Draco: I feel so bad for having so many good feels in the early chapters of this. It's just gonna make the #WhamEpisode hurt more.

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.

Aurora: Distant Threats

Evia closed the door to the battlefield and immediately loosed a shaky breath.

Any questions Kaguya might have had were immediately set aside when she realized the state her mother was in, turning her attention to Flareon. Fighting a Bug/Steel-type Pokémon meant that he hadn't taken too much damage, and a concerned hand was quickly brushed aside with a shake of the head and an assuring cry from the Fire-type. Kaguya offered him a small smile before the door opened again; Oichi and Wigglytuff stepped inside, and the healer closed the door behind her.

"Looks like he's not coming back," she observed. "I patched up Scizor and sent her on her way."

"Glad to hear it," Evia mused. "And the letter?"

Oichi drew it out and handed it to her wife. "Right here."

"Thank you." With a deep breath, Evia turned to Kaguya. "Time to call it a night."

"...Okay, Mama Evia," Kaguya conceded.

"You go on ahead," Oichi insisted. "I'll tuck her in."

Evia nodded, taking off with the Eeveelutions following suit; Oichi and Kaguya took a separate route to her bedroom, and only once they'd rounded a corner did Kaguya ask, "Mama Oichi, who was that man?"

"He used to fight with us," Oichi explained. "Back when Evia first became the Warlord of Aurora, he was one of the first Warriors who joined us. But, like she said, he didn't care about the Pokémon he was Linked to. So Evia kicked him out."

Kaguya glanced at Kirlia. "You mean, like he didn't care about Scizor?" she asked. "He tried to keep fighting even when she was already down. And he left without trying to help her up."

Oichi nodded. "That's right. A Warrior like that is a bad man."

"Who would want someone like that working for him?" Kaguya wondered.

"Who knows," Oichi admitted. "We'll see what his message says. But you don't have to worry about that, alright? We'll take care of it."

"...Okay."

They arrived at Kaguya's bedroom, and Oichi got her into bed. "Rest up," she insisted. "I've got a surprise for you tomorrow."

Kaguya recognized the words. "Surprise...?"

Oichi smiled. "Good night, Kaguya."

+x+x+x+

When she and Wigglytuff arrived in the Warlord Chamber, she found Evia reading the letter that Takatora had left them. "Well?" the healer inquired. "What's it say?"

Evia looked up. "It... seems to be a declaration of war."

"What?" Oichi stepped towards the bed; Evia handed the note to her and began to undress, leaving Oichi to sit down and read it.

To the Heroine of Ransei;
In light of all that you have achieved, I would name you the greatest threat to my goals. So I send you this letter, on behalf of we who wish to conquer, and I expect no reply.
Our objective is nothing less than to rule all of Ransei. If you would preserve the region as it is, then I invite you to oppose us. But no matter how great your skills, or how well-trained your Pokémon, I question whether one Warrior is enough to oppose an army.
You have been warned.
~G

"...No name, just a letter," Oichi muttered. "Who is 'G'?" Her gaze fell. "I don't know that you could fill a kingdom with the number of Warriors whose names begin with a G."

"Maybe it's not a Warrior," Evia wondered. "Would certainly explain why they're working with Takatora." She approached the bed. "Or they might not be from Ransei. We've had visitors from other regions before."

Oichi's gaze fell. "But never with ill intent like this," she muttered.

"First time for everything."

She crawled into bed as Oichi disrobed; the healer glanced under the ridge of the bed to make sure their swords were in place before hanging her staff over the headboard and climbing in to join her wife. "What do you plan to do?"

Evia took a deep breath. "Tomorrow is Kaguya's birthday. Her first one since she came to us. I'll be damned if I ruin her day to make preparations for war." She turned to Oichi. "Could I get you to make a trip into town while I show her the ropes with her new present?"

"Of course," Oichi assured her. "I'll get a few essentials, try not to draw too much attention."

Wigglytuff and Sylveon sat down against one side the bed, facing the door; Glaceon, Espeon, and Flareon settled against the other, facing the balcony; and the two Warlords fell asleep in each others' arms.

+x+x+x+

"Happy bir~thday~ dea~r Kaguya~
Happy bir~thday~ to~ you~!"

Kaguya and Kirlia had big grins on their faces as Evia brought a big, hefty ice cream cake to the table. She had Oichi had insisted on Kaguya waiting at least an hour after breakfast before they got to the cake and presents - and since the little one had been so patient, they had upheld their end of the bargain. As soon as Evia set the cake down upon the table, Kaguya took a deep breath and blew hard towards the candles, swiping her mouth back and forth to make sure she got them all in one breath.

One managed to flicker back from an ember, and Kaguya barely inhaled before she blew at it again to extinguish it properly.

"Oooh," Oichi mused. "Who's the lucky lord or lady?"

Kaguya turned red. "Sh-Shut up, Mama!"

Evia glanced at her in confusion. "What do you mean 'lucky'?"

"Huh?" Kaguya's surprise was reflected on Oichi's face. "You don't know?"

"They say if there's any candles left after the first breath," Oichi mused, "that's the number of people you've got a crush on. Or do you not do that in Aurora?"

"The way I heard it," Evia mused, "a candle left means there's someone with a crush on you, not the other way around." A smile rose as she turned to Kaguya. "They might not be lucky, per se, but you've still gotta be nice to them if they're not mean to you."

Kaguya's blush returned in force. "Shut up, Mama!"

Oichi giggled. "Alright, alright." She grabbed a knife and sank the tip into the center of the cake before bringing it down towards the outside; then she lifted it up and held it to cut the first slice. "This is as big as you get for the first one," she insisted. "You can have smaller, if you want, but no bigger than this to start."

"A little smaller... there." Kaguya accepted the slice and turned to Kirlia. "You want some?"

Kirlia gave a cheer and circled the table to get a look, taking a narrower slice than Kaguya had. Once all the Pokémon had been served, Oichi and Evia cut slices for themselves before sitting down. The remaining slightly-more-than-half of the cake was returned to the freezer, and the three made small talk as they ate before heading to the living room.

The long package from yesterday had been gift-wrapped; Kaguya was about to start tearing it open when Evia handed her a pair of gloves. "Put these on first."

"Huh?" Kaguya accepted the gloves in confusion. "Um... okay."

The gloves were a relatively thin layer over her hands, thick enough to stop a papercut, at most, but so thin that they didn't hinder her movement in any way. The reason became clear when she tore the paper away and opened the box; lying inside was a long pole of bamboo... with a cap on one end that looked like a blunted speartip. "Wait, is this...?"

Evia smiled. "A growing Warrior's first weapon," she confirmed.

"We saw your toy one was looking kind of beat-up," Oichi mused, "so we thought we'd get you a real practice weapon."

"Wow... it's beautiful." Kaguya lifted it out of the box, finding it was a bit heavier than she was used to. "So this is..."

"A real weapon means you've gotta wear protection when you're sparring, okay?" Evia mused. "But if you show you can handle it... it won't be long before you can join us on the battlefield."

Kaguya looked at her with a smile. "You mean it?!"

"Of course we mean it," Oichi assured her.

The pole was set down as Kaguya dashed up to her mothers, and they caught her in a group hug. "Thank you so much!"

After the initial excitement had died down, Oichi and Evia traded concerned glances. "You wanna take it for a few practice swings right now?" Evia mused, "or is there something else you wanna do for your birthday first?"

Kaguya shook her head. "Nuh-uh! I wanna try it!" Then, with a sheepish smile; "Um, unless your sword is-"

"I've got an old wooden sword I can use," Evia assured her. "No worries."

"I'm gonna head into town while you guys spar, alright?" Oichi mused. "I've got a few things I need to get at the shop."

"Okay, Mama Oichi!" Kaguya picked up the bamboo pole. "We'll be out in the battlefield when you-"

BOOM!

A sudden crash of thunder from outside caught everyone off-guard. "A storm?" Evia mused.

Oichi glanced out the window. "...Doesn't look like it's raining yet," she observing. "Sometimes it's thunder and no downpour. But maybe you guys better use the training room to be safe."

"You sure you wanna go shopping in the rain?" Kaguya asked.

"I don't want to," Oichi admitted, a smile on her face. "But if I put it off and say I don't wanna do it until after it's done raining, it's just gonna keep raining. And then we're gonna run out of stuff, and I can't put it off anymore, and I'm gonna have to go out when it's coming down hard with hail."

Kaguya shivered in displeasure. "Uh..."

"Exactly," Oichi agreed. "Better I go now before it starts coming down. That way, I might be back before we get more than a few drops."

"Here's hoping," Evia bid her. "Take the Eeveelutoins with you. More Pokémon means a lighter load for each, means you can get back faster if it is raining."

+x+x+x+

"MULCH!"

The yell that echoed throughout the Fight Area drew a few startled glances, though most of the passersby paid it no mind. The Sinnohan Battle Frontier often elicited such frustrations from its challengers, and the figure who had freshly emerged from the gate - a blond-haired boy in a striped top and dark slacks - passed through to challenge the Battle Tower nigh on every day of the week.

Barry slumped forward with a sigh, fuming. As he contemplated whether it was worth a trip north to the Survival Area, a voice caught his ears. "Lost to your old man again?"

"Oh, shut up, Lucas," Barry muttered, raising his gaze towards the blue-clad boy approaching him. "I don't see you and yours getting on any winning streaks."

"Sorry for knowing our limits instead of throwing ourselves against the same opponent," Lucas snarked. "I'm a Professor's assistant, not a career Trainer."

"You made it to the Pokémon League and only lost to the defending Champion!" Barry exclaimed.

"Yeah, with the rescue team," Lucas retorted. "My wins don't mean Mulch when I only landed them because of the Legendary Pokémon that came in through Ranger Net."

"...Okay, point," Barry conceded.

Lucas shook his head. "I'm gonna pay Dawn a visit," he mused, "you want to join me?"

Barry sighed. "You know what, sure," he agreed. "Getting on the boat while I'm frustrated is just gonna make things harder on me." Then, as they started towards Route 230; "Maybe I'll spring for a treatment at the Syndicate for my team."

"You've been to the Ribbon Syndicate?" Lucas mused. "I thought that was, like, super-high-end Coordinator stuff."

"They don't judge where the Ribbons come from," Barry admitted, "they just want a variety. I mean, the staff doesn't judge. You get other customers being punks sometimes, but what can you do?"

The two of them came up to the edge of the water; Lucas brought his Pokétch up and started tapping at the screen. "Talking about the Rangers," he admitted, "I swear this app was a collab with Hastings." He hit the activation and raised his arm outward as a signal was emitted from the device; after a moment, a Bibarel swam up, giving a greeting cry as Lucas hopped on.

"Maybe," Barry agreed, setting off his own Pokétch. "Question is, did they start before or after all the chaos that happened in Fiore?"

Another Bibarel surfaced for him to mount, and the two directed the Beaver Pokémon east. "That's kind of a good question," Lucas admitted. "Lunick mentioned their entire clash with the Go-Rock Squad was over some kind of experimental Capture Styler. If this app is based on Styler tech, who knows if-"

"...ma...!"

Lucas fell quiet as the sound reached his ears. "Huh?"

Barry turned to him. "What's up?"

"Did you hear that?" Lucas asked. "Slow down a sec." He gave Bibarel a light backwards rub on the head, causing the Beaver Pokémon to slow to a stop in the water, and Barry did the same.

"...pa! Mama!"

"I hear it," Barry confirmed. "Is that...!?"

"Manaphy!" Lucas rose up as tall as he could, whistling four notes in a high-low, high-low as loudly as he could.

"Papa! Here! Hurry!"

Lucas' Bibarel quickly shot forward without prompting, and Barry's followed suit. As they came up on the islet in the center of the route, Manaphy's call directed them to the island's north side, where there was no meaningful shore - only a steep rock face - and as they rounded the stone, they saw the Sea Princess floating near a row of submerged boulders, on which were propped several limp figures.

With overlapping curses, the two Trainers each grabbed a Poké Ball; Barry's Floatzel emerged in the water and quickly propelled himself forward as Lucas' Alakazam levitated above the surface. There were three individuals lying against the boulders, a Kirlia and two humans; one was much younger than the other, though they were both dressed in an unfamiliar fashion.

"Alive," Manaphy assured them as the Pokémon approached. "But out. All lone!"

"No boat or anything?" Barry asked. "Not even a wreck?"

Manaphy shook her head. "Nuh-uh," she admitted. "But worse..."

"What do you mean, worse?" Lucas asked as Alakazam tried to lift the unconscious. "What could possibly be worse than two people and a Pokémon floating in the water with no-"

He fell quiet when the older human moved... and he saw, atop her head, a pair of golden horns.

Draco: Oh, frick me. I didn't think I was ever gonna have a proper full-on story where I needed my list of what's canon in Trainer regions for my Pokémon fics, but I'm so glad to be wrong. This will just be the point form; you can find the detailed summaries in A Collection of Notes on Personal Experiences with Legendary Pokémon.

[quote]Can you use the term 'is canon' when referring to game elements present in a fanfic? I don't want to describe it as 'my headcanon', because from my understanding a headcanon specifically refers to a fan theory. {sigh} The Pokémon games are so frickin' diverse and so frickin' interactive that you can't much say that something is 'canon'. Whatever. You guys get my point.[/quote]

Gen I/remakes: Yellow Version happened by Red's hands, and the Sevii Islands storyline happened by Leaf's hands. Red got a full 151 for the Kanto Pokédex; Leaf had a Jigglypuff and some dumb choices from the other half of the Gift Pokémon, and regularly fights him to a draw.

Gen II/remakes: HeartGold Version happened by Ethan's hands. Ethan has the nickname 'Gold'; Giovanni deliberately tried to give his kid an inferiority complex by naming him 'Silver'.

Gen III/remakes: Emerald Version happened by May's hands, with some contortions to account for Primal Reversion and the Magma Suit. Zinnia was involved, which swiftly led into the Delta Episode. Ranger happened by Lunick's hands, Manaphy Egg goes to Sinnoh. Colosseum and XD are a maybe.

Gen IV/remakes: Platinum Version happened by Dawn's hands, with Contest Shows and the Grand Underground. Dawn is scarred by what went down on Coronet; Lucas hatched the Manaphy Egg and went for the whole League. Ranger: Shadows of Almia happened by Kellyn's hands; Lucas received Riolu and Darkrai somewhere around Veilstone. Ranger: Guardian Signs happened by Summer's hands; Lucas received Heatran and Shaymin somewhere around Sunnyshore. There have been no trips to the Hall of Origin in modern-day Sinnoh.

Gen V: White Version 1 happened by Hilda's hands, White Version 2 happened by Nate's hands. N was rocking the Plasma King regalia at the climax of both.

Gen VI: A contorted neutral version happened by Serena's hands, involving failed attempts at seizing Xerneas and Yveltal for the purposes of mechanical redundancy and Zygarde as the power source for the ultimate weapon.

Gen VII: Sun Version happened by Selene's hands on this side of the Ultra Wormhole at the Poni altar; Ultra Moon Version happened by Elio's hands on the other side. They ran into each other the first time Selene tried to go through.

Gen VIII: Sword Version happened by Gloria's hands, plus or minus some Cheri-picking regarding the Gym Leaders. New Snap happened, star photographer is not mentioned by name because I don't think either of them have anything automatic. Legends: Arceus happened by Rei's hands, the dude is Unovan. Eras collided in Ramanas Park, and now it's a Safari Zone for Hisuian regional forms.

Gen IX: Another contorted neutral version happened by Juliana's hands, involving a peaceable Koraidon and a hostile Miraidon and Arven suffering a LOT. Legends: Z-A is TBD and will not factor into this story no matter how many writer's blocks I suffer in the writing of it.

[quote]Also, my rules for League challenges: Upon the defeat of the reigning Champion, the victor decides if they want to stay at the League and take challengers, or simply enter the Hall of Fame and continue their journeying. I'm sure this is hardly an original idea (I certainly hope this isn't an original idea), but I use it regardless.[/blockquote]

...I'm not 100% sure how many of those are gonna be important, but better cautious than crushed.