The Contender's Ascent

by Insane Dominator

Third installment to "The Fairy Contender". Months passed since Nic and Erza finally united, but now things get really interesting. New challenges face Nic as Pokemon begin to rise, more complex foes challenge him and his powers, and something darker than darkness itself seeks Nic. With friends new and old joining forces, Nic and two worlds unite in ways unimaginable. OCxErza

58. A Trainer's Motivation

A loud thud caused a slightly unnerved Duncan to removed his forearm. When he looked back, his dark eyes widened in disbelief and horror upon seeing his Gastrodon sprawled on his back several meters away from him.

"Excellent work, Garchomp."

The opposing Garchomp crossed her fins before exerting a victorious cry throughout the black-tiled chamber. She stood before her trainer, whom was an older woman, presumably in her 20's. She had very long blonde hair with black dewdrop beads on the sides of her head. Her gray eyes brimming with confidence was what ticked Duncan off the most. Just looking at them alone was enough to get his blood to a boiling point.

"Gastrodon, return!" He begrudgingly held out his Poke Ball that his fallen Gastrodon returned to.

Garchomp took a battle-ready stance as her trainer continued smirking. "I must say, you're putting up a fight for sure, Duncan. I wasn't expecting your Gastrodon to hold up this long after defeating my Togekiss. You've obviously raised it quite well up till now."

Duncan grunted. He didn't hold any ounce of satisfaction for the praise Cynthia was bestowing him. Through his ears, it was clearly a taunt. Her tone said it all.

"Looks like you're down to your last Pokémon...let's see what you got." Her eyes narrowed in anticipation of his actions.

Duncan couldn't hold back the growl that was vibrating in his throat. He never felt so anxious and frustrated in his entire life. It was taking everything in his mentality to keep his body from shaking. The last thing he wanted the Sinnoh Champion to do was mock his composition...though his left eyebrow was twitching.

'I came this far, I can't lose! Not after coming this far!' He hastily reached for his last Pokémon – which was held in a Dusk Ball. "Spiritomb, start!"

The Dusk Ball popped open, expelling energy that manifested into none other than Duncan's Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokémon stood readily eyeing up Garchomp with her one green eye giving off a fierce pressure. Garchomp's yellow eyes and sharp fangs bared against this, despite Spiritomb's Pressure exerting regardless.

Duncan's teeth gnashed harder. 'It took some damage battling her Lucario. I have to end this now!'

Cynthia smirked. She could tell from Duncan's prideful expression that he was getting desperate. She knew in such cases she had to stay on guard. After all, cornered animals are the most dangerous ones.

"Spiritomb, Dark Pulse!" Duncan ordered. Spiritomb ascended a few feet into the air, generating jumbled dark rings together into a compressed mass that she fired in a concentrated beam directly towards Garchomp.

Garchomp stood there, crossing her fins in front of her body. The beam met its mark, resulting in a purple explosion that was strong enough to push her several feet away. Her claws dug into the ground, leaving ditches from traction.

Cynthia raised a brow. "What power..."

"Using Giga Impact on Gastrodon was effective...but it's left you wide open." Duncan smirked. He reached out once more. "Now, Shadow Ball!"

Spiritomb remained still as she manifested a sphere of black and purple energy with crackling dark static. The attack fired through the atmosphere, heading for the still guarded Garchomp.

"Dodge it!" Cynthia ordered. Her Garchomp snarled before she bent a knee and rocketed off the ground. The Shadow Ball continued its course until it exploded into dark matter and dust in the gray tiling composing the Poke Ball-shaped arena. The dragon's jump was so strong that she was mere feet below the chamber's lightning, making her silhouette hard to make out for Duncan and Spiritomb to see.

'It's recharged...' Duncan grunted.

Cynthia hummed as she smirked. "Use Dragon Rush!"

"Quick, counter with Dark Pulse!"

Garchomp cried out as the appendages on her head glowed before expelling draconic energy that engulfed her body. It shaped into a dragon's head, along with a set of wings and a streamline body that lengthened as she soared down at a steep angle for Spiritomb. Spiritomb retaliated by firing another round of compressed dark rings jumbled together at the oncoming Dragon Rush. The two attacks met midair, causing a stalemate that lasted for only a few seconds. Eventually, they gave out, resulting in an explosion that encompassed the entire atmosphere above Cynthia and Duncan.

From the smoke, Garchomp backpedaled in the air, seemingly undeterred by the attack. Her yellow eyes darted daggers down at Spiritomb, much to the ghostly being's chagrin.

"Not a bad counter." Cynthia praised. "But...you'll have to do better than that!" She reached outwards. "Use Earthquake!"

"Use Sucker Punch, now!"

Garchomp adjusted and beamed straight for the ground below her. Spiritomb reappeared before Garchomp, a glowing, dark purple wisp in the shape of a fist made that met Garchomp halfway to the ground. The fist met Garchomp's face, causing her to grunt as she lost her momentum, spiraling towards the ground.

Cynthia, however, was undeterred. "Not bad, but..."

As she fell, Garchomp's yellow eyes shot wide open. Duncan went slackjawed with disbelief.

"...it just wasn't enough! Garchomp!"

"(It's over!)" She straightened out, carrying momentum from her spiraling into her feet just as she slammed into the earth with intense force. The force of the impact instantly crushed the tiling and made a crater in the chamber's arena before the shockwaves erupted plates, fissures, and shockwaves that spread everywhere.

The wake of the attack gradually reached Spiritomb as she looked shaken. She was too slow to get away as the underearth caught up to her from below.

Duncan's eyes were wide with horror as he stared at Spiritomb, who briefly looked back at him. Both their eyes met for a brief second. But in that one second, Duncan could tell what Spiritomb was trying to convey...and that was enough to take all the breath out of Duncan's lungs.

The Earthquake swallowed up Spiritomb the next moment, causing Duncan to see flashes of land and earth. "NO~!"

---

Small giggles echoed throughout the small forest outside of Magnolia. From the sounds of them, they were merry and young. The shrubs shuffled around until Junior flung out of them, with Larvesta not too far behind him.

The two had made quite the ways out from the guild hall; in fact, the guild hall and their parental figures were the farthest thing from their minds at the moment. Larvesta was too engrossed in running about with Junior that the concept of their surroundings didn't compute. Alas, the downside of being too young for one's own good is lack of experience.

"Cooooo!" Junior rolled in the grass away from Larvesta as the insect was about to pounce for him.

"Gotcha!" She leaped ahead for the puffy cloud with a victorious yelp...but Junior was just a little faster when he splashed off the ground, resulting in a seemingly harsh faceplant into the grass.

"Cooo! Coo?" Junior's upbeat attitude faded when he saw Larvesta not moving. He blinked in wonder and gradually plopped closer towards her. "Cooo...?" He tilted his head to get a better angle of her, before gently poking her with his soft appendage of an arm. "Cooo..."

Suddenly, Larvesta's white fur shuffled, getting his attention. "Cooo?"

"HA! I gotcha!" Larvesta suddenly sprung up from her dirt nap uproariously, surprising Junior. The latter was caught completely off guard when her stubby limbs caught him and rolled over with her. Larvesta laughed joyfully, with an ecstatic Junior adding an echo to her note.

In a nearby tree, Butterfree was settling on a tree branch, nibbling on a half-eaten Oran Berry he found. As he was enjoying his snack to get through the afternoon, his antennae rattled at the sounds of growing laughter.

At first, he tried to ignore it, but curiosity got the better of him. He ceased his feasting and looked in the direction his antennae were reacting towards. He turned his head slightly and immediately noticed a strange-looking white larvae rolling around. It looked to be rather young with how it was behaving so feverishly about something. In his wonders, he fluttered towards a nearby branch overseeing this misplaced insect.

He looked directly below, watching the Larvesta hop around to try and snag something. "I'm gonna get you!" She laughed as she pounced again, but this time missed as her companion splashed over her head and landed directly behind. She blinked her emerald eyes before whipping around, her rear rattling excitedly. "You slippery! Ha!"

Butterfree looked away from the young insect to see what she was playing with...only for his compound vision to glitch when he recognized the familiar neon cloud that had yellow eyes full of joy. Immediately, a nervous chill ran down his spine as memories from the other day came flooding back.

"Free..." Instinctively, he felt extremely uneasy. If he was here, the that meant...

FWOOSH!

An even bigger chill ran down his spine just then. His body instinctively froze as he felt a pair of sharp red eyes beaming at him from above. He knew he shouldn't, but he slowly creaked his head to see an adhesive visage piercing daggers into his soul. It was safe to say that one look alone ruined his appetite for the day.

Flying directly above him, Staraptor gave the Butterfree a menacing look. "What do you think you're doing?" Her tone was suspicious, if not territorial.

"F-free..." Butterfree quipped.

Staraptor studied the inhabitant before something clicked in her mind. "Wait, aren't you that same Butterfree from before?"

"Free..." He slowly nodded.

"I see..." She turned her attention down towards the forest floor, seeing Junior and Joey's Larvesta hopping and rolling around. "So this is where they ended up..."

She continued to watch them carefully as Larvesta and Junior bounced back and forth on one another. They were all over the place. One moment, Larvesta was chasing Junior, then next instance, Junior was trying to pounce on his playmate. They were so lost in their childhood merriment that it seemed almost criminal to get in the way. But as much as Staraptor would like to enjoy seeing her son have fun with Joey's young one, she wasn't going to allow affection overshadow her responsibilities.

"Cooo!" Junior splashed off the grass onto Larvesta's back, holding her fur lining as she squirmed and hopped around to playfully knock him off, like a cowboy to a Tauros. It was only when Larvesta noticed a shadow blocking out the sunlight did she stop and look up, immediately shrinking towards the ground in fear.

"Alright, Junior. That's enough." Staraptor descended in front, landing before the startled bug and her playmate. "You went out too far again. It's time we go back."

"Cooo..." Junior looked at his mother's red eyes, instinctively recognizing them as the threatened look he was given before. Immediately, he backed down. "Cooo..."

"Over here, Master Joey! I've found them!"

Another voice got their attention. They all looked towards the sky, seeing a Tranquill that circled overhead. Yet again, Butterfree tensed up at the sight of another bird of prey.

"Is that Tranquill?" Staraptor blinked. "Wait, then that must mean..." She turned towards the sounds of rustling leaves and footsteps coming from the direction she tailed the young ones. As she had guessed, Joey rushed past the trees, panting and out of breath.

"Larvesta! There you are, baby!" The Freaks' Captain hurriedly rushed for his young Larvesta. "Mommy's coming to get you!"

"Momma Joey!" Larvesta turned and cooed happily upon seeing the sight of het trainer. She didn't waste time firing a String Shot thread that Joey immediately put his forearm out for. The thread laced around his arm to provide a sturdy hold for Larvesta to reel herself towards. Once she was close, Joey caught and cradled the juvenile.

"There you are, Larvesta. It's good to see that you're okay." Joey smiled happily as he patted his baby girl's back. He pulled away, this time giving her a serious face. "Now, what did your mommy tell you back there?! I told you to stay put, didn't I?"

Larvesta's jovial face fell. "Sor...ry...Momma Joey. I...forgot." She nervously replied.

Tranquill descended from the air, flapping just above Joey. Preceding him was Dereece, who walked down from above the trees at an angle with labored breathing. He rested his hands on his knees and panted after running through the air to get a good position.

"Looks like...you found her...that's good." Dereece panted. "Oi...I need a nap."

"A little late on the hustle, Dereece. Does a little urgency mean anything to you?" Joey questioned, giving a raised brow and a hardened look at his slower companion-at-arms. He sighed before turning to grin at a giggling Larvesta. "Well, at least we've found Larvesta. I hope we're not missing the next battle."

"I'm sure it's fine, Captain. More importantly, I'm concerned about something else." Dereece noted.

Joey glanced over his shoulder to shoot him another brow. "Like what?"

"Duncan's been gone for a while. Where do you think he went off to?"

Joey's eyes darted towards the ground at the inquiry. Now that he mentioned it, it has been some time since Duncan left for some reason. He knew the reason must have been personal, but it wasn't like Joey to pry too deeply as long as their team's dynamic was still functional. "Hm, maybe we'll scout for him. Knowing him, he's probably over by the East Forest training by himself..."

Butterfree sighed. He didn't want any part of this. He turned away and fluttered off, but Junior's attention was focused on him. "Coooo!" He hopped in place before splashing off to chase him.

"Junior, leave him alone! You're bothering him!" Staraptor scolded, taking off to reach him.

"Come, Dereece! Tranquill! We must help Nic-senpai's Staraptor! Even if we bust an artery in the process!" Joey declared, dutifully following in tow. Larvesta squealed in delight in his arms.

"I'm coming, Master Joey!" Tranquill merrily followed his lead.

Dereece tailed behind, groaning tiredly. "Kill me..."

Butterfree exited the forest, making his way through a field filled with very few trees. He scouted for a nearby perch and noticed a tree at the top of a hill. He fluttered towards it, with Junior, Staraptor, and everyone else in tow. Once he reached the top, he found a low-hanging tree branch and rested his blue toes.

Junior cooed underneath the tree, reaching up to the butterfly. Staraptor caught up and immediately tucked the child in her wings to restrain him. "That's far enough for you, Junior. We need to back now...hm?" She noticed something peculiar up ahead. "What's this...?"

Tranquill, Joey, and Dereece were soon to catch up. Tranquill stopped beside Staraptor and tilted his head. "Huh?" His eyes widened in realization before looking back. "Master Joey, I found Duncan! I found him!"

"What? What do you mean by that?" Joey moved closer towards the tree, hiding himself behind the trunk to see two figures in the fields a short distance away. What he saw made his own eyes widen.

'Wait, isn't that-?!'

---

Vanessa stood in front of Duncan, registering what he just said to her. It took a little time before the message sank in for her to realize the flaw in his declaration.

"I'm sorry...could you say that again? What exactly do you mean?"

Vanessa's question was answered with a scoff from Duncan. "It's as I said. I challenge you to a battle, right here, and right now."

The Pularis woman furrowed her brow. She knew this wasn't some kind of trick or prank. She knew Duncan enough to know he wouldn't do something like this on a whim. It wasn't like Natsu who challenged everyone precariously to Pokémon Battles like earlier. Duncan was much more reserved. Granted, she didn't know him to a personal extent, but they were both experienced Pokémon Trainers. It was more or less a code of conduct to keep their matters professional unless otherwise. And from the aura she was reading, this was crossing the border of professionalism and personal.

She kept her trademark relaxed expression as she pried for another answer. "Is there any reason to this particular challenge?"

"Should there be any other reason? We're both Pokémon Trainers, so isn't it natural for us to battle to get stronger?" He countered. "It's the same with mages of this world, they fight to get themselves stronger."

He remembered his past experiences since being in this world, how he was helpless when Kane abducted him, to where he was overpowered by the Machia he fought in Alvarez. But what stung him the most...was the memory of when Sophie sacrificed her memories after their battle against Andromeda. His fist balled tightly at how helpless he felt.

"I acknowledge that I can't make it in this world without understanding the concept of magic. If I didn't learn my magic when I did, I would have been dead."

"If that's the case, then why didn't you ask Nic to return you back to PokeEarth? Surely you must have your reasons for choosing to remain here."

His leer fastened on her. "It's precisely because Nic is the strongest that I choose to stay. As far as records go, he's the strongest trainer that anyone knows to this day. Strength to hold himself above even the likes of a Champion-leveled trainer even. That's why I chose to align myself with this world."

Vanessa raised a brow, but before words could come out of her mouth, Duncan continued. "To be honest, I initially wanted to challenge Nic to this fight. But, since he wasn't around, you were the most convenient solution."

"You know, it's rather shallow of you to consider another human being a substitute in place of another, much less my own kin." Vanessa rebuffed. "I'd rather not be looked at as some disposable option."

Duncan shrugged at her rebuttal. "It's fine. It works out for me anyways since I just remembered that unlike Nic, you have actual magic. I want to test my abilities as a mage and how far I've come since my arrival...does that answer your question?"

Vanessa remained silent. Hearing Duncan out like this made her thought run on a long loop through time. Memories of her past experiences since arriving to this world resurfaced. From when she first started out as a Fairy Tail mage, she struggled to find her own magic. Had it not been for her Aura Magic surfacing when it did on Tenrou Island, she possibly wouldn't have made it to where she was today. That went without say when she recounted past battles against Meredy, Peter, Imaci, and Seila. Odds were that if she weren't killed up to this point, she'd be lucky and nothing more.

'Now I get it.' Her thought process shifted yet again. Wonder Duncan wanted to challenge her now. After recounting her own experiences, she could most certainly empathize with his reasoning. Considering his position on the matter, it felt morally wrong to leave him hanging like this.

Besides, his eyes said it all. This was something he needed.

"...alright. When you put it like that, suppose I'll oblige." She raised her head. "But before that, I would like you to answer something for me."

"Like what?"

"Tell me...why is it that you battle?"

Duncan bent down and reached for the straps on both ends of the large black case he's been carrying. As he unstrapped the ends, he scoffed. "That answer's not important to you, is it?" He undid one strap and moved towards the next. "I have my reasons, so do you. But believe it or not, we're all after the same thing, and I mean that." He loosened the last strap and unclipped the safety trigger that held the two ends together. "In the end, it's the same thing...to be better than anyone else."

Vanessa's eyes gradually widened at what Duncan pulled out. Joey and Dereece had the same shock at what they saw.

When Duncan stood up, he fastened a pair of black gloves with dark gray gems in the white palms. He used those new gloves to grip a long, dark blue shaft that was as tall as himself. The two ends were round silver bulbs that were conduction points for something. The shaft itself was constructed of a refined alloy with perforated joints, showing switch gears. In each individual joint aligning the weapon's body, there were several colorful lacrima that glowed brightly upon Duncan's grip on the leatherbound center. The lacrimas' color ranged from red, yellow, green, blue, brown, and finally purple. A small gray lacrima was fixed into the leather grip that Duncan held onto that matched his gloves.

"Wait a minute...is that what Duncan's errand was for?" Dereece quipped.

Joey's eyes were fixed in widened shock. 'Woah...I knew Duncan was working on something by himself, but...just what exactly is that?'

"Cooo..." Junior watched from within Staraptor's wings, completely raptured by the colorful stones embedded into the metal.

Vanessa remained composed as she watched Duncan's movements carefully. "Do I want to know what that weapon is?"

Duncan smirked. "This? It's just something that I've been working on for over a month now...and now it's ready." He held the weapon overhead and twirled it around with impressive speeds, before taking a striking position. "This is my new weapon – Elfen Forja!"

Vanessa raised a brow. She's never seen anything like it, but even by Earthland standards, this was something even she didn't expect. 'A weapon specialized just for him and his Holding Magic?' She zeroed in on the lacrima lining the shaft. 'Those must be lacrima, but for what purpose...?' Her eyes narrowed. 'I see now. He's just using this battle to test out his Elfen Forja and its compatibility with his magic.'

'I bought that metal staff before to help me adjust to using this when it's ready. Now, to see just how far behind I am from the best!' Duncan's glare hardened as he glared at Vanessa. "Ready?"

Vanessa spread her legs, surroundings her hands in teal aura. "Very well...let's."

Duncan's eyes flashed wide before he raced across the field, bringing his Elfen Forja back with a strong cry that echoed throughout the area.

---

Natsu and Lucy stood on the opposite side of the battlefield against Cana and Sophie. The entirety of the guild hall surrounded the perimeter of the battlefield with loads of anticipation to go around. Freed stepped up before clearing his throat. "Now then, are both sides ready?"

Natsu rammed his fist into his palm, making embers flourish. "You bet! Raring to go, Lucy?"

"Right." She put her right heel forward with a confident expression. She wasn't going to fall short like last time. That much she can guarantee.

Off to the side, Happy was waving his arms up and down frantically. "Go guys, win it!" he cheered.

"Those guys look really into it this time around." Levy noted. Her attention was on Lucy, who looked more psyched than she's ever been before. "Lu looks like she's ready to take down an army all by herself."

"It's probably because of their last team battle against Joey and Dereece. I'm sure that loss motivated them to do better this time around." Juvia reasoned, holding back a slight quiver. She almost forgot just how frightening Joey's Gyarados was until she brought up the subject.

"Well I don't know about you, but I just know Natsu's gonna win it this time." Lisanna beamed supportively.

Alzack folded his arms. "Well my money's on Cana. The last time I battled her Prinplup, my Ponyta and I sure learned our lesson. She's not going down so easily."

"Well I say Lucy has a pretty good chance. After all, when you put her and Natsu together, things never go your way, that's for sure." Bisca chimed in. "Say Al, how's about the loser's bet has to cook dinner tonight."

Alzack cringed. "W-what...er, sure. That's no problem." He nervously laughed, though his insides were quivering. 'Why did I have to go and open my mouth like that?!'

"Is it just me, or is everyone forgetting the whole reason behind these battles at this point?" Gray crossed his arms, hearing his guildmates and their audible opinions escalating.

"Um...yeah, looks like it." Wendy quipped.

Carla sighed. "Not much we can do to stop that I'm afraid. Still..." She looked over at the last competitors. "Between the four of them, it's hard to say who has the upper hand. This is a Pokémon Battle after all, it could go anyone's way."

Cana stretched overhead, limbering herself up a little. "Alright, let's get this show on the road, right Sophie?"

"If you say so, Cana." Sophie mentally sighed in relief. She was so glad to have remembered her ally's name. 'It's strange...but why does it feel so euphoric to me that we're having a battle together?'

"Alright, the two gals of the Celestial Crew are gonna kick butt!" Cana eagerly chimed. She briefly glanced into the crowd and noticed someone. "Eh...? Ah, there you are, Nic! Trying to hide from your gal pals, huh?!" She waved at him. "Say, mind buying me a drink if I win?! I'm kinda dry right now!"

Nic eyerolled. "Good grief..."

Across the battlefield in the crowd, Shiin was steadily keeping an eye on Nic. He had just noticed his arrival as well, but was sure to stay careful and quiet. But while Nic was his primary monitoring target, he was his duties to fulfill observing these Z-Moves. He got his lacrima-based camera set as Freed stepped between them.

"Now then, if both sides are ready, bring out your Pokémon!"

"Okay then, come on out!" Natsu didn't waste a second taking the initiative. He threw his Poke Ball, bringing out his choice for a partner.

Charmeleon uncurled from his fetal position, spreading his legs and craning his neck around as he cried out for battle.

Lucy brought out a Poke Ball of her own before tossing it skywards. "Staryu, let's go!"

The Poke Ball opened, revealing Staryu as it stood right beside Charmeleon. Its core blinked to show it was ready.

BEEPBEEP!

"Well there's no surprise. Of course Salamander would go with Charmeleon." Gajeel grunted, arms folded as he watched the unfolding fight.

"Yeah, and plus Lucy brought out her Staryu, which is a Water-type." Levy commented, turning towards Cana and Sophie. "Now the question here is, what Pokémon will they be battling against?"

"Whatever they're up against, I'm all for Natsu! Show'em that you and Charmeleon aren't messin' around!" Happy eagerly cheered.

Natsu turned and gave Happy a thumbs up. "That's the plan, pal. Right, Charmeleon?"

"You bet!" The lizard huffed embers from his breath. "Bring it on!"

Cana and Sophie stood on the opposite side of the battlefield, discerning their opponents' choices for battle. They already knew that Charmeleon alone would be a problem with how strong he was. Staryu, though, was another matter entirely. Sophie has seen Lucy battle enough around the guild hall with Staryu to know what it can do.

Sophie fastened her stance. 'Charmeleon is a Fire-type. So the best way to deal with both him and Staryu is a Pokémon that can also take Water-type attacks.' She pulled out a Poke Ball. 'Then this will be my choice.'

Together, Cana and Sophie pivoted and swiped their arms out, sending their choices to battle.

"Liepard, come on out, girl!"

"Araquanid, you're up!"

The Poke Balls expelled the two selected Pokémon. Liepard raised her head with a defensive hiss. Araquanid spread his multiple legs and gurgled out his own battle-ready hiss.

"Looks like the girls are playing it smart. Araquanid is a Bug and Water-type, so Staryu and Charmeleon's attacks won't be as effective against him." Pantherlily stated.

"Yes, and plus Cana has Liepard. She won't be an easy opponent I wager." Carla noted, before noticing something going on just a few feet away from her. She glanced over, seeing Happy standing with his tail curled in a heart with a dreamy expression. "Happy? Don't tell me..."

"Go, Liepard! Win this one for the cats out there, especially me!" he cheered.

"You serious?! Whatever happened to supporting your teammates a second ago?!"

"Wha~?" Happy snapped out of his trance, looking over at Carla. "Oh, did you say something, Carla?"

Carla facepalmed as she shook her head. "You're absolutely hopeless."

"Alright, let's get this show on the road! Bring it on, girls! Charmeleon and I are ready for ya!" Natsu took a battle-ready stance, Charmeleon doing the same.

"You're on, dragon boy! Liepard, time to kick some ass!" Cana shouted.

Liepard crouched, her scythe tail snapping once. "Whatever you say. Let's just get this over with."

Araquanid turned back and nodded at Sophie, to which the blonde reciprocated. They both looked ahead readily as well. "We're ready."

"Us, too!" Lucy shouted.

BEEP!

Seeing everyone set for battle, Freed backpedaled and raised his arms up. "Then, let the final seminar match...commence!"

Natsu's eyes gleamed as she uppercut the air. "First thing's first! Taking out Araquanid! Charmeleon, use Fire Fang!" Charmeleon rushed across the battlefield as his maw ignited with flames. Once he made it halfway, he lunged for Araquanid's front, showing his gaping maw at him.

With a vindictive snap of his jaws, the flames erupted around Araquanid's head, engulfing him in smoke. Charmeleon jumped away for a safe distance, his glare set on the water spider.

"Nice shot." Natsu praised.

Charmeleon harrumphed with a synchronized passion as his trainer.

"That looked strong for sure." Nab gaped.

Vijeeter blinked. "Huh? Hey, hold on a minute! Look!"

Everyone watched the smoke dissipate, revealing Araquanid still standing. In fact, the damage dealt to him was minimal at best. He eyes Charmeleon with an annoyed grunt. "You puny lizard, thinking you can get up in my space like that...!" He snapped, leaving Charmeleon flustered.

"What the...?!"

"That hardly did any damage?" Natsu was left shocked.

Sophie put a hand to her hip, keeping her chin high. "You see, my Araquanid's Ability is Water Bubble. Which means, that any and all Fire-type attacks dealt to him are halved, and he can't sustain any burns either."

"Wait...seriously, what kind of an Ability is that?!" Natsu complained, but Sophie didn't seem to mind.

"But what's more, is that it also doubles the power of Araquanid's Water-type moves." She moved her arm out in front. "Bubble Beam!"

Araquanid hissed as he raised his head to expel his attack. Natsu immediately saw this and jerked forward. "Quick, dodge it!" Charmeleon hastily backpedaled, but he was still too close.

"Staryu, quick! Help Charmeleon out!" Lucy ordered. "Use your Bubble Beam!"

Staryu beeped rapidly before jumping into the air. It spun in place and fired a powerful barrage of blue bubbles at Araquanid. The water spider retaliated by expelling his own barrage. The two bubbling beams popped and sparkled in the middle of the battlefield for a few moments until Staryu's end was gradual shoved back. The bubbles caught up and pelted Staryu, causing a blue burst in midair. Staryu was seen slamming into the ground, doubling over on its lower legs.

Lucy gasped. "Staryu, are you okay?!"

Staryu looked back, blinking its core to signal its health.

"That's good..." The blonde looked ahead, giving Araquanid a studious glare. "That Araquanid is definitely going to be tough to get by."

"Yeah, plus there's Liepard to deal with, too." Natsu stated. "So how's about this then, let's switch things up so that you stall Araquanid until we deal with Liepard first, okay?"

"Right, just leave it to me." She nodded.

Erza folded her arms. "Looks like Natsu's actually thinking on this one. He knows that his Charmeleon is at a disadvantage against Araquanid, so he's leaving another Water-type to deal with it. And he's being mindful of his opponent's partner as well."

Nic remained silent as he watched the battle. He needed to pay close attention just he could get a read on their battling styles and strategies.

Natsu balled his fist and held it up front. "Alright Charmeleon, use Flame Charge on Liepard!"

"You got it, Natsu!" Charmeleon crouched to all fours as his body cloaked in fire. He jetted across the battlefield in a streaming flame heading straight for Cana's Liepard.

"Look alive, Liepard!" Cana shouted.

"Yeah, I can see him alright." The feline retorted.

Charmeleon closed the gap and lowered his head to strike Liepard. However, at the last second, Liepard's nimble body leaped into the air, positioning herself right above Charmeleon.

"Now, Fury Swipes!"

Liepard's claws extended from her paws. She raised them and raked down on Charmeleon just as he turned to look up. His face got raked with two sharp slashes in his face, causing him to floor.

"Charmeleon!" Natsu gasped. 'That was so fast!'

Happy eagerly flapped his arms harder than before. "Yeah, wait a go, Liepard! You're the cat!"

"Whose side are you on over there?!" Lucy exasperated. She grunted and chose to focus on the battle. "Staryu, help him out! Swift!"

Staryu blinked before spinning once again, projecting golden stars from his core that sped into both Araquanid and Liepard. Araquanid raised both his front legs and defended against the pelting stars without much staggering. However, the latter partner looked up and saw the stars heading for her.

"Quick, Fury Swipes!" Cana ordered.

Liepard sneered as her claws extended out of her paws again. She snapped towards the oncoming stars and relentlessly slashed in succession, raking across the array of stars to shield herself from harm. Each swipe carried with it a battle cry and dazzling glimmers from the stars being cut in half.

With his opponent distracted, Charmeleon grunted as he slowly stood back up, looking over his shoulder with a leer on his target.

"Now, Flame Charge!" Natsu shouted.

Liepard's green eyes dilated before she realized what was happening. When the stars ceased, she was in the midst of a pivot when Charmeleon blasted into her from behind with his body in searing fire. Too little too late as she was sent sliding on her side across the battlefield's center.

Charmeleon clutched his claw. "How's that for nimble?" He sniped, a red aura engulfing his body to indicate a Speed increase.

"GYAH! NO, LIEPARD!" Happy paled as his tail stood on end. "Don't be so rough with her, Natsu-ack!" He was seized by a hand that instantly clamped over his mouth. He muffled frantically as Carla was restraining him in her human transformation.

"You seriously need to get over yourself!" she sniped angrily. "It's pathetic!"

"That's putting it mildly." Pantherlily sagely nodded in agreement.

Liepard purred as she got up, giving Charmeleon plenty of time to close in on her. "Use Fire Fang!" Charmeleon obeyed, racing towards Liepard as she barely rebounded. His maw seared in fire as the gap shortened faster than before.

"Sophie!" Cana shouted.

The blonde nodded. "Yes! Araquanid, Bubble Beam!"

Araquanid turned and aimed for Charmeleon. "Hmph! Back off, reptile!" He expelled another barrage of harsh, powerful bubbles.

"Huh?!" Charmeleon's eyes widened. Just as he was about to reach Liepard, he was forced to backpedal from a blue stream of bubbles that blocked his path towards her. He dug his front claws into the dirt to keep traction until he came to a halt.

'Now!' Lucy hastily went for her next attack. "Staryu, quick! Use Psywave!"

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

It aimed for Araquanid, its core glowing before firing a wavy telekinetic blast of energy that streamed towards him. Everyone watched as the attack closed in on the water spider, but a purple blur stepped in front, intercepting the attack and making a large explosion of energy in front of the spider.

Lucy gasped in surprise, as did the other guild members. They all watched as the smoke cleared, revealing Liepard as she stood unfazed, her tail snapping yet again. "...that kinda tickled." She chimed.

"It didn't work?" Lucy fearfully exclaimed.

Sophie grinned as she glanced over at Cana. "Thanks for that."

Cana smirked back. "Anytime. Let's just be lucky that Psychic-type moves don't work at all on Liepard. Talk about a lucky break, huh?" She looked forward, her face becoming serious. "Alright then, time to kick it into high gear! You're up, Soph!"

"Sure! Araquanid, Bite on Staryu!"

"Liepard, Assurance!"

Araquanid's protruding fangs glowed and extended as he pounced for Staryu. His long legs were surprisingly swift to carry him across the battlefield into the starfish. His fangs crunched into the starfish and hurled it into the air. With it in freefall, Liepard pounced and raised her dark purple, glowing paw and readied to smack Staryu.

"Quick, Dragon Rage!"

From below, Charmeleon channeled blue, draconic energy from his gut that traversed into his maw. He opened wide and fired a fast-moving, draconic beam that intercepted Liepard's paw. The paw and the beam were in a deadlock before an explosion swallowed the atmosphere. Both Staryu and Liepard fell, though the latter landed on her feet whereas the former fell on its back, cringing.

"Is it okay?!" Charmeleon shouted.

"Yeah, it's fine!" Lucy was relieved. For a moment, she thought Staryu would have been in deep trouble. But she noticed something about it as it cringed. 'Wait, did it just flinch? That must be an added effect of Bite.'

With their opponent subdued, Sophie reached out towards Charmeleon. "Araquanid, now! Bubble Beam!" Once more, Araquanid hissed as he aggressively turned to fire more bubbles at Charmeleon.

"Dodge it, now!" Natsu shouted.

Charmeleon didn't waste a beat. He sprung off the ground and barely missed the bubble barrage. His eyes remained wide as he landed on the ground and moved around in haste, dodging the bubbles to the best of his abilities.

With Charmeleon distracted with his maneuverability, Liepard spread her legs, keeping herself locked onto him. Her whiskers twitched as she eyed on the lizard.

"Your Charmeleon's pretty speedy. Don't mind if we use that." Cana chimed, swiping her arm. "Now, Psych Up!"

Liepard purred loudly as a hypnotic swirl appeared in front of her that slowly shrank into her chest, sucking in particles from thin air. Once the swirl was fully cultivated, Liepard's body flashed white as she prepared her next attack.

"Psych Up?" Jet repeated. "Wonder what that does?"

"Doesn't look like it did anything other than make my head spin for a second." Droy muttered, lightly dazed from the circular pattern he stared at.

Meanwhile, Araquanid was violently projecting bubbles at Charmeleon, who darted past them and closed the gap between himself and the large spider, He slid across the dirt and ended up beneath Araquanid's underside – a vulnerable weak point.

"Huh?"

"Now, Dragon Rage!" Natsu shouted.

Charmeleon opened his maw, expelling rapidly charged dragonfire. The beaming energy dragon shot straight up into Araquanid's underside, scoring a direct, painful hit that resulted in a black and blue explosion. The eruptive wake projected skywards, pushing Araquanid off his hind legs into the atmosphere, before slamming onto his back.

"Araquanid!" Sophie stammered.

"Nice try, but even with your Ability, Charmeleon's still packing other kinds of moves that can work around that." Natsu challenged.

Araquanid scrunched his legs as he tried getting back up, much to Charmeleon's amusement. "What's wrong, big guy? Having trouble getting yourself together?" he teased...only for a purple and yellow blur to blindside him. "Huh? What was that?"

A smirk could be seen crossing Cana's lips. "Assist!"

"Wha-?!" Charmeleon whipped around with wide eyes, barely catching the imprint of a paw that turned into metallic, glowing nails that slashed at him. He reacted at the last second and blocked with his forearm. The claws raked across his arm, but while not very effective, it was still enough to send him sliding several feet back.

"So fast...!" he grunted.

Liepard cocked a mischievous brow as the Metal Claw energy dissipated around her nails. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"How did Liepard get even faster?" Natsu gasped.

"Sorry, dragon boy. That's the thing about Psych Up." Cana chimed. "It allows Liepard to copy whatever stat differences happened to the target. In other words, since you boosted your own speed, so did we." Liepard raised her head with a confident harrumph, much to Charmeleon's dismay.

"So that means that if Natsu goes for another successful Flame Charge, and increases his speed again..." Carla started.

"That means Liepard can use Psych Up and still be faster than him. Natsu just put himself into a precarious situation." Pantherlily stated.

Happy squirmed in Carla's hold until he was able to get his paws to pry her hand off his mouth. "Hang in there, Natsu! Just, uh...be gentle with her, okay?!"

Carla growled low. "Petty..."

Pantherlily looked over, raising a skeptic brow. 'Pot calling the kettle black.'

Charmeleon swiped his arm to shrug off the pain. He eyed Liepard with vindication in his gaze.

"Aerial Ace!"

"Liepard, Assurance!"

Natsu and Cana's Pokémon respectively followed through with their attacks. Sharp, glowing claws met dark purple glowing paws. The lizard and feline were in a relentless parry against one another as they tried to get the upper hand on one another. Whenever Charmeleon would strike, Liepard would be quick to parry. Their bodies twisted and turned at every opportunity the other had. Neither as given the opportunity to land a decisive blow when the other was trying to prevent that from happening.

Off to the side, Staryu recovered from its flinching and blinked. It noticed its ally was in trouble and readied a counterattack.

"Looks like Staryu's back in this. Alright then..." Lucy stepped forward. "Use Swift!" Staryu jumped into the air once more, spinning like a disc as golden stars sped from its core towards Liepard and Araquanid.

"Intercept with Bubble Beam!" Sophie shouted. Araquanid hissed before expelling even more bubbles, this time projecting them at an angle in front of the parrying Liepard and Charmeleon. The shooting stars met the bubble barrage, but was unable to get through.

Lucy bit her bottom lip. 'Not good. We're not getting anywhere like this...well in that case..' She held up her Z-Ring. "Guess it's time to get a little innovative!"

"She's going to use a Z-Move?" Sophie questioned, slightly taken back.

"Oh, here we go." Araquanid chimed dryly, visibly annoyed by the oncoming attack.

Eliza made sure that the drones hovering above were catching the whole feed. Shiin was within the crowd, his camera fixed to catch the snap of another Z-Move. Everyone watched as Lucy pulled out a dark pink crystal and placed it in the Z-Ring's holder.

'We'll have to take out Araquanid, that's the biggest threat!' Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her eyes widened as she struck the signature Z-Move pose as pressure changed in the atmosphere around the vicinity. An insignia that looked like an eye appeared in front of her. Both she and Staryu brought their arms up. Lucy pointed both her index fingers to her head and projected one of her arms out, sending the hot pink Z-Power into Staryu.

Sophie's eyes widened. 'A Psychic-type Z-Move?'

Lucy smirked. "Sorry for using your signature stance Sophie, but it's nothing personal." She focused in on her target, via Araquanid. Staryu's body became engulfed in a growing kinetic mass that magnified the area around it.

"Sophie!" The blonde whipped towards Cana, who looked her dead in the eye. Somehow, she had a feeling of what Cana wanted to do.

"Liepard, go!" Cana urged. The feline broke away from Charmeleon and rushed for the front of the Z-Move.

"Not this time! Charmeleon, stop her!" Natsu shouted. Charmeleon raced after Liepard, desperately trying to catch up to her.

"Araquanid, Bite!" Sophie commanded, Araquanid already preparing his projected fangs. He sat in position as Liepard raced towards him, intending to block the Z-Move. But not too far behind, Charmeleon was gradually catching up.

He reached a claw out, intending to snag her tail. "I gotcha-!"

SNAP!

A pair of sharp fangs surrounded by water caught Charmeleon's claw but mere inches from his target. His eyes widened in shock as he registered the pain searing through his arm before being tossed to the side like a ragdoll.

"Charmeleon!" Natsu yelled, before turning to Lucy. "Lucy, hurry it up!"

"Right! Now, Staryu..." Lucy's brown eyes had a tint of pink as her blonde ponytail was defying gravity. Telekinetic mass built up around her Staryu until a peak was met. "SHATTERED PSYCHE!"

The hot pink, telekinetic mass around Staryu finally focalized around its core. It fired a concentrated mass or at Araquanid at high speeds. The telekinetic hemisphere expanded as it swallowed up its target, zipping it immediately off the ground into the atmosphere. It ricocheted off an invisible pink barrier, zipping in another direction before slamming into another one. Then another one, and then another. The process repeated over everyone's heads until finally, the orb of psycho energy ricocheted straight up, shattering figurative glass that resembled space. The pieces shattered to speckles before eruptions of hot pink flourished across the sky.

Most of the party watching was staggered ton say the least. Levy had her hands over her mouth, whereas Shiin was staring with a mildly blank expression. Nic and Erza stared on with studious stares of their own as they watched the pink flourish dissipate, dropping something onto the ground in a heaping thud.

Lucy leaned forward, furrowing her brow. 'Was that enough, I hope...'

BEEEEEP!

Staryu's prolong blinking signaled Lucy something stirring in the dirt cloud a few feet away from them. They watched it disperse, revealing a set of green eyes glaring daggers at them.

"You're kidding..."

Another smirk crossed Cana's lips. "Sorry, Lucy...but my Liepard was just a little bit faster than you."

The dust fully dispersed, revealing Liepard seemingly unscathed by the attack that was intended for her ally. She brushed her forepaw with her tongue to get the dirt off. "I believe that a 'thank you' is in order." Liepard said, glancing back at Araquanid.

The large water spider eyed her warily before scoffing. "Tch, thanks I guess. But now you might wanna stand back, unless you wanna get mowed down, too." He turned back towards Sophie. "Sophie, I'm ready!"

Sophie nodded. "Right, let's get this over this." She held up her Z-Ring, inserting a light green crystal with an insect emblem on it. "Araquanid, get ready!"

Araquanid spread his legs as Sophie crossed her arms, sparking her Z-Ring with the emblem of the insect appearing in front of her. The hue in the atmosphere darkened yet again as light green energy coursed from Sophie towards Araquanid.

'I remember the pose the guide showed me. Something like this...' She raised her right and left arm to her right-hand side, gradually rising until they peaked out. Just then, she swooped her right arm behind her left in a dash skywards. Performed perfectly, the synchronized Z-Power beamed densely into Araquanid, who concentrated the Z-Power into his maw.

"Oh no you don't! Charmeleon!" Natsu waited for Charmeleon to react, but he was cringing on the opposite side of the battlefield. "Charmeleon, what's wrong?!"

Nic's eyes narrowed. 'He's flinching from Bite. They timed that just perfectly.'

Sophie's green eyes hardened as she called her Z-Move. "Go! SAVAGE SPIN-OUT!"

Araquanid fired an incredibly dense, sticky thread from his mouth at Staryu. It quickly wrapped around it, trapping it in a thick veil of silk, much like a cocoon. Araquanid raised his head and dragged the silk lining attached to the cocoon overhead, dipping behind and slammed harshly into the ground. He dragged it across the battlefield and whipped it into the air. His hind legs tensed before he rocketed towards the cocoon. He crossed his legs before passing it, slicing apart the cocoon with deadly precision. At moment passed before the cocoon's sliced remains exploded into bright green energy behind Araquanid, igniting the battlefield's atmosphere with Z-Power.

Lucy was slackjawed to say the least. She and everyone were at a loss for words as Araquanid descended onto the battlefield, turned away as Staryu dropped behind him with a thud. The dirt dissipated quickly, revealing it on its back, with its core blinking on and off similar to something out of power.

Freed stepped forward to inspect Staryu's condition before raising his arm for Lucy. "Staryu is unable to continue!"

"Staryu!" Lucy raced out towards the battlefield, kneeling to grab her defeated partner. "Are you okay?!"

...BeeEEeeep...

"Heck yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Cana smirked, turning towards Sophie. "Nice play right there, Soph. Now we just have to deal with Charmeleon."

"It's nothing, really."

"Whatever girl, you don't have to be so modest. I know just how well you kick butt..." She felt an awkward sensation run up her spine. An epiphany struck her, leaving her to instantly regret what she just said. "Oh...right." She cleared her throat. "Or rather...you kinda get what I'm saying..."

Sophie stared at Cana, empathizing with what she meant. As much as she meant to feel awkward about her apparent history, she instead threw a lock over her shoulder. "No...not really." She smiled. "But I appreciate it, though."

Cana guiltily frowned. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It's fine. Besides..." She recalled that night she met Joey out by the pond. "What important is now, right? Last I checked, staying stuck in the past isn't going to put your feet in the right direction."

Cana looked shocked, that much was clear. She honestly half-expected her to react in some way to her permanent loss of memories, but she was taken back herself at how Sophie didn't seem bothered in the slightest. Though, as a friend, she was happy to see that she wasn't stuck in a rut.

Though it was faint, a small smile crossed Cana's face. 'She's come such a long way in a short time.' She fixed her attention forward. "Alright then, let's just make this a battle you can remember."

The blonde smirked. "As if that's possible." She teased.

Lucy sighed in both relief and dismay. "Sorry, Natsu."

"Don't worry about it, Lucy. Charmeleon and I will get one in for ya." Natsu shot determined leers ahead. "Promise."

Charmeleon put his claws up. "You're gonna regret doing that."

"Come a little closer and I'll show you why I won't." Araquanid challenged.

---

An explosion erupted across the fields, sending a mixture of grass and superficial earth layers scattering in the winds.

As the shockwaves dissipated, Duncan slid across the ground on his heels until he came to a halt. He looked at to watch the dust dissipate, revealing Vanessa unscathed. Duncan's initial assault was blocked effortlessly. The Pularis' blue eyes opened on her opponent.

Duncan scoffed. He gripped his staff and swung it back as he leaped for Vanessa again. The latter's hands were covered in teal aura as she aimed for Duncan.

"Emanation Beam!"

A dense teal beam of aura expelled from one arm in a straight line towards Duncan. The man was forced to come to a stop before raising his Elfen Forja overhead. He swung it down, meeting the beam head-on with the ore-like tip. There was a brief stalemate as Duncan was using every manner of his strength to keep his side from collapsing. His teeth gnashed as he gripped the staff tighter moments before another explosion erupted.

Once again, Duncan found himself sliding on his heels backwards. He used his staff to reduce traction to a halt and stammered from the shock that attack. His staff's front was sizzling from the impact.

Watching from the hillside's tree, Dereece was left shocked by what he was seeing. "Woah, you seeing this? I knew Vanessa was strong, but...she's pushing back Duncan like he's nothing. He can't even get close!" He didn't get a response, prompting him to turn towards Joey. "Uh...Captain?"

Joey was dazing at the battle, completely lost to what Dereece was saying. His mouth was gaping with a mixture of awe and jealousy over Duncan up close and battling Vanessa. 'Vanessa-senpai...is so strong!'

"Oi..." Dereece groaned as he faced forward once more.

"It appears that Duncan is in a conundrum." Staraptor explained. Everyone watched as Duncan attempted to close the gap again, prompting Vanessa to fire multiple teal projectiles in succession. Duncan eyed them before twirling his staff, concentrating his Magic Power to an amplitude where the aura diffused upon impact. He defended against multiple shots, but was unable to advance through the parry.

"Duncan's magic revolves close quarter combat. Vanessa's is melee, if not long-range. In other words, Duncan's operating at a disadvantage in terms of magic type and execution." Staraptor moved her red bang. If all Duncan attempts to do is defend when he attempts to get close, Vanessa will always retain the lead."

"Cooo..." Junior awed in silence.

Dereece watched as Duncan successfully diffused all her shots. He found the opening to advance onto her and leaped down onto her. "HRAH!" He went for a swing, but his staff was caught by a tendril of teal aura extending from Vanessa's arm, much like an extension. His eyes visibly widened in dismay.

"Nice try." Vanessa swiped in an arch, whipping the aura line to send Duncan flying. He yelped as he fumbled through the air, barely catching his momentum to land on his heels again. He managed to hold on, but at the last second, his momentum broke as he slammed onto his back.

"Wow...for someone who sleeps half the entire day, she doesn't mess around." Dereece quipped.

"Damn right! That's the Pularis' blood for battle alright!" Joey smiled wide, eyes glistening brightly with enthusiasm.

"Well I...guess you're not wrong." Dereece put his hand to his chin, raising a brow of inquiry. "Still, all Duncan's doing is taking the frontal approach. You'd think he'd come up with something different by now..." His eyes widened. "...unless he's up to something."

Duncan grunted as he arose to a knee. He kept hold of his Elfen Forja as he paused to catch his breath. His dark eyes locked on Vanessa as the Pularis girl was studying her opponent. 'He's been using that staff to take all my attacks up till now. He could just dodge them...unless his staff has a property that has to do with outside magic.'

The idea stuck with Vanessa. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Duncan acknowledged the look in her eyes. 'Looks like she's caught on. Guess like it's time to change up the pace.'

He gripped his staff tighter, the jewel on his glove glowing brightly. The two bulbous tips of the staff glowed concentrated the Magic Power flowing within, becoming brighter by the second. Vanessa's guard heightened until the two tips were ripened with multicolored magic points.

'He's conducting the Magic Power to both ends?'

Duncan started twirling Elfen Forja, creating a wheel of multicolored energy. He planted a heel on the ground before taking off after Vanessa once more. Vanessa took a stance with her wrists loosened, her posture with arms up and one heel forward.

Joey's eyes widened as he gasped. "Is that the-"

"Nugatory Burst!"

Pillars of teal aura sprouted from the ground around Vanessa. The cluster of pillars all diverged onto Duncan as he continued his straight line at her. As soon as the aura pillars were close enough, Duncan twirled the concentrated staff above, bringing it down with sheer might.

BOOOOOOM!

An eruption of dirt and teal magic spewed into the atmosphere, sending shockwaves across the field. Vanessa held her composure as the shockwaves ran past her feet. All the birds sharing the tree everyone was behind cawed in shock before abruptly flying off. Staraptor shielded Junior from the rupture's slight magnitude that startled him, whereas Tranquill and Butterfree briefly fluttered off the branch they roosted on and turned towards the direction of the major energy cloud.

The eruptive wake didn't faze Vanessa as she held her stance. Her Aura Magic detected a strong energy from up ahead. She knew well whom it belonged to.

"I must say, I was surprised for a second. I never would have guessed that your weapon was capable of magic conduction."

A silhouette's long coat shifted in the dust cloud until it dissipated, revealing Duncan. Much to the surprise of his teammates watching, he seemed relatively unharmed. The two tips of his Elfen Forja sizzled as the magic dissipated.

"Hmph, so you figured it out that fast, huh? Yeah, the staff's metal is made from a special alloy that's found in Iceberg. It's properties enable it to absorb Ethernano directly to make it harder. The two ends are special concentrated lacrima that conduct Magic Power. I've read it's similar material used in special wands for starting mages trying to focus long-range spells."

"I see, so you've been doing your research. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this weapon."

Duncan darkly smirked. "Thanks...but I'm just getting started." He gripped the staff tighter, making a loud click. "You're about to see what else it's capable of."

The gears inside the Elfen Forja reacted to the clutch, causing the segment with the red lacrima inside to turn 180 Degrees. The lacrima reacted to Duncan's magic, causing the staff's two ends to ignite in fire.

Vanessa's eyes widened. 'He's implementing Fire Magic?'

"Gear One: Fire!" He lunged straight for Vanessa, pulling back the enflamed staff.

Vanessa spread her heels and took another defensive stance. "Aura Guard!" She created a stiff barrier of aura, blocking the staff's downward swing of fire. The flames spread across the field, causing anything within the vicinity to heat up.

Duncan used all his strength to slam the flames down harder than before. All it did was partially turn the color of the barrier around Vanessa to a vague orange, indicating a heat increase. Eventually, Duncan lost his momentum and landed on a knee a few feet away.

'He's using the lacrima embedded inside the staff to change the properties of his magic.' Vanessa dispelled her barrier, taking another defensive stance.

"Fire Magic?" Dereece questioned. "Since when could he do that?" He looked at the multiple lacrima embedded in the Elfen Forja, seeing the red lacrima turned and glowing. "Is it because of the mechanisms inside that staff?"

Joey was left just as surprised. "Not just that...but he has more lacrima, too." His eyes narrowed. "...I have a bad feeling about this."

Duncan stood back up, hitching the grip once more. The gears changed inside to put the red lacrima back in place, while the brown lacrima rotated 180 Degrees and shined.

"Gear Five: Earth!" He raised the staff overhead, twirling it to gain momentum to force into the ground. He slammed the staff into the field's below, sending a linear shockwave of earth concentrated directly for Vanessa, similar to a Stone Edge.

'He's using an Earth Lacrima to project shockwaves across the ground!' She braced herself as a barrier of teal aura summoned around her once more. "Aura Guard!"

The linear blast wave continued its course towards her, but Duncan anticipated she would counter with defense. His eyes narrowed as his gears shifted the brown lacrima for the yellow lacrima, instantly causing static to flare on the tips.

"Gear Two: Lightning!"

The staff's tip already embedded into the earth; Duncan let out a forceful shout as he expelled more of his magic to send thunderbolts spreading throughout the dirt wave racing towards Vanessa. The combined elements left Vanessa surprised as they closed in on her shield.

BOOOOOM!

A monstrous discharge of lightning and ruptured earth struck the shield, sending sparks and rock throughout the field. The flashy discharge momentarily blinded everyone watching from afar. Joey and Dereece grunted as their forearms shielded them from any debris that could have fallen too close.

Duncan remained firmly in place, his breathing more than a little labored. He watched the dust and static in the surrounding atmosphere dissipate to reveal the whereabouts of Vanessa.

Up ahead, there was a large dirt mound that had static running through it. There was no movement from beneath it where Vanessa was supposed to be. He was sure he had struck her that time.

Dereece uncovered slowly and blinked. "Woah...did Duncan go too far?"

"Vanessa-senpai..." Joey quipped, visibly distraught in a mixture of horror and rising worry.

Duncan straightened himself back up, but stammered off to the side a little before catching himself. 'Tch! I'm using...too much of my Magic Power. That last shift in gears wore down my stamina too quickly...' He narrowed his eyes at the dirt mound. "...did that do it...?"

A long silence fell. It seemed that he got his answer.

He scoffed as he sat his staff on his shoulder and turned away. "Looks like I underestimated the magic of a skilled trainer close to Nic Pularis. If this is how strong she is, then...!" He trailed off as he felt an uneasy pressure rising up in the vicinity. "Huh...?"

The pressure in the atmosphere suddenly shifted. Duncan's eyes slowly widened as he felt a spiking pressure centered behind him...right below the rumbling dirt mound. 'Wait, this Magic Power...!' His eyes shrunk in realization.

He took cover moments before the dirt mound erupted, sending teal aura streams showering the debris over Duncan's head. One piece of debris in particular arched down and smashed in front of him, causing him to stagger and roll away. He shielded himself with his forearm as the dust blew past him, clouding up the vicinity once more.

"I must admit...you almost had me there."

Duncan heard the voice from up ahead. He removed his forearm and saw a silhouette sauntering through the dust field, revealing Vanessa. Much to even his own horror, she hardly had any means of scratches on her body. Aside from a partially dirtied vest and pants, she seemed just fine.

To say he was speechless would be an understatement.

"I wasn't expecting you to use different magic elements at once. You've obviously thought this through if your staff can let you access more than just one magic at a time." She praised. "But..." A teal aura enveloped her hands. "As I said before, I don't appreciate being looked at as a meager substitute for the best. You still have much to learn about using your magic effectively, Duncan."

The shock on Duncan's face slowly boiled to a dark glare. "Then how's about you stop holding back and show me?"

Vanessa raised her hands, eyes narrowing. "If you insist."

---

"Charmeleon, Dragon Rage!"

"Araquanid, Bubble Beam!"

Dragonfire and dense bubbles projected themselves at each other from opposite ends of the battlefield. They connected in a large explosion that produced a large smoke cloud that obscured the viewpoints between the two sides.

"Assist!" An imprint of a paw appeared in front of Liepard before it turned into glowing energy around her paw. Using Prinplup's Peck, she dove through the smoke cloud at lightning speeds towards a steady Charmeleon.

"Flame Charge!" Natsu ushered.

Charmeleon gnashed his teeth before engulfing himself in flames. He bolted across the battlefield to meet Liepard's attack head-on, resulting in yet another small rupture that pushed them away from each other. Liepard slid to a stop besides Araquanid, whereas Charmeleon dug a claw into the ground to steady himself out. Another red aura engulfed his body as his Speed arose.

"Damn, we're not getting anywhere with this setup." Natsu muttered to himself. He looked ahead, knowing full well that Charmeleon's shoulders were moving with his breathing. "And we're almost out of stamina. We have to end this fast. So then..." He fixed his glare on Araquanid. "Let's stick to the original plan, and take out that giant bug first!"

"Okay." Charmeleon spread his heels, taking a runner's stance in Araquanid's direction.

"Charmeleon...Aerial Ace!"

Charmeleon growled ferally as his pupils sharpened, homing in on Araquanid before blitzing off after him with claws crossed.

Sophie squinted. "Here he comes, Araquanid! Bubble Beam!"

Araquanid hissed as his eyes glowed. He opened his maw wide and expelled another barrage of blue bubbles directly at Charmeleon,

"Not yet, Charmeleon..." Natsu mumbled.

Charmeleon darted into the bubbles heading his way. He wanted to maneuver around it immediately, but he waited for Natsu's judgment. He closed into the attack that would surely finish him off. Time slowed down as he was mere inches from it.

Natsu's eyes widened. "Now!"

Charmeleon's sharpened eyes dilated before he suddenly took a harsh swivel around the jetting bubbles. He bypassed the attack with a usurping burst of speed. He reappeared beside Araquanid, who barely caught up to his opponent's rate.

Sophie gasped in horror. "That's so fast...!"

"Now!" Natsu declared.

"Alright you overgrown spider, time for an old saying come true! The bigger they are..." Charmeleon jumped above, performing several somersaults before dicing down straight into Araquanid's back. The impact sent an airwave into the atmosphere whereas the giant spider smashed into the battlefield, sending chunks of rock everywhere.

Everyone watching had gaping jaws as they watched the dust blossom around Araquanid. They waited for it to simmer to reveal Araquanid laying on his abdomen, legs sprawled apart and partially bent unevenly. His large eyes were replaced with big spirals as Charmeleon towered over him. "...the harder they fall." He finished.

Freed moved closer to see if Araquanid could still continue, but was clearly knocked out. "Araquanid is unable to continue!"

"Yeah, that's our Natsu for ya!" Happy chirped, his tail swinging left and right.

Pantherlily shit him a look. "And here I thought you were all for Liepard."

Happy cringed. "Hey! Don't bring her into this! It's just...us cats have to for one another and all, yeah...hehe..."

Nobody laughed. Carla shook her head pitifully. "Petty."

Sophie recalled her Araquanid back to his Poke Ball. She looked down at the capsule with a remorseful smile. "You did a great job, Araquanid. I'm proud of you." She turned towards Cana. "I'm sorry, Cana. I hope that you aren't mad about this."

"Nah, it's cool, girl. You did more than your fair share." She playfully winked. "Now, just sit back and let me take over. You and your big ole' spider deserve a break."

"Sure." Sophie stepped back, allowing Cana and Natsu to engage in the rest of their battle. Everyone watching was on the edge of their tiptoes seeing who would come out on top: Charmeleon, or Liepard. The two had their claws bared at one another to intimidate the other.

"This is it...we're gonna win it this time..." Natsu murmured.

Cana mischievously smirked. "I'd like to see ya try!" She reached out. "Psych Up!"

"No prrrroblem." Liepard chimed mischievously, before another hypnotic eye projected in front of her. Energy particles from the surrounding atmosphere were absorbed into Liepard's body, increasing her stats to the same as Charmeleon's.

"Charmeleon, Aerial Ace!" Charmeleon crossed claws once more and rushed after Liepard.

"Liepard, Assurance!" Liepard's paw glowed dark purple as she rushed for Charmeleon.

The two darted at equal speeds, crying out before lunging into midair to slash and parry their claws. Everyone was cheering madly as they were seeing the two nimble creatures parry and bypass one another without so much as a hitch. Whenever Charmeleon slashed, Liepard deflected with her glowing paw before striking back, to which Charmeleon would evade. The world spun around them as their tooth and nail cat-to-lizard brawl was a show of speed and accuracy.

"HRAH!" Charmeleon reeled his claw back for a pinpointed swipe.

"You scaly brat!" Liepard pulled her paw back.

At the same time, they sprung their limbs at each other, barely missing and socking each other across the face. The looks of pain on their aces were almost as staggering as the mild heart attack Happy was suffering. Had it not been for Carla muffling him, he would have sprung out to save the limber cat. Instead, everyone watched as the two slammed on their sides and skidded back in dust trails to grinding halts. They both glared daggers at one another, though Charmeleon was visibly weak in the knees from the damage he's taken up till now. He looked nauseated to say the least.

"It looks like Charmeleon is on his last leg." Max worried.

"Yeah, one more hit, and he's done." Warren added.

Liepard's whiskers twitched. "I've had enough of this!" She glanced back at Cana. "Cana, let's just get this over with already!"

"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya over there." The lush held up her Z-Ring, which contained a Darkium Z inside. "Time to perform a Z-Move!"

Liepard reeled onto her hind legs, preparing to strike upon the word.

"Wow...she looks even more nimble when she's about to attack..." Happy mulled...until a harsh force bonked on top of his head, knocking him out.

"Whoopsies." Carla dryly chimed.

"Was that absolutely necessary?" Pantherlily asked.

"If I didn't, would he really have sat still and let Charmeleon hurt her more? He's so shallow." She eyerolled in deep exasperation. "The dummy..."

Charmeleon growled defensively. He knew what was coming next, so did Natsu. "Well if you're gonna fight with a Z-Move..." He held up his Z-Ring. "Then I guess it's our turn for a super strong Z-Move!" He held up a Dragonium Z, ready to insert it into the slot.

Charmeleon glanced back. "Wait, Natsu! Not that one!"

Natsu halted before he was mere inches from inserting the Z-Crystal. "Huh? What's wrong, Charmeleon?"

"Don't use that one! Use the one for Fire-types!"

"What? You mean that giant fireball?" His brow furrowed. "But I wanted to see what this dragon one can do..."

"Are we really gonna have this conversation right now?! Who cares how cool it is, it's the only thing strong enough that can give us the win! You wanna win, don't ya?!"

Natsu's breath hitched as he thought about what Charmeleon just said. Of course he wanted to win. He always strove to win using his own power in his own way. It's the one thing that drives him to get better every day. To be the best, to ensure that his friends never got harmed by others again. He needed that strength, now more than ever with everything they've been through.

Even more thoughts plagued Natsu's subconscious. Memories of the first seminar when he lost to Max, along with how he and Lucy almost suffered by Griffon. Instances where pride overshadowed his better judgment that nearly costed him what he treasured. He didn't want that to happen again.

Looking at Charmeleon, his eyes said it all. He felt the same way. For once, Natsu would have to trust someone else's judgment if they were going to win this battle.

"Okay then..." He reached back, replacing the Dragonium Z with the Firium Z. "When you put it that way, Charmeleon...guess I have no choice." He inserted the Z-Crystal and held it up. "Just make sure that it's a good one, alright?"

"Oh, don't worry. I can do that." He spread his heels, the flames on his tail igniting brightly and expanding. "I'm all fired up!" A red, fiery aura engulfed his body as he expelled another battle cry.

"It's Charmeleon's Blaze!" Lucy gasped.

"That means Charmeleon's Fire-type attacks are going to be even stronger now." Gray realized. "This is gonna be close."

"Come on, guys! You can do it!" Wendy cheered.

Charmeleon stood against Liepard with the intense aura around his body. Cana took notice and smirked. "Well now, looks like somebody's on fire today, huh? Well I guess we better do the same!" Cana crossed her arms, her Darkium Z glowing brightly. "Let's give'em a real show, Liepard!"

"Two can play at this game, Cana!" Natsu crossed his arms, his Firium Z igniting a blistering red that darkened the hue in the surrounding atmosphere. "Now I'm fired up!"

The two readied their signature poses for their respective Z-Moves. A dark purple energy transcended from Cana into Liepard the same time a fiery red aura transcended from Natsu into Charmeleon. The lush arched her back forward and gradually arose with arms held up, like she was attempting to intimidate her foe. Natsu exhaled before bringing his hands up like a rising flame and reached out. The Z-Power infused both Pokémon, causing their bodies to flare with purple and red auras – in Charmeleon's case, only thickened his Blaze's aura.

Together, both Charmeleon and Liepard's eyes glimmered with vindictive passion.

"Alright Liepard, now!" Cana raised her hand high. "BLACK HOLE ECLIPSE!" Liepard spread her forepaws and opened her maw, concentrating the Z-Power into a singular point. It became a small dot to dark matter, which gradually strengthened to where it became a distorted black hole above her. With each second, it strengthened into a large mass with a spiraling red vortex around it.

"Charmeleon, our turn now! Time to turn up the heat!" Natsu balled his fists, careening his head back. "INFERNO OVERDRIVE!" Charmeleon's eyes glistened with bright orange energy before he raised his arms overhead. The air superheated into a single focal point, blooming with a fireball that started out small, but suddenly erupted into an oversized hemisphere of superheated flames that he held in his clutches.

"HOLY COW! THAT'S A BIG FLAME!" Jet and Droy panicked, holding one another.

"Yeah, no kidding. It's gotta be at least three times as big as the other one we saw earlier." Gajeel stated, recalling Evergreen's Granbull using the same move.

"Awesome..." Romeo was left speechless at what he was witnessing.

Charmeleon held up the fireball without so much as a hitch. To Natsu's point of view, it was a lot bigger than the original one. Hell, it was bigger than his own! If he wasn't impressed before, he sure as hell was now. "Now that's what I call a fireball! Now let's see what it can do!"

With one final pivot, Charmeleon let out another monstrous battle cry before lurching his head forward, expelling the bolstering fireball straight at Liepard and the black hole. With the immeasurable size of the fireball raining down, the heat index immediately caused everyone to sweat. The land shuddered from the force of the fire meeting the gravity hole. The two forces attempted to overpower the other, with part of the fireball caving into the black hole. However, the size of the flames were far greater than what the black hole could absorb.

Cana stepped back, warily shocked at what was happening. "Oh no..."

Liepard stepped back, seeing the Black Hole Eclipse's momentum gradually being heated up. The heat from the flames distorted the gravity into a magma mass that slowly dissolved into the approaching fireball.

Natsu punched forward. "Let's...GO~!"

The oversized fireball continued its path down onto a shocked Liepard, with no way of dodging. She was forced to take the blistering fireball head-on, immediately singing from the roaring inferno. A mountain of fire exploded that expanded across the battlefield, threatening to engulf everyone around them.

"Nic!" Erza shouted.

"On it!" Nic glowed, transforming into his Splash Form. He slammed his palms into the ground, summoning a barrier of water that bordered the battlefield's perimeter. As soon as the approaching walls of fire reached the large walls, a mountain of steam engulfed the atmosphere behind the Fairy Tail guild. Everyone stood behind the huge wall, safe and sound as the ground thundered from the searing eruption happening on the other side.

Shiin was taking snapshots o everything he could. From Nic's transformation to the complete control of water that was able to suppress the Z-Move's force. His lens scaled skywards at the plume of flames that swallowed the skies above. Everything was a mixture of steam and flames for several seconds until the latter finally reduced to smoke.

As soon as the rumbling subsided, Nic dispersed the water barricade, allowing everyone to see what happened on the battlefield. The first thing they acknowledged was the amount of char that covered the ground. They saw the smoke part from the ground, revealing Charmeleon on a knee, panting like his life depended on it.

"But wait...what about Liepard?" Laki worried.

Everyone watched the smoke disperse around Cana's side of the battlefield. The brunette uncovered and gasped when she saw her Liepard, laying on her side with her fur all but charred. Swirls fixed in her eyes as she groaned weakly.

Freed rushed over, giving Liepard a quick inspection. She was most definitely out. "Liepard is unable to continue! Therefore, the victory goes to Natsu and Lucy!" he announced.

Natsu blinked twice. It took a second for the information to register before it fully sank in. "We...we won?"

"Yes! We actually did it!" Lucy cheered, pumping both her fists. "You see? I knew you both could do it!"

Natsu's eyes widened at the epiphany. He watched as Charmeleon slowly stood back up and glanced over his shoulder, smirking at him. It didn't take long after for him to break out in a huge smile. "Yeah! We won, guys! We totally kicked butt out there!"

Charmeleon humbly sneered. "Yeah...we sure did."

Cana walked over towards Liepard, kneeling before her burnt frame. "Hey...you okay?" She sounded more gentle than usual. "Liepard, you alright?"

A soft moan came from Liepard as her conscience was returning. The familiar voice was enough to rattle her whiskers. "Gnnngh...Cana...?" She blinked. "Well...this is embarrassing..."

Cana sighed. "Don't sweat it...you did awesome out there." She held up her Poke Ball. "Let's get you all rested up, maybe keep you out of the sun for a while."

"I would like that very much..." She mused dryly, moments before her conscience faded once again. This time, she wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

Cana took liberties in withdrawing Liepard back into her Poke Ball. Once she was gone, Cana arose to her feet and tossed a loose lock over her shoulder. "Well, talk about a bummer huh? Guess you guys wanted that win that badly after all."

"Damn straight! Like we had any doubt at all." Natsu beamed with pride. Charmeleon put his claws to his sides and raised his chin, huffing embers out of his nostrils.

Bisca shot a knowing smirk at Alzack. "Looks like you're making dinner tonight, sweetie."

Alzack was near deflated, his shoulders slumped as he despaired at his loss. He was really looking forward to his wife treating him for once. "Uh...yeah, sure..."

"Nuuuuugh...what happened...?" Coming out of his daze, Happy groaned. His head jolted straight up with ears pointed towards the sky as he looked around in high alert. "Huh? Wait a minute, wasn't there a battle just now? And why's everyone cheering? What happened to Liepard?!"

Carla groaned tiredly. At this point, there was no need to fuel the fire that was already out of control.

"The battle is over. Natsu and Charmeleon were the victors." Pantherlily explained. Happy froze up with a shocked look, falling out of Carla's arms face-first into the dirt. Pantherlily raised a brow. "What's the matter? You should be happy that your friend won."

Happy jolted up, comedic tears running down his face as he turned towards Natsu. "Natsu, you big jerk! Tell me you didn't hurt her too badly~!"

"Huh? What's up with you?" Natsu furrowed his brow in confusion.

Erza looked on, folding her arms with a nod. "Well, I say that last battle was a fine one indeed. It looks like Natsu made the right call using that Z-Move after all." She put a hand to her chin as she remembered the battle. "Had it not been for Charmeleon's Blaze activating when it did, I think those Z-Moves would have ended up in a draw."

"Yeah, looks like it..." Nic trailed off as he recounted the battle to himself. There were some interesting plays done with the strategy. Namely speaking, the use of Psych Up, including Liepard taking those Psychic-type attacks from Staryu. He would have to make a mental note to remember those important aspects.

Freed turned away from the battlefield towards Laxus. "Master Laxus."

"Yes, I know." He turned towards Eliza. "So then, was that data enough for you?"

Eliza used a remote to control the two drones in the sky. They descended down to the ground in front of her, lights blinking to indicate the data being processed. "Hmph, I believe that much should suffice for the time being. Though admittedly, I was hoping we could see more Z-Moves. But..." She sat the suitcases down before her to place the drones inside. "You were inscribed to use Z-Moves, which you did. And I believe the variety label was sufficient enough that Mr. Bistro should be adequately satiable with."

"I see. Sorry if we didn't provide enough to meet your intended quota."

"I never said that. You've provided plenty of data with you mages and your usage of Z-Moves." She closed the suitcases, making loud clicks to signal the drones were secured. "And, as per the agreement, you are all allowed to keep those as a reward for your services to the Cambire Foundation."

"Really? Thanks so much!" Lucy quipped, rolling her wrist to inspect her Z-Ring.

Natsu looked down at his Z-Ring, a renewed smile on his face. "Heck yeah, let's see anyone try to stop us now! This is gonna make battling a whole lot more interesting for us, right?" He looked towards Charmeleon for an answer. The lizard nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's one way of looking at it. Heh."

"Well, guess we better get to practicing these Z-Moves then if we're gonna end up using them." Gray noted, giving his icy blue Z-Ring a look. "So we really have to learn all these poses for each one?"

"Well, from what we've gathered from the Alolan residence at the foundation, each type has its own signature pose." Eliza clarified. "If you specialize in just a few, that should be an ideal starting point if you're looking to expand. Otherwise, you are more than welcome to come to the Cambire Foundation if anything arises."

"We understand. Thank you for the tip." Laxus sagely nodded.

Eliza humbly nodded. "The honor is all mine. Thank you for allowing me your time today. Now, if you'll excuse me." She turned and walked away, hoisting the two large cases in her ironclad clutches. Everyone watched as she left the domain to head in the direction for the train station.

"Huh? That's a bummer. I was gonna see if she would be down for a drink before heading out." Cana slurred.

Levy shook her head. "She was here for work purposes, Cana. I don't think that the Cambire Foundation would really appreciate seeing her return a little drunk under the table because of us."

Laxus sighed. "Guess that does it, then." He turned towards his guild. "Alright, you heard her everyone. You're free to use those at your own leisure. Just don't do it in the guild hall, alright? At this point, I'm sick of seeing it repaired over and over."

The guild cheered with excitement over this development.

"Aw yeah! With these, entering those games this year will be a piece of cake!" Romeo cheered. "I'm gonna work my butt off this time to make sure I get a spot!"

"You better work hard then if you wanna make that happen." Macao told his son.

Romeo looked back, glaring with renewed motivation. "Don't you worry, after seeing Natsu pull off that last move, I'm more fired up and I was before." He balled a fist tightly. "Our guild is as good as in!"

"Speaking of these games...I wonder just how they thought all this through." Lucy pondered, putting a hand to her chin. "I mean thirty jobs doesn't sound like a lot, but knowing the Cambire Foundation's goals, they're probably not going to make it easy for us to get in."

"Not to mention, even if some of us do complete a job, we wouldn't get past the qualifying rounds because we have less than three Pokémon." Lisanna grimaced at her chances being slim this year...again. But she perked herself up and brightly smiled. "Right, then we'll just have to work to make sure we're shoe-ins!"

"Yeah, that's my sister for ya! Spoken like a real man!" Elfman cheered.

Evergreen shook her head. "Honestly, does he ever have the time of day to say anything else...?"

Sophie overheard and eyerolled. "Doesn't look like it..." She turned away at a rising epiphany. "Speaking of sisters..." She shot a glance around her guildmates, noticing something was still out of place. "Where is Vanessa? Is she not back yet...?"

"Hm, is something troubling you, Sophie?"

Sophie's heart skipped a beat. She whipped around and noticed Erza and Nic standing right behind her. "O-Oh! It's just you guys." She exhaled to calm her rapid heartbeat. "It's just that...I don't have a Revive on me at the moment. I was hoping that Vanessa would have one on hand that I can use for Araquanid, so..."

"Is that so?" Erza reached her hand out, activating her Requip. Light turned into a Revive that dropped into her palm. "Will this do?"

Sophie studied the item, realizing that it was real. "You sure? You didn't really have to-"

"Don't worry about such a silly little detail, Sophie. I'm more than happy to accommodate your efforts for you. Besides..." Erza smirked. "I'd like to see that same spirit in the Grand Magic Games this year of possible."

Sophie was taken back, but was quick to rebound with a genuine smile. As far as memories went with her, Erza has always been...pushy, to say the least. But it was appreciative seeing this side of her. 'She really is caring.' She humbly took the Revive off her hands. "Thank you."

"It's nothing, really. We'll need everyone at their best." She turned towards Nic, giving him a knowing smirk. "That goes for a certain someone, too. Right?"

Nic sighed out his nose. He knew he wouldn't have much of a say otherwise. "Yeah..." His attention adverted towards the sky, more specifically, in the direction that Staraptor took off to earlier. 'I wonder...how is she and Vanessa holding up?'

---

"Lustrous Spire!"

Teal spirals intertwined above Vanessa, escalating to a high point until they collided with each other far above in the atmosphere. Meteors of teal aura shot down across the field, blanketing the grass with constant explosions like a minefield.

Duncan raced ahead to close the gap between him and Vanessa once more. He narrowly evaded a meteor that exploded a few feet from his right. He shifted his heels and leaped out of the way of another meteor heading for him. More rained down than what he knew he could outrun. He used his staff and deflected several shots as he danced around the field, but was unable to shorten that gap.

Once he found enough room between explosions, he looked up and noticed one larger teal meteor raining down after him. He fastened his grip on the Elfen Forja, forcing the green lacrima to turn 180 Degrees and shine with power.

"Gear Three: Wind!"

He twirled his staff, summoning a vortex of whirlwinds generated by the focal ends of the staff. The large spiral acted as a shield that took the brunt of the oncoming meteorite of aura. An explosion of teal and air expelled in all directions within Duncan's vicinity as his heels grinded in the field. His teeth gnashed at how forceful that attack felt.

'Too little power to fully block that. My heels are starting to sustain shock.'

Sensing his momentary hesitation, Vanessa reached her arms out, sending two beams of aura at Duncan. He grunted before spinning his staff once more, sending a shockwave of wind at the two oncoming projectiles. He managed to deface one, but the other kept going, meeting his staff with intense force. Even with the conductive properties of the alloy, he was barely keeping his feet planted.

The stalemate lasted for several seconds, until finally the force of Vanessa's attack was enough to knock the Elfen Forja out of Duncan's clutches. Before he could turn to reach for it, a constricting teal tendril wrapped around his abdomen, hoisting him into the air.

Vanessa kept her arm stretched out to conduct the aura laced around her opponent, making sure he was bound tightly. "You're fairly vulnerable without your staff. If I remember correctly, your Holding Magic allows you to pour Magic Power into tangible objects to amplify their strength, right? It has no effect on ethereal matter such as aura."

Duncan wanted to squirm, but his conscience was able to keep a firm grip on his bodily reaction...even so, it still hurt. He needed to get out of this hold. Fortunately, his staff wasn't too far away, but he had no way of reaching it. Which left him with one more trick up his sleeve.

"...tch, not bad. You've figured out my weakness and acted accordingly. As expected of a fellow trainer-turned-mage." A pained smirk crossed his face. "But you know, some Pokémon have moves to cover for their weaknesses."

Vanessa retained caution as she watched him reach out his gloved hand towards his weapon. The tiny gem inside the palm glimmered for a split second, as did the gem on the staff's leather grip. The Elfen Forja suddenly shot up towards Duncan, quickly returning to his clutches with a loud clang.

'Is that magnetism he just used?'

Duncan glared down at his opponent, briefly relaying the scenario. 'I anticipated that opponents would try to rid me and my weapon. So as a safety measure, I had that blacksmith cut a magnetized lacrima in half. I've read that even if they're broken, the clumps can still magnetize with one another. As long as I'm within a hundred feet, I can amplify that polarity to bring my weapon back to me.'

The gears one his staff shifted again, this time turning towards the purple lacrima. "Gear Six: Darkness!" He slammed the staff's black shrouded end into the bindings, creating enough force to disperse the aura. He dropped to the ground and kneeled, raising his head to give Vanessa another glare.

'Here he comes...' Vanessa brought her hands up, coated in more teal aura.

"Gear Four: Water!" The gears shifted inside the Elfen Forja once more, shifting the purple lacrima back into alignment, but the blue lacrima cranked around and shined. Vapor liquefied and turned into water. He raised the staff, twirling it to make a large water wheel that gained momentum with each passing second. He rushed towards Vanessa, who braced herself for the oncoming attack.

"Trace Shot!"

Vanessa brought her hands together, creating a sphere of teal aura that she projected at Duncan. He dared to duck and evaded the projectile, closing in on Vanessa. "Try aiming!"

Vanessa's glare went stale.

The ongoing aura sphere raced across the field before it suddenly changed directions. It sped after Duncan again, this time homing in on his back. His eyes widened as he looked over his shoulder to see the projectile darting for him. 'It's tracking me?!' He sharply turned on his right heel and swung the momentum of his staff into the orb. The collision expelled water all around Duncan, diffusing his attack and making him roll across the ground to a halt.

He felt pain. Quite a lot. No, a whole lot. He just didn't know whether to tell that apart from physical or mental was all. He laid on the ground, rolling his eyes up to see Vanessa standing several meters away, with a calm, composed disposition.

With how hazy his vision was, he barely made her out the same girl he was fighting. 'I...I need to be better...I have to...' As he tried to focus, his subconscious was making him focus on the blonde bang – a color that reminded him of Cynthia. As if an impulse surge, his eyes shrank. '...have to be even stronger!' His legs kicked into overdrive as he flipped himself over and held out his staff.

"Gear One: Fire!"

The ends of his Elfen Forja ignited in flames. He raced for Vanessa with a prideful passion in his eyes.

'His aura...' Vanessa remained calm as she read Duncan's strikes. Nimbly, she sidestepped and evaded each one. Time slowed down for a moment as a speck of flame barely missed her nose. 'It's like he's being overcome by his emotions just now. He's fighting on pride and impulse!'

He lifted his staff overhead, ready to bring it down on Vanessa. However, a split-second before he could deliver the plunge, an eruption of teal aura spouted beneath, forcing him to withdraw with a pained grunt. He ended his umpteenth slide with a wavy sway in his upper body, his balance completely broken by the shock he was going through.

Dereece watched with a bad feeling stirring in his large gut. "Captain, this is bad. It looks like Duncan's really pushing himself. If this keeps up..."

Joey furrowed his brow, knowing where this was going. "Yes, Dereece. You're right, this has gone on long enough." He moved past the tree, starting for the battle. "I'm putting my foot down on this spar!"

Duncan breathed heavily, getting back up to face Vanessa. The Pularis woman narrowed her eyes, but even she seemed to be sweating. The two were exhausting whatever magic they had left. As much as they wanted to drag this fight on to deduce the other's capabilities, their limits were becoming clear as day.

'I have enough power for one more shot...I need to make it count!'

'This spar can't go on for much longer. We'll have to end this now.'

Duncan fastened his grip, holding the staff with both hands. He took a sharp inhale, briefly remembering how to concentrate his magic. He cried out loudly as all the gears in his staff shifted, causing all the lacrima to glow. Multicolored energy enveloped the two ends in a faint glow. Vanessa's body flourished with teal aura of her own.

The flashy array was mesmerizing for Junior as he observed with wide yellow eyes. "Cooo..."

'NOW!'

Duncan's eyes sharpened before he sprung ahead with everything he had. His staff spun like a multicolored wheel as it charged up. Vanessa braced herself as she shrouded herself in teal, spiraling energy as the gap shortened. They both built up until the gap was short enough to where Duncan could take one final leap.

Time slowed down drastically around them. Everything seemed bright white as their solemn focus was on one another. All that Duncan could hear was his heart beating loudly the closer he got towards his obstacle.

With every beat, a different image was seen playing through his head. From meeting Professor Rowan and choosing his Turtwig, to the collection of badges...to the undisputed outcome between him and Sinnoh's Champion. Another image of Cynthia flashed in his head, which was preceded by Nic.

Time remained slow as his dark glare was highlighted by the multicolored array of his staff swinging for Vanessa...

"Cooo!" At the last second, Junior appeared between them, his bright, unknowing smile fixed on Duncan.

Both trainers' eyes shrank as their hearts momentarily stopped. Duncan wanted to pull away, but his momentum was much too soon to stop.

'Shit! I can't pull away!'

FWOOM!

A swift pair of wings suddenly spiraled and dragged the momentum of Vanessa's teal maelstrom and Duncan's swing in opposite directions. Two massive explosions sent teal and multicolored dust spouting outwards mixed with dust. As Joey ran to intercede, he was forced to stop and put up a barrier to prevent the shockwaves from blowing him away. Tranquill, Larvesta, and Dereece caught up and stayed hunkered behind the shield until the ruptures subsided.

The two opposite dust clouds gradually parted, revealing both Duncan and Vanessa with surprised looks on their faces.

Junior uncovered himself, blinking once to realize he was alright. "...cooo?"

Towering right over him, Staraptor was in a turned position, her wings parted to show she redirected Duncan's staff into the ground. As to where Vanessa's hand was reached out just a short angle off from the other wing.

"That's enough, both of you." Her tone boomed, her red eyes glaring daggers at them.

It could have been her Intimidate Ability, or the adrenaline the two were momentarily raptured in, but they immediately backed down. Duncan's staff gradually flickered until the lacrima all lost their colors. Vanessa deactivated her teal aura.

"Vanessa-senpai! Duncan!"

The three froze and turned towards the familiar voice. Their eyes met Joey as he and the others caught up. "Joey? Dereece?" Vanessa blinked. She thought she sensed something familiar close by. She mentally kicked herself for being too engrossed in the spar to not be aware of her surroundings.

Duncan narrowed his eyes. "We were being watched after all."

The two parted from each other as they all reconvened on the spot. Junior and Larvesta's cooing was the only sound that filtered through the air. While the two were lively seeing each other again, the adults were less enthusiastic about the premise.

"Sorry to budge in at a time like this, guys. Really, I am." Joey said sincerely, though his tone was directed more towards Vanessa than Duncan. He gave the latter a look. "Duncan, you mind telling me what that was all about just now, or am I going to have to dig something out of you?"

"Oh, is this the part where I get to the digging?" Tranquill flapped overhead, talons ready for the job.

"Not that kind of digging, now." Dereece groaned, but gave Duncan a look similar to what Joey was. "Duncan, we saw it all. Was all that really necessary? You could have seriously hurt her!"

Despite their pestering, Duncan raised his chin and scoffed. "If I had, it would have meant that she wasn't taking the match seriously." He gave Joey a look back. "Besides, aren't you the one always urging me to train with you guys? This is essentially the same thing."

Joey and Dereece raised their brows at the bold claim. The same thing as training? While on one hand there could be a counterargument to that response, there was also some measure of merit when it sunk into their heads.

"It's fine, boys. There's no need to make such a fuss." Vanessa calmly shook her head. "Besides, his point isn't steered in the wrong direction. It's been some time since I've had to be this wary of someone on the battlefield." She glanced at Duncan. "Tell me, you were using this battle to gauge out your Elfen Forja, isn't that right?"

Duncan harrumphed. "Yeah, I was." He glanced at his weapon, seeing the lacrima all their brightness. "Unfortunately, it seems that I used up all my Magic Power in that last attack. It'll be a little while until it's recharged. So we'll have to end things here."

"I see. That's rather unfortunate, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers." She paused, putting a hand to her hip. "But you know, if it means anything to you, I'm impressed with how quickly you've been able to adapt yourself well. And I'm not just saying that as a trainer from our respective world. I mean that in a mage's point of view, too. You should be proud of how far you've come."

Duncan hummed. As much as he had wanted to feel that way, his gut stirred with an uproarious dissatisfaction. Not just at the undecided victor, but in the process, too. Now that his head had cooled down, he realized just how worked up he was, and where he was with the Elfen Forja.

'If this is my starting point, I need a lot more to work on if I want to get stronger.' He fought the urge to clench his free fist.

"Er-hem! I, uh...think that maybe we should all just drop it here for now. It's getting pretty late, and I think that the seminar is almost over." Dereece persuaded, tapping his fingers together. "I just hope that nobody will be mad if they found out about us skipping."

"I'm sure it won't be a big deal. Our guild is fairly loose when it comes to attendance." Vanessa smirked. "Believe me, as mandatory as some things sound, we have a few stragglers we can't wring in."

"Do you mean Nic-senpai, Vanessa-senpai?" Joey quipped.

Vanessa turned towards him. "Well...you're not wrong, Joey. I was actually talking about Cana's father...but like Dereece said, it's getting late. We'll tell you another time."

Staraptor spread her wings. "Afraid that she's right. It's best that we all head home before the sun gets too low. Come along, Junior."

"Cooo..." Junior sat at Duncan's feet, still fixated on the staff's light that it produced earlier. It was so enchanting. So bright...he just wanted to be as close to it as possible.

Seeing his strange stare, Duncan turned away. "It's not a toy." He glanced at Staraptor. "He's your responsibility, right? Make sure that he doesn't interfere again. If he doesn't understand what's going on like the Captain's Larvesta can, then he'll be nothing more than a hassle."

"Duncan!" Dereece snapped.

Duncan scoffed, giving him a sharp leer. "You know I'm right."

Staraptor's predatory stare was fixed on the trainer's back. She wasn't brazed enough to come at her foster-son's defense, but she wasn't to completely turn a blind eye to it either. Looking at Larvesta crawling into Joey's hold, she saw just how behaved and comprehensive she was as opposed to Junior. Her attention fell back onto Junior, who looked towards her in wonder and confusion.

"...right. I apologize for the trouble. I'll make certain that he learns from this."

Duncan hummed, seemingly acknowledging her answer. He turned and gave Vanessa his attention. "We'll settle our score another time. Hopefully, for real."

Vanessa nodded. "We'll see."

With a hum, Duncan started off. He stopped a few feet ahead when something pressing weighed on his conscience. "Tell me..." He lowered his head. "Did you ever face the Kalos Champion?"

Vanessa blinked. Her aura sensory picked up a shift in Duncan's demeanor. He seemed a lot more...calm, for a lack of better wording. She chose to answer regardless. "Yes, I have."

"Tell me, did you win?"

"...no, unfortunately." She sounded displeased, but that was to be expected.

"I see...so did I." His response got everyone looking at him. "I was only able to defeat three of Cynthia's Pokémon at the time. But even so..." His hold on the Elfen Forja tightened. "It wasn't enough."

Everyone listening could feel a dense shift in the atmosphere. They never heard Duncan feel so...down about something. It was an indication that he was breaching something personal, but rather than dig into it themselves, they just let him continue.

"After that, I've traveled all over Sinnoh, honing my battling skills for as long as I could remember. Every year, at the Pokémon League, returning trainers come together for the annual re-enrollment tournament to have a chance to battle the Elite Four again. And, if they were lucky, Cynthia."

Vanessa had an idea of where this was going. "Were you successful?"

"...no. Even after four times, the best spot I achieved was my most recent shot at the top four. But I'm not giving up...not until I know that I can reach that place with my own power." He shook his head. "Make sure that you contribute to the thirty-job prerequisite. I want to see you in those games."

"I understand, I will."

Duncan dipped his hat back at her with a respective nod. He then turned towards Joey and Dereece. "I'll be up bright and early for the first job." He turned and started off, leaving his teammates in a fixed daze.

"Wow...that was...something." Joey rubbed the back of his head. The situation had turned awkward until Joey looked over at Vanessa. "V-Vanessa-senpai! Are you okay?! Did Duncan hurt you at all?"

Vanessa chuckled and warmly smiled. "It's nothing to worry about, Joey. I'm alright...though I appreciate your concerns. You should hurry and make sure that your teammate sees Wendy. I'm sure he'll need it after that little spar."

"'Little', huh?" Dereece raised a brow.

"Still...that was so awesome, Vanessa-senpai!" Joey had bright stars in his eyes, a bright smile spreading across his face. "You went toe-to-toe with him! You're definitely the Vanessa-senpai that I met that first day to a tee!"

Vanessa chuckled. "You flatter me, Joey." She tossed a lock over her shoulder. "that being said, I'm still gaining experience. I wouldn't say that I'm at the top myself, but I can always stand to improve myself." She folded her arms. "And that goes for you, too."

"Oh don't worry, we're gonna knock your socks off once you see how much booty we out into our jobs from here on." Joey turned around, shaking his posterior to emphasize his point. "Come, Dereece! Tranquill! Larvesta! We've got work to do!"

"Oh boy!" Larvesta cheered, before waving a stubby foreleg at Junior. "Bye-bye!" She turned and shot a String Shot thread at Tranquill's leg, wrapping around it. She got pulled along as the avian carried her over Joey and Dereece's heads away from the fields.

Once they were gone, Vanessa let out a deep sigh. "Vanessa, are you alright?" Staraptor asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." A short pause filled the air. "If I'm being honest, that was an awfully close one there. Perhaps if it weren't for you interfering when you did...I'm not sure who would have won."

Another pause fell between them.

"...you felt it, too, didn't you?"

"Aside from that look in his eye?" Staraptor recounted the vindictive look in Duncan's eyes. "Yes, I know that look all too well. He clearly as a lot of passion for getting stronger. Whatever the reason is, he's certain to make sure that he doesn't lose sight of what he wants...no matter how many detours he has to take in order to get there."

"Cooo!" Junior wailed his tiny arms, getting Staraptor's attention.

"Yes, Junior, I know. We better get you back home so we can feed you. I'm sure Nic is starting to worry about us at this point." She grabbed the infant in her talons and lifted off the ground. "You should head home and rest up as well, Vanessa. It seems like everyone will be busy from here on."

"I'm afraid so." She started back the way she came, with Staraptor sailing overhead with a laughing Junior in the winds.

Watching from the hillside's tree, Butterfree saw the whole thing. His antennae twitched before he turned and fluttered back into the deep forest.

---

Day had turned to late evening as the skies were almost completely black. Just a little light was in the distance to enable anything diurnal to see where they were going. The rest of the day was substantial to say the least, at least to Nic and Erza. Aside from the big announcement and the seminar, Nic hadn't had much else intended.

Inside the Pularis household, the kitchen faucet was running hot water into one side of the sink, while the other had dirty dishes from their dinner buried in soap foam. Erza washed the dishes, where she would rinse them before handing them over to Nic as he tried them with a cloth.

"Well today wasn't necessarily boring, if I say so myself." Erza hummed, making conversation with her husband in the midst of their duties.

"Yeah, that's one way of looking at it." Nic paused, blanketing the recent dish handed to him with the whole cloth. He rotated the whole cloth to get deep the whole dish dry. "The others definitely improved since the last time we had a seminar."

"I know what you mean. I almost wouldn't have recognized them and their Pokémon. They've obviously been through training since then." She handed him another plate. "Of course, that goes without say. It's been a few months since then. We've been through a lot, haven't we?"

"Yeah, that itself would be an understatement." Nic removed the cloth and placed the clean plate on the metal rack sitting beside him. "I'm just surprised that everyone got themselves a Z-Ring."

"That makes two of us. After what we've seen back in Alola, you'd think the Cambire Foundation would have half a mind to mind our habits when going all-out." Erza chuckled as she reached for the next plate covered in leftover marinade. "I have a feeling that if some of us aren't careful, it could cost us a spot in these upcoming games."

Nic raised a brow. "It sounds like you're singling out Natsu. Destroying property is more of his niche."

Erza chuckled. "Well, you're not wrong. I admit to that." Once she passed the rinsed plate over to Nic, she turned the faucet water off. "That said, I'm surprised you actually agreed to being the icon for these games. And you aren't even a little resentful towards the Cambire Foundation for this?"

"Believe me, the first look I gave Arthur was anything but a kind one." Nic shrugged. "But, as much as I'd rather mind my own business...he's very persuasive. Annoying, but persuasive." He placed the last dinner plate on the metal rack beside him. "So in the end, we ended up making that compromise. In the end, everyone benefits. Trainers who want to return home can use these games to get to me, and it promotes mages and Pokémon working as equals in a changing work environment. At least that's what I got out of it."

The scarlet-haired knight gave Nic a warm smile, one that unnerved him. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking, how far you've come yourself. It's nice to see you try and make an effort to help others." She moved closer and draped her arms around his waist, feeling his warm body heat against her skin. "You're right...a lot of people have been misplaced between our worlds. But even if some are suffering right now, we can only do our best to make sure that we try to ease that burden. Besides, we know trainers who've acclimated quite well amongst our other fellow guilds."

Nic paused, getting the indulging whiff of strawberry. A small smile crept onto his face. "Yeah, at least they're doing just fine."

"That said, we'll do everything we can to give them a choice. Whatever happens after that, will depend entirely on them and what they'll do. Now..." She leaned in, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "We better get to bed early. We have a long few weeks ahead of us, and everyone needs their strength to do their part..." She mischievously smirked. "That goes for you as well, Mr. Champion."

Nic slumped his shoulders. "You're not gonna let me sleep easy, are you?"

"If I didn't, it wouldn't be half as entertaining." She clasped her hands together. "Now, what do you say we get to designing that new armor idea I've had in mind?"

Nic raised a brow. "Didn't you just say that we should get to bed?"

"Yes, but we should have some spare time beforehand. Better late than never as they say." She beamed with pride, giving Nic a knowing smirk that sent less than pleased chills down his spine.

He turned away, sighing. "Fine. But I'm the only one touching the pencil and paper."

Erza furrowed her brows, sighing irritably as she followed her husband into the den area of their cottage. "As I've said before, I've been working on my penmanship. I'll have you know that it's much better than last time."

"Writing and art are two different things." He pointed out.

"Oh please, tell you what? Let's make things interesting, shall we? Why don't we both draw out that armor design. And whomever has the best design won't have to do house chores for a month."

"You're really setting yourself up for failure, you know that right?"

"I wouldn't underestimate me if I was you. I don't accept failure without putting up a fight."

Nic groaned. 'This is gonna be a long night.'

With the two proceeding towards the den, the rest of the Pokémon tended to themselves. Staraptor went over towards the windowsill where Junior was watching the night sky blossom with stars.

"Coooo..." he cooed, his face dazzling with awe.

Staraptor looked up with him, her beak forming a smile. "Yes, they are breathtaking, aren't they?" She stared at them, before turning towards Junior. Even though he was still a mystery to them, at least they were getting more or less acclimated. "You're certainly a strange little one, aren't you?"

"Cooo..."

"Come on, time for bed, mister." She ushered him way from the window. Junior complied, but he couldn't help but give the stars one last look for the night.

Outside the Pularis family household, something shifted within the bushes. Shiin was camouflaged and keeping his magic signature under radar as he was observing them. Once he saw Junior peter away from the window, he stood up and started away from his post.

'That should do for today. I'll withdraw and proceed to my report about my recent findings.' He started down the trail towards Magnolia, making sure that the dusk-brimmed atmosphere wasn't cascading light from the distance that could otherwise compromise his stalking. 'A Grand Magic Games...with humans and creatures from other worlds. What's worse, this organization known as the Cambire Foundation found it in their jurisdiction to mingle the ways of the nation's traditions. Has our Magic Council truly been tainted to allow this?'

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the translucent lacrima that had the Z-stone in it. 'And these stones...together with these crystals form a tremendous power that could challenge even the toughest of spells. There was no Magic Power reading, but the pressure they give off is unmistakably tremendous. Just what other kinds of secrets does this opposing world have that threatens the sanctity of our race?'

"Free~!"

Shiin stopped in his tracks at the familiar chime. He looked up, seeing Butterfree flutter from above to greet him. He kicked and fluttered with energy to spare, seemingly jumpy about something. He tried his best not to pay any heed.

"...hmph, you're awfully chipper this late." He sniped, resuming his trek.

"Free!"

Shiin sighed. He's gotten disturbingly used to that same sound after spending so many weeks observing the guild's activities, both up close and afar. But he knew he mustn't let his guard down. He can't. Not when the burden of the magic world was on his shoulders.

He stopped in his tracks once more, his eyes slowly gazing up at the stars coming out above Butterfree. As enchanting of a scenery it was, unnerved thoughts plagued his mind.

'How...how could humans ever trust these Pokémon?'

---

Hundreds of miles away from Fiore, the night sky was being looked at from another standpoint. This being from behind vaulted, large windows. Yet the lighting from the city far below was what enticed the man in robes. A grin spread across his pale face as he relished in the sights of the bustling populace.

Stepping up from the shadows, a silhouette with hooves and claws appeared. "Your eminence..." He slowly kneeled before him.

"Is everything running smoothly as we have planned?" the man asked.

"Yes, of course. The squad as well as myself have been mobilized and ready upon command."

The grin on his lips widened. "Very good. Now, I trust all of you are ready to see the world that you rightfully sought for?" He glanced over his shoulder, seeing a dozen silhouettes of various shapes and sizes. They had distinct features such as claws, two toes, and some had human shapes to them. With how faint the lighting was, it was hard to make out what they were exactly, but a pair of feral red eyes glowed.

Looking at all their expressions, that was the answer he needed. "Then...let us prepare." He lifted his head, staring up at the twinkling night sky. "Very soon, my friends, the freedom that you've sought for, shall be realized."

---

And that concludes the Cosmog Arc. I hope that it wasn't too terribly of a misleading arc title, but I included Cosmog (Junior) as best as I could while making sure enough development was for everyone else.

It was a good call to split this part off from last chapter. I felt like that aside from this being incredibly long, I wanted to make a chapter characterize Duncan and his motives...that and I needed to give Vanessa a little battle action, so that was a plus. This was also the unveiling of Duncan's newest primary weapon, the Elfen Forja. I hope all the foreshadowing I did leading up to its unveiling was worth it! Truth be told, I had sketched it out from my very old drawings of Duncan on my DeviantArt a few years back, but haven't picked up on that since. If you stay up to date with my DeviantArt, when I get time, I'll be sure to do a concept art of the Elfen Forja.

Now, with this small arc over with, it's time for the next big arc I have in store, the Pokémon Rebellion Arc! Hope to see you guys there! XD