Chapter 29: Never leaving

“Woooo!” cheered Solga from the passenger side seat of the car. “We did it, Sewaddle! We actually did it!” Sewaddle wasn’t as festive, choosing to fall limp on Solga’s lap exhausted.

“Yes, quite the feat indeed.” said Zyne, who was driving the car. “Shown those cheeky fuckers, barely even paying anything.”

“5,600 dollars an hour is a lot, dude.” Solga argued.

“Compared to the kind of work I used to do, not really.”

“Whatever man.” Solga closely inspected the crown, running his fingers along the runes. “I know you said that you didn’t need payment, but I’d still feel guilty for letting you off with nothing. I don’t have much money, but maybe I could read your future?”

“Very generous, but no. I only drove a car after all.”

“Nah bro, you infiltrated the palace for weeks posing as a butler. If I didn’t have the layout of the palace that you drew up for me, I probably would’ve been lost once Princess crazy took me away.”

“Princess Allie I assume. Is that why you took longer than usual? I happen to have a decent understanding of her motivations. Did you make good life choices?”

“I regret nothing.”

“...touching.”

The two stopped just outside of the Camphrier town limits. Solga stepped out of the car, cradling Sewaddle like a baby as he bowed in thanks to Zyne. Zyne nodded and drove away. Solga walked casually into the woods, where he eventually came upon a clearing. There were assorted berries on the ground, a large duffel strung up against a tree trunk, and another tree encased in a stupefying amount of string. Solga put Sewaddle down on the berries to eat up as he cautiously approached the tree of string.

He slid his hand across the surface, “You still there?” Then out of nowhere, a blast of icy wind shot his face, making him fall back. “Yep…” he said with a groan of pain. Picking himself back up, Solga pulled out a flashlight. He shined it on the tree of string, causing Snom to wince from the exposure. It was held upright by a ton of string. Only its head was exposed.

“Hard to see you in the dark, nonetheless encased in white string. Did you enjoy your stay?” Snom remained silent. “What did things get boring for you?” Nothing. “Man, I’ve just had no one to talk to today. If you hadn't made such a fuss we could’ve at least let you move around on a leash.” No response. “Ugh, so boring. You’ll talk to me right, Sewaddle?” Sewaddle had fallen asleep on a half-eaten berry. “Right…”

Solga walked up to Snom and brandished the crown in its face. “Sewaddle worked real hard for this.” He then walked away to inspect it further, placing the flashlight on the ground to act as a sort of spotlight for himself. Holding the crown in front of him and hovering another hand behind the crown, he started to chant.

Forever grateful for what we have

Forever in debt for our gift of life

Forever wanting for something more

Forever looking for what’s past our mortal strife

He recited this several times. One minute passed, then three, then five. The crown did not change.

“What the heck, this is what Vertant said and it lit up like Christmas lights. What gives?” Solga sighed in disappointment. He then heard a noise from the tree of string. He looked to see Snom facing away suspiciously. “What’re you doing?” he said, getting up and walking over. Solga peered closer and closer at Snom. “Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work.” Snom tilted its head even further in an attempt to dissuade him that anything was amiss. Then it happened, Snom’s stomach rumbled.

Solga released the tension on his shoulders, “Oh, is that all. You’re just hungry.” Snom continued to look away as it blushed slightly. “Fine here.” Solga held up a sitrus berry up to its mouth. Snom stubbornly refused. “Be that way then.” Solga then stuck the berry on the string just below Snom’s mouth. “Take your time.” As soon as he turned around, Snom took little nibbles. It made sure to stop at any moment it seemed like Solga was looking.

After chanting the phrase he heard a couple more times in the light, he sighed. “The heck did I do all that for then.” In a lasting hope that something will happen, he said, “Will I ever meet my parents?” The crown remained dormant. A flicker of the flashlight made him focus on Sewaddle, sleeping peacefully in the pile of berries. His eyes were feeling heavy also. “I’ll figure it out later.” Solga placed the crown on his head crookedly as he prepared to fall asleep. As he did so, Snom was eating away at its berry. But a light caught its attention. It was pulsing bright purple, shining brightly against the flashlight. Then, like magic, it began to straighten itself on Solga’s head. Snom felt an overwhelming sense of danger and shouted in warning.

“What’re you on about?” asked Solga drowsily, “Do you have to use the bathroom too-” The crown straightened out and locked in place. “What the fu-?” Solga then wreathed in agony, screaming bloody murder into the air. This made Snom wince and startled Sewaddle out of its sleep. It saw Solga rolling on the ground, holding his hands to his head in pain. The crowns energy pulsed throughout Solga’s entire body, illuminating his nervous system a bright purple through his skin with each pulse.

Sewaddle was panicking. Snom shouted over from its confines and told of what it saw. Sewaddle nodded and shot a string on the crown trying to pull it off. It didn’t budge. Sewaddle yanked harder, this time strong enough to bring Solga to his feet. His eyes were closed, hands clamped down on his ears, and he walked around as if his legs were made of jelly. Then he tripped over the flashlight, kicking it away as it spun. The light flashed all around, making the whole scene look like a horror show. The crown gave another pulse of energy, this time sending it down Sewaddles string. It endured the first wave, but then a second flung it across the clearing.

Snom watched in horror as Solga’s strength seemingly left him and he collapsed on the ground. The crowns energy lighting the entire dark clearing with purple light. Sewaddle struggled to stand upright trying to reach Solga. Snom knew it couldn't help on its own so it told Sewaddle to free it. Sewaddle opposed this. But Snom knew it must have fought hard just to get the crown. If Snom could just go get help from Camphrier, maybe they could save him.

Sewaddle pondered its options.

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()“Okay, that should keep the cold out,” said a woodworker. He had propped up a wooden palette where the glass in the Culdaver Cruises was broken.

“We are very grateful for your assistance.” bowed Crisis.

The woodworker closed the curtains, hiding the blackened terrace behind the glass. “That guy. He really made a mess of things here. I have my work cut out for me for the rest of the week. What did you say his name was again?”

“Solga.”

“Right, right. Well, I gotta go. Lot’s of things to plan out.”

“Likewise. And again, thank you.”

The woodworker left. Crisis looked around the room. Stuff was missing from the shelves, broken glass was shoddily swept into the corner, and Ceailean was sitting on the curved couch. He had his hands wrapped around each other, gripping hard. So lost in thought, he didn’t even notice Crisis walk up next to him.

“What turmoil plagues your mind, Ceailean?” asked Crisis.

Ceailean didn't face him. “I shoulda been there.”

“Your decision to immediately come to the aid of Noibat is admirable. Do not feel guilty for wanting to help a friend.”

“Still, I can’t help but feel I could’ve made at least some difference.”

“I assure you, if I wasn’t able to stop Solga, then you wouldn’t have been able to also. If anything, the blame should all be placed on me.”

“You really think you could have handled him yourself?”

“I do not mean to be boastful. But it is very clear that I am the most experienced battler in the group seeing the two of you had only just begun your journey.”

“Yeah,” Ceailean sighed, “Whatever.” He stood up and stretched his arms. “Marie though…” The memory was still fresh in his mind. He and Noibat had only just gotten back to the palace entrance a little after Solga had made his escape. The lobby was trashed, Farfetched and Gurdurr were slumped on the ground affected by different status effects, and there laid Marie near the bottom of the stairs. No matter how many words were said, she would lay there and sob, holding Fennekin close. Eventually the sirens came. Medical personnel rushed through the palace trying to find anyone who needed help. Fire crews set up their engines outside to suppress the fire.

Ceailean was surprisingly hard to pry away from Marie. Marie herself took a lot of convincing to hand the unconscious Fennekin over to Nurse joy. Ceailean, seeing her in anguish, found it hard to talk. He feared that he would not know what to say and thought whatever he said would make things worse. They had already lost and the future was looking bleak. The group practically spent the rest of the day not talking to each other, unless it was for explaining the events that unfolded.

The night dragged on. Authorities asked questions, medical personnel turned into shearmen to cut down those who were strung up to the walls, and the terrace became drenched in water. The crews gave the ok for everyone to go back to their rooms. By then it was already 11:00 pm. Ceailean in his guilt sat upon the couch, pondering what could’ve gone differently.

“Should I say something?” he asked Crisis.

“Ultimately, that’s not for me to say. I still don’t know the two of you that well yet.”

Ceailean sighed in disappointment. “Is there anything you can tell us? Other than just be watchful of our flank.”

“You noticed?”

“Just how many enemies of Team Harmonious have to warrant you being that paranoid.”

“I wouldn’t classify it as such. It is in my greatest interest to ensure the safety of you two at all times, be it people or Pokémon. Plus, the two of you seem to engage so well together that it would feel like I would just intrude.”

Ceailean got up frustrated, walking over to his room. “Then why did you even come with us? We don’t need a sentry and you feel fine with not even getting to know us.”

Crisis walked off after him. “Ceailean! Please wait!”

Ceailean turned around in the middle of the hall. “Well?”

Crisis sighed. “You remember the first time we interacted, right?”

“I had lost my glasses and you brought them to me.”

“Yes. And it is my belief that it was fate that brought us together.”

“Really?” Ceailean said skeptically.

“What other answer is there? The admin of a powerful and merciful organization meeting with one of the children that would expose the criminals at Tuviere. Think of what could’ve happened if I wasn’t present.”

Ceailean was growing frustrated. “Darke wouldn’t have bodied you.” A sinking feeling of guilt washed over his body after he said this, thinking Crisis would be heavily offended.

Crisis paid no mind to it. “Darke would’ve gotten away. Recall that it was because of Rival that Darke wasn’t able to escape. Not Sycamore, not any Pokémon, not you or me. If I wasn't there to call Rival then we would’ve fought so hard for nothing.”

Ceailean crossed his arms. “So much for not trying to be boastful.”

“Please, I assure you that is not what I am trying to point out.”

“Then get on with it.”

“Alright then. If it wasn’t for our past meetings before Tuviere, I may not have come to save you. The train, the Lumiose Gym, we have all met and done so much in just the span of a day. When I saw you two pass by and call my name, I wasn’t in the best of minds. I had previously been on a streak of failed missions and battle losses. This got to the point where Armageddon sent me away for training, where the trend unfortunately continued. After the Lumiose gym, my bitterness was immeasurable. To the point where I feel like I wouldn’t have gone to save you despite your call for aid.”

“Crisis, what are you getting at?”

“Tuviere showed me something. These two novice trainers were able to take down most of the criminals stationed there on their own. This showed me that you two were prodigies. This showed me that you two were different and special. I wondered for so long why ineptitude in certain events was occurring, but no one could give the correct answer. So that is why I travel with the two of you in hopes of figuring out the strength I lack.”

Ceailean slumped his shoulders and sighed. “I don’t think you’ll find it with us.”

“Nonsense. Think about yourself, think about Marie. The sweet and charming little girl that seems to pour all her energy into the art of battling. To see such a persona go against criminals willing to kill, she must’ve been terrified.”

A look of realization wiped across Ceailean’s face. “...You’re right. Marie and Me, we got into this huge fiasco in Lumiose. She thought it was all her fault. But I managed to talk her out of it-”

“Let’s put it in more general terms.” Crisis interrupted, “You were simply there for her.”

“W-What?”

“You were there for her, in her most vulnerable state. Though I may not seem sociable, even I could tell from a distance that the two of you are great friends.”

“I was there for her.” Ceailean chuckled slightly. “That’s funny, usually she’s the one there for me.”

Crisis put his arm on Ceailean’s left shoulder, causing him to wince. “And it is in that realization we may find the answer to my lacking strength. Friendships such as that are rare and should be protected. She is willing to go the distance to be there for you, be sure that you are willing to do the same.” Crisis then knocked on the door beside them before weaseling past Ceailean towards his room.

Ceailean realized it was Marie’s door. “You bastar-!”

“C?” asked Marie from the other side of the door.

Ceailean couldn’t tell, but Crisis had the utmost confidence in him. Ceailean then took a deep breath and asked, “Can I come in?”

“...y-yeah.”

Ceailean hesitated before taking the door handle and coming inside. He saw Marie stiffly resting her palms on her knees, looking at her Fennekin sleeping on the carpet. It’s head was wrapped tightly in white bandages. Ceailean cautiously approached Marie until he was sure he was in her peripheral vision.

“Is uh… is Fennekin okay?”

“Should be with some rest.” Marie answered with a crack in her voice. “Nurse Joy said its head was hit really hard. It shouldn’t strain itself for the next couple of days.” Ceailean stood there not knowing what to say next. Marie gripped her leggings. “We had him in a corner and he slipped away.”

“He seemed to be the type that has done that for a long time, I doubt that event is exclusive to us.”

“But we were so close! If only-” she paused then looked at Ceailean. “Why weren’t you there?”

“Crisis didn’t tell you? I had gone to look for Noibat in the gardens after it was tossed out of a window.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it?! What do you mean that’s it?!”

Marie stood up. “Noibat could’ve taken of itself couldn’t it? You could’ve been there! We could’ve stopped him!”

“We don’t know that, Marie.” Ceailean said calmly, “Plus, Noibat was trapped in a giant bundle of curtains. You can’t expect me to just leave it there.”

“You could’ve got it back at any time! Solga was my only chance to figure out where Snom is!”

“Who’s to say that I would’ve made the situation any different? I left Scorbunny with Crisis since Decidueye was still searching Camphrier. He is a more experienced battler than the both of us combined and still we lost. I would’ve just... gotten in the way.”

Marie began to tear up. “B-But, you said… you promised. You promised never to leave my side again.”

Ceailean’s act was broken and showed that he was hurt. “Marie, but I-”

Tears streamed down Marie's face. “You weren’t there, were you?” she sobbed. In her turmoil, she knew she snapped at Ceailean for no reason. Fearing that she had just lost her closest friend, she flopped down on her bed with her arm covering her eyes as she sobbed.

Ceailean had thought that he only made things worse and accepted defeat. He stood up and gave one last look at Marie before heading for the door. But as he held onto the handle, the sound of Marie’s sobs drowned everything else out. This didn’t seem right. To leave her there, to pass this door, really felt like Ceailean would be breaking his promise. He turned around again to see Marie again, her chest heaving with every sob.

He let go of the door handle and mumbled, “Damn it.”

As she cried, Marie felt the side of her bed drop. She looked to see it was Ceailean. “What are you still doing here? I-”

“I forgive you.”

“W-What?”

“I forgive you. Being so close to finally getting an answer to where Snom is must have made you feel so frustrated. And to see Fennekin get hurt like that, stacked everything so close together. I understand Marie. More than you know. But I’m here to tell you that I’m still here. We’ll find Snom. That I’ll tell you with certainty.”

Marie sat up relieved. “C. I’m…” She cried into Ceailean's shoulder. “I’m so sorry. T-That was so selfish of me, I don’t know-”

Ceailean put his hand on top of Marie's. “It’s okay.”

He tried to get up, but Marie held him down, shaking her head saying, “Mm-mh.”

“You want me to stay here?”

“Mm-hm.” nodded Marie.

“Okay. I’ll stay as long as you need.”

Unbeknownst to the two of them, Fennekin gave a slight peek at them before smiling slightly and returning to its rest.

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() It was unclear to Ceailean what happened after that, but somehow he had fallen asleep. Something was amiss however. He was back in Snowbelle walking down the shopping district. His left arm was in a cast and he walked with only one thing on his mind. Having only 5,000 dollars in his pocket, there was only one thing to do, get groceries. Then, a little blonde girl from across the street noticed him.

“Hey you!” she called excitedly. Ceailean glanced over to see the little blonde girl waving to get his attention. He ignored her and continued on. “Hey wait!” Ceailean walked faster but the blonde girl ran up beside him. “Didn't think I’d meet you here!”

“Nor did I.” Ceailean said flatly.

“I tried finding you around school for the past couple days but I couldn’t.”

“That sucks.”

“Where were you anyway?”

“Not telling.”

The girl pouted, “Come on, I thought we were friends!”

“Technically we are. But since then we haven’t even seen each other. I don’t even remember your name.”

“Ugh, it’s Marie, duh!”

“Yeah, Maria, whatever. I’m in a hurry so please leave me alone.” Ceailean walked a little faster, but Marie matched his pace.

“I can help if you want!”

Ceailean stopped and looked up at the grocery store sign. “I’d rather you not.” He continued inside.

“B-But, if you’re all by yourself then it would be hard to carry whatever you’re buying back to your house.”

“I won’t buy a lot.”

“T-Then I’ll go find the things you need for you!” Marie then tried to prove her conviction by standing straight and saluting Ceailean.

He stared for a moment, “Ugh, fine.”

“Yay!” she whispered to herself.

Ceailean in his reluctance, tried to ignore Marie to the best of his ability. Though, she would prove to be quite sociable.

“You need this? But this one is much better.”

“I only have so much, put it back.”

“Well, what do you do for fun? Play video games or with Pokémon?”

“No.”

“Then, what kind of family do you have?”

“Just me and mom.”

Conversations like this happened throughout the grocery store. Ceailean’s patience has worn thin. Upon exiting the store, he interrupted Marie, “Alright, I think that’s enough.”

“Huh, what do you mean?”

“I can handle the rest on my own.”

“Uh, I have three bags C, while you have one. You really think you can carry all that with one hand?”

Ceailean realized that he couldn’t, but he remained stubborn. “Y-Yes.”

Marie gave him a know-it-all smile. “Okay, if you say so.” She gave him all three bags at once, causing Ceailean to drop all the bags on the ground. Remaining persistent, he dragged them as far as could. After a while, he looked back to see Marie only ten feet back. She smiled and waved.

Ceailean gave a defeated sigh, “Can I get some help?”

“Knew you would ask.” Marie answered excitedly.

The two walked their goods all the way to Ceailean’s house. Upon seeing it, Marie was in awe.

“Whoa C! You live in a place like this?”

“Not really.”

“Oh. Is it something you can tell me about?”

“No.”

The two went inside and put the groceries away.

“Cool, that’s that. So since I’m here, you wanna hang out and play?” Marie asked in earnest.

“No, I want you to leave. Please.”

Marie was visibly saddened. “W-What? Why?”

“Look, don’t expect me to be your friend. We’re probably only staying here for a few more months at best. Plus, I have some important stuff to do.”

“B-But maybe-”

Ceailean got assertive, “Now!” He then sighed and added, “Please.”

Marie had tears in her eyes. “F-Fine! I didn’t want to be your friend anyway!” She left in a huff and slammed the door.

Ceailean felt guilty having to talk to her like that, but he felt like it was the right thing to do. He looked upstairs and walked up. He knocked on the first door in the hall and asked, “You awake Mommy?” No answer. He let himself inside.

There laying on the left side of the bed was his mother, he back facing away from the edge. The scattered tissues show that she was crying again. The room was cold and no light was anywhere. Still, Ceailean took it upon himself to walk up and shake her shoulder.

“Mommy? I-I got the groceries.”

A tilt of her head showed that she was awake. “Who was that downstairs?” she asked with a cracked voice.

“That girl from the other day. She tried to be my friend. But I made her go away.”

His mom tilted her head more. “Now why would you go and do that?”

“We’re only staying for a little while. I thought it wouldn’t be worth it.”

“You shouldn’t do that.” His mom slowly turned around. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red and puffy. “You should try to make friends.”

“All I did was get hurt and make her feel bad.”

His mom reached over and gently placed her hand on his cheek. “That shouldn’t matter.” Ceailean held the top of her hand. She smiled warmly. “You shouldn’t push away people who are eager to be your friend. You may not know it now, but they might be your greatest help to you one day. Never forget that.”

Ceailean’s breath began to get shaky, “I won’t.”

“Good. Now what I want you to do when you get back to school tomorrow is apologize.”

“But-”

“If not for you, then do it for me. Promise?”

“Okay Mommy, I promise.”

Suddenly, everything around him became a foggy haze until it all became a black void. Ceailean looked at his arms and realized he was back to his present self. Though confused, he looked around wondering what was happening.

“Hello?” Nothing happened. “Is… is anyone there?”

“I would’ve figured you wouldn’t have wanted to talk to me again.” a voice echoed back.

Ceailean jumped back surprised. “W-Who are you?”

“My, still don’t remember? You’d think you’d retain at least a little of our past encounters.”

“We’ve met before?”

“Enough questions, we both know that you’d forget. I’ve already made enough of a mess just talking to you.”

“What did I do?”

Another voice, seemingly drowsy, made itself known. “Hey? Who're you talking to? Ceailean recognized it as Clemont’s.

The other voice sighed, “The Dreamwalker.”

“What? That stupid name that Bonnie came up with? Surely that isn’t me!”

“Then by all means, believe it as you do.”

“And just who are you? And what does Clemont have to do with it?” Right after he asked this, the black void around him began to shake violently around him. “What are you doing!?”

“The Dreamwalker? “ asked Clemont. “If it’s who we think it is, do you think I could talk to him?”

“It’s too late. He’s already slipping away.”

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()Ceailean got a rude awakening when he fell off a couch face first into the carpeted floor.

“Ow.” he groaned. Looking around, it was Marie’s room. He didn’t notice it before but the room wasn’t cleaned. Evidence of Solga’s trashing still laid all throughout. He stood up and found that he was alone. Marie and Fennekin were gone. Judging from the fuzzy sunlight coming through the curtains he could probably guess what happened. It didn’t seem like he slept on Marie’s bed as where he stood was next to the couch on the opposite wall. With his mind still fuzzy, he walked out the open door.

The living room was empty. The bathroom was emitting steam and the TV was left on. Then Ceailean noticed the open front door. Worry was starting to take hold.

“Crisis? Marie?” he called out. No answer. He walked around frantically looking for clues on where they might be. Nothing. The terrace remained burnt, the hallways were still brilliantly lit, and everywhere was similarly empty. The isolation was starting to get to Ceailean as he ran down the halls in hopes of finding someone, anyone. Then finally, a voice.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit!” shouted the voice, clearly distressed.

“Hey! Who is that!” asked Ceailean.

“Ceailean? By Arceus not again.”

Ceailean turned the corner to see Vertant. He wore a seemingly casual attire with a button up shirt and jeans, but his hands were to his head, grasping at it like he was going mad.

“Vertant? Did something happen? Where’s Crisis and Marie?”

“I've gone back and forth like three times! I come up here to tell you all that they found That- that guy-”

“Solga?”

“Soldier, whatever. They found him in a forest passed out with the crown on his head. Something I feared would inevitably happen.”

“So they got him? He’s in custody?”

“They had to rush him to the hospital, but they told me they have eyes on him, along with his Sewaddle.”

“There’s a lot you’re telling me here. Tell me where Crisis and Marie are first.”

“Marie ran off towards Camphrier-”

“Ran?!”

“Yeah, ran! Like, on foot! Crisis flew after her on Decidueye-”

“He didn’t go with her?! No, back up! Why did she run to Camphrier?”

“I don’t know why! I just came to tell you guys about it but Marie was the only one awake! After a while in the bathroom, she tells me to take her there but I don’t have any butlers here that could take her by car, so she said she’ll just walk. I tried to tell you and Crisis but I didn't know which rooms you had so I knocked on each one until someone answered. I found Crisis first. I told him what happened, he understood, and he flew off.”

“Damn. We can save the rest of the details later. We have to get to Camphrier, now!

“But I just said no one can get us there fast. How’re we gonna get there?”

Ceailean though for a moment.

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() At the front gate of the palace, a speedy black car flew down the road. Vertant was clutching every handle he could, holding on for dear life. Ceailean was the one to take the wheel and drive.

“By Arceus, Ceailean! Was this the only option?!”

“You kept going on about how you couldn’t drive because you didn’t have a license, so I’ll drive myself.”

“This is madness!”

“You didn’t have to come.”

“Yes, but I couldn’t let you go alone! Considering what has happened, it’s my responsibility to fix this mess! Plus, this is my car! You can’t just take it!”

“Ha! Fair.” Ceailean sped up, causing Vertant to grip the handles harder. “Marie, why did you go alone?” Ceailean thought to himself, “Did what I say mean nothing to you? You never want me to leave you, but you’re making it pretty hard to stay by your side.”

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() Hospital doors were barged open. Four nurses pushed a stretcher through in a hurried manner. Solga laid unconscious upon it. Sewaddle and a freed Snom watched worriedly from his chest. They entered a room, where a nurse took the pokemon and placed them aside, much to Sewaddle’s protest.

“Sorry Sewaddle, we need room to work.” assured the Nurse. “Please stay here for now.”

Sewaddle reluctantly agreed. It’s head sulked still. Snom felt slightly bad. It gave what comfort it could to Sewaddle. Sewaddle nodded solemnly.

The Nurse’s did their work, tearing apart clothes and attaching wires.

“Breathing is stable. Heart rate is normal? What is wrong with him?”

“Don’t slow down now. It could be a pokemon attack or some kind of mental condition. Prepare him for a CAT scan and continue to observe him. We need to make sure everything’s alright.”

“Are you sure? That crown is clearly sending some kind of magical energy throughout his body. Don’t you think something might go wrong?”

“I don’t believe in superstitions. People and pokemon are a science. But I won’t deny that he is emanating some kind of energy. Let’s hold off for now. I’ll get some answers. Just keep an eye on him.”

“Yes ma’am.” The senior nurse left the room.

The tension began to finally die down as the Nurse’s began to do a check up. Sewaddle made a sigh of relief, only for Solga to start violently jerking around. The bed rocked back and forth, medical equipment toppled, and the Nurses rushed into action. They tried their best to restrain him.

“What’s going on? How is he this strong?”

“That crown is doing something. Just what is this thing anyway?”

“You two hold him down. I'm going to try and sedate him.”

The Nurses wrestled the wreathing Solga down on the bed. Sewaddle watched on in horror. Snom thought no more sympathy could ever come out of it, but seeing Solga like that made it feel ever more sorry for Sewaddle and him.

A nurse quickly drew a sedative from a vial. She carefully injected it into Solga’s arm and he began to finally calm down. Sewaddle watched closely. Once the needle was fully emptied, something happened.

A feeling. A rushing feeling. Almost like being crushed under the 30,000 feet depth of the ocean. Only to ascend. The pressure was relieved. 20,000 feet deep, 10,000 feet. Then finally, fresh open air. But it kept going. The air grew thinner. The atmosphere became less uniform. Then it became suffocating, cold. In a desperate attempt of self preservation, Solga took a gasping breath.

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Solga’s arm gripped the Nurse’s, causing her to jump back. But she was held in place. Solga finished taking in air and he opened his eyes, his pupils closing sharply.

“What was that for?” he asked. His voice reverberated deeply, loud enough for the floor to vibrate.

“Sir, please unhand me. We’re trying to help you.” she answered nervously.

“I don’t need your help!” His mere phrase sent a wave of air through the room, blowing around papers and clothes. The Nurse finally freed herself from Solgas grasp, pressing her back against the wall. Solga’s breathing began to grow erratic. “Get off of me!” He pried himself from the other nurses restraining him and began to tear the wires off himself.

“Sir! You were found unconscious in the forest! You need to at least rest and let us figure out what happened!”

“No! I know full well what I’ve become.” Solga stood up. The crown on his head glowed a radiant purple. He tilted his head. “Sewaddle?” Snom didn’t notice it but Sewaddle seemed ecstatic to see Solga standing up again. He held his arm out and Sewaddle zipped onto it with a string shot eagerly. “Consider our lives to be the greatest they’ve ever been and ever will be. I can see into the future. No one can stand in our way.” Sewaddle nodded ecstatically.

Snom has had enough and prepared to attack. “Sewaddle, shoot a string shot at our opposing snow bug, and again once it flies by the blue line.” Sewaddle was confused but it attacked. Snom used icy wind to dodge out of the way. Sewaddle noticed a decorative blue line in the room and successfully pinned Snom to the wall, right on the blue line. Sewaddle realized what happened and looked at Solga with awe. “You see it don’t you? Our unlimited potential? Once I fully understand the power of the crown, any question can be answered, every encounter could be planned out on the spot. It is time we make our greatest stand. Those who were at the palace want to confront us again. It is unfortunate that this will not be a simple case of handing over Snom to the girl. This has become personal for her. We have much to do today, but first, silence them.”

A nurse began to whisper, “What’re we supposed to-” Sewaddle quickly shot a string on her mouth, muffling her.

“You all will leave me be! Sewaddle! They will never stop pursuing us. So we must make a stand here, to grow the power of the crown. All the way to the point where they would never be able to even touch us. Let us spread our wings!” Solga pointed Sewaddle to the window, to which it pulled it off the frame with a string shot. He then jumped out the window and swung down the street.

----------------------------------------

() The people in the streets of Camphrier paid little mind to the swiftly moving Marie as she sped walked past. Only one thing ran through her mind. Find Solga and make him tell her where Snom, by any means necessary. All except one however. When she turned the corner, a sudden realization came over her.

“Where the heck am I?” she asked herself. She quickly looked down both sides of the street and saw that she was lost. She sighed and continued in her direction. “Ugh, I’m so stupid.” She sat down on a nearby park bench and sulked. This feeling wasn’t new. It almost felt like home. She held out Fennekin’s pokeball and stared at it for a while.

“C. I wanted you to stay by my side, but I couldn't help but leave you behind. I just… I just want to know where Snom is.” The pokeball shook. The Fennekin came out. “Fennekin, you shouldn’t be walking around!” Fennekin shook its head. It was determined to go along Marie. “Please Fennekin! I don’t want to hurt you again!” These words shocked Fennekin. All this time, Marie had been carrying way more baggage than Fennekin ever thought.

“It’s my fault,” she continued, “If I hadn’t gotten so cocky, if I hadn't given Solga the chance to take Snom. None of this would’ve happened. I’m afraid if I keep going, I’ll just keep making things worse. But I don’t want to wait around for things to happen. I don’t want to rely on others anymore. I want to be my own person!” Fennekin understood. It walked up comfortingly and brushed its head against her leg.

Marie blinked away her small tears of joy. “Oh Fennekin.” She picked it up. “I’m so sorry, but I'm just not strong enough. We should call Ceailean and Crisis.” Fennekin wriggled out of her grasp. It jumped around energetically, calling for Marie to not give up yet. “Fennekin please, you’ll hurt yourself if you move too much!” Fennekin shook its head in high protest. It charged up an attack and launched it up into the air in a flash of blue light, blinding the both of them.

Marie rubbed her eyes. “Oh man, what was that?” Fennekin didn’t see it either and pondered. Then voices of a crowd began sounding out.

“Look mommy, that was so pretty!”

“It’s raining embers.”

“Whoa look at that.”

The crowd around the park began to gather around. Marie looks up to see a shower of embers slowly falling down from the sky. There were so many, so many that she couldn’t see how far they went. But it reminded her of something. Back in Tuviere and Lumiose she saw something similar. This spectacle had its other half missing.

Marie clenched her fist. “Thanks Fennekin. You won’t give up and neither will I.” Fennekin nodded with a smile. “Now, where-” As she said this, she saw Solga swinging down the street. Before he swung behind another building, he seemed to give a quick glance, smirking. This put her off a bit, but her mind was made up. “Fennekin, I want you to save as much strength as possible. Return, I’ll carry you the rest of the way.” Fennekin nodded and went back into its pokeball. Marie focused up and ran off in the direction Solga swung.

“Hey mommy look! This ember here, it looks like a triangle!”

----------------------------------------

() Marie ran between streets and alleyways until she came upon an open plaza. There was a battlefield here and Solga stood on it facing away from her.

“Ah! So you’ve finally arri-”

“Fennekin, get out here and use ember!” Marie threw her pokeball, releasing Fennekin who immediately responded with an ember shot straight at Solga's head. He merely tilted his head to the side and avoided it. “What?!”

“Even less talkative now. Fine, we’ll start this immediately.” Sewaddle jumped up from a nearby tree and dived in.

“Fennekin dodge!” shouted Marie.

“Listen very closely,” said Solga. Marie sensed that this was directed at her. “String shot left and flail!” As Fennekin dodged to the left, Sewaddle landed and string it up immediately.

“How could you possibly know that?!” exclaimed Marie. Solga only smirked. Sewaddle spun around in circles and then tossed Fennekin up in the air. It then jumped up and used flail to slam it back down on the ground. “Fennekin!” Marie ran up and caught Fennekin before it hit the ground.

“Well this is new.” Solga said condescendingly.

“Are you alright?” Fennekin nodded. Marie helped it back up. “We’re not done yet. Use scratch!” Fennekin rushed forward.

“Left!” Sewaddle dodged flawlessly.

“Keep going!” urged Marie. Fennekin continued swiping. But with each command from Solga, Sewaddle would dodge effortlessly.

“Right, left, down, jump and use that whiff to your advantage!” Sewaddle jumped up high and used string shot, pulling Fennekin up high above it. “Silver wind.” Sewaddle shot Fennekin midair, causing it to explode in a cloud of silvery dust.

“Nooo!” cried Marie. She ran up to catch Fennekin again.

“Stop her.” Sewaddle shot string around Marie's legs, making her trip and fall. Right in front of her Fennekin fell. The dust from the impact got in Marie's eyes, obscuring her vision. “This fight is pointless. Marie, it is time that you realize that you can’t beat me. Now more than ever before.”

Marie wiped the dust from her eyes. “Fennekin,” she moaned, “Can… Can you keep going?” Fennekin barely twitched its head. It could barely withstand the returning pain in its head, wincing greatly. “Please…”

Solga walked over and crouched by Marie's head. “I have gained a new power. In this battle I can see your every move, your every thought. You must understand now that you never stood a chance. If I could handle a 4v1 without it, what makes you think you could handle me yourself with it?”

“Y-You’re just a snake! You played dirty!”

“All is fair in the art of war. Now I suggest you stand down now, before you hurt yourself even more.”

“N-Never! Tell me where Snom is!”

“Such a persistent one. You should… Sewaddle! Jump back!” Suddenly, two arrows came flying in. Sewaddle and Solga jumped back in time before it hit their shadows.

“You made a real mess now!” shouted Crisis.

Solga looked up. “Well if it isn’t the high and mighty.”

Crisis came down on the back of Decidueye. As he landed, he released Gurdurr and Farfetched. “Are you alright Marie?”

“Yeah but, Fennekin.” she answered solemnly.

“Hm. Farfetched free her.” Farfetched freed Marie of the string around her legs. She then picked up Fennekin and cradled it.

“Oh Fennekin.”

“Stay back and let me and Ceailean handle this.” Crisis told her quietly.

“C is here too?”

Crisis nodded subtly. He walked up to Solga. “This is the last straw, Solga. Give it up now before you become a part of Team Harmonious’s most wanted.”

“What could they ever do. I’d see them coming from a thousand of miles away.”

“Be careful, Crisis!” warned Marie. “He’s able to see your every move before you even make them!”

“Preposterous!”

“Your friend speaks the truth, Mr. Silent.” Solga held out his arms. “With the power of this crown I have achieved precognition! No one will even be able to stop us! It is my belief that in time, I will achieve something even greater! I will gain omniscience!”

“I’ll stop you before that ever happens. Decidueye, phantom force!”

Solga smirked, “Silver wind behind you!” Sewaddle turned around right as Decidueye appeared behind it. Decidueye used the energy of its attack to block it. “So predictable.”

“Decidueye again, Gurdurr fling, Farfetch'd leaf blade!” All three pokemon rushed in. Gurdurr threw it’s metal beam like a javelin.

“Sewaddle, jump back, immediately jump up, then toxic!” Sewaddle jumped back from the beam, then jumped up from Decidueyes sweeping wing. Then Farfetch’d hopped onto the wing where it shot up into the air, its giant leek glowing a vibrant green. Sewaddle then shot a toxic sludge right it Farfetch'ds face.

“Damn it. Do it now!” shouted Crisis. Out from the tops of the trees, Noibat and Scorbunny surged out with a dragon rush and blaze kick.

“Use Scorbunny as a flail!” Sewaddle strung up Scorbunny and swung it into the Noibat, launching them both into the ground.

“What the heck was that?!” shouted Ceailean from the bushes. “Starting to think this guy is serious!”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” taunted Solga. “I have demonstrated it before you, haven’t I? You all wouldn’t ever have the privilege of touching Sewaddle!” Just then, the sky turned pink and a beam of psychic energy smacked Sewaddle all the way back to the ground.

Solga’s smirk disappeared immediately. “Tch.”

“We got him?” Ceailean asked, surprised. “What attack was that?”

“That was stored power.” answered Marie. Sewaddle stood up dazed.

“Well if it ain't the man himself!” Vertant made his way onto the battlefield. He pointed at Solga. “You have something that belongs to me.”

“And I shall spread my knowledge on to others with it. Rather than have it locked away from the public.”

“We had it locked away for a reason. That thing has a lot of blood deep within its roots. I won’t allow you to mishandle its power!”

“That won’t happen until… Sewaddle get back!” A thunderbolt from the side burst in. Sewaddle jumped back in time. Out from the bushes, a Manectric jumped into the battlefield. “You’re new.”

“Solga Telin!” shouted an accusing voice. Everyone looked to see Officer Jenny walking down the street. “You are wanted on 75 counts of petty theft, 16 counts of illegal use of pokemon substances, possession of said substances, property damage, grand theft auto, and the kidnapping of a personal pokemon! I suggest you surrender!”

Solga’s smirk returned. “Suggestion ignored officer. I’m sure I’m capable of handling myself.”

“He’s right, Officer Jenny!” warned Marie. “All of us together could barely touch him!”

Officer Jenny looked over. “Y-You two?”

“Us two?” asked Ceailean.

“Oh, I apologize. I was the one who chased you guys down in Lumiose.”

“That was you?”

“Yes. Camphrier also happens to also be under my jurisdiction.”

“You two had a run in with the law.” asked Vertant.

“It’s complicated.” answered Marie.

“Yes, yes! Very touching! But can we get on with the reunions?” urged Solga, “I have a point to prove.”

Officer Jenny stepped up. “Fine, I’ll take you down. I want you all to stay back.”

“Don’t try it.” said Crisis. “That crown of his is giving him the power of precognition. He’ll see your move before you even think of making it. We should all play a part.” Solga cackled as he said this.

“You may have a point there, Crisis.” pointed out Vertant. “I was looking and maybe there’s a pattern we can follow.”

“What is it?” asked Ceailean.

“Notice how he perfectly dodged all the past attacks in succession, totaling up to five. Then I hit Sewaddle with a sixth attack. Maybe there’s a limit to how many attacks he could see.”

“Worth a shot. Noibat, Scorbunny, get ready!” Noibat and Scorbunny moved to Ceailean’s side, ready to battle.

“Let’s see. It looks like we have seven pokemon. More than enough.”

“Scratch one.” said Crisis. He pointed his pokeball at Farfetch’d, who was struggling to stand due to the poison, and returned it.

“Darn.”

“Then that would leave six, but I only see five. Where’s the last one?” asked Marie.

“Well we have Scorbunny, Noibat, Decidueye, Gurdurr, Manectric, and-” Vertant cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted towards the sky, “Musharna!” Descending from the sky was Musharna, seemingly sleeping peacefully as it did so. Vertant rubbed its chin. “Let’s try our best okay.” Musharna subtly nodded.

“Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work. Now come! Allow me to demonstrate my newfound power!” Solga outstretched his arms as if he were some divine being.

All of the pokemon got into their battle stances. As they were in a standoff, Fennekin was eager to join in. It tried to escape from Marie’s grasp.

“Fennekin no!” urged Marie in a hushed tone. “W-We’re not strong enough.” Fennekin protested.

“Hey Fennekin,” said Vertant in a comforting voice, “Believe in us, okay.” But that wasn’t the argument it was making. Still, it calmed down for now.

The two opposing sides remained in a standoff for several more moments. The wind blew softly, rustling the leaves of the trees. Then a ray of light made Solga squint.

“Go!” shouted Ceailean. The group quickly ushered their commands

“Gurdurr, slam! Decidueye, Spirit shackle!”

“Scorbunny, blaze kick! Noibat, dragon rush!”

“Manectric, quick attack!”

“Musharna, moonblast!”

“Too easy.” Solga said with a smile. “Duck and use flail!” Sewaddle slid under Gurdurr’s metal beam and flailed right into its abdomen. “String it up!” Sewaddle then swung around and knocked Gurdurr on the floor from the back. “Use the beam!” Another shot of string swung the beam over Sewaddles head and planted it into the ground, just in time to block Decidueye’s shot with a metallic tink. “Merry go round!” Sewaddle used its momentum to spin in circles, knocking back Decidueye and Gurdurr.

“Off to the left!” Sewaddle avoided Noibat’s dragon rush with a simple shift to the side. Then Scorbunny jumped in with its heels full of flames. “Back away, twirl around, fake out, then step to the side!” Every fiery kick was dodged effortlessly. Then Sewaddle stepped aside to reveal Manectric combining in with a full force quick attack, hitting Scorbunny before it even had the chance to react.

“Move it and retaliate with silver wind!” Sewaddle twirled around an incoming moonblast and shot a silver wind in Musharna’s face.

“No Musharna!” cried out Vertant, running over to care for it.

“Tch, air cutter!” commanded Ceailean.

“Skewer the winged beast!” urged Solga. Sewaddle strung up Noibat before it could attack and tugged it to the ground. “Jump slightly and use toxic!” Right as Noibat slammed on the ground, Decidueye appeared in a purple flash behind Sewaddle. Sewaddle only jumped slightly and caught a right on Decidueyes sweeping attack, shooting a toxic glob into Decidueyes face as it flew upside down in the air.

“Damn it, return!” said Crisis, returning Decidueye before it fell to the ground.

“Being silent about your moves means nothing!” bragged Solga. “I’ll still see ‘em coming!”

Marie’s hope started to drain. It seemed like three Pokémon were already out of commission. Then a thought came across her mind. There was someone who could help them, someone unbelievably strong. She pulled her pokedex out of her pocket and scrolled down her contacts until she came across the one she needed.

Christianson.

She unblocked the number and instantly received a plethora of missed messages and voicemails. Ignoring all of them, she held her finger over the call button, remaining hesitant. This was the one person that could certainly help them, but the trade off was too much. If she did so, her journey with Ceailean would end. Given how things were going however, not doing so could result in her not seeing Snom ever again. It seemed so selfish to think that way. Throw away one of your greatest friends of all time forever, just for the chance to...to. No, NO! That definitely isn’t the right thing to do! Ceailean will still be around, even if she has to go back home. With her conscious heavy, Marie took a deep breath and prepared to dial.

“I didn’t push you too hard, did I Musharna?” said Vertant, plopping himself right next to Marie.

She jumped, “AHH! You scared me!”

Vertant cradled Musharna like a big bouncy ball. “Please, the scariest thing here is you being on your pokedex while we’re getting our butts kicked. Thought you’d be more invested. What’re you doing anyway, are we boring you that much?”

Marie quickly shut off her pokédex. “It’s not like that! What about you? You think Musharna is going to be okay?”

Vertant looked at the fierce battle before them. “Musharna is old. I shouldn’t be pushing it like this, but I didn’t have any other Pokémon.”

“I’m sure it did it’s best.”

“That had to have been way more than six attacks anyway. I coulda swore we found a weakness of some sort.”

Marie pondered for a bit. “Try using stored power again. Maybe it was just a fluke or we could find something else out.”

“I’m open to anything right now. The longer he has that crown on, the more danger he puts himself in.” Marie wanted to ask what he meant but decided not to. “Musharna, can you give me one more stored power?” It nodded and let Vertant let it take flight once more.

“Such a bore, the lot of you!” shouted Solga confidently.

“Don’t get cocky!” said Officer Jenny, “Manectric use quick attack!”

“Gurdurr, use bulk up and get your beam back!” shouted Crisis.

Ceailean waited for an opening to free Noibat from the string.

Gurdurr bulked up and charged straight into the battle.

“Can’t fight without your toy can you?” said Solga with a smirk. “Jump up top and swat it away!” Sewaddle jumped up upon the embedded beam and charged at Gurdurr.

“Block it!” shouted Crisis.

“Remain relentless!” Sewaddle flailed all it could at Gurdurr, but Gurdurr was able to withstand it.

“Grab it!”

“Silver wind and make it go for a ride!” Right as Gurdurr opened its arms it got a face full of silver wind. As it fell to the ground, Sewaddle strung up its legs and swung it straight into the wall, cracking the stone like it was nothing. Sewaddle used the momentum to fly back up on top of the embedded beam. Then Scorbunny let out a war cry. Everyone looked over to see it charging in on the back of Manectric.

“Rapid fire toxic then play some fetch!”

“Dodge it! ordered Officer Jenny. Manectric used its speed to dodge every toxic. Scorbunny however struggled to stay on. On one dodge, Scorbunny pulled hard on Manectric’s fur, causing it to snap at Scorbunny. Sewaddle then strung itself on the metal beam and spun around until the beam came out of the ground. It then threw it at Manectric. Just as Scorbunny recovered, it tried to warn Manectric of the incoming projectile. But it couldn’t react in time, being sent flying away with a metallic *Dunk*. Scorbunny used bounce before it flew off with Manectric, straight at Sewaddle. Sewaddle only smirked as it was then tugged away by the string still attached to the beam. Scorbunny then panicked as it was sent straight into the bushes.

Solga began cackling. “Oh man! That was fast! I never even would’ve believed it’d be this easy!”

Officer Jenny cracked her knuckles. “If push comes to shove, I won’t be opposed to getting physical.”

“I dare you to try and get close to me! If your Manectric wasn’t even able to touch Sewaddle, then it would be even more certain that you can’t touch me! And if you still try, Sewaddle still has plenty of toxic to go around. Not just for you.” Solga eyed everyone behind her.

Officer Jenny weighed her options. She then backed away. “Fine, I will not let civilians come under threat due to my actions.”

“Officer Jenny!” gasped Marie.

Solga’s smile grew wider. “Good. Now I believe we’ve made our point here. Let us move on Sewaddle-” Just then another pink sky beam struck down Sewaddle, flattening it against the ground. All of Solga’s confidence turned to anger. “By Arceus! What is the meaning of this!?” Officer Jenny then rushed in for the arrest. Solga reacted quickly, “Sewaddle toxic!” Sewaddle quickly recovered and shot a toxic glob. Officer Jenny jumped back before she got hit. The toxic ooze immediately started dissolving the wall it landed on.

“I am to agree with his statement.” said Crisis as he turned to Vertant. “Just what is the meaning of this?”

Vertant raised his hands defensively. “I-I don’t know either! It just seems like stored power is the only move that can hit Sewaddle!”

“Were you not the keeper of the crown? Why do you not know it’s weakness?”

“I had it stored up in an attic! Plus I let someone take it into the cruises without so much as c thinking about it! Some keeper I am. All I know is stories of people becoming soulless after over-using the crown.”

“Stories? Are they true?” asked Marie.

“It’s like I said, just stories. I can’t prove anything.”

“No, look,” said Officer Jenny. “Doesn’t he look a bit pale now?”

“Y-Yeah.” agreed Marie.

Solga caught wind of their conversation and looked at his hands. “Surely you are all mistaken. I must only be getting light headed from all my laughter.”

“Better safe than sorry,” said Vertant, “How ‘bout you take off that crown now?”

“You think I’m an idiot?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Phew, finally got it.” said Ceailean. He had ripped away the string that held Noibat while everyone was talking and it was ready to fight again.

Solga sighed, “You all believe what you want. I now know that I have one last thing to prove.” He pointed at Musharna. “And it’s to take that thing down, by any means necessary.”

“You’re kidding!” argued Vertant, “You’d beat on an old Pokémon just to prove a point?!”

“It has embarrassed me for the last time! I will see its body hit the ground!”

“Yeah we’re not gonna let that happen!” shouted Ceailean. Noibat flew next to him. Scorbunny then jumped out the bushes and stood against Solga as well. Gurdurr then walked over with it’s beam reacquired and Manectric who walked beside it.

“This is gonna be the plan.” explained Crisis. “Vertant, launch as many stored powers as you can and we’ll defend you.”

“I’m not sure if that will work,” said Vertant, “Musharna takes like twenty seconds to charge up that attack. Even though we did hit that Sewaddle twice, it doesn’t even look like it’s slowing down.”

“It’s the only option we have. Get ready.”

Vertant reluctantly nodded. “Musharna, give me as many stored powers as you can. We’ll get that crown back.”

All the pokemon stood ready as Musharna readied another attack.

“We’ll show ‘em Sewaddle. You’re with me til the end right?” Sewaddle was looking worriedly at Solga. “Right! Sewaddle!” Sewaddle shook its head and agreed, facing the opposing pokemon. The two sides stood off against each other for a moment. “Hmph, be that way then. Sewaddle, it’s time to get toxic!” Sewaddle launched a toxic glob at Musharna.

“Gurdurr, now!” ordered Crisis. Gurdurr stepped in and whacked away the glob with its beam.

“Oh so noble of you.” taunted Solga. “Hope it didn’t cost you.” Gurdurr instinctively looked at the end of its beam and saw that it was dissolving. It quickly tried to swing it off. “Now that’s a lot of downtime. How do you think you can keep this up?”

“I’m not standing around!” shouted Officer Jenny. “Use quick attack and close that gap!” Manectric ran ahead in a blur.

“Toxic! Every single one of them use toxic! I will guide you!” Manectric could even move forward anymore as Solga correctly calls out every move it makes. Then the assault started on the defending party. Scorbunny tried to kick globs away, but the fire on its feet took time to burn off. Noibat used it’s dragon rush energy to shield itself, but the attack packed enough force to send it flying back behind Musharna. Then the time came. Musharna was ready to fire another shot, but it was wide open.

“Oh ho,” said Solga, “Toxic the Musharna, then you have a clear shot at your next opponent.” Sewaddle lobbed another glob at Musharna.

“Damn it! No!” Crisis grunted. Just before the attack hit Musharna, an ember blew it right out the air. Marie quickly checked her arms and Fennekin was missing.

“Fennekin no! Please come back!” Marie ran over to grab it, but it howled loudly, making her back away.

“Now!” Sewaddle launched a toxic glob right into Fennekin. It flew back a couple feet.

“Fennekin!” cried Marie. Purple sludge now soaked the bandages on Fennekin’s head. Toxic bubbles formed around its head and its muscles started twitching.

Solga’s smile grew wicked. “Ain't this a sight. The ‘lil pokemon that could, only to be bashed back into the ground. Seriously,” Solga slid his finger along the rim of the crown, emitting orange shavings as he did so, “To think these two were the ones that took down more than half the operation in Tuviere. What a joke.”

“You knew?” asked both Ceailean and Marie.

“Of course! It was so obvious! They never released the trainers names but they told us the pokemon they used. Put two and two together and it's easy.” Solga looked up to the sky. “Sewaddle, string shot to the right if you would.” Sewaddle quickly zipped away on a string right as the stored power hit where it stood.

“No! Even while he was monologuing!” shouted Vertant. “Does his precognition affect stored power now?”

“I’d like to point out that I still have eyes! The attack is so slow that I could see it coming from behind a mountain.”

“I’ve had enough of this!” shouted Crisis as he pulled out his communicator, “Lets see what you have to say when you have the entire brethren of Team Harmonious crashing down on you!”

“Do go on! I’m sure your superiors would love it when they hear their great admin is completely walled by a delinquent juvenile with practically nothing his name yet.”

“Tch!” Crisis hesitated and looked around at all the remaining Pokémon. “But this isn’t sustainable. What can we do?” Then walking in front of him was Fennekin. One eyelid was closed shut and it was struggling to stand up.

“Fennekin please! Stop trying so hard! You’re only going to hurt yourself even more!” pleaded Marie. Ceailean felt bad. He knew Marie was past her breaking point. Fennekin ignored her however and launched rapid fire embers.

“Right, left, left again!” Every shot was dodged. Fennekin fell down exhausted from the assault. “How bout we relive good ‘ol times. Sewaddle, use silver wind.” Sewaddle shot a stream of silvery wind downrange.

“Fennekin!” cried Marie once more. She ran over to try and protect it. But almost as if it was in slow motion, Fennekin struggled to its feet and caught the attack with an ember. The flash of light blinded Marie and she covered her eyes. Fennekin blasted its ember as hard as it could to keep the attack back. The force was enough to send it sliding back, but still it dug in its heels and held on.

“I’ll save you, Fennekin!” said Marie. She walked closer to it while shielding her eyes from the dust and heat.

Something has to be done. Never in his life has Ceailean seen Marie so willing to give up. The once energetic girl that dragged him into everything she thought of at the top of her head was now fighting to keep herself and her pokemon away from the situation. Ceailean took it upon himself to do something, to never leave her side again.

As Marie got closer, a blue light flashed from Fennekin’s attack. Musharna took notice of this when no one else did. It tried to tell Vertant about it.

“Huh? What is it, Musharna?” It gestured to Fennekin urgently. “Wait, you don’t mean-” Musharna nodded. Vertant quickly tried to get Marie’s attention. “Marie! Something great is about to happen!”

“W-What?”

“Just trust me!”

“But-”

Ceailean came up behind her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “He’s saying Fennekin is bound to do great things.”

Marie looked at him, “C.” She grabbed his hand. “But it isn’t strong enough-”

“That’s not the point. You told me to never leave your side after Tuviere, right?” Marie nodded. “You have quite the enthusiastic nature. Always running ahead towards things before anyone could even start. That makes it hard to keep up with you. So if you want me to keep my promise, I want you to make your own.”

“My own?”

“Yeah,” Ceailean stood up and pumped his arm, “I don’t want you to leave my side either.” Marie gasped. “And I don’t want you to leave the sides of your Pokémon either.”

“Never leave my Pokémon?”

“Look at Fennekin. It’s trying so hard. But it will never be as strong as it could be without you by its side. Have faith, and be the one that pushes Fennekin to new heights.”

“C.” Marie wiped the tears in her eyes. “Deal.” she said with a smile. She stood up and encouraged Fennekin. “Fennekin! I’m so sorry for doubting you!” Fennekin could barely hear her through the loud noise and piercing headache, but it could still hear her.

“You’re trying so hard now! You aren't running away anymore! It’s my turn now! We’re not like we used to be at Tuviere! We’re so much more than that!” The heat from Fennekin's ears set its bandages ablaze. “You believe in me and I believe in you! If you’ll always be there to help me, by Arceus I’ll be there to help you too!”

Ceailean smiled. “Noibat, Scorbunny! On my mark!” The two Pokémon nodded and stood by his side.

“Preach all you like! It’s only a matter of time before Sewaddle powers up from the silver wind!” taunted Solga. “All possibilities lead to my victory!”

Fennekin stared ahead with newfound determination. A new blue flare was emanating from Fennekin’s mouth.

“Now, Fennekin! Show him what we’re made of!” Fennekin’s ember was now encompassed in a blue energy. It flowed like water and focused into a dense beam, shooting with multicolored shapes. The attack was so strong that it pushed back the silver wind halfway between the two Pokémon.

“What the hell?!” shouted Solga, “Just what is this-” The two attacks finally cancelled out and exploded. Sewaddle was flung back a couple of feet while Fennekin stood its ground.

“Whoa! Just what was that Marie?” asked Ceailean.

“T-That was psybeam!”

“How could I not see that coming! I should have seen it! Does this thing even work?!” Solga smacked the side of the crown causing orange shavings to explode out from the impact. Suddenly, Solga fell to his knee and started coughing. Sewaddle noticed and ran over to try and figure out what was going on.

“Wait a minute,” said Marie. “Maybe. C! Attack with everything you got! I have a theory!”

“Got it! Scorbunny go in with bounce and Noibat support it with air cutter!” Ceailean commanded. Scorbunny launched up in the air and went in for the dive kick.

Before Sewaddle could consult with Solga, he instructed it, “Go back!” Sewaddle noticed Scorbunny incoming and zipped away with a string shot. “Now intercept with a silver wind!” Noibat shot its air cutters and Sewaddle blasted them away with silver wind.

“Now Fennekin! Psybeam!” Fennekin shot its blue beam again and nailed Sewaddle directly before it could even react. The explosion made it slide into Solga's view.

“What is going on?” he said to himself. “What did you do to Sewaddle?”

“That must be it!” exclaimed Marie.

“What is it?” asked Ceailean.

“Did you figure out the crown’s weakness?” asked Crisis.

“Yeah! It must be! He can’t see psychic attacks! Stored power, psybeam, it all makes sense now!”

Vertant rubbed his chin “If that’s the case, Musharna use psychic terrain!” Musharna then slowly emitted a pink mist that enveloped the entire battlefield.

Suddenly, Solga reeled back and started hyperventilating. “What’s happening?!”

“He’s gone full psycho mode.” pointed out Vertant, “I give him three minutes tops before something happens.”

“Then all we have to do is get it off of him before that happens.” said Crisis.

“No...nonononono.” mumbled Solga. “I can still see. I can still figure out where they are.” He wobbled onto his feet, “Sewaddle! We’re done here. We got what we came for. Let’s get outta here before they become too much of a problem.” Sewaddle agreed and zipped over. It could feel the radiating energy from the crown.

“No, they’re gonna get away!” shouted Ceailean.

“Can’t say it hasn’t been fun,” Solga pointed at the crown, “but I have to figure this out.” Sewaddle stuck some string on some nearby buildings and they swung away.

“After ‘em!” shouted Ceailean. Everyone went on the pursuit.

As Solga swung, he coughed up a storm and noticed that his vision was going blurry. Sewaddle asked if he was okay. “It’s alright. Once we’re clear, I find out what we need to know and I’ll take it off.” Then he noticed a white streak in the sky. At first he thought it was a plane, but then it got closer and closer. “What is that-?” Then before they could react, Snom rocketed in and hit Sewaddle right out of Solga’s shoulder. “Sewaddle!” cried out Solga. He soared through the air and smashed straight through a flower cart, tumbling down the road. The locals all jumped at the sound and immediately ran over to see if he was okay.

Sewaddle saw Solga down the street and tried to rush over, but it got an icy blast to the back, making it tumble to the ground. It turned to see Snom confronting it, its expression dead serious. It tried attacking with silver wind, but Snom used icy wind to maneuver around and bashed Sewaddle again. The two tumbled down the road until Sewaddle overpowered Snom and pinned it to the ground. It then spewed out a bunch of string in an effort to trap it. But Snom exploded outwith the green energy of struggle bug, blasting away the string and Sewaddle. The explosive cloud poured out of the street, catching the attention of the group.

“What the heck was that?” asked Marie. They all turned the corner quickly to see the street enveloped in dust and the silhouettes of people running away. Then a flash of white sent Snom tumbling their way. “S-Snom?” It hadn't noticed at first, but it realized that it was next to Marie and the gang. It had no time to react as Marie dove in and gave it the hardest hug she could muster. “Oh Snom, I’m so glad to see you!” Snom found itself struggling to breath, but the feeling was shared. “I’m so sorry that he took you! I won’t let something like that ever happen again!” All of the sudden from the dust, a silver wind blasted towards Marie. Marie couldn’t react in time and Snom was still encased in her arms. Then a blue beam came in and intercepted the attack. The resulting impact was enough to blow away all the dust engulfing the street.

Snom looked to see who intercepted the attack and saw Fennekin, panting and determined. It was surprised to see Fennekin’s new found power.

“You impressed Snom?” asked Marie, “That’s Fennekin’s new attack, psybeam. It learned that move when we were looking for you.” Snom nodded and looked down the street. There still stood Sewaddle. It was clear that exhaustion was starting to take effect.

“It’s almost done, but where’s Solga?” asked Ceailean.

“There.” pointed Crisis. Everyone looked far down the street to Solga on the ground. A couple of locals were trying to help him up.

“Get away from me.” groaned Solga, “I don’t need your help!” A flash of electricity pushed back the locals and had them run away. He struggled to his feet, his back and legs aching. Thoughts were running wild. What were they gonna do? Was Sewaddle going to be taken away from him? Was getting the crown worth it? A bunch of mental flashes flipped through his mind in an attempt to answer these questions. They felt so real. The vision of the real world became secondary to the flashing scenarios. Sewaddle would be taken, Sewaddle would be run away, Sewaddle would be… killed?!

“W-Why are you showing me this?” asked Solga. He clawed at the rim of the crown, now eerily humming. “Just tell me clearly. What is going to happen to Sewaddle?”

“Musharna! Psychic terrain again!” ordered Vertant. Solga’s heart dropped as he watched as the mist quickly approached his feet. He tried to back away but tripped on the brick road. The mist flowed around him, raising flowers and broken wood into the air. He then sprawled on the ground, clawing and scratching at the crown. Orange shavings flew about as he did so.

“I-I have to get out of here.” said Solga, gasping for air. “I have to save Sewaddle. Shut up, shut up shut up SHUT UP!” He slammed his head on the ground, a pulse of purple light flashing upon the impact. Struggling to his feet, he picked up a rock and faced the group.

Sewaddle was panting hard. It blocked the path towards Solga, standing tall and alone.

Crisis pointed at it. “Gurdurr, use-”

Snom told him to wait. It wriggled out of Marie’s grasp and flew over to Sewaddle. The two stared each other down. Snow then began to talk, trying to get Sewaddle to surrender. Sewaddle was appalled it even suggested such a thing.

“What’s going on?” asked Crisis.

“It’s trying to get Sewaddle to stand down.” answered Ceailean.

Marie then ran up to Snom’s side, Fennekin following suit. “Sewaddle, please listen to Snom!” Sewaddle stood its ground. “Can’t you see? This is now much more than just trying to catch the two of you. We’re now trying to save you, save Solga!” Sewaddle scoffed at the seemingly made up scenario. “Vertant! Back me up! You see what’s happening to Solga can’t you?”

“It’s true Sewaddle!” pleaded Vertant. Sewaddle looked back at the crooked standing Solga, a drowning fear taking hold. “Look at him! His mind is being ripped apart! It would be a miracle if he could even see right now!” Solga remained silent.

“Sewaddle. I know you love Solga very much.” said Marie. Sewaddle looked back surprised. “I saw it. You couldn’t see the future, but you were still able to work with Solga so well. That has to mean that you two are close! No ordinary Pokémon could battle like that! So let us help you. We can still save him!” Sewaddle pondered for a moment. However, the decision would be made for it.

A rock flew through the air, smashing against Musharna’s head.

“Musharna!” cried out Vertant as it fell to the ground. Everyone turned to see what had happened and saw Solga down the street, arm outstretched.

“That’ll show your sleepy psychic pet what for!” insulted Solga. Everyone was shocked, even Sewaddle.

Ceailean’s eyes turned a tint of red. “Bastard!” Marie flinched at the word. “You’re sick, you know that!”

“All is fair in the art of war.” Solga said, his voice raspy. The group minus Vertant then all rushed towards him, passing Swaddle who was shocked still.

“If that’s the case, Manectric! Use quick attack and pin him down!” shouted Officer Jenny. Manectric rushed forward. Solga tried to evade, but his injuries were too much. Manectric snapped its jaws down on Solga’s arm and tugged him to the ground.

“Sewaddle, help me please!” Solga pleaded as he struggled. Sewaddle couldn’t figure out what to do. Nothing felt like the right answer. “I-I saw it, Sewaddle! The future! They’ll separate us,” his voice began to crack with hints of sadness, “We’ll never see each other again! We have to get out of here!” That was it. Nothing may be certain, but saving Solga was a priority.

The group saw a string whiz by them as Sewaddle launched itself into Manectric. The two tumbled down the road. Sewaddle recovered first as it whipped around and shot a toxic glob into Manectric.

“Manectric no!” shouted Officer Jenny.

“Sewaddle, come here! Let’s go!” Solga shouted with an outstretched arm. Sewaddle zipped onto his arm and was horrified to see that his eyes were becoming gray. His hair became wiry, his breath was dry, and his skin was paler than Sewaddle has ever seen. With tears in its eyes, it rejected his orders and jumped onto his back. “What’re you doing?” Sewaddle strung up the crown and tried to tug it off with all its might. Solga’s hollowed voice cried out in pain, reverberating along the walls.

“Sewaddle! Can’t you get it off?” asked Crisis. Sewaddle tugged harder and harder. More orange shavings flew about from the struggle. All the sudden, purple electricity shocked Sewaddle away. Everyone gasped at the sight.

“Sewaddle.” groaned Solga, still face down in the ground. “I-I’m still okay. Can’t you see? I’ve only strained myself.” He stood up and walked over to the recovering Sewaddle, offering his hand. Sewaddle was doubtful, but anything was better than staying here.

“Keep them separated, Gurdurr!” shouted Crisis, “Use slam!”

“Wait no!” cried Marie.

It was too late. Gurdurr rushed in with a humongous swing of its beam. The two jumped away from each other just in time. Sewaddle tried to counter with a flail but Gurdurr blocked it with its beam.

“There, you see!” said Solga. “Does that not show you that they want to separate us forever?”

“Crisis! You were too aggressive!” complained Marie. “Sewaddle was so close to helping us!”

“I did what I thought was best. If we were to keep them from unifying, they’ll be a lesser force.”

“But now they’re unified in a different way.” pointed out Ceailean.

Solga had been listening closely. “Sewaddle. This is our true test. We must help each other to the very end. Then, we can finally see them!”

“See who, Solga?” asked Officer Jenny, “What makes you want to cause this much chaos just to see someone?”

“It hardly matters to you. What could you adults know? You and your false promises. It’s time I take things into my own hands! Sewaddle, we are leaving!”

“You’re staying right here! Manectric, use quick attack!” Manectric pushed through the poison and charged ahead. But then, the psychic terrain dissipated.

“I can see… Sewaddle, jump!” Sewaddle jumped over Manectric’s attack flawlessly.

“Now turn around and use psychic fangs!”

“What-!” Before Solga could react, Sewaddle was chomped down on by a pair of large ethereal fangs. The explosion sent Sewaddle to Solga’s feet. “You’d rather have your Pokémon suffer from poison rather than recall it!?”

“I know my Manectric well. It can go on for a lot longer than you give it credit for!” Crisis silently scoffed at this remark.

Solga swiftly picked up Sewaddle. “You’re here now. Hurry, we must go!” Sewaddle shook off it’s dizziness and shot some string.

“Fennekin, stop them with Psybeam!” Fennekin’s attack swept Sewaddle off Solga’s arm.

“No!”

“After it you guys!” Fennekin and Snom swiftly made their way past Solga to confront. Marie was running over as well when Solga caught her by the arm.

“Stop! This ends now!” Marie was shocked. She watched as Solga put his fist up in a similar vein to Steele. Then, Ceailean grabbed his upraised hand.

“Slow it down there pal! Scorbunny, now!” Ceailean tugged on Solga hard, making him stretch out. Scorbunny ran in and blaze kicked away Solga’s grip on Marie.

Marie fell to the ground, “C!”

“Just go! I’ll deal with him!” urged Ceailean. Marie gave a determined nod and ran off.

“You pest! You dare lay a hand on me!” Solga then got a punch to the jaw.

Ceailean stood with his fists raised. “All is fair in the art of war.” Solga growled at this statement.

“Ceailean!” called Officer Jenny. “I’m going to help out Marie. Crisis, you stay here and help him!”

“On it.” confirmed Crisis. He ran over by Ceailean’s side and observed his stance. “Hey now, no need to get physical.”

Ceailean blinked, realizing what he was doing. “Y-Yeah.” Scorbunny looked at him curiously from his side. “I’m sorry you had to see that Scorbunny. I had to do a lot of things myself back in the day. But you’re here now. Will you help me out again?” Scorbunny smiled and pumped its paw, ready for action. “Thanks.”

“You and I are alike in many ways.” pointed out Crisis.

“You just realized?” teased Ceailean. He then faced Solga.

“Hmph! So what is your plan?”

“I have an idea, but I need to get closer. Full on assault should distract him enough.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Ha. No. More fun that way.”

Crisis eyed Ceailean. “You sure are a strange child, Ceailean.” Gurdurr slammed its beam on the ground. “I’m with you. Let’s do it!”

Solga stood up straight and rubbed his aching jaw. “You two will use your Pokémon to bring me down? Consider your efforts a waste! Come at me! I’ll show you that I’m no pushover!.” He outstretched his arms, daring the two to try and do something.

----------------------------------------

() Sewaddle tumbled down the road. It groaned in pain as it slid to a stop. Everything hurt, but there was still a job to do. It struggled to its feet only to see Fennekin and Snom approach.

“There it is!” said Marie as she approached. She stopped just behind her Pokémon. “You don’t have to do this Sewaddle. It doesn’t have to end like this.” Sewaddle told her off. It was fed up with her trying to convince it to stand down.

“It would be a wise choice. Stand down and no one has to get hurt anymore.” Marie looked back to see Officer Jenny walking up, Manectric trotting alongside her.. Sewaddle backed away. “You’re worried that you’ll never see Solga again right? Normally all Pokémon would be set free from a criminal. But I can see that your bond is strong with that Solga. I don’t know your past and I’m sure you have reasons, so maybe I can arrange something.”

Maybe? Maybe?! That wasn’t good enough! Maybe implied that there was still a chance! The thought of losing Solga forever was too much. It launched a silver wind at Officer Jenny out of desperation. Snom then intercepted it with icy wind. Officer Jenny didn’t even flinch from the resulting explosion. As the dust cleared, Sewaddle took in its opposition. Three Pokémon and two trainers surrounded it like a wall.

“I don’t think it’s going to listen anymore.” stated Marie.

“I agree, but we will not be the aggressors.”

“Yeah. Sewaddle listen. We will not do anything to you, but if you try to make your way back over to Solga, we will have to stop you.” Sewaddle stared the group down.

“Well said. Can’t say life after Tuviere has been kind to you though. You doing okay?”

“Just the story of my life. I just really want to stop running into really bad guys after this.”

“Same here, but I have a job to do. Keep your guard up.”

“Right!” Marie focused up on Sewaddle. Fennekin, Snom, and Manectric all stood by ready to act.