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Aether Paradise - Alola Region
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Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius looked around the interior of the Aether Paradise, still slightly singed from his battle with that one insanely strong brat of a Trainer, glanced at the device on his left wrist, and grimaced. "This is not my Alola..." He hobbled over to the nearest console and brought up data from the Aether Foundation's sites across the world. Naturally, this provided a map of who ruled what and where. "This isn't even my world...Dragon Empire, eh...so someone here revived him, in this reality." A grin crept across the aged skin of his face.
"Perfect…"
"Hey! You! Get away from that console!" The voice of a woman filled his ear, and Ghetsis sighed on instinct. As he took in the speaker though, he got an idea. It might even work this time, as no random teenagers were present to disrupt his plans or die trying.
He turned to the blonde-haired woman as she stormed over, smiling like a kindly old man. He even added a grandfatherly tone to his voice. "My apologies, miss. It seems I've once again been pulled across realities by a Wormhole. The Aether Corporation in my Alola was studying them. I see from your data you've been doing the same here…" His eyes finally fell to the posted date on the console. "Now that's interesting...you're quite a few years ahead of my own world...I must've been pulled far indeed to cross the time axis."
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She brushed past him, and looked at what he'd opened, and then again at him. "So you say. Well, if you really are from another dimension, we'll do what we can to get you home...Elio can take you on Nebby. I'll call them."
Ghetsis' visible eye twitched at the name. It was the same one this same brat from the reality he'd been pulled from had called out when her straights were rather dire, and the response had come from a Trainer who'd wielded the power of both Solgaleo, and Necrozma. He correctly assumed time had only made him stronger and changed tactics.
"You know, you remind me quite a bit of the President's daughter, from my own world...but she was just a child when I left. Is your name Lillie, perchance?" Ghetsis kept up the kindly old smile.
The woman nodded and reached for one of the built-in phone-devices attached to the console. He put a gentle hand on it as she reached to lift it. "I think we should find your mother first, if she is still in charge around here. If she's anything like my Lusamine, she'll know how to send me home."
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Lillie looked the strangely dressed gentleman over again, and then shrugged. "Mother is an expert on Ultra Wormholes...perhaps she could." She glanced at the position data that told her where the Ultra Guardians were at all times. All but one was present and accounted for in Alola, and Mizuki and Elio's transmitters were already heading towards them. "Come with me, mister…?"
Ghetsis followed with his hobbling gait, talking and walking all at once. "My father called me N. Not the most complex name, but it's better than what it stands for."
Lillie glanced back at him as they walked. "Interesting...we have an N here, as well...but his hair is green, and he's so much younger…"
Ghetsis laughed at that. "Indeed! Mine used to be that color...but age has changed me."
They walked in silence then, as Lillie did the math. Something, quite literally, wasn't adding up about this incarnation of 'N' and his story. The dashing Unovan hero's history wasn't entirely unknown to her, and she knew the name Ghetsis, but his face was another thing entirely.
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By the time they reached her mother's office, she was convinced something was off about the man. His face seemed unused to smiling, but he kept it up each time she even remotely turned his way. She kept her eyes on her mother as they walked in and knew her suspicions were confirmed when she saw surprise, and then anger on her mother's slightly weathered face. "Ghetsis? Here? But how!?"
As everything clicked into place for Lillie, she subtly pressed a button on one of the bands around her wrist, and summoned her best weapon from where she'd been resting in the Ultra Guardian HQ below the VLFS that was Aether Paradise. "The whims of fate, my dear Lusamine. As of this moment…" A Cofagrigus appeared behind Ghetsis with a flash. "You and your daughter are my hostages. Don't do anything foolish, and I might even let you help me conquer this new world for Team Plasma...just like you did back in my home dimension!" He cackled a genuine villain cackle then and locked the doors with a gesture from his normally hidden right hand. Even in a different reality his suit-like glove, torn at the wrist from its original owner, controlled various aspects of the Aether Paradise. Once more, the device proved worth what had been required to take it from the traitor who'd been wearing it.
He hobbled up to the desk then, sneering. "Tell me, in this version of existence, how far did Nihilego get into your skull before you were retrieved from Wild Space?" Lusamine looked away, with no small amount of shame, and Ghetsis grinned wider. "Not far enough, it seems. My Lusamine...I found her a husk of her former self, but I'm rather adept at filling husks with my ambition. She is a useful tool."
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"Your ambition won't get you very far, Ghetsis...you failed in this world, ended by your own son. He's on his way here now, with Champion Elio and Professor Kaede. Surrender now, and we might let you go back where you belong...this doesn't have to end in violence." Lillie moved next to her mother, as the mention of Nihilego left her slightly shivering, as it had every other time someone mentioned it.
"Surrender? I think not…" He tossed a ball then, and it took Lillie an instant too long to recognize it as one of their Beast Balls. From within came a Nihilego, and it homed in on Lusamine almost immediately. "This one has now had three separate chances to brainwash three different iterations of the same person...I do believe it has acquired a taste for your mother's mind."
Lillie reached for one of her ten Pokéballs, one of which was empty, but she froze as she was Disabled by the ghostly coffin Pokémon. "Tsk tsk. You gave me enough trouble once before, what with your impassioned whining...this time...you will be silent." The Cofagrigus dragged Lillie into its coffin then and sealed itself shut. Lusamine made a slight noise, but otherwise stayed where she was, incapacitated by the Ultra Beast. At that moment, having successfully subdued two of the Aether Foundation's best Trainers, Ghetsis did not regret taking the UB from Giovanni. After checking some Pokénet history on the man himself, Ghetsis had learned that Giovanni's plans for 'world domination' had a tendency to be foiled by children, in that last dimension. Ghetsis had known he would make better use of Nihilego's abilities, as he had never had that problem.
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With the president and her daughter subdued, Ghetsis left his Cofagrigus in charge of controlling the Ultra Beast if it became rowdy after dominating Lusamine's mind. He deadlocked the door to the President's office, and then descended into the depths of the lab, specifically to where, in his reality, they had tested opening Wormholes to other dimensions. Giovanni had insisted on using his own goons for their last plan, but Ghetsis's men were presumably still waiting for his call to join him in a new world worth conquering. They had become bored, after taking theirs, and had relied on Ghetsis to give them a new motivation for conquest. He had finally found one.
He opened a portal to his home dimension, and through it, came three of his most loyal servants. The Shadow Triad bowed before him. "Master Ghetsis...we feared you were lost…"
"No... never lost. Merely delayed. Go back and bring forth the Ice Warriors, as well as my Battling team...this world has quite a few powerful Trainers, and they will be arriving shortly. Make haste!" He pointed with a flourish at the portal as he finished speaking, and his loyal servants did as they were commanded. Moments later, Team Plasma's most elite fighting force, from his world, came through to join him in this new, unspoiled one.
Those who had thus far fought in the conflict between Fornia and Unova would recognize their armor as being of the 'Crusader Pattern', though they were adorned rather differently. Their captain's t-visored helmets resembled Kyurem's head and lacked Arceus's symbol. The Plasma Badge also adorned their icy blue armor where Pravus's men had put symbols of the Alpha.
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There was a light blue flash of discharged ice energy as Ghetsis's captain took out one of the many mice he had yet to subdue within the Aether Paradise. Faba, historically a man who could aid his pursuits, was now frozen in place within a thick block of ice alongside an Alakazam. Ghetsis left them there, for later, and instead turned to his troops as more and more of the Ice Warriors poured through the portal. "My loyal Ice Warriors...this is a world in which Unova reigns ascendant, because someone here managed to reunite the Original Dragon."
The disciplined troops murmured quietly. Their home dimension was largely frozen, mostly because the Heroes of Truth and Ideals had sealed their respective dragons in their spherical forms, presumably forever, before they too had been frozen and left to die, like so many others in cities that had refused to bow to Team Plasma.
Ghetsis continued. "I intend to find out how, and, I have a new purpose for our forces...but first, we must handle the local employees. I have subdued the President and her daughter. Spread out. Subdue the rest. When the intruders arrive, lure them in, and freeze the Alola Champion. He will overpower us with his Solgaleo, and melt our ambitions before they have time to properly freeze, if we let him."
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The warriors saluted, and then proceeded to systematically move through the Aether Paradise, as if they knew it well, and in a matter of minutes, the force Ghetsis had kept on standby in his Alola had subdued the Aether Paradise's employees in their very own ice block prisons. While their master busied himself with whatever plan he had in mind, the Ice Warriors took defensive positions around the lab, and kept their eyes on the sky. They didn't have to wait long to see the cavalry arriving.
"I have eyes on the Solgaleo Tamer...he's with Lunala's...and that third figure is-" The comm went silent, and Ghetsis frowned. To the Ice Warriors who had just come through the latest wormhole to their home he spoke quickly. "Our enemy has arrived…" He brought up the cameras that lined the landing platform ships and Pokémon used to enter the Aether building. He recognized Solgaleo and Lunala, as defeating them had been the first step to taking Alola back in his world.
The third figure though, was one he did and did not recognize. It certainly looked like a combination of Unova's three dragons, but it seemed...stronger. Then, he spied a figure that dropped from its head. Tall, large framed, and evidently the Dragon's Tamer, the figure looked directly at the camera he was using, and then with a gesture from him, that too went dead. Ghetsis swore. Loudly.
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As Alex crushed the camera devices on the Aether landing platform all at once, he turned to the others. "It's a good bet he knows we're here."
The Original Dragon spoke to them then, leaning down as he did. "The Humans this Ghetsis has summoned have hardened their hearts to the pain suffered by Pokémon. They are cold and lack emotion. Burn them away."
At that moment, Blaze landed as well, having followed and retained his Mega Form from the battle with Pravus's rather quick Vikavolt.
Alex smirked and gave his living Flamethrower a scratch under the chin, followed by a Max Elixir. "Don't hesitate. Clear the outer building, we'll work on whoever is inside." The Charizard gave an excited growl, and took off then, as the group watched him go. He bathed each side of the Aether platform with intense flame, in the air, and those who had warred with the Arceans thus far grimaced as all-too-familiar ice type energy beams lit the air in vain, trying to freeze the fire lizard solid.
"I will return to the front. The battle may yet avoid more unneeded bloodshed if I am present...do not tarry here too long. We will be moving on soon." With that, Tao flew away, flapping each pair of his four wings in a rhythm that propelled hi gargantuan coiling body through the sky with impressive speed.
N spoke, as he watched the dragon depart, and then led them into the building. He drew a Luxury Ball. "Your best Battlers...they will be needed." Arthur popped free of his ball once more, joining N's Zoroark, Elio's Arcanine, and Mizuki's Midnight Lycanroc. The Zoroark looked between the gathered Pokémon, and then changed into another Gallade. Arthur arched a brow, and the psychic Plate fused with his heart-piece flared, armoring his form. The others stared.
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"That is...new. Using Plates to armor them? What a formula…" N spoke again, as they continued moving, eyes sweeping for enemies.
"Something we picked up on the Dark Continent." Alex said, joining him at the front of their little group. "I'll show you how to use them, when we get a minute."
"That's alright, I don't even have a-" N's words were interrupted as three beams of ice converged on the middle of their group, hitting Elio and Mizuki. Only Elio's Arcanine managed to avoid being frozen, but the Lycanroc was not so lucky. She seemed rather angry though, as her red eyes darted about uselessly from within her icy prison.
The floor panel below the frozen trio began lowering, and Alex turned his gaze to their only chance. "Arcanine...thaw them! Don't let them be taken." The fire Pokémon saw, and more importantly understood, the meaning of his words, and joined them on the descending floor platform, just before a new one took its place. They would have a chance, at least, but they'd have to find their way back on their own. If even half the rumors about their battling prowess, especially as a team, were true, they would be fine.
From around those who remained, what seemed like recolored Arcean troops surrounded them, each had a firearm in their hands that, if they guessed correctly, was the source of the freezing they'd just witnessed.
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"Surrender your Pokémon to Team Plasma! We are the Ice Warriors of Unova! You cannot defeat us!" One of them called out. Alex spied the speaker, a leader most likely. What unnerved him, was how similar his helmet looked to Kyurem's own crest, which in turn was similar to Tao's. It was like an evil, alternate version of his own troops, for while they looked very similar to the Church's aesthetic, he saw elements of Unova in their design as well.
He nodded to Arthur, and the Gallade stepped forward, falling into a familiar fighting stance as he projected his voice to the extradimensional humans. "Come then, 'Ice Warriors'. Let us see which Unova has produced the better Battler…"
As beams of ice arced towards him, the Gallade dodged each, only to quickly find himself surrounded by other Pokémon. He glanced at Alex, who nodded, and summoned some help for the outnumbered psychic and fighting type. Ictus, his crimson colored Drapion, took the field then, and hissed at the humans. "Defeat them quickly, and then rejoin us." Alex felt an affirmative response from his battling partners, and the group continued on quickly into another room.
"Ghetsis likely took out the President first. We should try to free her. Then we can-" Again N was interrupted, but not by a beam from an Ice Warrior. A slightly weakened Magearna was limping down the hall, towards them, as she recognized friendly colors, and not intruders. The Pokémon beeped at Alex and N, and the two shared a puzzled look.
Alex spoke first. "Is it just me, or are you also not understanding a word of that?"
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N nodded. "Magearna is...tricky to speak with. But not unlike a Ralts, she uses emotion." He knelt down to her level and applied a Hyper Potion. The robotic Pokémon beeped with what seemed like happiness. "Tell me little one, where are they keeping Lillie?"
The Magearna beeped again and gestured for them to follow. Between Magearna's guidance and their psychic intuition for where enemies would be waiting, the pair of Unovan heroes managed to reach the President's office without too many battles. The soldiers they'd come across had possessed ice types, and the occasional dragon type as well. N had handled them with impressive quickness, and Alex had the sudden urge to battle his team again. They'd gotten stronger.
Eventually, they found the door, and also found it deadlocked. "Muk." N said, sighing as he failed to hotwire the door. "He deadlocked it, and this hallway is too small for a Move…"
A low hum filled the air as Lux jumped into Alex's hand. N moved, as the Dragon Emperor and his ghostly plasma blade made short work of the door with a pair of slashing motions. N chuckled. "I have to remember I have one of those."
Alex blinked at him, and smirked. "It's a sword that cuts through almost anything. You shouldn't forget you have it." The two entered the room.
What they found, was a Cofagrigus, unconscious, and both Lillie and Lusamine wrapped up by the tendrils of an actual Ultra Beast. Alex reached for one of his less plasma bladey partners, but N was quicker. "Flash Cannon!"
The rejuvenated Magearna raised an arm, and her unsteady form shook as pure, undiluted steel type energy slammed into the Nihilego with the intent to rip it apart, and free her beloved partner. The move's power seemed to surprise even N, and the grip on Lillie weakened, freeing her, as she and Lusamine slid to the floor in a puddle of goo. The space octopus was pinned to the wall and hammered by the power of same type attack bonuses, and type advantage.
"Pin it down." The entire office rumbled, as Cenomons appeared with a flash. The titanic Aggron, even on all fours, barely fit within the now very chaotic office room, but he didn't seem to care, as he approached the UB on all fours, and then rammed his two most prominent horns into the wall on either side of its 'head'. They lit up with steel energy, and the sharp point on his nose hovered inches from something he assumed the space squid wouldn't want gored.
Alex walked over then, and his eyes lit with psychic energy. "Your species has been plaguing our world, and a few others, for quite some time now. I want to know why." He knelt low then and offered a Sitrus Berry. "Speak, and I'll understand you."
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One of the tentacles slooowly took the berry, as the beast's focus was on his large, quadrupedal steel triceratops. With a soft sucking sound, the berry was reduced to a husk.
"So... hungry…"
The translated words echoed in the heads of every human and Pokémon in the room, as Alex heard them. N glanced at him, as Redwood included him as well, and noted a difference in how they heard Pokémon speak.
"You wish...to know why we feed upon you…" The creature seemed to give its species equivalent of a laugh. They all sensed its dark humor. "Why does flame consume grass...You...do not matter...you are food. Your very existence…is pointless. Brief. Meaningless. Beings like you...serve better as food...for those who are Stronger. That is why we travel. We. Are. Hungry."
Lillie stepped forward then, unphased by the predatory nature of the creature before them, glaring at the beast that had dominated her mother's psyche and thoughts for most of her life by this point. "Meaningless!? I'll have you know we help thousands of Pokémon, the world over! Our lives have been dedicated to good!"
Another chuckle. "Good...evil...pointless, subjective constructs from...primitive, if delicious, minds...struggling to justify their own existence." The being seemed to cough then, and more goo leaked from it. Apparently, Magearna had not held back at all, and Ghetsis had never bothered actually healing the creature after it had been defeated in the last version of this world they'd been anchored in. Defeating the Cofagrigus, which had also wanted to feast on both the younger female, and its own prey, had weakened Nihilego further, and its short meal had been interrupted. "Humans...Ladrinae...Asgardians...beings spawned by the Spiral are chaos given form...little more than sacks of...information...and such pitiful emotions…" It seemed to chuckle again. "Your existence...lacks purpose...your people...lack motivation...you are better...as food…"
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Ceno disappeared with a flash of light then, as his Trainer recalled him. Alex knelt before the weakening space jellyfish and stared directly at what seemed to be its face. "The thing about Humans...all 'spiral species', as I suppose you would call us, is that we are free to find our own purpose. Or to ignore it completely and assume Arceus gave us one we can't yet understand." The mention of Arceus made the jellyfish shudder again, as it actually laughed at him, and made the dark bluish goo leaking into a puddle below it that much larger. A single tentacle reached out, and Alex grasped it, allowing the dying being to survey his own thoughts. Being a psychic, he projected memories that would, hopefully, impress his point on the creature.
"What you...do not know...about Arceus...could fill a library." The creature began heaving then as it laughed again, and the gathered humans, while initially angry at it, had softened when they realized it was dying. None made a move to grab a potion, though. "Everything you accomplish...will crumble to dust...everything you teach...will be forgotten by your species' tiny...delicious brains...in the end...you will be food for the swarm. Why...persist?"
"Because that is the purpose of my existence. To make it as tolerable for as many others as possible. I don't care if it's ultimately futile. A wasted effort, in the end. Someone has to try to improve it, and unlike most of my species...I have the power to do it."
"And someone...will always end up...destroying it all. No matter how brightly you burn...how long you persist... Back and forth...over and over...good versus evil...evil versus good... You are not free, little Spiral spawn...you are trapped...in the same endless cycle...races far greater than yours...have been stuck in... since the dawn of existence. You delude yourselves...into finding meaning for your pointless lives...to avoid madness...and it is...amusing."
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With that, the Nihilego deflated entirely. Alex sighed, and stood, glancing at the others. "Such a cheery entity...at least now we know why they hunt through Ultra Space."
Lusamine stepped forward towards the being as she finished cleaning herself space jellyfish goo, pausing before the now bubbling pool of it on the floor. It seemed the goo that acted as Nihilego's blood was acidic in nature, and it had begun eating through the floor. "We should find the tear in their reality, and force it shut. I have had one of these try to take my mind three times now...Nihilego is not what I thought it was. It took hearing its words out loud to reinforce that truth… It's a parasite. Nothing more." She turned to Lillie then. "Let's go take back our lab."
N chimed in then, and out of all of them, he seemed the most put-off by the death of the being still laying on the floor. "We should return it to its home...but yes. Closing them off to live in their own world...that would be best, I think. Can Elio do that?"
Alex remained quiet, eyes on the Nihilego as N glanced at Lillie, who knew better than most just how capable Elio was. She nodded. "Nebby can handle it…" The room took on a familiar tone of awkwardness then, one Alex was all too familiar with, but far too distracted with the dead Ultra Beast to really notice. At least until Lusamine spoke again.
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"So. N... who did you bring with you to rescue us? I didn't think you had such...heavily armored...psychic friends." She blinked, as Alex raised an Ultra Ball, tapped the UB's corpse, and transferred it within. Being a newer generation model, modern Ultra Balls could handle anything, from this world or otherwise. That was the justification for their price anyway, but this was the first time he'd seen them work on a Pokémon not from their reality.
He stood, turned to the Aether President, and bowed in the Unovan style as he offered the ball. "Alex Redwood, miss President. I'm from the Dragon Empire. I'm here to help. I just finished taking down Caleb Pravus before he could darken your islands...then I heard you had a Ghetsis problem down here and came to help." He nodded at N. "I may not have taken him on as many times, or during his prime, really...but I relish the opportunity."
Lusamine took the offered Ultra Ball, nodded, and then strode towards the remains of her door. "I see...I guess I'll charge the damages to the Dragon Empire then." She giggled and kept walking. Alex and N shared a look, as Lillie sighed, and followed her mother. Admittedly, the room did look like a giant steel triceratops had charged through it with zero Muks given about anything in its way. The giant torn Aggron footprints in the carpet were damning.
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Lusamine led them down to the Aether lab's lowest level, one large enough for Ultra Wormholes, and whatever might pop through them. Luckily, they were big enough for most of Alex's teammates as well, should they be needed. The path to the basement was as full of Plasma goons as one might expect it to be, but between Alex, Lillie, and N they smashed through them rather quickly, broke their weapons, and freed their Pokémon. Most of them needed little to no convincing to abandon their owners. The few who stayed, they had warned not to interfere. Each had carried significant quantities of Max level healing items in their bags, and those were taken as well. By the time they reached the lower levels of the VLFS, their bags had been all but restocked. Alex was just glad that their Pokémon weren't infused with Shadow, as well. Fusing with Shruikan had taxed him, but he had enough energy for this.
As they arrived, they found the testing area suspiciously empty, the consoles still on, and locked onto the world signature of Ghetsis' home reality. A voice rang out from above them, and that was when the group noticed a man, dressed a bit ridiculously like a multicolored castle parapet, lurking in the shadows atop the viewing area of the lab's experiment room.
"Heheh...isn't this a familiar scene. The freak I called my son, and some random Trainers who have allied with him, come to take down Team Plasma, and foil my plans for their world." Ghetsis, in what Alex and N recognized as his 'classic attire' stepped forth from the shadows and came to the edge of the platform that separated the scientists from the test area. Alex's eyes narrowed. The device over his right eye was humming with energy his eyes said was ice typed. It also seemed...familiar. "The worlds may be different, but some things never change."
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The eye-covering device flared, and a similar glow lit behind Ghetsis. Alex had an instant and little else before he realized what was coming. The Glaciate hit with the force of a Blizzard, and N was encased in ice. Alex's dragonbone protected him well enough, but given his blood, the cold got to him, and he shivered uncontrollably, as his body violently reacted to the sudden onset of absurdly low temperatures.
From the source of the swirling blizzard that had filled the portal room, he spied a pair of familiar, pupilless golden eyes. An ominous, pained voice came along with the intense cold. "I see...in this reality...you are the one who ascended." The storm increased in its ferocity, but by that point, Alex had formed his shield of psychic aura, and was able to move, at least. Enough to throw a ball, anyway. "Show me...your power... break this lunatic's chains…"
The Glaciate increased in ferocity with a new wave of ice as Ghetsis ordered attack after attack, when the stubborn deep blue aura light refused to go out, amidst the new blizzard. Another flash joined it then, and a large neck rose from within the snow. The air changed, and the machines within the portal room were frozen over as another master of ice took the field.
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Alex reached for the inherent dragon energy in his armor, as he spoke mentally to Gelauros. "The last time I faced this one down, it took both his halves to subdue him. This Kyurem though...it's different. I don't like it...and I don't want to give it the chance to hit you first."
The Aurorus turned its neck towards his Trainer, as he responded. "Let us ascend, then…"
He turned back to Kyurem, and roared, as the draconic energy flowed directly into him from his Trainer, and he proceeded to Mega Evolve. The ice crystals embedded in Gelauros' white skin flared and grew into sharp spikes. A crest of ice, not at all unlike Tao's, ran down the length of his body, ending in a thick, mace-like tail ideal for Earthquaking. The most impressive change though, was to the ice and dragon type's fins, which had turned from wispy, translucent flesh to pure rainbow-colored energy in the same shape, that shifted as one looked at it.
"Primeval Power."
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The Mega Aurorus' eyes lit with the strange power that only those with a tie to the earliest days of Pokémon evolution on Earth had ever managed to tap into. A single beam of rock typed energy rocketed through the Glaciate and hit the Kyurem directly.
Ghetsis just laughed as it appeared to have no effect, despite the apparent type advantage. "You Trainers...always trying for Type advantage and attack bonuses, thinking you're so clever…" He raised his cane then, and Alex's eyes widened as he recognized a pair of DNA Splicers fused into the top of a very familiar black and white staff. "The Original Dragon is far more useful, and powerful, split into three!" The cane came down on the raised walkway then as he shouted, "Ice Reversion!"
Alex learned several things in that moment that made him re-evaluate what he knew of Pokémon. The forms they took, were evidently much more malleable than most scientists believed, and the energy used to power said changes seemed to have an effect on their form's differences, and similarities. Dynamaxing used Eternatus, Mega Evolution used Infinity Energy, but as Kyurem began to glow with the elemental power of ice, and changed its form, he realized his eyes couldn't tell him what type of energy he was staring at. There was nothing distinguishing about the energy that was emanating from the icy dragon amidst the still-continuing Glaciate. As if it had no type, even to his eyes, it seemed as natural as the rest of his mostly obscured vision. Yet it remained as cold and icy as any ice type attack.
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As the light faded, he saw the changed Kyurem's body now very much resembled Tao's, as his front claws had extended into limbs capable of supporting his bulkier ice crest. The icy crest had exploded into thousands of jagged shards along its back, replacing the wings entirely, and making the ice and dragon type land bound. Not that it seemingly needed to fly. Its roar shook the entire Aether structure, only to be cut short, as another powerful beam of Primeval Power slammed into the dragon's icy head. A hole appeared, as Gelauros had nailed his enemy where his previous shot had landed.
Alex blinked, as dragon typed energy leaked from it, but was quickly overpowered and suppressed by the overwhelming ice energy now radiating off of the reverted form. He glanced at N, who was still properly frozen, and then looked back to Kyurem and Ghetsis. He didn't try looking for Lillie or Lusamine in the concentrated blizzard. If they were still free, they would try to activate a wormhole strong enough to pull Ghetsis and his monster back to their world. All he and Gelauros needed to do was buy time.
"Aim for the glowing spots…" Alex said, as he lit them up within the psychic vision he and the Mega Aurorus shared for battle. "We want him unbalanced…" Gelauros responded, by nailing one of the spots with another beam of rock energy.
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As the ice began reforming, Ghetsis looked over the strangely colored Mega Aurorus as he tapped his eyepiece and changed tactics. "Imperial Rage!"
Kyurem sank its icy claws into the metal floor of the lab, and dragon energy again tore forth from the holes in the Legendary Pokémon as it built up the power within. The raw power of so much draconic energy evoked a response from the Trainer, and Ghetsis' brow furrowed, as he watched the armored Trainer trace a familiar pattern in the air, as the blue aura deepened, turning red and sparking with electricity.
Gelauros channeled the power, forming it into a balanced sphere of intense dragon and ice energy. It kept growing, even as the Outrage built within their opponent. Kyurem's nature ultimately weakened its attack, especially as the reverted aspect of an elemental type that dragons were weak to. That did not make the attack any less impressive.
The balanced sphere of condensed draconic and ice energy smashed through the move with all the force of type advantage and colliding natural opposites, into the Kyurem, who had retained its typing, and its weaknesses. When the smoke and whirling snow finally died down, all that was left of the icy husk of a Legendary Pokémon was a stump of a neck, and an evidently hollow shell.
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Gelauros looked back at his Trainer and chirped, which brought a smirk, for a moment. It faded, as he watched the husk, and the hairs on his neck stood stiff. A vastly powerful draconic entity was waking up. One Alex was familiar with, but at that moment seemed quite different from the Tao he knew. Imperfect. Unbalanced. Empty.
He felt his Legendary dragon's mental focus shift to him with the usual impossible speed, and he found Tao shared his dread. "There is a reason Kyurem is part Ice. It kept the source of my core, the majority of my power, in check, while my halves battled to dominate it, with a Trainer who could fuse at least two of us. That, we reasoned, was better than total separation. In practice, Ghetsis' methods were...imperfect. Smash the DNA Splicers...and the staff will do the rest. You'll have to touch it, though."
With the speed of thought, Alex responded. "Could N awaken it as well, or must it be me?"
He felt the dragon's confusion and mild amusement. "Probably. Why?"
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At that moment, Tao understood, for he viewed through his Tamer's eyes the arrival of the rather impressive Charizard the human had raised from his youngest stage. The presence of the Mega Charizard quickly melted N, and the rest of the equipment. Even water did not linger long, for the Drought dried everything almost instantly, and the lab became a battlefield between ice and fire as the two empowered Pokémon faced off. Blaze was more than eager for a second chance at Kyurem.
Alex shared a look, and the plan, with the arguably most famous hero of his homeland, and the older man nodded, eyes shifting to Ghetsis. A flash of darkness, and a Zoroark took the field as well. "Come, Zoro. I think a Lucario would do well here." His partner seemed to agree, as it took on the essence of the Aura Pokémon, and as they both ran towards Ghetsis, they shielded themselves with a bright green aura.
By this point, Gelauros had almost recovered for another attack, but it was as the pair ran off that Kyurem's form crumbled, the ice falling away completely. A dark outline of a familiar, if significantly smaller, draconic shape rose from the icy remains, and a pair of pupilless golden eyes appeared within the faint form composed entirely of dragon energy.
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"Destroy them all." Ghetsis, who was smirking by this point, was familiar with what happened when one managed to break Kyurem's shell. Judging by the look in the Trainer's eye, he hadn't expected it to continue to fight. He had no idea what awaited him, then.
A shockwave of pure draconic wrath thundered towards Gelauros and the Charizard, who fell to the onslaught of the impossibly strong power, now unchecked by ice. Gelauros, who could usually tank such hits from dragons, fell to his new weakness. Blaze, stood slowly, and snorted. His tail flame shifted to blue, but he blinked, and snarled at his Trainer as the power of the Flame Plate was drawn from him, the connection no longer maintained, on the part of his partner.
Alex's voice echoed in the fire lizard's skull. "It is time we changed things up...fly close as I empower you and activate your armor. You need to heal." The Charizard's eyes widened, as he had been waiting ages for Alex to finally let him use his alternate form in a real battle. Once more, the aura around the armored human shifted from blue to a deep sparking red, and Blaze flew into the air, dodging a Dragonbreath from the ethereal dragon entity as he flew around the room, and passed by his Trainer.
The far too large hand sprayed the fire lizard with a potion as he passed by and once he was headed towards Kyurem, the free hand lifted, and the dragon energy catapulted Blaze to an alternate path of his species' potential evolution. In this form, he could take on Arthur even, and win, making him the strongest on the team, or so he had reasoned. Alex had then reasoned that if he was so powerful, they wouldn't be using it for normal battles. Blaze had embraced patience then, as he'd been told to by Tao, and finally, it was paying off.
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His form solidified as he neared the draconic essence of Kyurem, and it flashed a burning crimson as his Flame Plate, one forged from the shard he'd evolved with under Draconis Mons, activated. The black scaled Charizard's form became covered in crimson armor, and the surge of power to his fire moves was significant. Once more his Trainer's voice echoed in his head, no doubt with a good move suggestion. He sometimes chose differently, but usually, the eyes on his back saw much that he did not, until he tried landing a hit. "Dragon Rush!"
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The armored Mega Form's power tore through the Outrage response given by Kyurem, bursting through the other side of the wave of energy, and leaving the user unscathed by a type weakness. He rolled the bulkier draconic form into a pair of intense Dragon Claws, using both to tear into the figure, and the energy remnant roared in pain.
Blaze leapt back and followed with a Heat Wave, further rapidly drying and melting any snow Kyurem produced, as Alex drew his gaze to Ghetsis, and the pair of aura powered guardians. The 'Lucario' was busy fighting something they couldn't see from this angle, while N had, over the course of the fight, sidled towards and leapt for Ghetsis' cane. Both hands found a DNA Splicer, and with a burst of green aura, the machines that stood as humanity's attempt to bind what they had sundered, shattered into nothingness.
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The black and white staff shot into the air then, traveling the relatively short distance to Kyurem's icy remnants. It fused with the essence dragon through one of the Dragon Claw tears just below its neck. Ice began to regrow, and almost immediately, the spirit roared in the face of being caged again within the ice, but the rapid refreezing happened before the spirit could use a move.
The Tao-shaped dragon energy tried to escape, but the ice that contained it was too thick. Kyurem spent the last energy of its Elemental Reversion energy as it essentially revived itself from permanent fainting. With a roar, the now once more regular Kyurem, free from Ghetsis' grip, turned on the human who'd slaughtered millions with his power, turning him from a Guardian, to little better than a weapon. A Tyrant.
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At that moment, a wormhole opened behind the ridiculously garbed man, and he shouted with incoherent rage, as it dragged him, his Pokémon, and the Lucario back, presumably to his home. With a snarl, Kyurem leapt after them without so much as a glance at the Trainers that had helped revive it. Revenge would dominate its mind for quite some time.
N glanced up at the wormhole with a frown, and then looked at Alex. For once, he used his telepathy. "I'm going with them...Unova is in good hands. It doesn't need mine anymore...but the one on the other side of this hole, does."
Alex looked down, as Blaze landed beside him. He nodded then, answering in kind. "That makes sense...but if he really does have a successful Team Plasma over there, you'll be on your own in facing it...he won't leave your Aether platform intact, at least, not in Alola. He won't risk allowing reinforcements."
N nodded as well. "I'm aware of what my father is capable of...but their Unova needs a Hero. Apparently, theirs...weren't enough. Good luck to you, Redwood." With that, he crouched, and then soared into the hole in dimensions, just as it closed. Lillie and Lusamine ran over to Alex then, looking up at where they'd opened the portal.
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"Did...did it work?" Lillie spoke, and Alex nodded. Blaze let the power fade and glanced back at where N had disappeared. That human had a reputation among quite a few local Unovan Pokémon. He would be missed.
"N... jumped in as well. He said their Unova needed a new Hero...since the others apparently failed. He has Kyurem...he should be able to handle Team Plasma." Alex scratched the massive fire lizard's chin, and then recalled him for an earned rest. He'd taken down quite a few grunts on his own with only a portion of his Trainer's mental focus to aid him. "Give the minions to the local police...if they're too much for your islands, Black City always has room for more."
Lusamine nodded. "We...couldn't handle what Team Skull became once they matured a little and gained competence...not inside our jailhouse, anyway. It's basically a tank for drunk islanders. Not gang members. We'll have them on the first ship to Black City...let them rot with the rest of Team Plasma."
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At that moment, there was a loud roar, as a steel and psychic typed sun lion burst through one of the walls. Elio came through first, shouting Lillie's name, and Mizuki leapt through behind them, only to stand slowly, as they realized the danger had evidently passed. Lusamine sighed, deeply, glanced at the hole in her ceiling through which the Charizard had landed, and then moved to the closest working console that had survived the battle's intense freezing and rapid thawing.
Seeing things were handled, Lillie approached Alex, and gave a polite bow. He arched an eyebrow as she spoke. "On behalf of Alola...and the Aether Foundation, I want to apologize...the Fornian leader has been threatening our islands since this conflict started, promising swift death to our people and our islands, if we got involved."
Alex nodded. He'd expected as much. "Well, that isn't an issue anymore." He glanced at the Champion and the Professor, as they walked closer. "Caleb Pravus is...no longer a threat. Without him, his forces will crumble. Alola doesn't need to get involved...in fact, if you're needed anywhere, it will be in Sinnoh. Word is, the Church rallied and organized quite a few former gang members from across Japan once they took power." The intense gaze shifted to Elio. "The Hands tend to use Shadow. Watch yourselves, if you decide to help Red and Professor Oak."
A look that might have been recognition came over the Champion's face, and he nodded, barely getting out an 'Alola', before Alex shot into the air on his own power, sailed through the hole in the ceiling, and headed back towards the war at the fastest pace he could muster. After fusing with Shruikan, fighting Pravus, and then facing down a Legendary dragon, again, he was exhausted, but the 'day' wasn't over, yet.
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His pace slowed, when Shruikan showed him their victory through his eyes. The city looked worse than Pravia had, mostly because the citizens, as ordered by their Bishop, had joined the fray alongside what Crusaders had not yet deployed to Sinnoh. There weren't many, for that had been Caleb Pravus' latest, and final, command. Reinforce Sinnoh, and keep Mt. Coronet under Arcean control.
As Alex finally brought himself over the east's encampment, there was a loud, mostly verbal uproar, from a group of bruised, disarmed Arceans. Most seemed like scared civilians, but only a few actually had armor. Most of the Crusaders had refused and died fighting rather than surrendering. Even when Tao had arrived and proclaimed the Prophet's death. The locals had only fought harder, and all they had earned was yet more senseless death.
Alex approached the screeching grown adults hurling insults and swears with every breath as their faces turned red with fury. He let the armor fall for the first time since being in Pravia. After several long hours of marching and fighting, he was about as fragrant as any other soldier. "Nahlot."
The Voice cut through the obnoxious chatter, and he focused his tired, angry eyes on the Crusaders that were now his to decide what to do with. "Which of you is the speaker for your little group?" He waited patiently, arms crossed, as the gathered men and women deliberated. Finally, one stepped forward. He was genuinely surprised it was a woman, for misogyny had evidently been commonplace in the Arcean's armed forces. At least, that was what their intel claimed.
She was as blonde and tan as most other Fornians in the Church's service, and she met his gaze with evenness, and intelligence. "You look tired, Dragon Emperor. Has killing the Light of this world exhausted you?"
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He narrowed his eyes and sighed at her. "Spare me. None of you can sit there and pretend you Didn't see the giant ball of Shadow Energy that flew over your city naught but a few hours ago. It was hard to miss." He stepped forward, and to the woman's credit, she met his gaze evenly. As evenly as she could, rather, for as usual, he towered over her the closer he got and cut an intimidating figure with his armor. "That, was your precious Prophet, reverting the Darkrai he fused himself with to pure darkness by way of a beheaded and empowered Necrozma. Everything he did, he did for himself. Everything he said, was spoken so that you, the source of his real power, did not usurp him, and now, everything he owned...is Mine."
The final Word, pushed her back, slightly, sending her sliding across the snowy ground of the camp, towards her people. He met her eyes evenly. "To the victor go the spoils. Welcome to the Dragon Empire. Do yourselves and your people a favor. Accept that he's gone. I promise, once you understand what you're a part of, what you as loyal, zealous Arceans helped cause, you'll understand why he needed to end. As part of the Empire, you'll be better off than you were before, once we bring the Light back to this land."
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Anger crossed the blonde and tan woman's thin features as she stepped back towards him. Alex arched a brow but didn't interrupt. "Our cities burn, our houses, soldiers, churches, and sources of comfort, demolished by fire breathing lizard demons, and you claim we will be better off? How? By bending our knees to you?" She sneered. "You're barely fully grown. What do you know of rebuilding the infrastructure required to run a city."
At that point, a very large, very noticeable draconic form joined them, landing directly behind his Tamer, as his giant and still mega evolved head loomed over them all, blue fiery eyebrows furrowed as he examined the thoughts of the humans below. Alex smirked, unshaken, as the very earth rumbled at the dragon's landing. "I know enough...and for what knowledge I lack, I have entities like the Original Dragon to fill in and cover the gaps."
He turned to the significantly less well armored troops, little more than civilians really, and focused on them. He knew the futility of speaking with Crusaders. "The Alpha Pokémon's Guardian has returned to us at last. One way or another, our land will be whole again. I offer Fornia the same choice my Generals have offered every other region we've marched through this day: Join us, and prosper, or fight, and fail like all the others who have tested the Original Dragon on the field of battle."
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The woman turned back to the depressingly small group of enemy survivors, and deliberation continued. Finally, she stepped forward again, walking up to and then past Alex as she approached Tao. The dragon lowered his head, and nodded at her, waiting expectantly for her words. "Dragon...my people do remember your goodness, your loyalty to Arceus, the prosperity we had under your reign...for a time. Does this...psychic scum...truly speak for you?"
Tao projected his voice very rarely, for when he did, it tended to echo, loudly. Too loud for polite conversation. So, in her head and outside it for those gathered, he responded with his own psychic baritone, and thus, most of the city heard. "He does. Like the First Emperor, he craves peace over power, life over death, and has mastered the bond between Human and Pokémon. Something your people have perverted, in recent days with Shadow worship, and the infusing of Eggs." The dragon's head came down to her level, and the heat increased from his flaming 'eyebrows' and their proximity. One massive, pupilless golden eye moved before her, and she met it stoically, but like most humans, visibly struggled to find a point to focus on. "I am willing to forgive the people of Fornia for how they have abused Pokémon and the land...your minds were molded from near infancy and swayed by the Shadow's charisma. But...you must collectively let these lies go, if your people are to prosper again. Join us, and you have my word, you will again find lives of happiness in the Light."
The woman looked down, and then turned to Alex. "I will...take you at your word...if only because the Original Dragon has vouched for you...and there is much misinformation that appears to have been spread throughout our region. But mark me, Redwood, if you prove to be as tyrannical as the majority of the Dragon Emperors before you, we will fight you with all we have to be free."
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The smirk widened, as he gave her a tired look. "I would expect nothing less...try to convince your fellow Arceans of the understanding you've already achieved. It will make the transitions to come go...smoother."
She grunted, and then returned to the group. After a few more moments of heated talking, they all approached the dragon, glanced at the Emperor before him, and then knelt, very obviously towards Tao, and not the human who had tamed him. "We will do what we can to make sense of these events, and ultimately accept your offer. For the moment...our loyalty is yours, Dragon."
Shruikan spoke mentally to his Trainer, as he watched the humans from his perch atop their city. The central skyscraper was, or rather had been, a new addition to the skyline. Now, an enormous, sparking black dragon perched atop its broken crown, eyes scanning over the destruction below. Much of it, he had wrought. "You're not killing them...and yet they still disrespect you to your face."
Alex gave the mental equivalent of a tired shrug. "I don't particularly care what they think of me. Their opinions are like dirt. Something good may one day grow from them, but more likely, they're thinly covering a hole full of Muk. They will bend to Tao's will, or they will perish. Sooner or later, they will understand my role as well, but for now, I don't blame their misplaced arrogance. It's born of indoctrination and lies. Would you be any different, had you been Pravus's Pokémon?"
Shruikan pondered for a long moment, and then answered. "No... if all I knew was taught to me by that...thing...if all I ultimately was, was a weapon for the Shadow...I suppose I would buy into the lies just as easily."
Alex resisted laughing, as Tao individually mentally contacted the humans, and further cemented their loyalty by prying open and logically deconstructing whatever lingering rebellious ideals or subjective truths they might have still clung to. "You're becoming wise, my friend. Remember what Oranguru taught us...I think it was one of his first lessons. Seeing things from your opponent's perspective is...incredibly useful. For battle, and war, apparently. You're practically a General yourself. You'd do well, with that aerial view you have."
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He felt the dragon rumble, as he mentally reaffirmed to himself that he was a fighter, born to Battle, not a leader of tiny humans, no matter how well they had worked together. He stayed quiet and continued watching for any more rebellious Fornians. Alex met with Nate and Jess then, who had handled the battle of Port: Land on their own. They were in regular clothes, still wearing their bone-white belts, as always, but the armor was away. Nate looked, and smelled, about as fragrant as Alex did, but Jess, true to form, seemed untouched by the grime of war. Or maybe she'd had a minute to wash it off.
One arm went around her waist as Alex joined them at the table. A pair of disembodied golden eyes joined them, as they usually did. Nate began, tracing a line from Port: Land down the Fornian coast. "Our number crunchers have done the math. It will take about two weeks to march down the coast, given the amount of resistance we'll encounter." His face was as grim as Alex's as he looked up. "It's a long march, and we'll be resisted every step of the way."
"You do not need to be."
Three pairs of eyes shifted to the golden orbs that once more appeared before them, and they waited for Tao to form his thoughts, and share them.
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"We will do as we have done so far, destroy or capture as many of their armed forces as possible. Leave the locals to pick up the pieces. Already we have had requests from Pravia for food and materials. The lack of an overbearing soldier presence will give the people a chance to focus on rebuilding instead of revenge, but they will eventually try reforming into a coherent cult structure. Pravus has drilled it into their psyche, they will try to go back to what is familiar. We must not let them."
Alex arched an eyebrow at the eyes. "How are we supposed to prevent them from reorganizing if we're not staying behind? This plan makes us quicker, but if they get enough weapons, supplies, and bodies, we could be facing a new army formed from the remnants of what we leave behind."
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"We will use my Scales. Find two pairs, ideally of experienced and new blood, and send them to Pravia. We will do the same with each town and city we must travel through, and let them act as liaisons between Fornia, and the Empire. Two amiable plasma sword wielding Scales should be far more palatable than an entire army of foreigners." The eyes stayed static as the dragon's words echoed in their minds, and the three humans shared a look, then nodded. It was sound, to their ears, and Tao's strategies had worked remarkably well so far, despite a few hiccups.
By this point, word had reached them of the battle at The Rocky Pass, between Orre and Texico. Of Rosa's new abilities, and the loss of life that had been required to awaken them. Nate was more eager than ever to get to Texico City, and even now, Alex sensed his thoughts dwelling on her. He was half tempted to send him with a company of Scales and move on towards Sacreus. They'd had a plan for busting that particular fortress for a long time now, and Cenomons had only grown stronger in battle, and war. Especially since evolving.
Alex looked between the others at the table, and then at Nate. "Go on. Rendezvous with Rosa. Your troops are with them now anyways. Send...Marlon our way, once you arrive. He'll do well out here."
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Nate stared at him for a long moment, then closed his eyes, thinking. He pondered for a good three minutes of companionable silence, with Tao's golden eyes waiting as patiently as the rest of them. Finally, he sighed. "Alright. They'll need me at the head of my Legion for Texico City...and Marlon we can spare. Your insight serves you well. He's been to Mewsia before, apparently." He blinked, nodded, and grabbed a Pokéball from his bag, before tossing it to Alex. "You'll need to wake her up, but I have a feeling it won't be hard for you. She only responds to powerful minds."
Alex nodded. "Thank you...I'll make sure she survives. I had a feeling Marlon would do well on this coast too. They are in desperate need of the good vibes he gives off. Let me know who you're taking, before you leave."
Nate glanced at their own troops, or rather the marker that represented them on their map of Fornia. "I'll be faster on my own. Not to mention quieter."
Alex glanced at the map as well, but Jess spoke for him, as she already knew what he was about to say. "Their last reported position was Phenac City, but Rosa and the twins will have moved on by now. Just head south from there...you won't be able to miss them."
Nate gave the two a final nod, called out his Garchomp, and departed into the night.
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Alex and Jess shared a look, and then looked at Tao. "What of the other side of this war? How close are we to cracking into their media?"
There was a deep, long, sigh. "As close as you would expect. Many in Fornia outright refuse to so much as look at anything not provided by their Church. The other, outlying States have been easier to reach, however. Hilbert and Hilda were very effective in making sure the satellite Arcean states have an idea of what is going on. More locals defect with every hour. Fornia itself, remains a difficult nut to crack."
Jess nodded. "Throughout the siege, we kept trying to dissuade fighting...but it was amazing how little the people in this port knew about what was going on outside of their bubble."
Alex stared at the map again. "As expected of the city they started their cult within. We need a way to reach them, all at once, ideally."
Another sigh from the dragon filled their heads. "Many refuse to listen and will gladly die before doing so. Even after what they witnessed in Urbe Monachus. You cannot avoid killing all of them."
"I don't need all of them to stand down...just most of them. Do we know their peak viewing hours?" Alex looked at the numerous towns lining the coast. By all accounts, this was where most Fornians lived, enjoying the sun and fertility. The rest of Fornia had been turned into a hole-ridden mined out landscape of dust and an ever-growing desert. It was easy to pretend everything was fine when one lived in a paradise, though. Evidently, the Fornians of the coast thought the war wouldn't reach them. They were about to be proven very, very wrong.
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"We have these things, yes...with the conquest of this port, we've gained a way into their media network...we haven't exploited it yet, though. Once we do, we will likely be shut out within thirty minutes. The Hand in charge is...adept at blocking our access."
Alex pondered some more, quietly, bouncing ideas off of Jess mentally as they struggled together to come up with a plan that would take the least amount of lives. Finally, he spoke. "Thirty minutes...timing will be everything." He felt the dragon's agreement and continued. "When we begin besieging Sacreus, we should exploit this. Have Haley put something together for this, specifically. Maybe twenty-five minutes, if possible. We don't need to tell them that psychic types aren't evil, or about how great and kind our Empire is. They won't believe it. They believe that they're fighting for the Alpha, and the Light, and that their Church is the epitome of good, as it does both of these things, with their hard-earned currency." He looked up at the eyes, then. "We need to tell them something they don't already know about."
Understanding flooded their minds, from Tao's. "Shadow Infusion...of course."
Alex's arm tightened around Jess as he smirked and replied. "Her idea. We air Pravus's dirty laundry, the entire history of the foul practice, from Orre to Fornia, and the signs Shadow Infused Pokémon have. What behaviors separate them from normal Pokémon, and if we can get some of the Professors to chime in for that, that will help our credibility. Then, we simply let the people fill in the blanks as to how exactly their precious Pokémon have been turned into shadowy monsters bred for war. An exposé on what Shadow Infusion is, what it can do to a Pokémon, the long-term effects, the short term, and of course, what the Shadow actually is. We give them roughly twenty minutes of knowledge, and we can take down the entire Church with five minutes of footage from my Battle Recorder. Shadow doesn't usually visibly manifest, but it did when I faced him."
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Tao's eyes seemed to brighten, and his Tamer sensed the dragon agreed with their plan and had some small amount of relief. Evidently, he hadn't formed a detailed one for what they would do once they closed the jaws. The more variables they had to deal with, the more uncertain the future became. "This could work. This, combined with as peaceful a march as possible down the coastline...yes. The truth will set them free. This is the ideal path." Silence came for several moments, and both Alex and Jess felt the dragon reaching out to his various charges in control of the Empire's media, namely Haley, and those the Pokémon League had put under her authority.
"The funerary rights for the Prophet of Arceus will be the next mandatory viewing event. The Church will undoubtedly use it to try to sway the people to turn Pravus into some sort of martyr, there has been much unrest lately, likely from those Fornians who've looked beyond their insular region, and 'Church-approved' media. We will begin the siege on Sacreus as soon as our video finishes, and we will start it before the Church has a chance to spread another lie. The Bishop of Sacreus will be on, live, for this event...I can convince the person interviewing him to ask the right questions, once Fornia understands what Shadow Infusion is. Avoiding accountability with empty denial, will turn the tide of public opinion in our favor."
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Alex raised an eyebrow. "How long do we have before they hold these rights?"
"Seven days of mourning, and then a speech on what 'Arceus's chosen people' will be doing next, now that their Prophet is gone. Many of their Hands have been falling lately and many are still embroiled in the conflict consuming Sinnoh. We do not know who is currently in charge of the city."
Jess spoke, then. "Seven days to march through and conquer four cities and who knows how many towns? We'll have to be quick."
Alex smirked. "We will be. We should pick the duos we're leaving behind in advance." He glanced at the golden eyes of his dragon. "Any suggestions?"
"A few."
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North of Texico City - Western Texico
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The faces of her fallen officers filled Rosa's mind as she bid the whip of silver Light to tighten around the neck of the Hand she'd captured. A voice came into the room, at that moment, before she could again compel the man for more information on Texico City. What she had so far would let them crack it open, in theory, but because this was Lucien, she wanted to be thorough, and she had a strong suspicion he had more to spill.
"General, we just received word. The Prophet of Fornia has been defeated by the Emperor."
Rosa turned from the one-way glass to her captive Hand that no longer had a Prophet to service. "Well, well. Seems we've won." She pulled his bruised, wincing face closer, and the Light shone brighter, excluding all but her face, and the hate in her glowing silver eyes. "Give me what I want to know."
Finally, his mind's defenses shattered, and she sensed that it was the dread understanding and then perverted desire to join his Prophet in death that had ultimately broken him. She would've gotten through either way eventually, and while he had held out hope, that hope had been solely that Caleb Pravus would rescue him, personally, as he often did for favored Hands who fell into dire situations, or at least, capture situations. He had never risked allowing one of them to be properly interrogated, intervening personally more than once when clever Trainers and rebels had managed to subdue them, but now, that safety record meant nothing. The Church would collapse without Pravus's relentless madness driving it forward, and the common people of the regions under Church influence would start learning what exactly had been done to their Pokémon.
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The man went limp, life draining from him as he lost the will to live, but Rosa had what she needed. Two of her officers entered the room then, concerned looks on their faces. "General...he's…"
"Given up." Rosa interrupted, turned, and as she did her armor covered her actress' figure. The silver whip faded for the first time in seventy-six hours as she strode past them. "Clean up the mess. I have a secret tunnel to find."
The southern Legion, with three of Unova's strongest Trainers at their head, led the combined force of just over a million soldiers from across the east towards the city Eastern Texico had never been able to conquer, by itself. The skyline of Texico City was relatively bare, save for five massive, tiered pyramidal structures. The center-most pyramid, and naturally the biggest, was surrounded by the other four, and each one was placed in perfect alignment with the central structure's tiered faces, each of which faced a compass direction. Between them, the Generals were the first to see the remainder of the Fornian army. Reports put it at three to five million strong, but there seemed to be more, now that they'd seen the approaching force.
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As the eastern forces reorganized themselves into one hundred and forty-five companies of soldiers, each led by a Scale of Balance, Rosa and the twins kept an eye on the horizon. The four surrounding pyramids activated, and beams of green, red, blue, and yellow, came together over the city's central pyramid. From that, came a torrent of bluish purple, which united, and strengthened the energy from the other four, forming a multicolored barrier around the entirety of the city. Then, from the city came a rider upon a Luxray that had a very different coloration from anything the three had seen in the eastern states. It looked almost like Alex's, save that it was mostly yellow/tawny colored, and had spots of brown limned with black.
Rosa was already upon her Rapidash, and heading to meet the rider, who was carrying a white piece of cloth with him, and letting it trail obviously, in the wind. Rosa had no such pennant, but she didn't need one. The gold-tinged aura of visible silver light that had surrounded her since the battle at The Pass marked her and her partner clearly, from both sides. She pulled her Rapidash to a stop several yards from the messenger, and nodded at him, as they locked eyes.
"I have a message from our Hand of the Prophet. He wants to meet, to discuss terms, to potentially avoid death, on both sides." The man perched atop the yellow furred and black spotted Luxray gave her a smirk that his mount matched. His skin was closer in color to bronze than tan, and his hair was as black as a Tribe member's. His mind was also shielded from her perusing senses, and she knew if she were to try penetrating his mental fortress, combat would be declared.
"Very well. I'm willing to meet with your Hand. Where?" The man gestured to the pyramids humming with energy in the distance. Rosa gave him a look. "You can't be serious…not after what happened the last time our Generals entered one of your cities under terms of non-aggression."
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The man chuckled, though it was higher in pitch than a usual laugh. "It was your Thor who went after our Prophet first, lady General."
"Yes, he did, didn't he. They'd had a prior engagement, as I recall. Your leader infiltrated a foreign region and tried to steal their Legendary Guardian. A Xerneas. Three guesses as to what he was after." Rosa finished sarcastically as she let her mount trot forward but remained unthreatening to the pair. The Luxray growled, for a moment, and then paused, as it looked at the source of the power that was radiating off the human before him, the gold and red eyes slowly went towards the sky. He didn't bow, but he did stop snarling as Rosa continued. "Evidently, Pravus went mad with rage when Xerneas told him he could never be immortal. He was bonded with darkness, and Shadow, both of which Fairy types are rather good at defeating. The process would've poisoned him, given a slow death, but he retreated, after being thrashed by Thor, who was charged with protecting the aforementioned Xerneas. Being a leader of his...region, he had every right to seek revenge for such an obvious invasion. It was the driving force behind his decision to bring his warriors here with him."
The riding messenger gripped his weapon a little tighter, and Rosa noticed that the haft was obsidian, rather than metal. The top was shaped like those who had used nets at the Pass as well. "It's not for me to hear this. If you agree to speak, we will not attack you. Unless you attack first. Again."
Rosa sighed, and then fixed the man with a glare. A whip made of silver light was promptly around his neck, and before he could protest, she silenced him. "This will make you tell the truth. Do not lie, and you shall not burn... This is a trap, isn't it."
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The man seemed more intent on choking than speaking, and the Luxray resumed growling, that is, until her Rapidash's horn began to glow with psychic power, putting the cat to sleep where it stood. Rosa tightened her whip again, and then gave him enough air to speak. "Talk."
The man glared at her, eyes going wide as he felt the words coming up before he could properly stop them or change what information he was about to give. "Of course it's a trap. But without you, your armies will fail! We had to...try…"
"Do. Or do not. Don't waste time trying." With that, she retracted her whip, and raised a hand towards the man. "You will return to your Hand and tell him I was most courteous. Then you will tell him I've agreed to meet." Her hand flashed, and his face turned dazed as she erased and replaced, as best she could, his short-term memories. He repeated her words back, dazed by the blinding silver light.
She'd never modified a person's short-term recall before, but Alex had suggested simple thoughts, and simple commands, if such a technique became necessary for avoiding as much death as possible. Such memories were more easily accepted by the subconscious, and she was only changing the last few minutes.
Once she was done, she sprayed an Awakening on the spotted Luxray, and bid his rider to return to the city. He did, and a few minutes after, the shields lowered, and the ranks of Crusaders parted, giving the General a straight path towards the central pyramid. She nodded and returned to her camp first.
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The Imperial Legions marched towards Texico City shortly after Rosa returned, and while the soldiers of Texico City tensed and lit their Power Staves, nobody fired an attack. The Trainers of the east parked themselves very obviously before the northernmost gate, in the shadow of the northernmost pyramid. Rock types and fire types were summoned, but the general order was to use defensive moves first, if things went sideways. The General rode in atop her Rapidash, while the twins waited outside for the trap to be sprung. They'd agreed to her plan with minimal convincing. Now all they had to do was figure out what exactly this trap would be.
Rosa recalled her ride as she approached the central pyramid, and while the soldiers glared at her, she sensed no malice from them. Indeed, she felt nothing at all, and then realized why as she looked closer. Instead of the usual Arceus symbol pendants most Crusaders had, the natives of Texico City stood out from their northern brethren with obsidian charms, carved into runes that didn't look like Common. They were radiating dark typed energy, and thus blocked her senses. The charms seemed to shield the Crusaders among them without such neckwear as well, as if they had a wide area of effect.
As she climbed the massive pyramid, she glanced around at the mass of soldiers below her, it became rather obvious that this was where the majority of Fornia's eastern army group had retreated to, shortly after the events at Urbe Monachus. She came face to face with the Hand, who was sitting behind an ornate, if a bit blood-stained, stone 'desk', upon which were several papers that looked quite a bit like army related troop movements. Her Gothitelle examined and relayed what she could see from within her ball to the twins, as her Trainer bowed in the Unovan style to the Hand of the now deceased Prophet.
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"General Rosa…" Came the man's voice, as he stood within the shadowed alcove and stepped into the light of the pyramid's center. It was radiating dragon energy. Once more, her Emperor's sharing of prior experiences came in handy. She knew she could trust what her eyes told her. They were quite a bit sharper than they had been before she entered The Pass. "I am glad you have agreed to come." His tone, accented Common though it was, was a pleasing one. Unlike Lucien, this man seemed less depraved, and appeared to lack the insane-if-successful mad genius of Doctor Manchineel.
His skin was as bronzed as every other local she'd seen, and a bone white skull was tattooed on his face, covering much of it, but not lining up with his actual skull for whatever reason. His armor was the color of obsidian and covered his form, but much like her own, seemed to be composed of large chunks of the material, linked by a flexible under armor. Standing out obviously on the chitinous breastplate was the golden symbol of the Alpha Pokémon. The man had his armored arms linked behind his back, and he towered over the General at a height of six foot four at least. His presence was almost as intense as Alex's had become since his return from Norstad.
"As you may have guessed, this is a trap." A smile split the combination of bronze and white that covered his face, an unnerving grin that seemed entirely too confident, for the moment. He snapped his gauntleted fingers, and the energy around them surged, but to her eyes, flowed around them, and upwards, to where it met the other pyramid's beams, and reformed the shield.
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Below, the sounds of fighting broke out, and the eastern forces began taking losses as the Arcean Crusaders began opening fire. The Scales of Balance sliced many of the energy beams in half, spread out into companies of roughly a hundred and fifty soldiers as they were, but the Crusaders vastly outnumbered them, and the unprepared fell first. They were, thanks to their Pokémon, not immediately routed. A low wall of ancient carved stone surrounded the city's outer border, and the twins stuck close to it, as did their soldiers. Arceans who leaned over to fire were swiftly dispatched, and the battle began in earnest as both sides began summoning their Pokémon.
Rosa looked back to the Hand and sighed. "I expected as much. As we speak, my best teams are dismantling your little plan...in fact…" She looked towards the southernmost pyramid within the city. "They should be just about done, by now."
The fire energy it gave off vanished, as the pyramid itself was torn apart from the inside. Thousands of tons of massive chunks of stone crushed quite a few of the milling Crusaders currently swarming into battle positions, and from the deadly rubble, came a Tyranitar, and a Duraludon, working in tandem as they broke the earth under the Crusaders lined up in the city before them, and tore into their ranks. More Pokémon followed them from the breach under the former pyramid, and the Scales engaged the horde of troops as, at that moment and in synchronicity that made their Generals rather proud, the other three pyramids burst in a similar manner. The massive stone chunks, she knew, would be the source of the majority of deaths for this conflict. Already she knew thousands of tons of rock had just about evened their forces.
Similarly powerful Pokémon took the field as well streaming from below the ruined structures alongside their Trainers, and rock types seemed to be the favorite, alongside dragon. Being former Champions, many of the Scales had partners from multiple regions, and while any Champion worth their title had a Pokédex's worth of information in their head, most Crusaders had never seen a Coalossal or a Dragapult. She saw several Hyper Beams go right through a rather large specimen of the Galarian dragon species, and the ghostly dragon reaped a bloody harvest with its retaliation.
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The Hand watched the carnage, and then looked back at her. His hand had been reaching for a Dark Ball attached to his armored belt, but it stopped halfway. "Well...at least we went down fighting."
Rosa's expression shifted from calm passiveness, to one she reserved for those who genuinely pricked her nerves. The death glare made the man straighten up slightly, and he took an instinctive step backwards as suddenly, there was power to match it, similarly focused on him, and similarly furious. "You know you're going to lose this conflict...and you fight anyway. You persist in causing senseless death, when you do not need to…" She looked up then, through the hole in the pyramidal ceiling. The beam of dragon energy was still flowing strong, but it only went straight upwards, without the other four pyramids to help construct the shield.
Rosa nodded, and then looked back at the Hand. "It is not for me to Judge you, though…" She raised a hand, and a whip of silver light formed from her clenched fist and trailed down to the stone floor.
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The man raised a hand of his own, towards his alcove where she suspected he kept his weapon. A low hum filled the air as she ignited her own, and with a masterful flourish, met the Hand's weapon in a blade lock that he seemed surprised he was not instantly winning. Rosa was more surprised that his blade wasn't being cut in half. Obsidian hilted and humming with its own energy was what looked like a police baton, when deactivated, thanks to its composition. When lit up as it now was, there were three focused beams of energy surrounding the main obsidian blade. One red, one icy blue, and one yellow. Together, the combined elements were a match for the focused plasma her Chargestone blade emitted.
The Hand's sword style was bordering on barbaric, but he fought to win, and that too had been something Tao had trained her for. Cheap shots like dirt to the eyes bounced off of her aura shield, and between the rapid spiraling flourishes that defined her mentor's style of fighting there was little chance for him to employ more deceitful tricks.
Eventually, he shifted to a defensive stance, making her attacks damaging, but weak. The primal rage that came over his features when he attacked was paused, waiting for her to tire as she hammered his guard again and again.
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As Rosa caught on, she played into his strategy, and slowed her strikes, as if she'd begun to lose her energy, but her sharp eyes read him the moment he moved to take advantage of it. The horizontal swing was dodged, instead of blocked, as she went low under the blade, and came up under his guard. The plasma blade sliced through him with the same unnerving ease it had every other soldier she'd taken on with it, and not for the first time, she was glad it minimized the amount of blood that came with war.
She stared down at the city below, and then mentally gave the order for all forces to withdraw. In short order, the twins had their people disengaging and retreating in all directions beyond the city with the aid of their Pokémon. Her Excadrill came up from below the stone floor, and he saluted to his Trainer, rather proud at the tunnel he'd carved through solid rock and stone, that would ultimately cement their victory. Rosa examined it as well as she could with her newfound senses, but her hesitation in pushing them ultimately limited how deep she could follow it. She found her Serperior though, at about the middle of the pyramid, and gave her the order.
"Frenzy Plant."
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Her dragonbone armor flared with grass energy as her starter drew on the power to mega evolve, and then attack. The central pyramid shook, and Rosa flew into the air, letting the inherent power of the dragon energy carry her, before it too disappeared. Her Pangoro and Ariados had confirmed that the Arceans were using Plates, and ones awakened by the Light at that, to power their shield. Their task had been to retrieve the sources of power and bring them back into Imperial hands. As the energy faded, her Gothitelle received a 'mission accomplished' from the pair and began heading out of the city.
Evidently, the under-levels were like a whole other city, and it was here where the Arceans had kept those they considered lesser to toil in darkness in the service of the Light. In a macabre twist of irony, it was this separation that ultimately spared the civilians of Texico City from the cultural shock of watching the oldest monument of their region fall to pieces in an explosion of vines that was truly awe-inspiring.
The rubble was guided by said vines as they wrapped around the massive chunks of stone, and the Serperior at the center of them used the massive boulders to great effect, hammering entire squads of Crusaders into human paste with disturbing efficiency. The massive chunks paused in midair at the exact second white flags began appearing, and mass-surrenders came one after the other. Some kept fighting, naturally, but the eastern forces regrouped and surged into the wreckage of the city from the east and the west, dealing death and sparing life in depressingly equal amounts. By the time the sun set, the surviving soldiers had been Teleported to the capital, and the masses of workers reclaimed the surface in time to watch the sun disappear.
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Rosa addressed them, though it was electronic assistance, rather than magic shouting that helped her reach her audience. "Today, the Dragon's jaws have closed on the throat of Fornia. Your Prophet, your leader, the man who forced you to live like Diglett, is now gone, and your future is again your own. Like your ancestors, you are not being given the option of bowing to the First Dragon. You will become part of the Empire, and as a gesture of good will for our newfound camaraderie, we will leave you all with roofs over your heads before we head to Sacreus, and finish this. If you fight and resist us, you will die. If you choose to work with us instead, to make a better Texico, we will give you the food and resources to do so."
She gave the people a moment to process that, before finishing her brief address. "Depart now to the lower levels. When the rumbling stops, you will have the city to yourselves, and we will be long gone. You have until our envoy arrives to decide if you will aid us or resist to the end. The first Dragon Empire is the reason those," She gestured to the now ruined pyramids they all stood upon, covered in no small amount of blood. "Stood in the first place. Your people prospered alongside ours, and we never forced you to embrace our customs, or remove your own. Nor did we infuse your Pokémon with Shadow Energy. We would see the days of prosperity return. For both sides of Texico."
She leapt into the air once she'd finished and propelled herself through the air in a northwest direction, as the quietly murmuring crowd retreated back underground. Once more, their Trainer's rock and ground types proved useful, and with no shortage of material (and Water Guns), the Legions crafted several skyscrapers of stone that, while lacking furnishings, had enough room for the massive family sizes the people of their region embraced. Nicer homes surrounded the bases of these apartment-esque structures, though they too lacked furnishing, a similar aesthetic to the now ruined pyramids appeared on the new buildings, but they could never be as grand.
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Further reports as time had gone on had revealed that the living conditions below were subpar, and that was using nice terms for the stench and genuinely awful waste management they'd encountered in the city's lower levels. The people below didn't have much more than a few clothes and a blanket, an odd trinket or two. Those with skin bronzed by the sun had been allowed to keep such things, but the Church-appointed Hand had kept the darker toned 'underdwellers' to poverty, and lives of menial labor.
When the digging Pokémon had come, they had spoken with the Scales infiltrating the pyramids, and agreed to wait until the battle ended to get involved, on either side. Ultimately, that meant few of them had helped, largely because Pokémon were also a luxury afforded to those touched by the sun's harsh light, and kept from them. All that seemed to be changing though, as very few of the 'Light touched' as they'd taken to calling themselves, still remained in the city. The few who did were genuinely kind, and had typically avoided becoming Crusaders by excelling at clerical work.
The mood of the civilians changed again, for while they had heard the propaganda and been taught the Arcean's 'lore', many had stubbornly clung to whatever relics of their pre-Arcean past they could find. Usually, that meant a Pokéball of some description, usually carved from stone, or inactive. In their wake, the easterners had left the people Pokéballs within their new dwellings, sometimes hidden for fun and sometimes not.
Professor Buckeye, who had followed the army southward minus his Suicune, ultimately decided to stay in the city, alongside the six pairs of Scales that the Generals and Tao had agreed were best suited to coordinating the veritable flood of new, eager Trainers. The rest of the Legions moved towards Sacreus, but the march was long, and by the time they arrived, they expected mop-up duty, though it all depended on how things had gone at Mewsia. Her intelligence reported 'aggressive negotiations' erupting, but further details simply hadn't come yet.