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

63. Welcome to Poketopia

"Who the heck are these guys?" Bickslow's voice was the first to break through the awkward silent spell the guild was under, metaphorically of course.

Ther silence was emphasized by the five figures that stood at the gaping entrance to their guild hall. The saloon doors were snapped into split pieces by a pair of dual, razor-sharp black claws that glimmered from the lightning outside. The claws retracted to its owner, which stood above average human height. In fact, a lot of them were either above or below the average height, with only one being an exception.

The one that blew the door down lowered his claws, revealing his frame for all t bear witness. It wasn't human at all, but some large, bipedal arthropod with the upper body of a crustacean, yet the lower half of a hooved animal. Its pale purple skin was covered in silver plating. Bright purple antennae converged with the mandibles to form a mask around the black pupil and bright gray, angular sclera. While much of its hunched upper body was covered in sturdy plates, the underside was more exposed, especially the slim midriff. The most frightening aspect about it were the two massive claws that had ridged plating overlapping one another.

The figure following behind it was average in human height and had a humanoid shape to his figure. Its skin was blue, with its eyebrows and nose bridge being connected to make a black T. It had on a pale blue karate outfit with a black belt that seemed integrated with its skin, as though it was natural.

The third figure was taller and also bipedal. It had a larger frame, and had shorter green legs that matched its thin arms that went up to mitten-shaped hands with no digits. It had small dark eyes, with a large orange beak. Its entire frame was covered by yellow fur complimented by brown zigzag patterns. However, the most prominent feature it had was the enormous green sombrero it wore on its head with a huge brown stump and yellow spiked flower atop it.

The fourth figment was much shorter, and more fish-like. It had no limbs aside from two pale blue flippers and a deeply curved tail like a wave. It had large red eyes, and attached to its head was a huge stem with two bulbs of light – one larger upfront – that shined brightly in the darkness of the nighttime storm.

The last figure was a creature that was roughly Romeo's height, if not shorter. It had bright purple fur all over its body and limbs, with the exception of if its cream-colored face and stomach. Its nose was a simple purple V that pointed upwards. It had two antennae sticking out of its head. Its dark eyes complimented well with its roughish, toothy smile. However, like the others, it had a distinct feature as well in the form of two very long tails that ended in three-digit hands

The five figures stood before everyone as the tension in the atmosphere grew thicker by the second. Everyone was either confused or on edge. Of all the things to surprise them tonight, they didn't account for this.

The large arthropod raised his head, inspecting his surroundings with a deep study. "So...this is a human guild hall?" He scoffed. "How appropriately...underwhelming."

"Woah! Did it just talk?!" Happy gasped.

The purple simian picked herself up off the ground, using her tails as stands to get a better vantage point. "Oooooh~, so this is where they thrive, huh? Geez, so much for looking for something actually half-decent to pick up as a souvenir."

"Dull your tongue, Amaryllis. Remember why we're here." The blue humanoid scoffed.

"Yea, yeah. I'm just saying they could have stood to live somewhere just a little nicer is all." She chimed. The blue humanoid merely grunted, but chose to leave her thoughts alone.

One of the larger ones clapped his hands together, smiling brightly. "Hey-o! Look at all the humans here! They look like they know how to throw down! Bet they can sit through a dance or two?"

"Someone say dancing? Where?!" The mention of the word "dance" struck Joey's impaired ears like a gong. He jerked up with surprise and slight enveloped joy.

"Oh, oh! I wanna dance! I wanna dance!" Larvesta cheered.

Dereece cleared his throat loudly, grappling Joey's attention. "Not right now, Captain."

"What exactly are those things?" Jet wondered, partially baffled. "Pokémon?"

"Not ones that we've seen before." Droy shrugged.

Macao turned towards Cana. "Hey, Cana! Were these guys part of the list?"

The brunette shook her head. "No, believe me, I would have known the moment they were thrown onto the map. I looked those cards over, nowhere did I see these guys on them." She narrowed her eyes as she kept her eyes locked on the figments before her. 'Something about this doesn't seem right.'

"Hold on, guys, let me check really quick!" Levy obligated to pull out her PokeDex. She held it up to the large arthropod that continued looking around, inspecting the guild's low-tier accommodations. His visual appeared on her screen.

"Golisopod, the Hard Scale Pokémon. The shell covering its body is as hard as diamond. This Pokémon will do anything it takes to win."

"A desperate achiever huh...?" Gajeel eyed the Golisopod, giving it an iron leer that seemed to have gotten his attention.

"Sawk, the Karate Pokémon. Tying their belts gets them pumped and makes their punches more destructive. Disturbing their training angers them."

"Tightening its belt you say? That's almost the opposite of what Machoke has to do to power up." Elfman commented, before shifting his gaze towards Machoke.

Machoke glared heavily at Sawk, who seemed far calmer than him. There was a mutual silence in the air between the two Fighting-types.

"Ludicolo, the Carefree Pokémon. Upon hearing an upbeat and cheerful rhythm, the cells in Ludicolo's body become very energetic and active. Even in battle, this Pokémon will exhibit an amazing amount of power."

"As if I hadn't seen that one before." Evergreen scoffed, her eyes glazing over towards Vijeeter and Lombre behind her. "Now that I think about it, they seem vaguely similar to each other..."

"That's because Ludicolo are the evolved forms of Lombre." Vanessa pointed out, her glare never leaving the incomers' sight. "They aren't very common because they require certain stones to evolve. Even then, there aren't that many."

Vijeeter turned to Vanessa with shock. "Wait! So you're saying that...that Lombre evolves into that?!"

"R-really?!" Lombre flinched. He turned towards his evolved form with even bigger shock in his eyes.

The Ludicolo smiled at the audience before him. As he scanned the audience, his attention fell to the jumpy Larvesta eying him, along with the fashionable blonde that was her trainer. The look on his face looked more abrasive than it was a second ago.

"Lanturn, the Light Pokémon. It lives far down in the depths of the ocean. It blinds its prey with light, using the moment they're dazzled to swallow them whole."

Happy tensed up, his tail standing on end from shock overcoming him. 'Wait...did that thing just say...?' He had a very disturbing image in his mind, with the Lanturn swimming closer with her gaping mouth open to gobble up Happy. "Gwah~! No, that ain't right! I'm not fish food! It's the other way around!"

Natsu raised a brow. "The heck are you spazzing about?"

Happy suddenly shifted behind Natsu in fear. "Quick, Natsu! Get rid of that mean fish before it makes canned cat food out of me!"

"Hey, watch it!"

'Guess the poor guy's still traumatized with what happened with those other fish...' Lucy nervously thought, before returning to focus on the group ahead of them.

"Ambipom, the Long Tail Pokémon. It uses its tails for everything. If it wraps both of its tails around you and gives you a squeeze, that's proof it really likes you."

The Ambipom – otherwise called Amaryllis – chuckled as she linked her two tails together to make a ring overhead. "Oh boy, just look at all these wonderful humans! Some of them look pretty strong, too! Hey, you think her earrings would look good on me?" She pointed at Erza's miniature sword earrings she wore. The knight subconsciously covered them while glaring daggers at the offensive comment.

'These Pokémon...I've only seen some of these species once or twice...but still...' Erza frowned heavily as her sixth sense couldn't shake the uneasy feeling swelling up inside.

Vanessa's aura sensory sent a shiver down her spine. Despite the merriment in the Ludicolo and Ambipom's voices, she could sense the opposite from them. They were anything but merry. 'These Pokémon...their auras are much different.'

Nic and Staraptor shot glares at the newcomers. They were anything but welcoming. "Cooo!" Junior lightly bounced with a bright, oblivious smile on his face.

Shiin shot glares at them all as the situation dragged on. 'Are they not familiar with one another? Could these be one of the ones that live in the wild?' He eyed them skeptically. 'No...something about this feels off.'

Golisopod turned towards his colleagues, all of them looking at him, then back at the guildmembers present. They all seemed to be studying them, especially Nic. It only added pressure to his gut telling him to be on guard.

Macao turned towards Wakaba, then Nab; both didn't seem like they were going to usher any kind of response to the situation. He decided to take the initiative and step up. "Hey, you guys lost or something?" He greeted the Pokémon with open arms. "Listen, we don't mind you staying here under the storm passes up, but I think you've got the wrong place to be."

Golisopod raised his head, scoffing. "Hmph! Actually, we're right where we need to be."

Before Macao could usher a word of wonder, Golisopod suddenly vanished. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in front of him with a claw reeled back. He jabbed Macao right in the abdomen, causing him to gag loudly as he went flying past everyone into the table Reedus and Smeargle were.

"DAD!" Romeo shouted horrifically.

Everyone gasped in shock before the majority of them turned their attention back towards Golisopod. He kept his claw out as he visibly sneered at the easy collision. "Hmph...not a good response. What a weakling."

"Is he okay?!" Mirajane hurried over, seeing Macao cringing as he laid on the broken table remains. He looked to be in serious shock from that surprise attack.

Romeo angrily turned towards Golisopod, igniting his fist in purple flames. "You jerk! You're gonna pay!"

Golisopod glanced over, seeing Romeo shoot slithering flames at him. He brought one claw around as they glowed bright blue. They became large energy blades that he slashed through the flames, dispersing them.

"What?!" Romeo gasped.

'That's Razor Shell!?' Erza realized.

Golisopod hastily backhanded Romeo with the aquatic blade. The impact made him cry out in pain as he slammed into Vijeeter and Lombre, making all three double over.

"Romeo! Vijeeter!" Carla gasped.

"Oh no, are they alright?!" Wendy rushed over to Romeo's side. She kneeled and instantly began using her Healing Magic on the gash left on his abdomen. "Stay still for me!"

Golisopod scoffed bitterly, turning away from his recent fallen prey. "Hmph, another weakling."

"Hey, you!" Natsu angrily roared, igniting his fists in raging flamed. The angry look in his eyes burned as brightly as his flamed. "What do you think you're doing?! Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it!"

"Hm?" Golisopod turned towards Natsu, grunting only half-heartedly. "Hm? You look half-decent. Maybe you'll make for a fitting opponent."

Out of impulse, Natsu leaned forward and shot off the ground after Golisopod with a fist engulfed in flames. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

Golisopod stood still as he watched Natsu's head-on attack speed in his direction. Natsu was much too fast for him to simply dodge. Before the first made impact, something caught the fist as the flames dispersed. To Natsu's mild surprise, Sawk reappeared with his left hand partially burnt, but barely flinched as he held Natsu in check.

"He stopped him with one hand?!" Jet exasperated.

"What the hell kind of Pokémon is that!?" Droy panicked.

Sawk kept his stern glare on Natsu as his arm was visibly shaking from holding him back. "Adamantine...perhaps you have forgotten about the mission? Provoking them like this doesn't do you any favors."

Golisopod – now Adamantine – turned ahead with a scoff. "Tch! Who cares? Besides, we won't know any of their potential unless we see it all for ourselves." He shot him a leer. "Am I wrong, Martial?"

Sawk – now Martial - hummed low. "Hm...I suppose you aren't wrong in those regards. In that case...!" With all the strength in his body, Martial shoved Natsu back, making him slide across the guild's wooden flooring to a grinding halt.

"Damnit! This one's pretty sturdy!" Natsu grunted.

Martial frowned heavily as he grabbed his belt and tightened it. An orange glow suddenly erupted from his body that briefly defined his brawn muscles.

"That's Focus Energy!" Vanessa realized.

'It's moves are going to pack more critical hits than normally.' Nic silently thought.

Gray put his hands together, creating misty, cold energy. "Alright, this has gone too far! I'm about to put this all on ice!" He brought his arms back with the atmosphere growing colder around him. "Take this!"

Suddenly, a wave of ice spikes shot from below, heading towards Martial and Adamantine's direction. The latter didn't change his position as he eyed the oncoming ice with intensified focus. With a heavy grunt, he lifted his right leg and swept it across, shattering the ice spikes as though they were pencil lead. The move once again left everyone deeply shocked.

"What?!" Gray gasped.

"He brought down all the ice with a single sweep of his feet!" Juvia hiccupped, covering her mouth with her hands.

Sawk huffed before briefly scanning the guild hall once more. His eyes fell onto Nic and Erza, the two looking like they were about to spring at any moment. "There...our targets. Above all else, make sure they don't get away."

"Right, I know." Adamantine scoffed.

Vanessa blinked, her fixated gaze turning astonished. 'Targets? Then does that mean they're here specifically for someone?' She turned towards her brother and sister-in-law. The chill up her spine only served to intensify. Delphox stood beside her with her wand ready.

"Oh hell no!" Joey beelined right in front of Nic and Erza, much to their own shock. Suddenly, he summoned a barrier blocking them off from the others. Joey stood in front with an infuriated expression on his face. "You wanna get to Nic and Erza-senpai, you've gotta go through me buddy! And Dereece!"

"Yeah...wait, what?" Dereece barely caught what Joey said before looking less confident.

Gajeel brought hos right arm forward, a green magic seal appearing before his straightened fingertips. "Iron Dragon's Lance – Demon Logs!" Upon impulse, he unleashed multiple iron kunai that shot in large numbers at high speed across the guild hall into the intruders.

"Close Combat!"

Martial's eyes suddenly fixed on the oncoming piercing attack and sped in front. Everyone saw his fists tighten to the point where veins popped out before he unleashed a high-speed flurry of kicks and swift chops and punches. Each blow deflected a kunai in a different direction. Many sped past other guildmembers – one of which sped and cut Jet's right cheek. Another cut into Laki's arm. And another barely got Cana.

A kunai barely missed Natsu as he jumped sideway onto a table. He looked ahead, severely angered. "Hey, you metalhead jerk! That almost hit me!"

Gajeel gasped before stopping his assault. He let up and backpedaled as Martial stood in place with a deep breath before exhaling. He saw that beneath him numerous kunai impaled the ground from being deflected. A blue aura enveloped the Sawk's body as his defenses diminished.

"Gajeel, be careful!" Levy shouted.

Amaryllis suddenly catapulted above Adamantine and Martial, performing several acrobatic twists as a red aura flared around her body. "Agility~!" The red aura was absorbed back into her body as she sprung into the crowd. She chuckled with hardy breaths, similar to an actual monkey as she energetically pounced around everyone. She looked so lively as she used Droy and Nab's head as handstands and jettisoned off them, involuntarily pushing them to the ground. She catapulted herself to a pillar and looped around it using her tails and sprung to a different direction.

"Oh no you don't!" Joey turned towards his Pokémon. "Palpitoad, use Mud Shot!"

"Bupta!" Palpitoad opened his mouth and slung out his long tongue. He whirled around and swatted his tongue, sending brown balls of mud beaming at Amaryllis, but she caught on and jumped in the air while the brown balls erupted and knocked over a table instead.

"Oopsies! Didn't realize that was so fragile~!" Amaryllis chimed.

"Get her, babies!" Bickslow reached his arms out, sending his dolls to chase after the rogue Ambipom.

They beamed straight at her while she was still in midair. What Bickslow wasn't expecting, however, was when he saw her tails glow bright purple and twist her entire body, smacking and shattering the dolls' hosts, via Double Hit. His concealed face showed deep shock.

Natsu suddenly sprung with his fist broiling in fire. "I gotcha!"

"Leave it to me! I'll freeze it over!" Gray shouted, leaping from the other side.

Amaryllis landed on her tail hands and saw her sides pincered by the two oncoming mages. With her increased speed, she snickered before springing overhead, allowing their fists to run into the other's face. Both recoiled harshly and fell over onto their backs.

"Owww...hey! What was that for?!" Natsu grunted.

Gray sat up, looking equally as pissed. "Hey! That's not my fault! I didn't see you there!"

Natsu got closer, gnashing his teeth. "Oh really!? Then maybe you'll see my next punch that'll give you a black eye!"

"Go ahead and try! I dare you, charcoal breath!" Gray glared back.

"What you call me, frostbite!?"

"You heard me-gah!" Their argument was interrupted when their heads were pressed into the ground by Amaryllis using them as landing props, before springing back into the air with hollering wails.

Darumaka grunted, his patience running thin. "Why you-?!" On impulse, he pulled back a fist as it was coated in flames. "Fire Punch!"

Charmeleon gasped. "Darumaka!"

Amaryllis was in midair when she saw Darumaka sporing for her. "Oh my, someone's looking eager! Sorry sugar, but I'd rather not get my hands dirty this way." Her real hands manifested a bright white energy that solidified into a bright white stick. "Baton Pass! You're up, Groove!"

Overhead, the Ludicolo flipped with an energetic smile. Amaryllis lobbed the energy baton upwards for Grrove to catch in his hands. It shined brightly before being absorbed into his body, sending a bright wave through his entire body. He suddenly reappeared in front of Darumaka with his hands ready to clap.

"Sorry little fella, but you better keep in tempo! Fake Out!"

With a loud clap, a point-blank shockwave struck Darumaka, sending him onto his back and doubling past Charmeleon and Tyrunt. The latter looked shocked which turned to rage. "Grrrrr! Tyrunt doesn't appreciate that! Prepare to hurt!" He charged ahead, roaring angrily.

"Tyrunt! Hold it!" Charmeleon shouted, but it was too late.

As Tyrunt as trudging towards Grrove, the Ludicolo huffed before his eyes glowed bright green. "Hey~!" He raised his arms up, summoning thick green roots that glowed brightly beneath Tyrunt. They laced around his feet, causing him to trip and thud painfully on his chin.

"Guys!" Natsu shouted.

Groove chuckled. "Looks like you need better footwork if you wanna get past my Grass Knot, little go-getter."

Natsu angrily gritted his teeth. No way was he letting this slide! "Charmeleon, Aerial Ace!"

Charmeleon snarled before taking a runner's position. He sprung at high speed with glowing limbs. "Take this!"

A jet of beaming blue bubbles shot past Groove, heading right for Charmeleon. Realizing the immediate danger, Charmeleon broke his momentum and backflipped to avoid the barrage of bubbles that continued into Laki's Sudowoodo in the back, effectively putting her on the ground, much to her horror.

The Lanturn from before jumped beside Groove, her angler light beaming brightly with power. "Sorry, but you'll have to be quicker than that, sweetie." She mocked, earning a begrudging leer from Charmeleon.

"Aye-yo! Nice save there, Lumina!" Groove chimed.

"What exactly is going on here!? Tell us this instant!" Freed demanded. Beside him, Sigilyph flapped her wings ready to take charge if needed.

Adamantine turned towards him, his glare less than appeasing by the eye. "Hmph...you look like a strong human..."

Freed was about to reach for his rapier, when a flash of lightning flickered above everyone's heads. By the time Adamantine and the others realized it, an intense bolt shot down from above, striking the center of their formation behind their backs. An intense discharge stun all their backs and shook the guild hall's flooring. Everyone covered up as a bright yellow flare produced static that streamed past them. Even from outside, flashes went off as the lightning in the stormy sky.

After a minute, the flooring was all but destroyed in the one area. Static crackled in the humid air that had everyone close by reeling. A light layer of heat from the lightning kept the atmosphere crisp and tender. By the time everyone realized it, their eyes were locked onto the figure that stood above the five with folded arms.

"Gnnnngh...hngh!?" Adamantine noticed the figure towering above him glaring him down. From the look of his blue eyes, he seemed far from pleased.

"I don't know what kind of game you think you're playing...but let me tell you, it ain't gonna be fun when you're the one that's going to be under my foot." Laxus snarled.

Gajeel gasped, blinking in succession. "Laxus?"

Laxus continued glaring down the five Pokémon as they struggled to stand up. Just when they were about to reach their feet, roots suddenly shot up from the ground. The roots were thick with thorns that dug into their waists and legs as they felt the ground almost instantaneously. They all were pulled back down by the roots and were clung to the guild's ground.

Above, multiple swords appeared and positioned over their heads. All of them were aimed ready to impale them should they all come loose.

"Woah, what the-?!" Dereece looked shocked at the sudden surprise attack.

Joey gasped in surprise. 'Wait! Aren't those-!' He looked behind the barrier he had to protect Nic and Erza. The latter couple were in different forms respectively. Nic was in his Meadow Form, with Erza in her Heaven's Wheel Armor.

"Coooo...!" Junior saw Nic's form, looking dead serious, if not scary. Junior looked like he was about to cry from fear had it not been for Staraptor shielding him with a comforting wing.

"Stay with me, Junior. I'll protect you." She assured. "These Pokémon won't hurt you, I promise."

Martial grunted as he was trying to fight the restraints, but found himself unable to. The roots were very thick, and the thorns were piercing his skin. One was right on his spine. 'Such...strength in these vines!' He glanced over at Nic, seeing his glare fixated on them. 'I can see why he's our primary objective by His Majesty.'

Adamantine grunted as he strained to break free of his binds. The more he moved, the tighter they got, making them that much harder to fight back. His vile sneer intensified.

"Now...how's about you tell us who you really are?" Laxus held up his hand, crackling in lightning. He turned towards Adamantine. "Since you decided to make the first impression, how's about we start with you." He walked over until he towered over the large arthropod. "Who are you? Were you sent by someone else?"

Adamantine snarled, either trying too hard to break free of his restraints, or was refusing to acknowledge Laxus. Either one resorted to Laxus clenching his fist tighter.

"You don't wanna talk? That's fine...but you know, we've had a very stressing day...and my patience is at its end!" He raised his fist overhead and concentrated lightning.

"You..."

Adamantine's low growl made Laxus hold off his strike. He looked down, seeing the large beast tensing.

"You...think you can belittle me. That because you all have strength, that you get to tell me what to do. But I...also have strength!" He started tensing more, his body gradually fighting the rooted restraints again. "I won't...BE BENEATH YOU ALL!"

With a bloodthirsty snarl, Adamantine's claws suddenly glowed bright white. With deathly precision and speed, he used Slash and cleaved the thorns around him. The motion left Nic with mild surprise and partially widened eyes.

'Such strength...' He called to his wife. "Erza!"

"Right! Rain down, my blades!" Erza used her telekinesis and brought down all the blades hanging over their heads with her right arm. They directed into Adamantine, but he looked up as the corner of his eye glimmered brightly.

"SLASH!" With a violent backhand, his sharp claws and dense plating deflected Erza's swords, much to her disbelief.

'My swords couldn't cut him!?'

Adamantine pivoted on his right hoof and cleaved behind him in a large-scale Slash. The swift slash spliced the binds, freeing his comrades and allowing them to stand on their two feet once more. In Lumina's case, she sat upright.

"Get up, all of you! Let's show all these humans what we Pokémon are capable of ourselves!" he encouraged.

Martial dutifully nodded. "You're right. Now that it's come to this, we have no choice." He turned towards his fellow 'mon and exchanged knowing looks. All of them reached back and pulled out something from behind.

Shiin's eyes narrowed in suspicion. 'What are these abominations up to?'

"Keep your guards up! These are no ordinary Pokémon! Something's up their sleeves!" Mest exclaimed.

The Golisopod and the other Pokémon reached into small satchels and pulled out medium-sized cubes. Said cubes had a solid light blue top, with a crystalline bottom. They were kept together by a hatch that was in the shape of a bright yellow diamond embedded on gray bands that tucked along the edging.

"What the heck are those supposed to be?" Natsu wondered.

"Beats me, never seen those gadgets before. Maybe it's some kind of new age gadget from the other world?" He turned towards Vanessa, who looked equally as puzzled.

'I've never seen anything like those before. But their shapes...and their designs...' She paused as her thoughts trailed on. 'They look distinctly similar to...'

Nic and Staraptor narrowed their eyes. It was clear they had a hunch much like she did.

Adamantine sneered. "Now...GO!" At his signal, they all threw the cubes into the air above. The latches became undone and they expelled energy similar to a Poke Ball. Several bodies manifest before everyone that left them all completely speechless.

The figure before Adamantine was a young man of average height. He had pale skin that was covered by clothing, save for his face. He had short messy, dirty blonde hair and eyebrows that complimented hazel eyes. He wore a navy-blue mask that covered his mouth and nose and attached to the skin-tight shirt beneath that exposed his abs. He sported a magenta coat with dark pink edging along the top. The bottom and the cuffs on the end of the long sleeves were fur-lined in dark pink. He wore swamp green pants held by a gold belt and silver buckle. He wore black shoes.

In front of Martial stood an extremely tall and overly muscular individual, much like Elfman. He had medium-short orange hair that spiked backwards. He had small dark eyes and a roguish sneer on his face. He wore only a tight white shirt and green cargo pants, but also black boots that matched the fingerless gloves that fit his brawny hands.

In front of Groove stood a tall man with a tanner skin tone. He had a massive black afro that was the size of a disco ball atop his head. He had dark sunglasses over his eyes and a small moustache and sharp triangular stubble beneath his lip for a beard. He wore a white suit with a purple vest and pants, with a red tie. He sported sharp dark dance shoes.

In front of Amaryllis, she had two humans. One was a large man that wore a chef's uniform, including the hat. He has a large belly with a white apron over it. His eyes were slanted and shut, with large ovular lips and stuffed cheeks. That all opposed his ally, who was average height and weight, with average skin and wrinkles beneath his eyes to show his partially advance age and health. He had messy, curly, orange hair and sported a dark cloak over a tattered, long-sleeved, dark green shirt. He had large black pants that stuck out of his muddy green boots.

Lumina also had two humans, both very much alike, if not identical. They both had midnight blue hair that had bangs going in opposite directions. Their hair was tied in ponytails, one having a blue bulb, and the other having a black ribbon. They wore matching bright blue kimonos, with one having white orb patterns, and the other having hash patterns. They had matching wooden heels and blue belts typing around their supple and voluptuous frames. They had matching dark violet eyes that looked straight ahead.

The seven humans stood before the Pokémon, leaving a sound silence to follow. The only sounds that were audible to everyone was the rolling thunder happening outside. Otherwise, a wave of gasps fell through the guild hall by everyone. Even Laxus showed some mild surprise.

"Wait...what?" Gray was the first to break the silence, his eyes shrinking in growing shock.

"Are those all...people?" Lisanna quipped.

"But...but how? Is that even possible?" Wendy worried.

"Whatever we're seeing right now, it most certainly looks real." Carla answered morbidly.

'Were they actually able to capture humans like how humans did with Pokmon?' Nic's attention fell onto the cubes tucked back behind all the Pokémon. 'I think I get it now...'

"There...our targets. Above all else, make sure they don't get away."

Nic's eyes narrowed in growing suspicion. 'I think I follow now...so that's what this is about.'

The large muscular man standing before Martial scanned the guild's residence, looking slightly ecstatic. "Huh? Alright! Look at all these people I get to fight! Finally!" he shouted, clenching his fists tight.

Sawk lowered his chin as he stared ahead. "Yes...but remember your discipline, Bruce."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." He spread his legs and readied a stance. "Just say the word and let me at 'em!"

Elfman's brow furrowed before he started a charge. "Oh, so you want a fight big guy?! Then how's about taking on a real man like me!?"

"Brig brother Elf! Wait a sec!" Lisanna reached out, but it was too late.

Elfman let out a battle cry as he brought his arm back as he did a Take-Over. The Jet Black Sword arm manifested with dark plating and sharp claws. He slung his arm forward with all his might, however, the claws were stopped in their tracks by one of Bruce's hands alone. A small gust strew from the collision that left both combatants stuck in place.

Elfman's eyes widened with surprise built in his face. 'No way. He stopped my attack...with just one hand alone!?'

Bruce sneered with a wide smirk. "Say, I like your spirit, big guy. I actually felt some wind in that blow. But now...you better brace yourself for a real punch!" The comment made Elfman's pupils shrink in realization of what he meant.

"Now Bruce, use Bullet Fist!" Martial commanded.

Bruce sneered again. "Aw sweet! Just what I wanted to do!" He thrust his arm forward, repulsing Elfman's arm with little effort. He clutched his fists as a blue magic seal appeared beneath him. He violently shouted as his knuckles glowed and fired a ballistic assault of punches so fast that it looked like he had multiple arms striking Elfman at once. Each blow sent a shockwave straight through his body. Each blow was so fast that it was hardly visible, yet the force made a notable bruise that was crushed by another punch.

"HRAAAAH!" Bruce slung one final punch straight into Elfman;s diaphragm, making his eyes go solid white and black out before flinging across the guild hall into a pile of empty barrels, smashing them to pieces.

"ELFMAN!" Mira and Lisanna panicked.

Shiin's eyes widened at the realization. He was so struck that he couldn't form the words from his mouth. 'Magic that maximizes a person's physical strength and performance?'

Machoke was so struck that he immediately stood up. Rhyhorn snarled as he dug his heels into the ground and charged at the foe.

"You dumbass! Stop!" Machoke warned, only for his cry to fall on deaf ears.

Rhyhorn charged with the intention to stomp on Bruce, only for Lumina to turn towards the twin woman with the orb theme on her kimono. "Marcella, use Bubble Bomb!"

"Right away, Miss Lumina." She dutifully nodded, before closing her eyes. She held out her right palm as an aquatic blue magic seal appeared in front of her. The air liquified into tint droplets that morphed into one large bubble of pure, compressed water. The bomb shot after Rhyhorn, who continued charging ahead without thinking.

The attack struck hm, engulfing him and others around him in an explosion of water. The force of the explosion was enough to send Rhyhorn doubling backwards in a slide on his side to a halt. He laid on the guild's dented in flooring, swirls fixed in his eyes.

'This can't go on! They need to be immobilized!' Vanessa swiped across and extended her arm out. "Delphox, Psychic!" she commanded.

"Right!" Delphic aimed her wand, her eyes glowing bright blue. She expelled a singular psychokinetic shockwave that engulfed the Pokémon and humans. With her powers, she lifted them several feet off the ground.

Vanessa reached both arms out and made a large forcefield of teal aura to surround them for good measure. Once they were sealed inside, she only further intensified the aura's surface with her Magic Power.

"Good thinking, Vanessa. They can't do much if they're compromised like that!" Sophie was hopeful her statement didn't get the chance to bite back. Sadly, though, it did.

"Hmmmm, I wouldn't say that, little lady." Groove chimed in, offered a vague smirk. "Don Disco!"

"Yo, boss man! What you need?" The human with the afro looked back, keeping a suave atmosphere even in the air.

"Use Rhythm Turn!"

Don Disco snapped his fingers. "Can do!" He adjusted his tie and smirked at Delphox and Vanessa. "Hey there, ladies. Care to join me...for a dance!?" He flashed a pose with his body leaning off to the side, his left arm supporting his right arm that was angled to support his chin.

Vanessa and Delphox didn't see the issue at first. Honestly, the pose in midair was more mediocre than professional. But their opinions were sidelined when their bodies suddenly mimicked the motions into the pose, much to their confusion and shock.

'Wait, what? I didn't make my body move like this.' Vanessa thought.

Don Disco's sunglasses glinted as he cocked a brow. He rocked his shoulders side to side, hugging his arms and swaying his hips in the motion. Vanessa and Delphic mimicked the motion despite their bodies not listening to them. He spun around in the air and crisscrossed his knees while shifting his hands to opposite knees. He shifted as he clapped on either side, another motion that Vanessa and Delphox followed in tempo.

"Uh...Vanessa?" Gray blinked. "Is this seriously the time for you to be, uh...?"

"Why are you dancing so suddenly? That's so inappropriate." Evergreen scoffed.

Duncan glared at Vanessa, then Don Disco. "It's not her! It's that guy's magic. Whatever he's doing, he's making her dance in a mirror fashion to him."

Vanessa's eyes were wide the whole time as she was swaying and moving her body about in perfect mirror to Don Disco. When he finally straightened up and folded his arms across, he lifted his head up.

"Yeah!" He suddenly whipped both arms out on either side. Vanessa and Delphox mimicked and smacked the other's face unintentionally. Both fell onto their backs with thuds, much to everyone's shock.

"Vanessa!" Erza snapped in shock.

With their focus lost, the Psychic and Vanessa's teal aur shield dropped. The Pokémon and humans planted their feet on the ground with no visible injuries to them.

Vanessa grunted as she sat up. She had an eye open as she was registering what came over her. 'My aura didn't protect me from the effects of his magic. I was able to prevent myself from being controlled by that one demon in Tartaros. His magic must work with more physical influence, that's why.'

Joey immediately swept in front with a hostile glare on his face. "You...!" He growled. "You are so gonna regret that! Nobody makes Vanessa-senpai their puppet like that!" He crossed his arms. "I'm gonna turn you into a doormat and step all over you!"

"Don Disco?" Groove chimed.

He smirked. "Righty-o, can do."

"Barrier-Make: Crash!"

Joey made a barrier in front of him, but Don Disco suddenly turned his body a little and positioned his arm at a straight angle and diagonally upwards. Joey followed the motion and tilted his body, redirecting the barrier across the ground a slight few feet away into Wakaba, Alzack, Vijeeter, and their Pokémon. All of them cried out as they were blown back and crashed on the ground with dulled expressions.

"You serious!? He even manipulated Joey to adjusting his attacks!" Dereece exclaimed.

Joey's eyes were wide as he saw the collateral damage, including the scraped flooring by his barrier. "...eh, ooohhh..."

Adamantine sneered, gesturing a claw in his direction. "Nero, Air Lob on that fool!"

His human nodded before making two small magic seals in his palms that vanished quickly. He pressed the air between his palms together before seemingly grabbing something invisible. He threw it in Joey's direction, but nothing happened.

'What was that supposed to-!' Suddenly something hard yet unforeseen struck Joey's face, immediately putting him on the ground. 'Gah! I didn't even see that!'

"Captain Joey!" Dereece panicked.

"Mama Joey!" Larvesta quipped in shock. The other Pokémon looked just as horrified.

Sophie furrowed her brow, stepping up in defense. 'We can't let this continue.' She put a finger to her forehead, gathering Magic Power in preparations for a spell. "Memory-Make-!"

ZIP!

It happened so fast that Sophie didn't realize it at first. She blinked when she felt something about her feeling so...loose? She blinked once, then twice, then noticed something off about her chest. 'What the...!?'

"Hey, little lady, missing something?" The pale human beside the chef sneered.

Sophie's eyes immediately shot back up towards him. To her disbelief and utter confusion, she saw a pale pink, strapless bra dangling in his right hand. He mischievously snickered with a cocked brow to further taunt him. Suffice to say that when she looked down at the loose feeling around her chest, she caught onto the act.

With a high-pitched gasp, she covered up her clothed breasts, the mild embarrassment making her lose the momentum of her magic. "How did you do that?!" she snapped, her cheeks pink in shame.

Amaryllis huffed laughter like a monkey. "Nice move, Malkuth! I wonder if that'll fit on me?"

The guy sneered in glee. "What's the matter, ever heard of a little Larson Magic before?" He moved the bra closer to his nose before he gave them a good long sniff. "Hm...maple." he swooned.

Sophie eyes narrowed in growing anger. "Pervert...! Araquanid!"

With no time to spare, Araquanid shot at Sophie's defense – Finneon consequently included inside the water bubble. "That doesn't belong to you! I'll drown you!"

"I don't think so!" Lumina's light intensified as she raised a fin at Araquanid. "Reela, use Ink Rush!"

The other twin closed her eyes. "Yes, Miss Lumina." Instead of a blue aquatic magic seal appearing before her, a liquid silver magic seal appeared instead. It spat a medium-sized rush of black ink that gushed through the air directly at Araquanid's water bubble, quickly clouding his and Finneon's vision inside.

"The hell was that?!" Bisca panicked.

"Ink Magic?!" Levy gasped.

Araquanid hissed angrily as his entire bubble was pitch-black. He turned about, not knowing where the opponents were. He stumbled around, unintentionally getting back closer towards Sophie. Her eyes widened when he was mere inches from her. "Wait! Araquanid! Stop-!"

Unfortunately, the ink blocked out his hearing, and Sophie's entire upper body was drawn into the ink water. She flailed around trying to get herself free, as she had done numerous times before. Her comedic gurgles could be heard through the ink.

"Alright, that does it! I'm burning you all to a crisp!" Natsu brought his hands together, congregating heat to a single point. The fireball's searing temperature made everyone in the guild hall immediately sweat.

Charmeleon's eyes widened. "Wait, Natsu! What about your guild hall?!"

"I know! Just watch, Charmeleon! Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"

Amaryllis saw the blazing attack, meekly snickering. "Hehe, by that would be bad if it hit us. Oh, Fuji~!"

The large chef stood in front. "Yes?"

"Use Gulp Belch!"

Natsu threw the fireball straight down atop the humans and Pokémon gathered. The wake of the flames were intense to where the floorboarding charred as it traveled its way towards them and erupted into an explosive wake of flames. The enormous mass of fire made many cover up. The shockwaves were strong enough to even make Araquanid shake hard enough to where Sophie was pried free of her drenched prison. The flames surged in a confined area rather than spread across the guild hall.

Laxus grunted low as he looked unfazed by the blast. 'Guess it's a good thing the wood is fireproof.'

Natsu landed on the ground, looking relaxed with a smirk. "There, see? Nothing to worry about."

"Nice job, Natsu!" Lucy cheered.

"Yeah! Showed them good!" Klefki cheerfully spun in place right beside her.

Erza glared ahead, her eyes fixed on the flames. Something about this didn't seem right. When she heard a slurping sound, her eyes widened.

"Huh?" Natsu turned around, his pupils shrinking at the wall of fire that was shifting into one direction. "What the...?!"

An audible inhale was heard as all the fire in the surrounding group began converging into an open wide. The flames dispersed, leaving only partially charred planks that Fuji stood on. Al the fire went into his mouth and his stomach expanded slightly.

"Phew~! Oh my, now that's spicy!" he chimed.

"Wait, what~!?" Natsu exasperated.

"How'd he do that!? Don't tell me that he's a fellow Dragon Slayer, too!" Happy panicked.

"No way...did he actually eat Natsu's flames like spaghetti?" Gray blinked.

Nic looked equally as shocked, but he said nothing as he processed everything.

Amaryllis chuckled. "You humans are so silly! My Fuji's magic is called Ingestion! Ingestion Magic is so great because he can stomach any type of magic. And now..." She pointed a finger of one of her tails at Natsu. "Send it back!"

Fuji hummed before he took in a sharp breath. Natsu's eyes widened before it was too late. Fuji let out a loud, grotesque burp that shook the ground, spouting an explosive wake of fire that fanned throughout the area. Everyone who was too close was blown back and partially burnt by the hot belch, especially Natsu. He cried out as he took the full brunt head-on and was pushed back into the wall.

"NATSU!" Lucy screamed, before falling over onto her side. Poor Klefki and Staryu couldn't hold their ground and were blown away.

Nic transformed to his stone form, reaching an arm out. "Wide Guard!" Multiple neon yellow and purple hexagons appeared to create a massive wall that blocked off the roaring shockwaves. The heat and fire was out of everyone's reach and allowed many of them to recover and try to stand back up.

'He was able to return the attack back at Natsu with his own fire stored inside his gut! Just like how a Pokémon uses Belch!'

"Keep them blocked off! Juvia!" Gray shouted.

"Right!" As if on cue, Juvia spread her arms, summoning water that rushed around her that snaked inside the Wide Guard's range. The water swirls in a whirlpool fashion, blocking them off from the others. "There, that should keep them at bay now! Plus, if that mage's magic means seeing you, it shouldn't work!"

A scoff was heard from inside the rushing water. "Hmph...Bruce, Furious Jab!"

Bruce sneered as he rammed his fists into each other. A blue magic seal appeared around his right fist as he brought his arm back. He slung it into the whirlpool, and upon impact, an explosive shockwave tore all the water away. Juvia had little time before the pressurized air blast from the punch struck her, sending her flying with a cry of pain.

"JUVIA!" Gray shouted.

"Boss-Ma'am!" Wartortle panicked.

Bruce flexed his muscled and had veins popping out of his skin. "Alright, who's next-!?" Out of nowhere, a flurry of feathers flanked his side and swarmed the area. "Huh!?"

All around the small group of invaders, multiple Staraptor flocked in a disorderly fashion. They all cawed and yelped as they flew haphazardly in an attempt to disorganize the enemies that stewed below them.

"Where did all these birds come from?" Marcella wondered, her eyes gazing around at the dozens of Staraptor clones almost blocking out the guild's lighting above.

Adamantine looked at the Staraptor copies, then back down at Nic. 'Don't tell me...' He figured out what was happening.

Nic narrowed his eyes at him. Adamantine realized this and looked up. One of the Staraptor shot through the wake of clones and closed in on him.

"Aerial Ace!"

She moved so fast that Adamantine didn't have time to counter. No one did. She was a sonic bullet that closed in on her mark with her beak first. 'His plating his intense, so hit him where he's vulnerable! His underside!'

Just mere feet before impact, Junior blinked and cooed. "Cooo!" Suddenly, he teleported and reappeared in front of Staraptor, immediately activating her reflexes and making her hit the airbrakes. The shockwaves of her sudden stop made air pressure expel around her, making Adamantine and the surrounding humans buffer away.

"JUNIOR!?" Staraptor gasped.

Nic's eyes widened in shock. 'He stopped her again?' For an instant, he thought back to their training, when Junior intervened against their battling. The next instance was last night. And now, this. If he wasn't annoyed already, he most certainly was now.

Adamantine sneered, bringing his claws around as they glimmered brightly blue. Staraptor caught on and hastily caught Junior in her talons before pulling up from a horizontal Razor Shell. She glided overhead and looked down with an observant eye.

'I can't attack them with Junior onboard. I have to find someplace where he can't interfere...'

"Cooooo!" Junior chimed loudly up to Staraptor, his mouth forming a large smile.

"Not right now, sweetie. Mommy's working right now." Staraptor chided, deep strain was in her tone as she was trying to suppress her annoyance.

"Cooo!" Unfortunately, Junior didn't get the message. With a coo much like a pout, he suddenly vanished along with Staraptor.

"Where'd they go!?" Erza exclaimed.

Nic gnashed his teeth silently. 'Damnit...!'

---

One moment Staraptor was in the guild hall full of invaders, the next thing she was in a kitchen. The lights were off so she couldn't recognize it right away. It took a second for her sharp eyes to adjust to the darkness before she recognized the large wooden table she stood on.

'This is...!' She glanced around just as lightning flashed outside. That brief glimpse showed her the familiar refrigerator, as well as cabinets and adjacent den. 'We're back at our house?'

"Cooo!" Junior bounced up and down in front of her like he wanted praise.

Her nerves snapped, but only for an instant. Her eyes shrank as she realized the situation. "Junior!"

"Cooo...?" Junior stopped his happy streak when he recognized his mother figure's piercing glare. He recognized it from when he did something that she didn't like. This was one of those instances.

With a hefty grunt, she tossed her bang and snatched up Junior in her talons. "Do not teleport again! Do you understand?" She sniped, before bolting towards the door. She turned the handle, flipped, and flapped her wings once to get a bolting jettison through the rainstorm. 'Hope I'm not too late!'

---

In his Dread Form, Nic reached his arm out at Don Disco. "Taunt!" A familiar dark aura appeared around his body, with another familiar aura encompassing the stylish adversary.

'That should stop his spells if he can't do any form of actual attacks.'

Martial glared at him. "Smart move."

Bruce scoffed. "Smart or not, I want at him!"

Nic remained soundly positioned. He glared at them all with a steadfast disposition in mind. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, let alone what he was going to do. Was he going to attack? Was he thinking? It was hard to tell. But to those who looked closely – like Erza – it looked like he was...waiting?

Groove snapped his flippers, pointing directly at Nic. "Alright, let's get this over with! Don Disco, Rhythm Turn!"

"Can do, Boss-!" Don Disco froze in place as a black aura flared around his body. He found himself unable to make any movements he wanted with the aura engulfing his frame. "Uh, Boss, I don't know what's happen'n, but I think we need a new plan here."

Groove's eyes widened. "Huh? You lost your rhythm?"

"It's that Taunt. Your human can't use his magic effectively." Lumina informed, turning towards her human twins. "That case, we need to switch to our backup plan. Marcella, Bubble Bomb! Reela, Ink Rush!"

"Yes, Miss Lumina." The twins chimed in unison. Both women had magic seals of their respective elements on either side. Their seals faced each other and began molding a bubble that was gradually filling up with ink.

"What are they doing now!?" Bisca grunted, bracing for what might happen.

"Be careful! It looks like it's expanding!" Alzack warned.

True to his warning, everyone watched as the twins raised their arms overhead. The ink-filled bubble slowly arose with their seals as they shined brighter, producing more of their respective elements that made the bubble all the more larger. In no time, the bubble's mass took up a reasonable size of the guild's insides.

"You're kidding...!" Lucy's eyes widened. Is she actually seeing two magics being used together? She knew all about the Unison Raid, hell, she's done so with Juvia before, but this was something else.

"Are they fusing their magics without them overlapping?" Levy was breathless. She didn't have any more words as Lucy did.

"Levy, get down!" Gajeel sprung in front of Levy to protect her from what he new was going to happen.

Gray put his hands together, creating more ice to help with their situation.

"Ice-Make: Shield!"

"Bruce, Bullet Fist!"

As soon as Gray made a large wall of ice that was certain to stop the oncoming black bubble, a flurry of fists suddenly burst through. Ice chunks flew at the guildmembers present, causing them to cover up and shield from the hard chunks. Gray, however, was left vulnerable as Bruce's bombastic volley struck him as hard as Elfman. With a deadly uppercut, he was sent flying over everyone's heads into the back of the guild.

Lumina brought her fin down. "Now!"

Reela and Marcella glanced at each other before bringing down their seals. The huge bubble gradually came down onto the guild's floor.

BOOOOOOOM!

The entire guild's insides exploded with a massive amount of ink that shot everywhere. The bubble exploded into smaller bubbles that rushed to the far ends of the guild and exploded. The Pokémon that were with their trainers weren't safe as they covered from the ink.

"Gnnnngh!" Charmeleon covered himself as bubbles of ink shot past him.

"Eeeeeeek!" Wendy's Swablu chirped in agony as her beautiful cotton wings shielding her got smudged.

"I can't see! What's happening?!" Quilladin grunted. "Joey!"

With the ink exploding as a distraction, Nic backpedaled away from the wake of the attack. Thankfully he wore a lot of black, so it was easy for the ink to blend in. However, aside from using his arms to block, he didn't put up any defense. He just stood there, his eyes partially narrowed.

"Nic!" Erza shouted through the ink wave. Her armor was quick to stain, but she didn't care.

Nic glanced over at her. "Erza..."

Adamantine reached back, pulling out two similar cubes that he threw his human from before. He pivoted and pulled his arm back. "I've got you...you're both mine!" He threw the cubes as hard as he could with the cover they had. They tossed across the raining ink into Nic and Erza as the former looked deadset on them heading their way.

Time slowed down for a brief instanced for Nic to process the cubes. His brain ran a thousand miles a second with debates and split-second action. However, while his brain was working, so did his gut, and it was aching. Aching at what this was all about.

His mind was set. With everyone still blinded, he remained frozen in place as the cube made contact with his chest. The moment it did, the lid flipped open, revealing its coated insides of metal and crystals. Nic's body shrouded in red energy and shifted in shape. The energy drew itself into the cube's insides.

CLICK!

It went shut with a stern click. Not even a shake, nor was there any rattling. The cube fell to the ground right beside Erza, who looked with a mixture of surprise and horror on her face.

"Nic!" She went to reach for the cube, but the second cube touched her outstretched arm. At that moment, her eyes shrank as the cube clicked open and she converted into red energy. She was drawn into the cube before it clicked clean shut and fell to the ground, with a slight roll to bump into Nic's cube.

Adamantine walked over and stood over the two cubes. He sneered as he kneeled to pick them up in his six small claws. "Heh...that was easier than I could have imagined."

"And on time, too. We're just out of supplies. We're running low on cubes, as well as supplies." Lumina noted. With her angler light shimmering, she could clearly see through the ink-filled guild. "What would be our best course of action?"

Martial tightened his belt with a stern harrumph. "Is it not obvious? We were tasked with capturing the legendary Nic Pularis and his partner. That was the reason we came here." He looked back over his shoulder. "We better contact his majesty and inform him of this. Groove?"

The Ludicolo nodded. He reached back, pulling out what looked like a Communication Lacrima. He peered inside and smile. "Hey there, long time no see! We got what you asked for, your highness! So now what?"

A short silence fell before the person on the other line answered. "I see...very fortunate news to hear from you all. I'll be ready to have you all transported back in a minute. Stay within reach until then."

Groove nodded. "You got it!"

"Really? So soon?" Amaryllis slumped her shoulders, her expression falling to a pout. "Awww~, I wanted to explore what this town had! We just got here!"

Martial glared at her. "Amaryllis..."

She sighed. "Yeah, yeah..." She held up her two cubes and pointed them at the chef and shady man. "Alrighty guys, return!"

Thin red energy beams shot from the small crystals into their backs. They looked back just as they all converted into energy and were drawn back into their cubes. Lumina, Groove, and Martial did the same and recalled their humans back to their special cubes.

Adamantine scoffed, turning back towards Nero. "Hmph! Return!" He reached his cube out and recalled him back as well. "Let's go. There's nothing left here. Nothing but scraps and shambles that won't be useful to me."

The five Pokémon turned to give the guild one last look before the Communication Lacrima shined brightly. In an instant, they all teleported out of the guild hall.

Just a split-second later, lightning flashed outside as Staraptor suddenly burst through the broken entrance. She Spread her wings and stopped in midair, the shockwave of her sudden stop making puddles of ink and suds fan away from her. Immediately she scanned her surroundings to find that the guild hall was a mess; both it and its people.

'What happened just now? That explosion of black I saw...' She looked down at the nearby floorboards, seeing numerous puddles of black suds. 'It looks like an Octillery or Inkay spat an ocean of ink.'

"Coooo?" Junior saw a nearby puddle. He tried reaching for it, but Staraptor kept her grip tightly on his soft surface to keep him at bay.

"Don't touch that, Junior." She scanned the various people that were groaning and recovering from the sudden attack. She could see many like Elfman and Gray who were down for the count, and Sophie's entire upper-body was drenched in black ink. Many others looked to be in shambles as they laid holding onto various parts of their bodies that hurt more than others. Even the Pokémon looked dazed. Of course, Vaporeon was unaffected thanks to her Water Absorb Ability, but the ink still stained her body. 'What the hell happened in just a few minutes?'

A teal forcefield came down around Vanessa and Delphox, revealing the two to be clean. When they recovered, they saw the same things Staraptor saw. In summary: A disaster.

"Vanessa!" Staraptor's eyes immediately locked onto the youngest Pularis woman.

"Staraptor?" Vanessa was still in a mild daze, but she was able to gather her bearings quickly. Her eyes traced back to the last spot she saw Nic was at...only to find he wasn't there. Nor was Erza. Her aura instinctively searched for their signatures within the radius.

Nothing.

"Vanessa?" Delphox looked to her partner, showing genuine concern.

Vanessa was left in stone-cold silence. Her eyes shrank at the realization of what just happened. It didn't take any less time for Staraptor to realize this too. Their hearts thumped as their fixated gazes fell towards the ground, looking as though they just heard someone died.

In a nearby corner of the guild hall, Shiin was concealed from sight. Thanks to the camouflage cloak that camouflaged his appearance and Magic Power, he was able to stay out of sight the entire time. He looked at his camera that he had the entire time, catching every moment possible. The footage showed the five unknown creatures with humans that had various magic levels, as well as the exact moment that left even himself fixated on.

He looked at the picture of the two cubes that sat on the ink-stained ground. 'This...this has to be. The unthinkable...I just witnessed it.' He knew what would come next. 'What will the Grand Captain have to say about this?'

---

Inside the confined walls of a prestigious palace that sat high above the large-scale city down at its base, the lights were on to indicate its occupants were still active. The interiors were large white corridors with bright yellow chandeliers gilded in crystals, making them shimmer from the lighting they produced to give the hallways a more organic feeling. The carpet beneath had plaid tiling that transitioned between yellow and black that contrasted with the heavenly feeling the palace was supposed to bring.

In one of these rooms, behind their huge doors, there was a huge chamber that had a striking resemblance to the war room in Alvarez. However, the walls were a solid white, and small cloisters lined the edges. Their rims had decorative small carvings of Togepi and Togetic patterns all along the perimeter. The arched ceiling was freshly painted with even more Togetic and Togepi, with a Togekiss added like a beacon. There was a golden chain that held up a very large chandelier that radiated the room in a bright, crystalline glow, allowing its occupants to clearly see the enormous rectangular table that had a design much like a standard Pokémon battlefield. However, the circle on the center was replaced by a diamond.

In total, there were twelve chairs, five on each side, and two on the ends. Four of the side seats were occupied by other Pokémon wearing clothing. All of them, despite their shapes and positions, sat in their seats like it was normal.

"Remind me why we're here again?" A Grovyle complained. He sat back in his seat with folded arms, wearing a gray plaid cotton shirt with navy blue and blue patterns. He wore loose fitting dark green pants and had soles strapped to the bottom of his feet. He tugged at his shirt's collar to relieve the itchiness the fabric had against him.

"Hmph! What's the matter, complaining so soon at night?" The Midnight Lycanroc sneered. His red eyes glowed with his scoff. He wore black bands around his arms, with his paws having gloves. He adorned a fur-lined brown, sleeveless vest that exposed his chest fur. He adorned torn up dark blue jeans and had black soles strapped to the bottom of his feet.

The Grovyle shot him a look. "Easy for you to say, what do you do all day aside from sleeping? Some of us actually to go to bed, thank you." He shifted in his clothing again, grunting annoyingly. "And why do we have to wear all this? It's uncomfortable!"

"Oh hush now, Blade." The Jynx chimed. She wore a hot pink gown over her red skirt, decorated in small white pearls with chains connecting them. Said chains were made of yellow smaller orbs. There was a golden tiara on her head that matched her thin white, frilly sleeves. Her fingers had red nail polish on them.

As she was admiring her polish, she hummed and smirked. "I don't know about you, but I kinda like it. Not everyday a 'mon such as myself gets to feel loved and adored."

"Easy for you to say, you're as close to a human as you can get with your species." Grovyle – now Blade - scoffed. He looked at the empty seats around himself. "Where the hell is everybody anyways?"

"Hm? Oh, right. You know how important Aphrodite's position is. She has to manage the Human Cube Factory at all times, and Dahab is managing the storage."

Blade grumbled as he slumped in his chair.

Midnight Lycanroc folded his arms, huffing. "Those lunkheads out in the continental boonies better be the reason why we're all here. Like there's any other reason that we'd be dragged out of our duties to come here at this hour."

Blade raised a brow. "That's what I just said, Akando."

"Hmph, well it works better for me, because I'm actually busy at night."

Blade turned away and shook his head. "Nope, not doing this! I'm outta here!" Just as he was about to stand up, the chamber echoed with the large doors opening.

Everyone stopped and turned to see Adamantine and the others walk in. Aide from Martial and Adamantine having their stalwart expressions, the group as a while looked elated, something that caught the massive Vikavolt's attention.

"So, I take it that your mission went well?" He spoke in a very deep voice, also rough and scratchy.

Adamantine grunted, sitting down in the seat next to him.

"Oh, ah-ah! Oh, it went better than we thought!" Amaryllis chimed in, taking the seat across from him. "It was in and out! I tell ya though, for an infamous guild that Nic Pularis was part of...it was really a dump! Although I did get a bra out of it." She snickered.

The large Vikavolt wanted to say something, but he opted against such an offensive comment. He couldn't complain, with his attire consisted of a skin-tight under armor shirt that was colored yellow. It was tailored to his exact measurements as well. His tint claws had miniscule gauntlets, and atop his head was an orange helmet on his head that strapped to his underjaw.

Martial took his seat beside the Jynx. When he sat sternly in place, he glanced over at her. "I take it that you all fared well during our absence, Suria?"

The Jynx that was named that giggled seductively. "Oh trust me hun, my humans kept me more than enough company. No need to fancy worries over me now."

"I wasn't."

"Hmph...at least tell me that you've found some worthwhile humans." Akando sneered, raising his chin like he was glowering at him. In a way, he was.

Martial took the hint, but respectively folded his arms. "Aside from what our objective was at the time, there has been but little sight to their potential."

Akando scoffed. "Bullshit. Useless humans. We live in a world of magic. You'd think at least some out there would at least be competent enough to know how to use it." He turned towards Adamantine. "That goes double for that 'Legendary Human' you caught. You getting him that fast just shows how weak they really are."

"Weaker even, had it been in the previous world." Lumina admitted.

Blade put his arms behind his head, turning away with a scoff. "Well, not our problem anymore."

"Indeed it's not." Another voice chimed.

Once again, all the Pokémon turned away from the table to look at the figure that walked down the hallway, entering the room at long last. It was the white-haired man who had a sagacious smile on his face.

"I apologize to you all for being so late, but thank you for coming here so suddenly."

"Your Majesty." Adamantine grunted, watching him walk around the fellow 'mons and made way to the largest, lavish seat at the end of the table. Everyone watched him take his seat and rest his arms on the tan leather armrests.

"I see that Aphrodite and Dahab are absent due to their respective duties...I suppose it can't be helped." He looked towards his fellow cohorts with a wide grin. "But regardless, much of the Twelve Apostles has gathered here. I suppose that shall suffice." He glanced at the five Pokémon that recently returned. "As for you five, a congratulations are in order. I am pleased to hear your success so timely."

Lumina nodded humbly. "Thank you for your praise, Your Highness."

The king nodded back and turned towards the others. "And with that, Phase Two is now complete. Now, if I may ask, Adamantine, what became of the humans that you've captured?"

Adamantine leered at him from the corner of his eye, scoffing. "I put them in the PC for now. Dahab should have them secured for me for the time being."

"Really? Ah-ah!" Amaryllis hollered. "That sounds like a complete waste to me! You have a Legendary Human on your side! If I were you, I'd put him in the front of your party. There's no way you can lose with him!"

Adamantine shot her a cold stare. "Last I checked, you weren't the one who caught him, were you?" That comment was enough to make the Ambipom silence her tongue. "Besides, he needs time to settle in before he becomes useful to me. I plan on heading back out to find anymore suitable humans that I can use." He glanced over at the king. "If that is okay with you."

The king closed his eyes with a grin. "My, certainly steadfast aren't you, Adamantine?" He paused with a hum. "Very well, I'll allow it. And since you've been to Fiore, I can transport you back there if that meets to your specified safari."

Adamantine grunted with a nod.

"Phase Two is complete. We now have possession of the most powerful and dangerous human known on Earthland." Martial stated. "Once the rest of Earthland becomes aware of this, its populace will become aware of their inferior positions to us Pokémon."

The king nodded. "Yes...and you all shall have your promised land, where you all can fulfill your dreams that the humans have taken from you. I – Quinlan Zel Vansley IV – will help you achieve that fulfillment."

The present Twelve Apostles fell silent as they had expectant looks on their faces. They were looking forward to this change that the king had in mind. Even Blade seemed eager, though his face showed annoyance as he eyerolled.

"Now then...let us begin Phase Three. The Pokémon of Fiore shall have their justice that their trainers have suppressed them from yet."

---

As soon as Nic began regaining consciousness, the first thing he registered was the warm surface his head laid upon. His vision was quick to dispel any blurriness and noticed a familiar redheaded woman who looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Erza?" He lulled.

"Nic!" Erza's breath hitched. She looked just as relieved as she was anxious seeing her husband finally come around on her lap. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah...I'm just fine." He sat up, gathering his thoughts. 'That's right, last I remember, that cube touched me, and I was drawn into it. Wonder where they took us to now?' He looked around to identify their new surroundings. Immediately, he recognized a set of metal bars boxing them in. 'A cell?'

All around, light brown stone composed of their cell. The floor was smooth concrete that was smudged and smeared with dirt stains, either evidence that it was previously used by someone else, or somebody just didn't bother taking care of it for them. On one side was a toilet embedded into the wall, with two beds that sat on opposite ends of the enclosed area.

'A dungeon?' He turned towards his wife, but he couldn't help but notice something different about her. It wasn't her hair, and she didn't seem hurt at all, but rather something about her just felt off. When he realized what it was, he looked at her neck. "Erza, what's that around your neck?"

Around Erza's neck, there was a black collar that clipped in front of her throat. On it was a small blue lacrima that acted as a buckle. Erza looked down at it, realizing what Nic meant. "Looks like a collar. Whoever did this, they certainly don't want us going anywhere anytime soon."

Nic put his hands to his neck, feeling something strapped with a small jewel on it as well. As soon as his fingers grazed the fabric, he felt a small shock that immediately made him pull away on instinct. He looked at his hand as his fingertips still lingered with a tingly sensation.

Erza frowned. "That happened to me as well. Looks like somebody implanted these collars with some form of Organic Link Magic."

"Cof-Cof-Cof-Cof! Well, well, look who's finally awake!"

Nic and Erza whipped their heads towards the cell doors, their eyes locking onto a human-sized Pokémon that stood straight up. He bared a striking resemblance to a large, jewel encrusted coffin, and was primarily gold in texture. His body was surrounded in a dark, shadowy outline. There were a number of keys along his side held by a belt, with another sash running along his shoulder and broke into a clip where his coffin body would supposedly split. His piercing red eyes gleamed at his prisoners with sickly satisfaction.

Immediately, Erza got on guard. "Who are you!?" she demanded.

Nic squinted, keeping a high guard. 'A Cofagrigus? This is the first time I've seen one in person.'

The Cofagrigus snickered again. "Cof-Cof-Cof-Cof! Oh? Someone sure has energy after waking up. I do apologize for the...lack of accommodations to your facilities." He smirked. "But don't worry, I'm sure you'll make do with this for now until our financial advisors find room in our budget to get you more situated. Cof-Cof..."

Financial advisors? Budget? Those two things alone were enough to raise red flags for Nic and Erza. As far as they've known, a Pokémon never had to worry about such things. They didn't need to pay bills nor had to worry about currency like humans did.

Erza pressed the matter. "What's going on here?"

The Cofagrigus' eyes brightened. "Oh, sorry. Where re my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dahab, and I'll be your gatekeeper from henceforth."

"Our gatekeeper?"

"Cof-Cof! That's right. I'm sorry to say, but having you humans sauntering around as you please really does a number on our public safety prohibitions. You'll only be permitted out when either I allow it, or if your trainer decides to swap you out."

Erza reached back for a Poke Ball. However, to her shock, she didn't feel anything where they were supposed to be on her person. Her eyes shrank as the realization dawned upon her.

"Ah, ah, ah~. Sorry, humans aren't allowed to own Pokémon. So we decided to set them free in your stead."

"What do you mean by that?" Erza glared.

Dahab floated closer towards the cell, looking directly into Erza's eyes unaffected by her cold glare. He seemed more elated if anything. "Oh, you don't know? Well then, I suppose that I should just keep the surprise to myself then. Cof-Cof-Cof-Cof-Cof!" Thin shadowy limbs extended from his outline. He leaned on his back and planted all four limbs on the ground. "But don't worry, your Pokémon are in good hands. As are you...so long as you behave." He snickered. "Because if you don't, let's just say that the last human who didn't know their place was...wrapped up for a while...Cof-Cof-Cof!"

Nic and Erza frowned. Neither looked pleased to hear any of this.

"Oh, and don't try any of your magic here. The walls are made with Magic-Sealing Stone. Best behave now, for both me and your trainer's sake. You were brought in just after breakfast, so you'll just have to wait until lunch. Until then."

Dahab crawled away on his four limbs through the hallway of multiple cells containing other mages. Some of them tried to grab the bars to break free, but their collars immediately shocked them. Others who got the message remained complacent in their cells.

"Wait-!" Erza grabbed the metal bars, only for her collar's lacrima to glint brightly. A mild jolt ran through her body, immediately making her recoil.

"Erza!" Nic lunged forward, catching her before she could trip. "You alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine...that was just a small shock." She managed to get back onto her feet, looking at the bars with a hardened glare. "Whoever is behind this...they thought of this thoroughly. All these resources they used to capture us...just what are they after?"

Nic sat in a calm silence. His gaze turned towards the solid stone ceiling, which was presumably made of Magic-Sealing Stone as well. He knew just from feeling around his pockets that even his Poke Balls were absent. He remembered what the Cofagrigus said just now about this so-called surprise.

'Greninja...all you guys...we're counting on you to do your part.'

---

Walking down a corridor with small light fixtures above, a Slowking was making way down to the other side, each step clanging from the tailored black heels she wore. Underneath her frilled collar, she had on a black shirt and tight gray pants, which of course spotted her tail from behind.

The Slowking sighed lowly, a sign that she seemed tired. 'It's barely past sunrise, and I'm already orienting more imports...' She eyerolled. She knew better than to complain about her job. At least she had a job at all. 'Well, whatever helps pays the mortgage and leaves leftovers in my refrigerator.'

Up ahead, the doorhandle moved and swung open. A Ninjask wearing a very small blight blue vest and a red tie buzzed into the corridor and into the Slowking's face. "Ah! Penelope! Great timing! We were just about to call for you! The new residence just got here!"

"I see. How many do we have this morning?" She asked, walking past him.

The Ninjask turned around and glided behind her. "Eleven. Their capsules just arrived for you."

"Eleven?" She raised a brow. 'That's a pretty big group.'

She made it through the door and entered a large chamber. The smooth cemented flooring and high walls made the clanking of her heels echo to the ceiling lights above. Slowking made it to the center, where there was a bright yellow canister that was embedded into the ground.

She looked towards the control panel beside herself and pressed the green button. Steam puffed from pores and the canister gradually lifted itself to reveal glass surrounding eleven balls, all lined up in a spiral fashion. She pressed a bottom button on a lower section of the panel and a hatch opened up at the base of the capsule. The train of Poke Balls, Net Balls, and Dive Balls all flushed out onto a ramp and came to a dead end. They all sat in a straight line before Penelope as she walked over towards the farthest Poke Ball on the end.

She picked it up and turned around, tossing it into the air. Energy expelled from it transforming into Greninja as he stood with crossed arms and eyes a deep red, indicating they were serious.

"There, that's a lot better now, isn't it?" Penelope asked. She placed Greninja's Poke Ball behind the others and moved towards the next one. She picked up the next one in line and tossed it, bringing out Charizard.

She kept tossing them up, over and over until all the capsules were eventually emptied. Following was Kecleon, then Garchomp, Arbok, Aegislash, Talonflame, Slurpuff, Cloyster, Houndoom, and Scizor. The eleven Pokémon stood in attention as they looked at their surroundings.

Houndoom reared back to stretch his lower back and hindlegs. "Mm! Feels good to stretch these legs after..." He blinked once, realizing that Erza was nowhere in sight. "Huh? Hey, hold on now, where's Erza?"

"More importantly, where are we?" Aegislash inquired, her tone heavily discomforted.

Greninja silently observed his surroundings, feeling a rather humid air in the enclosed area. He looked up at the lights, then back down. He didn't recognize this place, nor did it seem to matter to him. But he was also aware of Nic's absence.

From the looks the others had, they were aware of this fact, too.

"There, that's a whole lot better, isn't it?" Everyone sharply turned their heads towards the voice belonging to the dressed Slowking before them. "Hello, everybody. So glad to finally be out in the open, right?"

Immediately, Arbok glared with a scoff. "What isss thisss all about? Who the hell are you?"

Cloyster closed his shell tightly in defense.

"A Slowking..." Greninja muttered. He scanned her attire, seeing the way she was dressed professionally like a human being. 'Not one that I've seen before. She's wearing actual clothes...'

The Slowking cleared her throat, turning towards Arbok. "Well, sir, my name is Penelope. I'm just your little practitioner so you guys can get a basis of where you are and what you'll be expecting here in your new home."

Charizard raised a brow. "New home you say?" He didn't forget about the small quirk though. As much as he wanted to question the name she was using instead of her species, he shoved that to the back of his mind for now.

Slurpuff sniffed the air, getting no familiar smells in the area. "Mmmm...it's so stale. You sure we'll be living here?"

Penelope shook her head. "Oh! No, no, no! Not here. This area is actually an abandoned shelter that's used for weather emergencies for the locals. It's not in use right now, so we use this area to help you guys spread your legs and get situated."

'That would explain the open space.' Scizor glanced at the high ceilings. They wouldn't had to be this high for any other reason, nor would the space be so fulfilling. 'You could fit thousands of humans in this one area.'

Garchomp grunted, looking more annoyed than he was interested. "What's this about a 'new home' then?"

"I like my old pillows, thank you...I'm more comfortable that way..." Kecleon lulled, slowly tilting her head creepily.

"Yes, yes, I understand your confusion. I understand that you're all still very attached to your human partners." Penelope chimed.

Arbok shot more glares at her. "Where isss Nic?"

"Oh, you mean that human that you were owned by? You don't have to worry about him. I assure you, he's being preserved well thanks to our gatekeeper, Dahab. He's in good hands." She turned towards Aegislash's group. "As is your human. You don't have to worry about them anymore."

Arbok was ready to strike her down, but Greninja shot him a deep look that he picked up on. Despite his extremely territorial nature, he knew he had to hold it back...for now.

Greninja shifted his glare at the Slowking. "What do you mean exactly by that? Preserved, you said?"

Penelope clapped her hands together. "Ah, yes. Well, should I say preserved, they're actually held in the PC. I understand that the terminology from our home world is 'Personalized Computer', but here since such technology isn't at the point yet, we call it an abbreviation for 'Personalized Cell'." She ignored the gasps and intensified glares the Pokémon gave her. "Now then, since you're all finally out, let's dispose of these, shall we?"

Turning towards the Poke Balls and other capsules, Penelope pressed another button on her control panel. Everyone watched as the barricade stopping the capsules moved downwards, allowing the balls to roll into a small shoot that connected to a pipe that sucked them down a dark hole. The cylindrical drop that them all rotate and spin until they disappeared down the hole.

Once again, Greninja and the others were alarmed, but kept calm under pressure. "Where'd you send them?" he asked.

Penelope nonchalantly grinned. "Oh, right! Well, since you're all here, we have a strict policy on Pokémon being out of Poke Balls. We're just sending them to the storage area for now and we'll have people come in and take care of them for you."

Aegislash narrowed her eye. The way she worded it didn't comfort her in the slightest. ' 'Take care of them', she said.' She remembered the Pokémon from the guild hall having destroyed some of their own capsules. 'I have a bad feeling about this.'

"Now then! If you'll all follow me." Penelope sauntered around them, walking off to another part of the bunker. "Come on, this way now."

Greninja and the others exchanged wary looks. They didn't like the sound of this, nor did they seem very open to trusting this Pokémon. After hearing everything she said in the past minute, they had every right to feel discomforted. PC? Their capsules being disposed for them? They didn't ask for any of this, yet they were going through the motions and dragged them along.

Despite his chagrin, Greninja knew he had to figure out what this was about. He glanced at everyone. 'Only one way to find out...' He slowly followed behind, with the others in tow in light strides.

They all followed her to where a large double doors made of pure stone stood. They had intricate patterns on them reminiscent of a series of lights shining down before a sword facing the ground. There was a single bright jewel that sat on the sword design's hilt that made it stand out.

"Alright, you all ready to see your new home?" Penelope looked back, seeing everyone giving her expectant looks. She half-expected an answer, but she carried along with her duties and moved towards the side of the wall. She gripped a lever, which was facing up the entire time. Once she pulled it down, there was a loud click that echoed throughout the entire chamber.

Slowly, the jewel's light on the door gradually dimmed. The doors grinded against the ground as their thick stone frames slid apart from each other, allowing light to peer into the vault. Greninja used a forearm to cover his eyes until his eyes fixed in the sunlight.

As soon as the doors slid fully apart, Greninja and the others slowly stepped out to see what the light offered...and their eyes gradually widened in disbelief.

Penelope smiled. "Welcome...to Pokétopia!"

The eleven Pokémon stood at the edge of what was a cliffside, with a thin but stable trail that snaked its way down from where they stood to the island's massive province below.

As far as the eye could see, it looked like a large human Capital. It had to compare to the size of Lumiose City and Crocus combined. Yet, even from their vantage point and the mid-morning sun barely giving them any valid visuals, they could see the massive city below packed full of various Pokémon. All of them of different shapes and sizes with various clothing and equipment that people would also wear out.

Pokémon that flew across the horizon had vests on or some form of safety gear to signal others flying close by. A flock of Pidgey following a Pidgeotto came to a halt in the air to allow a passing flock of Taillow lead by a Swellow to soar across. Once they were clear, the Pidgeotto ushered the Pidgey to look left, then right, then left again before they continued their path overhead.

Over by the cliffs on a neighboring mountain, even from Talonflame's point of view, her sharp eyesight picked up on Geodude and Graveler that wore construction hats as they seemed to be working on something in the rough terrain. It was hard to tell, but a Bibarel was present that wore a bright orange vest and a hat similar to them with numerous Timburr and Gurdurr around tables set up to discuss the plans made.

They were all speechless, unable to make any words come out of their mouths; shield in Aegislash's case. What was there to say? What could they say? They were trained to handle the unexpected at lightspeed, trained to defeat titan Legendaries with skillful precision, to topple mountains single-handedly...but all the mental and physical endurance they've been through would never have prepared them for something like this.

"What the hell...?" Charizard muttered the first words.

"Is this what I think it is?" Garchomp grunted, his tone showing genuine surprise.

Penelope walked up beside them. "I understand if you all would rather live a peaceful life without humans, but if you want to make an opportunity for yourselves, you can always come back here. I also help administers humans to Pokémon who wish to train them for beginners."

Greninja glanced back at her. "You don't say..."

The Ninjask suddenly sped out of nowhere, having what looked like several pouches that were barely weighing him down.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot." Penelope took the pouches from the Ninjask, handing one to everyone. "I'm also required by law to start you out with a starting allowance. Each of you have a start of 2,000 Jewels. That should hold you all over until you find suitable homes and stable jobs."

"Wait, jobs?" Scizor looked back, blinking in surprise.

Penelope looked at her, returning the confused look. "Hm? Of course. How else do you expect to get paid? Well...I'm sure there are other ways, but this methos is the most accommodating, unless you'd prefer to win prize money after battles with other Pokémon. But the laws states that you need a human of your own."

"What'sss that sssupposssed to mean?" Arbok asked in a conspicuous hiss.

Penelope gave them all a neutral smile. "Trust me, sir, if you wish to find out more, be happy to stop by again if you wish to know more about the wonders of humans." She nodded attentively and stepped away. "Alright, well, if nothing else, feel free to enjoy Pokétopia. If you have any questions, be sure to come to me or your nearby law enforcement officer for anything. Enjoy your stay!"

Before the others had the chance to ask important questions, the Slowking and Ninjask both went back inside. The stone doors began sliding closer towards each other. The vault shut with the light of the sun giving the smooth stone surface a yellowish hue

"Did she seriously think that we would be convinced by that abrupt tone?" Garchomp sneered, not in the least comfortable.

Kecleon tilted her head in the opposite service. "Her service doesn't get many stars..."

"Hmph...I don't doubt that."

"First we're brought out by another Pokémon, and Erza and Nic are held prisoner. On top of that..." Aegislash turned towards the large-scale province down below basking in the sunlight of the new day. "We're brought to...this society."

"I don't know about you guys, but even for a Dark-type such as myself, this isn't sitting well with me. Think it's too late to ask what's up?" Houndoom looked back at the stone doors to the vault. If he or the others wanted to, they could just break it down. He was certain a single Slash by Kecleon could cleave them even. But given their vantage point and the population, that would most likely cause an uproar – something they don't need right now.

Talonflame settled herself atop his horns, perched with her head held high. "I'm more concerned about Erza, but this...just what is all this? Where is this?"

Greninja remained quiet as he continued gazing at the passing Swanna overhead, even they had clothes. His attention fell towards the large dome-like stadium, which didn't seem occupied at the moment. As he scanned the surroundings, he was taking in everything; from the Pokémon, to their expressions, to the various stands and shops with human-structured businesses and housing. None of it sat right in his stomach.

'Nic...Staraptor...what the hell would they say to all this?'

---

"I cannot believe that happened! Aaahhhh! Just...aaaaahhh!"

"Joey, please! You have to get a grip! This is a situation!" Dereece pleaded.

"Get a grip, Dereece?" Joey parroted, turning towards him in growing anger. "I'll have you know, I happen to have the best grip on myself right now!"

Dereece wanted to open his mouth to argue against such an obvious contradictory, but he froze when he thought about it in Joey's logic. With Nic and Erza suddenly gone, it was understandable why he'd be throwing a tantrum so much.

The guild itself seemed well on the outside, but from the inside, it was a hellish mess. And it didn't help that the rainstorm from last night and collateral damage resulted in some roof leakage that Laki had to fix up on. To say the guild as individuals being in shambles would be putting it extremely lightly. Put all that together and you get a discord of questions and grief. Though unlike the loquacious irate Joey was going off on about the sudden apprehension of Nic and Erza, the others were at the very least able to keep their cool and level themselves overnight. It also helped them to diffuse when they stayed up half the night to clean up all the ink that stained the wood and their clothes.

"Firstly...what she did was SO! NOT! COOL!" Joey continued his irate as the others were sitting around after exhausting themselves again after repairs and cleaning. "My coat was nearly ruined because of that ink! This thing ain't cheap! I had to run home and get it in the wash so fast that I almost fell on myself!"

Duncan shot him a half-hearted glance. "Is that all you're upset about?"

Joey shot him an angered brow. "What?! Of course not! These whackjobs just got up and absconded with Nic-senpai and Erza-senpai of all people! Dereece, how the hell did this happen?! Why didn't you two stumps uproot yourselves and do something about it?!"

"But Captain...there was nothing we could do...we were caught off guard!" Dereece implored.

Joey pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head with gritting teeth. His already thinned patience had snapped as he groaned and paced back and forth. "Ahhhh! Just...just, aaaahhh! Whoever did this, they are in for a world of misery for even thinking of taking them from me...er, us! Yeah." He turned and pointed at Dereece. "Dereece, write this down, write this down! When we find all of them, I want them tied up! I want them blindfolded! I want them tied up and blindfolded! I want them put on a boat, pushed out to see, and then I want Larvesta to set it on fire! And then, I want them to be waterboarded on the spot..."

As Joey was droning on with his unfathomable demands for retribution that Dereece was barely keeping up on pen and paper, Gray looked away, sighing in a mixture of aggravation and fatigue. "Well, at least someone has the energy to complain." He put his hands to his hips. "Geez..."

"Well you can't really blame him, Gray." Juvia assured, giving him an endearing look.

Gray frowned heavily, knowing well why. "I know...how're you feeling? You took that hit pretty hard earlier."

Juvia looked down at her body, rubbing her left arm from the minor numbness it still had. "Yeah...I mean, I was thankful that Wendy was able to heal me when she did. But that big guy packed a serious punch...quite literally."

"That guy was even able to overpower Elfman of all people. If that ain't a sign that we were in trouble, I don't know what is." Gray turned his attention towards Elfman, who was sitting close by with a Revive. He handed it over to his Rhyhorn and watched it diffuse into his body.

"Hey, now that's just rude!" Lisanna quipped, turning to put a hand on Elfman's back. "It's okay, Elf. He didn't mean to put it like that."

The big guy himself was quiet, despite being in earshot. He wanted to throw a counterargument against what Gray just said, but it wouldn't have been "manly" of him to go against the facts. Thinking about Bruce's furious and deadly blows made him all the more discomforted, if not itching. 'That guy...he was seriously strong. Stronger than that Bacchus guy I fought.'

"Still, Gray's right. Something seriously wrong is going on here." Lucy pointed out. "First, our Pokémon get brainwashed and escape, now Pokémon show up with actual people trapped in devices like Poke Balls." She narrowed her eyes. "Now Nic and Erza are captured...I'm seriously worrying what's really going on here."

Natsu rammed his fist into his palm, igniting small flames that dispersed. "Well whoever they are, now I have a better reason to burn them to a crisp! Anyone who hurts my friends gets a smackdown, but taking them guarantees they won't be leaving my sights without their bones broken! Right, Happy!?"

"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered.

Macao leaned against the bar, his body positioned unevenly. Even though Wendy helped heal him, he still felt uncomfortable from the surprise attack. He turned towards Cana. She was on an adjacent table, her legs folded as she sat in front of a full deck evenly spaced out in front of her. "So what's up? Found them yet?"

Cana furrowed her brow. She turned a card over, but it showed the wrong symbol that was incantated on it. She frowned and threw the cards in her hand over her shoulder. "Sorry, so dice." She spat sourly. "Can't get a read on them anywhere. We knew Mystogan wasn't easy to track, but Nic's just a whole other gambit. Why's he gotta be so aloof!?"

"Does this mean that they're not in Fiore anymore?" Warren fret, putting a hand to his cheek. "How in the world could they have just slipped under our noses so fast and get so far away?"

"I'm more concerned about how a bunch of Pokémon were able to use people against us." Max scoffed. "Seriously, what's that about?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Bickslow frowned. "It's just like Lucy said, first Pokémon began acting up, then they show up and start taking people? I don't know about you all, but this seems a little more than coincidence."

"Maybe..." Laki worried.

Sophie was amongst the worried guildmates that were lamenting in questions and anxiety. However, her spine crawled when she thought about the possible anxiety from the person that was right next to her. Turning towards her left, she noticed Vanessa being particularly quiet. Her arms were folded beneath her ample chest. She knew Vanessa long – well – enough to know that beneath her completely relaxed composition she was internally in turmoil. It wasn't easy to decipher with just a look, but if one paid very close attention, her relaxed expression had a very tiny tension in the eyes.

Delphox shot her trainer a wary look. "Vanessa, are you alright?"

Vanessa closed her eyes, not wanting to show any signs of worry or anxiety her Pokémon could pick up on. "I'm alright, Delphox. If I knew Erza and my brother well enough, they should hold up just fine...especially given their stubbornness."

"I mean...you're not wrong." Levy nervously agreed. She knew well from first-hand experience just how high of stamina and durability both Nic and Erza had. She wouldn't be surprised if they were dangled over a pit of spears and refused to break under pressure. It would take an entire nation's worth of arsenals and weaponized people and Pokémon put together to make them the slightest bit unnerved. And even then, she highly doubted they would refuse to budge.

"Well, even if they have steel skin, they're still in danger if those Pokémon caught them. I'm not saying that I expect them to break themselves out and find their way back here anytime soon, but we don't even know where they were taken to, less who we're going up against here." Jet pointed out, making a deep frown.

"Yeah, he's got a point, too. Are we facing Pokémon or humans now? Both, maybe?" Droy wondered, looking up at the ceiling in wonder. It got so confusing he started ruffling his hair. "Ahhh! This is so confusing!"

Vanessa frowned. Droy wasn't wrong, but the negativity the guild had going right now wasn't helping with her line of thinking. 'I'm certain of it. The reason they all came here before...'

"There...our targets. Above all else, make sure they don't get away."

She thought about what the Sawk said earlier, referring to Nic and Erza. 'If they were after all of us, they would have just captured the rest of us then. Which means that they were here specifically for Nic and Erza. The question is, why?' She narrowed her eyes as she thought back to Tartaros. 'Is whoever behind this trying to pick off the strongest first?

Araquanid hissed angrily beside Sophie. "Those nitwits...the next time I see them, I'll bite into them and drown them all!"

"Not before I get a good hit in myself! That big cactus thing isn't getting away with this!" Darumaka declared.

Finneon sagely sighed. "Don't start acting irrationally. There's been enough of that already. Sophie, is there anything we can do right now?"

Sophie looked at her. "Well, I mean it's not like we have much to go off of-!"

A loud thunderclap was heard that caught the guild's scattered attention. Everyone's hearts thumped as their heads turned towards the crackling static left behind by a weak but loud bolt that struck the ground in front of Laxus. As its smoke dissipated into the air, he kept his arms folded with a deep, discerning look.

"Alright, enough." His voice was as deep as thunder as well. "We're not going ourselves any good by throwing question around with no answers."

"Master Laxus..." Freed was speechless as he was taken back by Laxus' bold stand.

"Let's get something straight here. First of all, the matter of Pokémon across Fiore acting up is a given. Even now, we're getting more and more reports of such cases where Pokémon are attacking their former trainers. But let's not forget, Pokémon also attacked our guild and took some of our own..." His brow furrowed with a growing rage. "And that's where I draw the line. As of right now, we're shifting our focus to whomever is linked to these guys who have the nerve to use humans against their wills."

Everyone took a minute to realize his intentions. They all looked at each other and realized that he had a point. They were throwing questions around with no real answers to be given, not that nay of them had enough common sense or wits to decipher their own questions and resources alike.

Off to the side of the guild, Shiin was leaning against the table, his brow deeply furrowed. He chose not to participate in the guild's conversation and instead listen to them get the situation under control. He had already taken liberties with taking pictures and writing yet another follow-up report with extensive details of Fairy Tail's successful strategy of hauling in their own kin.

If he wanted to, he could actually show them the pictures of the instances that he took overnight. However, that would be a breach of information to those whom he was supposed to be taking notes of. He couldn't afford to deflect his primary objective, no matter how important of intel it was supposedly towards them.

'This shall be another test of their intellectual extensions.'

Mest looked over at Shiin, seeing his discerning eye still locked on the guildmembers. He had to hide away his hunches and turn back towards the others. "There's something I don't get. It sounded vague, but isn't it odd that they all called each other by names?"

Mirajane looked up, putting an index finger to her chin. "Now that you mention it, that did seem rather bizarre. Adamantine...that's actually a fitting name for him!" She smiled cheerfully.

Gray slumped his shoulders. "Now really isn't the time for that." He turned his attention towards Vanessa. "Hey, Vanessa. You know anything about this?"

She hummed as he put a hand to her chin. "Actually...it is rather common for Pokémon caught by their trainers to be given nicknames if they so choose to. It isn't out of the realm of possibility that these could all be Pokémon once owned by trainers if we go by that logic." She barely widened her eyes. "Now that I think about it, there was something different about them compared to the other Pokémon."

"Like what? Their clothes?" Natsu questioned.

"Um, I think she means something less obvious than that, Natsu." Wendy pointed out.

Sophie cleared her throat, getting them to quiet down before turning towards Vanessa. "Sorry, what was that again?"

Vanessa paused to take a short breath. "When we were fighting our own Pokémon, their emotions and auras were all abnormally angry, if not distrusting. That brainwashing effect was so well integrated into their minds that it was like it was naturally part of them. But these Pokémon...they were different altogether. It was as if we were fighting anger and displeasure altogether. I could tell...these ones weren't brainwashed."

"You mean...they were doing this out of their own conscience?" Lucy's eyes widened in growing disbelief.

"Yes..." Everyone heard the solemn yet stalwart tone from nearby. All eyes diverted onto Staraptor as she stood up on a table that was intact, her talons barely on the edge of clinging to the wood. "I noticed it as well. Those looks in their eyes...they were genuinely twisted. Whomever these Pokémon are, they obviously have some complex with humans, especially if they were willing to use makeshift Poke Balls to house and capture them...and take away Nic when we all weren't at our peak."

"Cooo?" Junior looked up to his mother. She had that intimidating tone that matched her facial expression. The baby instinctively remained silent so that he wouldn't invoke it...even though he was partially part of the cause of her anxiety to begin with.

Fortunately, Staraptor knew better than to lose her cool and throw a tantrum. That was a considerable waste of time and energy when she could be using her brain power to help her rethink the whole situation. She knew Nic better than this. She knew that in his current situation, he probably – no, he could have definitely swept them on the spot.

'Nic isn't unintelligent by any means. He would never allow himself to be outwitted by the enemy. So how could they have captured him?' She thought about Nic's reflexes. 'He could have dodged them all day or lure them away from the others at least...wait!' Her eyes narrowed. 'Lure...is it likely that he actually allowed himself to be captured?'

It wasn't out of the realm of impossibility. Sure it wouldn't be the first thought she had in mind when thinking about Nic, but it wasn't like she didn't consider how he would think. He was quick-witted; masterful at improvisation even.

If that really were the case, he would have done something sooner than that to prevent this...' Her thoughts grew solid in resolution. 'Now I'm certain of it. They all must have gotten caught deliberately if they thought this was the best course to our situation.'

"Okay, so where do we begin?" Evergreen wondered.

"Well for starters, how about we try to find out where those Pokémon took Erza and Nic." Gajeel imposed.

"Okay, but there's one problem with that...we don't even know how to find them!" Gray sniped.

He had a point. With the recent rainstorm, their scents that the other Dragon Slayers could normally smell would have been washed away. For the most part, they were at least on track in terms of concept, but that was as far as they could get without any leads or clues.

Joey crossed his arms, tapping an index finger against his tricep. His impatient thinking made him cycle through everything he could have learned from Nic and everyone else he knew. He fell to silence as he was blinking and making faces in every direction with his eyes eventually widening at a realization.

He had an idea.

Joey gasped loudly, earning looks from his peers. "Guys, I have an idea~!"

"Wait...you have an idea, Joey?!" Lucy stared, deeply flabbergasted.

"This should be good." Gajeel sneered.

Dereece turned towards him in worry. "What is it, Joey?"

Joey suddenly pivoted, grabbing his face. "We may not know where Nic and Erza are...but I know someone who does!"

Dereece raised a brow. "Why do I get the feeling that this is going to involve me in some way?"

He sped away from him and turned towards Mest. "You there! West!"

"It's Mest." He corrected.

"Whatever! You have enough Magic Power to jump me over to an address and back? There's somebody I gotta talk to!"

Mest raised a brow. "That depends, just who exactly are we meeting?"

Joey brought his fingertips together, a roguish smirk crossing his face as he glanced away. He knew the perfect guy for the job.

---

In a matter of a few minutes, Joey and Mest stood in front of a medium-sized apartment. It was primarily a tan on the outside with a premium brown door. As far as roofing was concerned with, it was a flat top with ventilation ducts. However, there were a few cracked windows; one of them barely bordered up with shattered glass. The door itself looked like it was barely intact on the hinges as well.

A mild lack of outdoor accommodations aside, Joey stood at the doorstep with a straight, serious face. Mest stood beside him, looking unsure. "You sure this is the place?"

"Last I checked. This was his address he gave us in case of any emergencies...or if we just wanted to stop by...right now qualifies." Joey inspected the apartment with a raised brow. 'Yeesh, he could have at least put something to liven up the place.'

As much as he wanted to play critic on the place's standing, he shook his head and remained diligent. He furrowed his brow and knocked on the door.

After half a minute, there was nothing.

Joey knocked again, louder than before. "Hey man, it's me!"

Mest frowned. "Is anyone even home? I can teleport inside to check."

Suddenly, a noise was heard inside. It sounded like a loud thud, followed by a groan. Joey and Mest leaned back and shot suspicious looks at each other in curiosity of what was happening inside.

"I'm coming...! I'm coming...that's what she said..." An all-too-familiar voice was muffled on the other side of the door.

"Bingo." Joey hissed. "I know that sentence from anywhere." He knocked on the door again. "Yo! Mister P! It's me! CJ!"

The sound of footsteps drew closer towards the door. When the sounds of locks shifting clinked in their ears, Joey and Mest stepped back and watched the door open...and almost immediately, Joey cringed at the sight.

Standing before them was none other than Joey's friend and fellow trainer, the one and only Mister P. a.k.a, Kevin. However, instead of being greeted to his usual freelancing composure, they were both met with a disheveled appearance. He looked like he was struck head-on by a twister. His clothing was all tattered, and his arms and legs were covered up with bandages. His face especially had large patches where there were purple blotches that swelled the pores of his face. He looked borderline unrecognizable had it not been for his hair and his trademark shades still in one piece.

It took everything in Joey not to panic at the sight of him. Just looking at him was indication alone that he was in very bad shape. He tried his best to not to look at the swells on his face, less he would start gagging.

"CJ...that you, dude...?" Kevin grunted lowly, his voice partially strained.

"Ooof...uh...hey there, buddy...you, uh...you don't look so good." He showed visible worry for his acquaintance. "You, uh...wouldn't have happened to have just gotten back from like a job in the mountains or something...? A typhoon we didn't hear about...?

While he was normally collective and casual, Kevin looked at Joey with deadpan exhaustion on his face. "I'll tell you this much...when Beedrill says 'I sting yo face'...he really means it."

Joey sucked in a breath and cringed.

"Wait, so then that means your Pokémon were also brainwashed and attacked you as well?" Mest realized this as he shot another look at the broken window and weakened doorframe. 'Guess that explains why he lives in this condition.'

"You, uh...gonna be okay?" Joey warily asked.

Kevin shrugged. "Well, thankfully I had some Antidotes on me, so it's not like I'll worry about poison. And aside from being strung up by Swadloon's threads, Krabby's pincers, and an overzealous Raticate turning me and my house into a mess...I think I'm good." He looked back inside, then back at Joey. "I'd invite you in, but I'm a little backed up right now..."

Joey put his hands up. "I-It's fine, man. We just need a quick favor from you is all."

Kevin raised a brow, slumping over. "Really man...? I'm not feeling so hot, in case that wasn't obvious already."

Joey stepped forward, giving him a hardened glare. "Trust me, man! This is an emergency! And you're the only one who can help us! Nic and Erza-senpai were taken, and we need you to find them!"

Mest's eyes widened, gasping in realization. "Wait a minute...if memory serves, doesn't this guy have-!"

"That's right! His Search Magic!" Joey beamed brightly. "Trust me when I say, if anyone can find them, it's the one and only Mister P!"

"I get it now...not a bad play there, Joey." Mest commended.

Joey turned back towards Kevin. "Also, Mister P...I'll be needing a few names and locations for a few other things, too."

Kevin raised a brow. "For what, man?"

Joey grinned. "Trust me...I have a plan. I'll owe you for your troubles."

Kevin tiredly groaned. Normally, if it was any other day, he wouldn't mind helping out his friend with his troubles. And even though it really did physically pain him, and he'd much rather wait for the swelling on his face to go down, the look on Joey's face told him that backing out wasn't an option. He was certain that because this was Joey of all people, it had to be something extreme in mind. As he groaned lowly in fatigue, he brought up the panels for his Search Magic.

"So...what else are we searching for here exactly?"

---

Looking at it from above was one thing, but being in the streets was a whole other story. In Greninja's case, it was a horror story. And he disliked horror stories.

Rather than walk into the streets altogether as a group, Greninja and the other universally agreed to avoid drawing too much attention to themselves, they would all split up to cover more ground. Walking through the streets of Pokétopia, to them, was nothing short of déjà vu. And yet everything looked so backwards that it was impossible to tell if any of this was straight...or at least that's what Kecleon said. The logic still understood, everyone diverged to tell where they were. Only, there was one small problem that made their skins uncomfortable.

Wherever they went, they were given passing glances and stares by ongoing Pokémon. They all looked like they had either seen ghosts or were staring at national treasures that just minded themselves. Though Aegislash could have been flattered, she knew she wasn't that popular as opposed to Greninja and the rest of Nic's Pokémon. It was evident by the stares that her assumption was right.

Her small group composed of herself, Cloyster, and Kecleon. It took everything in Cloyster not to panic and close his shell from discomfort, but the attention wasn't drawn onto him thankfully.

"Look at all of them..." Aegislash muttered, her eye tracing towards bystanders that wore clothes like people. "They all looked to be custom-made as well...makes you wonder where they got all those tailored from."

"Is...is that all that bothers you?" Cloyster asked, his voice having partial disbelief.

"No, of course not. Take a look around." The three paneled themselves to see what she was talking about. Their eyes traced to the large billboards with commercial posters printed on them. One of which was being painted by a Smeargle that was standing on a support stand hung to the top. His tail brush added a bright white to a posing Wigglytuff's eyes.

"You can save 15% more of your fur when you use Zephyr 3-in-1 shower rinse."

Kecleon tilted her head as she glanced at a nearby clothing shop. She noticed an Eevee striding out with a particular glow on her face as she wore a bright yellow dress. Behind her, a Jolteon and Umbreon followed behind, both wearing contrasting clothing with matching rings around their middle paws,

'They've even used human commercialism here and accessories?' Aegislash grew more uneasy by the second. A passing Pelipper overhead had her wings partially covered by a gown that hardly weighed her down. 'Is it because we don't wear clothing like them that we stand out like this?'

"Mommy! Mommy! Look!" A Teddiursa wearing a tight baby blue shirt and small kid jeans and shoes held onto a red balloon in one paw that he tugged on energetically. He held onto a female Ursaring's hand as she wore a sunhat and a white dress with straps over the bare shoulders.

"Yes, yes, sweetie. I see them." She motherly noted.

Aegislash glanced over at Cloyster and Kecleon for a moment. She knew Cloyster wouldn't dare say anything, and when she turned towards Kecleon, she faded away on the spot, leaving a faded red zigzag in her place. Aegislash sighed as she turned towards the passing Ursaring and Teddiursa.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Can you spare a moment of your time for us?" she started.

The Ursaring mother turned towards her. "Yes, how can I help you?" She looked down at Aegislash's shimmering frame before her eyes widened. She veered her cub away from her for good measure. "Oh, dear Arceus! Miss, I don't mean to say this too publicly, but you're rather...exposed."

Aegislash looked down at herself, realizing that unlike the surrounding Pokémon, she still had no apparel. "R-right, apologies. But I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Like what?" The Ursaring looked genuinely curious.

"Do you by chance know where we are? We haven't been very familiar with this place. We were trying to find something like a map, but we haven't seen any postings of those around here."

"A map?" Ursaring tapped a claw against her chin, before shooting her eyes open. "Oh! I get it now! So you're tourists, right?"

Aegislash blinked again. Tourists? Did she really come to that conclusion? She shot a quick glance at Cloyster, who was still quiet and peeking through his shell. Kecleon, however, was still invisible. But given the situation and where they stood right now, the best thing she could do right now is play along.

"...yes, you can say that."

"Okay, that explains it then." Ursaring flinched. "Oh! I didn't mean any offense to that. It's just that it's not very...how should I word this...civil of Pokémon to be going out wearing no clothing. It's been encouraged by the police for a while now. Though I guess it's not technically illegal at this time."

"'At this time', you say?" Now it was Aegislash's turn to feel discomforted. She looked over at some of the passing Pokémon once more. She immediately noticed that there was a Spearow on a lamppost wearing a miniature police vest and hat. His Keen Eye was locked on the fellow Pokémon roaming in the streets beneath his gaze.

Kecleon was staring directly at the Spearow as well. Just before he turned his head in their direction, she slipped behind Cloyster. She knew well from experience that her camouflage alone wouldn't stop Keen Eye.

Aegislash turned back towards the mother Ursaring to continue the conversation. "I wasn't aware that this pl...Pokétopia, has such security. Did something happen?"

Ursaring looked around, seeing if anyone was close enough to hear them. She then leaned into Aegislash, who shifted closer to hear what she had to say. "Okay, so apparently, there's been a new law a few months ago. They specifically said that Pokémon are not allowed to have humans out of their cubes unless they're in their homes or in a designated arena."

Aegislash backed away with her pupil shrinking. "Is...that so?"

Ursaring nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid so. You're tourists, so I can't see you getting a fine for having humans. I'm fairly certain that you'll get off with just a harsh warning the first time around. But, still..." She looked at Aegislash again, cringing lightly. "You might draw a lot of attention to yourselves if you don't dress up properly..."

Aegislash cleared her nonexistent mouth. "Right, my apologies, ma'am. Thank you for the advice. We'll be sure to keep all of that in mind."

"It's nothing. Hope you find everything you'll ever need here." Ursaring turned towards Teddiursa. "Come along, Todd. Mommy has to continue with her errands."

"Hey, Mommy! Do you think there'll be a lot of toys wherever we're going?" He excitedly asked, his dark eyes glowing with his bottom lip pushed out.

"We're heading over to the market area next, Todd. Maybe if you be good and don't make a mess like last time, I might get you one on our way back."

"Yes!" Little Todd looked more eager than before as he walked off with his mother, leaving Aegislash and the others in the middle of the street.

Cloyster opened his shell slightly, peeking at Aegislash. "She seemed nice...you weren't gonna ask her about the whole cube and human thing?"

"If I did, that would have made her suspicions of us more lenient." Aegislash pointed out, turning towards him. "We were lucky enough to get something useful out of this, but...she has a point. Compared to the ongoers around us, we stand pretty far out. If we're going to figure out what's really happening here, best to blend in."

Kecleon tilted her camouflaged head. "I'm blended." She whispered.

"...yes, Kecleon. Though I don't just mean literally." Using one of her cloths, she reached for the small pouch that sat beside her. "We were given this small sum to help start ourselves here. Guess we better make the most of it. You both in?"

Cloyster raised a brow...though with how hard it was to see inside his shell it wasn't easy to tell. "I mean, if it'll get the discomfort to go away, I guess it's worth a shot."

Kecleon shook her head. "No...clothes don't fade like me...feel like a ghost...spooky."

"Yes...I can see your point." Aegislash turned back towards the apparel shop that sat a short distance away from them. There was a large picture of a Leavanny with a thread with a shirt, socks, and pants on the makeshift clothesline. The sign read "Appareleaves". "Very well then. Shall we?"

She and Cloyster made their way into the apparel shop, where the automated doors slid open for them and shut. As soon as they were gone, Kecleon was still invisible to avoid being too obvious. She looked up at the Spearow and noticed a Pidgeotto that flew next to him, presumably to take his spot. She was found right when she watched the Spearow fly off in the direction that the Pidgeotto came from.

'Authorities cast really big shadows...really dark shadows.' Kecleon zipped through the streets, hopping between the populace of Pokémon as she followed the Spearow.

---

Slurpuff's nose was on fire...quite literally. The various spices that came from nearby food stalls was like a buffet of smells that her nose was trying to take in all at once. Her tongue hung out of her mouth as she looked to be in some sort of daze.

"Boy, I'm actually surprised you can smell anything other than sweets." Houndoom chimed, paddling along the paved street beside Scizor. Every corner around them, there were various food stalls stocked full of different assorted snacks and small portion meals. His forked tail whipped when the faint smell of barbeque caught his attention.

That was because they were passing by a stand that had fresh racks of ribs being slathered with barbeque sauce over a large grill, provided by a Magmar wearing an apron over his stomach. The smoked ribs attracted more than a few customers that were already packed around the stall.

"Since when could Pokémon learn how to cook?" Houndoom muttered as he went along. He noticed a Corphish nearby that held a spatula between his pincers as he flipped over a meat patty on a skillet. "How in the world can they even use utensils even...?"

"Is that your biggest concern?" Scizor raised a brow at him, earning a look from Houndoom.

"What, I'm not stupid. Those few things just caught my eye is all. Of course look around." He scanned the area again to prove his point. So many signs were up with special discounts and various Pokémon all about. "What's a bunch of Pokémon working a human environment for?"

Scizor looked ahead, showing genuine concern. "Yes...I can't necessarily disagree with you there. This is rather disturbing when you look at it like we do. What's even stranger is how everyone around us is living it so naturally...like it's how they've always lived their lives."

A Beartic wearing a green apron and cap stood behind a stand, holding up a medium-sized cup of blue glossy, frozen liquid. "Get a slushie! For the next hour, by two, get one free!" He shouted directly at Scizor and Houndoom. "You there! Sir! Madam! You interested in trying our specialty blend of soft-served drinks?"

Scizor put a pincer up to be polite. "Oh, thank you very much, sir. But I'm afraid we'll have to-!" A pink blur suddenly passed her, breaking her mid-sentence. "...decline...?"

Slurpuff sprung right in front of the Beartic's stand, holding up her pouch full of jewel. "Don't mind if I do! I'll take that special deal!" She said it more quickly than warranted.

Beartic gave a hardy smile. "Well now, that's some energy you've got, miss." He chuckled. "I like that spirit of patronage! Very well then, that'll be 50 Jewels, please."

Slurpuff didn't hesitate to reach into her pouch of what allowance she was given by Penelope earlier. She pulled out a few coins that she placed on the stand's top. Beartic took the money and used his paws to punch into a cash register and dropped the money inside. He closed it and went over to an ice machine with icy blue slush swirling inside.

While Slurpuff seemed to be distracted, Scizor and Houndoom observed skeptically.

'A slushie making machine?' Scizor looked even more worried than before. She knew this world wasn't as advanced as PokeEarth. She was well aware that technology such as this shouldn't be possible as of yet.

Beartic returned to the front, holding three large cups with plastic lids atop, all having complimentary plastic straws. "There you all go, enjoy!"

"Thank you!" Slurpuff jumped onto the counter and picked up all three in her arms. Before she was ready to put her mouth on the straws, she froze and turned towards her friends. "Oh...did you guys, uh...?"

Scizor and Houndoom looked at each other nervously, before looking back at her. "...eh, knock yourself out." Houndoom shrugged.

"Yes!" Slurpuff hissed low enough to herself, though with Houndoom's slightly more enhanced hearing it didn't matter. He eyerolled while she jumped off the counter and walked past them with the three slushies clustered in her hands. The three continued their trek through the avenue as they continued observing the other patrons and stands lined up along the avenue.

"Did you notice that back there?" Scizor muttered lowly to Houndoom.

"You mean that thing that's used to make the stuff? Yeah, I saw alright. Frankly, I was expecting snow cones, that would be more realistic. Don't those sorts of machines need electricity or something? This world isn't swimming in a lot of appliances I know, but..."

Scizor frowned heavily. "Yeah...my guess would be that they would have something similar to batteries to power machines like those."

"You mean like that Joey kid and how his music thing uses a lacrima in place of a battery?"

"Yeah...wait, how did you know about that?"

Houndoom snorted embers from his nostrils. "Please, I know I said before I have a one-track mind, but that doesn't mean I pick up a few things here and there." He frowned. "Anyways, that's not important. Just look at all this stuff they have. It's all gotta be, uh...automated, yeah."

Scizor spared another glance around. More accurately, at the appliances behind each stand. Cash registers, refrigerators with clear glass showing commercial drinks with brand names and flavors; they even had light fixtures inside of them.

'That would explain why they would be refrigerated out in the open without actual ice.'

Slurpuff sucked blue raspberry slushies through three different straws, all at the same time going into her mouth. She pulled away to expel a cold sigh, showing her blue tongue. "Wow! Now that's refreshing!" She turned back towards them. "Hey, you guys sure you don't want a sip?"

"How the hell do you not get a brain freeze?" Houndoom snarked, smirking. "Hmph...oh, right, because that brain of yours is just one tiny gumball."

"Hey, that's not-gah!" Slurpuff was blindsided when she was shoved onto her side. A swift blur rushed past her that continued through the crowd. She dropped her slushies onto the ground with their lids popping off and splattering blue frosty liquid onto the street.

"Slurpuff!" Scizor exclaimed, rushing over to her.

Houndoom gasped, running up to her. "Hey! You okay!?"

Slurpuff grunted as she stammered up to her feet. "Gnnngh...I think so. Wait-!" She gasped in horror. Her eyes shot towards her three ice-cold slushies that laid in front of her. Her lips quivered as she looked like her heart was broken into a million pieces. "My...my sweet slushies...my beloved slushies..."

Scizor gave Slurpuff a sympathetic look. She turned her head and angrily glared at the culprit speeding away and budging people. Upon further inspection, she noticed that it was a Sneasel wearing a black tanktop and tight dark blue pants. She rushed away with what looked like a few bags of expensive jewelry and clothes.

"Hey! Stop that thief!" A Sandshrew shouted from up the street.

The sound of sirens were getting louder behind Scizor. Rushing past her, there was a Sunflora, with a Vulpix right on her tail. Both adorned police uniforms tailored to their sizes and physiologies, with matching hats that had red and blue lacrima lighting consecutively similar to a police light.

"This is Officer Flora! We have a robbery in North Verdanturf Central! Suspect is a Sneasel, wearing a black shirt and dark pants! Has a tattered feather on his head! We need backup in pursuit!" The Sunflora, known as Flora, shouted into the communication lacrima that was attached to her. "Officer Sune! Keep up!"

The female Vulpix following behind was running as fast as she could. "I'm coming!"

The duo moved past the stunned Scizor, Houndoom, and Slurpuff. Everyone on the street cleared way as the authorities were in pursuit of the Sneasel making his getaway.

"Tch! Crap! They're on my tail already?" The Sneasel grunted. He shot a glance back at the SUnflora and Vulpix heading right for him. "Heh, they can't keep up..."

"Halt! Or we'll be force to use force!" Sunflora shouted, pulling out a Human Cube.

"Yeah, how about no, sally! Sorry!" The Sneasel turned forward as the crowd was getting more sparce due to the awareness. "Agility!" Suddenly, he sped faster than before, beaming through the opening in the street to where he was almost a blur.

"Oh no! He's getting away!" Sune snapped. "Where's that backup!?"

Scizor eyed the crime with a steadfast glare. 'They won't be able to catch him in time...' She turned towards Houndoom, who gave a deadpan look in return. She got the message and shot ahead, gliding across the ground at breakneck speeds.

Flora and Sune were moving as fast as their feet could carry them, but they weren't getting very far. However, they felt a harsh wind when a red blur glided past them with a glowing blue pincer. The Sneasel far ahead of them was running so swiftly, yet the priority attack was jettisoning right at him from behind.

"Huh? What's that sound...?" He looked back, only catching a red blur. "Oh shit-!"

BAM!

A harsh punch by Scizor's Bullet Punch was enough to send the Sneasel flying overhead in an unstable flight. He gagged as he felt his world spinning before he plummeted to the ground behind Scizor with a thud on his back. He laid there, his eyes brimming with swirls as the bag of expensive wear dropped beside him.

The Sunflora and Vulpix eventually caught up to the crime scene. Flora was quick to reach for her Communication Lacrima to make an emergency update. "Suspect is down! I repeat! Suspect is down!" She put away her Human Cube onto her belt and hurried up to Scizor. "Hey, Ma'am!"

Scizor turned around, looking down at the Grass-type. "Yes?"

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to stand right where you are. I need to have a short word with you."

Scizor furrowed her brow. What the hell did she do wrong? She did what her trainer would have done – or any right-minded person would in fact. Why did she have to stay put when she had places to be?

Regardless, it went by fast. Backup soon arrived and officers ranging from Pineco to Machop, to even a Noctowl arrived – all equipped in uniforms and a couple Human Cubes. They proceeded to take the evidence and the unconscious Sneasel away from the crime scene and into custody. Flora and Sune stood beside each other as they watched this and turned towards Scizor.

Houndoom and Slurpuff eventually joined up with their friend...with Slurpuff having found several more sweets along the way. With her slushies destroyed, she had to make do with some comfort food. As much as Houndoom wanted to chastise her, he instead chose to let it slide this one time due to circumstances.

He looked at the crime scene, paddling closer towards Scizor. "Boy, making a big scene so early in the day huh?"

"It wasn't intentional. But they make it sound like it is." Scizor noted. She saw Officer Flora and Sune walk up to their group with straightened postures.

Flora started, clearing her throat. "Sorry about that, thank you for being patient with me, Ma'am. First of all, on behalf of the Pokémon Police Department, thank you for helping in stopping that thief. Apparently, there's been a spree of thieves in this area as of late, and only a few eyewitnesses were able to give us a description of whom the culprits were...now I see why."

Scizor nodded. "You're very much welcome, ma'am."

"That said, I'm afraid that I should warn you that there is a law about using your moves without authorized supervision. Even though you assisted in the robbery, you endangered yourself by going after a crime without any training. On top of which using a move to enact harm."

Scizor's eyes widened. There was a law about that? How come she didn't know about any of this? It wasn't like Penelope gave her a heads up about any of this to begin with.

Houndoom put his paw up. "Now hold up, sunshine. If she didn't, that crook would have gotten away. You know that, yet you're saying she shouldn't be credited? That's pretty petty."

Sune beamed. "Sorry sir, but the law is the law."

Houndoom looked down at the little Vulpix, raising a brow at how proud and confident she was appearing to be. "And who're you supposed to be?"

Sune frowned at him, taking a step forward. "Sir, my name is Officer Sune. I work for the Pokémon Police Department. I may have just completed my basic training, but I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to me so brashly."

"Sure, sure." Despite the situation, Houndoom smirked. "You know, I like girls that can talk a big game. That's some confidence you got there."

Vulpix's ears folded back, her eyes narrowing. "You...you just-!"

Flora stepped in between them, giving them a deep stare. "Please, sir. Allow me to apologize on behalf of my partner. This is her first week on the job, and she is currently shadowing me. So if you have something to say to her, say it to me instead. Just so you know, harassment otherwise is an ideal offense."

"Hey, it was a compliment." Houndoom scoffed. He wanted to say something to deflect the situation, but he remembered that Greninja and Aegislash agreed they had to keep as low as possible. This went against that. He ultimately relented. "Alright, fine. Sorry for the uptightness. Geez..."

Flora nodded in acceptance. "Good." She turned a leaf towards Scizor. "As for you, ma'am, we don't want any trouble. So if you have any disputes, do so without moves or violence. Thank you both for your cooperation." She turned to leave the area. "Come on, Officer Sune. We have to fill out the report details at HQ."

"Coming." Sune paddled behind, but not without giving Houndoom a look over her shoulder. She immediately lifted her snout and carried herself away with pride.

"Be seeing ya around, shorty." He looked over towards his side, seeing Scizor give him a stern look. "What?"

"Really?"

"What? Like I really have those kinds of intentions." He glanced at the dispersing folk that continued around them. "Anyways, that caused a scene. And I guess that wasn't a total screw-up either."

"You're right...because now we know that using our moves and battling is illegal here." Scizor crossed her pincers. "If we can't rely on using ourselves as self-defense, what else can we do? We also don't have those cubes that the police have that supposedly capture humans..."

"Yeah...something tells me that we're gonna be on our feet for a while looking around this place." Houndoom grimaced as he realized something off. "Hey, where'd Slurpuuf go?"

Scizor and Houndoom looked around for their sugar-obsessed meringue of a comrade. They scanned left and right until they heard slurping not too far from them. To their chagrin – and mild annoyance – they found Slurpuff sitting on a stool with brown and plastic bags alike filled with what presumably were sweets.

She savored another tongue's worth of strawberry-flavored ice cream, the cream melting in her mouth sending shivers down her spine. "Ah~! Now that's tasty!" She squealed, kicking her feet. "I've gotta have more of this! It's so creamy and rich!" She turned towards the Vanillish running the stand. "Say, how much for a tub of this stuff?"

"About 100 Jewels, ma'am." The Vanillish wearing a custom gap stated. "But are you sure? You're looking like you have your hands full."

Slurpuff shrugged, dismissing any worries with a smile. "Oh yeah! In fact, gimme a tub of each!" She reached into her pouch to get the necessary amount needed...only to feel around a lighter pouch than before. "Hm? What...?" She pried the pouch open and looked inside to expect her reasonable sum still present. However, to her dismay, there were only a few coins left. "Uh-oh..."

She perked her head up and slowly turned around. She saw Houndoom and Scizor giving her judgmental glares as she looked desperately with pleading eyes. "Um...I don't suppose you guys have any extra change on ya...? Hehe...I-I'll pay you guys back..."

Houndoom shook his head. "Good grief."

"Likewise." Scizor sighed.

---

Garchomp and Arbok made their way down a slightly less compacted avenue in the so-called utopia for Pokémon, yet as far as the glare Arbok gave off, he seemed far from impressed, if not indifferent towards the whole aspect. "Hmph...ssso thisss isss what they call a utopia? Not very impressssive."

"Hngh...yeah." Garchomp craned his head around, looking at the many Pokémon that were giving themselves distance as they walked past them. "Looks to me that they're just as easily feigned to the different as humans do."

"Ssso you've noticcced too." Arbok shot him a glanced.

"It's not hard to see once you pay attention. I never bothered with human interactions...neither did Nic...but things change. Especially that fiasco back in that Alola region." His yellow eyes showed a deeper intensity within them. "You can deflect others as much as you want, but that doesn't mean they still won't be looking with judgment."

Arbok shot a glance at a passing Growlithe wearing a polka dot dress shirt. One glance alone was enough to make him veer away and scammer en route. "Egotissstical cowardsss..." He fell silent as he looked to be in thought. This didn't go unnoticed by Garchomp.

"What's wrong?"

"Jussst thinking...you sssee how everything is reversssed here. Makesss you wonder what they did with the humansss in their placcce."

Garchomp was quick to catch onto his innuendo. "You mean aside from being trapped in those cubes?" He grunted low, realizing the logic in what was being said by the cobra. Aside from Pokémon, there wasn't a single human on sight. At least on PokeEarth and Fiore there were Pokémon coinciding. Here it felt almost one-sided.

'If they all keep humans in cubes, what're they being used for?'

Arbok stopped when his tongue flicked out. He picked up on a large number of smells in the air that came from clustered Pokémon that were gathered around a small break off to the side of the avenue. Various sizes of Pokémon were either admiring from the back or shouting from the front. Either way, it didn't go unnoticed by either of them.

"What's going on?" Garchomp sniped.

"Looksss like a ssscene." Arbok sneered.

The two Pokémon gave each other knowing glances, expecting the other to know what to do. True to form, they understood. They diverged into the crowd, with Arbok slithering past the bystanders and Garchomp gliding behind a stand to scope off to the side. Both were within eyesight of one another. They shot glares at what everyone was gathered around, but what they saw left them both taken back.

Gathered around a small area, many Pokémon were gathered around the perimeter of a battlefield similar to a Pokémon battlefield. However, the center circle that was the primary border was instead a diamond. All bordered by white ground paint. A Furret and Linoone stood on opposite ends of the battlefield, fully clothed and looking quite young.

On Furret's side of the battlefield, a young male mage that was bald and wore nothing but black baggy pants and a white sash around his waist panted. He looked to be out of breath as opposed to the more endowed human male that stood across from him. Unlike him, he sported a Duke's style of clothing and had messy silver hair. Unlike the other mage, he seemed a lot more confident and less damaged. However, the trait that didn't go unnoticed by them was the fact that they had matching collars around their necks.

"Is that what I think it is...?!" Garchomp was aware enough to keep his shock at a low volume.

Arbok remained quiet, observing with a scornful expression. He knew just what this had to be.

The Furret looked at his human mage with a furrowed brow. "Come on, Zach! We're nearly there! We have to stay strong!" he encouraged.

The bald human known as Zach labored in breath, holding up a fist. "I know already!"

The opposing human gave a scoff. "What's wrong? You're looking a little shaken up there, pal."

Zach adjusted his footing, glaring at his opponent. "Shut up!"

"You don't get it by now? Your Zach is weak. Look at him, he's barely gotten so much as a hit in on my Bartholomew." Linoone chimed. "I say we wrap this battle up. The sooner we end this, the better for us."

Bartholomew smirked. "Can do, boss."

Furret grunted as he stuck out a paw. "Use Fire Bullets!"

Zach grunted as he stood his ground and put his hands out in front of him. A red magic seal appeared before him before several projectiles of searing fire shot directly at Bartholomew. The opposing mage stood still as he awaited his order.

"Use Wind Cutter!" Linoone ordered.

Bartholomew snickered with a confident smirk as he reached his arm out. A green magic seal appeared in front of him that gathered the surroundings air. He used his other arm and directed the blades of air into the flaming bullets. The two attacks met in the center, causing explosions of air and flame. However, after the embers expanded, more wind blades cut right through the stalemate, heading towards a shocked Zach.

The mage didn't have the reflexes to dodge in time when the attack met its mark, striking his bare skin with the wind pressure. He violently cried out as he was thrown onto his back and double over towards Furret's feet, kicking up dirt in the process.

"Zach!" Furret looked down as he watched the dust clear away. To his horror and disbelief, he saw his human laying down, his body severely bruised and scraped by the wind attack. His eyes were shut as he was unconscious.

Bartholomew brought his left arm closer to his face, posing with a chastising smirk. "So...how's that for fast?"

The crowd around Garchomp and Arbok cheered at the battle's conclusion. Everyone looked so enthralled at the battle like it was a sport. Some left immediately to return to whatever business they had prior. The two watched as many Pokémon came up to congratulate and admire Linoone and his human.

"Wow! That was incredible!" A Shroomish jumped.

"Yeah, your Bartholomew is so strong! That other guy didn't stand a chance!" A Nidorino exclaimed.

Linoone raised his head, taking in the compliments with pride. "Really? Thank you guys."

A female Bidoof scooted up, rubbing her forelegs together as she looked down. "T-that was so cool...do you think I can learn some battling tips from you?"

Linoone blinked, raising a brow. "Battling tips?" He gave his human an equally confused look. He turned towards her to answer her question. "Uh...well, it's really just a matter of training. That's how his spells got so strong after all."

Bidoof flinched. "R-really?!"

"Hey pal, how's about a trade! Your Bartholomew for my Ginger!" A Vigoroth shouted, holding up a Human Cube in his claws.

"Thanks, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass. Bartholomew and I gotta rest up. After today, I think we're finally ready for the big leagues." Linoone turned towards the large stadium dome that sat bareky within eyesight. "Tomorrow...we'll enter and win that tournament!"

"Really?!" You're gonna enter the Human Star Tournament?!" Bidoof quipped, her squealing tone reaching a whole new pitch.

Linoone smirked. "That's right. I think we've battled enough to know we have a solid chance." He turned towards Bartholomew. "So what do you say, you think we're ready?"

Bartholomew smirked. "I don't see why not. Let's give them all a taste of our glory."

Garchomp and Arbok remained silent as their heads followed the direction towards the enlarged dome on the far end of the city. Even from where they were, it towered to house an expansive audience. They looked at each other before choosing to withdraw from the scene in silence.

---

Unlike the others who had taken liberties within the confines of the so-called utopia, Greninja had taken his reservations elsewhere. Rather than blend in with the crowd for more personal and forward intelligence, he opted to watch from afar, away from the confines of public. Like trainer, like Pokémon.

Perched atop a three-story building with a marble cutout of a Slowking, Greninja sat his sights on not what lied beneath, but what was above him. His red eyes focused of the large-scale white palace that sat atop the cliffs and city confines. The longer he stared at it, the more suspicious he became of it. To him, it was so obvious that even a normal person shouldn't even need glasses to tell why. But then again, he also knew just how blind people are. Either they already knew and were secretly keeping it to themselves, or they honestly did not realize it.

In a likely case, there could be a third factor. But before he could move forward with his thoughts, his gut told him to turn around. Once he did, he recognized the Charizard and Talonflame that glided in from polar directions to converge with him behind the sign.

Greninja folded his arms. "So, how's it look?"

Charizard shook his head. "No doubt about it. It's an island. I didn't see any signs of land or stretch of sand leading out to anywhere."

"Any idea how far we are from mainland?"

Talonflame rolled her right wing. "That's the strangest thing. We can't tell where we are. There's nothing but stormclouds surrounding the perimeter of this island. And yet, what's strange about it is that it's not in just one particular direction like how most storms are."

Greninja turned his head to look out towards the distant skies. True to what Talonflame warned, there was a dark ring of clouds lined up all across the perimeter. He looked straight up towards the blaring sun that didn't have an ounce of humidity in the central air.

"Interesting...I had my doubts about this from the moment I laid eyes on it before. But with all this..." He folded his arms again. "It makes you wonder if anything about this is natural at all."

"Should we try to fly the storm and go search for shore elsewhere?" Talonflame wondered.

Charizard shot her a look. "It wouldn't be that simple."

"How so?"

"Just look up." Charizard craned his neck upwards. The others followed his lead and saw other Pokémon flying in single-file fashions at the same altitude. Some flocks stopped on the spot, slowing others to go and take sharp turns around them. "I've heard of air traffic before, but that looks like a damn maze. Even if we did take our chances booking it, we'll end up drawing attention...something I'd rather not get from being up there again."

Greninja turned towards Charizard when he noticed the grim incline of his tone. He noticed how he was giving a cold look towards the Pokémon that were wearing patrol uniforms and having vests. 'He must still be pretty annoyed with that Pager Charizard stuff in Alola...'

Talonflame sighed. "You're right. Especially with how we stand out already." She spread her wings to show off her unclothed frame. "I was given a lot of strange looks by a lot of Pokémon around me. I'd rather not know what effects a uniform can do to change that...especially given how Erza's various armors appeal to others."

"Hmph, yeah. For something that's called 'Flight Armor', it's pretty misleading when you don't even wear any armor at all." Charizard snorted.

---

In her cell, Erza suddenly sneezed.

"You okay?" Nic asked.

"Yeah, I'm just fine. Must have been the dust or cold." She beamed/

"Right..." He glanced towards the ceiling. 'Why do I get the feeling that someone I know made that happen?'

---

As if by cosmic coincidence, Greninja felt a nerve in the back of his head telling him throwing remarks like that would end in disaster. He chose to feign away from those thoughts and scoped the various shops and buildings scattered all around them. "At any rate, we should try and find a suitable shelter. No telling how long we'll be here...and I have a good idea that they have eyes where they least expect others to be looking." He shot a look at the white palace from the corner of his eye.

Talonflame nodded. "Fair point. I'll search for the others and have us meet up somewhere. I suppose...now would be as good time as any to try and figure out how to use this..." She dangled her pouch full of her allowance that she had yet to touch.

"Yeah, really not sure why humans use this stuff either." Charizard said. "It'd be easier if they got off with something like 'working for food' like we do. I'd say it's not our problem, but..."

Greninja closed his eyes, leaning against the marble sign behind him deep in thought. "Yeah. Though we're already self-sufficient enough to feed ourselves. Something also tells me that we better look like we know how to use this material. Fast. Societies like these needs currency for its economy..." His eyes opened a little. "...and yet..."

Catching wind of his line of thinking, Charizard looked at him. "Yet...?"

"And yet, human economies need a steady flow, right? We're on an island, with no connections to the outside world...so where does all that money go? Or rather, the better question, who distributes it?"

Charizard and Talonflame shot looks at each other, then back at Greninja. The three fell to a mutual silence that Greninja broke as he walked back towards them. "Alright...Charizard, Talonflame. Make sure you find the others and tell them to meet up soon. In the meantime..." He spared another glance at the businesses and patrons down below. "Be better keep a sharp eye out."

"Right." Both snapped, turning away to glide away from their hidden positions. Greninja was left alone as he shot one more look at the white palace before turning towards the city landscape.

'This society...there's something more twisted here. I can feel it.' With those thoughts, he placed a hand on the ground. 'Staraptor...you better be alright, too...wherever the hell you are.'

With grace of a ninja, he vanished to thin air deeper into the city.

---

In an open clearing in the middle of the forest, the bushes rustled with a head with a bright red bandana with a yellow stripe popped out. A set of brown eyes scoped out the surroundings to find no sign of humans nor Pokémon in the clearing in front of them. He looked back down at the bush.

"All clear."

Very slowly, Dereece filed out of their hiding spot, with Joey and Duncan following suit. The three kept quiet as they paced towards the center of the clearing while keeping their heads low. They kept a close eye out towards the underbrush afar to see if any movement was apparent. Eventually, they all made it to the clearing's center and looked at each other.

"You sure about this?" Duncan muttered, his tone clearly hinting displeasure at what he was dragged into.

"Positive, Duncan. Just follow my lead, and if we're lucky...we'll have them right where we want them in no time."

The entire guild was gathered in the center of their guild hall, present for what information that The Freaks had brought back with them. Judging by the slacking jaws that half the guildmembers had on their faces, they were more than surprised to say the very least.

Gray shot Joey a raised brow. "How the heck did you of all people get your hands on this kinda intel?"

Joey beamed with pride. "I know people." He immediately frowned. "Anyways, these are the coordinates that Mister P gave us to Nic and Erza-senpai's location. And his coordinates are always precise."

Macao was present in front of a map the size of the table he sat at. The map showed the complete geography of Earthland, if not the surrounding continents at the very least. "Let's see..." He scoped the coordinates left on paper by Kevin, then back towards the map. "That would mean that they were both taken right...here!" He placed a pin on a small spot on the map that was within the southern hemisphere of Earthland. More accurately speaking, the southwestern area between Ishgar and Alakitasia, if not close to the continents below them.

"Right there, huh?" Gajeel furrowed his brow. It looked pretty far away. He leaned into the map, squinting his Dragon Slayer eyesight at the island's label. "What is it?"

Levy leaned in, looking down with her Gale-Force Reading Glasses. "Let's see...it says here the island is called...'Rolica'."

"Rolica? I've never heard of a place like that before." Natsu shrugged.

Freed folded his arms. "Probably because it's such a distance from Fiore altogether. Though I can't help but wonder, why were our guildmates taken to a place so far out from continents altogether?" He put a hand to his chin. "Were they planning on hiding them there for a specific reason?"

"The way I see it, it doesn't matter." Gray protested. "We got the info we needed, so I say we put it to good use. I say we head out to that island, and get them both out."

"I like that plan! Then we'll find those bastards that stole them in the first place and send them packing!" Natsu declared.

"Aye, sir!" Happy shouted. "We'll set them straight!"

"Wait, just a minute guys!" Lucy shouted.

Natsu turned towards her, confused. "What's wrong?"

"Yeah, Lucy. We have what we need, right?" Happy turned towards his partner, who looked assured enough for the confirmation.

Lucy put her hands to her hips, giving them both a stern look. "Maybe you two had forgotten that we still have an entire country's worth of rogue Pokémon still on the loose right now. Not to mention, we don't know just how many more of those Pokémon are out there capturing humans."

"She's got a point there. We'd be in some deep trouble if we step out and can't tell wild ones from those rogue ones." Cana frowned. "I doubt my Fortunetelling can help us there."

With the guild in the middle of their personal debate, Dereece jumped Joey's shoulder. "Pssst, you should tell them."

Joey nodded. "Right. Guys..."

"So I'm guessing that we should try and route out the rogue ones from the wild ones first, right?" Gray noted. "That's gonna be tough...especially when they all look the same."

"It sounds tough, and I don't think that we have that kind of time on our hands." Juvia worried. "Also..." She turned towards her Pokémon. "There's no telling if they'll suddenly return to their brainwashing states again."

"Yeah, that's a good point. But as long as they stay in Magnolia in the enchantment Freed made, guess it won't matter." Gray shrugged.

Joey blinked, raising a brow along with a finger. "Eh...?"

"We should figure out what's even causing this brainwashing to begin with. Vanessa said those Pokémon that attacked us were of their own free wills. Maybe they're wild, too." Jet chimed in.

"Maybe, but we can't just capture every wild Pokémon in Fiore and interrogate them." Levy frowned.

"Then I say we fetch Nic and Erza and rush back to solve this problem, fast." Droy beamed.

"Yeah! With their help, that should make things move by much quicker! Nice going!" Jet beamed, patting his friend's back.

Vanessa put a hand to her chin. "This does complicate things. First of all, we have these rogue Pokémon that broke away from their trainers. Now they have my brother and sister-in-law in custody elsewhere..." She glanced away, trailing in thought. 'Were they brought to that island for a specific purpose in mind?'

"Well I say we go get Nic and Erza, and any Pokémon we come across along the way, we give them a clean hit for good measure." Natsu chimed.

"But some of them might be innocent! They might be scared like we are!" Wendy urged.

The guild was throwing plans back and forth, with no clear winner in the ongoing debate. Many were siding with getting the country back in order, but others wanted to focus on Nic and Erza's safety on the matter. Once again, the bulk of the guild was starting to fall into disarray, save for Shiin, who was watching in silence at their lack of orientation on the matter.

Joey, who was waiting patiently in the whole exchange, finally had enough. He furrowed his brow, and with a snap of his fingers, Dereece handed him the Boombox. He cranked up the volume to its maximum level and bass setting. He attached an auxiliary chord to the port settings and inserted the end into Palpitoad's mouth.

"Ready?" He nodded.

Palpitoad nodded back. Joey cracked his knuckles before he harshly pressed the play button. Immediately, the guild was overwhelmed with a loud song with a dense bass that vibrated through Palpitoad's bumps on his head. Each beat made them shudder down to their bones. It didn't help when the vibrations were amplified to the upmost extent. The entire guild's floor had vibrations going beneath the boarding!

Everyone went quiet – even if they were screaming in shock, they would have been mute in the dense bass. Those sensitive to hearing like Natsu and Gajeel got the worst of it.

Once the entire guild had stopped talking and covered their ears, Joey finally stopped the music, allowing the vibrations to end.

"Owwww...my ears..." Natsu clutched his head, visibly dazed. He shook off his disarray and angrily turned towards Joey. "Hey man, the hell was that for!?"

"Ugh, my ears...think they're ringing now." Gray grunted.

Joey pried the chord out of Palpitoad's mouth, giving everyone a knowing glare. He took a deep breath before speaking out once more. "Now that I have all your attentions..." He inhaled deeply, before bellowing out loudly. "SHUT THE HELL UP AND HEAR ME OUT ALREADY!"

Warren winced again, clutching his ears from pain. "Gngh! A-alright! You don't have to be so loud about it man..."

"Wonder what he has to say?" Mirajane chimed in.

Joey remained unfazed by their general exclamations and continued, knowing he was at the center if attention. "Okay." He jumped onto the table to stand taller. "I have a plan, and it just might work. I just might know a way to know for sure that these rogue Pokémon and people being captured might be linked in all this."

"Wait...you have a plan?" Natsu raised a brow. Aside from dancing and battling, he didn't think Joey had it in him to actually make any ideas come to fruition.

Gray put his hands to his hips. "This should be good."

Joey frowned, hearing the sarcastic sneers in their tones. However, he raised his head and turned away. "Anyways, the way I see it, there's no way we can focus on one or the other. So that means that we'll have to split up into two teams. One team works with us and get to that Rolica island. Meanwhile, the other team will stay here and figure out what's making the Pokémon act crazy."

Levy stepped up. "Okay, so what do we do first?"

"Not you guys. Us." Joey gestured to Dereece and Duncan. "We'll lure out those Pokémon that attacked us last night. We'll draw them into the open and act as bait."

Dereece turned towards Joey with shock in his eyes. "W-wait...you're saying The Freaks should be captured on purpose?!"

Joey frowned as he stared ahead, looking dead serious. "I'm almost positive about this, Dereece. Why else would Nic and Erza-senpai be there and not with those Pokémon?" He folded his arms. "And think about it, if they have some sort of limit to the amount of those things they can carry, wouldn't the rest have to go somewhere? It's the same with Poke Balls. You can only carry six at a time on you. If we get caught and they have no use for us..."

"...then we'll be right where Nic and Erza are!" He realized the logic behind Joey's plan. "Captain Joey...that just might work!"

"Right, Dereece. But there's more." Joey turned towards everyone else. "There still won't be a guarantee that we'll be sent to that island, so a small group will go by boat for good measure. I'll make sure to where a Communication Lacrima somewhere, too. Those things should have a range, right? If we're in range of each other on the island, I'll give the signal, Mest teleports us back to the boat with Nic and Erza-senpai, and make a counterattack from there."

"Then what's the point of being captured if we're just going by boat like you said?" Mest questioned. "That sounds more like a gamble than an actual plan if you ask me."

"An insurance policy. We don't know if we'll be taken there immediately, but if we are, I have the perfect guy for the job." Joey held up Tranquill's Poke Ball. "And that's Tranquill."

"Tranquill?" Lucy raised a brow.

"You're pinning this whole theory on a bird?" Gray furrowed his brow, even less likely convinced at Joey's craftiness.

"Yeah...I am." Joey gave the Poke Ball a dead-serious glare. "And you know why?"

While everyone else looked uncertain, Dereece's eyes widened again. "Wait a minute...Tranquill's PokeDex entry! Of course!"

"Wait, what?" Lisanna questioned.

"Hold on, listen to this everyone!" Dereece pulled out his PokeDex, scrolling through the various Pokémon that were recorded by his encounters with them. As soon as the screen hit Tranquill, he held it up for everyone to hear.

"Tranquill, the Wild Pigeon Pokémon. No matter where in the world it goes, it knows where its nest is, so it never gets separated from its Trainer."

Joey smirked after the sentence finished. "That's exactly right. With Tranquill's homing instinct, it won't matter where I am. He'll know where to find me. If I'm taken to Rolica, nothing will stop him from getting back to me."

"Wow...gotta say, didn't see that coming." Gajeel noted.

"A Pokémon that can actually track its trainer without scent or hearing. Just by mere instinct...it's almost hard to believe." Pantherlily folded his arms.

"But I mean...he's not wrong." Juvia rubbed her forearm, looking down at her chest. "As shocking as this might sound...I think he actually has a pretty good plan."

"Wait, really?" Gray blinked. He saw Juvia's astute nod and rubbed his head of hair. "Well...guess he did make some pretty good points."

"Believe me, you'd be surprised with how smart Joey is." Dereece smirked. "His antics aside, he actually did really good in high school."

"Yeah, I pay attention." Joey scoffed, before a mischievous smirk crossed his face. "Which is also why I also have this." He reached into his coat pockets, pulling out a folded piece of paper between his index and middle finger.

Sophie raised a brow. "And that would be...?"

"Those Pokémon all called each other by names, right? Adamantine, Ama Ryll...something like that. So I asked Mister P to look up any Golisopod and anybody with that name. And that's all he needed." He flicked his wrist. "All we have to do is get to his area and we just wait for him to show up to capture him some strong humans."

Vanessa blinked. She was honestly surprised like everyone else. She honestly didn't know whether to be more impressed at how Joey thought this whole thing through, or how he wasn't falling into the whole poor student trope. It was impressive to where she folded her arms and smirked at him.

Sophie, who was standing right next to her, smirked at her. "See? He's got some interesting ideas if you give him the time of day."

Vanessa snickered. "So he does."

Duncan sighed out his nostrils. "I hate to say it...but just this once at least, I have to agree on our Captain's line of thinking. This might be the only shot we get."

Even Laxus, who was silent the whole time, finally made a motion. "Guess if you're that certain..." He shot everyone a glare. "Alright, that's how it is everyone. However, we'll be dividing into three groups instead. Group One, you'll be heading out to Rolica immediately to rescue Nic and Erza. Group Two will stay behind and continue investigating the brainwashed Pokémon. And Group Three, you'll be staying behind to help repair the town. If this whole fiasco comes to an end...the least everyone deserves is to return to proper homes."

"Right!" the whole guild cheered.

"I honestly can't believe the entire guild agreed to this 'plan' of yours." Duncan sneered.

"That makes two of us. Our guild isn't exactly the most...how should I word this...versatile in the thinking department, right?" Dereece added.

Joey snorted, beaming with pride in front of them. "Shows them right. This pulls through, maybe they'll think twice before giving me those looks again." He scanned the area once more. "Now, the coordinates are right about here. They should be very close by." He turned towards his teammates. "Let's draw them in, you ready?"

Dereece and Duncan gave small nods. Dereece reached back and pulled out a spare jar of Honey and placed it on the ground. He turned the glass lid and pulled it off, instantly letting the sweet aroma of Honey to whiff through the air around them.

"This'll rope'em in like last night. No Pokémon can resist Honey...no matter how human they try to act." Joey muttered.

"Let's hope you're right for our sake." Duncan grimaced. He held his Elfen Forja tightly.

The Freaks fanned out to some nearby bushes and ducked behind them. Their eyes focused on the Honey jar that continued exerting its sweet, enticing scent. Said scent was enough to make Joey's own mouth water, but thankfully he had enough conscience to hold back for the sake of the mission.

'Any second now...'

The Freaks' silence was unmatched. They stayed in wait with patience as they kept an eye on their surroundings and the Honey jar.

Suddenly, a loud rustling was heard from the opposite end of the clearing. They all watched an enormous insectoid suddenly glide out to the open. They looked completely shocked, but even more so because of the way he was clothed.

'It worked.' Joey's eyes narrowed. 'That's not the Golisopod, but if those tacky clothes don't mean they're related the same way, I don't know what is.'

"That's not the same Pokémon..." Dereece muttered. "I've never seen any like that before...it's massive."

Duncan remained silent as he pulled up his PokeDex. The setting were quickly set to a very low volume so that only he could hear. The image of the massive Vikavolt appeared on the screen with its data apparent.

"Vikavolt, the Stag Beetle Pokémon. It has an organ that generates electricity in its abdomen. It concentrates energy in its strong jaws and fires off powerful jolts of electricity."

"Lunchtime, here I come!" The giant Vikavolt hovered over the grassy field, coming a stop just in front of the open Honey jar. "Oh~, this looks appetizing..."

"Zeus!" Behind the huge Vikavolt – now known as Zeus – the underbrush far behind were brushed away by a pair of claws, belonging to a strapped Golisopod that emerged from the shadows.

"Adamantine..." Zeus trailed off, realizing what just happened. He looked down at the Honey jar and glided a few feet away as the taller bug approached with heavy footsteps.

"Hmph...so this is where that smell was coming from." He hovered over the open jar that showed his dark reflection. The longer he stared at it, the more annoyed he looked. "...tch, an old-fashioned trick. BAH!"

With a smack of his claws, the jar was sent flying across the field. The glass shattered in the grass, allowing the golden, slick contents to ooze onto the shimmering blades. The Freaks all had stale masks to hide their universal shock at the realization.

'He didn't take the bait...' Dereece realized.

Duncan's eyes narrowed slightly. 'The big guy's got intelligence if he realized it that soon.'

Adamantine turned towards Zeus with a glare. "You fool! Did you really fall for something so obvious!?"

Zeus looked startled, gliding a few inches away. "R-right...sorry. I suppose I got carried away there."

"Just because you're a Bug-type, doesn't mean you should give into your compulsions that easily." Adamantine glared around, noticing the many bushes and shrubs that were close by. "...don't think I don't already know the game here. But let me tell you humans this..." His claws glowed bright blue, readying a Razor Shell.

Joey's eyes widened. 'Oh shit!'

"We Pokémon...aren't playing by your rules anymore!" He raised his elongated energy blade up and around him. He pivoted on his heels and swept the blade horizontally across, creating a bright blue wave of dense energy pressure that trimmed all the shrubs of their heads. The Freaks pulled away from their posts just before their shrubs were cleaved in halves, forcing them to jolt up into the open.

The three quickly regrouped, standing beside each other with Joey taking the front, ready to make a barrier if the moment called for it. They faced the Vikavolt and Golisopod that had deep glares searing into their souls.

"Nice try..." Adamantine narrowed his eyes. "But your cheap tricks won't work on me."

Joey glared back, knowing there was nowhere to go. "Remember guys, make it convincing. Make them want to catch us." Joey muttered.

"Okay..." Dereece muttered nervously.

Zeus glided forward, levitating beside Adamantine. "Looks like these humans aren't going to back down after all."

"Hmph, I expect them not to. I want to see just how strong these really are." He reached back for a Human Cube. Zeus followed his lead and pulled out two cubes from a satchel that hung around his abdomen with his claws.

The Freaks pulled out their own capsules, readying their choices.

"Nero! Go!" Adamantine threw the cube.

"Macro! Strept! Come out!" Zeus performed a somersault, using the momentum to launch the two Human Cubes forward.

"Tranquill, I need you!" Joey threw his Poke Ball.

"Alright Yanma, let's go!" Dereece followed with a Poke Ball launched as well.

"Honchkrow, start!" Duncan sideswiped, hurling a Poke Ball of his own.

The six capsules flung open, expelling energy onto their respective sides. Tranquill, Yanma, and Honchkrow appeared in midflight, all three spreading their wings with cries upon feeling open air.

Meanwhile, the Human Cubes expelled energy that morphed into Nero – Adamantine's human. As he stood before everyone, two more energy clouds burst, revealing two more humans beside him closer to Zeus.

One human looked to be in his thirties, having light skin with a muscular built to his frame. He wore a purple bandana on his head that had a white U with a circle in the middle. He wore a dirty gray tanktop with dirt stains on it, with faded jeans and mud brown boots. His eyes looked serious with a dirt-like birthmark that sat on the left side of his face. He wore brown work gloves with orange trimmings, and the soles were made of leather.

The second human looked much younger, in his late teens, perhaps no younger than they all were. He had a light skin tone as well, but he had a tainted green-blue hair color with black edging. Said edging was spiked and went primarily towards the left side of his face. He had blue-green eyes, with a dark green coat with bright red edging that matched the laces of his dark shoes. He had on dark gray cargo pants that complimented the shroud around his back that was held by a silver medallion.

"You call for me again, Boss?" Nero eyed the group before him, his attention primarily focused on Joey. "Oh...I remember you. You were that barrier kid from last night. You wanted a try with a rematch?"

"You bet! You guys took something important from us! Now we're gonna get it back!" Joey barked. He even made sure to act the part, too. He knew better than to get riled up under pressure, but for the sake of the objective – and rescuing his heroes – he had to get a little fanatical.

Nero chuckled. "That so? Well then...what are ya waiting for?" He spread his arms out, gesturing for Macro and Strept to step up. "We're waiting."

Macro bent his knees, cracking his knuckles. "So we're fighting these kids now, huh?" He frowned, looking serious. "Alright then. Guess it's gotta be done."

"These guys, huh?" Strept eyed them all, his attention drawing towards Dereece. "Say, that guy isn't wearing a coat like his other friends. What's wrong Chubs, that fat keeping ya warm?" He taunted.

Dereece furrowed his brow. "I'm big-boned." He sniped.

Strept cocked a brow, looking more amused than aware. "That so? Then those have gotta be some extra-large bones. Hehe..."

Dereece's left eye twitch. He balled his fists and grunted angrily.

"Stay focused, man." Joey warned him, catching Dereece's temper rising.

Dereece sighed out his nose, redoubling himself. "...right, Captain. Let's do this!"

Zeus's orange eyes glimmered before he opened his mandibles. "Macro, use Mud Wave!"

"Right, here we go!" Macro placed his hands on the ground, a yellow magic seal appearing where the ground was touched. The earth around the mage shuddered slightly before a rush of mud sprouted across the area, rushing everywhere like a geyser pulsating in in all directions.

As the rush of mud was heading their way, Joey turned towards Dereece. "Get in the air!" Dereece nodded and quickly activated his magic. He vertically ran upwards while Joey brought his hands out before him and Duncan.

"Barrier-Make: Hemisphere!"

A large hemisphere of transparent, turquoise glass materialized before them, shielding them from the outside rush drawing closer. The large wave of mud swallowed up the barrier, momentarily drowning it in rich, dark mud. Tranquill, Yanma, and Honchkrow hovered over the battle area unaffected by the attack's more grounded range, ready to counterattack.

"You ready, Yanma?" Dereece asked.

Yanma nodded. "Yeah!"

"Good...then let's go!" He pointed at Macro. "Use Supersonic!" Yanma obeyed, ascending higher into the air and focused on the human that was unleashing the mud wave. Her wings vibrated harsher and exerted a prolonged, high-pitched shriek as distorted soundwaves traveled down onto him.

"Dodge it!" Zeus ordered.

Macro looked up, seeing the distorted waves draw closer. He obeyed and rolled off to the side in his own mud. The forced diversion made him halt his own spell, allowing the Mud Wave to cease and settle into the ground.

Adamantine sneered. "Nero, Air Lob!"

Nero narrowed his eyes before putting his hands closer together, as if he was compressing air itself. Once hardened, he brought a heel forward and threw an invisible ball of air directly at Yanma. Though nothing happened at first, a sudden force smacked Yanma in her face, causing her to stagger backwards.

"Yanma!?" Dereece gasped. 'I didn't even see that attack? Is he using some form of Air Magic that we can't see?!'

He looked back down at Nero, who gazed up at him with a twisted sneer beneath his mask. Even though he couldn't see it physically, Dereece felt insulted.

Zeus jutted a claw up at Dereece. "Knock him down, Strept. Shadow Sling!"

"My pleasure!" Strept eagerly brought his hands forward, making a dark purple magic seal appear. The seal shined brightly as it expelled thin but fast-moving black shadow streamers that snaked towards Dereece.

Using the movements he got from training, Dereece paddled his feet and hands, using them to help him use his Elemental Walk. He shifted his eight towards every corner of his body, evading the thin robes of shadows by the skin of his teeth. He hopped and moved about frantically; one almost struck his face had it not been for him already being leaned backwards by pressing on air at an angle.

Adamantine observed his movements, grunting lowly. "Hmmm, the human has some moves. Still..."

As he readjusted himself, Dereece was caught off guard when a shadow streamed right into his leg, snaring around the ankle. His eyes widened upon realization.

"Got you." Strept teased.

"Tranquill, Air Cutter!" Joey shouted from inside the barrier.

"Honchkrow, use Dark Pulse!" Duncan ordered.

Tranquill flew in an arch and flapped his wings. His wings glowed bright blue before he cawed loudly, unleashing flaps of bright blue air crescents that rained down from above. The many crescents met the shadows still wriggling around, hitting each one and ripping clean through it. One of his blades snapped the streamer holding Dereece in place in two, immediately freeing him.

"I'm free! Thanks a bunch!" Dereece praised Tranquill.

With a clear path, Honchkrow's red eyes sharpened. "You all stay right where you are..." He opened his beak, readying a jumbled mesh of black rings with purple energy outlines. "This'll only hurt a lot!" He lurched forward, unleashing an intense blast of dark beaming rings at the humans below him.

They all saw the intense Dark-type move draw closer, searing through the air blades and shadows alike for a clean shot at Strept specifically.

"Macro, quick! Use Mud Wall!" Zeus ordered.

Macro hastily got up to his feet and slammed his hands down onto the ground. The layer of mud covering the earth suddenly spouted a dense wall of sheer, dark brown mud that acted as a rampart. The Dark Pulse met the thick wall, causing mud to spray in every direction on the one end of the wall. The beam, however, was unable to get through, earning a grunt from Honchkrow.

"Fighting dirty, aren't we? Well two can play at this game."

"Sorry birdie, but nothing gets past my Mud Wall spell!" Macro exclaimed.

"Maybe it can stop that..." The muddy barrier surrounding Joey and Duncan molded, taking the shape of a dragon's head. "But can it stop this?! Barrier-Make: Dragon Ram!"

Joey thrusted the dragon-headed barrier across the mud, paving a trail clean through the dirt layered underneath as well. It shot like a bullet train into the large wall of brown mud, piercing through it with no little resistance from the mud.

"WHAT?!" Macro, Strept, and Nero's eyes widened in shock. The draconic glass battering ram caused them all to pull away, each one falling over onto the muddy ground.

Zeus flew out of the way of the barrier's trajectory, but Adamantine brought up his scaled arms and braced himself. The snout f the head smashed into his diamond-hard scales with so much force that an airwave expelled in all direction. Despite his intense durability, he found himself sliding in the dirt by a few feet. He grunted painfully as he held his ground to the upmost extent. He leaned forward even to try and hold his own.

With a heavy grunt, Adamantine, was finally able to pull through as the barrier faded away. He separated his claws and growled as his whiskers twitched. He glared ahead, visibly annoyed by that strike.

"Tch...that actually pushed me back...?!" His tone of surprise quickly simmered to a collective grunt. "Hmph...not bad. What else can these humans do?"

On the other side of the battlefield, mud drizzled down as Joey was holding a battle stance. He turned towards Duncan. "Now!"

Duncan scoffed, dismissing Joey's demand to make a move. However, he complied nonetheless as he gripped his Elfen Forja. The green lacrima shimmered as wind began concentrating around the two ends.

"Gear Three: Wind!"

With a swing of his staff in a fashion similar to an uppercut, Duncan unleashed an airwave that picked up mud and spatted back at the humans opposing them. They ll had no choice but to cover themselves as the whirlwind blinded them temporarily.

'They're blinded! Now's our chance!' Dereece reached his arm down at them. "Now Yanma, Signal Beam!"

"Right!" Yanma shot past him, catered by her sudden boost of speed by her Speed Boost. She zipped overhead as a bright orb appeared in front of her mouth. She let out a cry as she lurched forward, firing a bright beam with pixilated energy around it. The beam seared through the air and arched in front of the three guys, causing a chain of explosions and mud to splatter everything.

"Alright...here I go!" Dereece took a deep breath and braced himself. "GYAAAAAH!" He let out a loud cry as he angled himself and ran down towards Nero. Thanks to gravity in his favor, he picked up greater momentum and closed the gap.

Nero barely recovered from the attack when he noticed Dereece running to him straight out if the sky.

"Use Solid Screen!" Adamantine ordered.

Nero sneered before he placed his hands in front of himself. A bright light shined briefly before fading.

"HRAAAH~!" Dereece ran into Nero as hard s he could...until he slammed into something that felt like a wall. His body suffered an intense recoil as he felt his arm and head throb with a momentary numbness. He only caught himself at the last second and staggered into the mud.

'GAH! What the...? It felt like I just ran into an invisible wall just now!'

Adamantine sneered. "An interesting magic you have...but it matters not. Not against my Nero and his Solidification Magic." He explained. "With it, he can solidify anything he desires, even air itself." He looked towards the ground. "Nero, solidify the mud!"

"Of course, Master!" Without haste, Nero stretched his digits and kneeled towards the ground. He slammed his hands into the muddy ground, creating a brief light. Slowly, a wave of solid mud formed, smoothing over the surface of the liquid mud.

"Oiii...what the-!?" Before Dereece could realize it, the muddy ground around him suddenly froze up. A smooth, brown surface took over where he stood. The wet mud his feet stood on was also solidified, locking him in place. "Oh no, that's not good..."

Adamantine glanced at Zeus. "Do it."

Zeus nodded. "Now, Strept, use Shadow Spikes!"

"Let's see how well these puncture you, fatty!" Strept arrogantly taunted as he pressed his hands on the earth beneath. Another dark magic seal appeared beneath him before the ground started cracking apart. Spikes of pure shadows pierced through the ground. They spread in Dereece's direction, much to the horror spreading across his face.

"Honchkrow, use Night Slash!" Duncan shouted.

Honchkrow spread his wings, which shined a bright purple. He flapped once before gliding down across the smoothed mud past Dereece, swiping his wing across and shattering the spikes. The shadowy crevices left behind faded away as Honchkrow stayed in front of Dereece.

"Honchkrow...thanks a lot!" Dereece praised.

Honchkrow looked back at him, only to raise his head with a scoff. "Hmph!"

"Uhhh...right."

Joey squinted. 'Time to get creative!' He swung his arm around, taking a leap into the air. "Barrier-Make: Board!" He manifested a transparent turquoise barrier beneath him. He planted his feet on it and bent his knees.

"Tranquill, use Gust!"

"Okay~!" Tranquill chirped merrily. He flapped higher above Joey as his wings glowed bright blue again. He flapped furiously, creating a powerful windstorm behind Joey that pushed him forward. The makeshift board he rode slid across the smoothed mud, bumping every so often into rogue clumps that otherwise picked Joey up.

Nero's eyes widened. "He used his Pokémon's moves as a tailwind?!"

Joey kept a straight course right past Dereece. He reached his arm forward onto the edge of his barrier, while extending his other arm outwards. "Dereece!"

Dereece glanced over his shoulder, seeing Joey barreling right his way. He saw his outstretched arm and immediately understood. A more confident expression shined on him as he reached his arm out.

Joey slid closer until their hands finally clasped together. The board's momentum kept going, managing to pry Dereece from his entrapment in the mud. Flakes of dry mud scattered behind him as he instantly activated his magic, holding firm to the air at a vertical angle. He pulled Joey around as the leader kept hold of his barrier board. With him swinging around, he suddenly kicked the barrier, sending it at Strept with the force of the wind behind.

"What the-?!" Strept was caught off guard when the barrier drew closer. With no time to respond to a command, the barrier smacked into his body, immediately grounding him. With the surface hardened as well, the slam onto his back was twice as panful. He gawked in agonizing pain.

"That's for calling my buddy fat, bozo!" Joey sniped.

Nero raised a brow. "Interesting..."

Adamantine remained silent. He seemed intensely focused on the subject ahead of him.

Duncan brought his staff around, making the gears shift as the blue lacrima shimmered brightly. The air around the two ends liquified and was manipulated.

"Gear Four: Water!"

He spun his staff overhead, twirling as he charged ahead for his opponents afoot. He jumped into the air above Macro, readying to bring down the one end with pressurized water built up.

Zeus squinted. "Mud Clone, now!"

Macro remained quiet as the shadows of the oncoming wake of water was mere inches from his scalp. Time slowed down for a brief instance before the bulbous end of Duncan's staff smashed into the head. However, rather than feeling bone and cartilage, it felt soft...like mud.

The swing followed through, severing the entire upper body in a splash of mud. It took Duncan a second to register what just happened and dropped his feet onto the ground. He looked down as he watched the remainder of the body disintegrate into mud at his feet.

'He used mud as a clone...' Duncan glanced behind his shoulder. He noticed a glob of mud slowly rising from the ground, with the upper body completely intact with a sneering Macro.

"What's wrong there, youngster? You're looking rather shaken." He taunted.

Duncan squinted. He pivoted and swung his staff vertically, but ended up bisecting the rising mud instead. The mud depreciated back down into the ground. He looked around, realizing that mud clones were rising up all around him and forming makeshift humanoid clones.

'Where's the real one?'

Strept was still reeling from the last attack, but he was able to gather his bearing and sit up in time for Zeus to call to him. "Now, Strept! Use Shadow Sling!"

Instead of throwing a remark at Duncan, he grunted snobbishly. A dark magic seal appeared in front of his hands that directed at him and unleashed thin streams of dark shadows.

"Hey! Heads up!" Honchkrow warned from below.

With Duncan distracted by the clones surrounding him, he was taken by surprise when one of the clones splattered to pieces as multiple shadows lunged through. The mud forced Duncan to cover himself, leaving him open to the shadows snaring his forearms, waist, and finally forehead.

'Crap...that mud blindsided me!'

Zeus raised his mandibles, separating them further. "Macro! Mud Geyser!"

All the clones of mud reached out towards Duncan, who was still unable to bring himself to get free. A yellow magic seal appeared beneath him that shuddered madly. His eyes widened before a massive pulse of mud shot up from below, engulfing him in a pressurized, murky torrent that sent him soaring.

"GRAAAAH~!" Duncan cried out as the force of the mud picked him off the ground, falling close towards his teammates.

"Duncan!" Joey hastily shot an arm out. "Barrier-Make: Bowl!" He manifested a bowl made of his barrier. The spell was placed where Duncan was falling and he ended up hitting the insides of the bowl. Thanks to the physiology of the bowl, the entire radius wobbled and rotated, allowing Duncan to spin inside until he simmered to a halt.

Joey dispelled the barrier, allowing the dirtied Duncan to lay close by.

Adamantine took the opportunity to attack. "Nero, Air Lob!"

Joey gasped, realizing he was open. Rather than summon another barrier, he deliberately put up his forearms as Nero lobbed a ball of solidified air. The force was so intense that it caused him to stammer backwards with a grunt.

As he was recovering, Tranquill flew in past him, his yellow eyes having an intense focus in them. "Nobody hurts Master Joey on my watch and gets away with it!"

Joey recovered enough to give a command. "Tranquill, use Steel Wing!"

"Yanma, quick! Quick Attack!" Dereece insisted.

Yanma suddenly shot like a speeding bullet into Nero, while Tranquill glided across the ground with his wings glowing a metallic metal. They both bolted into him as he stood readily in wait.

Adamantine sneered. "They never learn...Solid Screen!"

Nero put his hands out, emitting a shine before solidifying the air into an invisible wall that Tranquill and Yanma struck. Both Pokémon kept up the force of their attacks in an attempt to break through them. However, as bold as their attempts were, they were deflected and pulled back into the air wincing.

"It's so solid!" Dereece gasped. He stared intently at Nero as his eyes slowly darted into his direction. "...almost as solid as Captain Joey's barriers..."

Adamantine growled. "Air Lob!"

With a pivot, Nero threw and ball of solid air directly at Dereece. The impact was unforeseen as he felt a force hit him square in the face like a baseball. The impact immediately grounded him right besides Joey.

"Dereece!" Before Joey could counter, another invisible ball of solid air struck his side, causing him to momentarily see black. He gradually fell over, but caught himself on a knee as he winced in pain.

'Crap, even though this is part of the plan...I didn't think their spells had this much strength in them.' He slowly looked over his shoulder, seeing the three humans waiting their commands. 'They look just like ordinary mages, but they're strong...'

Adamantine stepped forward, sneering. "Hmph! Well...that wasn't too big of a fuss. But I will admit, I can see the potential in these humans...especially the one that makes the barriers. He'll be useful." He reached back, pulling out three Human Cubes.

Upon seeing the cubes with their own eyes, The Freaks tensed up. They knew what was coming their way next...and they were expecting it.

'That's it! He's gonna capture us...just like Joey wanted.' Dereece gulped. 'I hope this works...'

Duncan squinted harshly. He wanted to fight back, but he noticed the look Joey gave him telling him otherwise. In spite of his own pride, he clutched his Elfen Forja and chose to relent. He looked up at Honchkrow, who was flying high above giving him an expectant look – to which was reciprocated.

'This is it...the moment of truth.' Joey glanced up at Tranquill, seeing him fly overhead in circles. 'Tranquill, whatever happens next...make sure you find me. I'm counting on you.'

Adamantine snarled before he threw the capsules with all his might. They lobbed at The Freaks and made contact with their bodies. All three clicked opened at the same time and exposed the insides to them.

Dereece and Duncan turned into energy that was being sucked inside. As Joey was transforming and his conscience was fading, he was able to make out some words out loud. "Tranquill..."

Tranquill gasped. "Master Joey...?"

"You know...what to do~..." His tone grew weaker as his body faded into energy that was drawn into the cube. It closed and sealed tightly in the smoothed mud. Without so much as even a shudder, the three cubes sat in sealed silence.

Adamantine walked closer, kneeling to pick up his three new humans in his tiny claws with another scoff. "This bunch might be useful to me..."

Zeus glided a little closer, giving Adamantine a crude glare. "You know, you could have saved some for me. My humans pulled their weight, you know."

Adamantine looked back, shooting a stern glare. "What of it? Unlike you, I just don't capture random mages on the spot. I actually prefer quality." He turned away, disinterested. "It matters not now. We've expended much of our Human Cubes we were supplied with. We must return to restock and settle in our newest captures."

Zeus bowed his head. "Fine."

They both turned towards their humans, presenting their capsules. "Return!"

Nero, Strept, and Macro all converted into energy, returning to their cubes without a word otherwise. The cubes were placed back in their holders around the Golisopod and Vikavolt before the former pulled out a lacrima and spoke into it.

"What about them?" Zeus eyed the flying Pokémon above...especially the Yanma glaring down at him. Their eyes met for an instant.

"Leave them. They don't serve any purpose to us. They choose to listen to the humans, they are not welcome to our promised land." Adamantine retorted. "Come."

Zeus kept his eyes locked on Yanma and vice versa until he teleported away on the spot, along with Adamantine. With them gone, that left Honchkrow, Yanma, and Tranquill finally to themselves in the evidence that was their battle.

"Well...guess that happened." Honchkrow scoffed, looking unfazed by the disappearance of his trainer.

Yanma tilted her head, still looking disturbingly focused for some reason. The figment that was Vikavolt before left her with a tingly sensation that flowed through her body.

"Hey. What you spacing out for?"

"H-huh?" Yanma cringed. She turned her head towards Honchkrow, looking partially stunned. "Oh...I don't know."

Honchkrow didn't look convinced, but he didn't have enough care to dawdle on the subject. He turned his attention over towards Tranquill instead. "Alright small fry, guess you're up."

"Me?" Tranquill blinked.

"Yeah, you. We're supposed to follow you, so...get to it."

Tranquill flapped in place as the realization dawned upon him. It was slow-going, but eventually, he realized what had just happened. His eyes widened as Joey's final words echoed in his head.

"You know...what to do~..."

As if by a stroke of lightning, Tranquill jolted in the air. "Master Joey!" He turned left, then right, then left again. He suddenly lifted his head as his pupils seemed intently focused on something in the distance. "I'M COMING, MASTER JOEY~!" With a deep sense of urgency, Tranquill sped off as though his life depended on it, leaving Honchkrow and Yanma behind as they watched her zoom away in her urgency. It didn't take long for the two to start following her lead and fly onwards to keep up with his momentum.

With the clearing finally cleared of all lifeforms, there was a subtle movement where the underbrush started. Mests's head popped out of the hiding spot and saw the three take flight towards a particular direction.

'That direction...no doubt about it, they're heading southwest.' He reached back and pulled out a small compass. He looked at it to double check the directions they followed Tranquill. 'That's the direction where the island of Rolica is. Looks like Joey was onto something about this so-called 'insurance policy'.'

From his pocket, a dim light flickered. "Mest, can you hear me?"

Mest reached back, pulling out the Communication Lacrima he had hidden away. The screen showed Laxus as he was waiting for an update. "Yeah, I'm still here."

"What's the status with The Freaks?"

"Looks like they took the bait. Joey strapped himself a Communication Lacrima on hand before we came all the way out here." He turned towards the direction that Tranquill and the others flew off in. "And it looks like they're heading southwest."

"I see...let's just hope he's right and this leads us to Nic and Erza. I just got an update from the team in Hargeon. They're readying a ship now. You should head there next and prepare to set sail."

"Right, I'll be right over." Mest ended the communication and stashed the Communication Lacrima away. He had a serious gaze fixed on the horizon as he braced himself. 'Hang on, guys. One way or another...we're coming to get you.'

In an instant, he teleported from his post.

---

Meanwhile, in another forest hundreds of miles far off to the northeast of Fiore, there were two sets of footsteps that trekked beneath the cover of the trees. It was hard to make out with how well shrouded they were, but the figures' numbers were no more than two.

The two sets of feet continued in one direction until they came to a halt. The two figures turned their heads, scanning their surroundings with discerning glares.

"You sure this was the place?" The taller figure noted. It sounded feminine and mature, if not partially sultry.

"Yeah, I'm positive. This was where all the reports say that they last saw them." Another woman answered, sounding younger. She looked around once more, showing worry. "But...everything looks the same. Don't tell me that we've been going in a big circle this whole time."

The older woman lifted her head, looking at the branches and fauna surrounding them. "No...that can't be the case. If we did, we would have recognized our surroundings by this point. We're close."

The two continued their way through the forest, remaining studious and quiet. When they finally breached sunlight, they both stepped out into the open, revealing themselves to be none other than Ultear and Meredy. The duo retained their Crime Sorciere robes that concealed them of suspicion, though they lacked in any form of logos. They continued walking as they kept their gazes forward.

"So then...you really think they all went in this direction?" Meredy wondered.

"That's what many eyewitnesses said. If we're fortunate, we'll at least have a clue of where all those Pokémon headed off to. I never imagined such an exodus could happen in one area such as this before..." Ultear trailed off as she furrowed her brow.

"Ultear?" Meredy grew worried for her.

She continued walking until she saw a breach in the forest line up ahead. "There!" She and Meredy suddenly broke into a dash on the spot. They both brushed aside branches that stood in their way, and jumped over a stump. They followed through and found themselves closer to the breaching light by the second.

Finally, when they reached the end...they came to a screeching halt before their feet took them over the edge. Literally.

Meredy's eyes shrank in utter shock. "Wait...what the...?!"

Ultear didn't have the words. She stood in shock and disbelief as they were mere feet away from the ledge that poured into a massive gorge that seemingly stretched for miles across. It looked equally as deep too, without any sight of there being a bottom. Ultear and Meredy peered into its depths with concerned looks, if disbelief wasn't enough to describe how they felt right now.

"A gorge...?" Ultear murmured.

"Was there a big earthquake that happened around here recently?" Meredy wondered. "How did something this big out here not get landmarked sooner?"

Ultear squinted. She looked uncertain herself, but she didn't say anything aloud. She was just as surprised as Meredy, if not more. But she remained astute and collective as she scanned the long-scale trench. "...well, this certainly makes things more complicated for us." She remarked.

"What do we do now? The trail goes in this direction. Should we turn back?" Meredy wondered.

Before Ultear could give a coherent response, something from the corner of her eye immediately grabbed her attention. Instinctively, she rushed for Meredy. "Watch out!" She shoved Meredy out of the way in time before a weak blast of fire trailed between them. Ultear backed way to avoid the flames, whereas a stunned Meredy was quick to get to her feet.

"What was that?!" Meredy turned towards the treeline, eyes wide as she saw rustling from the underbrush.

The leaves and branches parted, revealing many humans, ranging from teens to various ages in adulthood. Some looked shabbier than others, but they all glared at Ultear and Meredy like they committed a grave crime on their behalf. However, the striking resemblance they all had in common were the collars strapped around their necks.

"An ambush!" Meredy snapped.

Ultear stepped forward, looking focused. "Meredy, quick! On your guard!"

"Right!" She spread her legs, taking a battling stance against the many mages.

A roguish man that looked to be in his thirties pointed forward at them. "Attack!" In an instant, the mages all fired magic spells on command. The spells in general ranged from lightning, to water, to even shredding leaves themselves. They all closed in on Ultear and Meredy as neither one moved from their position.

With a jut of her hand, Ultear glared at the oncoming spells and used her Arc of Time. Her eyes glowed as the spells heading her way all either withered, evaporated, or rusted to decay before they made contact with her.

"What?! No way!" A random woman mage shouted.

Meredy jumped in, her arms moving in a large motion and creating blue ethereal swords around her image. "Maguilty Sodom!" With a swipe of her arm, she directed the energy blades into the multiple mages opposing them. The blades flew past them, landing marks on a number of them that downed them in almost an instant.

Ultear held up an orb, which shined with her Magic Power. "Now...Parallel Worlds!" Her orb shined brightly, before recreating multiple other ones that floated in the air around her. They hovered over the mages gathered that were taken back by the sudden multiplication technique.

"Did they just multiply!?" Another mage snapped. He was so shocked that he didn't see Ultear's eyes glow again.

"Flash Forward!"

The orbs shined bright purple, and all at once, they shot down into the multitude before them. They moved so fast that they left behind afterimages that made them look continual. The hundreds of orbs pelted down on the remaining numbers with no direct target. Anyone who stood up or was conscious ended up being struck down by the projectiles that were too fast for them to handle.

After the barrage finally let up, the two women watched as the dust cleared away. Numerous branches were broken in the process, but the mages that laid unconscious beneath them looked to be in even worse shape. What's more, some looked outright distraught and fatigued by the course of the attack.

"What's going on here!? Where did all these people come from!?" Meredy worried.

"I'm not sure..." Ultear scoped all of them with a furrowed brow. "Come on! We better move!"

"Right!"

With the mages unconscious, the two used the small gap to escape alongside the gorge. They wanted to make sure they didn't escape back into the wilderness while they were still on sight. They took another opening back into the woods, moving quickly and evasively.

"You think that was a trap back there!?" Meredy breathed, trying to keep up with Ultear.

"It has to be! And those people...they have to be what the reports also said as well..."

Meredy looked even more concerned than before. "This is bad! We've gotta get out of here!" This time, she was the one who acted quickly and pulled back in time. She narrowly avoided the ground that suddenly liquified into hot mush. "Gah!"

Ultear gasped. She looked down at her feet, realizing the liquid ground was starting to swallow her up. Using her Arc of Time, she managed to solidify the ground to a forwarded, solid state that she was able to stand on. She and Meredy adjusted their footing and hastily looked around for the attacker.

"W-where did that come from!?" Meredy worried.

Ultear looked at the ground, trying to figure that out as well. "Wait...the ground softened...?" Her eyes gradually widened upon realization. "Don't tell me...!"

The bushes nearby parted, revealing a tall figure that caught their attention. Their pupils shrank as they were almost certain at the traits that the man had. Their shock gradually turned to horror when they realized who it was.

"R-Richard?!" Meredy gasped.

Richard stood in place, a morose expression on his face as he had an Organic Link collar clipped around his neck. He strained ever so much, but he looked like he couldn't fight it. "M-my friends...my apologies..." He quipped.

Suddenly, all around them, Human Cubes were lobbed above their heads. Ultear and Meredy looked up in horror as they all expelled energy that manifested into three other recognizable humans that had collars around their necks. The two were completely speechless as horror filled their expressions.

No words came out of their mouths as the four figures took their shapes. Standing before them was none other than her former teammates and allies, Midnight; accompanied by none other than Erik and Sawyer. Their formerly stale looks turned to shock when they recognized the two women before them.

"No...it can't be..."

Midnight looked at them with sympathy. "You two...this is troublesome." He sounded half-hearted, but at the same time remorseful for what was about to happen.

"Ultear! Meredy!" Erik gasped.

Meredy paneled around, recognizing much of their faces. "Erik! Sawyer! Macbeth! Richard!" She paused, her face paling in horror. "You guys...what are you doing here?"

Before they could answer, they heard footsteps and shifting from all around. The two glanced around to find their corners flanked by an Arbok, along with a Dodrio, Zoroark, and finally a Hippowdon. The four Pokémon glared down the two women with deathly intent in their eyes, much to their growing chagrin. While they weren't wearing clothes, they had pouches and satchels beside them to carry Human Cubes clustered inside.

Ultear backpedaled in horror. 'This is worse than I could even imagine...!'

"What's going on here!?" Meredy shouted.

The Zoroak sneered at them, reaching a claw out to direct at them. "Use Invisible Scythe! Now!"

Macbeth failed to acknowledge the command out of his own conscience. He didn't want to hurt his friends. He just gave them hesitant stares.

Zoroark squinted. "I said...use Invisible Scythe!" Zoroark clutched the Human Cube tightly, making the crystal on its front shine.

The jewel on the collar belonging to Macbeth suddenly went red, producing a painful shock that made him body twitch violently on the spot. He grunted harshly at the feeling of his nerves convulsing from within his body. The pain he felt was enough to make him almost black out.

"Macbeth!" Meredy cried out as she reached out to him, but Ultear held her back for their own protection.

Macbeth groaned as the shock in his body continued. It only lessened when he started moving his right arm up like his master commanded him to. "You both...run..."

Their eyes shrank in realization. With a swipe of his arm, Macbeth unleashed invisible blade of deflected air directly at them. The area where they stood reduced to bits and pieces as tree branches chopped into uneven bits. The landscape had dense gashes as dust erupted, spewing out Ultear and Meredy as they slid away.

Arbok hissed at them. "Ussse Poissson Dragon'sss Ssscalesss!"

Erik grunted, knowing he had to learn from Macbeth's painful example. He reached his arms out, crimson scales with milky white undersides coating his skin. He gnashed his teeth as he created a crimson magic seal. "You both better start moving while you can!" His warning came in time just before he unleashed a barrage of scales made of black and red poison at them.

Ultear made quick work in pivoting on her heel and standing upright. She reached her arm out with the orb glowing, activating her magic. The poisonous scales heading her way dissolved in midair when they got within a certain range, enabling a safe perimeter for her and Meredy to avoid the projected Dragon Slayer spell.

"Ultear!" Meredy quipped,

Ultear was concentrating harshly, using her magic for as long as possible. However, Erik's barrage made it hard for her to attack otherwise. "Meredy, listen to me! You need to get out of here!"

Her eyes shrank at her request. "Wait...and leave you behind?!"

"We don't have a choice! The situation's much more drastic than it was before! The best that we can do now is regroup! Hurry, I can't hold them off forever!"

"But...I can't just leave you!"

"I'm not arguing with you! Get going! NOW!"

"But-!"

"NOW!"

Her tone clearly indicated her impatience on the subject. Meredy didn't want to leave her like this. It broke her heart having to, but she also knew that Ultear was right about the predicament they were in. She gathered her bearings and clutched her fists tightly.

"...just promise me you'll be okay!"

"I'll be right behind you! Now go!"

With a silent nod, Meredy held her tongue and turned away from the scene. She jumped over a fallen log and darted away.

"She's getting away." Hippowdon studiously observed.

"Heh, not for long!" The Dodrio chirped in unison. All three heads turned towards Sawyer. "Use High Side!"

Sawyer grunted. He hesitated, but realized that the collar would electrocute him any second if he wasn't fast enough. Even though he didn't want to, he reached his arm out as a bright blue-green magic seal appeared. Large, robust tires appeared out of nowhere as he directed the multitude at Meredy as she attempted to flee.

'She's not fast enough!'

Ultear narrowed her eyes as she shot her arm forward. "Luminous Minutes!"

As the tires closed in, the one orb that she held suddenly multiplied and glowed. Each orb struck a tire, producing a bright explosion that momentarily halted everyone's advances. They all covered up as Meredy used the gap to jump out of sight away from them all.

"Use Motor!" Dodrio ordered.

With the distraction of the two magics subsiding, Sawyer suddenly appeared in front of Ultear, turning upside-down and rotating his legs. With his Slow Magic making him appear fast, Ultear was unable to provide a suitable blockade in time when the legs swept across her. She was thrown backwards onto her back, thudding before hastily flipping over and spreading her heels.

Sawyer spread his heels, looking at her morbidly. "Sorry, Ultear...didn't mean to hit you that hard."

Ultear grunted as she got upright. She looked all around to find her four former teammates regrouping and cutting off her corners once more. They all had serious looks on their faces as they knew they had to fight, no matter how much they didn't want to.

Ultear squinted, giving them all cold stares. "What's wrong with all of you!? Why are you following their orders!?" she yelled.

"Geez, not so loud, y'know." Erik grunted. "You forget my hearing?"

Ultear shot him a look. "Then if you heard that, you should also hear yourself. You're taking orders so blindly. Tell me, what happened to you?"

"Listen...it's not like we have any choice." Sawyer pleaded. "If we don't-!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Zoroark's sudden yell made the former Crime Sorciere members fall silent. He shot Ultear a look. "You've caused a lot of trouble for us letting that human get away. But I won't worry too much. She won't get far...not with what we have up our sleeves?"

"What's that supposed to-!?" She was caught off guard when something fast struck her in the back. An explosion of ghastly energy imploded, causing her to buffer and fall to a knee. She grunted in pain and felt a blue aura envelop her body, of which indicated a stat reduction.

A shadow drifted behind, snickering with glee. "What's wrong there, Ultear? A little too preoccupied maybe?"

Ultear's ears twitched at the familiar high pitch. Her pupils shrank as she feared to turn around, but she chose to do so for the sake of her own sanity. Sure enough, her eyes glazed with profound shock when she was beneath a dark blue-green ghost with hair follicles flowing back with purple ends, like wisps. Her large red eyes also had red pupils that matched the beads around her neck. She gave her an ominous smirk that did little to console her.

"Misdreavus..." Ultear breathed, her skin paling in disbelief. 'So then...this is where she ended up fleeing to!'

Misdreavus hummed as she looked at her former trainer. "Aw, what's the matter? You don't look happy to see me? Did I surprise you last time when I broke my Dusk Ball? Is that why~?" She chimed merrily. "Don't worry, I have something even better...for you." Her follicles unfolded, presenting a Human Cube that she held out in Ultear's direction.

'When did she-?!'

"Now...you wanna be a good human and get in the cube, or you wanna play around a little? Either way, I have all the time in the world~. Heehee..."

The four humans held their arms out, ready to activate their magics on command. Ultear gnashed her teeth as she glared at her Misdreavus with deep dire. 'Meredy, please! You better run faster!'

---

Meredy ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She couldn't afford to slow down – not even for a split second! Her labored breathing was tied well with the hitches in her throat as she was holding back her tears. She didn't want to leave Ultear behind, but the circumstances didn't allow for them to give the enemy the luxury of killing two birds with one stone. If being a part of Crime Sorciere taught her anything, it's that she had to hide well from anything and anyone the best she could. No matter what, she mustn't look back...less she end up in the fodder.

'Ultear...please be okay.' She silently pleaded for her safety. She hopped over another fallen log and continued sprinting. 'I have to hurry! I have to find cover fast-!' She broke her train of thought when a sudden bright, condensed beam of electricity shot from above, interjecting between her and the grass ahead. She immediately halted and jumped away to a safer distance.

"Heeheeheehee..." A high-pitched chuckle came from above. Meredy looked above, seeing something small and pink with a round body float in the air like a balloon.

The look on her face only showed a deeper sense of horror. "No...no, it can't be..." She was so shocked that she didn't have the words. "J-Jigglypuff?!"

Jigglypuff remained inflated as she smiled evilly. She muffled chuckles so as to avoid losing any air from her body. She hovered above her and kicked her tint feet, propelling her closer towards her.

Meredy didn't get any warning before Jigglypuff opened her mouth, expelling air as well as a high-pitched shout with beaming pink hearts pulsating in a tunnel that swallowed Meredy. She cupped her ears and winced as the Disarming Voice was successful in landing an ever-accurate blow.

"Gnnnngh...why...why are you...attacking me?!" She quipped.

Jigglypuff finally let up on her attack, looking at Meredy like it was obvious. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I thought that was how it usually went!"

She blinked, retaining a high guard. "How what went?"

Her large eyes blinked from genuine curiosity. "What else? You humans have us weaken Pokémon so you can catch them. Isn't that the same for humans, too?"

Meredy was stunned for the umpteenth time. She looked at Jigglypuff as though she were a foreign object, but with extreme caution. "Wait, you're saying..." Her eyes widened upon the epiphany. "So then...that's what's been happening around here!?"

Jigglypuff smiled merrily, as though it was the best news she heard all day. "Maybe~! You wanna find out for yourself?" She reached for behind her back, presenting a Human Cube. "Tada! Now, how's about we test this bad boy out, okay?"

Jolting upright, Meredy clutched her fists and braced herself. Jigglypuff threw the cube with gusto at her, but she created an ethereal blade and sent it into the cube, shattering it to bits. The blade continued its path, stabbing the tree behind Jigglypuff and startling her. With the distraction, Meredy ducked into the underbrush to hide away from her. When Jigglypuff ceased her flinching, she looked around for her.

"Oh Meredy~, where did you go~?" She sang endearingly. "Come on...I just wanna have a little fun. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

Meredy narrowed her eyes within the underbrush. She observed quietly without giving away her position.

"Come on, how do you think I'll be looked at if I don't have a human? A lot of us want a little attention too, y'know!"

She had no idea what she was saying, but she knew it wasn't something she needed to be part of. She would have to snap Jigglypuff back to her senses another time. She knew that a confrontation like this wouldn't end well with her already under fire. She slowly started creeping away, making sure to stay as quiet as possible.

"Hmmm...where, oh where is my Meredy?" Jigglypuff sang. "How to get her out and get me some nice hot 'mons by my side...?" Her eyes widened at a realization. "Oh, I know!" She took in a deep breath, inflating her small balloon body with air.

"Disarming Voice!"

A loud cry echoed through the wilderness, emitting shockwaves of hot pink hearts overhead. The attacks ran through the air and some of the hearts funneled their way into the underbrush. Meredy's eyes widened before she covered up, taking the blast that exerted a small burst of energy behind Jigglypuff.

"Aw, there you are~!"

Unable to hide, Meredy resorted to turning away and running. She hopped over the foliage and hurried away to an area close by that was a lot more open. She moved as fast as she could away from Jigglypuff as the Balloon Pokémon inflated herself and followed her lead.

'Now I think I'm starting to get it...that has to be it! That's how the people in this area have been...been...' Meredy found her thoughts trailing off as she heard a soothing voice, along with a sound lullaby that made her thoughts hazy. 'What's...what's going on...?'

As she was starting to slow down, Jigglypuff continued to Sing, using her enchanted voice and lullaby that echoed through the open air. Meredy found her strides gradually faltering until she was barely able to get her body to listen to her anymore. Her strength gradually declined until she could barely keep her eyes open.

'I...I can't move anymore. My body...is falling asleep...' Meredy's vision blurred as the soothing melody was pulling her further way from reality. 'I have...to get out of here...how...'

As soon as she stopped moving, Jigglypuff stopped her melody and let out a sigh. "Ah~, that was a nice cleanse of the pipes! Now then!" She waddled across the ground, preparing another Human Cube in the process. She smiled with glee. "Let's make this happen, shall we?"

Meredy barely uttered a moan. She was so hazed by the lullaby echoing in her head that she was barely even half-awake. As she saw was a blink blur holding up something blue dangerously close to her face...

Suddenly, a speeding sphere of dark blue aura with a dark outline shot into the cube, shattering it to pieces. A small explosion alarmed Jigglypuff, shooting her away with a cry of pain. She briefly inflated, but only to help her catch herself, literally.

"Who did that?!" she snapped.

Suddenly, a tornado of swirling green leaves spun directly at her. The cyclone of shredding foliage was able to catch her. With no way to escape due to being so light and in the air, Jigglypuff cried out as she was spun around madly. The wind easily followed out her cries as she was swayed about.

"Now...Iron Tail!"

With swiftness and grace, a blue and black blur ran past Meredy as she was unable to make out anything. The tail end shined a metallic gray energy and swung directly into the tornado, landing a clean hit on Jigglypuff's face. The impact had enough strength to where she deflated towards the ground in a daze.

She laid in place, her eyes brimming with swirls to indicate her unconscious state.

'W-what...what's happening...?' Meredy barely made it out with her fading vision, but she saw black paws and tiny cream-colored feet walk up to her. She barely moved her head to see two blurred figures standing in front of her. 'Who are you...? Please...help...'

Finally unable to bring herself, Meredy's conscience finally gave in. Her eyes closed shut as she laid passed out in the middle of the forest floor. The last thing that she processed...were the familiar shades of blue hair that the two figures had.

Standing before her, the creature with paws kneeled before her. He placed a paw on her shoulder as his aura feelers sensed what was wrong with her. When his red eyes reopened, he looked resolute. "She's well. She only fell asleep."

The figures before her were none other than a Lucario, accompanied by a Servine. The two didn't have any clothing on because they had no need for them...not like their trainers that stood close by. They backed away as the two figures stepped closer, revealing themselves in the light.

They were none other than Jellal and Bellona. The two hovered over the sleeping Meredy as they observed everything around them.

"Well now...it would seem that we have found more than what we had bargained for here, wouldn't you say?" Bellona chimed.

Jellal deeply frowned, gazing down at Meredy. "...yes, a hardy understatement."

The large forest fell silent as a harsh wind picked up, carrying thinned leaves off their stems into the open air.

---

Well, once again, this was longer than I expected it to be, but I hope that the efforts were worth it! XD