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Lab Ein – Fornia Region
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"Tell me the odds again, Ein." Caleb Pravus said, as he stared down at his prize, grinning.
The lab coated doctor would've flipped his brown hair flick, if Pravus hadn't made him cut it off. For amusement. Instead, he pushed his glasses up by the brim. "Given the species' popularity, incompetent archeological preservation methods of our race at the time, and the tectonic upheaval of the Stoney Mountains, the odds of finding an intact specimen, let alone one a Mew fused with..."
He was silent for a good thirty seconds as his brain mathed out the numbers. Finally, he sighed, his monotone voice sounded bored. "Astronomically small."
Pravus gave him a look, but let it slide. They had other things to discuss. "Gender?"
"He hasn't figured that out yet." Ein said, smirking.
Pravus rolled his eyes. "Spare me the politically correct BS, and just say 'male', or 'plug' if we must use analogies."
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Ein sighed, looking down at his creation. "It doesn't really matter. He's the only one we can make. We used all the other samples to make this one. And he's still part Rock Type."
Pravus grinned. "Oh, don't worry, we'll have a Draco Plate soon enough. It's on its way here as we speak." Ein rolled his eyes. Given the absurd rarity of Draco Plate shards, let alone full Plates, his deranged boss planned to take one from the reigning Unovan Champion. One didn't need to be a genius to know how that encounter would go. Hundreds of team bosses, every bit as strong as Pravus, had fallen to younger Trainers, with less experience. All of whom had also gone on to be Champions as well. Unova especially, had a habit of forging strong Champions. Ein was still wondering how Redwood had gotten around his diagnosis but he rightly surmised the late Professor Redwood was responsible.
Ein looked down at his creation again, and sighed. Pravus did have numbers though, and when it came to Pokémon, that was all one really needed. Empires like this cult were what made creating beings like his Veloraptar possible, and he would be perfect to lead their numbers... when he was finished.
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The Pokémon being admired by the two men high above his paddock looked up at the pair of humans. They smelled delicious to the creature within. He eyed them, still hungry after devouring the Gogoat they'd all but dangled in front of him. He knew they'd been testing his leaping height, and soon after that first meal, the metal bar had been built overhead.
He hated how it loomed over him, but he especially hated the 'human' with dark eyes that eyed him like a meal. When he had been alive before, the humans had run from him in terror, but then, he'd been much faster, almost able to fly in those days. This new body, while physically stronger, was still flawed. He could run roughly the same, but he always felt slow. Imperfect.
His intelligent eyes turned to thin vertical slits as he scented more prey. Evidently, this…circular…thing they'd trapped him in had prey within it. He trotted off through the foliage, wincing at how loud his steps were as the new rocky protrusions across his bipedal form brushed and scraped against the foliage. How was he supposed to hunt like this?
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Colville - Northern Fornia Region
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Brad had, like his partners on this stealthy endeavor, made contact with friendly allies in Fornia's northern areas. The north was a natural forested buffer between the Takoma region and most of Fornia, and with the exception of the city of Pravia to the east, the Arceans didn't seem to mind the Tribe's presence to the west.
Brad had trained his Charmeleon against the Rebel Trainers, and he had finally evolved the previous evening. They'd camped out that night, with the young Charizard folding his wings into a tent, as his father had shown him. Evidently, it was something Alex had him do often, though usually Shruikan was the better choice, as he was now enormous.
It had been a jarring thing, being shoved back into Arcean society, falling into old habits, like praising the Prophet in every sentence he was mentioned. From his new perspective, Brad now saw how deviously ingenious Pravus's set-up was. It was designed for subtle, effective brainwashing. So subtle, the average person couldn't even tell they were being molded, if living the life of an Arcean was all they knew. Some resisted, of course…but they soon either fit in the mold, or vanished. This was why everyone wanted to stay out of trouble. Justice in Fornia had a tendency to be swift.
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Though he'd initially entertained thoughts of rejoining his people, the corruption in the world Pravus had built soon became obvious to Brad's awakened eyes, and fear no longer made him ignore it. He knew there was no way he could ever go back now. Taking a cover job as a member of one of the Church's many 'media branches' had been tedious, but the monotony of doing seemingly meaningless tasks had been broken up one day when a group of Task Force members entered the writing room of their little studio, by force.
They'd asked for a specific writer of a specific article that, evidently, Pravus himself had read, and not liked. The consequences for producing 'sub-par work' involved every member of the twenty-man squad taking their chance to mercilessly beat the writer in question, long after he'd lost consciousness.
The job, which Brad had admittedly lingered at due to his feelings of nostalgia, was quickly abandoned soon after that incident. Indeed, Brad had simply vanished one day, and nobody, not even the security in charge of keeping the writers writing, could tell how he'd left. Nobody knew what Pokémon he had at home, as he was new, and Pokémon were not for the workplace. Not at their level, anyways. Those who allowed their Pokémon to be infused with Shadow were granted a higher rank, and since Brad had refused to subject his Rayquaza to the infusion process again after it had failed the first time, he had been sent to discover if the rumors of a 'Heretic Sage' in the Great Swamp were true.
Oranguru had figured him out in seconds, but had convinced the Trainer, with aid from his Rayquaza, to stay, and learn the psychic arts. They had promised the powers he possessed, if awakened, would be enough to help him attain the power he'd craved. He had witnessed the raw power of one of the east coast's Trainers, twice, after being beaten by the Charmander he'd left for dead in the Great Mohave Desert, now a Charizard. Alex's mercy, and indeed the strength of the other Trainers in Unova, had been a good example of how a free society could make seriously powerful Trainers. As he'd trained his Charmander, the bond they'd formed had awakened his potential, enough to lift small objects, at least. That too had been another factor in keeping him from returning to the Arcean fold. He was a 'psychic half-breed' now, at best. If not a traitor.
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Brad had put the Sage's training to good use, and eventually, had discovered the northernmost Tribe in Fornia after wandering blindly through the wilderness. The more he had thought during his trek, the more he'd noticed. The Arceans had seemingly no interest in this beautiful, fertile land. It was hard to find in southern Fornia, but the areas he'd hiked through were full of mountains, forests, and even rare Pokémon. It was entirely out of character for Pravus to ignore it.
When he discovered Colville, a city among the massive trees that grew throughout the region, he began to understand. The Okanagan tribespeople here were not only expert Trainers, they could also move stealthily through the trees of their land with almost unnatural skill. Their guerrilla tactics were all but unstoppable, and every time the Arceans had tried setting up a site to dig for fossils or cut lumber, the Tribe had stopped them. Given how far they had to transport everything, the losses in equipment, fuel, and even manpower were significant.
Eventually, Pravus had given up on the area, though why, nobody quite knew. Some guessed he would deal with it later, after the Unova threat was taken care of. Most Arceans didn't seem to care either, for they only had cities on their large water sources, and were happy to leave the mountainous wilderness to the 'savages'.
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Colville was not unlike the base hidden within the Majestic Canyon. Though most of the people and supplies moved through the massive trees with a relatively complex pulley system, those who could, preferred having their partners use Vine Whip to swing through the trees. These were usually the stronger Trainers, sent on guerilla strike missions at supply lines.
Like Alex and Jess, Brad had acquired a fossil on his way to this surprisingly modernized city in the trees, and after some training, his new Archeops moved through them just as silently. Once his newly assembled team was ready, after he'd caught, trained, and evolved the partners he needed, Brad asked the Tribe to help him with another mission that required stealth.
Tracking down his family had taken days, and he'd already stayed in Colville longer than planned. Alex and Jess were likely on their way to Mewsia, the only city on Fornia's lovely coast that wasn't entirely under Pravus's thumb. It was through this port that foreigners were allowed to trade and converse with specially selected Arceans, who would give the best impression of the culture their leader envisioned. Their loyalty was, apparently, unbreakable and it made the cult seem enticing to travelers.
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Alex had said to take as long as he needed, though. They were going to contact him when they made their move. Until then, Brad didn't have to rendezvous, so he stayed, and he searched. The Pineus family, to which Bradley belonged, had owned a simple estate in the mountainous area of north-western Fornia. An entire mountainside, which had been in their family for generations.
Proud Arceans had been raised there, but none had risen like Bradley. He'd been the only Hand of the Prophet, but not the only Champion level Trainer to come out of their family. He could only imagine what was left of his home after defecting, but he wasn't expecting what he found. Ash covered everything, and the entire mountain had been burned bare. Machinery belonging to the Arcean's fossil recovery branch was already boring into the mountain, and from the looks of the lights over where his home had stood, they had met with success.
Brad smirked, as he mentally whispered to his Archeops. "What do you want to bet they've found elemental Plates and crystals?" His smirk widened. He'd memorized what the three of them still needed, and aside from dragon, and probably psychic, the other crystals could be found.
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Brad had always known that his family's mountain contained power. The Pokémon raised on those once fertile slopes had always been powerful. He had not, however, expected to find at least ten of every elemental Plate, including Mind but excluding Draco, just lying around the camp. It made some sense, as in reality, nobody but Brad and his family lived out here, but it still seemed careless. Evidently, the leader of this operation was a 'fun boss', and rewarded hard work before safely storing assets. Brad's smirk grew grim as he eyed the Plates haphazardly stacked about. That was definitely against protocol.
Taking them all but guaranteed ruining someone's life, career, even marriage potentially. Some worker here would talk, the overseer would be replaced…ruined, and the digging would continue. But then, if he did nothing, what had already been dug up would be exploited further. The Arcean Fossil Organization was famous for digging deeper than they should.
A familiar voice echoed in his head. "Examine the man whose life you fear to ruin. He has no mental defenses. These people's minds are wide open. Go. Look. But do not influence."
Brad tensed atop his mount as he replied in the same manner. "Yes, Master." He reached out, and examined the man's mind. Thankfully, the illegal alcoholic beverages, and other substances, were clouding what senses the man did possess. Brad's intrusion went unnoticed, as he examined each memory, each thought, feeling, emotion.
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What he found sickened him. This was a man who enjoyed his power, and while he could keep his workers happy, he enjoyed those who needed to be punished in truly disturbing ways. He reached for the Plates, when he paused. "I'm not seeing every angle." He felt the Sage's approval.
The bad emotions were easy to notice because they stood out. Among the kinder memories were his children. But even here, Brad was disappointed. They were far too reminiscent of his own childhood. He'd never seen his parents enough, as he'd been off being educated, at their expense. It had all paid off when he'd become Champion of the Arceus League, and had attained the rank of Hand of the Prophet, but that had almost been worse than being a strong Trainer with a Rayquaza.
He saw that this man's own offspring truly mattered little to him. Beyond making sure they were decent Arceans, he didn't seem to acknowledge their existence. The work he did, for the fate of the planet, was far more important. Finally, Brad left the man's head, his hope in humanity fading slightly after such a thorough look. He shoved the Plates into his bag, but surprisingly, they were incredibly light. His eyes counted each of the types, three times over. No need to be greedy after all.
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As he looked at just how many there were though, he reconsidered. The Rebellion could use Trainers with Plates…and the knowledge of how to tap them. Between his Marowak and Scizor, the stealthy trio managed to grab many sets of Plates, before he'd felt they'd pushed their luck. They left when someone shouted, drunkenly, that the pile of Plates had shrunk.
The overseer had laughed, and said they'd just dig up more, but nobody had cheered at that. They'd just finished working, dammit. They needed, earned, this reprieve. As the mood in the camp turned dark and mutinous under the influence of the alcohol, Brad and his loyal flying, stealthy partner headed south.
He'd found the remains of his home, of course, and had been able to access some of the tech that survived in the mostly stone and metal interior. They may have been isolated out here, but his family had never lacked for gadgets. The last record, from several months prior, said they'd been moved south. So south they went, following the trail.
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Though the area around the massive Mohave Desert in the region was sparsely populated by humans, what towns did exist, Brad searched through. There had indeed been a large truck with his family name on it that passed through. On their way to Sacreus, or so they said. Brad resisted swearing aloud once he found out.
Sacreus was a unique city, in that it had once existed in an age before Pokémon. Then, a massive meteor-like object had struck it, leaving nothing but death and destruction. Some said it was that event that sparked the final fall for humanity, but nobody really remembered why their race had fallen anymore. The ancient past was the ancient past. They hadn't even had Pokémon, so why learn about them? The ancient's way of life had failed. To most modern people, they were irrelevant, save for the rebooted entertainment franchises resurrected from the remains of the Old Net. As before, the Pokémon Wars Saga was an instant hit, and had again become a cultural icon. That had been the first of many rebooted movies, with Pokémon added in as either support or the main characters, and Unova was to this day still churning out more of them.
Sacreus itself had been rebuilt over time, as people came to live in the crater. It had once been fertile, but the city that grew within the crater soon drowned out what natural life had come from the ancient impact and destruction. Sacreus had natural defenses, massive crater walls for miles around it, and a plasma shield that could cover the upper airspace of the city in times of need. Just in case of impending meteor strikes.
The city had, over the years, also extended downwards. For hundreds of miles, it was said to be a steel under-city that people actually lived in, sometimes for their entire lives. Pravus' headquarters was at the bottom-most level, and reaching it any other way but through the Cult required one to magically dig through tons of rock, and then several feet of metal. Thankfully, they'd brought a mountain-eater with them. But he was, if the plan was on track, still training.
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Alex had wanted to avoid Sacreus entirely, as being recognized in Pravus' home turf would be quite bad. The city was thoroughly checked for traitors, and people were switched out all the time if they became suspects of some usually imaginary crime.
Ignoring the upper levels and going for the head of the snake via Cenomons was the best option while they had stealth on their side. Brad had agreed. Much of Arcean society depended on the Prophet. He was a 'holy' man, touched by Arceus, and blessed with apparent immortality. He was the will of the 'God Pokémon' as the locals called Arceus, made manifest. He was also what everyone secretly feared.
Anyone who went against Pravus tended to vanish. But the mere thought of betraying their leader was, to many Arceans, unimaginable. A concept they couldn't even consider…not while he yet lived, at least. Oddly enough though, a few of the latest generation had begun to outright leave because of the rampant abuse within the system. Brad hadn't seen many of them in Colville, but those Fornians were the ones who'd sparked this Rebellion. He did wonder how they might react to seeing their cult leader fall, for from his point of view, anyone who'd suffered at his hands knew there could only be one fate for such a person.
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With his parents likely sequestered within the fortress crater-city, Brad resigned himself to waiting. As for his siblings, he knew exactly where they'd be. He was quite familiar with where the Church put children with 'suppressive' relatives. He'd wanted more than his parent's aid to free them, as he was familiar with how heavy security was at the living quarters for children, but he could manage on his own now that he had a team of partners that grew stronger with every battle against wild Pokémon.
He had his stealthy Scizor zip around the camp, once he'd reached it. They called it a dig site, but in reality, it was a work camp, where children of loyal Arceans toiled away, mostly mining useless rocks for enough shards to make a Plate. They were considered done when they found enough shards for Plates of every type, but naturally, 'accidents' regularly occurred, and kept those mining from freedom when their caches of mined shards 'vanished' from the storage sheds, and returned their count to zero. Occasionally some would find a fossil, but those were always taken away quickly. His Scizor returned several minutes later. It had been hard finding two specific blonde, blue-eyed, tan skinned children amongst so many others, but the intelligent bug type had managed it.
Brad eyed the building for a long time, and eventually recalled his Scizor. He would do this himself. He reached out with the psychic power he'd previously ignored. It was a part of him, and now one he embraced. Upon learning from the other Champions in the Swamp that humans could not, in fact, reproduce with Pokémon, he'd come to terms with psychic types. It was hard to claim they were evil when they could speak to you, and emanated genuine kind emotions. It was more emotion than his Arcean handlers had ever shown, and after failing twice against Redwood, he'd accepted the truth. With the truth, had come research of the many claims Pravus himself often spewed at his crowds of brainwashed cultists. Using the Pokénet, he'd gained answers to most of his worldly questions, and also learned that checking one's sources was always a good idea. Biased views existed outside of the Church too, it seemed. After several minutes of mental scanning, Brad found the mind that he recognized as his youngest brother's, and made contact.
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"Sam. Wake up. It's your brother. Think your responses, and I'll hear them. Do you understand?" It took a few moments for the groggy preteen to come to consciousness, and realize he was not in fact dreaming.
"Brad? How are you…"
"Later. Listen to me, you need to get ready to leave. Bring our sister." He sensed their youngest sister lying near him, but of the elder there was no sign.
The boy's mind lit up at the thought of not being in the living hell that was the labor camp, but fear kept him hesitant. It was, after all, the Church's strongest tool. "We can't just walk out. The guards will see us. The others will tell. We'll get beaten again..."
"Don't worry about them, just pack your bags. I'm getting you both far away from here. Where's Lisa?"
The younger brother paused for a moment, and then thought, "I don't know…she's…changed, Brad. She's on the fast track to becoming a Hand of the Prophet."
Brad sighed. He knew what that meant. His defection had only served to inspire 'loyalty' to the cause, and Pravus was all too glad to keep a potential hostage nearby. The fact that she was also rather attractive certainly had nothing to do with her meteoric rise to the Prophet's side.
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That meant that over half of his family, his parents and sister, as well as any aunts or other relatives who hadn't cut ties already were likely to disconnect from them once it was discovered they'd escaped. Still, he'd decided early on that if he could only save a few, he'd want to get the young ones out first. He knew far too well what teenage years in the Arcean Church were really like.
His Lycanroc and Cloyster had taken out the guards around this particular building, and while those who were unconscious would recover, those frozen in ice would have a long wait to melt, at least until the sun rose over Fornia. But sunrise was far off. Brad had his Lycanroc guide the two children out, and once they were out of the building, he put them on the wolf's back, and had him carry them to Archeops.
He covered their tracks, mended the barbed wire fence that surrounded the work camp, and left no trace of which direction they'd gone. The security here was competent enough to follow tracks, but if there were no tracks to follow, they'd be significantly slowed. Enough for them to get away.
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As his large, female Archeops carried them into the sky, his brother babbled away about fossil Pokémon he'd found, while his youngest sister, who was six and considered old enough to work, simply clung to her big brother. She would likely be pretty as well, though Brad also knew the camps were home to many with darker perversions. Such people had an unfortunate tendency to rise to positions of power within the Church. He sincerely hoped she'd avoided such men, but didn't have the courage to sift through her memories and find out. She'd been through enough already.
As his Archeops flew north, towards the relative safety of Colville, she flew just high enough for Sam to reach up into a cloud, and discover they were rather wet, not fluffy. Then, the large Pokémon stopped, and squawked for her Trainer's attention.
They went into a steep, gliding dive and came out over the forests of the north-eastern part of Fornia. Brad swore, and quickly turned the ancient bird around. It would be a longer flight, but he could use his Charizard if necessary. The Canyon Base was now the largest one the Rebellion had left.
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Deep Within the Majestic Canyon – Fornia Region
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Alex approached the strange orb at the end of the cave the Chief had led them to. Jess had remained at the base, and began the arduous task of learning who everyone was. She wasn't irritated though, as she knew he'd be joining her very soon.
As he looked at the orb, he noticed that it was black on the edges, and white within. Alex glanced at the Chief, who watched him, silently, probably musing to himself with his inner monologue. He did that a lot, and never noticed his tendency to mutter aloud when he mused after toking his pipe.
Alex put a hand on the orb, and smirked. The strange sphere shifted to a familiar swirling pattern of Eternal Balance, and the Pokémon within woke up.
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Electric and ghost. That was the first thing Alex saw, and then he realized what he was looking at. It was Rotom, of course, but its black and white form was tied to a similarly colored crystal at the bottom. As the ghost saw the human, it reflexively melded with its crystal, and a pair of golden eyes stared at him from the object he currently possessed.
Alex knelt down and lifted the crystal up. The ghost within eyed him the entire time. "Hello there." The crystal blinked its golden eyes once. "I'm Alex. The Champion of Unova. The one who reunited the Original Dragon." At the dragon's title, the eyes grew brighter.
"The dragon is whole?" The voice was almost incoherent, and faint.
"He is, Old One." The Chief said from the back of the cave, waiting patiently.
The Rotom seemed to stare through him as it processed his words. Alex had no illusions about the intelligence of the Pokémon before him. He could sense the power the ghost had, and knew it was at least as intelligent as Tao, and probably almost as old. The ghost's mind felt ancient.
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The crystal suddenly flared with electricity, searing his skin, and he winced. He'd learned to hold in a reaction to pain early in his martial training with the dragon. He noticed the small crystal mirroring his smirk, and Alex arched a brow. "Is that it?"
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The Pokémon stared at him, and the voltage increased. He was ready now, though. His eyes flared as he guided the current harmlessly through the parts of his body that could handle such intense shock, and into the stone below him.
The ground flared in a familiar Taijitu swirl as electricity poured into it, and revealed a hidden carving below them, as the two bonded. Sparks began arcing through the air as the tiny Pokémon gave the human as much of a shock as he dared. The equivalent of a Thunder attack. Hopefully, it would only knock the human out, but he could never judge how much they could really take.
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Finally, it stopped. The crystal shivered in approval, and then glowed entirely white. Alex stared at the crystal for a long time before deciding it was too similar. He tossed the crystal into the air, on a hunch, and the Rotom within burst free with a satisfying, and sparky, yawn. "I really hate not being able to leave that thing! At least you figured out how to open it. The last guy took two weeks." His voice was higher now that he was free, and he sounded vaguely like his new Trainer when he spoke. It was, somehow, both familiar and strange at the same time.
The small ghost type continued arcing his plasma body in ever more twisted shapes. Alex's eyes were on the crystal though. He'd heard of ancient devices that could contain Pokémon, and those that still existed always had unusual Pokémon within.
Alex pocketed the strange crystal, and shrugged. A Pokéball was a Pokéball. It was common knowledge that ancient civilizations from the early years of the Dark Times had been able to capture and battle with Pokémon. Devices like the crystal had been common, and far more unique than Pokéballs could ever really be. Battling, as a sport, was ancient in their world. An honored tradition that went back to the rebirth of the human race. In a time of chaos, it had united the world. For a while.
He found the small ghost eyeing him, and where his crystal went. He valued it, clearly. Alex reached out then, and brought the new member of their team into the mental web that connected his partners. He could tell the ghost was impressed, and Alex smirked. The plasma being was already conversing with several of his partners, and giving them battle advice.
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The Chief approached the suddenly still pair of Trainer and Pokémon, tapping Alex's shoulder. The two blinked, in unison. "He sounds like you..." the Chief remarked. Alex simply nodded, flexing his hand as he focused on healing the burns. Recover was, unfortunately, still a mystery to him, move wise. He could make it seem easy, as he had against Connor, but if he was honest, Tao had mainly healed those wounds. They'd been rather serious. "We should return to the base. Your partner apparently just checked in…with news."
Alex raised a brow, momentarily blank on who was being referred to. "My partner…? Not Jess…then…oh. Ohhhh. Brad? What news does he bring?"
The Chief stared at the Unovan for a long moment, then sighed. "Nothing good…" He pointed to the north then, as they'd reached the top of the footpath that led up the canyon wall.
Alex's team joined them, staring in disbelief, and perhaps for the first time understanding just how depraved their foe was, and the lengths he would go to in order to crush rebellion.
The entire sky was turning black, and not with electricity. That, he could've handled. These clouds had something dark drifting down from them, and they were blowing in from the north. The Chief grimaced. "It has begun. Colville has fallen."
Alex shared the Chief's grim look. He recalled everyone, Rotom included, as Shruikan leapt into the valley below, and circled around for rapid ascension. "I need a better look. I'll meet you back at the base." Before the Chief could respond, the Unovan Champion had grabbed his Salamence's tail, and was already in the air, climbing the massive back of his black dragon. The huge beast flapped into the sky, through the ashy clouds, and then above them.
Shruikan picked up speed by the time Alex had grabbed onto one of his head horns. Dragon energy surrounded both of them as he mega evolved, and accelerated. A normal Salamence in this form could cross continents in mere hours. Flying a few hundred miles north was easy.
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It took an hour, but eventually they figured out where the smoke was coming from. Ash clouds blanketed the area for miles around them, and as Alex recalled his dragon, he fell through the foul clouds, and let gravity control him for a minute.
He had time before he'd need to float, so he fell, and as he plummeted, he saw the land below him. Normally, he imagined, the trees that had made up this base of tribespeople were likely indistinguishable from the rest of the massive, ancient forest. Now though, there was a disturbingly perfect circle of charred trees, miles in diameter, that had encompassed the entire settlement based near a slope of a well forested mountain. Nobody had run away unscathed.
Just as he was wondering what sort of Pokémon could unleash this kind of flame in such a perfect circle, he felt eyes upon him from below, and reached for his power. His large form stopped, hovering in the air, and he rapidly ascended towards the clouds again.
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It was already too late, though. Blaze popped free of his ball, wings and body enveloping his Trainer as the cone of flames shot up at them from the ground. Though they were intense, it would take far more than that to take his Charizard down. Alex slid onto his back, as his partner glowed with red energy from the Plate shard on his Trainer's hand. They shot into the clouds, and waited above.
They heard the wing flaps as whatever had struck at them rose into the clouds, and Alex felt a familiar sensation of 'oh shit' run up his spine as he spied his opponent, and what his opponent was riding. It was a Noivern, but something about it was…off. It had traded the flying typing for dark, and Shadow energy emanated from it. Its eyes only wanted to kill, and as it saw Blaze, it began to drool. Its mouth was covered in blood, and it took Alex a moment to realize where it was likely from. Picking off stragglers of a disaster. This was a special kind of depraved Trainer then, and likely one of Pravus's chosen Hands. He fit the description.
The man atop the monstrous dragon was clad in similar garb to what the examiners in the Swamp wore, though where theirs was 'camouflaged' this man's was entirely black. Though he wore a similarly colored beret, and though Alex had always found them a bit silly, it did nothing to detract from the imposing presence the burly, extremely pale man gave off. A familiar chill filled the air. The sense of dread that so often accompanied death. It seemed Pravus wasn't the only one with tricks.
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The man wore a green monocle-type device over his left eye, and as he stared at Blaze, his smile grew. "That's the one." He said to the Noivern. He raised a gloved hand, and it flared with dark type energy. "Feast, Carporian."
At the man's words, an almost invisible Plate crystal, for it blended well with the man's choice of attire, began to glow, and the Noivern began to change. A smaller pair of wings sprouted from its sides, and the tail gained fin-like appendages. Most notable however, were the pair of massive fangs the dragon now sported. It panted as the change finished, ready to run wild. It's eyes were a mixture of rage and pain in equal amounts, with one fueling the other.
Normally, Alex would've enjoyed seeing a new Mega Form, but he knew a bit about Noivern, and could only imagine what their Mega Form was like, let alone under such a dark Trainer. It was very likely that he'd lose control of that dragon. Even Blaze could tell it was growing annoyed with its rider. It had grown larger, angrier, as his Trainer formed a leash of dark energy from the crystal, and wrapped it about the dragon's neck.
Shruikan, for his part, agreed with their assessment, and used it to his advantage. He'd been called out again once they'd come up in the clouds, and had been told to fly even higher. Now, the low whistling sound of his wings slicing through the air was the only prelude to the Charge Beam that followed. The Noivern glared at where the sound came from, but did not expect what was streaking down from the sky to be a Salamence of massive scale.
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The electric beam struck the Noivern with deadly precision as the massive dragon zipped past. Not only was the beast weakened, but his rider was struggling to stay on, and cursing at his mount for being so blind. Preoccupied with his Trainer and their shared paralysis, the Noivern did not see the Dragon Hammer Shruikan aimed their way as he zipped past them again. The more heavily plated tail wreathed in dragon type energy hit with expert aim on the Noivern. The sheer size of it caused the bat-like dragon to sail rapidly through the air before slamming into the ground below with a thunderous boom.
"Time to leave." Alex said, as he recalled Blaze, and hopped once more on Shruikan. He headed south again, before the Noivern could recover. By the time it did eventually fly up again, they were long gone. The bat-like dragon was furious, and with a single sonic-flap accompanied by a Hyper Voice mixed with a Boomburst, it cleared the ash clouds for miles. It hadn't had a chance to use its power at all, and thus the enraged dragon type struck out at the obscuring clouds with obvious rage. The Salamence had robbed it of a battle with a rather strong looking Charizard.
The Hand of Death, now once more perched on the dragon, grimaced. He hadn't even had time for banter. He loved banter. Of course to him, banter was the screams of pain he drew from his targets. His dark expression shifted from an unusually jovial mood fresh from the slaughter of Traitors, to one more accustomed to the hunt. His sharp eyes searched the skies as his mount threw a temper tantrum, and then, a grin appeared on his face. The grin of a hunter who sees prey. By pure chance, the clouds obscuring the black Salamence had been within Carporian's range. Though the attack probably hadn't damaged the dragon from so far away, it had revealed him, and his rider. They had yet further to go until the undisturbed clouds of ash could cover them again.
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The Hand's mount was already moving, for he'd spotted the prey as well. Though to him this would be more of a match between rivals, rather than a hunt. The Noivern had felt the thunder of that dragon first hand, and he would not underestimate him again. Each flap of his wings propelled him towards his target, and from below, he heard the obvious tread of the annoyingly fast hatchling that followed them. So far, the promise of food had kept it obedient, and it seemed to like the idea of getting stronger. What they had done after Colville's burning had been sport, to the newly revived Fossil Pokémon. It was bound to the land, but had proven effective in hunting down the humans that had fled from the burning tree-city.
The Noivern ignored the hatchling, and instead unleashed the power of his Voice, now that they were in range. The boom had shocked Shruikan, making his entire system tense up from the sheer power of the vibrations behind the attack. The dragon had continued soaring, but was slowly descending, and couldn't dodge. Alex had been trying to find the pressure point by the back of his skull that would release his tensed muscles for several minutes, but his scales were too thick in his Mega Form.
He'd had Shruikan drop it, and of course as soon as he let the power go, the damned Noivern noticed them. By the time Alex pressed the pressure point, causing Shruikan's wings to work again, they had fallen several hundred feet, and the fanged dragon had gained on them with the kind of speed all Mega Forms tended to have. Then, they heard its Hyper Voice. It was untrained, but the sheer power of it was all that was really needed. Shruikan took the hit hard, and Alex knew they needed to turn this around quickly.
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Shruikan used his own Hyper Voice, and Alex smirked at his choice of words as the Black Salamence roared, "Dovah Envok!" The dragon's eyes flared, and an aura of bluish-purple energy formed around him as he circled in the air, and rapidly moved towards the Noivern.
A perfect circle of flame came hurtling towards them, but Shruikan cut through it. His Dragon Ascent wasn't perfect like Rayquaza's, but it was still strong. Where the Legendary dragons like Rayquaza could use such a move to Mega Evolve, other dragons manifested it as a powerful physical attack, and used dragon-typed energy to fuel it.
The energy surrounding the Salamence hit the Noivern hard, and this time, his Trainer knew there would be no second wind. The Hand leapt off his mount, and let it crash below in the mountainous forests that made up much of this part of the region, and had not yet caught fire. The Hand himself floated, a dark aura surrounding him. Much like his servant, he simply hadn't had time to use it before. The black dragon had been too quick.
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He drew another ball from his belt, and Alex recalled his own partner, as he floated with his own power as well. Apparently, this battle was happening. He could just Teleport, but he wanted to see how strong the goons Pravus had at his disposal really were. The black clad man grinned at him. "There's no running from Trainer Battles."
Alex rolled his eyes, and as he did, the man threw a Dark Ball. An Absol appeared, as dark and shadowy as the Noivern it was partnered with. This one's expression was entirely different. It took one look at Alex, and began trying to resist its Trainer. To no avail. The power that controlled it now, and bonded it to the Hand, was too strong. It looked on helplessly as its Trainer commanded a Razor Wind.
Arthur appeared in a flash of purple then, from the ball Alex had drawn as well. A Psycho Cut canceled out the attack, but that didn't stop the Absol. It kept shooting the bursts of wind, but luckily, Arthur could use Psycho Cut just as much. It was one of his favored moves now, mostly because of its versatility as a ranged or close up attack.
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Eventually, the fight had devolved into a Night Slash tradeoff, between the Absol's horn, and Arthur's blades. When he tried a Shadow Ball to gain some distance, the Absol copied him, and the resulting explosion pushed both back. That, was when they mega evolved. Arthur's arms were limned with gold-orange fighting energy as soon as he finished, but the Absol looked downright miserable as the power of Infinity Energy forced it to the next stage.
Arthur reached out to it. "It's okay…I know you can't stop attacking. Don't stop fighting his control. I can free you of this curse, but you need to keep resisting!" The Absol blinked as it processed the words.
"Aerial Ace." The Absol shot forward at the command, and Arthur met the attack with a Night Slash, cancelling it out. The stalemate resumed, and the usually smirking knight, this time, had a look of irritation on his face as the battle dragged on. Neither Pokémon could get an edge, and what kindness Arthur had shown at first had melted away in the ferocity of the pointless, yet epic clash. "Dammit...it's not working...the Shadow is too ingrained..." His irritation echoed in his telepathy.
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Each Night Slash counter parried the attacking Absol, and as it continued to strike, it grew more and more berserk. Finally, the Shadow in its aura flared, as it entered the frenzied state commonly known as Reverse Mode. Arthur's eyes narrowed, as he realized the Absol was too far gone to the Shadow. The dark type energy shifted back to gold, and the Gallade focused his fighting energy into his blades. The almost fiery cascade of Light energy hardened into a glowing pair of golden Sacred Swords as he went beyond his limits with that move, making it into either something new, or a stronger variant of the same attack.
"This ends. Now."
Alex watched his Gallade, one eyebrow raised, as he noted the typing of the energy radiating off of his Gallade once again, the symbol of the Alpha Pokémon was unmistakable, which meant it had to be Light. It made some sense, as Shadow existed, and Tao's teachings all but guaranteed that Light must exist too. He'd suspected for some time now that his Gallade might have a tie to the Light. He supposed it made some sense… legendary fighters usually ascended to the heavens, in the legends. He guessed it was fairly rare though, but if anything could counteract Dark Matter…that would be it. It'd worked before, after all. This move he was readying now seemed different, though. Stronger. More focused. Perfected, one might say. Perhaps, enough to free the Absol of the Shadow. He knew how much Arthur wanted that ability, as he viewed Shadow Infusion as an unforgivable crime. Like most Pokémon.
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Arthur glanced at his Trainer and smirked, before shooting forward with his Sacred Sword assault. The Absol, seemingly seeing an opening, powered up an Aerial Ace. Or rather, he tried. His horn simply didn't glow as he charged forward and struck regardless. He'd run out of power, but his Trainer's commands were still absolute. Arthur's strike caught the Absol as they passed in the air, and the Mega Absol's form dissolved.
The Gallade wasn't done, though. He refused to give up on this Pokémon. He landed and turned in one smooth movement. Arthur touched a burning sword tip to the downed Absol's bluish-black oval on its forehead. "Please..." He said softly, to himself, though Alex heard him in that moment. The Shadow faded, in the face of the Light. The Absol sighed, then collapsed, fainted. It could've gone several more rounds, like Arthur, but the sudden removal of the Shadow had knocked it out cold.
The smile Arthur had gained from the warmth of the Light shifted to an expression of cold rage as a black light hit the Absol, and recalled it. "Pointless." The Hand said, smirking, as the ball tolled with the immediate sound of a renewed infusion of the occupant. "I admit…I did not expect this kind of strength. I should've brought my Legends. Pravus suggested as much. You're yet another monstrously strong Trainer that's appeared from nowhere. I get it. But that doesn't mean we'll give up. Not even someone like you can take all of us down. We are relentless. We are immortal. We are legion. You cannot win."
He flung another ball. "Go! Tyrannus!" The Tyranitar had barely appeared, before it's master forced it to the next level of power. It roared not in rage, but agony, seemingly bent over in pain as its body split apart with the infusion of Infinity Energy. Alex stared, trying not to wince. He'd wanted to see what mega evolving with these stones could cause, and now, it was obvious. He had no illusions about who had started this Plate crystal evolution trend. The Arceans were the kind of group to analyze and then copy their enemies. What didn't take them out, made them stronger.
He'd battled other Tyranitar, though, who'd achieved this state the right way. Their power had been even greater, because the crystals could empower attacks. What had been learned in the Swamp was spreading, but it didn't have to result in harm. They just needed a way to keep this kind of power away from people like Pravus and his Hands.
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"Send as many as you want, I'll take them all down!" Arthur shouted in fury as he rushed in again, swords blazing, and right as the Tyranitar loomed over him, the Gallade Teleported, and reappeared behind the Hand himself. The swords crossed over his neck like a blazing guillotine. He stared down at the Tyranitar then, as they were still floating in the air. "You don't need to obey him anymore." His arms moved, and the man's head fell. Then, it started to chuckle.
"That's adorable. So righteous. Tyrannus, remove the princeling. Sweep his legs." As ordered, the giant Pokémon turned his sights on Arthur, who frowned. It was clearly obeying, not rampaging. "It's not out of control…it's loyal…" Arthur confirmed mentally to his Trainer, as his opponent's form charged forward, claws wreathed in ghost type energy.
Where a normal Sacred Sword used fighting energy, Light energy evidently had a strong effect on ghost types. The attacks cancelled out, but the Tyranitar was relentless. Several claws got through Arthur's guard as they traded more Sacred Swords and Shadow Claws. After fighting the Absol, Arthur felt his power for the move, extended though it was by a PP Max, starting to run low. The perfected strikes took more power. Tyrannus was unstoppable, and monstrously strong. Eventually, Arthur was cornered from the relentless assault hammering him onto his knees. Alex recalled him as the Tyranitar formed a Hyper Beam with one intent. It shot the energy anyway, not caring that its opponent had escaped as it blew apart the land around it, roared in fury, and set its sights on the Trainer that had robbed him of his kill.
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His master's head, which had been caught by his body, now smirked from the palm of his hand. "End him."
The Tyranitar paused, panting, which gave Alex the time he needed. "Hydrus! Finish this." He drew the ball, smirked, and then threw.
The Swampert in question shifted almost as rapidly as the Tyranitar had. Their method was definitely slower, though. The dark shift had been almost instant. Tyrannus recovered, and charged once more. The dark claws returned, but Hydrus smashed the blazing limbs away with well placed Hammer Arms, and followed that with a Water Pulse immediately after opening his opponent's guard.
The Tyranitar took the condensed energy pulse to its face, and went soaring back into the wilderness they were fighting in, unable to stop the powerful and dense ball of water energy from driving him away. The flames from Colville and the dark clouds made the setting ominous. All it needed was lightning. An Ice Beam shot at the Tyranitar, and then arced towards his Trainer, freezing both, as Hydrus burned power to make the beam last. He'd also created a small ice ridge on the landscape, but it would undoubtedly melt, if the ominous orange inferno in the distance was any indication.
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Alex recalled Hydrus and Teleported before the Hand broke free, to the tent he'd been given at the Rebel's base. He'd recalled everyone and left quickly more times than he'd like to admit, but being able to be somewhere else instantly made terrifying situations a lot more interesting.
He looked around the tent, and then smirked, as he spied his lover. It shifted to a frown of disapproval as he saw his newest partner was here as well, and not in his ball…crystal…thing. Apparently, he'd snuck away with the Chief, rather than join the others in danger.
"You need a name, don't you… hmm." He eyed the ghost, who shook its head as it spoke.
"If you rename me, I'll have to change crystals. It's an ancient tech thing. Names have power. Just call me Rotom, Human. It's easy, and you can pronounce it."
Alex raised a brow. "Are you telling me I couldn't pronounce your name?"
The ghost stared at him, deadpan. "I'm saying my name, and your language, aren't even compatible."
Alex smirked. "You're not a Terran Pokémon are you…" The Rotom's eyes went wide. "Hah! I knew it. Your mind felt different to any other Pokémon I'd sensed, but after that battle we just had, I noticed. Your life energy, what's left of it, is from a different world."
The Rotom sighed. "I mean…technically…not really…but if that's how you want to understand it, you can work with that." The Plasma ghost yawned then, and twirled something between his plasma appendages. Alex blinked.
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"You little…did you steal my staff!?" Jess giggled from across the room doing…whatever she was doing to her hair. Beauty products. Girl things. It was foreign to him, as she had a whole entire array of items that he could probably only name the function for half. It took effort to look as good as she did, though he'd repeatedly told her she didn't need it, but she kept the case anyway. She usually didn't speak during these morning rituals, but now, she did. "He totally stole your staff. We've been toying with it all morning."
He eyed it, but it didn't appear to be covered in unidentifiable liquids. So that was something. He stared at the Pokémon holding it, and then got an idea. An idea that just felt right. He sent it to Tao, who approved, and chuckled as he did so.
"Phaspiro." He said, smirking. "That's your name."
"Phaspiro? Did you take 'phasma' and add 'piro' to it? Why? Because it sounded cool? If we're going for cool, why not call me Stormageddon, Destroyer of Worlds? Honestly, you Trainers-"
Alex shrugged, cutting him off. "I like it. Round Table?" He said to their partners. Arthur had been given a Max Revive, but was still tired. He gave an 'aye', though. Everyone did. Alex smirked, and responded mentally to the snarky sparky ghost type. "It is decided. I dub thee Stormageddon. Welcome to the team, Stormy…you can reside in this, now."
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He made a gesture with his hand, and wrenched the staff free of the ghost's grip easily. With a thought, it went from hair-curler length to staff length and formed an opening just the size of the ghost's crystal in the center. The Rotom's eyes went wide. "Waaaiiit wait wait, that crystal has untapped electrical power, to control it you'd need-"
Alex cut him off again with a confident smirk. "The essence of the Master of Fire, Ice, and Electricity." The Rotom tilted his head, then nodded, as he agreed that would probably work. Before he could say as much, the plasma ghost was recalled into the crystal, as Alex pushed it in, and the staff closed around it.
It gained a pair of eyes, and grinned at the Trainer. "Oh, I can work with this…" The staff began to change from within from something simple, to a container with much more…potential. It retained the colors, but shrunk. There was a hollow center, through which, Alex could see the shine of the crystal. Something was obscuring it though, that almost looked like…wiring? "Don't look directly into it, you idiot." Stormy growled.
Alex turned the strange device away from him, and then noticed a button on the small object. He hadn't been expecting the Rotom to change his staff so much, but he let the Pokémon do as he wished. Their newest ally only wanted to make them stronger, or so he'd claimed. Stormy's eyes and smirk appeared above the button he'd created. "Push it. Push the button, little Human."
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Alex gave the ghost a look. "It's not going to fire some plasma projectile, right?" He asked, remembering how the ghost Pokémon was classified in the dex.
The ghost grinned. "Not a projectile."
Alex's eyes went wide as he realized what he was probably holding. "Ohhh…yes. So very much yes…" He looked around, realizing their tent was a bit cramped. "This needed a more dramatic reveal anyway. Outside we go!"
He ran out, object in hand, grinning like a child. Jess was behind him, more curious than anything. Evidently, she'd fixed whatever needed fixing. It was clear he wasn't going to mention her slightly curlier hair, but she was more interested in what her thick headed boyfriend had done to his Rotom. "What exactly are you up to? I was only half paying attention in there."
Alex simply smirked. "You'll see." He ran to the topmost cliff of the base, and then shot into the air, not caring about hiding his power at that moment. Once he found a suitably far, suitably high ledge to perch on, he pressed the button.
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The now smaller former-staff blazed to life, as a dual colored beam of plasma extended from the hilt where the crystal now resided, white on the inside, black on the edges. Alex laughed in disbelief. It was a fairly long black and white blade. Deadly looking. It hummed as he twirled it around, still not quite believing this was actually happening.
The hilt of the sword-like weapon smirked at him. "You can call me Lux. Luxundus is the closest approximation in your tongue, but literally everybody calls me Lux. You probably should've asked my name, rather than assumed I needed one."
Alex rolled his eyes. "I was irritated. You stole my staff."
The hilt grinned. "And turned it into a plasma sword. And the best part? I can fight like this, and stay perfectly upright at all times."
Alex raised a brow. "Why...what would happen if you fell perfectly vertical?"
The ghost's eyes narrowed, and he shuddered in his Trainer's giant grip. "Bad things, Redwood. Bad things."
"Fair enough..." Alex twirled it around again. "You know…I've heard some of these can extend from both ends…"
The ghost laughed. "Find another super rare extraterrestrial crystal whose origins are a mystery to you, then. I'll make another blade."
Alex smirked, and lifted his sleeve, revealing where he kept most of his crystals. Each fit into the edge of his gloves, around his wrists in an obvious homage to a certain first season of a certain old Earth anime involving cards, dueling, and monsters, but were less bulky. The gloves were, like the rest of Tao's clothing, super comfortable, and form fitting. "I have thirteen."
The ghost eyed them, then blinked affirmatively. "I can use all of those. With this container, anyways."
Alex chuckled, "I like the sound of that. I'm probably better with a saberstaff anyways." He turned to Jess, who'd followed him, and had thus far been staring with a knowing smirk. She'd been in his head. He'd always wanted a laser sword. They were iconic. And so very useful.
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He pressed the button again, and let the hilt hang from his belt in his tenth slot. Under his robe-like jacket. He smirked, trying not to laugh at the similarities to his childhood heroes, specifically a combination of the Aura Guardians, and several people from the Pokémon Wars Saga. There were some differences, though. The nine miniaturized balls that hung alongside the hilt on his belt. He wasn't going to hide them anymore. Their surprise advantage had literally gone up in smoke. Had he been wearing regular pants, they would've surely fallen with all the extra weight, and he wondered if that was why the League limited Trainers, usually, to six partners. Alder, one of Unova's now passed Champions, had carried at least nine openly, but then, they had been mostly on his shoulders.
He turned his gaze northward, towards the clouds of ash as Jess joined him, and examined Lux's new form. "I found one of Pravus's Hands. He managed to take Arthur down. Hydrus cleaned up, though. Whatever chance we had at stealth is gone, now. We don't have time to wait in enemy territory while we train Ceno."
Jess stood next to him, eyes wide as she saw the sheer scope of it. The entire sky was darkening, bringing with it an artificial night. "That just came from Colville alone?"
Alex shook his head. "It's spreading. The entire northern part of the region is probably catching fire."
She looked up at him, eyebrow raised. "So, what do we do now, oh wise Tamer of the Original Dragon?"
He gave her a look. "Plan B, obviously. That one's more fun anyways."
Jess rolled her lovely blue eyes. "You only think it's fun because you and the Council of Dorks like smoking together."
He winked at her. "You could join us…but I know how you get around that much testosterone. And Leaf."
She sighed. "Just tell your dragon. I'll go talk to the people I already know. You get the Chief."
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Alex nodded, and then reached out to Tao. While he was a part of their mental web, he was more…web-adjacent, connected to Alex, but not the others, if only so the stray thoughts of a Legendary and ancient mind, full of things sometimes best left forgotten, did not reach the ears of his impressionable hatchling of a Trainer and his partners.
"Plan A failed. Pravus burned the north." Alex gave the dragon a moment, either to process his words, or finish whatever business he was in the middle of.
Finally, a response. "Plan B it is, then. Come home, young Hero…there's something you need to face here. A challenge that you are finally ready for, I think."
Alex let the contact fall, and smirked. There was always something else to face. It had a habit of making him stronger. He opened his Pokédex, out of habit as he checked the time, then paused as he saw the date. They'd been in Fornia much longer than he'd realized. Almost half the summer, which was now ending. "Two years to the day…huh. It feels longer. Right Terra?"
The giant grass tortoise joined him with a flash of green, and inhaled the warmth of the late summer day as he gave his slow, measured, mental reply. "It does…but I would not change a second of it."
His Trainer gave him a scratch under his mossy, dirty chin, and then hopped on his back. He began packing a bowl of the Leaf as the turtle brought him down towards the other humans the long way, so he could enjoy the sunlight while the sun yet shone. The clouds were clearly unnatural, and they were spreading. Alex knew this was likely the first step of whatever Pravus had planned for Unova, and knowing him, it would be brutally effective.