Chapter 61a: Tooth and Claw, Part 1

The air around the Vecioférale Arena rang heavy with shouts and cheers as the Silver Wing Cup dragged on. Unbeknownst to the mesmerized masses, at that moment the circular hallway rang out with the sounds of running footsteps and hurried pants. Their owners, Team Traveller along with the Guardian of the Seas, tore along the smooth, stony floor, their ears trained for any sign of trouble that might rise up over the din of the spectators.

"Hanh… hanh… wh-where are we going?!" Pleo cried.

"To the canals!" Kiran squawked back. "Ander and Dimitri are waiting for you there!"

Pleo's eyes widened at the mention of Ander being there waiting for the team. The last time they'd met, he'd attacked him! What on earth would motivate such a change of heart? Puzzled thoughts swirled in Pleo's mind as the floor tiles zipped by underfoot, only for his attention to snap back at the sound of a shout and sight of a Skuntank guard rounding the corner from one of the private boxes just ahead.

"Hey!" the skunk bellowed. "What do you think you're doing here-?!"

Without thinking, Kiran banked hard towards the Skuntank, whipping up a whirling gale between his wings that swept up the Poison-Type and sent him flying back into the box. The group heard him scream followed by a loud crash and the sound of startled yelps from inside, drawing grimaces from the younger teammates. It would be a matter of moments before the other guards inside put two and two together, prompting the lot to look around frantically for an escape route when Nida's eyes caught the sight of a stairwell nestled in an alcove ahead.

"Quick! Over there!" the Nidoran cried.

The party rushed down the stairs, making their way down towards the ground as shouts and running footsteps came down the hallway. As the lot passed the second flight down, Pleo craned his head out, noticing waterways outside that carried on in neat lines… with a giant square packed with Pokémon wedged between the canals and the stadium.

"How are we supposed to get out of here with all those Pokémon?!" he cried. "I haven't been able to fly since we got captured!"

"There's a loading dock at the bottom that leads out to the canals," Elty answered back. "If we get down there, we'll be able to dodge most of the crowds!"

The Growlithe bounded ahead, leading Team Traveller down to the ground level where the light came through slit-like windows near the ceiling. In the dimmed light, the lot looked around uneasily, only for Crom's yellow eyes to spot a service entrance with a door left ajar that smelled of seawater.

"Ah!" Crom cried. "That's the way!"

The six ducked through the side entrance, running down a stone hallway with light at the end. The lot ran along, popping out into an enclosed dock riddled with crates and barrels strewn about, only for the sound of voices ahead to prick their ears. Instinctively, the team dug in their feet and came to a skidding stop in front of a stack of crates. There, a surprised Emolga and Pelipper looked up from a game of cards and down at the unexpected trespassers.

"Hey wait a minute?!" the Emolga yelped. "Isn't that the Pro-?!"

Before the squirrel could finish, she was cut off by Crom fishing out a scaled seed from the team's bag and hurling it at the crates. The seed exploded with a searing flash, sending the two guards and their cards flying into the water as fire and smoke kicked up from the remains of the blast. Kiran and his charges pressed ahead as the plume of smoke thickened, running off ahead to the edge of the dock where a brown crab jetted up in the water, slapping its surface impatiently.

"Took you long enough!" Dimitri chittered. "I was starting to get worried that you'd gotten caught in there!"

"We're fine, just had a little bit of an unexpected run-in," Elty replied. The Growlithe trailed off, as he and his teammates noticed Pleo staring with a blank, dumbfounded look at Ander flitting over towards the docks. The Lugia shifted uncomfortably, tripping over his words with his tongue before he finally managed to splutter out a question.

"A-Ander?! What are you doing here?!"

"Here to help you get away, that's what!" the Scyther snapped.

"But you said that I brought misfortune to the Pokémon I was around!" Pleo exclaimed. "Why do you want me back?!"

Ander flitted back uneasily, growing aware that he was increasingly the spotlight of attention among the gathered Pokémon. The Bug-Type tapped his scythes together, half-wondering himself how he'd let himself get into this situation.

"I- I mean, I still don't think that you're safe to have around," he stammered. "But-"

"Hey, stop!"

Ander ducked as a crackling arc of electricity zipped overhead, the mantis and his seabird questioner turning to see that the Emolga and Pelipper had pulled themselves out of the water. Further behind, more forms in indigo scarves could be seen running up the docks, prompting the Scyther to frantically nudge at the young Lugia with the flat of his blade.

"Gah! We need to go now!" Ander buzzed. "I'll answer you some other time!"

Without prompting, Pleo and his teammates hastily clambered onto Dimitri's back as the Kabutops swam off, Kiran and Ander following behind flinging back a gust of air and a white shockwave at their attackers as beams and missiles strafed the water around them. Dimitri spotted a narrow channel wedged between a pair of block-like buildings to his left and darted down it, his passengers' hearts racing as they slipped off into the shadows.


Back on the fourth level of the stadium, the stony floor echoed with the sound of a chitinous carapace landing on the ground over and over again. Its creator was a wizened Clawitzer, who made her way along the hallway with her eyes narrowed and her mouthparts clicking unamusedly at having to be out of her more watery preferred environment.

"Bah," Nagant spat. "I don't see why I have to make these checkups in perso-"

As soon as Nagant rounded the corner for the Protector's box, she came to a slack-mouthed stop. There in front of her was a pile of rubble where the entrance was supposed to be, with a Hitmonlee and Lunatone in Imperial scarves sprawled out asleep in front of it.

"What the-?!"

"Nrgh… five more minutes, mom…" the Lunatone moaned. Nagant stared open-mouthed at the sleeping Rock-Type, as her dazed mutterings were joined in by the snores of a nearby Hitmonlee.

"Hmm… so many Mareep…"

The Clawitzer scowled and lowered her firing claw, before promptly disgorging a torrent of water into the dozing pair's faces. The Hitmonlee and Lunatone jolted up with a gasping splutter, jumping to attention.

"Eyaah! I'm up! I'm up!" the Hitmonlee squealed.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Nagant hissed. "Why is there a gigantic pile of junk blocking the entrance to the Protector's box?!"

The two guards stammered uneasily, only for the sound of shifting rubble rang out. Nagant hopped back as she felt stones brush up against her from her right, looking back as a hole opened up in the rubble and Niilo poked through, Berecien and Cabot visibly peering after him from inside.

"Bah, about time!" the Sandslash spat. "Here I was thinking that we'd be stuck in there all-"

Niilo bit his tongue at the sound of an angry hiss, looking up and flushing pale at the sight of none other than Nagant glaring daggers at him.

"Er… is it too late to pile up the rubble again?" Niilo gulped.

The Clawitzer captain dragged Niilo out of the hole, prompting Berecien and Cabot to dart out into the hallway, followed by a Gumshoos, Vanilluxe, and blue Florges with visible grimaces. The shrimp peered through the hole, noticing signs of a struggle and silvery feathers scattered around, before turning back and shooting a harsh glare at the three guards who were supposed to guard the Protector's inner chamber.

"You there!" she hissed, as she grabbed the Gumshoos' scarf. "How did you let this happen and where is the Protector now?!"

"I-I don't know! They threw a Slumber Orb before breaking in!" the Normal-Type stammered. "I only woke up after this rubble fell on my tail!"

"Who is they?!" Nagant roared, only to be answered by a snorting response.

"Those dzieciaki we picked up on Sormus."

The sound of Berecien's answer prompted Nagant to let the Gumshoos go and direct her attention back to the Ponyta in front of her. The Fire-Type audibly inhaled, bracing himself to break the news about what was surely the last thing his superior wanted to hear right now.

"They came back with friends while the guards were thinning out to a disturbance elsewhere in the stadium," Berecien explained.

"They must have known it was going to happen," Cabot added. "Since they attacked us and stole the Protector in that exact timeframe."

PLAM!

The group flinched as Nagant sent a glowing blue orb into a nearby wall, throwing stone chunks and a cloud of dust up as a sphere-shaped indentation was left behind. The shrimp raised her small claw over her face, before flicking it away in disgust.

"Ugh! This is just fantastic!" she seethed. "How are we supposed to find the Protector again now that he's missing in the middle of the largest city in the Empire?!"

"Hoy! Don't just stand there!" a deep voice from further down the hallway cried. "Come and help the rest of us!"

The Clawitzer whirled around, claw raised as she came face-to-face with a startled looking party in indigo consisting of a Mamoswine, a Vivillon, and a Wartortle. The three stammered and backpedaled a moment at the sight of the unexpectedly high-ranked Pokémon, only for the crustacean to chitter irritatedly.

"What do you want?" Nagant demanded.

"Uh… apologies, ma'am," the Mamoswine gulped. "B-But it's really urgent!"

"Yeah, a band of kidnappers ran off with the Protector!" the Vivillon added. "We spotted them heading towards the harbor!"

The three blanched as they heard a seething hiss emanate from the Clawitzer captain, who clicked her mandibles and leveled her large claw at the group.

"How do you manage to lose them like this?!" the shrimp snapped.

"Er… well, they struck after a bunch of us had been pulled aside to provide security for Admiral Coil after he got a court summons," the Wartortle explained. "Uh… we were still redistributing our remaining ranks until reinforcements-"

"Spare me the history lecture and get moving after that Protector!" Nagant bellowed.

"Yes ma'am!"

The guards began to make their way back out, followed closely by the guards tasked with guarding Pleo's chamber. The Vivillon followed from behind, flitting down the hallway only to hear the sound of chitin thudding against stone behind her and feel her wing get tugged at by a claw.

"You," Nagant ordered. "You're stopping by the naval yard to serve a notice to the sea escorts of the Vasilek to start heading into the canals."

"Huh?!" the Vivillon cried. "But that's all the way-!"

"To the south, I know," the shrimp finished. "If they're notified in time, there's still a chance they can help cut off the Protector in the canals."

"Right!" the Bug-Type answered. "On it!"

The butterfly flew off, leaving Nagant to cast her gaze out the window down towards a canal that passed by the base of the stadium. The Clawitzer neared the window, before turning back towards Cabot, Berecien, and Niilo as they uneasily pawed at the ground.

"Patch yourselves up," she barked. "If you're in any condition to run afterwards, I want you on that bird's tail as well!"

"Aye, Captain!"

Nagant hopped ahead, leaping from the window ledge and vaulting head over tail into a dive into the water below. The Clawitzer felt the water rush past her gills, a fiery determination filling her and prompting her to tear through the water for the harbor.

She'd gone through enough grief just tracking down the Protector for the Empire, and if a bunch of peasants from across Anyilla thought they could just steal it away from her, she'd need to remind them of how wrong they were. If they were going to steal away the hope of a generation for the Empire, they'd have to first pry it from her cold, dead claws.


As Nagant stormed off through the canals, a loud roar went up from within the stands of the Vecioférale Arena. The audience watched in rapt attention as a Gallade barreled ahead of his Goodra and Blastoise teammates in a arena pit that had been freshly-lined with trees for an Incineroar, the Psychic-Type tackling the cat and launching him high into the air. The Incineroar righted himself in midair and came to a springing landing on a branch, as a Metagross and Braviary charged forward weaving around trunks with a glowing-eyed headbutt followed by cutting gusts of wind that sliced across the field much to the audience's delight…

… or most of it, anyways. A few faces here or there seemed to be unmoved by the performance, among them was none other than that of a Weavile in the contestants' stand, looking up disinterestedly from a small collection of letters in his claws.

"Pah, this is the quarter finals?" he scoffed. "With a sorry pair of teams like that, no wonder we became a hit with the spectators here!"

Ketu spread the letters in his claws and waved himself with it to ward off the midday heat. From further behind, an orange Lycanroc with a white scarf and a blue sun pattern raised a brow and looked up with a curious glance.

"You sure it wasn't our team's personality that made us popular?" the Rock-Type asked. "We got a lot less mail today. Maybe they felt you went a bit too far yesterday?"

The Weavile stopped fanning himself a moment, thinking back to how the fanmail had seemed to slow down a bit since his last match. After a moment's pause, he shrugged the matter off, before returning to cooling himself.

"Meh, it's my job to complete the mission, which in this case means winning," Ketu said. "If an egg or two gets broken along the way, then so be it."

"Ketu!"

The Weavile stilled his claws and turned back, just in time to see a Crawdaunt scuttle in in a visible hurry. Ketu frowned, before rolling his eyes as the breathless lobster darted up.

"Oh? What now?" the Dark-Type asked. "Some mail carrier sent another batch of letters?"

"The guards are all in a commotion right now!" the Crawdaunt cried. "They say that someone's stolen the Protector!"

Ketu jolted up with a start at his teammate's words, letting the letters in his claw fall to the ground.

"What?!" the Weavile exclaimed. "How?!"

"The guards apparently thinned out around fifteen minutes ago after some noble got into hot water and needed to be escorted out!" the Crawdaunt explained. "A team of a Swellow and some kids caught them off guard with an Orb and ran off with the Protector towards the coast!"

Ketu flattened his ears and grit his teeth. Those attackers the Crawdaunt described were none other than those accursed brats from the day before!

"Grr, I should've taken care of those lousy hicks yesterday instead of letting them slink off to lick their wounds!" he hissed, before turning to the form of a Crobat dozing from an awning over the stands. "Kane!"

The Crobat jolted awake at Ketu's shout, prompting the Poison-Type to flit down with a start, blinking his tired eyes awake.

"Ngah?! What is it?!" the bat yelped.

"Go back to the ship and tell Lyn that those Tromban hicks grabbed the Protector and are heading for the harbor!" the Weavile barked. "We're gonna have to take him back from them!"

"R-Right! On it!" the Crobat replied.

Kane took off, a newfound vigor coming over his wingbeats as he slipped out into the sky. Back on the ground, Ketu's Lycanroc and Crawdaunt teammates shifted uncomfortably, the wolf of the two going up to the Weavile with an uneasy grimace.

"So what do we do now?" the Lycanroc asked.

"We make our way back to the ship," Ketu harrumphed. "We've already done our part, and Lyn's going to draw a lot of heat going after the Protector, and I'm not getting left behind when he needs to get out of port."

The Weavile hurried out of the stands, the Lycanroc and Crawdaunt faltering a moment before following suit. They had done their part in this mission, their role now was simply to get out of the way and hope their crew could recover the Protector by letting Lyn do what he did best: fighting and mowing down anyone who got in his way.


Whishhh

In the main canal leading away from the Vecioférale Arena, the water and its surroundings hummed with their usual busy traffic of rafts and swimming Pokémon. In the midst of it, the form of a Kabutops tore through the water, weaving around Pokémon and various watercraft with yelps and angry admonitions from passerbys. On his back were the forms of a white, long-necked bird along with a blue Nidoran, a Growlithe, a young Druddigon, and a Cubone. The Nidoran among the group craned her head back to the forms of a shadowing Swellow and Scyther before turning back to her aquatic guide with a cry.

"Dimitri, how much further is it?!"

"Just a couple of minutes!" the Kabutops shouted back. "Just hold on tight until we get there, those guards can't lag behind us forever!"

"H-Huh?!" Pleo squawked. "What's a couple of minutes away?"

"The harbor, pollito!" Kiran answered. "We have a ship there to take you out of here!"

The Swellow's answer made Pleo blink blankly back. Was he mishearing things? Or did Kiran really just say...

"You have a ship?!" he cried.

"It's the one my dad sails with! Remember how I told you about him-" Crom began, only for a sharp yelp from Ander to cut him off.

"Agh! Look out!"

The Scyther's cry rang out, prompting Dimitri and his passengers to look up as a churning wave came down the canal, upending a slew of rafts and sweeping up hapless swimmers. The Kabutops' attention diverted to a small alcove in the canal, where he beelined and dug into the stone as the water surged past him. Dimitri evened out, his passengers drenched and coughing as the sound of frightened yelps rang out, the Pokémon in the canals clearing out in front of a set of Pokémon in white scarves swimming up in the water.

"Bah! I missed!"

Team Traveller's blood went cold at the sound of a familiar, rumbling voice from further up the canal. The lot looked ahead where much to their astonishment, there in the water was the half-submerged form of an Aggron in a white scarf with the same design as Ander's snarling at them.

"Hess?!"

"You again?!" Guardia demanded. "We left you back in your horrid pirate town!"

"I'm here to grab that bird there," the pirate captain spat. "So step aside before I run you o-"

Hess caught himself, his gaze falling upon the form of a Growlithe among the Kabutops' passengers. The Aggron blinked, realizing that it was none other than his ship-burner who'd gone missing after Nagant's attack on Orleigh, and trained a scrutinizing eye on the fire dog.

"Eh?! Eltenios?!" he cried. "What are you doing here? I thought you got lost at sea earlier!"

Elty's body went rigid at the sound of his old captain addressing him, glancing anxiously at his fellow passengers. He had been torn away from the rest of the crew without any say last time… so why was he torn about leaving Team Traveller right now?

"Uh, well… I-"

"Oi! Save the story for later!" Hess barked. "You did good with that cover of yours, just keep those hicks busy and-!"

"We were just leaving," Dimitri said. "See ya!"

The Kabutops cut off the pirate captain by spitting up a jet of scalding water at the Aggron's face, prompting the Steel-Type to screw his eyes shut before getting knocked back by the attack. Hess lolled onto his back from the Scald, leaving Dimitri to turn away and zip off in the water. Back in the canal, Hess righted himself, coughing and brushing away some hot water out of his eyes, before giving out a seething roar and slapping his tail against the water's surface for attention.

"Don't let them get away!" the Aggron bellowed.

Dimitri charged ahead as beams and jets of water zipped overhead, the Kabutops wildly zigzagging left and right to evade the Iron Fleet's attacks. The Kabutops looked up and veered right at the sight of a pile of rocks flying for him, sending him veering down a side canal where a mixed gust of silvery and pinkish dust sliced into the water before him.

"Gah!"

Dimitri abruptly stopped, prompting him and his passengers to look up to see a white-scarved Ledian and Hoppip smirking down at them from the air, the beetle tugging his partner into place against a stiff wind. From behind, the water churned as Hess stormed along in the water, followed closely behind by a body of baying underlings.

"Grr! You shouldn't have tried me, you lousy crab!" Hess seethed. "Eat rocks!"

The Aggron thrashed his body in the water, calling up a hail of rocks from the bottom of the canal that zipped into the air. Dimitri yelped and hastily darted ahead weaving around the rocks with a watery jet only for a large stone to clip his side and drench his passengers. The Kabutops winced and slowed down as the Ledian and Hoppip moved in, ready to pounce on the injured crab…

"Dimitri! Keep going!" Kiran squawked. "We can't let the guards catch up with us because of these pirates!"

The Hoppip abruptly was slammed into the wall by a cutting gust from Kiran, drawing a pained shriek before he fell into the water. From the other end of the alley, the Ledian buzzed with a start, flying up in a panic as a Scyther bounded off the walls and narrowly missed his head with a swung scythe, opening a path up for Dimitri to carry on as his passengers threw back attacks to try and cover their trail. The Kabutops' eyes lit up as the sight of an exit to a much wider lane of water came into view when a bellowing shout came from behind.

"Oh no you don't!"

Team Traveller flinched at the sound of roaring water, looking back to see Hess riding the crest of a large wave flecked with debris from behind them. Pleo watched as their Kabutops guide desperately tried to pick up his pace, only for the wave to overtake him and pull him and his teammates underwater. The Lugia screwed his eyes shut as he felt water wash over his plumes, darting back up to the surface where his head broke above the water and where he saw the sight of his friends in front of him in the canal coughing up water and trying desperately to stay above the surface. The young Protector went wide-eyed, instinctively swimming for the sound of his friends when a loud snarl rang out from behind him.

"Get back here!"

Pleo turned his head back at the sound of Hess' shout, seeing the form of the hulking Aggron tearing towards him in the water. The Lugia screamed and turned to try to fly away, beating his wings furiously only to pitch forward and dunk underwater. He flinched, pulling his head under his wings as the sound of roaring water came upon him.

"Not so fast!"

Before the churning water could descend on him, Pleo heard a wet smack followed by a sharp yelp and loud splash. Pleo pulled his head up and turned back to see his teammates looking off at Hess listing on his side in the water, rolling over to right himself a daze. Further behind, the culprit of the blow quickly became apparent with the form of a glaring Clawitzer at the head of a large body of Pokémon at the end of the canal in indigo scarves.

"So this is how Pokémon from Tromba repay kindness," Nagant hissed. "And you, Aggron. If I'd have known you'd be this much of a thorn in my side, I'd have sunk you back in Orleigh!"

"Well that's your problem," Hess spat. "And you're not getting the better of me this time!"

Hess threw a hail of rocks back at Nagant and her underlings, catching a Pelipper square in his head. The Clawitzer retaliated with an orb-like burst of water that missed her Aggron mark and shot an unfortunate Staravia out of the sky. One after the other, the air thickened with attacks from white and indigo-scarved Pokémon, the hapless onlookers on the street diving into nearby shops to peer out unnervedly at the battle. Amidst the confusion, Dimitri, Ander, and Kiran drug the sopping members of Team Traveller back onto Dimitri's back, the Swellow among them shaking off some water as he prodded uneasily at his charges.

"Are you all okay?" Kiran coughed.

"Urgh… as good as you can be getting soaked like this." Elty groaned.

"Come on," Dimitri insisted. "Let's just hurry up before they notice u-"

"Going somewhere?!"

Before the Kabutops could finish, a glob of sickly purple sludge zipped by, catching Ander in his chest. The Scyther gagged, and uneasily wavered in the air as he pulled up to avoid sinking into the canal, his gaze leading his compatriots' eyes over to the approaching forms of a Tentacruel and Sharpedo in Imperial garb.

"Don't think that you're going to get away from us so easily this time!" Cyanea sneered.

"Yeah!" Katyusha jeered. "We're wise to your tricks now!"

Dimitri darted forward, attempting to slip off to an intersecting canal ahead. Much to his horror, the Sharpedo from their pair of pursuers cut them off, whirling around with her jaws opened and barreling head on for the lot. The Kabutops looked around wildly, before his eyes caught the ledge of the canal, and he jutted a scythe out to bank hard to his right.

"Hold on, kids!"

The Rock-Type leapt up, sending himself and his passengers spilling into the street as they came to a tumbling stop against the wall of a tea shop. Pleo and his teammates lay there stunned for a moment, the young Protector getting up with a groan as he nursed fresh nicks and bruises among freshly torn-up plumage.

"Gotcha!"

The Lugia looked up as Katyusha propelled herself out of the canal with jaws opened wide, prompting him and his teammates to hastily roll out of the way. Katyusha sailed past, the shark going wide-eyed as she clamped her jaws shut onto empty air…

"Whuh?!"

… and flopped onto the cobbles of the street with a yelp. The Sharpedo looked ahead to see Pleo standing in front of her startled, and spat up a jet of water only for him to sidestep and hastily duck away, leaving her to flail her fins and flop in an impotent attempt to keep her head-dominated body up with the youngsters just outside of her jaws' reach.

"Katyusha, why didn't you just use Scald on them?!" Cyanea spluttered from the water.

"B-But a bite oughta have been super effective!" the Sharpedo whined.

Team Traveller rolled their eyes at Katyusha's bellyaching, only for a glob of poison to sail overhead and splatter over the window of the tea shop behind them. The five youngsters and their companions ran along, bolting for an alleyway up ahead to their right as more bursts of poison and water nipped at their heels. One after the other, the group made their way down the alley, only for Ander to make it to the mouth of the lane when a burst of water exploded at the back of his head.

"Aagh!"

The Scyther's eyes flickered before the mantis pitched faceforward into the ground, the back of his head sporting cracks that dribbled yellowish fluid, much to Nida's horror.

"Agh, Ander!"

The Nidoran and her companions turned back, only for another burst to break just overhead. The group looked out into the canal where its culprit was quickly revealed to be a Clawitzer shooting a harsh glare at Cyanea and Katyusha in the canal.

"Ah, Captain Nugget!" the Tentacruel yelped. "We were just-!"

"Just pin them down already!" Nagant snapped.

Team Traveller ducked as another salvo of water and poison tore through the corner of the shop next to the alleyway, grazing Crom and Elty and sending them lurching forward with yelps. The lot reflexively bolted ahead, only to find themselves looking back at Ander's still-unconscious body when they heard the patter of Dimitri's feet and saw him running for the mouth of the alley.

"Go on ahead!" he shouted. "I'll catch up with you!"

The five youngsters grimaced as they saw the Kabutops run ahead for Ander's downed form, Kiran pushing them along from behind with a forceful nudge.

"Come on," he said. "We all knew what sorts of risks we're taking here. Just please make the most of it!"

Kiran and his charges hurried along, lowering their heads as bursts continued to ring out behind them. The youngsters and their Swellow guide carried on, running down the alleyway before popping out and bounding across a bridge over a canal lined with tall stone buildings. The group bolted for the mouth of a narrow lane towards their left, when a leafy arrow suddenly zipped by Kiran's head with a thwip. The group came to a skidding stop, where ahead of them were the glaring forms of a Decidueye, an Araquanid, and a Herdier.

"Hold it right there! You're disturbing the peace and abducting a Protector!" the Decidueye hissed. "Come quietly and your charges won't get any worse!"

Team Traveller's members froze, their gaze following Elty's head as he looked over at an open doorway to his right, and a rickety sign with herbs and a pestle above the owl. The Growlithe sprang up and spat up a gout of fire onto the sign's post, prompting the Decidueye to let his arrow slip…

WHAM!

… only for the sign to fall on him and his companions, sending his leafy missile sailing off into a wall. The group watched as the trio of guards groped about in a stunned daze, Elty sporting a grin until he noticed himself at the slack-jawed center of attention of his teammates.

"Oh come on! We were already in trouble with the law here! What's wrong with a little property damage?" he asked. A patter of feet rang out behind them, the battered and panting form of Dimitri coming into view with Ander slung over his back as he stared dumbfounded at the stopped group.

"What are you doing?!" Dimitri cried. "The alleyway is-"

"This way!" Crom insisted.

The youngsters charged through the opened door, pulling the Kabutops and his stricken passenger along through the doorway just as the Decidueye guard and his companions got back up to their feet.

"Sergeant Alba, they're getting away!" the Herdier yelped.

"Don't just stand there then!" the owl screeched. "After them!"

The group charged through a room with a simmering cauldron lined with clay jars and a strong herbal smell in the air as the guards came in afterwards throwing attacks around and filling the air with the sound of dashed pottery. Team Traveller made their way to an open doorway where a puzzled red Florges poked her head in, only to yank it back as Kiran and his companions bounded through and vaulted over a counter in front of a wide-eyed Axew. The lot came to a skidding stop into a covered hallway outside in front of a bookstore, Nida and Crom flinching at the sound of shouts and crashes from inside.

"Er… I guess we ought to have been a bit more careful there," the Druddigon murmured.

"Eh, don't sweat it," Elty insisted. "We got exactly what we needed from that little detour!"

The Growlithe proudly raised a small knapsack in his mouth, revealing them to be filled with seeds and berries, the telltale form of a Reviver Seed lying at its top. The other Pokémon traded stern frowns back at the Fire-Type.

"Urgh… you are so not learning your intended lessons from your Community Service," Kiran groaned. "Petty theft is 100% not acceptable from my pupils!"

"Oi! Desperate times call for desperate measures!" the Growlithe barked back. "Besides, if you don't want to just take the stuff, you can pay for it later by mail or something!"

Before Elty could finish, an errant arrow sailed by, zipping into the front of the bookstore and whipping up a rain of paper. The group looked back, seeing the Decidueye guard and his counterparts from earlier stagger from the front of the pharmacist, glaring across at them.

"Worry about it some other time!" Dimitri shouted. "We've got company!"

"Stop right there, criminal scum!" Alba hissed.

The team charged on ahead, the guards' attacks carrying on and upending the shops that had the misfortune of being along the zig-zagging path of the fleeing group. The tide of destruction swept up a bakery, a pottery shop, a grooming parlor… as Guardia's attention turned to a stairwell going up to the right next to a bulletin board up ahead.

"There!" Guardia cried. "Up ahead on the right!"

The party ducked up the stairwell, flying up a set of stairs and balconies that led them past one dingy apartment of mats and rude furniture after another, the sound of Alba and his underlings ringing out from below. At the third floor, the Decidueye sprang up, raising his bow to shoot, only for Kiran to whirlwind the owl into an opened apartment. The group carried on, where the last flight ended at a solitary door, the Nidoran at the head throwing it open to see the sky above and a patio surrounded by tiles underfoot.

"A-Aah!" Nida cried. "We're on the roof!"

The little spike ball and her companions looked around, seeing that they were now on the rooftops above Tidemill City, the ground four- no five- uh… more stories off the ground than it appeared safe to fall off of. Instinctively, Guardia shrank back, backing up against the door when the sound of shouts from inside rang out, prompting Crom and Dimitri to shove a nearby crate over the door as Kiran pulled the Reviver Seed out of the pilfered satchel and slipped it into Ander's mouth, setting him spluttering and stirring with a groan as his eyes refocused.

"Nrgh… what happened?" the Scyther groaned.

"Well, let's see here, we've just resisted arrest, assaulted some local guards, committed larceny, and caused more counts of damage to public property than I can count offhand right now..." Kiran murmured. "Other than that, I don't think you missed a whole lot."

"That oughta hold them for a bit, but we need to get moving!" Dimitri panted.

"How?!" Guardia exclaimed. "We're stuck here on a bunch of roofs!"

The group looked around uneasily, only to hear a loud stomp and shouts coming from the side of the building to the right. The lot peered over, where they saw the forms of haggard-looking Pokémon in white scarves running along

"They went somewhere on land!" Hess' voice shouted. "Don't let them get a-!"

Team Traveller watched as Hess ran along under their eyes, only for a tile to slip off the roof and break beside him. The Aggron looked up, where Guardia and her companions grimaced as the Steel-Type's blue eyes widened and his claw shot upwards in their direction.

"There they are!" Hess cried. "Get them!"

The edge of the roof suddenly disappeared in a hail of rocks and other beams and missiles from the alleyway, kicking up a cloud of dust as broken tiles and timbers rained around the roof. Team Traveller flinched as they heard shouts and squawks ring out, as fliers in white and indigo scarves harried each other in the air nearby. After having their attention shift back down to the rooftops, they saw that barring the occasional alleyway, the rooftops were conjoined, providing what would be their only route forward to escape.

"Run!" Elty shouted. "And don't look down!"

The lot charged ahead, bounding as tile and shingle crunched underfoot and Pokémon in indigo scarves from the air sent forth cutting winds from behind as further attacks flew up from other Pokémon in similar garb from a canal on the opposite end of the building. The group reached a small gap over an alleyway, prompting one after the other to leap over it… with the sole exception of Guardia, who skidded to a stop and cringed away much to Kiran's surprise.

"Eh?! Come on Guardia!" he cried. "You can make that jump!"

"N-No! I can't!" she whined. "I- I won't make it if I fall from this high!"

The Swellow peered down at the alleyway below and at the quivering bone lizard, before giving a shake of his head.

"Then it seems like you'll need another way over," he answered.

"Another wa-? Agh!"

The Cubone yelped as she was suddenly thrown onto the Swellow's back, the bird running and flying forward over the gap as she dug her claws into his plumage. Guardia screwed her eyes shut as she felt the air brush past her, before feeling her body drop and land on tiles. The Ground-Type cracked her eyes open to see that Kiran had flown her over the gap and onto the roof across the gap, panting breathlessly as she peered warily back up at the Swellow, who shook his head with a smile.

"If you need help, just ask for it," he insisted. Kiran began to move ahead, when the sound of an Aggron's grunts from the side reached the gathered lot's ears.

"Nrgh… just a little more!"

Much to their horror, Team Traveller spotted a ladder to their right leading to the roof, where clambering up it was none other than Hess followed by a small train of Pokémon. The pirate captain of the Mistral Marauder hoisted himself onto the roof, and on sighting Team Traveller, dusted himself off and gave the tiles underfoot a satisfied stomp.

"Hah!" he sneered. "Gotcha you little-"

The sound of a whining creeeeak rang out, as the ladder suddenly came ajar and buckled, collapsing back to the ground as the sound of yelps and thuds rang out… followed by whines and the sight of a small pile of Pokémon in white scarves lying at the bottom of the building shambling to their feet.

"Ow…" a Pawniard groaned.

"My spleen…" a Charmeleon moaned.

Hess blinked and then looked down at the collapsed ladder with a sheepish grimace. Evidently, the builders hadn't constructed it in mind with Pokémon quite as bulky as him.

"Er… oops?"

Team Traveller turned and bolted ahead to slip away from the distracted pirate, only for a watery blur to suddenly jet up and come to a stop ahead of them. There, pivoting on her tail was none other than Nagant, the Howitzer Pokémon leveling her firing claw at the lot of them with a low hiss.

"Shakh i mat, buyany," the Clawitzer spat. "It's time to surrender peacefully and come along."

"Get bent, you lousy sea bug!" Hess roared. The Aggron charged ahead, lowering his head into a reckless charge only to be caught and forced back by a Water Pulse. The Steel-Type yelped, throwing his arms out to try and maintain his balance as he stumbled backwards past Team Traveller, only for an icy beam to land under foot and send him slipping and coming to a tumbling stop at the edge of the roof… directly behind a now ashen-looking Team Traveller.

"Why am I getting this sinking feeling that this has happened before?" Nida gulped.

"I-It did?" Crom stammered. "How did you get out of it last time?"

Nagant shook her head and leveled her claw, an orb of water forming in between the tips of her pincers as Hess dragged himself to his feet. Before she could fire, she was cut off by a watery burst from behind, drawing a shriek from the elderly shrimp that sent her tumbling. Hess blinked before looking over at a visibly nervous Team Traveller, when a jet of water sprang up from the corner of the Aggron's eye.

"Hey, what the-?!"

Hess turned and went wide-eyed as a blue blur moved onto the roof and launched him back with a tackle that sprayed water all around the rooftop, pitching him over the opposite edge of the roof with a startled shout followed by a loud crash. Team Traveller brushed away droplets from their eyes, turning back towards the blur only for their blood to run cold at the sight of an uncomfortably familiar Samurott glaring back at them.

"Lyn!"

"I've been getting very tired with your rebelliousness, Trombans," the Commissioner growled. "It's time I put an end to it and take what's mine."

The Samurott gave a bloodcurdling cry, drawing the attention of a Crobat along with a following array of flying Pokémon in blue-sunned scarves. The fliers swooped in, driving off the indigo-scarved counterparts from the air and forcing Hess' underlings in the alley back with yelps with a rain of cutting winds before turning for the rooftop Lyn was on. Satisfied with the turn of events, the Samurott gave a dangerous grin and fished his seamitars from their scabbards, raising them ready for battle.

"Have at you-!"

Before Lyn could finish he was cut off by a blue orb of light which zipped along and wrenched the blade from his paw and sent it clattering against the tiles. The otter whirled over in the direction of the Aura Sphere, seeing the seething form of a Clawitzer with her large claw still leveled at him.

"You must be Commissioner Lyn," Nagant hissed. "I don't know how things work in your little treasonous gang, but I'm afraid I can't just sit back as you meddle in Her Majesty's affairs."

Lyn stooped down and fished his fallen blade up with a scoff, before rearing up and sweeping his blades out with a low growl.

"Just try and stop me."

The Samurott bellowed and dashed towards the Clawitzer, who in turn jetted for the oncoming swordsmon. Team Traveller took off and ran as the sound of water spraying and blows from behind rang out, running ahead only for a slicing gust to tear up the section of roof before them.

"Ack!" Nida yelped. "What on earth was-?!"

"Extraction team, take your positions!" Kane shouted. "Looks like we're going to have to do the heavy lifting today!"

The Crobat sent forth a glob of violet sludge, his salvo followed by a hail of gusts and beams from the fliers around him. Team Traveller tried to press forward, only for the fliers to quickly block off the front with attacks, then the left and right, until before they knew it the lot were ringed by fliers circling overhead, keenly eyeing an increasingly unnerved Team Traveller below.

"A-Aah! What do we do here?!" Crom yelped. "They have us surrounded!"

"Yeah, we can't fight all these Pokémon!" Pleo cried.

Nida's eyes darted from one flier to the next when she realized that the Crobat's face looked familiar… The Nidoran's mind turned back to their prior adventures, the vivid image of one of her spikes zipping into his carpal joint and making him wobbly before fire and wind sent him plummeting out of the skies over Boisocéan. Nida's eyes suddenly lit up, realizing that the team didn't have to try and fight their imposing foe head-on after all.

"Go for the wings of that Crobat!" she yelled. "We can shake the others!"

The blue spike ball flicked a barb at the bat, prompting him to hastily weave out of the way and swoop down. The Crobat dove for the silvery-feathered bird in his foes' midst, only for Dimitri to dart forward to intercept the bat. Kane's plowed into Dimitri's shoulder, his body brushing up against the Kabutops' scythe, prompting him to jerk up and retreat as he felt warm fluid ooze against his fur before a gout of fire and a burning burst of light caught his wings followed by a rough slash across his belly.

Kane shrieked, lurching wildly to and fro as he fought to stay airborne. The Crobat let his rear wings droop limply, beating his forewings harder to stay aloft as he hissed back angrily at the ringed Pokémon below.

"R-Rgh! I've had enough of this!" Kane fumed. "Hurry up and sweep them while I can stay airbo-"

"Take that!"

The Crobat whirled and his eyes shrank to pins at the sight of a hail of rocks sailing for him. The stones struck him and a number of the fliers with him out of the air, sending them crashing onto the roof and others into the street with audible groans. The still-airborne fliers gaped stunned a moment, only for a group of indigo-scarved Pokémon flying in a V-shaped formation to swoop in and chase after them, leaving the skies cleared of all but the sounds of a jeering Aggron.

"Hah!" Hess exclaimed. "I got 'em! I got 'em-"

The pirate's celebratory racket prompted Nagant and Lyn to peer down into the alleyway, before summarily disgorging a pair of watery shots at the Aggron. Hess hopped over a orb of water with a yelp and leapt out of the way of a torrential jet, the Steel-Type going wide-eyed and squealing out of fright.

"E-Eyaah! Fall back! Fall back!"

Hess dove for cover along with his lackeys, prompting Nagant to turn and notice that Team Traveller had bolted on ahead. The Clawitzer jetted along after the fleeing youngsters and their companions, readying her claw to fire off a burst of water only to shriek as a stabbing pain sliced into her and sent her tumbling back along the roof. In her place, the form of a Samurott snorted, swinging it and flicking away some bluish fluid off its edge.

Lyn pursued after Team Traveller, who came to a skidding stop at the edge of the roof seeing that it was hemmed in by broad canals on two ends. The group felt the roof sag underfoot as Lyn ran along, forcing them to fight to keep their balance as they realized that the supports were less than adequate for supporting their weight. They looked around, and noticed a wooden ladder at the last end. Crom darted over, only to recoil back after seeing Hess and his underlings run up to the base of the building.

"Wh-What now?!" the Druddigon cried. "We're trapped!"

"Yeah! Even if we get past Lyn, that Clawitzer and that Aggron pirate will just block the way!" Nida added.

Dimitri looked ahead to see Nagant harrying Lyn from behind, prompting the Samurott to whirl and disgorge a beam of ice back at the shrimp. The Kabutops then turned his attention down into the alleyway, where he saw Hess pawing the ground with a loud bellow, only to be summarily forced back with a yelp by a pair of watery jets. The Aggron charged back blindly, before running square into a stack of crates, falling on his rump with a yelp. As he nursed his snout from the impact, Dimitri's eyes lit up with a flash of inspiration.

"We'll have that Aggron help us out!" the vampire crab said. "We just need to get in front of him!"

"Have you lost your mind?!" Ander exclaimed.

"Trust me on this one!" the Kabutops insisted.

Nagant's voice suddenly cried out, the Clawitzer having been frozen in place against the tiles. With a bellowing roar, Lyn turned back towards Team Traveller's end of the roof, charging ahead with his blades drawn. The youngsters paled, only for Kiran to dive in with a loud squawk.

"Go on ahead!" the Swellow ordered. "I'll distract him!"

"You'll need someone to keep that Daikenki's eyes off the air, Ohsubame!" Guardia cried. "I'm coming with!"

"Guardia!" Pleo cried. "Wai-!"

The young Lugia darted after the Cubone, only to hop back as an Ice Beam zipped at his feet. With a hurried tug, Crom, Nida, and Elty dragged their Protector companion along, making their way one by one down the ladder as Guardia and Kiran ran ahead throwing a Bonemerang and Air Slash at the Samurott in front of them. The otter deflected the bony missile, only for the cutting gust to dig into his shoulder with a seething growl as the pair ran off for the center of the roof. Lyn swung his blades out, forcing the Swellow and Cubone to hop back as their tips sailed past, their owner giving a low growl back.

"Grr… do you actually think that you can win here?" the Water-Type spat. "I was besting more formidable foes back in my days in the Academy!"

"Not every battle is won on the field," Guardia harrumphed back. "Not that I won't give you a good knock!"

Lyn growled and swung his seamitar down at the bone lizard, only for it to be brushed aside and into a patch of tiles by a gust of wind from Kiran. The blade embedded itself into the roof, prompting Guardia to clamber up Lyn's still extended forearm and leap up bringing her club down onto Lyn's snout.

A roar of pain sounded out, followed by a watery pulse shooting forward from Lyn's mouth and the sound of a sharp yelp as Kiran's pupils shrank to pins. Much to his horror, there was Guardia, sailing through the air with her club, her body limp and unconscious.

"Guardia!"

Kiran saw Guardia's body hit the roof's tiles and skid along them, prompting him to fly after and snatch up the lizard and her bone before they sailed off the roof. The Swellow panted as he heard a fierce roar, looking back to see Lyn charging with his seamitars drawn, only for a sudden blue orb to knock him off his feet and send him glaring towards the direction of a scowling Clawitzer.

"Hey, square-neck. You didn't think that little nick and frost was going to stop me, did you?!" Nagant hissed.

As the rooftop above rang out with shouts and blows, the rest of Team Traveller clambered down into the alley. There, the forms of a host of white-scarved Pokémon neared from every direction, sneering and snarling threateningly as Hess lumbered down at the mob's head.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Nida murmured.

"It's our only shot, so try and sell the part!" Dimitri cried.

"Grr… I hope you like swabbing decks, you lousy runts!" the Aggron captain growled. "That's the first thing I'm making you all do once I press you into my crew!"

"Just try us!" Crom snarled back. "You'll never take us down!"

"Yeah!" Pleo added. "I'll take you down with my powers just like last time!"

The mention of 'powers' made Hess audibly gulp and the nearby pirates inch away with nervous hems and haws. The metal lizard knew full well what the bird's 'powers' could do, and in a maze of stone buildings and cobbled streets like Tidemill, there was no guaranteeing a soft landing like the last time he'd wound up on the wrong side of the overgrown Wingull's sorcery...

"That's- Uh. Th-That… That won't mean anything if I defeat you first!" the Aggron insisted. "G-Good luck blowing anything away when you're out cold!"

"No worries, Captain!" Elty barked. "A good old-fashioned headbutt would put him down for the count!"

Elty's words at once threw his nearby teammates into wide-eyed alarm, only for them to catch him turning to face them and pawing impatiently at the ground. Nida, Pleo, and their companions watched warily as the Puppy Pokémon turned back to face the Aggron, giving a playful wag of his tail.

"Why, that's even what put him down back in Sormus!" the Growlithe insisted. "One stiff ram from that old hag of a shrimp and he keeled over like a burnt Shedinja!"

Elty's report prompted a malevolent grin to spread over Hess' face. His confidence restored, the Aggron began to paw at the ground, lowering his head in the direction of the young Protector.

"So that's what's super effective against him, huh?" he sneered. "Well you're in luck, ya overgrown Wingull! Because I've been doing headbutts since I was a shin-kicker!"

Hess stomped the ground, shaking the surrounding street before opening his maw with a deafening roar. He stormed ahead, tearing along the cobbles underfoot and lowering his head for a forceful ram. The Aggron carried on, the forms of the runts and their fellow-travellers coming into view, only for them to suddenly slip out of his vision, with the Nidoran among them sliding between his feet.

"Huh?!"

WHAM!

Hess felt his head slam into the stony wall, and stumbled back, shaking his head in a daze as a large hole and a few chunks of splintered wood lay strewn about where the bottom of the ladder was just a few moments ago. The Aggron blinked and looked underfoot to see that far from being trampled underfoot, the meddlesome pests had slipped behind him, in front of a slack-jawed audience of his underlings.

"Argh! I missed!"

Cra-Krak

A low groan filled the air, followed by the sounds of timbers swaying and snapping. Up on the roof, Lyn and Nagant braced themselves as they felt the roof jolt underfoot, and begin to list more and more towards the canal.

"Huh?! The roof!" Nagant exclaimed. "It's colla- Ack!"

Before the Clawitzer could finish her statement, she felt a whirling wind sweep her up and hurl her head-first into Lyn. The Swellow culprit took a moment to examine his wingwork as the two Water-Types separated from each other, taking off with Guardia and her bone as the roof lurched and pitched forward, dumping Lyn and Nagant shouting into the canal along with a mass of tiles and wood. Back on the ground, Hess looked up to see Kiran's form approaching with his limp Cubone passenger, turning back to Team Traveller as they stood in the center of a regrouped mob of pirates.

"Eltenios! What the hell was that?!" he growled. "You said that that overgrown Wingull would crumple up from a little tackle, not- Huh?"

Creeeeeaaaak

The Aggron noticed a sea change among the mood of his deckclaws, whose eyes widened with panic and began to run off with yelps and shouts. A similar panic had come over the runts and their companions, who followed suit shortly afterwards. A falling stone prompted Hess to look up, where he noticed the timbers from the wall above falling outward, bringing the facade of the building's side along with it.

"E-Eeep..."

Hess darted forward as the stony wall fell into the alleyway, dashing itself against the side of the alley and disintegrating into a rain of bricks and wooden shards. From further up the alleyway, Team Traveller shielded their eyes as a cloud of dust overtook them, coughing as the sounds of disoriented shouts rang out all around them.

"Is- Is it over?" Pleo stammered.

"Urgh… h-hey!" Hess' voice shouted. "Hurry up and get me out of here!"

The youngsters looked back as the dust began to clear, looking back to see the form of a dust-caked Aggron laying on his belly with a large pile of rubble burying his legs. Above, the occupants of floor after floor of freshly-opened rooms looked out with slack jaws, watching the Aggron below flail and struggle with the rubble below as Team Traveller looked up sheepishly.

"It's over enough!" Kiran insisted. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

The white-scarved members of the Iron Fleet rushed back for their stricken captain as the shouts of incredulous onlookers rang out in the background. In the midst of the confusion, Team Traveller and their companions darted off, running off down the alleyways past passerbys towards the harbor's water in the distance.


Author's Notes:

- dzieciaki - Polish: "kids"
- Shakh i mat, buyany (Шах и мат, буяны) - Russian: "Check( and )mate, ruffians"
- Ohsubame (オオスバメ) - Japanese: "Swellow" (Official Romanization)