Chapter 5: Noctis Village is Under Attack! Iris Vs the Grant Crusaders!

The rain stops its downpour as the droplets falling and sliding from each tree's leaves. One falls onto Iris' head, making her shiver from its cold contact. She groans miserably while she and the Heracross throw some dirt into a pile next to them. Anna stares at them with blues spreading throughout her face while the two younglings seem to be hugging a corpse of a Lucario known as Carrie. The Lucario lies against the tree peacefully, eyes closed and lips smiling. Tears stream down from Mark's face, him shaking his head and hugging his sister tightly.

Jimmy stops digging and looks at the three Pokemon behind him. "Is this good enough to bury her?" He asks while the Dragonite pauses on her digging as well.

"Yes. That's good enough." The Ninetales replies. Anna looks at Mark and Natalie. "...Time to let her go now…" She says in a sorrow tone. Mark shakes his head.

"Can I stay with her a bit more? Please…" He begs.

"Look, we gave you enough time to be with her...You'll have to let her go."

"No!" Mark buries his face into the Lucario's arm, sobbing ever more. Anna's eyes narrow at him.

"Fine. I'll bury her myself." Anna walks toward the Riolu before being stopped by Iris.

"Hey. Let the Riolu have his final moment with his sister. It's heartless to take that away from him, Anna." Iris says, looking rather disappointed at her. Anna looks away slightly, her ears drooping down.

"Sorry, Iris...It's just…" Anna tears up, having an image of a burning forest plays in her head. A red fox-like Pokemon, Vulpix, cried out the names 'Mommy' and 'Daddy' in a woeful and panicked tone. Reverting back to the present, Anna shakes her head immediately. "Nothing! Okay!? I was...Sorry…" She looks away from the group.

Iris glances at Anna for a brief moment before turning her attention toward Mark and Natalie. Mark sniffles, squeezing Carrie's arm tightly.

"I...I didn't want this to happen to you...I...I've always wanted to protect you...the same way you protected me and Natalie." Mark winces. "I'm sorry that I couldn't…" Natalie goes to immediately nudges against his face, bursting into tears.

"It's not your fault, Mark! It never was your fault! It's mine. She's dead because of me! It's all me!" Natalie screams. Mark blinks, looking at her.

"N-Natalie…" Mark hugs the Zorua.

"It's always me causing problems, getting into other people's business and worst of all, repeating the whole cycle until...until...something like this happens!" Natalie buries her face into Mark's chest. "I hate myself for leading Carrie toward her death…I...really, really do..."

"Natalie…"

Iris looks down at the ground with anger forming across her face, clenching her fist. Alro, when I meet you in person, I'll be sure to help Mark accomplish his revenge. I promise. She thinks. Iris then looks at the two.

"You're done now, Mark?" She asks. Mark looks at Iris and nods.

"...Yeah…" He says before looking down at the ground, Natalie's sobs continuing like a rainstorm while Iris sighs and picks up Carrie. Jimmy hops out of the hole and waits by another tree.

The Dragonite then proceeds toward the hole, slowly looking at the Heracross first before the hole itself. She sighs and puts Carrie inside gently, grabbing some dirt from the pile and putting it on the body. Jimmy goes to aid her and soon, Carrie is hidden away within the dirt. Iris then carves the tree with her claw and writes the words 'R.I.P. Carrie the Lucario', making her become a memory.

The Dragonite pats the dirt and stands up, looking at the others. "Okay...looks like we're done here." She says. "Let's head back to the village." The four Pokemon nod at the Dragonite as they leave the area together.

. . .

They continue their way back to the village on a pathway, Iris carrying Mark while Natalie clings onto Anna's back and Jimmy walks with his arm around his waist. The Heracross looks at the ground, remembering what Alro told him.

There's no good nor evil, it's all about survival… Jimmy repeats what Alro's said in his head. I wonder, if he's really telling the truth about what he said… Jimmy shakes his head slightly. No. I know this world has justice. I mean, me and Carrie brought justice to those Malamars, right? So good does exist. He looks at the sky and randomly shouts, "There's always justice in this world of ours!". The four Pokemon look at the Heracross, raising their brows in concern. Jimmy looks back and laughs nervously. "Heh heh, sorry about that. Got a little...carried away..."

They all sigh at the Heracross and continue walking. Iris looks at Mark and he looks back at her, neither of them show much of a reaction. Iris then looks in front of her and sighs. It sickens me how things like this happen to someone so young and innocent… She thinks, staring at the ground while clenching her fist. Dammit...if only me and Anna were there on time, we would've saved his sister… She grits her teeth due to frustration. I can't let this get to me. Not here...not now… Soon, Iris notices something about the Riolu and looks at him again, only to see a bow on his back. What the...Is that what I think it is…? She continues staring at it after a while before turning her head back and sighs. "Make sure you know how to handle that Weapon Mischief, kid." She says firmly. Mark raises a brow at her confusedly.

"What?" He asks. Iris doesn't say anything afterwards, leading the Riolu to sigh heavily. After a while, the five soon see a light up ahead. They start to go toward it until a group of Houndooms get in their way, growling at the five Pokemon.

"We meet again, outsiders." The Houndoom in front says. Iris' eye twitches as Anna sighs heavily.

"Ugggh. You four are quite irritating, honestly." Anna states.

"Hush, Ninetales! Now then, since you two decided to leave like cowards, we'll be sure to take you on th-"

"ARE. YOU. AN. IDIOT!?" Iris yells, loud enough to make the Flying types fly away. The Houndooms jump a bit, including Jimmy and the other three.

"Holy crap, Iris. Calm down." Anna says, her eyes widen in surprise. Iris glares at the Houndooms menacingly.

"You four...I got two, perhaps three injured Pokemon with me and you're asking for a fight? Really!?"

The second Houndoom snickers. "So this means a victory for us then." The second says.

"Oh right. Just don't care about the two injured younglings with us. Beating us up is more important than those two."

The Houndooms look at Mark and Natalie, seeing the two in massive pain. The Houndooms wince a bit, showing a grimace look on their faces.

"Oh...sorry. We...didn't know...What happened?" The first Houndoom asks curiously. Iris shakes her head slowly.

"None of your business is what happened. Now get out of our way, you selfish dogs." Iris says, walking past the group. Anna and Jimmy follow along, Jimmy shaking his head at the Houndooms before looking at Iris.

"Sorry about those jerks, Iris." He says. Iris shrugs uneasily.

"Eh, I dealt with them earlier...They were pissing me off so I had to yell in order for their minds to get straight. I hope not to see their asses again." Iris says, her eyes being narrowed. Jimmy laughs softly.

"I hope for the same, too."

. . .

Everyone in the village continues staring at the forest. Their faces are etched with worry, especially Lucas and Ashen. Soon, Wyvern sees the silhouettes of the Pokemon coming out of the forest and smiles softly. I knew they'd be safe. Wyvern thinks.

"I see someone coming!" One Pokemon's voice shouts. Everyone cheers in joy to see five Pokemon exiting out of the forest, Ashen and Lucas rushing towards them during so.

"You're okay!" Lucas cries. "And I get to have an hot shower, too!"

Ashen looks at the Furret awkwardly, sweatdropping. "Yeaaah. We were worried sick about you two." The Linoone says to Iris and Anna. "What happened in there?" Iris looks at the three injured Pokemon, shrugging uncomfortably.

"Well, we met these three when we got there and...they aren't looking too good either..." Iris says. Everyone gasps, staring at the three injured Pokemon. Wyvern's mouth goes agape to what he's witnessing.

"Quick! Emboar guards! Take these three to the Medic House immediately!" Wyvern orders the two Emboars next to him. They both nod at the Empoleon, the first guard taking Mark and Natalie out of the two Pokemon's possession while the other guard wraps Jimmy's arm around his neck. Then two more Emboars guide them past the mayor's home and head to the medic house.

"Iris…?" Mark asks, his eyelids drooping down. Iris follows the Emboars along with the others. Everyone in the village watches them in curiosity and concerns.

"It'll be alright, Mark. They're just gonna heal you, Natalie and Jimmy. Okay?" Iris says, smiling at him. "At least, I believe so." Natalie looks at Iris and the others.

"I hope they do…" Natalie says softly.

. . .

In the medic house, four pink, vaguely star-shaped creatures with pointy ears and black oval eyes are shown aiding the three Pokemon's wounds: Clefable. The three Pokemon are on their own separate beds; Mark being in the middle, Jimmy on the left and Natalie on the right. Mark has bandages around his leg, Jimmy has bandages around his stomach and Natalie has bandages around her ears. Iris and the others are inside of the house as well, looking at them worriedly. One of the Clefables then walks towards the seven Pokemon calmly.

"The three are resting peacefully." The Clefable says softly. Iris and the others sigh in relief before the Clefable shifts a bit, her eyes drifting away. "Unfortunately, their wounds will take awhile to heal...especially for the Riolu."

Iris nods. "As long as they're recovering then I don't mind the wait." She says firmly. Lucas begins to tear up and cries on Ashen's shoulder. Ashen blinks at him, a bead of sweat forms on the side of his forehead.

"Waah! They're gonna die!" Lucas cries, continuing his waterfall on the Linoone. Anna growls at Lucas' shenanigans as Wyvern and the two Emboars raise their brows at the Furret.

"Lucas! They're not going to die! Their wounds just needed to heal, that's all! You idiot!" Anna shouts. Lucas suddenly stops crying and remains still as if he's a soldier in a military.

"Yes ma'am! Understood!" The Furret shouts, leading Anna to shaking her head while having her paw against her face.

Soon, Iris starts to hear voices coming from the outside. "Hmm?" She says, turning around to see two more Emboars talking to someone in front of them.

"Sorry sir, but we can't let you in. Only those who're with Iris the Dragonite can." The first Emboar states.

"Did you say Iris the Dragonite? I've known her since I was a young adult." The voice says in an elderly tone. Iris squints her eyes at the two Emboars, seeming to have recognize the voice.

"Wait, that voice...Could it be?" Iris says to herself. Ashen and Lucas are starting to recognize the voice as well.

"Ah man, don't tell me it's…" Ashen says, pausing himself as him and the other two walk toward the Emboars. Anna and the others look at the three and follow them in curiosity.

Iris flies over the Emboars to stand in front of a pink bipedal creature with a pale yellow muzzle, a spiral crown-like shaped Shellder being on his head and a scaled body: Slowking. The Slowking has circles underneath his eyelids, hinting at his age. Ashen and Lucas see the Slowking as well, leading them and Iris herself to become excited from the Pokemon's appearance.

"Ego." Iris says calmly, forming a warm smile.

"Old man! It's been awhile!" Lucas yells happily. The three Pokemon smile at the Slowking as he waves at them.

"Greetings, you three. It's been quite a long time since we've met." Ego says softly. He looks at Iris and the other two Pokemon with a grin. "I see that you've grown up, Iris. Along with your friends there, too."

"Yeah. But time doesn't always change us. Especially for him over there." Iris says, glancing at Lucas. Lucas looks back and titters, a bead of sweat forms on the side of his face.

Ego chuckles at the goofy Furret. "Lucas' still himself as always, I see. He never ceases to amaze me with his wacky antics since Miracle Town." He says with a smirk. One of the Emboars looks at Iris and the others in a concerning manner.

"...So are you four just gonna stand and talk out here? I mean, there's a serious operation going on inside." The first Emboar says.

"Right." Iris replies and nods at the Emboar. She then looks back at Ego. "Wanna come inside?"

"Sure." He says. "I wanna see who the three injured Pokemon are, after all." Iris looks at the Emboars.

"May he come inside?" She asks. The Emboars shrugs.

"I suppose so, since you know this person well." The second Emboar says.

"Thanks."

The five Pokemon let the Slowking be inside of the medic house. Anna, Wyvern and the other two Emboars see Ego walking by and sitting down on one of the chairs in the house. The three walk next to Ego. "Hmm…" Anna says while walking toward the four, she notice them laughing and joking with each other. She takes her eyes on Ego in curiosity. "I assume that you're the Pokemon Iris is looking for, correct?" Ego looks at the Ninetales, tilting his head slightly.

"Of course, ma'am. And who might you be?" He asks.

"The name is Anna, sir. I'm one of Iris' allies. Nice to meet you." Anna answers, smiling calmly. The Slowking smiles back.

"The name is Ego. I'm Iris' closest caretaker in the Crater Grassland and also a traveler. A pleasure to meet you as well."

"Oh? You are?" Anna blinks peculiarly as Ego nods.

"Indeed. I've been looking out for her after coincidentally encountering the village filled with mostly Dragonites and other Dragon types that lovely day. After some point in time, I decided to leave the Crater Grassland after the princess grew a bit older."

Iris shrugs awkwardly, glancing to the side. "No need to call me princess, gramps." She says, feeling quite annoyed by the word.

Ego chuckles softly. "My apologies, Iris."

"So if you've met Iris at the Crater Grassland, then how did you met Ashen and Lucas?" Anna asks. "Since I recall them never living in the Crater Village with Iris."

Ego smiles calmly. "Well, that's the magic of me being a traveler. While I was off relaxing at Miracle Town, which is within the same continent as the grassland, I happened to meet Iris there along with those two you've mentioned."

"Yeah! I was a cute Sentret during the time!" Lucas says, glee spreading across his face. Anna stares at him and sweatdrops.

"Yeah yeah, I know how you looked like as a Sentret. Already forgetting about the time when we first met?" Anna squints her eyes at the eye-patched Furret as he chuckles nervously, scratching the back of his head.

Ego then turns his attention towards the three injured Pokemon. "So I guess that these three been through the madness going on from the forest, eh?" He questions, rubbing his hand against his chin. Iris nods at the Slowking firmly.

"Pretty much. The Riolu seems to have caught my attention the most, though." Iris says. Ego raises his brow at her.

"How so?"

"Well, his leg was pierced and his older sister was killed…"

Ego blinks curiously. "How did this happen?"

Iris sighs. "These groups of Malamars attacked him and the others. Alro, their leader, killed his sister and stabbed his leg, I assume." The Dragonite shudders from the explanation. "That's...as best as I can describe the situation…"

"I...see." Ego shudders as well. "Sounds quite painful to bare at such a young age." Iris looks at the ground.

"Tell me about it…" The Dragonite grips her fist angrily. Ego sighs while shaking his head.

"Anyways, mind telling me who these three names are?"

Iris looks at the Slowking. "Mark, Natalie and Jimmy." She lists. Ego glances at their wounds.

"Hmm...Well I hope for the three to get well soon."

Iris nods. "Agreed..."

The Slowking then takes his eyes back onto the Dragonite. "Onto another topic, what brings you all the way from the Crater Grassland just to see me...again?" Ego asks, clarifying himself. Iris folds her arms and frowns.

Stolen story; please report.

"You know exactly why I'm here, Ego." She states. Ego notices the look on Iris' face and sighs.

"Sure...Follow me." Ego gets up and walks out of the medic house as Iris looks at her crew.

"I'll need you three to stay here while I go talk to Ego alone." Iris says. Anna lowers her brow slightly.

"Why I'm curious to know what the chat is about." She demands.

"It has something to do with only me."

"But Ir-"

"Anna, please." Iris stares into the Ninetales' eyes sternly. Anna purses her lips and rolls her eyes.

"Fine. Whatever you say…"

Iris goes to follow the Slowking as Wyvern watches her. Some relationship they have. He thinks, shaking his head. As she makes it outside, she sees the Slowking standing next to a house, waving at her. The Dragonite walks toward his direction afterwards.

. . .

Iris gazes around Ego's home. Wine red is plastered over the walls, two couches sit in the middle of the living room and a dining table at the back. Then she finds a serpent-like creature with purple scales all over her body and has a large 'hood' just below her head: Arbok. The Arbok is sitting behind the dinner table, spotting the two Pokemon as she smiles.

"Hello!" The Arbok sings, waving her tail at the two Pokemon. A bead of sweat forms on the side of Iris' face as Ego smiles.

"Hi, Carly...It's been awhile." Iris says with a dull look on her face. Carly stares at Iris and hisses at her immediately, forming some kind of purple energy inside of her mouth: Poison Sting. Iris' eyes widen as she jumps back. "Whoa! Whoa! It's me, Iris. The 'used to be' Dragonair from Miracle Town, remember!?"

"Grr. I don't know who that is." Carly exclaims, her eyes glowing pure white. Ego immediately runs towards her and pets her on the head.

"Hey hey now. Don't try to harm the entire world because of one person you forgot, Carly." Ego says calmly. Carly looks at Ego as her eyes revert back to normal.

"But Ego...this Dragonite could be an enemy." The Arbok murmurs. Ego smiles at her warmly.

"No need to fear Iris, our old friend."

"I don't know who...Wait...Oooh! Now I remember who she is!"

"Oh, Carly. You silly Arbok."

Ego and Carly start laughing as Iris fixes her eyes on them with crossed arms. "Look. I didn't come here for some laughing parade. So let's go, Ego." Iris demands. Ego sighs softly.

"Alright, alright." He says while gazing at Carly. "Me and Iris are going to have a private chat in the bedroom. So it's best if you don't try to interfere with us at the moment. Okay?"

Carly nods obediently. "Okay! I won't interfere. Promise!" She says, letting a tongue hang out playfully.

Ego then turns to some bead curtains and walks through them. Iris follows along while Carly goes to look at her own tail, admiring it in a silly manner. Behind the curtains are two beds leaning against the walls and a lamp sitting on a desk. Ego goes to sit on a brown chair near the desk, tapping his fingers together as Iris goes to sit on the round sofa near the curtains.

"So Iris, you wanted to tell me something?" Ego says.

"Yes. Do you know where Maple Town is?" Iris asks.

"Maple Town. Hmm...I believe it's located east of the Pirate Sea, if I'm correct. You'll see some big rocks up ahead so be careful. After passing by the rocks, you'll see a ton of trees dripping honey from their leafs. And from there, you've reached Maple."

"Okay. Thanks, Ego." Iris gets up from the sofa and is about to walk out of the room until Ego speaks.

"Iris, why do you want to go to Maple Town?" He asks.

"Because Maple Town is one of the places I have to go to get to Unbound Tower...well, final place, correction." Iris answers. "Mewtwo did hint me that you know the town's location so that's why I asked." Ego sighs heavily.

"I understand..." He looks down at the ground. "Though, Iris...I don't think revenge will make you feel better. If any, it'll make you feel the exact opposite: Worse."

Iris glances at the Slowking. "Don't tell me what revenge does for me. Ho-Oh killed my father without mercy. So he'll pay." The Dragonite grips her fist.

"But Iris, would your father ever want you to take revenge on Ho-Oh?"

Iris stands there for a moment before shaking her head. "Ego, he probably does or...I don't know, just...Please, let's not discuss my decision."

Ego nods slowly. "Understood…"

Soon, it got quiet between the two. Silence lingers for a while until a scream occurs from the outside. Iris and Ego look out of the window immediately, seeing some Pokemon running away from the seaport.

"The hell?" Iris says.

"Seems like this village is being invaded." Ego affirms.

Soon, Ego notices that Iris is no longer with him. "Iris?" He then shakes his head with a awkward smile and sighs. "Leave me hanging, I suppose. Heh."

Iris is outside of the Slowking's home, glancing at the seaport itself. Anna, Lucas, and Ashen are outside of the medic house as well.

"The hell is going on here?" Anna asks.

"It looks like the problem is coming from the port, mate." Lucas says, pointing at the seaport. Iris takes a good look at the port and notices seven Pokemon causing mayhem. She then buries her face into her hand.

"Not them again…" Iris says in a uncomfortable tone.

The seven Pokemon walk towards the group while Wyvern and his four Emboar guards exit the medic house. The Pokemon in front of the troublemakers is a large, purple bipedal creature with reptilian features and narrow eyes: Nidoking. On the Nidoking's left is a bipedal weasel-like Pokemon with a pale gray body and a red crown: Weavile. And on the Nidoking's right is a bipedal sepia-colored creature with two pillars in her hands and a large red nose: Conkeldurr.

Behind the Weavile and Conkeldurr are four more Pokemon. The first being a blue bipedal creature with muscular arms, bulbous eyes, and has a swirling belly: Poliwrath. The second being a green plant-like creature with yellow markings on his neck, body, and torso and has eight pink-tipped tentacles: Cradily. And the third and fourth both being a red cephalopod-like creature with large round eyes and a turret-like mouth: Octillery.

The seven Pokemon look at Iris and the others with devious grins spreading across their faces as they stop walking, the Nidoking adjusting his black gloves during so. "Well well, isn't it the Iris' crew?" The Nidoking says, cracking his fist. "It's been awhile since we first encounter each other at Miracle Town." Anna growls lowly as Iris grips her fist. Ashen glares at the group while Lucas trembles and the four Emboars makes a fist, flames forming around them. Wyvern takes a step forward, looking quite unpleased.

"Who are you savages and why are you trashing my village?!" Wyvern demands. The Nidoking laughs humbly and deviously.

"Why, haven't you heard? We're-" The Nidoking and his crew do an embarrassing pose; The Nidoking and Weavile fistpump each other and having their other arms raised diagonally while the Conkeldurr holds her pillars upwards and does the karate crane pose. The Poliwrath lifts his arms up and flexes his muscles while the Cradily picks the Octillerys up with his tentacles and the Octillerys look up to close their eyes elegantly. "-the Grant Crusaders!" Wyvern lets out a bead of sweat as Iris buries her face into her hand once more. Anna looks at the Crusaders and raises her brow at them.

"So...these are the Grant Crusaders you were referring to as your rivals before, Iris?" Anna questions.

"Wish to say no but yes." Iris mumbles in her paws.

"Pfft, seems like an embarrassing pirate crew to me." Anna laughs a bit loudly. The Weavile narrows his eyes at the Ninetales as the Crusaders stop being in their ridiculous pose.

"Hey! We're the most ruthless pirates alive, dammit!" He yells angrily. Wyvern blinks at the Dragonite.

"Um Iris...Do you perhaps know these guys?" The Empoleon says. Iris sighs heavily.

"I wish I didn't but pretty much, yes. These guys are an army of Lucases, to put it simply." Iris says, immediately looking at Lucas. "No offense, by the way."

"Some is taken!" Lucas says with a sad look on his face. Iris blinks at the silliness before glancing at the seven Pokemon.

"Anyways, the Nidoking name is Tybalt, the Weavile is Blake, the Conkeldurr is Minx, the Poliwrath is Mr. Buff…"

"Um, wh-"

Iris interrupts Wyvern. "Don't ask me why his name is like that. I don't know either…"

"Hey! I have my reasons!" Mr. Buff yells. Iris let out a bead of sweat before continuing.

"Anyways, the Cradily is Crisis and the two Octillerys are Octo and Pus."

Tybalt claps his hands softly. "How nice of you to introduce us to the fella." Tybalt comments. "It's almost like you cared about us."

Blake snickers. "Yeah. We could've done it ourselves but eh, thanks anyway." The Weavile says, snickering once more.

"You're not welcome." Iris says firmly. "Now like the mayor said, why are you causing mayhem in this village? It already has bad enough things to worry about. No need to join in on the parade!" Minx shrugs from the question, leaning against one of her pillars.

"Weeelll, we got bored after stealing countless of poorless treasures. Blake then found a map to this place and here we are trashing it. Pretty much to see if this village has any loot of its own." Minx says, chuckling softly. Wyvern raises a brow at the Crusaders.

"But that doesn't give you the right to harm my here village." Wyvern says boldly, stomping a foot on the ground to further prove his point.

"Pfft. So what? We're pirates. We can do whatever we want." Minx laughs along with the rest of the Grant Crusaders crew. "I mean, who's gonna stop us anyways?"

Iris takes a step forward. "Me, of course."

Anna follows along. "Include me as well."

Ashen's paws glow white as he extends his claws length and says, "Same here.". Lucas continues to tremble behind his brother in fear.

"I-I think I-I'll cheer you guys on...N-not unless someone destroys the precious berry shop." Lucas says shakingly. Blake squints his eyes at the eye-patch Furret, forming an icicle in his hand and flicks it towards the shop next to him. As it hits the cart, nothing seems to be happening at the moment. But within a flash, the shop collapses. Lucas gets on his knees slowly and stares into the sky. "Nooo!" He cries out. "Not the shop! Anything but the shooop!" Everyone stares at him and sweatdrops from his overreaction. Lucas soon proceeds onto his feet and extends his claws from his paws, the paws glowing white along the way. "Okay, now I'm going to stop you guys!"

Ashen sighs, shaking his head. "Right." He says.

Tybalt grins and says, "Alright. Enough with the chatting. Let's get crashing!"

"Yeah!" The whole Grant Crusaders shout, charging towards Iris and the others with their battle cry. Iris looks at the three Pokemon and nods firmly. The three nod back and they all go after the seven Pokemon.

Octo and Pus latch onto Ashen and Lucas, Octo covering Ashen's face while Pus covering Lucas' face. "M-Mmf!?" The two captives mumble. They struggle to get the Octillerys off of them as they bump against walls and other things. Meanwhile, Crisis and Mr. Buff gang up on the Ninetales. The Ninetales looks at the two, forming flames from her mouth. Mr. Buff laughs, cracking his shoulder.

"You honestly think a Fire type attack could hurt me?" The Poliwrath says, water starting to form underneath him. Crisis snickers, forming a purple ball in front of him as Anna raises her brow at Mr. Buff. Then the Ninetales whirls around and kicks the ground with her feet, leading sand to be in the Poliwrath's eyes. Mr. Buff yelps, rubbing his eyes while backing away. Crisis then fires his Sludge Bomb at Anna as she counters it with Flamethrower. The two moves collide against each other, black smoke forming from the contact. Soon, a yellow orb heads towards Anna like a heat-seeking missile. Anna realizes that it's the Cradily's Confuse Ray and uses Protect. The orb is blocked by her clear shield, leading Crisis to laugh.

"Now Arnold!" Crisis says. Anna can't even look before Mr. Buff charges at her, water enveloping his body: Waterfall. He punches her within a flash, sending her slamming against a random house.

"Gah!" Anna says, coughing from the impact given to her. The Poliwrath then glances at the Cradily.

"Don't call me by my real name, please." He says, folding his arms. Crisis chuckles softly.

"Suuure." The Cradily says in a sarcastic tone.

Iris notices the Ninetales lying on the ground, gritting her teeth. "Anna!" She yells worriedly. Soon she hears a icicle whistling towards her and blocks it with her arm. The icicle pierces through, making her wince a bit. Then she grips onto the icicle and melts it with her flaming hand, taking her eyes on the Weavile now. Blake seems to be preparing another icicle as the Conkeldurr and Nidoking glance at the Dragonite. The three smile sickly.

"Don't forget about us, dragon girl." Minx says, tossing her pillar in the air and catching it with no problem. Iris growls at the three, Ego and Carly peeking out of their home to watch the fight. Wyvern goes to glance at the Emboars.

"Don't just stand there. Help those travellers out!" Wyvern orders. The Emboars nod and run to the fight. Meanwhile, Ashen and Lucas remain struggling in the Octillerys' grasp. Octo gazes at Pus with a snicker.

"By the time they get out of this grasp, they'll be suffocated." Octo says, very gentlemanlike.

"Yes indeed, brother." Pus replies, also very gentlemanlike as he and Octo laugh in a rich manner. Soon, their grips begin to loosen.

"Huh?" The two Octillerys say, looking down. Ashen and Lucas lower their heads back and move it forward to slam the Octillerys against each other, causing them to get hurt and release them. "Oof!"

The Linoone and Furret gasp for air tremendously, an disgust expression spreading across their faces. "My gosh. I could barely breathe in there!" Ashen exclaims, his nose scrunched up and one eye twitching.

"Same here, mate! Smells like garbage and sea water in there. Yuck!" Lucas says with the same expression. Octo and Pus rub their heads, looking at Ashen and Lucas with black eyes.

"Ow! That hurts, you fur brains!" Pus fusses, preparing an icy blue ball of light. Ashen snarls and claps his paws, Lucas jumping up and down due to being pumped by Ashen's Helping Hand move. Then the Furret dashes towards Octo with his extended claws ready to use his Fury Swipes attack.

Octo's eyes widen. "He's used Helping Hand on that Furret! Shoot your Ice Beam, Pus!" Octo yells, preparing his Ice Beam as well. Pus nods and shoots his Ice Beam attack at Lucas. A beam of cold energy lands onto the Furret and sends him crashing to the ground. He rolls around a couple times before being encased in ice. Ashen's eyes widen, shocked to seeing his brother under the frozen status.

"Lucas!" Ashen yells, only to get hit by Octo's Ice Beam. Ashen counters the attack with Fury Swipes but gets pushed back and lands onto the frozen Furret. The Octillerys laugh richly.

"You two are so weak. Haha." Octo says. "Learn to fight smart, not hard. Mehehe." As Octo continues his laughter, Pus turns to see an Emboar guard speeding towards them. His body being surrounded by an electrical barrier.

"Um, brother..." Pus says. "There's an Emboar heading in our direction."

"What? Whe-" Octo gets interrupted by the Emboar crashing into him and Pus with Wild Charge. They barrel towards one of the buildings and smack against it, knocked out due to the powerful attack. The Emboar groans from the recoil damage before looking at the two Pokemon, aiding Ashen up.

"Are you okay?" The guard says to him. Ashen brushes himself off and nods.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Ashen says, whimpering at the frozen Pokemon. "Just wished that I could find a way to free him, though." The Emboar looks at the ice-trapped Lucas and punches the ice, breaking it and thawing the Furret out. Lucas shivers nonstop after being free.

"M-Man, th-that w-was c-c-cold." The Furret says, rubbing his body continuously. Ashen chuckles softly at Lucas and hugs him, rubbing his arms as he smiles.

"I'm just glad that you're alright after all of that, bro." Ashen says before looking at the Emboar. "As for Iris and Anna, I'm not sure if they're doing okay."

The Emboar guard grins. "The guards are protecting them...well, for the Ninetales of course." He says. Ashen raises his brow confusedly before looking at Anna's location, seeing two guards knocking out Crisis and Mr. Buff.

"Sweet!" Lucas says cheerfully. "Looks like it's another victory for us, mate!" Then Ashen rushes toward Anna with no second thought in mind. "Hmm? Wait up, brother!" Lucas and the Emboar follow behind. Anna slowly gets up, rubbing her head with her paw.

"M-Man, that Waterfall attack sure did a number on me." She groans, sighing heavily as the three Pokemon headed toward her way.

"Are you okay, Anna?" Ashen asks.

"Yeah I'm fine. It was only a Water type attack, that's all."

"Only a Water type attack?"

"Yeah...so?"

Ashen blinks for a moment before sweatdropping, sighing in relief. "Well...at least you're okay after that Water type attack." Ashen puts his hand onto Anna's paw. "Just try not to go overboard next time when battling someone, alright?" He smiles at the Ninetales as she blushes slightly, noticing the Linoone's paw onto hers. She immediately withdraws her paw, rubbing it.

"Yeah, yeah, idiot...Thanks..." She looks away slightly.

Ashen blinks at her confusedly before he and the others see Iris fighting off Blake, Minx and Tybalt. The other guard goes to aid her while she grabs Tybalt and tosses him to the side. The Emboar covers his body in flames and launches himself in the air, dropping his weight onto Minx with Heat Crash. Minx blocks the attack with her pillars and pushes the Emboar back. Then Blake uses multiple Ice Shards on the Emboar, flinging endless amounts of icicles. The Emboar glances at him, raising his brow in confusion.

"The hell?" The Emboar says, not being affected by the many Ice Shards as they all melt when contacting his flaming body. Blake stops and sweatdrops awkwardly.

Crap… Blake thinks, grinning and chuckling nervously. Then he dashes towards the Emboar with a sudden scream as his claws turns metallic-like. He uses Metal Claw on the Emboar but misses before receiving a Fire Punch in the stomach from him. "Oof!" This leads him to be blown away by the attack and lands into the broken shop, blacking out afterwards. Minx sighs heavily at the sight.

"Oh Blake, you moronic Weavile." She says, shaking her head while facepalming.

Meanwhile, Iris and Tybalt come face to face. Everyone watches the two in intensity. "I've been waiting to face you one on one with my Marvel Mischief against yours." Tybalt says, his eyes glowing the color purple and dandelion (dark yellow). "Finally, I get to have that chance!" His gloves then glow white as he laughs with pride. Iris glances at him as her necklace begins to light up, eyes glowing a dark blue and light blue color. Iris' fist forms fire and ice around it afterwards.

"I would like to say the same for you, too." Iris says while smirking slightly. Tybalt chuckles as electricity forms around his fist, him using Poison Sting on it and purple lines pricking the electricity. Wyvern gasps along with the Emboars.

"So this is how a Pokemon uses their Marvel Mischief in battle." Wyvern says, feeling quite astound by the fight. "In fact, I didn't even know that Iris had one." Anna looks at Wyvern, a bead of sweat forms on the side of her face.

"How have you not noticed it?" Anna says. Wyvern shrugs awkwardly.

"I mean, it looked like a regular necklace. How am I supposed to know?"

Anna thinks for a moment before shrugging herself. "True."

Iris and Tybalt rush towards each other with their Mixturing Moves ready to attack.

"Fire Ice Punch!" Iris yells.

"Poison Thunder Punch!" Tybalt yells back.

The moves collide with a noise sounding like a rolling thunder and a raging fire, causing the winds in the air to blow at Wyvern and the others. Black smokes begin to form in the air as it catches everyone's curiosity and confusion. After a while, the smoke goes away, revealing the two Pokemon panting heavily. They both stare at each other for a brief moment before the two wince and fall on their knees.

"Sh-Shit. That hurts a lot…" Tybalt says, chuckling softly. Iris grins back at the Nidoking.

"It does...So that's how it feels to collide a Mixturing Move with another." Iris says, still panting from the massive attack.

"Heh. You know what? We'll retreat for now. Next time we meet Iris, be prepared to fight us again. Alright?"

"You don't have to tell me twice, knucklehead."

The Nidoking chuckles and looks at Minx, seeing her headbutting an Emboar's head and knocking him out.

"Minx. Get the rest of the crew and get us out of here!" Tybalt says to the Conkeldurr, his eyes and gloves stop glowing. Minx nods at him and walks towards the Weavile's direction. She then slaps the Weavile awake before going to carry the other four crew members. Blake yelps from the hard slap.

"Ow! Could've done a better way to wake me up other than that!" Blake yells, rubbing the side of his face as Minx giggles. She runs to the Crusaders' ship and throws the four Pokemon on it, hopping on board afterwards. Tybalt and Blake go to run towards the ship and get on it as well.

"Oh snap! After those pirates before they get away!" The Empoleon orders as the three guards try to pursue them but is too late. The ship sails away as Tybalt laughs loudly, seeing the guards stopping dead within their tracks. Iris' eyes and necklace stop glowing while she continues to pant, Anna and the others rushing towards her.

"Are you okay, Iris?!" Anna asks. Iris looks at Anna and smiles.

"I'm fine, Anna. Just a bit bruised up, that's all." Iris says.

"Are you sure? Because your arm is...bleeding out…"

Iris glances at her blood leaking arm and sighs. "I'm fine. Thanks for telling me that, Anna." Anna soon hugs the Dragonite before she hugs back, her sighing once more. Everyone in the village begins to come out of hiding, cheering in joy due to the madness being over.

"Well, thanks for saving our village from those pirate crew, Iris." Wyvern says proudly. "And I'll have the medics patch up your wound there as an award." Iris stares at the Empoleon after she stops hugging the Ninetales.

"No problem. Those guys were quite an annoyance when I first met them but don't worry, they won't come back here...Maybe. And thanks for offering to heal my wound."

"I see. And you're welcome." The Empoleon smiles.

Soon, a Clefable runs out of the medic home, looking quite surprised and shocked.

"Mayor! Mayor! I need you to come inside of the medic house, quick!" The Clefable says worriedly. Wyvern looks at her, tilting his head a bit.

"Why's that?" He asks the Clefable. Everyone goes to look at the Clefable as well. The Clefable twiddles her thumbs together.

"It's about the Zorua...It...seems like she...healed herself this whole time."

"What!?" The group say, all looking quite surprised and confused themselves.

"How's that possible?" Iris asks, blurred by the news.

"I don't know...But if you wanna see it for yourself, then be my guest." The Clefable says, shrugging awkwardly.

"Alright then." Wyvern says. "And be sure to get some bandages for Iris, while added."

The Clefable looks at Iris' damaged arm and gasps. "Oh dear. W-Will do, sir!"

Soon, the gang goes to follow the Clefable inside of the medic home as Ego watches them.

"Hmm…" Ego thinks to himself, his hand stroking his chin into interest.

. . .

Alro and the Malamars trek through an empty wasteland on a pathway. Ruins are at every direction, yet some spacey towers still stand as they lean and crumble into the abyss. They walk through bleak crag and black soil at their feet. The shadowy-purple color overtaking the realm don't seem to daunt them as they've finally arrived at their destination. All of them kneel at a ghostly creature floating in the eerie sky, the creature itself staring down at them significantly. Being next to the Malamars is a purple ghost-like creature with a round head resembling a witch's hat and a thin red mouth that resembles the letter 'W': Mismagius. She is healing the Malamars, her eyes being pure black as the Malamars bodies are surrounded by dark outlines. She's mainly focusing on Alro's injury due to him having an arrow through his back as he gazes up at the figure, holding a shield towards the creature.

"My deepest apologies for being defeated by a Riolu, my master." Alro says, looking down. The figure glances at him with narrowed black eyes.

"At least you have my shield. That's the only thing that matters on your mission. Although, you mustn't fall so easily in your task next time." The shadowy figure says in a monstrous voice. The figure holds its hand out, the shield floating out of the Malamar's hand and into the figure's. "Rest for now. Because your next mission is to hunt down three Marvel Mischiefs and the Weapon Mischief from the Riolu. Understood?"

Alro blinks at the figure's request before nodding. "Yes sir." He says. The arrow in him falls to the ground and disappears, meaning he's fully healed. The Mismagius sighs in relief, her black eyes reverting to the normal Mismagius' eyes while the outlines on the Malamars stop appearing. She's proud of the effort she put into healing the Malamars as Alro continues to speak. "But if I may ask, why do you need the Weapon Mischief, sir? I understand the Marvel Mischiefs, in order for your goal to be achieved but for the Weapon Mischiefs, I don't get it."

"It would give you another chance to kill the Riolu, correct?"

"Yes indeed, sir." Alro grins. "But-"

"Moving on, the next mission will involve you conspiring with another Malamar named Clemence. She has a special, unique team ready for action and is very intelligent herself. Can you cooperate with her?"

Alro thinks for a moment. "Hmm. A female Malamar with more team members…" Six silhouettes appear far away in the background behind Alro, yellow eyes glowing from them.

"Certainly, sir."

End of Chapter 5.