The Crest of a Master

by PizzaSpino

When the Digital World is in peril it doesn't just turn to a regular group of kids. It turns to a group of kids raised in a world centralized around raising and battling monsters! Join Ash and Agumon as they make new friends, battle an army of monsters, and hopefully save both of their worlds from an ancient evil.

20. Kyubimon Goes Ablaze

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction written by someone who enjoys creature collector franchises. Pokémon is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, Creatures Inc. and Satoshi Tajiri. Digimon is owned by Bandai, WiZ, Toei Animation, and Akiyoshi Hongo. If you want to support the official releases, worry not. Lord knows there is plenty of merchandise to choose from.

Listening to as I order some drinks: Red Helmet Extermination (Okami)

The Crest of a Master Chapter 20: Kyubimon Goes Ablaze

Serena

While Ash chased down the information broker, Serena was busy helping Renamon to her feet. The girl took one of the fox's arms and slung it across her shoulder to help the taller Digimon stand. Remembering Labramon's healing abilities, Serena suggested the two find the nurses before deciding to either chase Broker or find out how Misty, Brock, and their teams were holding up.

For her part, Renamon was very quiet. Serena wasn't certain if the fox was thinking over what to do next or feeling shame from being defeated by another, smugger, member of her species. The two walked in silence, or limped in Renamon's case, for a while before they heard a howl.

"That's Gaomon's call for help," Renamon noted, ears perked.

Serena breathed a sigh of relief. "That means they're putting the plan into action."

"Plan?" Renamon asked turning her gaze over to Serena.

"While you were fighting Broker Ash, Gaomon, and I gathered as many uninjured classmates as we could to set up a trap," Serena explained, her eyes still looking off in the direction of Gaomon's howl. "Shoemon is using her sewing skills to create a giant web that everyone else is going to try and get Broker to run into."

"And you think this plan will work?" Renamon studied Serena closely.

"I'm not sure," Serena admitted. "This was all kind of last minute, so it was kind of a rush job. I just thought that since Broker was able to get the upper hand by making that classroom trap, we could get the upper hand on him by making our own trap."

"And you came up with this by yourself?" Renamon continued to watch Serena.

"Not really. I came up with the initial idea to use Shoemon's strings. Ash, Gaomon, and everyone else helped flesh everything else out," Serena shrugged. "Ash is also the one who's enacting the plan because he's better at spur of the moment stuff then I am."

Serena finally looked back at Renamon to see the fox starring at her with more intensity than she had seen from her partner. "Uh, we were going to include you in the plan but then you were hurt so," Serena started to apologize.

Renamon cut her off. "Do you mean to tell me that you are not only capable of strategizing, but of recognizing skills and delegating jobs accordingly?"

"I, maybe?" despite holding onto Renamon, Serena ducked away slightly.

"Where were these abilities?" Renamon's eyes narrowed. "Ever since you've arrived you've done nothing by fool around."

Something in Serena snapped. Despite how intimidated she felt by Renamon's glare, Serena returned the expression. "Excuse me? I have NOT just been fooling around since I've got here!"

Renamon released a sharp breath of air. The closest thing Serena heard to her laughing. "I am I to assume that baking sweets and dancing around on a stage is supposed to help us battle the Forces of Chaos? Is your plan to get them to lay down their arms when they see the pretty scarfs you knitted for them?"

"No. My plan was to get know you!" Serena practically shouted. "I kept trying to invite you to bake with me and to work on some sewing projects together because I thought it would be a good way to talk and get to know you. Because, you know, you're my partner. The Digimon this stupid device shackled me to!"

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't know you were off daydreaming and gossiping for my benefit. Silly me," Renamon snapped back.

"You could have joined in anytime you wanted to! But no, you just want to stand around and glare at anyone who isn't perfect," Serena argued back. As she spoke, her voice continued to rise. "You know what? Maybe I did play around a bit. Maybe some of it was for me. But can you blame me? I didn't ask to be your partner! I didn't ask to be separated from my family and friends. AND I DIDN'T ASK TO BE PART OF YOUR STUPID WAR!"

"NEITHER DID I!" Renamon roared back.

The two stood in silence, eyes locked onto each other. For a moment, Serena thought Renamon was talking about her again. That she didn't want Serena here as much as Serena didn't want to be here. But then another thought crossed her mind. Maybe Renamon wasn't talking about Serena. Maybe she was talking about herself.

Gathering up her courage, Serena addressed Renamon again. This time in a quieter voice. "Renamon, did you lose anyone to the war?"

Renamon's ears flatted against the back of her head. The fox looked away and her claws began to grip at Serena's dress before relaxing. It took a minute, but she finally responded in a tone just as quiet as Serena's. "Almost everyone I knew."

"Renamon, I'm sorry," Serena slowly started their walk again. "That's…I can't imagine what that's like."

Renamon continued to advert her eyes. The way her body sagged, exhausted from both the battle with Broker and their conversation, it was the most vulnerable Serena had ever seen her. "Don't be sorry. This is how the Digital World operates. We hatch. We fight. We die. If we're lucky we are reborn to repeat the cycle. Shedding tears does not stop the wheel from turning."

"That doesn't mean you can't be sad," Serena said gently.

"It is not my place to be sad," Renamon's head was now neither turned towards Serena nor the wall opposite her. The fox just stared straight ahead. "I have a duty that I must fulfill no matter what this world throws my way."

"Is that because you are a princess?"

Now Renamon's head swerved back to Serena placing all of the kitsune's attention on her. Serena felt a little silly, but seeing as how she opened the can of Orthworms, she might as well follow through. "Sorry. It's a rumor I heard. Everyone knows you came from Queen Sakuyamon's court, but I guess you never said what your position was supposed to be. So, a lot of people think you might have been the queen's heir?"

Okay, now that Serena said it out loud it didn't sound anywhere near as plausible as when Shoemon was whispering about the theory with her.

While Serena's face heated up, Renamon sighed and looked back at the hallway. "Whatever title I would have held is meaningless now. Sakuyamon's kingdom along with every other sovereign territory are as good as dissolved and there's a fair chance that everyone who kept the kingdom together to begin with are now just dust in the wind."

Serena listened to Renamon. This wasn't the first time she heard one of the school's residences talk about what they lost since this conflict began. Gaomon lost his home because his village lacked proper protection from wild Digimon, Shoemon's old mentor referred her to Labramon after he left to join the fight, and many of the students were training so that one day they could hopefully reunite and fight alongside friends that were on the front lines. A part of Serena always knew that Renamon was not an exception to these tales, but it felt different to see the proud fox admit to this pain. It was odd to see Renamon allow herself to be vulnerable.

"Renamon, I need to ask you a favor," Serena said before she even knew what she was doing. "I want you to train me."

Renamon's ears perked. "Train you?"

"You don't believe me, but I meant it when I told the school that I want to stop Millenniummon. In order to do that, I need to be a human you can rely on in battle," Serena looked right into Renamon's cold blue eyes. "Will you teach me?"

Before Renamon could answer, the pair heard a loud thumping noise coming from one of the classrooms. The two cautiously went inside to find Professor Labramon tied up and gagged beneath a desk. Serena led Renamon over to a bench before going over to help free the historian from his constraints.

Once freed, Labramon shook himself like a Furfrou after a bath. "Thank you very much, Serena. You have no idea how humiliating that was. Captured and mugged after being lured away from everyone when I knew there was a shapeshifter on the loose. Not my brightest moment."

"It's not your fault," Serena checked over the professor to make sure he wasn't badly hurt. "We all fell for his illusions."

"I suppose," Professor Labramon sighed. He then looked over at Renamon and his eyes began to glow. "Cure Liqueur."

With her wounds cleared up Renamon stood up. "Thank you, Professor. Now we need to join with the others."

"Right!" Serena said with determination before she sprinted out the door.

Before Renamon could run after her, Labramon trotted over to the fox. "Walk with me please."

Renamon

As Renamon followed behind Serena at a slower pace than what she was used to, Labramon spoke with the fox. "It sounds like Serena hasn't fully given up with befriending you. Are you going to take her up on her proposal?"

"I will," Renamon replied. As much as she disliked Serena, the two of them were basically stuck together. If Serena was earnest about her desires to be a better partner, Renamon had no reason to turn her down.

"Excellent! I think you'll find she makes an engaging student," Labramon's tail gave a little wag. "And maybe you'll be able to take a few lessons from her."

Renamon looked back down at the dog, ears perked.

Spotting Renamon's look Labramon gave her a frown. "I may have been tied up and trapped in that classroom, but my hearing is acute enough to reach beyond its walls. Especially if a certain pair is having a loud argument."

Underneath her fur, Renamon blushed. Losing her composure in front of Serena was bad enough and it did not warrant an audience.

"Ever since Serena arrived in our world, I noticed that she had quite a collection of talents. Baking, sewing, choreography," Labramon looked right up into Renamon's eyes. "Socialization."

"She is fairly popular," Renamon admitted. It didn't matter whether they were history department scholars or more athletic warriors in training, the student body adored Serena.

At first Renamon just chalked up her popularity to the novelty that she was the same species as the hero who saved their world. Now, Renamon thought back to the times she checked in on the girl and remembered when Serena was first invited by the lore master apprentices to help them with their projects. Renamon remembered how patient Serena was with the dimwitted Neemon and how the girl went out of her way to adjust her sweet's recipes to adapt to some of the students more unusual tastes. Renamon also remembered how Serena was slowly folded into the play but first helping out the different students with their routines and props before everyone decided to promote her to the role of Yggdrasil.

"Renamon," Labramon adopted a more serious tone. "When the two of you argued Serena was not only the first to pause and consider your feelings, but the first one to swallow her pride and try and make amends."

Seeing Renamon continue to stay quiet, Labramon added on to his statement. "It is true that we celebrate the first human's battle prowess. Without his strength he and his allies would have been crushed before they even saw Millenniummon. However, you must also remember that the human is also remembered for his benevolence. Without that he would have been nothing more than a brute who may have left our world to rot. To succeed in this quest, you'll need to have both strength and altruism, your majesty."

"Serena! Renamon!" Renamon's attention was ripped away from Labramon. Coming down from a wooden staircase was Ash and Gaomon.

Before Serena could rush forward to check on Ash, Renamon grabbed her and held her back. Renamon addressed Gaomon. "When Professor Labramon paired us together for a presentation on a hero of the past, who did we choose?"

"AncientGarurumon," Gaomon dutifully responded.

Satisfied, Renamon looked down a Serena. The girl understood what she had to do and asked Ash a question. "What was the Pokémon you were chasing when we both met?"

"A Poliwag," Ash responded.

True identities established, Labramon trotted forward. "It's good to see you boys in one piece. What happened?"

Ash's scowl and clinched fist answered the question before Gaomon spoke up. "Broker got away. The rest of the students are looking for him, but I'm not optimistic on their chances."

"Oh," Serena's shoulders fell.

Renamon sighed. "It cannot be helped. Loathe as I am to admit we were outclassed. Gaomon, please rejoin the rest of the students. The rest of us have to…"

There was a shrill howl of wind followed by a pained roar.

"Find a way to finish the battle that's in front of us," Renamon concluded.

The Battle Zone

Returning to the battle with Kyukimon, Serena wanted nothing more than to see the pink menace lying defeated and her teachers and new friends victorious. Instead, what she witnessed was a losing battle. The Pokémon were missing along with Frogmon and Sagitarrimon. Professor Shurimon lost both of his arms while Professor Yasyamon was falling apart at his psychic seams. There was a green Caterpie-looking Digimon laying on the ground that her Digivice identified as a Wormmon, a Digimon that Kongoumon was said to have Digivolved from.

As for the partner Digimon, both Seadramon and Golemon were completely covered in slashes which were leaking data particles. Every so often their forms would flicker and fizzle like an image on a glitching computer. Even worse than them was Greymon who was carved up to the point he was missing his horns, arms, and half of his tail.

Ash opened his mouth to call out to his partner, but Renamon quickly slapped her paw over his mouth. "Take a moment to assess the situation," she whispered. "Kyukimon may have said before that he wasn't targeting the humans, but he might have changed his mind while we were away."

At Renamon's words, both Serena and Ash's eyes darted around the battlefield. To their relief both Misty and Brock were ducked behind debris. They were still alive, though they were looking almost as scratched up as Ash did when Kyukimon gave him that warning swipe.

"Amazing," Labramon looked over at the champions. "I remember reading that the Digimon who partnered with the first human had more durability than their counterparts. I suspect the only reason these champions are still standing is because of their connection to their humans."

Ash pulled himself away from Renamon's paw. "They're not going to stay standing if we don't do anything!"

A glint appeared in Labramon's eye. "That's why I'm here. Cure Liqueur!"

Labramon dropped to all fours and his eyes glowed with a blinding light. When he called out his attack a small shockwave blasted out from his body and towards the trio of champions. Their wounds didn't seal up, but they did stop leaking energy.

His job done, Labramon collapsed on the ground. "That should do for now."

"Labramon! Are you okay?" Serena rushed to the professor's side.

"I'm fine, just drained," Labramon mumbled.

"And vulnerable," a voice came from behind Serena.

Turning around Serena could see Kyukimon coming down at her, claws ready to cleave Labramon. Before the ultimate could strike, Renamon dashed over to grab both Labramon and Serena and pull them away from the blade. Kyukimon was about to turn around and continue attacking, but Seadramon quickly distracted him with a blast of freezing air.

"That was a close one," Serena said releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Renamon studied Kyukimon as he fought against Seadramon. "He's getting slower."

"You can thank Geodude for that," Misty managed to sneak up next to the group. "He was able to hit Kyukimon with a Gyro Ball. We think it gave him an injury."

"And since he's been constantly jumping around on his legs, he's probably been exasperating the wound," Renamon observed. "It seems as though his super speed maybe working against him now."

"Exactly," Misty then turned to Seadramon. "Seadramon, don't let up!"

At Misty's command, Seadramon's icy breath intensified. Greymon, trying to take advantage of Kyukimon's slowed movements, came barreling in to ram the weasel. But when Greymon's skull made contact, Kyukimon immediately plunged a sickle straight into Greymon's back.

Greymon roared in pain stopping his charge. Kyukimon was about to use his free blade to stab the dinosaur again before Renamon ran up Greymon's back and fired her attack into the kamaitatchi's face. "Diamond Storm!"

The energy blades bounced harmlessly off the Kyukimon's face hardly scratching him. "Was that supposed to hurt me?" hissed Kyukimon.

"No," Renamon replied cheekily. "He's supposed to hurt you."

While Renamon distracted Kyukimon with a Diamond Storm, Golemon was able to sneak up on the ultimate and grab him from behind. Though Kyukimon's razor fur scratched into Golemon's rock body, it wasn't enough to make him bleed again, unlike a certain dinosaur.

As Renamon watched Golemon whale on Kyukimon, she addressed Greymon. "Labramon put himself in danger to heal you. Could you have at least waited before rushing into another mortal wound?"

"Yeah, well, you're short," Greymon grumbled.

Meanwhile, Golemon's punching came to a stop when Kyukimon successfully freed himself from the rock monster's grasp allowing him a clean shot at one of Golemon's arms. Golemon's forearm hacked off, Kyukimon put some distance between himself and the stone giant.

"This is what I get for being proactive," Golemon grumbled looking down at his stub.

"This has gone on long enough," Kyukimon snarled. "Let's see you get out of this one. Blade Twister!"

With that Kyukimon leapt into the air and spun around creating the tornado that most of the combatants had grown familiar with at this point. The larger Digimon tried to shield the smaller Digimon and humans from the raging winds, but that wasn't all they had to worry about.

As the tornado continued to spin, it began to pick up and throw around all the loose debris that had been created during the battle. Rocks and trees flew around in the air before being unceremoniously dropped onto the people below.

Seadramon quickly wrapped herself around Misty, but it was so focused on her own partner that she forgot about the new additions to the team. Without a giant monster of her own, Serena was swept up by the wind and heading straight into some oncoming longs.

"Serena!" spotting her partner, Renamon charged forward and leapt off the ground. She then jumped from debris to debris until she reached the girl and grabbed her by the neck of her dress. Then, using every ounce of strength she had, Renamon delivered the girl back down into the outreached tail of a waiting Seadramon.

Once Seadramon had her tail coiled around Serena, Serena attempted to reach out to Renamon. "Grab my hand!"

Renamon attempted to reach out, but an incoming tree knocked her away and into the clutches of Kyukimon.

"Finally!" roared Kyukimon, his blades about sink into Renamon.

Despite her past disagreements with Renamon, Serena couldn't bear to watch the fox die. She couldn't die! They were just starting to make a connection! As these thoughts ran through Serena's head, her Digivice began to glow.

Just before Kyukimon's blades could dissect Renamon, protective sphere stopped his attack forcing him back into the twister.

Renamon Digivolve too…

Within the sphere Renamon grew to the size of a large Arcanine while her body shifted to a quadrupedal build. The fur around her neck flared into a white mane and ghostly flames ignited around her feet and the tip of her tail which split into nine. Her fur mostly stayed the same save for extra purple dashes under her eyes and yin yang symbols at the top of her legs and middle of her forehead. Finally, a red and white stripped rope decorated with several shides and ending with golden orbs wrapped itself around the champion's neck in a tidy bow.

The sphere burst open as the winds began to die down allowing the fox land in front of her teammates, fire flaring protectively. "Kyubimon!"

Serena stared in awe at her Digimon. They did it. They actually did it! They were able to connect enough to achieve the champion level!

"Kyubimon, champion level," Serena read off her Digivice. "She's a Digimon with strong spiritual power who has both been seen as a bringer of peace and destruction. Her special attacks are Fox Tail Inferno and Dragon Wheel."

"You partnered Digimon are just full of annoying surprises!" Kyukimon snarled as he landed across from the group. "No matter. You're still outmatched."

"It doesn't matter how strong you are," Serena dropped down next behind Kyubimon as Seadramon uncoiled herself. "We'll never give up! It's not over until it's over!"

Kyubimon let out a loud vixen shriek, vocalizing her agreement.

"You've got that right!" Ash agreed pumping his fist.

Even though he was once again loosing energy through he knew wounds, Greymon still managed to give Kyukimon a loud roar.

"Besides, I don't think we're outmatched," Misty folded her arms. "I think you're running on fumes."

To emphasize Misty's point, Seadramon hissed releasing a steady mist of chilled air.

"A couple good Digimon sacrificed themselves protecting us. We're not letting their deaths go to waste," Brock added.

Golemon gave off a loud grumble. Whether it was a growl of agreement or a groan at how long this battle had been going was anyone's guess by he nonetheless hunched forward ready to charge.

With their humans' resolves spoken, the partnered Digimon ran forward. Greymon was the first to reach the ultimate. Rather than go in for physical damage, Greymon decided to see if he could sweep Kyukimon with some old fashion fire. "Fire Wall!"

Flames erupted from Greymon's maw and spread out across the ground creating a burning barrier. Though Kyukimon couldn't dodge horizontally, he could still move vertically and leapt over the flames. He landed on the ground and paused in pain, the height of his jump straining his leg injury, but the kamaitachi continued forward and began slashing at Greymon.

Not wanting Greymon to sustain any more injuries, Golemon ran forward and began attempting to pummel Kyukimon with Golem Punch. This action was able to get Kyukimon away from Greymon, but Golemon had some difficulty hitting the weasel which nimbly dodged out of the way of each blow before sweeping Golemon's feet.

With Golemon down, Seadramon quickly came in biting Kyukimon to drag him away. Though Kyukimon's bladed fur sliced into her mouth, Seadramon fought through the pain to pull the weasel away from Golemon. She then managed to toss Kyukimon into the wall of fire. Not one to be burned alive, Kyukimon whipped up a small wind vacuum to suck up the fire.

"Frontal attacks aren't working," Kyubimon stated. "We need some cover."

Hearing Kyubimon's assessment, Serena looked up at Seadramon. "Seadramon, could you use your Ice Blast on the fire to give Kyubimon some cover?"

Nodding, Seadramon aimed an Ice Blast at the flames before they were extinguished. This created a humid mist which Kyubimon knocked Kyukimon into with a leap.

Once inside the fog Kyukimon looked around. He couldn't see that dumb fox, but that won't be a problem for long. All he had to do was create another tornado to clear out the fog and that new champion would become an easy target.

"Fox Tail Inferno!"

As if sensing Kyukimon's thoughts, a barrage of ghostly fireballs rained down on him. Kyukimon tried to jump up in the air to start making a new storm, but he felt a weight press down on his back forcing back onto the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he was able to see that fox dash away into the fog. Clearly, she must have used her speed to jump on him to interrupt his moves.

"Coward!" Kyukimon snarled.

"Am I to assume you never used hit and run tactics?" Kyubimon's voice rang out from the fog.

Kyukimon attempted to send a vacuum wave in her direction, but he didn't hear the howl of pain he was hoping for.

"You missed," Kyubimon's taunt came from a completely different direction. Kyukimon growled but wasn't falling for her taunt. Seeing Kyukimon's hesitation, Kyubimon spoke again. "Well, if you're not going to take your turn, then we'll just skip to mine. Fox Tail Inferno!"

Again, ghostly fire balls blasted out at Kyukimon. Rather than dodge them, he ran straight through them to their source. With Kyubimon in front of him, Kyukimon began swinging his blades. These swings were fruitless, however, as not only was Kyukimon worn down from the battle while Kyubimon was relatively fresh, but the fox was just as agile as he was.

While Kyubimon was busy dodging Kyukimon's attacks, the fog finished clearing up. Seeing her partner fighting, Serena called out to her. "Kyubimon!"

"I've almost got him," Kyubimon called back. "I just need one good hit!"

Hearing Kyubimon's comment, the other Digimon partners fired off their attacks. Alas, Kyubimon was once again able to leap away before anything could make contact.

"One good hit," Kyukimon sneered. "What you've been having so far is nothing but lucky shots. Well that all ends here. Prepare yourself for a storm that eclipses all other…"

"RAWWW!"

Kyukimon's evil speech was interrupted when the ground he had been standing on suddenly erupted from beneath him. Knocking Kyukimon into the air was Onix! The rock snake was covered in scratches, but still breathing. Not wanting to let this opportunity pass, the Digimon all fired off their attacks.

"Nova Blast!"

"Ice Blast!"

"Crimson Curse!"

All of these attacks hit Kyukimon one after another sending the weasel hirer and hirer in the air. At the top of Kyukimon's climb, Kyubimon made her move. She started out with a short run but then jumped up into the air. Once she was airborne, Kyubimon began spinning around and around in a summersault gathering flames. Soon she became a sphere of flames which uncurled itself to reveal a large flaming dragon.

"Dragon Wheel!" Kyubimon's voice rang out. The dragon flew through the air and wrapped itself around Kyukimon. The kamaitachi tried to summon some wind to make a vacuum but was too weak to complete the technique. Instead, the winds fed into the flames making the dragon grow bigger and bigger until the flaming vortex exploded in a brilliant display of pyrotechnics.

The group of heroes watched in stunned silence as Kyubimon gracefully landed from the explosion, her tails wrapped around a pink and blue egg. Finally, Ash broke the silence with a loud whop. "WE DID IT!"

While Ash hollered and celebrated, Greymon, Seadramon, and Golemon finally gave into fatigue and reverted to their rookie states. Ash scooped up Agumon and began to scamper around with the reptile in some weird victory fanfare dance.

"Where does he get that energy?" Misty sighed as she picked Betamon up for a medical inspection.

Brock didn't respond. He just collapsed into a sitting position next to Gotsumon. Onix slithered out from his hole and plopped down right next to the two with an earthshaking THUMP.

For her part, Serena walked over to Kyubimon. "That was, um, a really good fight."

"Thank you," Kyubimon looked off for a bit, trying to find the right words before addressing Serena again. "Of course, I didn't do it alone. I just came in last minute to deliver the final blow."

"Right! But you still did a great job," Serena said quickly. According to her mother, you always had to thank and complement your Pokémon after a race no matter the outcome. This wasn't a race, but Kyubimon still worked hard to help put down Kyukimon. "And thank you for saving my life."

Again, Kyubimon avoided making eye contact. "I was just fulfilling my duty as your partner." There was another pause. "Thank you for providing that fog. It was a clever improvisation. I think you'll make an adept student."

A smile began to light up on Serena's face. She was about to respond when a roar of applause came from behind her. Looking around, Serena could see the rest of the school had arrived. Some Digimon, namely the Labramon nurses, were going onto the battlefield to collect the injured and fallen combatants for medical attention. Other students clapped and cheered for the humans and their Digimon for vanquishing the ultimate level threat.

"That battle had an even better finally then the play!" cheered Neemon.

"For once, you're correct," Bokomon said as he clapped.

While the audience of students cheered, Broker watched the scene from the safety of a tree overlooking the chopped down battlefield. Sighing, he got up. "These kids have a long way to go."

Oh well. This current batch of humans may be a disappointment, but Broker could make use of this information. He was pretty sure both the Celestial Army and the Forces of Chaos would be interested to know that the Digivices roped in the human equivalent of rookies. He just needed to get in touch with one of their scouts.

Renamon (I Had a Dream)

As soon as the battle ended, the Labramon nurses took over the school. All students, regardless of whether they received injuries or not, were ordered to rest in their rooms. The humans and their monsters were sent to the school's infirmary.

Though she was offered a place in the school's infirmary, Renamon declined. This was partially thanks to her unlocked ability to Digivolve as now all she had to do to heal her injuries was revert to one of her lower levels. Seeing as how all she now had was fatigue, Renamon opted to just retire to her dorm room and leave a space open for a Digimon in worse condition than her. Besides, she needed some alone time after the eventful day.

When the next morning rolled around, Renamon made her way down to the infirmary after a quick trip to the cafeteria. Said cafeteria was currently being manned by a small team of student volunteers who were fixing breakfast in Kongoumon's absence. Not that he didn't want to help.

"Let me go, man!" exclaimed the Wormmon squirming around one of the nurse's arms. "The students, they totally need my rad cooking skills!"

"The students will be fine!" growled the nurse. "YOU need to rest!"

If Renamon had to venture a guess, the demoted insect probably tried to sneak out of bed to do his job. Moving past that scene, Renamon was able to make her way into the cot area. There she saw multiple curtained off beds. There was a good chance that every bed was occupied by someone who had either been injured during the auditorium fall or during the battle with Kyukimon.

"Ah, Renamon."

Speaking of which, there was Professor Shurimon. He was occupying his own cot with both of his vine legs crossed. "It is good to see you are doing well."

"Professor," Renamon respectively bowed. "How are your injuries treating you?"

"They are nothing to worry about. It's less like I've been mortally wounded and more like I've been subjected to an intense pruning session. Nothing a few weeks of fertilizer and some ventures out into the sun can't fix. In fact, they're growing back already!" to emphasize his point, the ninja headmaster wiggled the stubs of his shoulders.

"I think I might have something that can help," Renamon reached into the large bag she had been carrying and brought out some takeout boxes. She opened one to reveal a tray of pancakes and scrambled eggs. "The students made these for you."

"Ah! Just what the doctor ordered," Shurimon unravel his legs and used his shuriken feet to stab the flapjacks and bring them up to his face where they disappeared under his mask. Truly the table manners of a master ninja.

"Hey, mind passing along some of those pancakes my way?" Professor Yasyamon pulled back the curtains around his cot to eye the containers of breakfast.

Nodding, Renamon handed him his flapjacks. "I wanted to take this moment to thank you for taking me into your school and protecting me and my team when my presence lured in a dangerous Digimon."

"Think nothing of it," Professor Labramon came in with what looked like his own bag of food balanced on his back. The bag contained fruit and eggs if Renamon's sensitive nose was anything to go by.

"Professor Labramon," Renamon acknowledged the dog. "I am sorry I failed to capture Broker before he got to you."

Labramon waved her off. "Like Serena said to me last night, that Renamon X had us all fooled."

"We all knew there was going to be a risk when the Digivice zeroed in on you as one of the partners," Yasyamon said in agreement. "I'm just surprised something like this didn't happen sooner."

"Still, I want to thank," Renamon began, but Shurimon cut her off.

"If you want to thank us for everything, we'll be holding a service in memory of the teachers who died later. You can join us there and share one last cup of tea with me before you head out on your quest," Shurimon looked towards the end of the infirmary. "For now, I think you should go check on you teammates."

"And please, take these with you," Labramon nodded to the bag he was carrying. "Pancakes are a good comfort food after a hard battle, but they don't contain the protein or vitamins you should be taking in."

Accepting the bag, Renamon headed towards the cots housing the humans and their Digimon. The first human she saw was Serena who came jogging up to Renamon when she saw the fox approach.

"Renamon! Good morning!" Serena greeted the fox with a warm smile.

"Uh, yes. Good morning to you too," Renamon said awkwardly. "I brought breakfast."

"I can see that," Serena grabbed Renamon's arm causing the fox to freeze up for a second. "We've been looking over some maps and notes to figure out what to do next. I'm sure everyone will want your input."

Serena steered Renamon over to the rest of the group. The red headed girl, Misty, was sitting in a chair with Betamon squatting next to her feet. Sitting in the girl's lap was her starfish which looked to be missing all but two of its arms.

Standing on the other side of the bed was the taller boy, Brock. The Gotsumon that he was partnered with was sitting down and leaning up against the wall behind the group while the human's smaller rock monster floated next to him. Renamon noted that this rock monster still sported a chip above its eye which allowed her to see the crystals under its "skin."

Sitting on the bed was the younger boy, Ash. He, as well as the other two humans, had a number of bandages and smears of healing ointment across his body. On one side of the bed was the Agumon while on the other was Gaomon.

Catching Renamon's stare, Gaomon greeted her with a polite nod. "Good morning, Renamon."

"Gaomon," Renamon returned the dog's nod. "I didn't know you were injured."

"He's not," Agumon responded for the blue dog. "The big softy was just worried about us. So, he came to visit as soon as he woke up."

"It is only polite to check on the condition of those who fought at your side," Gaomon said folding his arms. "I'm only here early because it's advantageous to see you now before the rest of the students get a chance to mob the humans before they have to leave."

A growl emitted from Ash's stomach. He sheepishly grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "We might need to go through those crowds soon. I'm starved."

"Actually, that's why I'm here," Renamon held up the bags of food. "I brought everyone…"

Her sentence was cut off when Agumon zoomed forward to snatch the bag. "Breakfast!" he cheered.

The reptile immediately opened the bag and began rummaging through it. Watching this display with a twitching eyebrow, Gaomon stepped forward and snagged the bags away from Agumon who gave the dog a loud "Hey!"

"Your job as a Digimon partner is to protect and care for your human," Gaomon chided Agumon as he handed the food over to Ash. "This duty doesn't stop when the battle is over."

"Suck-up," Agumon protested watching Ash dig into the bag of food with as much gusto as Agumon had been just second ago.

"Doing the bare minimum is not 'sucking-up,'" Gaomon snorted. He then bowed to Ash and the other humans. "Before I take my leave, I want to apologize for my performance last night."

"Performance?" Ash asked between mouthfuls of fruit. "I didn't see you in the play, Gaomon."

"I think he's talking about when he went off to fight with you," Misty said with an eye roll while she grabbed a box of pancakes.

Gaomon nodded. "Correct. I was too weak to stop Broker from making his escape. While Renamon and the rest of the students were able properly engage with Broker, I was unable to land a single hit."

"You're being too hard on yourself," Serena chided. "We wouldn't have been able to even try the trap without your howl signaling the rest of the students."

"You also saved my life," Ash added in. "I would have fallen straight through that fake bridge if you didn't stop me."

With a small smile, Gaomon looked at the group of heroes. "Thank you, but I do want to contribute more. I'll continue to train so that I may one day join the Celestial Army and fight with the same tactics and vigor you do."

His piece said, Gaomon turned to leave but was momentarily stopped by Ash calling over to the dog. "Gaomon! Let's team up again!"

"Just remember this," Agumon added on. "No matter how stronger you'll get, I'll be even stronger. So, don't set your expectations too high. Just try to keep up."

Instead of rising to Agumon's taunt, Gaomon just gave the other rookie a smirk and a wave before leaving the infirmary.

Once Gaomon left, Renamon turned her attention back to the rest of the group. "Misty, Brock, how are your…Pokémon?"

Misty looked down at her starfish ruefully. "Staryu's seen better days. We're lucky that Kyukimon didn't hit the core. The limbs can grow back, but it's going to take some time and a lot of rest."

Gently, Staryu curled one of its arms around Misty's hand.

On the other side of the bed, Brock looked down at the rock's wound. "Geodude can't regenerate, but rock Pokémon are hardy. He and Onix will be fine, but they're going to scar."

"That is good to hear," Renamon nodded. She then kneeled down in front of the group and bowed her head. "I…want to take this time to apologize to Serena and Ash. I was rude and dismissive, especially to Serena who I had ample time to reach out to and acquaint myself with. I promise to rectify this in the future by acting as a better teammate."

When Renamon looked up, her eyes met Serena's hand. The girl gave Renamon a sincere smile. "Let's start over. My name is Serena. I like baking and fashion."

Renamon hesitated but stood up and accepted Serena's hand. "My name is Renamon. I enjoy music and star gazing."

"Nice to see that piece of drama resolved," Gotsumon muttered leaning back against the wall.

Agumon snorted and folded his arms. "Maybe. But Renamon's still got a ways to go to work her way off the Jerk List."

"I kind of missed most of this thanks to the whole Broker drama," Misty acknowledged looking towards Renamon. "But it sounds to me like you're a bit of a lone Mightyena. If we're going to be a team, you'll have to work with us and the other humans and Digimon."

"I know," Renamon agreed. "You are not the first to tell me this. My teachers have been trying to push me to be more open to my classmates for years. And as of recently, I think someone else has been trying to do the same."

"Someone else?" Betamon asked with a tilt of her head.

Renamon explained. "A while back, Professor Labramon received some armor replicas from the Castle of the Royal Knights. Ever since then, I've been having a reoccurring dream."

The Dream

The landscape was scrubbed free of any features since the last battle. There were no trees, rivers, nor mountains. It was all reduced to dust blowing around in a leveled wasteland. In light of the recent battles that had been breaking out across the Digital World sights such as this one had become depressingly common.

Normally Kentaurosmon would take great care in traversing the world he had sworn to protect, but out here, in the middle of nowhere, it didn't matter. There was nothing to trample. He could gallop to his heart's content if he wanted, but for now he chose to savor the silence of the night. If the tremors that had been shaking the ground were anything to go by the peace wouldn't last for long.

After a long stroll, Kentaurosmon was able to spot his targets. They weren't hard to see thanks to the flattened land. It also helped that some of the group's members were certified giants casting massive shadows across the badlands.

Upon spotting the camp, Kentaurosmon was stopped by a tiny, pink comet that blasted off from within the circle of mega level monsters. The comet came to halt right in front of Kentaurosmon's snout and the light died down to reveal a Digimon small enough to fit in the hands of a rookie. Though it was as good as a speck of dust to Kentaurosmon, he could still make out the details of the monster with his powerful archer vision.

At first glance the Digimon resembled a tiny Gomamon with a long wiggling tail for the lower half of its pink body. The little Digimon zoomed around the air on a pair of fluffy angel wings while keeping its long arm-like flippers to his sides to help him steer. A large heart was plastered on its chest right below a golden collar that Kentaurosmon recognized as a Holy Ring. The top of the Digimon's head was adorned with a pair of long antennas right above its large, green eyes.

"Sir Kentaurosmon," squeaked the diminutive Digimon. "Hello! Hello!"

"MarineAngemon," Kentaurosmon acknowledged politely.

"You are just in time! We are roasting marshmallows!" MarineAngemon did a little twirl and motioned towards the group with his fins. He flew forward beckoning the gigantic knight to follow him while he prattled. "And by 'we' I mean only half of us. Most of the Digimon are too big to eat marshmallows, a crime if you ask me, and don't want to revert to a smaller form because there might be enemies, so we need to be on our guard. And I was like 'pfft, if any tries to get us we'll see them coming a mile away' and MetalGarurumon was like 'they can still come at us from underground' and then I pointed out that Blastmon has earth powers so he could probably sense if someone was coming. But Blastmon just said 'leave me out of this.'"

"Is the human amongst you?" Kentaurosmon asked, cutting the story short.

"Of course he is," MarineAngemon chirped. "Who do you think brought the marshmallows?"

"MegaGargomon," Kentaurosmon joked, though given his deadpan one could easily mistake it as an honest answer.

"No way," MarineAngemon flew up to whisper in Kentaurosmon's ear. "Between you and me I think that guy has a sugar addiction. It's actually a good thing he hasn't reverted to have some fun. But you didn't hear it from me."

"I won't breathe a word to anyone else," Kentaurosmon promised. He wasn't even really paying attention to the conversation. Just letting the jester get its excitement out of its system before the adult talk could start.

The pair arrived at the camp where some of the larger Digimon moved aside to allow Kentaurosmon into their circle. Below Kentaurosmon could that a couple of the smaller Digimon were indeed roasting marshmallows, though the main party that was partaking in the sweets were the human's pets.

On Kentaurosmon's side of the fire he could see the flame tended to by a small orange dragon with wings that had been patched up and sown back together after various battles. Sitting next to it was the human's largest pet, a tubby cat-bear which reminded Kentaurosmon of a Burpmon. It was holding a massive stick with a complex series of branches adorned with just as many marshmallows. Kentaurosmon noted that its left hand was completely missing with only a stump left.

Sitting next to the husky animal was the ex-ambassador for the Nature Spirts who was talking with the human's turtle with the cracked shell. How the masked ambassador was able to speak with and understand the animal was beyond Kentaurosmon.

Across from the two was a blue avian creature that Kentaurosmon was fairly familiar with. The human had ridden it a whenever he wished to meet with Kentaurosmon and the creature was one of the few that could withstand Kentaurosmon's blizzards. Kentaurosmon gave the bird a small nod. The bird stared at Kentaurosmon with its piercing red eyes before tucking its head under its wing.

Next to the bird was an armored knight that Kentaurosmon remembered was a high-ranking member of the Dragon's Roar court. He was speaking with a large, cybernetic wolf who in turn was sitting next to a squat monster with a large plant growing out of its back. The plant monster looked up at Kentaurosmon and nudged the figure leaned up against its side.

The figure turned out to be the human who was taking a moment to rest his eyes. His final pet, who had also been napping hopped out of the human's lap. MarineAngemon immediately zoomed down to greet the animal causing the rodent to jump when the pixie Digimon came at it from behind. The poor electrical creature had lost most of its hearing when the human took on the king of the Metal Empire leaving the yellow mouse completely deaf in one ear.

The final smaller member of the human's party sat next to the human and looked up at Kentaurosmon with a challenging stare. "Well look at what the Meicrackmon dragged in" grunted the draconic warrior. "What do you want?"

Ignoring the lack of manners, Kentaurosmon fixed his gaze on the human who was looking up at Kentaurosmon with curiosity. "I heard your party is preparing to face Millenniummon."

The human gave Kentaurosmon a nod.

"I want to talk to you about your original offer to me," Kentaurosmon felt every eye present fix themselves onto him. "About joining your team."

Now

Renamon concluded her story and watched the group. Just like with the first human's team, she felt everyone stare at her. Serena was the first to speak. "You think that was your past life?"

"When I stared through Kentaurosmon's eyes, I felt at home. As though his body and mine were one and the same," Renamon affirmed.

"It was pretty interesting to get a firsthand account of what the first human's team was like," Brock said thoughtfully. "So far everything we've heard about where stories passed down by word of mouth."

"That and the book of military records Labramon gave us," Gotsumon added in. "But so far all that's been translated is the first entry. And all that told us is the human was first spotted at a train station in the Metal Empire."

"Do you remember anything else?" Ash asked eagerly.

"No," Renamon shock her head. "There are some paw prints in one of the treehouses I can show you before we leave, but that dream is the only direct memory I have of my past life."

"Why that memory, though?" Misty wondered out loud.

"I have a theory," Renamon said. "It is said that when Kentaurosmon first met the human and his team he didn't think much of them. They were a group of aliens and renegades, a far cry from highly esteemed Royal Knights Kentaurosmon used to work with."

Renamon looked over the group of lost children, alien monsters, and rookie Digimon. "However, it was the human and his unorthodox team that ended up garnering the respect of the Digital World. I think that dream was his way of telling me to give this group of oddballs a chance."

Gabumon (Auras and Psychics)

After the battle with Coredramon and Knightmon, the team was invited to stay in the museum. Gargoylemon agreed to the allow the group to stay in the free room that Iris awoke in earlier that day, though they would have to figure out themselves who got the lone free bed. The curator was even happy to help them restock their supplies once several members of the group expressed interest in touring the parts of the museum that were not in storage.

"Finally! Guests who want to learn!" Gargoyle cried out as moisture gathered around the belts across his face. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry! I promised myself I wouldn't cry!"

Once the awkward moment finally passed, Gargoylemon gave the group a tour of the museum even going so far as to pause to go into great detail on how priceless the window Dracomon destroyed earlier was. The museum tour concluded, May insisted that the group go find a restaurant to have dinner.

"How often do you get a chance to eat at a genuine fantasy tavern!?" May said excitedly before zeroing on a bar that she identified as "clearly the local hotspot."

Judging by the excited looks on the humans' faces, the tavern was in fact "a genuine fantasy tavern" with wooden furniture, barrels of drinks lining the wall behind the counter, a large hearth providing warmth to the dimly lit room, and a wide variety of characters. There was a small group of Goblimon hunkered over one table whispering about some kind of business while a Crabmon, a Kunemon, and Guilmon were engrossed in a game of cards on the other side of the room. The bar in the back was manned by a tired looking Sagittarimon while a Floramon went around taking orders.

Before long the group was able to grab themselves a table covered in mouthwatering dishes. There were bowls of stew, baskets of bread, several kinds of roasted meats, and a platter of tarts for dessert. Hungry and tired from a long day of travel and fighting, everyone immediately dug in.

It was while Gabumon was savoring a bite of perfectly seasoned pheasant that Goh addressed Iris. "Hey Iris, you said earlier that you can connect with and understand dragons. What did you mean?"

Iris took a moment to swallow her mouth full of bread before replying. "I was using my aura."

"Aura?" Lillie said confused. Next to her Lunamon stopped sipping her vegetable soup and took out a notepad and a pencil.

Iris opened her mouth to elaborate, but Dracomon beat her to the punch. "It's this super cool spirit power thing where Iris can sense the life energy of people and Digimon and Pokémon and everything else that's alive. Especially dragons! She can use her powers to know when a dragon is nearby and read their minds. Well, the mind reading part is usually when she's asleep. That thing with Lady Coredramon was the first time I saw her read a dragon's mind when she's awake except for the time when we first met when she said she could sense I was thrilled to meet her and she was right!"

As Dracomon continued to yap about Iris's abilities, Gabumon stared at Iris in amazement. None of the other humans he met seemed to have these powers and he was certain that if Gary had these kinds of abilities he'd have said something by now. Gary liked to talk about himself a lot.

"So, what you're saying is that some humans have specialized empathy powers to commune with certain creatures?" Lunamon asked with a note of delight in her voice. She then gave Gabumon a knowing look. "Magical talking animals!" she breathed.

"Please don't call us animals," May sighed.

From his spot sitting on top of the table clutching a massive mug, Terriermon interjected. "Why not? You guys are animals. You humans are sooo sensitive. No wonder you're miserable. It's not healthy!"

"Drinking as much as you have is not healthy," Goh grumbled reaching over to grab Terriermon's stein.

Terriermon pulled his mug away from Goh's grasp. "Don't tell me what todo Lo-Lo-what's your name?"

"Goh," Goh said flatly. "My name is Goh."

"Of course it is," Terriermon slurred. He then flopped down face first onto the table snoring.

Goh just sighed and picked up Terriermon. "This is the reason I had you revert to rookie. I just knew that I'd end up carrying you to bed."

Getting back on topic. "Do all humans have these powers?" Biyomon asked looking over at May as if the girl was about to start levitating the food.

"No, people with powers are pretty rare," Iris responded. "People with strong aura connections are hard to find and on top of that my village's elder says that most people with aura abilities aren't even aware they have them."

"Which means my human is extra special!" Dracomon bragged, his chest puffing out as he spoke.

"That's amazing!" Lillie said. "I remember reading books on old orders of magicians and warriors like the Aura Guardians, but I never thought I'd actually be able to meet someone with those kinds of powers."

"Yeah, I find it pretty hard to believe myself sometimes," Iris admitted, though she did have a note of pride in her voice and a puff in her chest just like her partner.

"No kidding," Gary, who had been quiet up until now, was giving Iris a very scrutinizing stare. Recognizing this as Gary's confrontation mode, Gabumon began sinking under the table.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Iris said hotly, obviously picking up on the sneer in Gary's voice. "Do not believe in aura?"

"I know aura exists," Gary said dismissively. "It's very well documented and there are a number of species of Pokémon who can use it like Lucario."

Gary paused to give Iris a look over. "Humans, on the other hand, are a bit more dubious."

"Oh yeah," Iris folded her arms. "If I don't have aura powers, then how did I link up with Coredramon?"

"Simple, you're actually psychic," Gary said as though he was telling an in-training that there were no Demon Lords under her bed.

"Psychic?" Iris said flatly with her own dubious stare.

"Humans can be psychic?!" Lunamon said, the pitch of her voice rising in excitement.

"It's rare, but there are humans with psychic abilities," Goh said with a nod. "I think one of the gym leaders in my home region is a psychic."

"And we have a psychic elite four member in Unova," Iris admitted though there was a slight edge to her voice. "Look, I get that you can mix up psychics with aura users since we are rarer…"

"Sure you are," Gary interrupted with a sarcastic tone.

"Listen!" Iris was now glaring at the Oak boy. "Psychics and aura users are completely different! Aura allows people to sense the life force of other beings."

"Like how a psychic can sense other people?" Gary asked, eyebrow raised.

"Aura can allow you to read the minds and actions of others."

"Like a psychic."

"Some people with really powerful aura powers can even speak with the dead!"

"Just like a spirit medium. A type of psychic."

"There are reports going back generations of people with aura powers!"

"And there are also reports of a Koraidon running around ancient Hisui. Sometimes people misidentify things."

As the two humans went back in forth in their debate, Lunamon was taking notes so fast that Gabumon swore he could see smoke rising from the notepad.

"You just don't get it!" Iris yelled causing some of the other customers to shoot their table looks. "Psychics get their abilities from advanced mental powers. Aura is the spiritual essence of every living thing. It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the world together."

"The force," May blurted out.

Iris turned and gave May a bewildered look. "What?"

"You just described the force from Poke Wars," May explained.

A small blush appeared on Iris's face. "I haven't seen those movies yet."

"Seriously?"

"Maybe the Jedi from Poke Wars were inspired by the Aura Guardians from real life," Lillie said diplomatically.

Gary still wasn't convinced. "Yeah, and Pilowarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry was inspired by real life witches," he scoffed.

"Witches are real!" Iris exclaimed. Seeing that she was now getting even more skeptical looks, Iris folded her arms defiantly. "I know someone back in my village who's got a pen pal in Johto who's a real witch!"

"Have you ever seen this real witch?" Gary probed.

Iris opened her mouth again, but caught herself. She then slumped back into her seat. "…No," she admitted.

Seeing Iris's defeated expression, Gabumon spoke up. "Hey, it's alright. Just because you're not aura sensitive doesn't mean you're not special."

"Why are we assuming purple boy's right? Iris is the expert!" Dracomon snapped.

"I mean, Iris seems like a smart girl," Gabumon said timidly. "But Gary is also very smart and knows a lot about his world."

"That doesn't mean he knows everything!" Dracomon glowered at the human in question. "I bet if one of Gary's neighbors was aura sensitive, he would be none the wiser!"

"Can't see what's not there," Gary shrugged.

Before tempers could flare anymore Lillie intervened. "I don't think we're going to be able to settle this argument tonight. Let's just agree to disagree."

"Absolutely," Biyomon chirped. "We have a long road ahead of us and all of this squabbling will only slow us down."

"Yeah, let's just drop this for now," Goh nodded.

"Actually, I have a few more questions about the human magic system and how Pokémon," Lunamon began. She then caught the tired looks from everyone at the table and put down her pencil. "But they can wait until later."

For her part, Iris shot Gary one final glare. "Fine," she spat.

"Fine," Gary got up from the table and walked away.

With his partner leaving, Gabumon quickly grabbed a couple of tarts and rushed after Gary.

Outside the tavern, Gabumon continued to follow Gary through the evening crowds. "Slow down!"

Finally, Gabumon caught to Gary. "Short legs. Full stomach," Gabumon wheezed.

"You didn't have to follow me," Gary said looking down at his partner.

"I just wanted to see if you needed help with anything," Gabumon offered.

"I'm not doing much. Just going to make sure everything is packed up and get some shut eye," Gary began to walk again.

"Okay. That's good," Gabumon began strolling besides Gary, every so often shooting the boy a nervous look.

Spotting these looks, Gary sighed. "If you've got something to say, say it."

"I, um, you," Gabumon stammered and wrong the sleeves of his pelt. Finally he forced it out. "Did you really need to start that fight?"

Gary snorted. "I didn't start anything. I just corrected someone who didn't understand her powers, that's all."

"That's nice, you should let someone know when they're wrong," Gabumon muttered. "Do you think you could have done it differently?"

"What do you mean?" Gary scowled.

"Well, I was watching the way you were arguing with Iris and it kind of reminded me of the way you argued with Ash back on Byte Island," Gabumon explained. "It didn't come across like you wanted to help Iris, it sounded like you just wanted to put her down. Not that I think that's what you wanted to do. I'm just worried that you might make Iris mad like how you made Ash mad and that might lead to everyone else getting mad, because I notice that Goh can get a little mad and…"

"Okay! I get it!" Gary cut Gabumon off. "Look, we're not going to fight. We already agreed to leave the subject alone. It's not a big deal."

"Oh, okay," Gabumon answered quietly, though it didn't feel like it was really over. Against Gabumon's better judgement, he had one more worry to ask about. "What about Ash?"

Gary gave the reptile a heavy sigh. "What about him?"

Can of worms opened, might as well follow through with it. "We're going to meet up with the rest of our group at the temple, and you guys get shouty in the chats. Do you think everything will be okay?"

"Just leave Ash to me," Gary replied picking up his pace.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Gabumon jogged up next to him.

"Positive," Gary went a little faster.

"Because if you need help apologizing, I'm your Digimon. I used to help Psychmon and BlackGabumon make up whenever they fought," Gabumon began.

"I said I'm fine!" Gary snapped. The boy halted his walk to give Gabumon a challenging glare.

Gabumon ducked his head and took a couple steps back. He had seen Gary squabble before, but it was always with his usual confident swagger or a tired exasperation. Gabumon had never seen Gary angry like this.

Watching his partner slink back, Gary sighed. Turning back to his walk, he muttered to himself. "This is so much easier with Pokémon. They don't talk."

For a moment, Gabumon was completely silent. He then walked back up to Gary's side. "Even if I was a Pokémon, I'd still want to help out my friend."

Gary actually slumped a bit at that. "Shoot, you heard me."

Gabumon smiled up at his trainer. "And even if I wasn't able to talk, I'd think about my advice so hard that you'd be able to pick it up with your psychic powers."

Sighing, Gary reached down to pet Gabumon. "I'm not a psychic, but thanks."

Centuries Ago (An Unscheduled Stop)

Metal Empire Report: At exactly 3 AM an unscheduled Trailmon arrived at Server Station near the heart of the Metal Empire. The Commandramon stationed at that location reported that the vehicle Digimon disappeared just as mysteriously as it appeared leaving behind a creature of unknown origin. The creature has escaped and is lose somewhere within the Metal Empire. All Commandramon troops be advised to be on the lookout.

The early morning shift was the worse. Most of the city, even the parts with a higher nocturnal population, was inactive during these hours creating a quite atmosphere. For the time being, all Commandramon had to keep him company was the silhouette of the jagged metal structures of the city-state, some crates of cargo a team was supposed to pick up in an hour, the cold metal floors of the train station, and a radio playing re-runs of the greatest hits sung by the Metal Empire's king.

Commandramon himself was just like any other member of his species. A theropod dinosaur with scales checkered in different shades of blue and armored in SWAT gear. Just your average citizen of the Metal Empire.

After pacing back and forth across the platform for hours, the Commandramon was ready for someone, anyone to appear. But no, he just had to be sent to a post near the center of the city. Sure, it meant that he got a cushier lifestyle then the Digimon positioned towards the edge of the empire, but it also meant a boring shift of watching nothing.

Just as Commandramon was about to march over to the radio to change the radio station for the slim chance that he might get someone other than the king (the best way to get funding for your broadcast was to marathon the king's music) he heard something. Quickly flipping the radio off, Commandramon listened. It was subtle at first, but it sounded like a Trailmon was coming into the station.

Immediately Commandramon was on guard. There weren't any Trailmon scheduled to come in at this hour! Commandramon wasn't certain how this train got past all the other checkpoints, but its joy ride ended here!

Commandramon grabbed at his walkie-talkie. "This is unit 5639 at Server Station. We have an unscheduled Trailmon arriving at the station."

The soldier on the other end called back. "Copy that. Please hold Trailmon until back up arrives."

With his new order, Commandramon stood at attention as the Trailmon pulled into the station. Watching carefully, Commandramon tried to make note of the train's model for his report only to find he was completely unfamiliar with this Trailmon.

Like any Trailmon, the Digimon was the locomotive pulling the payload. In this case the payload appeared to be dimly lit passenger cars with the curtains closed hiding the inside. The Trailmon itself had a smooth, slopping design with dark paint coating its body. Green accents ran across its sides and around large rounded lids that Commandramon assumed were its eyes. There were two eyes on its side, one in the back, and one in the front, though it was safe to assume there would be two more on the other side.

Approaching the Trailmon, Commandramon began to shiver. He couldn't place his claw on it, but there was something off about this model. There was something in the atmosphere that felt unnatural.

Summoning up his courage, Commandramon pointed his gun at the train. "Trailmon! State your ID and purpose!"

The response was immediate. The Trailmon's lids snapped open revealing red, ringed eyes that were inverted inward making it look like the eyeballs were sinking back into its head. Both eyes that were facing Commandramon swerved down to look at the guard making him jump.

"End of the line," rasped the Trailmon in a deep voice.

Before Commandramon could ask the train to elaborate, a massive cloud of smoke burst from under the vehicle Digimon momentarily blinding Commandramon. By the time the cloud disappeared, so did the Trailmon.

Commandramon took a moment to cough the smoke out of his lungs before reaching for his walkie-talkie. When he did, he noticed something else was on the platform. It looked like some kind of bipedal Digimon like a wingless angel or a humanoid without armor. The creature was slowly walking around the platform, wordlessly looking up at the city around them.

Well, whatever the creature was it was unauthorized. Commandramon turned his rifle on the stranger. "Freeze! Appendages in the air and no firing any attacks or I'll shoot!"

The creature swerved its head and looked at Commandramon with the same expression a Moosemon would give when caught in headlights. It stared at Commandramon for a moment before bolting behind some crates.

Not willing to let the creature try anything that might be dangerous, Commandramon opened fire using his M16 Assassin move. There was a flash of light behind the crate and soon after another creature resembling a dragon flew out from behind the crate carrying the first creature on its back.

Immediately, Commandramon turned his fire on the dragon before it could get away. Just as fast, the dragon flew away from the gunfire and spun around to blast a stream of flames at Commandramon. Commandramon rolled out of the way and made a move to return the attack. But when he aimed his gun, the dragon and its rider had both vanished.

AN: I love Poke Wars! That part where Lukario Skywalker teamed up with Han Zoloark to save the princess from the Death Starmie? Cinematic gold!

Kyubimon! While Serena doesn't have a Ninetails, she does have a quadrupedal canine in the form of Sylveon. Though Kyubimon has multiple tails and rope bows instead of ribbon tendrils. It also helps that Kyubimon was often used as a ride Digimon in Tamers and Serena, thanks to her mother, is a good rider. Kyubimon also works as a bit of an allusion to Absol, a Pokémon featured in Serena's team if she's your rival in the game. Like Absol, Kyubimon can be seen as a monster who brings destruction.

Oh hey, I just noticed that Serena is spelled Se-rena. I feel even more justified putting this two together.

Don't worry, Renamon taking on Serena as a student isn't going to completely change her personality, she's just going to know a bit more about fighting to help with the inevitable world ending conflicts that come from being a Digimon tamer…or just standing within a five foot radius of Ash Ketchum during a Pokémon movie.

Getting a bit of those superstitious vs science debates Iris had with Cilan, except we've got Gary who hits a bit harder.

Reader Response Recess!

The Guest: That's a fair point about the Z-moves. My thought process was that I might bend the rules a little for the Digimon because they don't have the same variety of moves as the Pokémon and it would also limit most of them to just Firium Z since fire is a popular bases for Digimon attacks. There also comes the complication in that some Digimon moves are hard to classify. Like Greymon's Nova Blast is clearly a fire move but would should Great Horn Attack constitute as a normal move or a physical dragon move?

Of course, it's going to be a good long while until Z-moves are a thing in this fic. Right now we're in the second half of Arc 1 and I don't plan for Z-moves to be big until arc 3, so I might have a different plan on the exact rules by the time we get to them. To give you a peak at the road map as it is now: we're almost done introducing the kids and their Digimon, then we'll get to the temple, then the stories climax will happen where there were be multiple game changers. Arc 2 sets up the new status quo and arc 3 is when the kids get the bright idea to grab some Z-crystals for some power ups.

Anyway, thank you for your criticism. I shall use it to help fine tune the mechanics of Z-moves once they do come into play.

As for Arceus, I'm thinking of basing the Alpha Pokémon in this continuity a bit more on his Legends counterpart in that he's more of a behind the scenes kind of guy. He's been pretty busy since the Pokémon's world's Stone Age when a space-time distortion brought in a group of monsters not native to his creation.

Besides, the Jewel of Life breaks the rules of time travel I'm going to have for this cannon.

Legoguy67: If I was to do multiple Digimon per a person I would definitely give Ash Gaomon. For Ash, the Gaomon line would probably follow the one in Savers/Data Squad of GaogamonMachGaogamonMirageGaogamon as those designs mesh well with a number of Pokémon Ash has owned such as Lucario and Greninja.

Broker's information is reliable but that doesn't mean you can relax your guard around him. If he thinks you have any valuable information, he's going to learn about even if he has to be underhanded. Also, you only get what you paid for. For example, Broker didn't tell Kyukimon about Staryu's Reflect move. Looks like Kyukimon shouldn't have been so stingy.

The One Who Reads and Writes: Age does tend to be more an aesthetic for Digimon than a biological function. That being said, Broker has been cheating a bit in his body care department. The story won't be going into this any time soon, but Broker wasn't always a rookie. He has Digivolved and reverted to and from champion and ultimate multiple times but prefers his rookie form for its illusion abilities.

As knowledgeable as Broker is, he sadly doesn't know how to defeat Millenniummon. If he did, he might share it. As of right now, he's convinced the world is going to end no matter what and both sides of the war are idiots for thinking they can stop it or use the end to their benefit. The humans aren't looking like they're going to change anything, so for now he's going to keep looking out for himself by not completely allying with either side.

No, Yggdrasil isn't the one who sent the Digivices to the human world. The first Digivice was made by a powerful Digimon after meeting the first human and someone else came around later to reprogram the Digivices to seek out our current heroes.

My favorite gimmick? Hard to say. I guess I really liked mega evolution as I enjoyed the redesigns of old Pokémon and hope to see a bunch of new megas in the upcoming legends game. The downside of megas is that only a select few Pokémon got these forms making it the most limited of the gimmicks.

This was fixed with Gigantimaxing/Dynamaxing but at the same time I just felt like they were just redoing mega evolutions and combining it with the raid battles from Pokémon Go. But it gave use some more neat redesigns.

Z-crystals were fun to collect, but the moves themselves were kind of OP in the main story and at a certain point I got tired of watching the same animation over and over again.

Terastalization was good from a strategy perspective as you could shift a Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses depending on the typing, but from a visual perspective they were the most underwhelming in that the Pokémon just became sparkly with a silly hat.

To Ashpoke55 and everyone else tuning in, thank you for reading! Don't be afraid to leave a comment or ask questions (won't guarantee I'll give a straight answer). God loves you and so do I!

Digimon Introduced

Kyubimon: Champion, Data, Mysterious Beast

MarineAngemon: Mega, Vaccine, Pixie

Commandramon: Rookie, Virus, Android

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Next Time: We cut back to Team Garurumon who gets recruited for a demolition mission.