CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

THE ATTACK

-Udon-

We knew it wouldn't be long before someone came to the village looking to attack, so we got prepared right away.

One part of that meant rallying the troops, which consisted of many different shapes and sizes of Pokémon. Some were big and strong, with brute force. Others were smaller, but with their own advantages.

Everyone was equipped with weapons that best suited them. Swords, spears, and even bows and arrows were given out.

And now, we were all part of that army.

"Udon, you are our secret weapon," Loom stated. "When things look tough out there, we're sending you out."

That seemed good to me, but I still questioned if I could really even do this.

So, as the night sky shined down on us, we waited for any attack.

As ordered, I stayed behind for now. Ruffles didn't want to be on the front lines, so he was with me. He had to do a lot of convincing to get that one done.

"Hey, Udon," Ruffles said. "Do you think we're gonna make it?"

"Yeah, of course," I answered, trying my best to stay positive. "If anything goes south, I've got my Thunder Punch."

"Yeah…" he said back.

He was worried, I could tell. I mean, he usually was worried, but, seeing what we've been through, it must be hard to keep cool.

"I've been meaning to say something" he continued. "What if I can use powers too? I mean, I am an Otherworlder too."

That did somewhat make sense. Maybe, since we both came from another world, we both had powers.

"Okay, yeah," I said. "Try it out. Like you said earlier to me, think of protecting your friends."

"Alright, here we go," he said, getting into a stance.

But nothing was happening. I could tell Ruffles was trying hard to concentrate, but, sadly, he wasn't doing anything different.

"I don't think it's working," he stated.

"What are you trying to do?" I asked.

He stopped concentrating and looked at me.

"Thunder Punch. Just like you," he said. "Why?"

That could be the problem. Maybe Thunder Punch was something only I could do.

"Try doing something different," I said. "Make up your own thing."

"Okay, I'll try," he said, getting back into concentration mode.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake slightly. Was this an earthquake? No, it was Ruffles' power.

Something was happening. As he kept his focus, a pile of large rocks rose from the ground, and were thrown up into the air. Then, they landed back down with a large THUD.

"What did I just do?!" Ruffles asked, excitedly.

"I don't know, but it looked awesome!" I answered.

We both were completely dumb-founded. We had both apparently had powers. And they were both extremely different.

"I think we can do this," Ruffles said. "As long as I can do that again, the Elite Four are no match for us!"

-Aura-

Standing at the entrance to the Hidden Village, we awaited anything that could come our way.

I held my sword tightly, and looked off to the horizon.

"The enemy should be here any moment," Loom stated as she stood next to me, holding a bow and arrow.

Suddenly, I could feel an aura in the air. Something was getting closer.

"Battle positions!" I yelled.

Everyone stood in formation, their weapons ready to attack.

Then, I could see it. In the distance, there was a shadowy figure that looked like it was completely made of purple smoke.

Then, there were two. Then, three. Then, before we knew it, there was a whole army of them.

We were definitely outnumbered.

"On my count, we strike," I said, loud enough for all to hear. "Now!"

We all ran towards the opposing army, with our weapons held high.

But the shadow army wasn't rushing towards us. What was their deal?

As we got to the other side, I was the first to strike one of the shadow figures. My blade cut directly through it, slicing it in two, and forcing it to disappear.

Loom kept her distance, firing at the figures with her bow. It was her signature weapon after all.

Amp was the exact opposite, swinging at every figure with his battle axe. He obviously didn't care what happened to him, as long as he brought every enemy down.

As shadow after shadow fell and disappeared into smoke, I thought for sure this would be easy. I mean, they weren't even attacking us.

Then, I had a bad feeling when I sensed another aura. This wasn't the attack.

This was just a distraction.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion back at the village, and my head turned towards the sound.

I couldn't believe my eyes. The village was on fire!

"Retreat! Retreat!" I yelled as loud as I possibly could.

Loom looked back in complete horror at what she saw. Everything was going up in flames. Everything we had built was being destroyed before our eyes.

"Oh my Lord Arceus…" she uttered. "What have we done?"