Fledglings

by Fobbie

A young Nidoran unearths the ancient guardian of her home, one of a kind lost to the world. Will her home, and the world at large, cope with his return?

118. Chapter 102b: No Stone Unturned, Part 2

Chapter 102b: No Stone Unturned, Part 2

Hess panted in and out from behind a makeshift barricade of tables and Protects as attacks flew in and out of the now-trashed tavern he and his crew were hiding in. That Lum Berry he'd eaten was still working its way through his system to cure his hangover, even if the shock of things had been helping him sober up quicker than expected.

When Dirk said that the town needed to be held down, Hess had hoped he'd at least get a quiet night to try and calm things down with his remaining crew back at the tavern they'd taken over…

BOOM!

Unfortunately, everything had fallen apart so fast: one moment, he was rubbing his eyes and coming down from the inn upstairs after hearing a loud blast from the harbor and sending a few fliers to check things out. The next thing he knew, he and the portion of his crew that were staying here were being pinned down by a bunch of Imps surrounding the building.

Hess and the nearby pirates flinched as a thrown seed suddenly exploded next to them and the tavern filled with smoke and swirling embers. The Aggron stumbled back and coughed from the haze, looking out to see the party of Pokémon in indigo scarves outside had gotten closer. A Klang among them threw a crackling beam of electricity forward, while an Annihilape right behind her stopped to bark into a glinting badge.

"We're just outside the harbor, on the western side! We've got the captain of those golden-scarved pirates pinned down right now!"

A gout of fire zipped into the tavern and struck a Hoppip, sending the pirate pitching to the ground shrieking in pain. Some of his crewmates grimaced when the guards followed up with a hail of flechette-like leaves and a pressurized jet of water. A few of their other comrades crumpled to the floor while others stopped attacking and frantically retreated behind their cover. Hess held his ground and dug in his feet, spitting up the watery orb of a Surf at the doorway. Except, just barely after he'd kicked up the growing wave, shadows pooled at his feet and a fist-like blur shot out from it and hit him in his gut.

The Aggron bowled over and wheezed, hurriedly crawling back for cover beside Kichiro and breathing in and out as the Ledian let out a sharp buzz and sent a stream of rings sailing through the air at the door. There was a startled cry from the other end, before Kichiro gave him a worried look. The Aggron could see the Annihilape and the other Imps at the doorway now, as it dawned on him that their attackers were about to try and breach and clear the room.

"Gah! If that stupid rock of yours actually works, now would be a good time for it to pass on some of that luck it's got!" Kichiro snapped.

Hess' breaths came out ragged and tired as he clutched at his lucky charm under his scarf. Travellers above, everything had just been going wrong today, especially when Rodion wasn't among the Pokémon who came back from Starbreak Square. If he were here, he'd surely have been able to think of a way out of this mess…

He'd always worried that the Iron Fleet would fall apart without his first mate, and with the way things were going, he was starting to think that there just wasn't any chance of getting off this miserable rock.

A high-pitched tone filled the air, as a spray of bubbles suddenly swept over the tavern's entrance from the right. Pained cries rang out from past the doorway, as Hess peeked back from behind his cover and saw a few Pokémon outside were now lying limply and drenched in water on the ground. The other attackers were shakily getting up, as the Annihilape and a small handful of companions looked around in a panic.

"H-Huh?! Who's-?!"

The Annihilape was abruptly cut off by a blur of red and gray as Dirk lunged in and slashed the Annihilape across his face with a scythe-like blade of pink light. A sharp yelp followed, as the Fighting-Type slumped to the ground. A Dazzling Gleam and a few other attacks followed just afterwards and picked off most of the others, save for a solitary Victreebel who visibly froze.

The Grass-Type stammered and turned to flee as Dirk caught up. The Victreebel suddenly screamed in fright, as the Bisharp lunged ahead with his blades drawn back.

SHUNK!

Hess flinched at the sound, and when he looked back, he saw the Victreebel staggering and lurching back from the blow. The Bisharp summarily threw her aside, leaving her to hit the ground, weakly curling up with low whimpers but otherwise remaining unmoving as the front of the bar past the doorway went silent beyond the occasional weak groan.

Hess and his underlings warily got up and began to file out the tavern, where they saw fainted Pokémon strewn all about the entrance. Off by the Victreebel, Dirk got up and flicked some fluid off his blade before making his way over. To the right, the culprit of the bubbles and Dazzling Gleam became apparent as Ingela drew forward alongside some of her lackeys, her face curled up in a fierce, impatient scowl.

"Hess, get yourself together already!"

Hess shakily tried to calm his nerves as Dirk kicked the Annihilape out of his way. The felled Annihilape let out a wince-worthy groan as Hess shook his head with a startled sputter.

"Wh-What on earth is going on here?!" he demanded.

"What does it look like, Hess?" Dirk spat. "Those Marked and the guards we didn't round up made a counterattack. As you can see, things aren't exactly going well."

Hess set his teeth on edge and looked back at a number of wide-eyed underlings lingering deeper within the bar. He hesitated a moment, before shaking his head and motioning for them to follow along.

"Come on, go ahead and get back to the ships," he insisted. "It's time to go."

The golden-scarved Pokémon hurriedly ran off one after the other, a few larger ones dragging fainted teammates along with them. Hess went over to the fainted Hoppip laying on the ground a few paces over, where Kichiro was already trying to tug him up, and hurriedly helped sling the Hoppip over the Ledian's shoulder. The pair started heading off, when a sharp huff turned the Aggron's attention over to Dirk, who was lingering with Ingela at the bar's exit.

"Hrmph, I should've made one of that bird's friends walk the plank and told him the rest would follow if he didn't surrender instead of raiding that glorified Durant nest," the Bisharp growled. "That definitely would have gotten him to show his face. My whole crew would still be here, too."

"Or it would have gotten us all killed," Hess thought to himself. His mind turned back to how the young Lugia's plumes had come alight with silvery light in Tromba, and how he'd been sent pinwheeling head over heels through the air from… whatever that gust was. The Aggron fought back a shudder at the memory, and tried not to think too hard about how Lugia would react if he had to avenge his friends instead.

He shook his head and trudged along, only to hear an annoyed buzz and see Kichiro hovering behind him. The Ledian leveled a piercing glare at Dirk, his lower arms folded against each other.

"Yeah, yeah, boo hoo for you," Kichiro spat. "How are you not more worried about what's going on right now?! In case you haven't noticed, but we're never getting that bird if we get chased off this island!"

Dirk narrowed his eyes and flashed his blades. Hess hurriedly pulled Kichiro behind him, stepping in front of his second mate as the Aggron hastily waved his free claw with an audible stammer.

"H-He didn't mean that!" Hess insisted. "Everyone's just stressed at the moment and we should really get going if we don't want to get captured."

Dirk kept his glare firmly fixed on Hess as blasts and the din of battle in the distance lingered, when a sharp scoff rang out. Hess looked over at Ingela, who rolled her eyes and started to scoot off for the direction of the water, only for her to abruptly pause and shoot a wary side-eye at Dirk.

"Wait, Dirk. What was in that chest from earlier?" the Primarina asked. "The one that you said that Lugia and his friends seemed so hung up over?"

"Tch, nothing of value now," the Bisharp harrumphed, shaking his head. "I had my underlings clear it out earlier. But I assume that they're after this."

Dirk rifled through his satchel, before pulling out a weathered red tome. Hess, Kichiro, and Ingela gaped at it puzzledly, as Hess warily quirked a brow.

"A book?" Hess murmured. "What's so special about that?"

"I haven't gotten a chance to read through it properly, but it's about some sort of project the Company and the Empire worked on together before they split," the Bisharp explained.

"Fantastic," Ingela harrumphed, folding her flippers. "So why do you still have that?"

"Because Lugia and the others almost certainly want it back," Dirk insisted. "Before all of this happened, I was planning on getting them to come after it, so that way I could get the drop on them."

Dirk turned his attention to the Annihilape laying crumpled on the ground, when a brief glint caught his eyes. The Bisharp tugged at the Annihilape's scarf and noticed that there was a badge pinned to it. He looked down at it for a moment as a flash of realization came over his eyes, and his mouth settled into a knowing smirk.

"… Actually, we still can use it to lure them out."

Ingela shot back a dubious frown as Hess and Kichiro traded bewildered stares with one another, before looking back blankly at the Bisharp captain.

"Huh?" Hess asked. "But how will they know where to find it?"

Dirk all but thrust the Knights' Ledger into Hess' free claw as the Bisharp stooped and unpinned the badge. He lifted it up to his mouth and clamped down on it, his voice coming through his teeth in a low, guttural growl.

"Listen up, you little brats. I know that you and your friends are hearing this," he spat. "If you're looking for that red book you want so badly, it's aboard the Iron Fleet's Starfall Shogun right now. I'd like to see you try to get it back."

Hess and Kichiro's jaws flopped open at the Bisharp's words. Kichiro nearly dropped the Hoppip on his shoulder out of shock, while Hess' eyes briefly shrank to pins before he stomped up in spluttering protest.

"D-Dirk! That's my ship!" the Aggron complained. "Why would you draw everyone's attention to it?!"

"Because your crew's the one those brats know the best and they'll be able to identify your ships the easiest. Besides, Ingela and the Torrent Tsars will be there to help you, so you shouldn't have any trouble holding out," the Bisharp retorted, prompting Ingela to raise a brow. "When the time is right, me and the rest of the Crimson Corsairs will step in to throw these landlubbers off-balance and mop up Lugia and his friends."

"I… suppose I don't have any objections to this plan," Ingela grunted. "Just make sure you're there when we need you, Dirk."

Ingela began to head off along with the party of teal-scarved Pokémon with her, leaving Hess with Dirk as his stomach began to knot up and a sinking feeling came over it.

"B-But-!"

Hess felt something dig into his throat and looked down to see a glinting point going past the top of his scarf. He struggled to fight back a frightened squeak as Dirk glared daggers up at him, pressing the tip of his blade down under the Aggron's chin.

"Look, are you the captain of a Council Crew or not?" Dirk snarled. "If you are, then you can handle being the center of attention for a little bit!"

"Alright! Alright!"

Hess hastily jerked himself back as Kichiro looked on, before hurriedly flying off with the Hoppip still in his grasp. The Aggron hung his head and began to leave himself. There was nothing left to be said between him and Dirk, nothing good would come of it.

"Oh, and Hess? One more thing."

Hess looked back as Dirk started setting off for an intersecting alley after a group of red-scarved pirates. The Bisharp gave a hardened scowl, before turning away with a sharp huff.

"Try not to keel over while you're fighting with that bird. It'll take a bit before my crew and I can help you."

The Aggron overeagerly nodded back and hurried along, staring off at the approaching masts in the harbor as lights flew about the sky.

He subconsciously pawed at the lucky charm around his neck. It had never failed him so far, and gotten him out of some seemingly dire moments in the past.

He just knew he was going to need all the help he could get from it.

---

Guardia glanced around the corner of the shopfront alcove she'd taken cover behind as a pained yelp rang out, just in time to see a Clefairy crumple to the ground from a glinting tackle by a set of steely-looking wings. She looked over and saw Trizano hurriedly pulling back up past the surrounding rooftops. Back along the ground, her other teammates threw attacks and items of their own ahead as they pressed forward. As good a sign as any it was time to press her advantage.

She darted around the corner, pulling her club back for a heavy smash, only for a stream of scalding bubbles to suddenly hit her torso and send her tripping to the ground.

"Hah! Is that the best you hicks can do?!"

Guardia staggered onto her feet, where there was a Flaafy and a red Oricorio led by a Marked Kingler prowling towards her. The Kingler snapped his claws menacingly, and leveled the larger of the two at her with a sneering hiss.

"If you thought you were just going to walk over us, you've got another thing-!"

"Guardia!"

The Kingler looked further down the lane and froze as Pleo came charging in from the rear. Almost at once, the Water-Type's fighting spirit left him, as he flushed pale and shakily scuttled back.

"A-Aah…"

The Kingler turned and began to run when Pleo shot out a Thunderbolt that made the pirate seize up and fall with his legs sprawled out. The Flaaffy and Oricorio similarly barely had a moment to react before a Rock Slide from Dimitri overtook them. The Oricorio crashed to the ground as the Flaaffy reeled, an Ice Beam from Nida suddenly picking the pirate off from down the alley. Guardia got up onto her feet panting when Elty ran up to her and pawed at her as bluish sparks settled on her hide. A jolt of energy shot through her body as she looked down on the alleyway, seeing the Marked Kingler wide-eyed and desperately trying to scrabble back onto his feet. She narrowed her eyes, lunging ahead as she brought her club down with a sharp swing at the top of the Kingler's head.

THWACK!

The Kingler crumpled to the ground and stayed there as Guardia braced herself. She heard voices and footsteps further up of other Pokémon hurriedly fleeing, but beyond the sound of distant fighting, all that remained were the woozy groans of the pirates around them. She slumped up against a wall, as she spotted Pyry and Pekka going over for Elty, while she saw Crom and the other half of Team Traveller coming in from the other end of the alley. She felt aches wrack her body and pawed at her chest as Dimitri scanned their surroundings.

"Looks like that's the last of them," he said. "Let's heal up quickly before we make our way into the harbor."

Guardia panted at her place along the wall as Trizano came over, lowering a Leppa Berry in front of her.

"Here. You looked like you were getting worn down out there, so this ought to help."

Guardia took the berry and bit down on it, as her other teammates tended to their wounds and Nida reached for a badge on her scarf to try and communicate with their nearby allies. They'd gathered on the way over that the Pokémon that went to the harbor had been spotted early while trying to sneak up on the pirates and started things off on the back foot. While things weren't as bad as when they started out, it sounded like they needed all the help they could get.

Guardia knew that Robbie not being able to come along from being busy with helping to mop up around the garrison ultimately wasn't a bad thing: they needed to grab the Knights' Ledger from the pirates before they fled without anyone else understanding why it was important and then sail off as soon as they could. They'd still have plenty of help, since they'd talked the local leaders into sending a bunch of local warriors to fight alongside them, with the recently freed crew of the Siglo Swellow joining in. Even if they'd broken up into smaller squads and fanned out, at the very least, they wouldn't be short on help making it to the Ledger if they could figure out where they could go.
The Marowak looked down at her club and gave it an uneasy bat in the air. Even if she had been managing with it so far and could feel more force behind her swings, she just couldn't land her hits as solidly as she used to as a Cubone. She doubted she'd get a chance to dig up another bone in the hinterlands on this island, so it was probably a sign to talk her teammates into stopping at one of those 'scavenger' shops later so she could get a replacement more appropriately sized for her present body.

"Veikka, can you see how things are looking out there?"

She saw Pyry pull Pekka aside before the Vibrava flitted up above the rooftops. As Pekka flew off, her attention went back towards the ground as she briefly counted up the fainted pirates in the alley, all as the sounds of other battles and blasts continued on in the distance…

Guardia quietly set her teeth on edge as it dawned on her that there was still so much for them left to do. They had to figure out which of Dirk's ships had the Knights' Ledger, and then sabotage it to keep it from getting away. On top of that, Beatrix and her crew would have to fight their way back to the Siglo Swellow and get it back out into the water. They couldn't prepare the Siglo Swellow to leave if they couldn't get to it, but that meant finding it in the harbor… assuming that it was even in any shape to sail off.

The Marowak heard movement coming from the mouth of the alley in the harbor's direction and made her way over to poke her head out. There was a slope running down to the seaside, which she saw Beatrix and Vicente hurrying along with other allies they set out with from the garrison along with skirmishes further downhill—a sign that they were keeping those pirates on the run. Up above, there were ship masts already poking up over the nearby rooftops.

They were practically on the edge of the harbor right now. Though with all those ships in the harbor, would they really be able to narrow down what ship Dirk had taken that chest to in time?

"Hey, are you all doing okay?"

Guardia looked up after hearing wingbeats descending, and saw Margi coming to a stop behind them just above the ground. Trizano went up to her and began to talk a little ways over, as Elty came up and briefly shook out his fur.

"You know, all things considered, things are going pretty smoothly," Elty said. "I would've thought we'd run into more pirates on our way over."

Guardia gave a sharp jab at Elty with her club, prompting him to whirl around as she gave an unamused scowl.

"Eltenios, don't jinx us like that," the Marowak huffed. "At this rate, we'll run into an entire colony's worth of them!"

Nida couldn't help but roll her eyes at Elty's comment herself, only to suddenly pause. Even if they'd fought their way through a decent number of pirates on the way here, they had always been in small parties they usually outnumbered, even without the help of the others they'd gone with. So far, they hadn't run into any big and dug-in ones like back at the garrison, and the harbor was right down the hill from them right now!

The Nidorina and her teammates flinched and ducked as a large group of fliers in pirate colors flew along in a wedge-shaped formation overhead. Bigger than any that they'd seen before, except, something was wrong. Beyond occasionally spitting an attack here or there below, the airborne party seemed focused on flying ahead. Straight to where all the ship masts were.

Nida grimaced. Her mind turned back to the call to pull out that they'd overheard Dirk barking out through the badge, as it occurred to her there was only one reason why pirates would prioritize moving along at all costs:

"Guys, I think we're running out of time," she said. "It looks like they're about to sail off."

A sinking sensation came over her gathered teammates as they set their teeth on edge and shot worried glances off into the distance. Crom held a blank look for a moment, before shaking his head and turning to the others uneasily.

"How are we supposed to find out what ship the Ledger's on in time?" he asked. "There must be dozens of them in the harbor right now!"

Nobody really had an answer to the Druddigon's question. Crom assumed that Dirk would've kept the Knights' Ledger to himself and put it on one of his own ships… but was that really a safe assumption? The pirates had all worked together to raid Starpeak Square, so what would've kept him from putting it on the ship of one of the other Council Crews? Or on the ship of some smaller pirate crew they'd never even heard of?

Maybe one of the other teams on the badge line would have an idea of what was going on. He reached for the badge on his scarf and squeezed it, only to be startled by a sharp voice coming through it.

"-f you're looking for that red book you want so badly, it's aboard the Iron Fleet's Starfall Shogun right now. I'd like to see you try to get it back.

Crom's eyes briefly widened as he realized the voice was Dirk's, when the sound abruptly cut out. The Druddigon shook the badge briefly, only for the bauble to remain silent beyond other startled voices coming through it, as Margi and the rest of his teammates hurried over with alarmed looks.

"Wh-What on earth just happened?!" Pleo cried. "That was Captain Dirk! Why are we hearing him through our badges?!"

"He must've gotten onto the line somehow!" another voice through the badge replied. "Don't use them for a bit, we're trying to figure out who he grabbed it from and if this line's been compromised!"

Crom hesitated and traded glances with his teammates, and noticed Elty furrowing his brow with a puzzled flick of his ears.

"… 'Starfall Shogun'? That one's certainly new, since the Iron Fleet's always just had the Mistral Marauder," Elty murmured. "Though how on earth did Hess ever let Kichiro name his ship? Since just from the name, it sounds like something Kichiro would've come up with."

Whatever the story behind that one was, it didn't help them with their current predicament. Even if they now knew what color sails they should be looking for, if Hess had an actual fleet he sailed around with now…

"Wait, but if the Iron Fleet has more than one ship at the moment, how do we know which one's the Starfall Shogun?" Crom asked.

"I don't think it'll be that hard to figure out, actually."

Trizano flew down from the rooftops and motioned for the others to follow around the corner of the alley. One by one they crept along, before coming out onto a battle-scarred street that ran down the hill, where amidst the glint of Protect arrays and attacks zipping about, they could see some of the ships in the harbor. Much to the Druddigon's surprise, there were just two ships which were flying the Iron Fleet's gold-and-silver colors. One was the same caravel that they always had, while the other, a few ships down, was a three-masted ship that was visibly bigger.

"I don't know how on earth Hess got his claws on a three-masted ship," Trizano said. "But I'd bet anything that's that 'Starfall Shogun' Dirk was talking about."

Crom stared at this 'Starfall Shogun' off in the distance and couldn't help but feel a twinge of discomfort. Like he'd seen this ship before somewhere… but where? He tried to study the ship's shape more closely, when a low grumble turned his attention to Elty as the Growlithe shook his head with a sharp frown.

"… We're not seriously just going there, are we?" he asked. "That was Captain Dirk we heard through the badge earlier. There's no way that this isn't all a giant trap of some sort with an entire crew just waiting on us to show up."

"Maybe, but nobody said we actually have to beat all of them," Nida insisted. "We just need to grab the Ledger and then get off Hess' ship. If the others knew what ship we were on, they could help bog those pirates down to keep us from getting ganged up on."

Everyone flinched as a loud blast rang out, and peered out to see smoke rising from a ship which was visibly listing along the docks. Dimitri looked out at the sea of ships and saw that here and there there, he spotted others that looked visibly damaged: ones with ruined sails and masts, ones that were partially sunk, while a couple were on fire.

Even if they weren't on as good of a footing as they'd hoped, the local defenders were still managing to do noticeable damage without reinforcements reaching them yet. Surely it wasn't a bad sign for their chances, was it?

Dimitri turned back to his teammates and shook his head back in reply.

"Actually, I think Nida's onto something," Dimitri said. "While stealth may not be an option with the amount of pirates on those ships, Dirk and the others don't know that Guardia evolved, or that everyone escaped from the garrison, for that matter. Also, while the captain might know who to look out for, would all of their underlings? It might be good enough for at least some of us to get up close without immediately being recognized."

Margi quirked a brow at the Kabutops' reply, before turning back to Nida.

"Where are you going with this?" the Hydreigon asked. "Even if they don't recognize you specifically, wouldn't they obviously be able to tell that you're not part of any of their crews?"

"Well, maybe," the Nidorina said. "But if we could trick them into thinking that we were pirates, then maybe we'd have a way to sneak aboard that ship."

Elty furrowed his brow and his mouth hung open in reply. His expression lingered briefly, and for a moment Nida could've sworn she saw a bead of sweat on the side of his head.

"Alright, now I definitely know you've lost it," Elty harrumphed. "Look, it's not like I haven't taken risks for the sake of a payday in the past, but how in the world do you expect us to pull that off?!"

A weak groan came from back in the alleyway as Team Traveller and the others turned back and saw the Flaaffy from the pirates they fought earlier weakly stirring. Nida walked over and gave a firm kick at the pirate's head, just in case the sheep was more lucid than she looked. The Electric-Type stopped stirring after that, when Nida's eyes turned to the Flaaffy's teal scarf.

A brief flash of realization crossed her mind. Hess' crew was already big enough that he surely had trouble keeping track of his own underlings at times, but what about those from other crews? If they blended a part of their team in with a bigger set of guards that walked up in someone else's colors, would anyone from the Iron Fleet really notice them right away?

Yes, stealing scarves was a bit dirty of a tactic and if he were here, Nida was sure that Kiran would never let her hear the end of it, but it wasn't as if without scarves these pirates would be in more danger than they already were in: overpowered and trapped in an enemy town.

More importantly, Dirk probably didn't know that she, Pladur, and Elty had escaped just yet, much less what Guardia looked like right now. There was a way right here where they could disguise their identities. Even if there was a risk that Elty would get recognized, if he stayed towards the back of the group, their disguises should at least last long enough to make it aboard the Starfall Shogun.

"With a lot of help, obviously," Nida said. "We'd need a couple minutes to let our allies know about our plan, get a few extra helping paws to go with us, and prepare a few items beforehand…"

Nida reached for the knot of the Flaaffy's scarf and undid it. She pulled the cloth off, before turning and holding it up in front of her teammates.

"Oh, and we'll need some new scarves, too."

---

Nida ran along panting and wrinkled her nose at the teal scarf around her neck, which smelled like it hadn't been washed in a long time. She stole a glance at Crom as they ran along together with his claws tied behind his back, with Elty, Guardia, and Pladur leading Pleo along in much the same condition. Joining them was a party of five local guards led by a Hakamo-o, all donned in scarves that had been similarly pilfered from overpowered pirates.

"Remember, no names from here on out," Elty whispered.

"Ha, don't worry about it! As long as you, the Nidorina and the Fraxure stay in the back of the group, they won't recognize any of you before it's too late," the Hakamo-o insisted. "Just let me handle that pirate captain! I can punch up an Aggron with ease."

Nida sighed and gave a sidelong glance at the Hakamo-o as the Dragon-Type puffed his chest out while the other guards visibly struggled not to roll their eyes. She didn't know how much help he was going to be after everything she'd seen of him while they'd been stuck in that cell together, but he at least volunteered to come along and Robbie trusted him enough to help them, so maybe he'd actually be helpful in battle?

… Or at least the others with him might be, anyways.

The sound of shouting and fighting still lingered in the background, mostly from the other side of the harbor. It didn't sound too close, but it was still loud enough that the Nidorina was a little worried that the other defenders waiting on them wouldn't be enough for their plan to work. She knew that Trizano, Ander, and Dimitri had opted to linger with the defenders since they stood out too much, but she was starting to think she'd be more confident if they were around.

The tang of salt water hung in the air and Nida saw Pokémon running along the harbor and its water choked full of ships. She looked up and saw a golden-scarved galleon down the dock, only to hear the clatter of shifting wood ringing out ahead. She looked up and saw a Drapion in a gold-and-silver scarf turning to face her from a makeshift barricade of wood and rubble, his eyes darting over to Pleo and the others.

"Hey, wait a minute, that's-"

"That bird plus his friends that we caught," Guardia said. "Our captain said that he had to go onto your crew's main ship, so get out of the way before those Gestirners pick us off!"

The Drapion glanced over as Team Traveller blew past with their 'captives' and ran down the dock. As they passed, Guardia quietly sucked in a breath and hoped that they wouldn't examine Pleo and the others' bindings too closely—lest they see that the knots were loose enough to come apart with a stiff tug. It seemed to work, as the Drapion barked out a "time to get going" to his nearby counterparts as they hastily withdrew. A bolt of electricity zipped in and arced in midair to strike her. Guardia briefly recoiled, as she shook off the bolt and kept running down the pier, quietly grumbling to herself about how not all of the defenders seemed to have gotten the memo about holding their fire.

She felt the back of her scarf chafe against her neck as something hard in its knot brushed her scales, when she looked up and saw a Barbaracle suddenly stop and level a skeptical stare at her. She reflexively reached for the back of her scarf, only to stop herself:

No, things had been going well so far and they'd only have the element of surprise once. They just needed to hang in there a bit longer.

Thankfully, the Barbaracle carried on and passed her by, running further down the pier to hurriedly undo a set of ropes. The Starfall Shogun was just past it, with its gangplanks riddled with pirates hastily making their way up it, while others clambered up netting hung along the hull. She lowered her head and charged along with her companions, shoving past anyone in their way as cries of protest and a couple yelps followed by loud splashes rang out. At least they wouldn't have to worry about fighting those pirates until they dragged themselves back up onto dry land.

Before she knew it, they'd made it up onto the deck which was in a state of disorder with pirates darting about, while Hess was standing by the central mast and looking off inland at the rest of the harbor. She quietly nodded at Pleo before tugging him along, stepping ahead and stopping impatiently in front of the pirate captain alongside her companion.

"Oi! We caught that bird and some of his friends on top of it!" Guardia snapped. "Let's get out of here already!"

Hess turned his head to face them when his eyes abruptly shrank to pins. He recoiled, stumbling back to put a healthy distance between him and the Marowak before him.

"A-Ack! Don't surprise me like that!" the Aggron cried.

Guardia had to fight back a smirk at the Steel-Type's reaction. Such a big and strong Bossgodora reacting to her like a scared little Eneco. Why, if this was really who Dirk was trusting to ambush them over that Ledger, this was going to be an easier fight than she thought!

"Hess, grow a spine already."

Guardia and her companions froze as they turned behind them and saw Ingela clambering up from the water with a red tome in a waterproof sleeve poking out from a bag. Pirates in teal scarves began to come over from and from elsewhere on the deck to see what was going on, while some of them bowed and made way for the Primarina, as Hess seemed to visibly flinch at her presence.

Guardia saw her teammates' eyes widen, while that Jyarango from the guards went stiff as a board and almost looked like he was fighting back a scream from his throat. Guardia set her teeth on edge as it sank in that this really had been a trap waiting for them. Fortunately, beyond a brief moment where the Primarina shot a sidelong frown at the Hakamo-o, Hess and Ingela hadn't seen through their identities as 'pirates' just yet. There was a brief moment where that Ledian from Hess' crew stared at them from above, before flying down for Hess and tugging at him for attention, but Guardia turned her head as Ingela scooted towards them. The Primarina sized Pleo up, before folding her flippers with a satisfied harrumph.

"Looks like our plan to lure Lugia worked out better than expected. And here I thought that after everything we'd heard about you, you'd actually give us trouble," the Primarina said, as she turned back to Hess. "Tell your crew to cast off. We're done-"

"Wait a moment, Ingela."

Hess suddenly lumbered over and motioned for a stop, training his eyes square on Nida as a deep frown settled over his face.

"Something's wrong here," he insisted. "I don't think these 'mons are actually from your crew."

Pladur quietly tensed up as the Aggron turned his gaze over them, and other pirates who'd gathered around similarly began to size them up. Many of them were ones that the Fraxure hadn't seen before, ones that looked noticeably stronger than he'd remembered Hess' underlings being. More worrisome still were the ones whose expressions started to grow increasingly skeptical and wary as they took closer looks at them.

"Wait, the Torrent Tsars have a Fraxure on their crew?" a Haxorus asked. "I never knew that."

"Yeah," a Sealeo murmured. "And that Growlithe towards the back looks just like…"

The Sealeo trailed off as Hess turned his head to see Elty for himself. Almost immediately, a flash of recognition came over his face. The Aggron captain grit his teeth afterwards and lowered his head, pawing at the ground with a low, threatening snarl.

"You're no pirates!" the Steel-Type shouted. "You're the rest of Lugia's annoying friends!"

Hess' mood quickly spread to the ringing pirates as they began to encroach on them growling and shifted into battling stances. Guardia and her teammates braced themselves as the pirates drew in tighter and tighter on them. Instead of appearing nervous or frightened, she tightened her grip on her club, as a knowing smirk came over her face.

"Took you that long to see through things!" the Marowak said. "Here's something else you didn't see coming!"

Guardia reached behind the knot of her scarf, and in one swift motion, yanked out a swirl-patterned seed that she threw towards Hess. The nearby pirates' eyes briefly widened as the Totter Seed popped against Hess' torso. At once, the Aggron staggered back in a daze, prompting Crom to spit a Dragon Rage into the air above, before grabbing the badge pinned to his scarf.

"Everyone! Hit our position now!"

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, a hail of attacks and thrown items sailed in from the sea as cries and the thuds of Pokémon falling to the deck rang out from all around them. There was suddenly a brief pause in the attacks—their signal to get out of the line of fire when they could, prompting Nida to grasp an orb with sparks crackling under its surface.

"Go!"

Nida dashed a Petrify Orb against the deck in a hail of sparks. A few nearby pirates were overtaken by its effects and visibly started to freeze up from petrification, which prompted Crom to lunge forward for the port side of the ship. He slipped past the reeling pirates in front of him, taking his place at the port side's railing alongside Marked and indigo-clad Pokémon who were storming aboard. He briefly caught a glimpse of Dimitri, Pyry, and Ander clambering up and hiding behind a Protect as battlecries rang out all around them. The sky above and the water below similarly teemed with defenders swooping in, while others behind them stormed their way aboard up nets and ropes that had been thrown over the side of the hull.

"Down there! Take out whatever sails you can!"

Crom looked up to see Trizano, Margi, and Pekka coming in with a group of flying Pokémon swooping down for the sails, only for others clad in pirate scarves to hurriedly zip in and cut them off. The air above quickly grew thick with skirmishes, as a few of the Pokémon in the air already spiraled out of it. Among the fliers, Kichiro ducked out of the way of a jet of water, glancing up at a Pellipper barreling towards one of the sails.

"Ack! Seriously?!"

He threw a punch wreathed with electricity back, sending the bird tumbling out of the air. He let out an annoyed hiss, before calling out to the deck below.

"All of you, hold down the fort down there!" the Ledian shouted. "We've got our hands full up here right now!"

"Music to my ears!" Elty shot back. "Everyone, like we planned!"

Right, that meant helping Pladur and Guardia get to cover and prepare for battle. Crom glanced over at an array of Protects their allies had conjured and noticed pirates running in to cut them off from it. He hurriedly threw a Power-Up Punch at a Snorunt at the head to buy Pladur and Guardia time to reach it, and just barely after they made it past the cover, the two began to whip up their fighting spirits with frenetic dances. A little ways over, Elty and Ander ran in to push the rest of the pirates away from the Protects, throwing fire and hacking slashes forward. Meanwhile, a few skirmishes away, Nida, Pleo, and Dimitri pushed ahead, darting in between ongoing battle all around them. Dimitri sent a Boldore tumbling back with a Scald, when he heard a sharp yelp and saw a flash of pink light. He turned his head and saw Ingela spitting up an Ice Beam that struck a Marked Golbat's square between her eyes, sending her plummeting into the water with a loud splash.

She was that pirate captain that had the Knights' Ledger earlier! While things had been a chaotic blur since the raid began, she was still the most likely Pokémon to have it at the moment, and thus their most natural target. The Kabutops turned to Nida and Pleo, as he raised his voice above the din to call out to them.

"Nida! Pleo! Let's go for the Primarina first!"

They didn't need to be told a second time, as one after the other, Dimitri, Nida, and Pleo tore along. The Lugia threw a Thunderbolt forward at the Primarina as they drew near, while Dimitri rushed forward with a running slash while Nida followed up with a jab from a poison-slicked paw. Ingela recoiled under the hail of attacks and tumbled against the deck, but righted herself almost as soon as she fell. She stamped her flippers down and steadied her body, before raising her head with a piercing glare.

"Annoying little pests!" the Primarina hissed. "Let's see you deal with this!"

Ingela raised her voice with an almost musical tone as water began to pool above her head, which she then flung out in a spray of large bubbles all over the deck. The bubbles swept up everyone near Ingela before they could react, striking Dimitri, Pleo and Nida and sending them pitching to the deck. Pleo tumbled and the world spun about him as shouts and cries rang out while the Sparkling Aria's bubbles kept coming, including a pained bellow from Hess. The Lugia shakily got back onto his feet when he felt his tail brush wet fur, and saw that he was passing a soaked Houndour lying groaning on the timbers as Nida stole a glance back at him.

"Yeesh, I guess that's one way to tell these pirates aren't above hitting their own underlings," Nida said.

Pleo turned his head up and saw Hess, still lurching in a daze from Guardia's Totter Seed, as a metallic glint formed along his tail. He braced himself as the Aggron lumbered over and attempted to swing his tail forward… straight at Ingela.

The Primarina noticed Hess' Iron tail too late when it smashed across her chest. She let out a sharp cry and staggered back, reeling from the blow as she fought to keep her balance. She tightened her eyes into an angry glare, before suddenly spitting a small burst of water right in Hess' face. The Aggron recoiled and brushed water off his now-dripping face, suddenly looking a lot more lucid as Ingela pointed at Pleo and the others with one of her flippers.

"Focus on hitting them, you dumb metal oaf!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" a cawing voice cut in.

A flash of steely gray swooped down and slashed across Hess' back. The Aggron stumbled forward and shook his head to regain his bearings, when he looked up to see Trizano circling above him. His mouth fell open, before he raised a claw and pointed up with a furious bellow.

"You!" Hess cried. "Of course you'd come to try and wreck my new ship!"

The Aggron launched a large rock towards Trizano in an attempt to smack him out of the air, prompting the Skarmory to hurriedly roll out of the way as the stony projectile sailed off into the distance. Trizano looked back down towards his teammates on the deck, and caught a glimpse of a red book in Ingela's satchel. He briefly hesitated, before raising his voice with a sharp cry.

"Everyone! Get the Ledger away from that Primarina and let's get out of here!" Trizano exclaimed. "I'll keep Hess busy!"

The Skarmory saw a few heads turn in the midst of the mass of battles around them. First came Ander as he lunged in with a slash trailing white flecks of light, then Pekka as the Vibrava lobbed a Blast Seed at Ingela before making himself scarce. The Primarina reeled and audibly seethed as a ball of pinkish light began to gather in her mouth, when Guardia's club suddenly sailed in and struck Ingela in the side of her head.

THWACK!

"Gah!"

Ingela stumbled back in pain and clutched the side of her head as her satchel slid off her shoulder. Crom watched it land on the deck, as sure enough, the Knights' Ledger flopped out. He hurriedly darted over, scooping it up as a stray Night Shade zipped past. The Druddigon turned and bolted for the port side's railing as he raised his voice over the raging battle all around them.

"I've got it!" Crom shouted. "Let's get-"

"Not so fast!"

A series of surprisingly painful swipes suddenly hit Crom from behind. He cried out and tripped as the Knights' Ledger slipped from his grasp and he hit the deck.

Crom winced and looked up to see the red tome lying just ahead of him. He quickly attempted to grab it, when an Azumarill with pink dust still trailing his paws charged in and kicked it out of the way. The Druddigon stared in surprise and tried to get back onto his feet, only for the Azumarill to spew a freezing wind at him.

Amidst the flurry of incoming Pokémon and their attacks, Elty saw Crom recoiling from the Icy Wind and tried to go and help him. He made it a few paces ahead when a bellowing roar came from just ahead. He stiffened up and glanced up, his eyes widening as he saw a Haxorus in Iron Fleet colors running at him with dragonfire built up on her tail. Elty hurriedly jumped back as the pirate's tail just missed his head, and he hastily spat back a spray of whitish embers. The Will-O-Wisp found its mark on the dragon's hide, but much to the Growlithe's horror, it barely slowed her down, as the Haxrorus swiftly followed up her blow with an uppercutting Dragon Claw.

"A-Agh!"

Elty shot up into the air before tumbling against the deck, coming to a flopping stop against its timbers. The Growlithe tried to get up, when he suddenly felt a heavy weight from above pressing him down. He looked up and let out a startled yelp, seeing the Haxorus pinning him to the deck with her foot. Dragonfire began to gather on her claws, as a malicious sneer came over her tusked face.

"Lights out, Growlithe-"

"Hey! Get your filthy claws off our friend!"

An orange seed abruptly sailed in and struck the Haxorus' face. A fiery blast followed, leaving the Haxorus to bellow in pain, cradling her face and staggering back in alarm.

"Argh! What was-?!"

A blur of blue scales shot in as Pyry spat up a Dragon Rage that knocked the Haxorus further and left her audibly wincing, with Pekka charging in just afterwards. Elty felt himself get tugged up from the back of his neck and saw that Pyry and Pekka were there looking down at him when hoarse panting reached his ears. It was the Haxorus, woozily starting to get up near the railing, which prompted Elty to cast a sidelong glance to Pyry.

"Here, make the most of things!"

Blue sparks gathered along his paws, as he hurriedly tagged and passed them along to Pyry's hide. The Gabite took off running, roaring as he bore down on the Haxorus and dragonfire gathered on both his claws. The pirate briefly snapped to attention as she tried to cut him off with a Dragon Claw, only for his strike to land deep in her gut. At once, the Haxorus seized up and she tottered on her feet, as Pyry wound up his other claw and aimed for the Haxorus' chin.

WHAP!

Her body jerked around as she lost her footing, tumbling backwards and slumping over against the railing. She laid there, offering no further resistance beyond a weak groan as the sounds of ongoing battle continued to rage behind them. Pyry and Pekka breathed in and out as Elty shook his head and screwed his muzzle into a determined smirk.

"Heh, I don't know what I'd do without you two," the Growlithe said. "Though come on, let's not leave her lying around. She didn't hit as hard as I was expecting, but Haxorus still aren't weak opponents."

The Gabite and Vibrava gave grins back, before they hoisted the Haxorus pirate onto the railing and shoved her into the water. Without wasting any time, they turned back and ran towards where they'd remembered seeing Crom, just in time to see the Azumarill from earlier crumpling up from a Poison Jab from Nida. A glance around revealed it wasn't just the Azumarill, either: their surroundings were now much more open and the deck all around them was strewn with slumped-over Pokémon, while the other pirates were increasingly fighting off towards the stern. The three hurried over to Nida and Crom as one after the other, their teammates gathered with them, prompting the Nidorina to raise her voice.

"Stay close to each other!" Nida cried. "The Azumarill just had the Ledger, so it's gotta be nearb-!"

GRAAAAAAAWR!

The ship's deck abruptly trembled and Nida and her companions barely had a chance to turn around when a hail of large rocks flew in. They swept her and her teammates up, knocking them off their feet. As they uneasily righted themselves, they looked over to see Hess nearing them flecked with fresh scrapes, stomping the deck with a fuming huff and puff.

"I've had it up to here with you little brats! If you think that after everything I've been through that I'm going to let you humiliate me on my own ship, you've got another thing coming!"

"Oh really, Bossgodora?"

Thumping noises ran against the deck, as Guardia rushed at Hess, swinging her club out wide with a sharp glare. At once, Hess' eyes shrank to pins and he stumbled away from her, as his voice came from his throat in an audible stammer.

"N-No! Stay away from me!"

The Aggron hastily flung a Surf at Guardia and forced her to dive out of the way as the wave carried on into the Pokémon around her, both ally and pirate alike. The Marowak ignored the cries in the background and hastily sprang back onto her feet, when she looked over and saw Hess turning and hurriedly retreating.

"Come over here and fight, coward!"

Guardia grit her teeth and gave chase, as Nida briefly considered joining to cover her, only to notice Dimitri already running after her. The Nidorina shook her head, before her mind turned back to the Ledger. She looked around the deck, but didn't see any sign of it. Where on earth had that Azumarril kicked it off to…?

Nida suddenly heard panicked shouts coming from her right. There, near the central mast, running for dear life, was that Hakamo-o from her group. Right behind him, Ingela was flopping after him, seemingly recovered from their earlier blows, although curiously not attacking. The reason why became apparent after a glance at the dragon's claws revealed a red tome held tightly in his grasp. Their eyes briefly met, when the Hakamo-o frantically cried out.

"N-Nidorina, I got that book you were looking for!" he exclaimed. "Just come and help get this pirate off my-!"

A Moonblast suddenly sailed in and struck the back of the Hakamo-o's head, sending him crumpling to the deck near the starboard railing. Nida tried to rush over, but was forced to duck from an errant jet of water. By the time she got back up, it was already too late. There, the Primarina captain shoved the Knights' Ledger back into her satchel with one paw, while she dragged the Hakamo-o off the deck by the knot of his scarf.

"Irritating little Imp…"

She threw the Hakamo-o aside, sending him pitching over the railing with a sharp splash. Nida started to run off for Ingela when she heard a shrill cry and hastily hopped back from an errand stone just missing her ears. Off by the starboard railing, she glimpsed Hess jumping back from a swing from Guardia's club as the Aggron bolted, knocking a few unfortunate pirates in his way overboard with a series of splashes when he saw the Primarina down the deck from him.

"I-Ingela! Help me out here and get this 'mon off my tail!"

Much to Nida's alarm, it took all of a brief moment for the pirate captains to close the gap, as Ingela chased off Guardia with a spray of water that just missed her shoulder. For a brief moment, Nida stared ahead blankly at the scene, before looking back at the rest of her teammates.

"Gah! How are we supposed to get the Ledger back when there's two of these pirate captains we need to deal with?!" the Nidorina complained. "It's already hard enough to fight one of them!"

Elty looked inside his bag for any items, but saw that beyond a Blowback Orb it was completely empty. He grimaced for a moment, only for his eyes to widen as a sudden idea came to mind. The Growlithe looked over towards Pleo, then back at Blowback Orb, before turning to the rest of his teammates.

"We just need to separate them briefly and stop from joining up with each other!" the Growlithe insisted. "Pleo, use Whirlwind to blow Hess away from Ingela! Me, Guardia, and whoever can help will handle Hess and keep him away! The rest of you go for Ingela and the Ledger"

Pleo stepped in and whipped up a whirling wind that caught up Hess and sent him tumbling along the deck with a startled bellow, a sharp yelp following after he came to a stop after striking some unfortunate soul. Without a moment to lose, the Growlithe lunged ahead along the deck, tearing for the Aggron as a sharp shout rang out from above:

"Not so fast, Elty!"

He briefly looked up and his fur stood on end from Kichiro winding up a flurry of punches, however, before the Ledian could close the distance, a black blur suddenly knocked him into the rigging. The Ledian tumbled, and hastily righted himself before falling back, revealing Margi up in the air above them, spewing dragonfire at figures passing her in the air.

"Hurry! I can't hold them off here forever!"

Elty complied as the Marked Hydreigon sent a pirate spiraling out of the sky. A little further away, Nida saw Pleo whirlwinding a pirate back into the crowd. Ander flitted up to gather Trizano, as Nida turned her attention back for Ingela. She tore ahead and ran on all fours, Pleo flinging a second Whirlwind ahead of her to clear the way. Partway over, Ingela noticed Nida from the corner of her eye and turned around just as the Nidorina lunged forward, poison slicking over her right forepaw.

"Take this!"

Nida threw her Poison Jab forward, with Ander and Trizano following up with sets of raking slashes that sent the Primarina hurriedly sliding for cover. Pleo lowered his head and attempted to gather electricity along his body, only for a brilliant pink wave-like light to suddenly overtake him.

"Argh!"

Pleo staggered and skidded back from the Dazzling Gleam, just barely keeping his footing as his breaths came in and out in ragged pants. More Pokémon were now lying splayed out on the deck, pirate and defender alike, while Ander looked similarly worn down from the attack. A sharp cry turned his attention up at the Primarina, when his heart skipped a beat:

There in her mouth, ice and frigid air gathered from a readying Ice Beam. She aimed it square at the little Lugia, when suddenly a woosh rang out along with a sharp gust of wind and a chorus of sharp cries punctuated by an Aggron's bellow.

"A-Agh!"

A blur of dark and light grays flew in as Hess abruptly sailed into Ingela from the side, knocking them both to the deck. Nida looked aside, where she saw Elty and the others coming in, stepping over the shards of a broken orb with pirates stumbling up from being blown about every which way from it in a rough circle. The Nidorina frowned, and exasperatedly threw her arms up in reply.

"Elty, whatever happened to fighting them separately?!" Nida demanded.

"We tried!" the Growlithe insisted. "Just hit those two before they get back up!"

Everyone ran in and desperately threw whatever attacks they could muster at the two pirate captains: Pleo sent a thick bolt of lightning at Ingela that made her body freeze up as Dimitri bowled Hess over with a Brick Break at his stomach. Before either could regain their balance, Nida threw in a Poison Jab at the Primarina while even Pyry and Pekka joined in from the surrounding fray with a joint Sand Tomb on the Aggron, sending the two toppling to the deck.

All of a sudden, the pair snapped to attention, and much to Team Traveller's alarm, neither Hess nor Ingela stayed down on the deck. One after the other, Team Traveller's members braced themselves as Hess woozily fought to stay on his feet amidst the grit swirling around him, and lowered his head with a frustrated snarl.

"Grr… I'm not losing to you runts again!" the Aggron bellowed. "Boneheaded monster or not!"

Hess suddenly called up a hail of rocks that tore out of the water and sailed past him. Pleo's eyes widened as he hurriedly tried to duck out of the way, only for one of the rocks to strike him in his wing. The Lugia hit the deck as he heard his teammates cry out in pain. He tried to get back up onto his feet, when he heard Ingela's voice cry out.

"Stay down, Lugia!"

Pleo raised his head and saw water gathering in the Primarina's mouth. He froze as she spewed out a large torrent, only for a yellow-and-green blur to fly in and hurriedly shove him out of the way. He squawked and rolled along the deck as the Hydro Pump grazed his shoulder. The young Lugia steadied himself with a choking cough amid the sounds of raging battle, when he looked back at the place where he was shoved from.

There, much to his horror, was Pekka, lying drenched and face-down on the deck.

"A-Aah! Pekka!"

Pleo hurriedly ran over to the Vibrava and frantically tried to tug him up to no avail. In the background, Crom shambled back onto his feet as the Druddigon glimpsed at his teammates. All of them were worn down, and if the rest of the pirates weren't busy fighting the other Pokémon who had come to help them, they'd likely have been wiped out right there. The Druddigon set his teeth on edge, as he looked at his teammates wide-eyed.

"Argh! We can't deal with the two of them like this!" Crom insisted.

Ander panted as he tried to think of an answer, when he looked back at Ingela and Hess. The Scyther noticed Ingela stumble and wince as she moved forward, and Hess himself was stopping to pant for air.

Both of them looked like they just needed a final push to be put down for the count… if they could just push through, maybe they'd still have a chance to force things into a one-on-one fight after all.

"Don't be so sure of that!" the Scyther insisted. "I'll keep Hess on his toes! Make this opening count with that Primarina!"

Ander brought his scythes together and flung a whitish shockwave forward at Hess. The Aggron noticed the blow too late, which caught him square in his stomach and left him wheezing for air. The rest of Team Traveller turned their attention to Ingela while Hess reeled, with Guardia being the first to attack as she threw her bone forward. The Bonemerang struck the Primarina's snout with an audible thwack, only for a number of pirates to notice them about to mob their captains, prompting some like a Gumshoos in a teal scarf to hurriedly rush in to intervene.

"That's enough, you little-!"

A black blur suddenly swooped down and plucked the Gumshoos from the deck, pulling him up with a startled shriek. Just as quick as it came, the figure pulled up and sent the pirate pitching through the air head over heels into the sea. A band of Marked and indigo-clad Pokémon stopped the other pirates from getting closer, before the group glimpsed up to see Margi hastily weaving out of the way of a gout of blue dragonfire.

"Go!" she shouted. "We'll try and hold off the rest!"

Team Traveller didn't waste another moment, throwing down one blow after the other: Pleo flung forward a bolt of electricity, while Dimitri joined in with a running slash which left a long cut on the Primarina's stomach. Ingela tried to gather water above her head for a Sparkling Aria, but kept getting cut off with each blow as she struggled to keep her focus. Nida got ready to join in as the watery orb grew visibly larger, poison building up on her paw, when a sharp bark reached her ears.

"Wait!"

Nida glanced to her right as Elty ran up and patted her with a paw, when a bluish aura passed onto her body. The Nidorina felt her heart quicken and a shot of energy flowing through her tired limbs, before looking back at Elty as he nosed ahead.

"Now!" the Growlithe yipped. "Hit her with everything you've got!"

Nida turned and watched as Ingela finally sang and flung her Sparkling Aria out over the battlefield, sending her teammates closer by tumbling back with sharp yelps. Nida's mind raced as her teammates struggled up, her focus turning to the Primarina She bounded forward, poison dripping from her paw, as Ingela spotted her from the corner of her eye and whirled around.

"You'll have to do better than that, Nidorina!" she snarled.

The Primarina spewed forth a giant column of water at her, as Nida hurriedly slid along the deck to let it pass overhead. The Nidorina felt the Hydro Pump brush her eartips, and when the air cleared, she sprang up and swung her paw square on the cut along Ingela's stomach. The Poison Jab landed with a wince-worthy squelching noise, making the pirate captain seize up with widened eyes.

"Nrk!"

The Primarina staggered and her body visibly locked up briefly, before it went limp. She flopped over onto her side and hit the deck with an audible thud, leaving Nida standing there, panting in disbelief.

"Hey!" Hess suddenly snapped. "Don't you forget about-!"

Margi spat up a spray of black orbs from behind, sending Hess flopping onto his belly and sliding headfirst into a small cluster of crates. He laid on the ground panting and woozily tried to get up, when a white, hard object tapped against the tip of his steely head with an audible tak. He glanced up, and saw Guardia holding her bone and glaring down at him as other Pokémon encroached on him from just out of his vision with low growls.

"I believe this is the part where you yield if you know what's good for you, Bossgodora," the Marowak harrumphed.

The Aggron flinched with a low whine, his will to fight drained. Crom quickly looked off in the background further down along the deck, where the other pirates were busy fleeing towards the stern under a hail of incoming fire.

"Guys! The Ledger!" Nida cried. "Grab it from Ingela and let's get out of here!"

Crom looked back towards the Primarina captain, where the satchel she'd been wearing was lying on the deck with its contents spilling out, and the familiar red cover of the Company's part of the Knights' Ledger among them. The Druddigon hurried over and reached out for the satchel as he neared, when a sudden, sharp pain caught him from the side.

Crom fell and tumbled onto his side with a yelp, panting as his vision ran muddy. He looked down to see a cut in his scales dribbling blood. He looked up, where there was Dirk standing up with his blades held out at the ready.

"Ack! D-Dirk?! Where did-?!"

Crom noticed a red-and-blue blur swooping down from the corner of his eye, and turned to see a Braviary in a red scarf snatching the Knights' Ledger from the deck. The Braviary flew up, coming to a perch up on one of the masts high above. Crom's eyes shrank at the sight of the bird holding the book in his grasp.

No! They'd come so far! They couldn't be undone by some pirate like this!

"A-Aah! That Braviary!"

Crom tried to spit up a Dragon Rage, only to abruptly gag after an Iron Thorn struck him in his stomach. All around, the surrounding deck and air suddenly devolved back into chaos. Crom briefly looked up and saw Margi being mobbed by red-scarved pirates, before Kichiro lobbed a Sleep Seed at her and sent her plummeting into the sea. Back on the deck, some of their allies slumped over while others hurriedly fell back for the port side's railing. The Druddigon attempted to go after them, when he noticed the ship had grown much louder with new voices, and saw a mob of red-scarved pirates swooping in from the starboard side.

Before he knew it, they'd already caught up with them and cut them off. The Druddigon felt his heart sink as he frantically looked about his surroundings, when he saw Dirk shooting an unamused frown over at Ingela's unconscious body.

"Really, Ingela?" the Bisharp scoffed. "I had expected that you at least would've lasted longer than Hess."

Dirk pulled out a Tiny Reviver Seed and thrust it into the Primarina's mouth, when everyone's eyes turned skyward at the sound of departing wingbeats. Much to their horror, the Braviary had taken flight and was starting to head off towards a red-sailed ship, the Ledger still held within his talons. Trizano let out a sharp squawk of protest, as the Skarmory beat his wings and attempted to give chase.

"Wait! Come back!"

Trizano tore after the Braviary, slamming into the Braviary's wing with a Steel Wing that left cut feathers swirling in the air. The pirate's talons slackened and dropped the Ledger while he spiraled and fell out of the sky, Trizano catching it as his foe fell into the sea with a scream.

The Skarmory pulled up just over the water and returned over the deck, when a series of rings in the air struck his head. His flight grew jerky and erratic as it was his turn to lose his grip on the red tome, with Kichiro flying by and grabbing it out from under him as it dropped.

Trizano dazedly tried to give chase when a Thunder Wave abruptly caught him from below, sending the Skarmory plummeting to the deck with a loud thud. Loud booms rang out from the direction of other ships in the harbor. Team Traveller watched as their allies' eyes visibly widened in panic and they began to retreat, all as hails of attacks and baying Pokémon in red scarves chased them off.

Pleo stared frozen with his mind running blank, when he suddenly felt the ship lurch underfoot. He snapped to attention from footsteps heading straight for him, as Dirk approached with his blades drawn with a sneering smile.

"I knew that I could count on you to come."

Pleo glanced off past the railing and saw much to his horror that the ship was turning around and moving along out for the mouth of the harbor. A wincing groan turned his attention off towards Ingela. The Primarina was clutching her head and spitting up a spent Tiny Reviver Seed onto the deck, when Pleo also noticed that Hess was finishing up a Sitrus Berry. The scene from the bow was little better, as what Pleo could see of their allies was that they were fleeing in a disorganized rout, with some jumping from the railing or getting thrown overboard by pirates.

Elty's eyes shrank to pins and his breaths came quick and shallow as everywhere he looked, more and more pirates seemed to be circling in on them, with their numbers diminishing by the second.

"C-Come on!" the Growlithe yipped. "We need to get out of here!"

Elty hastily spat up a Smokescreen out and took off running. His teammates hurriedly followed suit, as the Growlithe beelined for the bow where their allies were abandoning ship, lowering his head to try and charge ahead faster.

"Here! Take this, you traitorous mutt!"

Elty's eyes widened as he saw a Drednaw whirling around with dragonfire wreathing his tail, which caught the Growlithe in his side. There was a wince-worthy shriek and Pleo watched in horror as the Fire-Type launched into the air limply, before falling over the railing.

"E-Elty!"

He and his teammates attempted to go after the Growlithe, only for several pirates to cut them off, while others descended on them from above and behind. Pleo briefly watched as Crom collapsed against the deck from an almost gem-like ray of light, only to promptly lose sight of him as the Druddigon got mobbed, with Nida meeting much the same fate. The Lugia panickedly jumped up as much as his clipped wings would allow and threw a Whirlwind ahead to clear the way, but there were just too many of them. He stumbled back, running out of the way of a shadowy ball as he retreated towards an open-looking patch of deck.

Pleo skidded to a stop after seeing Pyry slump over with Pekka still on his shoulders, with Pladur similarly having fallen a little ways away near Crom. Ander, Guardia, and Dimitri darted up to his side and closed ranks around him. They looked about as once again, everywhere around them, there were pirates in various colors, drawing ever closer with a chorus of jeers and shouts. A few parted the way for Hess, as the Aggron made his way to the front.

"H-Hah! Know when to quit, brats!" Hess sneered, hastily composing himself. "The only way you're getting off this ship is by walking the plank!"

Pleo felt a frightened quiver run down his body and looked around. How were they supposed to get off the ship? He didn't see any way they could escape, and there was no way that they could beat all these pirates on their own! There were just too many of them and they were just too strong…

But… hadn't that also been the case on that night aboard Lyn's ship? Everything had looked hopeless there, and in spite of it, they'd dug their feet in and kept fighting on. Even when they were sure they were going to lose, his powers had come through for them then.

Then, maybe… just maybe, if they could hold out long enough, it'd come back to help them here, too. Pleo batted his wings out, and coiled his head back with a defiant squawk.

"No!" Pleo cried. "We'll never give in to a bunch of thieving bullies like you!"

Pleo noticed a few pirates had a flash of alarm come over them at his response, with some visibly backing away. Except, Dirk wasn't one of them. The Bisharp narrowed his eyes briefly, before reaching into his bag with a terse scoff in response.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't."

Dirk threw his hand forward. Pleo and his companions briefly flinched and braced themselves, when they looked up and saw that much to their alarm that there was a Slumber Orb sailing through the air.

"Ack!" Dimitri cried. "That's a-!"

It was too late. The orb dashed against the deck as cream mist swallowed them up. One by one, they slumped over and hit the deck asleep along with a few nearby pirates in golden scarves as Dirk looked down with a satisfied harrumph. The fighting in the background gradually grew quieter as the Starfall Shogun sailed further and further out from the harbor, with a much-diminished fleet around them and the sound of stragglers attempting to fight their way out of port. The crowd around Dirk thinned out as the pirates increasingly went to help the Starfall Shogun's crew defend the ship, while a few lingered to try and steal glimpses at the felled Protector.

Dirk could already tell just from a casual glance around that everyone who'd made it off of Gestirn had lost a good chunk of their crews. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing since he no longer had to navigate such losses on his own.

For now, all that was left to step forward and claim his prize.

"And that's a wrap," the Bisharp said, before reaching for his badge. "Rian, get him aboard my ship-"

"W-Wait just a moment!"

Hess interjected and hastily darted ahead, the Aggron waving his claws as he audibly sputtered in protest.

"This is my ship and it's my mission to turn Lugia over!"

Dirk whirled around and leveled a blade square at Hess' throat, his words coming out in an irritated, metallic hiss.

"Yeah, and whose Slumber Orb put them down for the count?" the Bisharp demanded. "Yours? No? Then shut the hell up!"

Hess tried and mostly failed to suppress a squeak from his throat as Dirk pressed the blade closer to Hess' throat. Just then, a sharp buzz rang out, as Kichiro flew in with a piercing frown.

"Dirk, Lyn's specifically tasked us to bring him the bird," the Ledian said. "Do you think that as a square-neck, he's not going to take the first excuse he can to back out of our deal?"

Dirk briefly opened his mouth only to swallow his words. No, even if he didn't want Lyn to have Lugia, there was no reason why Hess or his lackeys needed to know about it. Ingela studied him from the side carefully, before shaking her head with a low sigh.

"… The Ledian's got a point, Dirk."

Dirk furrowed his brow back at the Primarina as she scooted forward. She briefly winced from the cut on her side, before folding her flippers with a serious frown.

"That Samurott's surely heard about the raid on Gestirn by now and is expecting to get his prisoner," she insisted. "If we do have to back out of our deal with him, we should do what we can to get his guard down. Wouldn't the most likely way for us to do that be to play along with whatever he's expecting from us?"

Dirk paused for a moment, before moving his blade away from Hess' throat. The Aggron pawed at, gasping for air. Dirk narrowed his eyes, before turning aside with an impatient scoff.

"… Fine, get the bird below deck before he comes to, Hess. Do whatever you want with the rest," he grunted. "But Ingela and I will stay aboard to supervise you. Our deckhands are stuck onboard here until we reach safer waters anyways. Besides, we didn't get where we were on the Council by blindly trusting bottom feeders."

Hess panted and narrowed his eyes back as a small tremor ran down his body and his face seemed to betray a pent-up frustration. He shook his head, before turning aside with a sullen grunt.

"Come on Kichiro, go and get some of our deckclaws who are still standing and tell the others to patch up whoever's left," he said. "There should be spaces for the bird's friends and the two turncoats in the brig on this ship. Push the rest overboard and let those 'mons on land fish 'em out."

The Ledian reflexively opened his mouth to protest over his name being mangled yet again, only to bite his words back. They had enough to worry about for now. He sighed and flew off, leaving Hess to go over and take Pleo into his grasp and lumber along off below deck. Dirk and Ingela watched as Kichiro returned and other Iron Fleet pirates came to seize the others from Team Traveller, along with Pyry and Pekka, and started heading off for below deck. All the while, booms and cries rang out as the escorts pushed the ship out further and further towards the open sea.

Dirk made his way off to the stern, and glanced over the railing after hearing a set of splashes over the sounds of skirmishing. He looked over and sharply frowned as he watched Hess' flunkies push groaning Marked and Imperials overboard. He'd heard that Hess was leery of getting involved in taking Pokémon for ransom from what the Aggron insisted was past experience. He'd normally have more to say about the sort of chaotic ship Hess was running, but he supposed it didn't matter right now. They had bigger concerns at the moment.

Dirk felt a prod at his shoulder and looked over, only to see Ingela staring at him with a serious frown.

"Where were you earlier?!" the Primarina hissed. "You said you'd step in to help us!"

"Which I did, when the time was right. Just as I'd told you," Dirk said. "I naturally had to change my plans when they brought a whole swarm of their friends along, but I'd expected you and your Torrent Tsars to hold out longer."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you after what happened in that Mystery Dungeon," the Water-Type spat. "And just what were you doing, exactly?"

"Doing what I could to manage our retreat, of course," he replied. "Naturally, there were bound to be some uneven outcomes when one captain has to carry the others. Word has a way of best spreading within one's own crew, after all."

The Primarina leveled an icy glare in reply. Dirk didn't say anything about how part of 'managing expectations' was making sure that it wasn't him alone who came off Gestirn with the stench of losses taken on the mission, but she didn't press the matter. She briefly glanced at the cut on her body and looked out to sea with a terse harrumph.

"Just don't give me any more unexpected surprises today. My crew and I won't be as inclined to forgive them," Ingela huffed. "Though are we still making our move on these golden-scarved incompetents out at sea? Many of the smaller crews didn't make it out of port, and none of Tarquin's ships look like they've budged from the docks."

"Of course we are," Dirk said. "Are you telling me that you really want to sit at the same table with that buffoon once we're back on Orleigh?

"And does your crew already know what to expect? Your whole crew?" Ingela insisted. "Including after taking stock of any losses that might have changed our plans?"

Dirk paused and looked out over the harbor as attacks and items continued to fly about. It was a bit hard to make things out for certain in the chaos, but just from a glance, at least a third of their ships that came for the initial storming of Starpeak Square had to have been left behind: he saw Tarquin's galleon drifting with its sails ablaze… a caravel in Hess' colors with a severed rudder teeming with Imps on the deck as Pokémon from its crew tumbled over the railing and into the water in front of his eyes… along with a ship in his colors he'd had to abandon due to a lack of 'monpower, which was listing half-sunk wedged up against a dock.

Dirk let out an agitated sigh at the sight. It would be annoying to replace, but he supposed losing one out of five ships was still better off than what the others would have to sort out. An impatient thump turned his attention back to the deck, when he saw Ingela folding her flippers. She winced and briefly eyed a long ruddy streak on her body, before turning her attention back and narrowing her eyes into a sharp scowl.

"I thought so," she scoffed. "Mine doesn't know what to expect either, and I still need to conduct a headcount to see what portion of them made it off Gestirn."

The Bisharp paused, before shaking his head with a quiet sigh.

"Fine, you've made your point. My lieutenants would need a bit more time to get the rest of my crew ready," Dirk replied. "Perhaps it's best to wait a little before making our move, anyways. It'll give us a chance to take Hess and that Samurott off the board at once."

An errant Hyper Beam suddenly sailed in and reduced a nearby set of barrels to splinters. Ingela hastily retaliated with a Hydro Pump back in its direction, which sent a flier near the shoreline falling out of the air and into the sea. The Bisharp paused briefly, before he trained a stern frown over at his Primarina counterpart.

"We'll continue this later. Just get those affairs of yours sorted as soon as you can," the Bisharp insisted. "And get that cut of yours looked at, too."

Dirk fell back and began to make his way back down to the main deck as the Starfall Shogun headed out deeper and deeper into the open water, as a small smile crept over his face.

He'd paid a high price to get this far, but in the end, he was coming out of this whole episode the best off of anyone on the Council, especially compared to Tarquin. Even if he'd now have to do without the Tyrantrum's help, his plans to deal with Hess and that Company interloper were still in a position to proceed for the ultimate prize of all:

A Protector that would answer to him.

---

The first thing Elty noticed after when he woke up was the smell of salt water and that he felt damp. Damp and miserable, with just about every part of his body he could think of aching. He tried to open his eyes, but what little he could see after trying to do so was hazy. In the background, indistinct voices swirled in the air, only for a barking call from right behind to fill his ears.

"Over there, that's another one of those pirates."

Elty tried to lift his head, when he felt breaths against his pelt and teeth nip him and lift him by the back of his neck. He blurrily saw his feet leave beach sand as water dripped off of him, before he heard approaching wingbeats right in front of him.

"Let him go. He's one of ours."

The Growlithe's eyes suddenly shot wide and he coughed up water, as he kicked and thrashed in his captor's grasp in a panic.

"Easy! Easy! You're alright right now!"

Elty suddenly realized that that was Margi's voice he was hearing and felt his captor set him back down on the sand. He wearily looked over his shoulder to see a Mabosstiff in an indigo scarf drifting off, as Margi settled down in front of him and held out an Oran Berry. The Growlithe's breaths slowed along with his racing heart as he realized that he currently wasn't in any danger.

"Are you hurt, Elty?"

Elty looked back at the Hydreigon and noticed that she looked tense and on-edge. He supposed that the fact that she wasn't already dragging him over to a Medic's Hut meant that he didn't look obviously hurt, but…

"I feel like a Snorlax just rolled over onto me, so probably."

Elty weakly took the Oran Berry and started to eat it as he looked around to try and regain his bearings. He was on a beach with curious pits in the sand pockmarking it, and Starpeak Square's timbered buildings visible at the end. The harbor was just off to the right, with smoke still curling up and its water choked with ships, some of which were sunk or listing at precarious angles.

"Du da! Los jetzt!"

He looked up and saw a group of Pokémon in pirate colors being marched off along the beach with their limbs raised up in surrender, some dripping seawater, while others were curiously coated in sand. He wasn't sure what to make of that until he saw the Mabosstiff briefly stop while passing one of the pits, before dragging up a yelping Buneary who was shoved into the marching column.

Elty blinked as the procession went past, before warily turning back to Margi.

"So… we won, then?"

Margi didn't say anything back but averted her gaze, as there seemed to be a visible look of dread on her face. A little ways off, a Heliolisk and Robbie were passing by and stopped, before the Heliolisk turned and uneasily pawed at his shoulder in reply.

"Well, we drove the pirates off," the Electric-Type said. "So in that sense we won-"

Robbie swiftly cut the Heliolisk off with a biff at his shoulder before giving a sharp glare.

"Read the room, Hans," the Krookodile harrumphed, before turning to Elty and trailing off uneasily. "I… think it's better if Margi tells you what happened. With all these remaining pirates, we've got our claws full at the moment."

The pair hurried off in the direction the pirates were being marched off to, as Elty began to look around him. He abruptly froze as a dawning realization came over him.

None of his other teammates were there with him right now.

"… Where's everyone else?" he asked.

A long silence followed, before Margi hung her heads, and answered with a low, deflated murmur.

"I'm sorry, none of them came off the ship after you did."

Elty's eyes widened and he pinned back his ears. If Margi was right, then that meant everybody else had been captured. There were a number of things that could possibly happen to them from there, but the most likely would be that the pirates would hand everyone off to Lyn.

Who would take Pleo back to Vollezee with him, to do gods-knew-what with him.

"B-Bogowie… We have to go after them!" Elty yipped. "Those are ships, they couldn't have gotten-!"

"Elty, all of that happened over two hours ago."

Elty just stared up blankly as the words kept repeating in his head. The Marked Hydreigon sucked in a breath and set her teeth on edge, before she continued on in a deflated tone.

"None of the relief forces we sent were able to get past their escorts or their cannons," Margi explained. "And they whipped up whirlpools and harsh weather to mask their retreat."

The Hydreigon fell quiet, before looking away with a low murmur.

"There weren't enough swimmers and fliers left still who were well enough to give chase and try to fight their way past all those pirates," she explained. "Sheriff Robbie, the local Duke, and the Elders are trying to see if there's anything else that can be done, but…"

She trailed off and averted her gaze as Elty grimaced and a sinking feeling of dread came over the pit of his stomach. Even unspoken, the meaning was clear: they'd lost, and Pleo was on his way to Lyn… along with everyone else.

His head drifted down towards the beach's sand, as tears began to well up in his eyes and his voice hitched.

"N-no… Dammit. D-Dammit!"

---

Author's Notes:

- Eneco (エネコ) - Japanese: "Skitty" (Official Romanization)
- Jyarango (ジャランゴ) - Japanese: "Hakamo-o" (Official Romanization)
- Du da! Los jetzt! - German: "You there! Go now!"