Pokemon in?"

"North," the Rookidee answered.

"Then we shall all fly north." Corviknight shifted. "Move."

The Rookidee was up and away in an instant, flying off into the trees to find the nearest search party.

"Interesting," said Mandibuzz. "Strong Trained Pokemon."

"They may have been strong enough to defeat a small fraction of my Great Flock," Corviknight growled. "But they are certainly not strong enough to defeat me."

"Maybe," said Mandibuzz, "they'll at least be strong enough to give me a decent fight."

"I doubt it," Corviknight responded. "They are Trained Pokemon, after all. And Trained Pokemon are, by their very nature, weak. Perhaps if you engage multiple at once."

"Perhaps." Mandibuzz shifted.

Corviknight smirked. "Lighten up, Mandibuzz. This may have become an even greater opportunity. After all, the more Trainers we kill, the more inclined the other Trainers will be to respect and fear us."

"Indeed," said Mandibuzz. "If I may, Corviknight…I must eat. There is no sense in fighting on an empty stomach, is there?"

"Not at all," said Corviknight. "But do not delay. I expect you to be ready when the rest of the Great Flock returns."

Mandibuzz, as she had done so many times, hid a roll of her eyes as he shifted behind a tree and out of Corviknight's sight.

Arceus, Corviknight was an idiot.

What else could one call a Pokemon who honestly believed Trained Pokemon were weak? Sure, the four Trained Pokemon Corviknight had fought had been weak, but Mandibuzz knew what kind of Trainers those had been. Starting Trainers, likely on their very first adventure after receiving their Pokemon.

She remembered when she'd been in that same spot. A Vullaby, stepping into the world alongside her new Trainer. It had been so long since then. So long since she'd had a proper fight.

That had been the one thing she'd enjoyed about her time under that Trainer. A year it had been since she'd finally managed to get away. Six months since she'd met Corviknight, then a mere dreamer of a Wild Pokemon with a grand design and nothing else, and the ideas for this plan of hers had begun to fall into place. Since then it had just been pointless smackdowns of Wild Pokemon. But now, with the news of the Trained Pokemon that had so effortlessly dismantled an entire squad of Rookidee…

That was more along the lines of what Mandibuzz had been hoping for.

And now Mandibuzz's plan was falling into motion. The plan she had served alongside that total moron of a Corviknight for six months in the service of. She could see it now. Corviknight would lead his Great Flock into battle with an actually strong Trainer. He would fall, his followers scattered. And Mandibuzz would be there, ready to pick up the pieces and mold them into her own. After so long spent running, scrapping, and following others, she would finally become a true leader.

Of course, it was a risky plan. After all, she couldn't arouse Corviknight's suspicion by hanging back. She would have to participate in the battle herself.

Which meant the success of her plan likely hinged on her overcoming one of this Trainer's powerful Pokemon. But Mandibuzz was up to the task. She hadn't trained for years, plotted for months, even unlocked her Ability, all to lose this coming battle.

And when it was done, Mandibuzz would finally, finally, get everything she deserved.

Yeah, Hop and Gloria have it rough.

I'm trying to give them better treatment (development-wise, not trauma-wise) than I did the Alolans. In my personal opinion, they were heavily underutilized and underdeveloped. I'm trying to fix that for our Galarian protags, without taking away too much focus from, you know, the actual main characters.

Let me know if you think I've struck a good balance - as always, I enjoy reading your feedback!