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Nomad's Isle, Minjujuui City - Koria Region

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Alex awoke to the pervasive scent of processed fecal matter, among other wonderful smells, like rotting berries, garbage, and what smelled disturbingly like corpses, mixed into the stink. He was grinning though, ear to ear, and had a satisfying stretch as he noted Akos was also rising. Ara and Boto were already up, but Akos had proven to be as late a sleeper as Alex. "I've never known anyone who was so cheery after just waking up." Akos muttered grouchily as he patted his bedhead down, and created a messy 'warrior knot' out of his hair. "How do you do it?"

Alex smirked, mostly to himself. "I have very enjoyable dreams. It makes waking up to the smell of feces tolerable. We should really ask General Meelo for some of that incense." Akos grumbled something about stingy Air Nomads hogging all the sacred scent sticks, and the two men proceeded to dress themselves, before heading out. Alex had a date with a Gym Leader, though he found the match had evidently been pushed to noon once he had remained very much asleep at the crack of dawn, and Leader Asami had better things to do.

It was Meelo who informed him of the time change to noon, and thus it was also Meelo who suggested the two Trainers join the other Pokémon Trainers in their city at the rebel's own training field. Their path to the Nomad's Isle was underground, and from what Alex could tell, under Full Moon Bay as well. They emerged into a rock-covered cave like area large enough to support three whole Pokémon battlefields. Each one was surrounded by simple wooden stands, and very quickly, Alex realized that the rebellion was probably selling tickets to this kind of thing among the people. Which would make it the worst kept secret, in a city this large.

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Seeing Alex's face, and sensing the train of his thoughts, made Meelo whisper to him from a distance, as the air silently carried his words. "Many Trainers in Koria live in Minjujuui. Modern jobs give them enough currency to afford Pokéballs, and vitamins. Try not to stand out, and we'll do fine."

Alex arched a brow at him and responded mentally. "If I'm Battling in some sort of underground tournament, I'd prefer to win it."

Meelo pinched his brow, sighed, and answered in kind. "You won't like what you win, in a place like this. Some of the...unconnected citizens running this place can get quite vicious. They usually back off if we prove we're with the rebels, but be warned, they are not above cheating to claim a win."

Hearing that, caused a change to come over Alex's face, as he smirked, and his eyes lit up with a mix of eagerness and irritation under the bulky furry hood. "Let them cheat. It won't be enough." He pulled his hood lower over his eyes, not unlike many of the other contestants, and approached the man seeking more Trainers for the fray. Seeing he had some time before his match, as the battles had also seemingly begun at dawn, he called out his newly caught giant rock snake, alongside the Copperajah that had joined them as well in a spot away from the battlefields.

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The Onix's first reaction was anger, but before Alex could move to stop it from striking at him, the Copperajah swung his trunk, fast and brutal, as steel energy imbued it. The metal elephant beat the Onix down with a single blow and pinned it with a massive metal foot. "Listen." He said to the Onix, as the damage took effect. The rock snake's eyes shifted to the human, and Alex glanced between him, and the apparently much larger Copperajah. He had grown since the last time he'd been out of his ball, easily now the size of an alpha, and Alex assumed that the experience he'd gained during the course of his Shadow infusion had finally taken effect. He was now almost at the same level of strength that Cenomons had been after their journey through Selva Muerta, proving that he had in fact been trained at one point. That made him much stronger than the rest of his current team, but despite that, and the desire to battle with such a powerful force of nature like a Copperajah, Alex had his heart set on a Steelix, and he had a good feeling about this massive, but relatively young Onix.

Alex's mind reached out to the rock snake's, and for a rock type, he found it remarkably complex. He also realized he'd never really examined rock typed minds too closely. His new appreciation for the earth made his mental perception of their intelligence adjust itself, as he realized they were, much like him, quiet, reserved, and typically stoic. That didn't mean there wasn't much more beneath the surface. "Hello there. I know you and I had an... interesting first meeting, but I sense in you the same potential that sleeps in pretty much every Pokémon I've caught. I want to offer you the choice to leave now and return in peace to the wilds far away from the city, or to join my team, and become one of the strongest members of your species."

The Onix looked at him skeptically once he got over the shock of understanding a human's words perfectly, and rose in place, eyeing the Copperajah as he did. "I demand a rematch. Bring out your noisy fur thing, and the Grass Type." The Onix's eyes were on fire as he spoke in his species tongue, "I will not give you an answer until I have had my revenge."

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Alex frowned in disapproval. "Revenge is a poor motivator. It blinds you in Battle, makes you sloppy. Gets you captured by tiny Humans." The frown shifted to a smirk, and if an Onix's face could say 'how bloody dare you' this one's face was certainly close to expressing a similar sentiment. "But if it's a rematch you desire...Canis. Arbor." Once again, his Riolu and Sceptile appeared and shared a fist bump, before smirking, and falling into an identical battle crouch before the massive Onix. Alex met the Copperajah's gaze then. "Are you feeling better? If so, I would ask you to aid the Onix. I think a fair fight is required, for this." His eyes shifted back to the rock snake. "But first, breakfast. For all of you."

The Onix looked like he was about to protest, when he suddenly realized he was, in fact, hungry. The hit from the metal elephant had also caused not insignificant damage, and food would bring him back to full strength for the battle ahead. Seeing the Onix's personality was similar to his Cinderace, he let the massive Pokémon's appetite dig into his stash of Figy berries, as his Sitrus berries were still growing. Tenzin had offered a planter for his personal use, and as Akos had no berries, having lived on an iceberg for the majority of his existence, Alex used the planter on his side of their room as well as his portable Berry Pots. He massaged his Pokémon egg with a warm towel, as the others ate, and he grew still once the Onix finished, and brought its snout closer to him and his fragile charge.

He gently touched the egg with a carefulness that belied his size and attitude. "This one is close to joining us…" He hummed as he closed his eyes and drew in the egg's scent through his rocky nostrils. "You have kept this one warm and safe...hmmmm." The eyes opened again as he rumbled in what seemed like approval, and Alex met the rock snake's gaze evenly. "You are what you say you are...a good Trainer...interesting. Most Humans lie." The Onix slithered away then, coiling a short distance from them, as the other three finished their meals. Rage and a bad mood had been replaced by quiet curiosity. There was definitely something different about this human.

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When they were ready, the rock snake lifted his tail, and then brought it down rapidly. Alex watched, impressed, as he enlarged the area, and gave them enough space for a double battle. The earthbending caught other people's attention, and as they saw the quartet take their starting positions, more than a few came over to watch. Alex smirked from under his hood, as the Onix then slapped the ground with his thick tail and made an imprint of the field's lines in the dirt, akin to the others, which had been marked with paint.

Alex's fist glowed green, and similarly green lines of grass energy stretched from his hand to the ones emanating from the Meadow Plate crystal Arbor was holding. He transitioned smoothly to his Mega Form, as his Trainer spoke, "Seed Bomb! Canis, Focus Blast!" The hail of grassy bombs hammered the Onix with critical effectiveness, as it fell from the sky, too fast to be entirely dodged, the rock snake managed to weather the hit, but the opening salvo had brought it to the red, by Alex's estimate.

Canis charged up his attack, but the Copperajah was there, and he countered hard with an Iron Bash as Canis was charging. He was sent flying towards the nearest wall of rock, but he caught himself, and readied a counter.

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An Earthquake rocked the area as the Onix and his Copperajah ally aimed for both the Sceptile and the Riolu. "Close Combat! Energy Ball!" Alex ordered, and his partners responded. Canis leapt as the wall broke around him, and Arbor's legs were strong enough to jump over the Onix's quake. Canis landed on the massive metal elephant and began hammering him with fighting energy covered fists. He swung in vain with his trunk at the punchy puppy as he took significant damage.

The Onix was another story. His Iron Tail bisected Arbor's hastily condensed attack, and he lunged surprisingly high in the air with a Crunch attack at the grass lizard. Unfortunately for the Onix, he wasn't quite long enough to actually land the hit. Arbor countered hard on his own initiative, landing on his lengthy body, and dragging his pair of Leaf Blades down the Onix's length, scored a victory.

For his part, Canis was dodging and weaving around the larger Copperajah, and he Howled underneath the metal elephant, before repeating the last move his Trainer had called. Connected as they were, he knew his human meant for him to continue the barrage until he won. Powerful as the Copperajah was, after each of them missed their next attacks, a Play Rough collided with a Metal Claw, and the two parted.

They both panted, and the Copperajah rumbled at the panting puppy. "You're good...for a twerp."

Canis's eyes narrowed, as he became irrationally angry at the barb. "I'll show you a twerp…" His 'ears' flared with aura, and his Trainer had a smirk of pride just visible under his blue furry hood. White light surrounded Canis, as he advanced to the next stage of his life in a double helix swirl of Infinity Energy. The largening crowd whooped, as everyone loved an evolution, and the newly evolved and rejuvenated Lucario faced down the much stronger Pokémon under the light of the noonday sun.

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"Remember, Canis." His Trainer said, "Special moves are now your forte...but your physical ones won't be lacking either. For you, though...stick to special ones as often as possible, and you'll get stronger." The Lucario barked an acknowledgement, and his crouch deepened, as he sensed the move coming. "Now, Aura Sphere!"

The Copperajah batted the sphere into nonexistence with a powerful Play Rough, as fairy energy filled its trunk. Canis stood his ground, as his double pair of 'ears' flared with power. A ball of steel energy formed in his palm, and as Arthur, and now Eremus had shown him, he layered it in a tight, condensed swirling pattern, finding he could control the steel energy as easily as he did fighting energy. Alex called the move, as he realized what Canis was using. "Flash Cannon!"

The STAB steel sphere hit the fairy typed trunk, and exploded, and as the Copperajah blinked away the damage. The smoke above him parted in a sudden circle, and Canis was there, both paws by his hip, a spinning sphere of deep blue super effectiveness situated between them. "Aura Sphere!" Canis brought his paws forward, and the automatic hit finally knocked out the Copperajah. Canis Howled again, as he claimed victory, and his Trainer gave him a fist bump and a meat bun as he returned victorious.

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Alex moved to the Copperajah first, handing out a Max Revive. He gave the metal elephant a trunk pat, and an acknowledgement of a good battle, before turning to the Onix, who was awake, and nursing his hurt pride. Arbor stood next to him, as he also got a fist bump, and a berry, and Canis joined them, once he'd scarfed down his snack. "Well? How about it, big guy? We could use a strong Steel and Ground Type on our team."

The Onix tilted his head, and his eyes shifted to his giant metal 'partner'. "Do you not have him?"

Alex shook his head. "He belongs to someone else, I'm just holding his new ball, temporarily." He fished in his pack then, and from the same pocket he'd drawn honey from for a hungry Teddiursa, he pulled out a cylinder of metal, and held it up towards the Onix. "This Metal Coat is yours, if you'll join us. I can promise you'll become very strong." The rock snake's eyes shifted over the human's partners, and then the man himself. Finally, he nodded, and touched his rocky snout to the metal cylinder as he rumbled his name. "I accept."

Alex held up the Metal Coat, and the Onix touched it with his snout, glowing a bright white as the coat of metal became silvery, almost liquid, as it traveled over his body. The bright white energy of the Spiral remade him, as well. The Steelix reared up as he kept his length in his evolved state and roared at the crowd. Alex waved his head down then, and the large metal snake leaned down towards him, receiving several Sitrus Berries in his toothy iron maw. Alex gave him a potion as well for good measure, and then recalled everyone, to wait for his turn to battle.

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He was lucky, as his first opponent used a whole team of weak first stage birds that Temere and his Dottler gained decent experience from. His streak didn't last long though, as he forfeited his next match upon learning it was at noon and departed for Asami's gym within the city proper instead. He didn't make as much of an impact as he'd hoped to, but then, he hadn't seen much cheating either. His opponents had been young, naive, but honest in their battle strategies. If one could call using six of the same species a strategy.

Asami's gym was a strange setup, though not as odd as some of those in Unova. A central platform stood tall above an indoor pool of dark water. Stands for observers surrounded the center platform. The platform was a hexagon, one side black, one white, separated by standard Pokémon battlefield lines. Asami didn't have any warmup Trainers, and her gym actually seemed mostly closed down, with most of the seats covered by sheets. She looked up at Alex as the automatic bridge linked his waiting area to the platform. He took his spot, and the look she gave him suggested that for her, battles were an outlet of some sort.

"Good. You're finally awake. Let's get this started." She said, drawing a Pokéball unlike those he was used to. It had a golden F.I. on its black top half in Ultra Ball colors, and as she spun the central button with her pointer finger and thumb, the ball expanded simultaneously. She tossed it, revealing a Lopunny that Alex quickly realized was stronger than the majority of his team. He really hoped she was leading with her strongest.

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The two females waited for him to draw, and since she already knew his secret, he mentally pulled Canis's ball into his hand. "You're up first, my friend." The newly evolved Lucario appeared in a flash and rose into his battle stance. A bead of sweat appeared on his head as he too realized the strength of their opponent but had no intention of backing down.

"I'm not a Bender, so we'll have a standard League Battle, alright? Not that your bending would help you against us!" Asami raised an arm then, and lowered her black and maroon sleeve, revealing a Mega Bracelet. "Lolo! Mega Evolve!" She pressed her Mega Stone and gave the bracelet a spin. Infinity Energy flared wildly, before forming a double helix as the bracelet continued to spin. She pointed it at her partner, while Alex and Canis watched in awe, impressed as the seemingly ordinary woman focused the power of Infinity, sending it into her partner. The Lopunny ascended to her Mega Form, and bounced on her heels, looking at the boys as she made the universal gesture for 'bring it'.

Alex and Canis shared a look, and Alex fished for his Iron Plate crystal shard. "Fair warning...this is his first time with a Mega Form. So be ready...I believe he can control it, but the first time is always the hardest. Ready, Canis?" His Lucario nodded, and took a deep breath as he focused his aura. This was the reason he'd wanted this Trainer from the moment he'd felt his aura within his egg. He'd sensed they could reach this stage together, and control its power. His paw moved faster than Lolo could follow as he caught the Iron Plate crystal. Alex mimicked his breathing and synced their heart rates, then raised his own crystal. Several lines of steel typed energy arced through the air, and it was Asami's turn to be impressed, as they connected, and Canis took his own Mega Form. Alex's eyes widened as he sensed the sheer power of his Lucario's mind, and aura. As Canis opened his eyes, his deep blue aura visibly pulsed across the field, and a slight smirk graced Asami's age-wrinkled mouth as it blew back her graying hair, and Lolo's ears.

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She began the battle with a move unfamiliar to the Unovan Champion, but one easy enough to counter, he assumed. "Steel Punch!"

"Aura Sphere!" Alex answered, and Canis's movement in forming and launching the sphere was almost too fast to follow. A steel energy encased fist met the not too condensed ball of fighting typed aura, and the result was an explosion in the Lopunny's face, which she quickly brushed off, not because she was resistant to the damage, but because even though it was super effective, it hadn't done nearly as much as Alex or Canis hoped.

Asami smirked. "Dig." Lolo obeyed, leaping into the air, and then spinning into the ground.

Alex frowned. "Into the air, with Psychic!" Canis levitated himself rather rapidly, which was a new sensation that he got the hang of, as he zipped around the battlefield. Not sensing his feet, Lolo eventually popped her head up, and that was when Canis positioned himself several feet above his side of the platform, and Alex shouted, "Now! Attack!"

The wave of blue psychic energy moved from surrounding his body to the Lucario's paws as he fired it in a wave of deep blue power towards the Lopunny, and though he hit her head, the only exposed part of her, this too didn't do nearly as much as Alex would've liked. As she crawled out of the ground, and backflipped before her Trainer, Alex recalled Canis. His Mega Form would hold in his ball, but Alex could only keep one of them going at a time like that, and still focus on battling. Like Arthur, their bond was easier to maintain thanks to the aura hound's mental prowess. "Sensus. Join us."

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On their own, Dottler were not Pokémon with the greatest pool of moves, but the magic of Technical Machines made them capable of at least battling on their own. His bug was close to evolving, and a half-beaten Mega Lopunny, a fast physical attacker, would be the ideal experience to spur him on to the form that would pinpoint their target in this region. Asami seemed to figure out what his Dottler was for, and her eyes hardened. "So that's how you intended to find the Avatar."

Alex nodded, as the happily buzzing psychic bug landed on his fuzzy hood. He felt his skin crawl at the sensation, but resisted the urge to shake him off. "He can track Light energy. The Avatar's is similar to mine, but Raava has a unique signature, apparently." Sensus had grown to be a very decent battler, for a middle bug evolution. He had more drive than most of his B team. But Alex knew the others would likely rise to the challenge, with time.

Asami's eyes widened at the name. "You...you know about the Guardian?" Alex nodded again, and she pondered for a moment with his hand on her chin, then nodded, to herself. "There are other things you should know. But first...let us finish this. Fire Punch!"

"Reflect!" Alex shouted, as Sensus formed two psychic barriers. The Mega Pokémon smashed through one easily, but the second, much stronger one rebounded the attack. Lolo moved with the momentum though, and came at Sensus again, who blocked again, this time with three barriers. They continued back and forth until Lolo realized she was in a half-dome of goldish green Reflect barriers. "Now use Psychic!" Sensus buzzed up to the top of the barriers, and drowned the fighting bunny in a deluge of psychic power, that only increased as his body glowed a bright white from the effort, and assumed his final form as a rather sinister looking big brained ladybug.

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As the Reflects faded, Lolo was revealed to be downed, as evolution made the attack just strong enough to faint her. Asami nodded, and pulled out the only other partner she intended to use for this match. She hadn't specified how many rounds there would be, but two on two was more than enough for her. This Trainer was more than capable. Still, he had one mountain yet to climb. Asami stared at the ball for a long time, and then twisted, and threw. Like Lolo's it had the same F.I. on the top. "Let's go, Naga."

Sensus paused in his pattern of sideways eight movements in the air and looked at his Trainer. His voice had an echo to it that hadn't been there before, but it was certainly a unique mental tone. "This one...Battled for the Light Spirit. They had a bond." Alex nodded, and examined their opponent. The Beartic was truly massive, stronger even than Brycen's, and different in head shape than the Beartic of his continent. It was larger, almost dog-like with a truly massive jaw, and the same icicle beard. Whoever had trained her had done as thorough a job as he had with Terra. Her eyes were round and sad, but fierce, and ready to unleash some pent up energy. Alex spoke then. "I'm afraid Sensus is nowhere near Naga's level...but Canis might fare well." He switched the two again, having heard Asami's mental decision about a two v. two, and Canis took the field in his untouched Mega Form. His aura flared as he rejoined the battle, and eyed his opponent.

Naga snarled. "Come at me, pup…"

Canis answered her with a barely restrained retort that Alex didn't want to translate. "Calm down, Canis...you are younger than her." The Lucario turned and glared at his Trainer, but then relented, in the cold reality of his thought process, focusing instead on the battle. "Aura Sphere!" The Lucario's eyes narrowed, as he summoned his signature move, and the ball of energy his Mega Form held in his paws could've been classified as a Focus Blast, were it not for how he condensed and layered the projectile all in the space of a second and a half. The air reverberated as he fired it at the Beartic, but Asami simply smirked.

"Play Rough with him, Naga."

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Naga's eyes widened as she saw what was, to her eyes, essentially a ball, and her maw lit up with fairy energy as she chomped on it. To her extreme joy, it didn't immediately shatter, and she nommed it for several seconds of pure bliss, before looking at the Lucario, and ending his attack with a single, unsatisfactory poof as her jaws clenched shut. She smacked her large bear lips, which pulled up into a smirk at Canis, whose fur bristled in response.

"Close Combat!" Alex said, following the attack up quickly, and Canis was all too eager to close the distance between him and the massive polar bear, but Naga wasn't done Playing Rough with the aura hound. Fists encased in fighting energy met claws cloaked in fairy energy, and while his steel typing kept them from being too damaging, Canis found his move completely blocked. He dodged back towards Alex, his far superior speed giving him time for another move as the massive Beartic loped towards them, on four paws still glowing pink. "Flash Cannon!"

Canis nodded, and this time, the orb between his paws was steel typed, and it grew heavier as he pumped more power into it, thankfully, the projectile did not have far to go. The dense steel sphere spun through the fairy energy around her fangs, and Naga was sent reeling back, but both Alex and Canis watched as she weathered the hit with a building aura of ground typed energy in the form of a Bulldoze, without Asami calling the move herself. Canis was already charging up another one, when Naga stopped her backwards slide, and then began charging, shaking the platform as she Bulldozed towards Canis.

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He did as Naga had, and used a move without it being called, specifically Psychic, as a speed boost to launch himself into the air, and behind her charging form. He let the power go, and then launched his second condensed Flash Cannon before the slow to turn polar bear Pokémon could even begin to block. Naga weathered the hit, and looked up at Canis. She emitted a sound somewhere between a roar and a bark, in the form of a Hyper Voice, hammering him and his sensitive ears hard, as she again battled on her own. Asami seemed to let her, only chiming in when Naga paused long enough to heed a command. "Finish him! Icicle Crash!"

Alex grinned, knowing his Mega Lucario wasn't nearly done yet. "Close Combat!" Canis righted himself, and then propelled towards the massive Beartic, meeting her ice covered paws with the ferocity of his fighting spirit. The type advantage won out, and the two Pokémon were sent sliding back to their starting points, both panting hard, and equally worn out.

It was at that moment, that the city exploded, with a massive rumble, and a boom that echoed for miles, shaking the stadium they were in. The pair of Trainers and their Pokémon looked around, as dust and bits of debris fell from the ceiling, and then, the humans locked eyes, nodding simultaneously.

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Minjujuui City Harbor, Several Hours Earlier - Koria Region

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"We will be the epitome of stealth." Aluza said, as she paced in front of their soldiers on the deck of their ship. She was dressed for combat this time, most of her head and face covered by her Fire Nation helmet, and golden faceplate. To say she looked fierce in the pointy, crimson and black raiment was an understatement. "By the time these savages know we're there, I want them to be fully surrounded."

Behind her, atop his scarlet and crimson armor plate covered Charizard, Okuz let out a sigh. Aluza whirled on him, her visible eye twitching. "Is there an issue brother!?" A few of the soldiers shared looks as the siblings began another fight, but they wisely stayed silent.

Okuz's eyes narrowed at her. "We don't have the time to get into your issues, sister. We have a more pressing concern." He said, his tone full of mockery as he gestured to the ship's gangplank.

One of her hands was already burning blue with flames, as she prepared to strike him, but his gesturing turned her gaze, and the flames died as quickly as they rose. Boarding their ship was their uncle, looking none too pleased, and Zhao, who looked far too smug. Iroh spoke, once they were before the soldiers. "The Admiral here is commandeering our forces for the attack on the rebels."

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Aluza let out a series of colorful curses, before Zhao's best attempt at a commanding baritone cut through the profanity. "The Phoenix King has placed Me in charge of both this effort, and our imminent efforts against the Northern Water Tribe. Obey my orders, and you will all reap the rewards of Victory!"

Okuz took note of which royal guards were so easily swayed by such obviously honeyed words, and crossed his arms atop his Charizard. Still enraged, Aluza jumped onto her own living flamethrower, and ascended rapidly through the air. Zhao shouted uselessly after her, before focusing on Okuz. "Keep your insane sibling from ruining our assault 'Prince', or Ozai will hear of it." He turned then, and left the smaller ship, as their soldiers went with him.

Okuz looked at his uncle, who slowly shook his head, silently advising against arguing with the newly promoted Admiral. With his own groan of protest, he and Druk also ascended into the air, following the mega evolving black Charizard as they too ascended to the final, but branching evolutionary stage. The pair of fire lizards and their royal riders watched from above, somewhat disappointed, as the column of red from their ship merged with a proper army of Fire Army soldiers, who began marching through the city.

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Almost unanimously, the citizens of Minjujuui got the Muk out of their warpath, though that didn't seem to stop several bold or stupid people from attacking them. Flashes of firebending from below gave away how well resisting the Fire Nation usually went, and the citizens were soon occupied controlling the newly set blazes, so much so that the soldiers marched right past them, and into the poorer districts where Aluza and he had found the nest of rebellious Rattata.

"We should be down there fighting!" Aluza snarled, and Caeruleus mirrored her Trainer's sentiment. In her Mega Form, her dragon typing made her even more brutal than usual, and she was in a mood to set something ablaze.

"Watch for stragglers." Okuz said, bringing Druk in next to her. "They will try to run, scurrying about in the shadows, as Rattata often do." The noonday sun in the clear blue Korian sky made the armored fire lizards obvious, but it also gave them clear sight, and in their Mega Forms, they could easily pounce on anyone trying to flee.

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Sewers of Minjujuui City - Koria Region

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Asami had a back way into the rebellion's HQ which put her and Alex back at the base in time for the pompous baritone of the Fire Nation's leader to begin his speech, as they'd arrived at the same time as the Fire Army soldiers.

"Rebels of Koria! Hear me! You are completely surrounded, by three of the Fire Nation's finest platoons. Surrender, and your deaths may be mercifully short."

As the angry sounding man delivered his threats, Meelo met Alex and Asami at the entrance to her secret tunnel. "Akos and the rest of your group have already departed. We haven't had long to run, but the hotheads didn't exactly hide their approach."

Alex arched a brow, as his cover story evaporated. "Where will I be rendezvousing with them?"

"Agna Qel'a." Meelo answered hurriedly. "Kuzon, one of Aang's friends and an old ally of ours is who you're heading to on the way north. Colonia Ignis is where he operates from. He's also a Gym Leader, and the Leader after him is in Agna Qel'a as well. I'll be going with you, so you don't get lost, and Dad wants me to determine your skill with Airbending as we travel."

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"Here." Asami spoke up, handing him a badge as they readied to leave. "You and your team are more than competent enough for this." He took the badge, as the older woman began following them towards another exit from the tunnels. "You should know...in her last Battle, Kora and Raava were separated, for a time. The consciousness and wisdom of the former Avatars was lost, according to her. Even if you do manage to find the Avatar, they might never be strong enough to contribute to your dragon's plans."

Alex was quiet for a time, as he sensed Tao's brain in the back of his split mind, already accounting for the loss in firepower. Then, he spoke. "I am somewhat aware of what Ozai did to Kora. Where would the detached spirit essence of a former Avatar even go, once separated? Assuming it does not simply disappear."

Asami shrugged, though he could see his words had caused her some pain, she showed none of it. "The Spirit World? Arceus's realm? A place they favored in life? I'm not a Ghost Type expert." She stopped then and wrenched open a hatch on a thick iron door that capped off their tunnel. "Head north from here. You'll have to walk; the Imperium shoots down anyone they see flying. Good luck, Meelo. You as well, Alex. I've read about what you've done for Rio, Norstad, and Fornia. I hope Koria benefits from your presence as well."

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"I try to leave every region I roam through better than it was, as a rule." Alex answered with a nod. It was a practice Jess had started, back during their trek through Arcean territory. In the face of being able to do nothing against the oppressive system the Church had the people under lest they break their cover, she'd done what she'd been able to in order to aid the people, and Alex had followed her lead, as it was a fantastic idea in general.

"Stay safe, Asami." Meelo said, as he took her hands. "I know the other Avatars of Raava are still intact, somewhere. Have a little faith."

Asami looked ready to give him a stern reply, when the tunnels shook again. "They're coming. If we want to make this setback work in our favor, we need to leave. Now."

The two men nodded, and the gym leader closed the sewer hatch behind them. "Hope you're not allergic to Fairy glamour, O Dragon Emperor." Meelo said, as he produced a pink shard of what he assumed was once a Pixie Plate.

Alex grimaced. "Not allergic...but I can't use them myself. Not without burning my hands. Activating the energy is…painful."

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Meelo nodded, as his psychic sight confirmed that humans who awakened typings tended to awaken their weaknesses too. "I'm amazed you made it this far without one. I'll try to make this one last."

"I'm surprised you know how to use them. I've only met one other who could. Can all the Air Nomads do it?" Alex asked, as they ducked to the side of the sewer exit.

"With training, I think they could." Meelo said, confidently. "But right now, I'm one of three who can. We were shown how to use this by... a friend I guess you could call him."

Alex's eyes widened. "This friend…was he thin, dressed in light blue, white, and gold, and sporting a stylish hat? Strange looking golden eyes?"

Meelo chuckled as he outlined Alex's bulky frame with the Plate crystal. "He didn't have a hat, or such clothes... but you described his eyes perfectly. Why, do you know him too?"

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"More or less. If we're speaking of the same person, I'm the one who set him free. He wasn't causing trouble, right?" Alex said, as he pinched his brow.

"Only for the Imperium." Meelo answered as he finished the glamour. "If he's a friend of yours, then my trust in his magic is that much greater."

Alex examined his new disguise before he answered. He was Korian now, going by skin tone, even if he was taller than any Korian he'd seen thus far. His hair was also a lighter brown, though his face largely remained the same, the natural perception filter fairy energy caused in humans would allow him and Meelo to pass mostly undetected if they wanted to.

"Mm. Well...sure, yea he's one I would call friend, and a decent ally as well. As far as I know, he's kept his promises...perhaps I'm being too skeptical. Pessimistic. Hmm."

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As Alex mused, several hundred feet above the pair of travelers, a pair of eagle eyed Charizard and their riders were watching for a pair such as them. Only Caeruleus had eyes sharp enough, eager enough, to catch the edge of the natural perception filter fairy typed energy gave those who used it to hide, and though she dove many yards to check, to Aluza's surprise and irritation, she was ultimately not able to spot the two.

Alex and Meelo made good time away from Minjujuui City, and by the time the wide blue Korian sky turned orange and red, they were several hundred miles away from it. It was only once they camped, with the notable forms of Oogie and the newly dubbed Adamanteus lying around their cookfire that the pair of Charizard riders finally found the source of the scent and footprints they'd been tracking with Okuz's Arcanine.

Down below, as yet unaware of their incoming guest, Alex and Meelo were enjoying an Air Nomad specialty, cake made from berries, crafted in a stone oven Alex had bent into shape, and infused with their trademark airyness by Meelo. Naturally, the conversation had shifted to airbending, and how one managed it.

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"Air is the element of freedom. We don't really bend the air, so much as we guide it, and it is by no means always under our control. The stronger our minds become, the better an Air Nomad will be at reading the air currents, and moving with them, using them to their advantage. Having a steady breathing rhythm is also important. You have to breathe fast enough for combat, but deep enough for your attacks to be more than a gust of wind."

Alex smirked, as he listened to the General of the rebellion, and son of the man who represented what was left of their Nation. "Honestly...this sounds like my kind of element. I have years of breath control practice already. I have to admit, I was kind of hoping I could learn how to punch people with mini air tornadoes, but this sounds intriguing as well."

Meelo chuckled and shook his head. "You can certainly attempt such a thing...it's just going to take a lot of energy to keep in control. Air is everywhere. It will outlast even the most durable human. You can fight it, force it to bend a certain way, but to be truly powerful as an Airbender, you have to move with it, and expend as little energy as possible. Avoid, and evade. That is our strategy, and it works rather well...when we aren't ambushed."

Alex nodded, as Meelo referenced the Fire Nation's initial opening strike in their Imperium-supported conflict across Koria, back when they were but one of four Nations, and by no means the largest. "I understand. I think I'll...give it a…"

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

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His words trailed off, as to their southwest, the burning tail flame of what Alex easily recognized as a Charizard, and one in a Mega Form no less, descending from above. They watched it vanish into the horizon, but the rider was close enough to reach them, especially if they had other Pokémon. The two men shared a look, and Meelo pulled his hood further up. He looked like an Earth Nation civilian now, and they'd agreed that Alex could earthbend for him, if he was asked to prove his lineage. "Probably just a scout...act natural." Meelo said, recalling Oogie. Alex brought Pruina out in his stead, and while she didn't really care for the grassland, she Ice Beamed the earth beneath her, and got comfy.

It was about twenty minutes before their uninvited guest arrived at their fire. He had a hood on, and his clothes were baggy, a mix of red and black that likely concealed his armor. Alex and Meelo looked his way, but made no threatening moves.

"Uh, hi." He said, somewhat awkwardly. "Okuz here. That's my uh...name. I was wondering if I could...join your fire."

Meelo spoke first. "Are you of the Fire Nation, Okuz?"

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The man nodded, though to Alex's eyes he seemed a teenager, or had just left his teens behind, but what interested him was the dual typing the stranger had. Fire and electric. "I hope that's not a problem…"

Alex spoke then, gesturing at the flame. "On a battlefield it might be...but we are simple travelers, here. Let's consider this fire to be neutral territory, and remain friends, if not acquaintances while gathered around it."

Okuz nodded and took his place at the fire. Meelo flinched as he gestured at the flames and made them stronger. "So, where are a pair like you two headed?"

"Away from Minjujuui City." Meelo answered vaguely. "Your Nation's army was on the march through the streets when we left."

"We're heading for Colonia Ignis." Alex said, answering him directly. "I'm challenging the Koria League. My next Badge is there."

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Okuz arched a brow at them, before he replied. "The Koria League?" He said, surprised anyone would willingly challenge his father, who reigned as Champion. "You must be quite a Bender. What's your element?" He asked, completely ignoring Meelo's statement.

"Fire, actually." Alex said, forcing his airbending companion to hide his initial shock. He caught on to what Alex was doing pretty quickly, though. Finding a friendly firebender to teach him would be difficult, but one had just walked up to their campfire and agreed to neutrality. "I heard there was a master at the colony, but if you have any wisdom to pass on, I'd be eager to learn."

Okuz thought for a moment, and then said, "I might be able to help...but it depends on where your skills are at."

Alex gave him a genuine smile. "The basics would be a good start. My mother was Fire Nation, but not a Bender. My father was a Bender, but of the earth, not the flame. I've made it this far mostly because of my Pokémon." He finished, gesturing to his lounging team.

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Okuz looked over each of them, from the brooding pair of Lucario and Raboot, to the fake sleeping Lapras. "I could've sworn I saw a Sky Bouffalant from above, but I suppose it was just the ice under your Lapras in the light of the moon. Sure, I can go over the basics of proper Firebending. You'll need it against Leader Kuzon, and Champion Ozai."

He and Alex stood then and moved to the flat area adjacent to where they'd set camp. The grass on the plains around them was short, and unlikely to burn out of control once they got started. "I'm going to watch as well, if you don't mind." Meelo said, joining them, albeit at a distance.

Okuz nodded, again, seeming more interested or focused on Alex than him, as he launched into his lesson. "Fire...is not like other elements." Okuz said as he inhaled, and then with his exhale, and a swift punch into the air, unleashed a burst of flame from the tip of his fist. Alex, naturally, was watching every move with his psychic sight, and what he saw confused him. "Fire is alive...every living thing has heat and relies on it to keep living. Firebenders can control that heat...we can spread it, increase it, or decrease it entirely. The techniques of...my home, rely on combining Firebending with martial arts." He demonstrated then, shifting into another punch, a spinning kick that sent him up into the air, and then down in a fiery ball. Very quickly, Alex realized Okuz was much better at bending than he was. "Emotions fuel our flames. Anger, rage, hate, these produce the strongest flames. They are how my Nation has conquered this region, but they can burn out of control if your will is weak." He turned to Alex then, gracefully spinning back up into a standing position. "Let me see any amount of fire you can currently produce."

Having watched how Okuz tapped into and utilized his fire typing, Alex wondered if his electric typing was also a part of firebending. It made some sense, as plasma was one of the hottest forms of matter humans were aware of. As he started though, his perception slowed, and he felt Tao and another mind exerting their will to temporarily slow the flow of time itself around them. He recognized the extra mind as 'his' Mewtwo's, and it seemed that together, they managed what they needed to. Tao's voice echoed in his head. "I do not have long so listen well, Tamer of mine. The Fire Nation has perverted everything Firebending was and should be. Hateful emotions are not the key to bending this element, and as a fellow Dragon Type, you will need it in your journeys. Power in Firebending comes from the breath, the heat generated as you exhale can be spurred into flames. You can draw from other sources as well, and naturally, our Sun is the easiest. Be careful what you reveal to this Human. He has an air of fate around him that...I do not like."

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Alex nodded, to Okuz, and to his silent mentor, as the temporary time diffusion faded. Meelo noticed it but only narrowed his eyes in suspicion. If Okuz sensed the shift in the flow of time, he gave no sign. Alex took his own stance then. "My mother taught me a style of martial arts from the Fire Nation...the Dragon Style. I'll use that, if you don't mind." He took a deep breath then, and as he exhaled, willed the natural heat in his breath and body to manifest into flame. As he struck forward with a 'dragon palm', fire erupted from it, in an uncontrolled, and powerful torrent. Okuz's eyes went wide, as did Meelo's, but Alex did not panic. He let the flames die out on their own, slowly cutting the energy to them, and the torrent decreased in stages of smallness.

"That...was...it was so...strong. Especially for a novice. What did you do?" Okuz said, crossing his arms as he eyed Alex. His fairy glamour kept the perceptive prince from seeing too much, and it helped that the firebender was more impressed than suspicious in that moment.

"I... just used the heat generated by my exhale to expand the flames…" Alex said, eyeing his hand. The heat had expanded rapidly, almost out of control. Like it wanted to be free to rage and burn. He started to understand why Blaze always wanted a battle. If his flames were anything like that, he'd need one to keep it in control.

"Your emotions, though...you didn't seem...angry. How did you generate that kind of fire without them?" Okuz said, still eyeing Alex.

"I... I think there's more to this than blind hate, Okuz." Alex said as he punched the air again, and this time, was ready for the sudden surge in fire power. It came out as a steady torrent, almost like a Flamethrower. He nodded, and then repeated the moves Okuz had used step for step. When he was done, he swirled back into a standing position, and faced the firebender. "I think I have the hang of it. Let us spar."

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Okuz nodded, and then inhaled deeply, speaking as he exhaled. "I will not hold back. Don't expect any other Firebender to hold back either. It is not our way." He took his own martial stance, and Alex nodded, though personally, he was of the idea that the Fire Nation needed to practice control. He'd seen what they had wrought, and now knew, or at least had an idea, of how they'd done it. Madmen with this kind of power and a lack of morality was a bad combination.

Alex took his own stance, and as soon as he did, Okuz launched himself forward with flames from his feet, but Alex was already turning, spinning away from his opening strike, only to whirl around and find their arms meeting at the wrist. Flames billowed into the air around them, and Alex grinned. He wasn't trying to kill, that much Alex could tell, but he didn't intend to lose, either.

Alex opted for defense, finding he could strike through Okuz's flames if he focused. As they clashed, he realized that, as a martial artist, they were on the same level, but as a bender, Okuz had a natural talent. The way the flames obeyed him was almost mesmerizing, but Alex kept his eyes attentive on how the nature energy passed through his body's network and came out as fire. He learned more with every strike.

As Alex opted to avoid and evade with his infuriatingly evasive movements, Okuz seemed to get more and more frustrated. His flames were hotter, and that, was when Alex realized that emotions were a good way of increasing the heat one could produce. His strikes were hard and fierce, but most of his energy was being wasted as he gave in to rage.

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Alex blocked a series of rapid punches, and a spinning kick, before Okuz spun back and up into the air, pointing one foot down at him as the other crossed under his outstretched leg, and sent him hurtling towards Alex like a rocket. It was as close to a Blaze Kick as Alex assumed a human could get, and he met it with his own emotion-fueled Dragon Palm. Fire erupted around them, but he sensed Pruina was on it, covering their team and Meelo as the two firebenders met.

The resulting explosion of flame sent them both sliding back along the charred grass, and Alex held up a hand, panting as hard as Okuz as he seemed ready for more. "I... think that's enough...for now." One closed fist moved to his palm, and Alex bowed, deep. "That was...a very instructive...lesson. Thank you, mister Okuz."

Okuz almost looked ready to continue regardless, but he exhaled, and his inner flame cooled. Alex continued watching, noting that the energy within his body also seemed heated. He looked at his own and noticed the same thing. He did as Okuz had, and cooled it with an exhale, though he wondered if that might not affect how well he could draw on other elements if he used too much firebending. "You're pretty skilled, for a novice...martially, at least. Train hard, or Leader Kuzon will burn you to ash." Okuz said, as he adjusted his clothes, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

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They returned to the camp then, finding the ground somewhat damp, from Pruina's protective Surf attack. It wasn't long before they went to sleep, and Alex mentally informed Meelo that his overprotective aura hound had volunteered to keep an eye on their fire shooting counterpart. Okuz did little during the night, and Canis only glanced at him with suspicion when he noted a slight blue glow from the man's sleeping roll.

Unbeknownst to Alex and Meelo, the Fire Nation's prince had, out of curiosity, removed the circular object capable of detecting the Light, and this close to Alex and his team, it gave off a faint glow. Not as bright as it had before, but Okuz now knew with certainty that these two were more than what they appeared. When he looked at them it didn't seem that way, but the glowing disk could not, according to his father, be fooled. Somehow, they were tied to Light energy, and he had every intention of finding out how. He figured they had, knowingly or not, been in the Avatar's proximity.

When the sun rose, so too did the firebender. Seeing only Canis was awake that early, he scribbled a note, and handed it to the Lucario, before departing on his Charizard. It was shortly after that, that Meelo awoke, and tried waking Alex with a gust of air. As usual, the man was deeply drawn into his dreams, though when Meelo tried mentally prodding him, all he sensed was that his mind, or the conscious part of it at least, was far, far away. He let Alex sleep and began making the morning's meal out of what berries they had, feeding both Alex's team, and Poki, the Korian Passimian, a flying type, that acted as his own partner, when Oogie had to hide.

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When Alex finally awoke, Meelo didn't press him on his dreams, and after a mid-morning sparring session with Cinder and Canis, and his newly acquired fire manipulation the two men headed north. Alex convinced Adamanteus to give them a ride, and the steel snake agreed. Alex wasn't worried about leaving a trail for Okuz and whatever firebending friends he might have; they were only heading exactly where he said they would be.

Aside from a few changes in biome, none of which impeded his massive Steelix, they ran afoul of a nest of particularly bad tempered Mandibuzz, quite unlike those Alex was familiar with back in Unova. They were part bug type, and that bug, seemed to have been a Beedrill. According to Meelo, the foul tempered flying types had hunted the bugs to extinction, and then taken on their traits. Even the Fornian variants of the Weedle line, who were typically four times larger than their Unovan counterparts, hadn't been so ill-tempered. Temere got in some decent experience when he leaped from his ball on his own accord and Thunderbolted them out of the sky, and Alex knew, the tiny electric Pokémon was almost ready to evolve. The spark on his head was occasionally flaring, something the Pokédex claimed was a sign of imminent evolution.

Aside from crossing a rather large river, little else happened that day, and even Adamanteus was ready for a rest once the sun finally began to set. Thanks to the longer summer days, they were able to get within walking distance of Colonia Ignis with the speed Adamanteus traveled across the land. While he hadn't left the ground ruined in his wake, using his power to fix his trail as they went, the disturbed earth was still easily visible, say, from the back of a Charizard.

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Alex was keeping his egg warm again as the rest of the team lounged. Oogie only came out when they could find a forested clearing to hide his bulk, and tonight such a clearing was simply not around. He was watching Meelo and his Korian Passimian, Poki, spar against Temere, when two things happened at once. Poki had been charging up a particularly strong Razor Wind, but Temere had made no move to dodge it. He'd wanted to battle solo against a strong flying type, and Alex had let him. As the Razor Wind struck, Temere began glowing a bright white, the whirlwind of damage shifted in nature.

In preparation for his evolution, Lux and Nox had been showing the tiny Toxel songs from the genre of music humans had labeled 'Classic Rock', but one song had, naturally, resonated more with the tiny sparking poison lizard more than the others, which he had still enjoyed. A song from an era lost to history, now revived from the middle of the electric hurricane his Toxtricity had decided to evolve inside of. The opening chords of 'Thunderstruck' by a band titled with only four letters of the Common alphabet rang across the plateau that sat above Colonia Ignis. Alex had little doubt the locals could hear the electric screech of his Amped Toxtricity's stomach shredding, and he bobbed his head in approval, as he also enjoyed this song. It was, undoubtedly, a jam.

The terrain became electrified, and the clouds above multiplied, and darkened, but that didn't stop Meelo and Poki. "Acrobatics!"

By the first chorus of 'Thunder!' that the electric salamander vocalized himself, Temere let out a Discharge that sent the physical attacking flying lemur backwards on a wave of Rock'n'roll, and super effective energy. Meelo held off a follow up though, as both he and Alex watched.

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Temere was in his own little world, distracted from the battle as he skillfully belted out what was undoubtedly the first of many songs he would attempt to cover now that he had the skillz. Thunder boomed through the sky, followed by streaks of lightning, all without rain. Alex blinked, as he felt not only Lux's mental attention, but Shruikan's. His massive dragon had been silent and somewhat cut off over the past few weeks, doing his own thing as he took a well-earned rest, but he watched with amusement through his Trainer's eyes as the newest electric typed battler of their family came into the summer of his youth. Then, Alex heard him speak. "You might want to look down."

As quickly as he'd paid attention, Shruikan returned to his silent aloofness, but Alex was distracted, by the egg in his arms also glowing a shining bright white. Cracks formed in the egg, and by its pattern, Alex was now sure of what he'd been given. The top part of the shell popped free as the light broke out, and a happy 'briii' filled his ears, in the midst of Temere's playing. The Togepi in question was male, as Alex examined him, and while he held its gaze, the baby egg Pokémon turned in his hands towards the sounds coming out of Temere's chest. Instead of crying though, he seemed to cheer and bop along to the jam. It was then that Alex noted he seemed slightly different to what the Pokédex had shown of Togepi. He had a slightly reddish tinge, and after nudging Lux, found that the markings on his shell were reversed in color, as in usually blue triangles were instead red and vice versa. Lux determined they had an alternate-colored specimen of the Togepi line in their midst, though upon checking what that would manifest as in later forms, Alex wasn't too surprised. His Togekiss would be slightly gold it seemed, which was fitting for his team.

Alex assumed his tiny hands waving back and forth to the beat were a sign of his enthusiasm, until they also started to glow. That was when he remembered what Metronome looked like, and while he knew Togepi weren't supposed to hatch with that move, his modest little spiky ball of fairy energy didn't seem to care. He winced, waiting for a move like Hyper Beam or Explosion, but instead found himself as surprised as Temere. A Thunder attack arced down from the clouds above Temere, leaving a crater right in front of him, and throwing off his rendition of Thunderstruck all at once.

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Temere was moody after that, while their newest team member seemed greatly amused. Alex kept him occupied with a Wiki berry, that was almost as big as he was, and the hungry baby Pokémon went to town on it. Meelo joined him then, teasing the easily amused baby with his fingers. "I see your Egg finally hatched. Are you going to nickname this one too?"

"Of course." Alex said, one eyebrow slowly arching as the baby Togepi looked from Meelo to him, with wide eyes, as if he understood the essence of what they were saying. Thanks to his past experience with Percy, he hadn't mentally connected with the newborn, but thankfully he didn't have to. He could sense its emotions, and understand its words, though being a baby, all he heard was gibberish. "How about...Lumen?"

The Togepi thought for a moment, then stuck his tongue out, and continued to eat. Alex took that as a no. At about halfway through the melon-like Wiki berry, the youngster's appetite finally slowed, and he looked back up at his still pondering Trainer. "Hmmm. Astrum. How does that sound, little one?"

To Alex's surprise, the Togepi repeated the word himself, though all Meelo heard was his species name, and the newborn smiled, repeating it a few more times, before munching on the rest of the berry. "Astrum it is." He said, giving the rounded part of his soft, yet spiky head scritches. Somehow, he wasn't surprised the baby was only saying his own name, and in the hours that followed until he curled up into a ball for sleep, it was the only thing his ears translated. The rest of his team seemed to understand him to a degree, though.

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The next morning, Astrum was given a Luxury Ball to rest and play inside of, and with his team one final evolution closer to a full roster of adult battlers, he and Meelo set off for Colonia Ignis. They hadn't tried airbending yet, as both had agreed he should focus on fire manipulation for this next gym, and while in Fire Nation territory it was a big risk. None of the colony residents had come to see the source of the electric rock show, and Temere, who now went by 'Tem', had taken to practicing strumming in his ball, and Alex could feel it rocking out on his belt. Through their mental link, Tem was sharing his rockin' riffs with whoever wanted to listen, which was most of the team. Alex included.

Their first stop was for more Fire Nation friendly clothes, which thankfully were not hard to find. After that, Meelo led Alex to the gym, and he entered, crushing the obligatory warm up Trainers with Pruina and Adamanteus. Unlike their leader, these Trainers battled regularly, with just their Pokémon.

As Alex progressed to Leader Kuzon's room, he found himself within a giant opaque square of glass, and across the battlefield was his opponent. He was an old man, easily as old as his Gruncle had been, if not older, and his serious, thin face broke into a smirk as they locked eyes.

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"It has been a great while since a Challenger with fire like yours made their way to my humble Gym." The old man studied Alex, hands behind his back as he did. He had a thin pointed beard, white with age like his hair and his outfit was as red as every other Fire Nation citizen's. He seemed a bit frail to be a Gym Leader to Alex's eyes, but he'd absorbed enough Korean culture by now to understand that people typically avoided disrespecting their elders by telling them when to quit and retire. "You carry yourself like an Earthbender. You will find that element little use against me."

Alex just smirked. "Actually, I'll be meeting your fire with my own." He made a quick jab in the air, and produced a flame that came out smaller than he intended. His brow furrowed then, as the fire typed energy in the gym felt...off. Sluggish. As if something else was drawing power from the natural heat already.

"Fire? Really?" Leader Kuzon squinted at him. "I was sure you were...never mind. Fire it is, and Fire it shall be. You at least had a chance, with Earth." The old man closed his eyes then, and began breathing deeply, slow at first, and then faster. The air grew hotter, and Alex then realized why his own firebending was weaker. The old man was attuned to the majority of the sources of fire energy in his gym, by Alex's best guess, either a hot spring or lava pit hidden below the battlefield. While Kuzon's eyes stayed closed, Alex watched it react to his breath, and frowned. He was right. Bending like this, in a space so dominated by a master's control already, was seemingly futile.

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He wondered how anyone ever dethroned such masters if they could always control the most nature energy aspected to their type, when Kuzon brought out an Infernape. He was an old specimen of the species, and an impressive white beard hung down from his chin as he beat his chest and roared at Alex, who had been about to call out Pruina. Seeing the fire monkey was at least as strong as Naga had been, he reconsidered, and instead summoned Nox to the field.

His Haunter didn't pop out of his ball, but rather his shadow, where he watched, learned, and kept his team safe from thieves. Kuzon eyed the ghost, but Alex didn't take notice, as his poisonous specter had a demand. "If I beat this one... I want your pile of Dusk Stones for myself. All of them."

Alex blinked at Nox. "What would you even do with five Dusk Stones? I need those to evolve other Pokémon."

The Haunter's face became ninety percent grin. "I will make their Darkness my own…"

Alex sighed and fell into a Dragon Style ready position. "You have to win, first."

The Haunter faded from sight as he chuckled. "I will…"

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Alex frankly doubted their chances, but he intended to battle as hard as he could. A wispy thin Korian man with narrow eyes and black hair shouted, as Kuzon fell into a fighting crouch as well. "This match will be a standard three on three Battle. Only the Challenger may substitute Pokémon. Begin!"

Kuzon's opening strike was, in a word, ferocious, for a fourth Gym Leader. His arms made circles as he inhaled an inhuman amount of air, and then expelled it as a torrent of unstoppable flame from his mouth. Alex looked at his available paths as the flame came towards him, and opted for the one he felt would work. He used his Voice under his breath and inhaled. "Naak Yol!" Kuzon controlled most of the fire energy in the gym, but not Alex's own. The energy of just his breath could only burn so hot, but to his surprise, the Words of the dragon tongue drew the natural energy's power into his system as he inhaled Kuzon's flames. The Words excited the flames, which were naturally drawn to the power in his Voice.

For his part, Nox had kept the Infernape busy, being all but immune to his fighting attacks, and being more than able to counter the fire monkey's Fire Punch with the same move. Assuming he could even hit through the Confuse Rays that Nox kept him bathed in. He was motivated enough to handle battling on his own, which was good, because Alex could barely handle everything Kuzon had breathed at him, but he managed it, and then smirked, wiping his chin as he did. "Now that...was some good fire." Some of the flame had singed his beard but otherwise, Alex had taken in enough fire power to counter, hard. Kuzon simply stared, somewhere between impressed and incredulous.

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Taking a page from Okuz, he launched himself forward with a burst of flame. Seeing him move, Nox let the confused Infernape flail wildly at nothing, and hid within his Trainer's shadow as he struck. He hadn't completely left it, and bonded as they now were, it was easy to glide back to. Alex brought a flurry of flaming dragon palms from above, and while Kuzon was able to handle those with ease, he did not expect to be uppercut by the Haunter with a Fire Punch to the chin, followed by a roundhouse kick from an oversized foot that sent the old man out of the field's arena.

Alex and Nox turned on the Infernape then, and from the sidelines, the old man held his jaw, as age finally caught up with him, and his body was momentarily stunned from the pain of two hard hits. "Bul!" The man's voice snapped the fire ape out of its confusion, and the old man held up his hand. The sleeve of his red and slightly darker red garment fell, revealing an intricate golden bracelet, within which was a Key Stone. The flame atop Bul's head parted, revealing what had to be a shard of a Flame Plate within, and Kuzon shouted, "Now, is the time! Mega Evolve!"

Alex swore, and fished in his pack, not for a potion, but for the items his Haunter needed. "Whatever you're going to do with these, Nox...do it now." His Haunter looked at the stones, and then the glowing Infernape, and reached the same conclusion Alex had. With the difference in level and power, even one hit through a Confuse Ray would knock Nox out, and winning was still part of the agreement. Alex had assumed his Haunter needed them for evolution, and without anyone to 'trade' him to, or a place to trade in, he'd been out of luck. At least until the poisonous ghost revealed that in Koria, Haunter didn't need such a thing for evolution.

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In the depths of the night during one of their camping sessions, before Alex's mind had gone elsewhere, his Haunter had explained the 'why' of this to him, as he was curious. Evidently, the spirit of Shadow and Raava's own counterpart, Vaatu, had once entered Koria by force from the Spirit World. The result of that action, made possible by the folly of a human who had separated the two entities, had left the region infested with a lingering darkness that had led the Nations to war with each other regularly throughout the contemporary history of the planet, with the only exception being the Air Nation. Mistrust and hatred marred the history of Koria, and it had always come down to the Guardian's Avatar to keep the balance between them, and maintain some measure of peace.

If Nox had enough power, he could use the lingering darkness of the land to propel himself down an alternate line to his final form, one he assured his Trainer would be worth having. Once Nox had told him Korian Gengar was a ghost and dark type, Alex had been more than okay with helping him to evolve, but the Haunter hadn't brought it up since. Until now.

The Haunter tossed the Dusk Stones into his toothy maw and crunched on them, making their darkness his own. Nox doubled over once he swallowed, and he snarled, making all four participants of the battle pause, to watch. As the light of Infinity remade Bul, the power of Shadow, tempered by Nox and his Dusk Stones, became purified of its natural corruptive essence, before it remade the Haunter. It looked like a painful process, but mentally, the last mental thought Nox would ever share with them, he assured them all he was okay. His eyes bulged, turning red and cracked until the eyes of the Haunter became the eyes of a Gengar. Completely red and significantly darker than the more common kind of the ghostly species, his body shifted from purple to primarily black, with hints of dark purple akin to a plum. The usually straight teeth of his Gengar grin were now jagged and razor sharp, but otherwise, Nox seemed almost identical to the more common form of Gengar that plagued many regions across the Earth.

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For his part, Bul had become everything Alex expected of a Mega Infernape. His fur was now white and shaggy like an Oranguru, and instead of a fan, he had a long red staff, and several pieces of golden body armor on his legs, shins, fists, and forearms. A gold face plate framing his ape features played home to the shard of the Flame Plate on his brow, and as the light of Infinity faded, Alex and Nox found him perched atop a ball of flame that seemed to be alive, to their eyes. His tail was now surprisingly similar to a Charizard's, if furrier, in that its tip was now home to an intense blue flame.

They watched as the Mega Infernape stuck his tail flames into the ball of fire, turning it blue, and with an expert flip through the air from the top of the fireball, he sent it sailing towards Nox with the momentum of his tail. For his part, Nox responded with a Double Team, but his attempt to dodge was foiled as Bul controlled the fireball.

Alex was distracted from helping him, as Kuzon was back on his feet, and furiously countering every move Alex made with speed the old man simply hadn't had before. He could barely bend in response, and what fire he could make now that between him and Bul most of the energy was already being heavily drawn upon was not enough to damage a firebending master.

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Thus, Alex fell back on a strategy that had always helped when he was pushed on the defensive back foot. Take a page from someone better. Okuz had managed to propel himself with his feet, and Alex had just enough control to manage that with his naturally high body temp, and oversized feet. He essentially fire-skated around the field, picking up Nox in his shadow as he passed by. With the giant blue fireball now chasing him, he skated away from it, and then backflipped over it with the aid of his 'rocket feet'.

Kuzon was on him again as soon as he landed, and Bul disappeared with his enhanced speed, to the other side of the fireball's path. With his staff, he swung at the fireball like a Pokémon Base player, and sent it sailing back towards Kuzon. Seeing it coming, Alex dodged the gym leader's fists, and stayed in place as Kuzon struck at him. When he sensed the fire coming and tried to move, Kuzon suddenly found his feet stuck. The shadow from under the challenger had him locked in place, and a downright malicious grin appeared within it.

Bul shrieked and pounded his chest, seeing Kuzon not able to dodge, but even with his speed, it was too late to redirect the fireball. Alex rocketed back at the moment of impact, and Nox held Kuzon in place hidden safely in his shadow as the intense Pyro Ball hit his back, causing him to fall. The Mega Form faded from Bul as this happened, and Kuzon was properly out of the fight.

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Bul didn't last long though, as Nox slowly rose from Alex's shadow, and his Trainer gave the order. "Psychic!" An ominous red aura appeared in a wave of psychic energy that raced towards the flaming ape, and sent him sailing into the glass wall.

Then, the ref spoke again. "Leader Kuzon's Infernape is unable to Battle! The round goes to the Challenger. Leader Kuzon is unable to continue Battling. The rules will now shift to a standard League match in the interest of safety!" If the ref was mad at Alex, he didn't show it, and Alex was grateful for the impartiality. Sometimes, gym referees could be biased, but it was thankfully an uncommon thing to find, in any region with a League.

Kuzon's next choice was a Camerupt, which he tried and failed to mega evolve. Alex swapped his Korian Gengar for his Lapras, and the two were almost even in strength. Koria's wilderness had many rock and ground types, and Pruina had grown strong shooting them down with Water Pulses. Fortune was with them, as her initial Water Pulse confused the volcano camel, and the following Surf attack, along with damage inflicted by confusion, caused him to faint.

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By that point, Leader Kuzon had been tended to with berry paste salves, and revitalized with what seemed to be soup of some kind. He stepped onto the field again, as he drew his last ball. "I'm ready to Firebend again, Challenger. Take your place, and substitute if you wish."

Alex frowned, not convinced that the old man was truly ready after a STAB hit from a Mega Pokémon's strongest fire attack, but he stepped onto the field anyway. Surprisingly, he noted the referee had left, along with the other warm-up Trainers who'd been in Kuzon's gym, watching the match. It was, seemingly, just them now. Before the old man could control all the natural fire around them, Alex began breathing deeply, reaching out to the flames, and urging them to burn larger, hotter. The field around them became akin to a volcano's insides, and he recalled Pruina, not wanting her to be burned by the rapidly heating floor.

Kuzon summoned a Typhlosion then, one that was, from his demeanor, downright nasty, and ready to battle. Seeing how strong the fire type was, Alex called out Eremus, who was unbothered by the intense heat, being both of the ground and a dragon. The song of his wings filled the air, as Kuzon eyed him. Undaunted by his type resistance, the old man shouted, "Tanuki…Eruption!" As he leapt towards Alex, once more barraging him with a flurry of blows.

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Without total control of the fire's natural energy, Kuzon's strikes were weakened, and Alex dodged away from them, as he countered. "Sandstorm! Counter with Earth Power!" He spun into the sand that erupted from Eremus, and the tornado of ground and dirt collided with the angry Typhlosion's Eruption. The powerful fire move turned to glass, surrounded as it was by so much sand. The boulders of roughly formed rock and flame worked as good cover within the storm of sand, and Eremus purposefully kept his Trainer's vision clear of it as he moved, not an easy task while battling.

Seeing he was on his own, Tanuki spun into a Flame Wheel, only to hit one of his own move's boulders with the attack. Then, came the counter. The earth itself erupted from under the burning honey badger, but it wasn't enough to finish him. For his part, Alex chose to counter, and Eremus parted the storm around him and Kuzon so their flames weren't bogged down by the burning hot sand. Alex was not gentle, as he came hurtling out of the curtain of sand, propelled by all four limbs as he went for a headbutt to the old man's stomach. He disliked hurting him so, but it would stun him if he lost his breath.

Luckily for Alex, fate was with him, and he hammered the old man a little too well, as he lost his breath, and began coughing on the ground. Seeing he was out, and knowing he was like to keep fighting if Alex let him, he turned to Eremus. "Finish it. Earthquake!"

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Tanuki had recovered from being blown off his feet, and he roared for his Trainer, seeking the power of Mega Evolution. Unfortunately, Kuzon was in no fit state to empower such a thing right then, and only the enemy Trainer's cry of the move was heard through the roar of the intense sandstorm. Tanuki was unbothered by it, giving not a single Muk for the slight damage it caused him, but it did impede his eyesight. He felt the Earthquake before he saw it, and though he Flame Wheeled away, it caught him, and sent him flying through the far wall and into the rock of the gym beyond it.

Seeing he was victorious, Eremus willed the sand to cease storming, and Alex stood over Kuzon, one fist flaming against his throat, as he started to rise, and then paused. "It's over, old fellow. Your Typhlosion is unconscious…but your Ref is missing."

"So…so he is…" Kuzon managed to say, as he nodded at Alex's words. The younger man offered him a hand up, and Kuzon took it. Quite to Alex's surprise then, he watched as the old man retook control of his accumulated fire energy and used it to burn away his fairy glamour. He stood before him, blinking at the impossibility of what Kuzon had wrought, clad in Fire Nation garb, his pale skin revealing him as a foreigner. "That's what I thought…" Kuzon said, still recovering from the perfect Headbutt Alex had given to his solar plexus. "I spoke with Leader Boomi earlier, so-called Tamer of the Original Dragon. Lucky for me…he told me what Pokémon were on your belt. The Flygon confirmed it."

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Kuzon turned and bowed to Eremus then. "You have been…trained well O master of the sands. You have earned for yourselves the Flame Badge." Alex gave the floating desert dragon a tail-five with his hand, and then took the badge, placing it beside his many others. "Now then…come with me and summon your friend. I can guide you along the path."

Alex reached out to Meelo only to find, to his immense surprise, that the man's mind was, for some reason, filled with lust. He left the mental equivalent of a note in the Air Nomad's mind telling him to come to the gym when he was free, and sensed he noticed it, then quickly withdrew. Some things were better off private, that being one of them. He knew Meelo likely sensed what he himself did every time they slept, and why he rose so late, but he hadn't pried out of respect. The least Alex could do was return the favor. He knew all too well how such bodily needs could impede the mental calm needed for meditation and impartiality.

Kuzon led him underground, as he opened a secret tunnel in the earth with his firebending, placing his hand to a wall, and watching as he bent the fire typed energy with ease to shift the mechanisms that operated it. Truly, he had a long way to go. Beyond his own limbs, he had little to no control over nature energy, and he knew it would be an issue when he tried his hand at air and waterbending.

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Kuzon brought him to a well-furnished room, a far cry from Bumi's, but like the shredded earthbender, the symbol of Kuzon's nation was proudly etched in the floor. It seemed different to the one the Fire Army used, though. Seeing his eyes, the old man sighed, as he sat on one of the lavish, and naturally red and gold, pillows surrounding the tea brewing stand atop the symbol. "This was our Nation's symbol…before the Imperium made us their leashed dogs. Before Ozai went completely mad. Few remember what the flames that form the flower-like shape represent. Fewer still, even care. Our victory over the Earth Nation has made our people arrogant. Our reliance on emotion for bending has made us weak. Your dragon's lessons are long forgotten, Redwood."

Alex took a cup of tea once it was ready and tried it. It tasted rather good, for hot leaf juice. "I see…it is my opinion, that should the Imperium be expelled, your people should return to their roots." He closed his eyes for a moment, and then smirked. "Tao agrees with me. The Original Dragon shall return to the Fire Nation, if you can but convince the people to listen to him."

Kuzon's eyes widened. "You…he would do that for us? Even now? Even after what we…what we have done to his kin?"

Alex's eyes narrowed. "Of what are you speaking, exactly?"

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Kuzon sighed, deeply. "Not surprising that no one told you. Long ago, when the Fire Nation began its descent into its current state, our Fire Lord was told that by subduing Dragon Types, masters of the elements in their own right, a Firebender could claim power from their essence, and take the title of Dragon for themselves. Our chain of islands used to be overflowing with Dragon Types…but over the years…they vanished. Hunted to extinction, most likely. Many of my kinsmen sought the power one supposedly attained from a dragon's corpse. None of these were more sought after than Charizard who evolved to attain the Dragon typing. There were few in ancient times, and they were quickly hunted or tamed once this…'sport' became commonplace. Now only Royals and their guards train members of the Charizard line. The Fire Army utilizes them as mounts, but they lack the wings and honorable intelligence that makes Charizard so popular. Gene-enhanced by the Imperium, these ground bound Charizard have become brutish, and that is on purpose. Many Pokémon no longer visit or inhabit our islands…and since the Imperium gave us their technology, even the flying types avoid roosting there now."

Alex frowned as he listened. "Your land may yet be redeemable…but that will not be my decision. We will speak again when the day of Koria's freedom finally arrives."

Kuzon sighed into his cup. "Spoken with such confidence. Perhaps it would not be so if you had seen what my Nation has been turned into. A hell of black steel and smoke. Technology that pollutes all it touches. Nature, defiled for our advancement, the land raped and the waters turned to sludge. I do not see how it can be redeemed."

At that, Alex chuckled, and Kuzon glared at him. "I have seen Tao's influence work on a similar land…though perhaps not as far gone as your island chain…there was much more of it. Do not give up on hope for your home just yet. Our planet is rather resilient. Someday, the Dragon and I will visit your home, and see what we can do to restore it."

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That offer made Kuzon more friendly, and they talked for almost an hour more before Meelo arrived to see Alex in the midst of learning to consistently manifest his flames away from and around his body. It was something starting with earthbending hadn't really taught him, but he was learning now, with great effort. For him, controlling the energy of the natural world beyond his body was much more of a strain, which meant earthbending and producing fire from his limbs would always be easier for him. But he couldn't rely on that as a crutch. He was determined to master these techniques, as Tao had told him to. The dragon always had a good reason for his sometimes ridiculous demands, and short of attempting to fell a mighty tree with naught but a Magikarp, he was willing to try what his teacher suggested.

After an awkward sharing of nods between the travelers, Kuzon led them deeper into the tunnels, until they came out to a secluded beach, at the edge of a rather long river. "From here, it is a straight shot north to the Water Nation. Don't work that Lapras of yours too hard, and good luck finding the Avatar, Redwood." Kuzon left then, closing the tunnel's hidden door behind him as he did before muttering. "You're going to need it, if you want that boy's help." He snorted, shook his head, and then began the walk back to his gym.

As they traveled, Meelo finally agreed to show Alex the basics of bending the air, which helped with his current problem of sustaining energy control away from his body. By watching the Air Nomad intently, he saw him diffuse his psychic power into the natural energy of the air itself and guide it. He added a bit of his own aura to his flames as well after that, and found they shifted to blue, became much hotter, and had little issue sustaining themselves in the ever-dropping temperatures of Koria's north. With the same trick, he found guiding the wind was easy, and compared to Meelo's aura infusion of the natural energy around them, it seemed to listen to him with much less resistance. They both agreed this was likely due to his dragon typing.

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Trouble struck, as it usually did, right as they were on the cusp of their goal. Tem had trained himself on the various water types from Pruina's back, mostly by keeping giant Korian Octillery and Sharpedo away from her while not electrocuting her from her back. The Toqusoq Tagiuk, so named by the Water Nation, was a massive inland sea far enough north enough to enjoy the freezing cold temperatures that Varangia was infamous for. The sea was mostly freshwater, which meant Tem could rock out hard, and not worry too much about aim, since the water wouldn't conduct his attacks very well, if at all.

As they approached the iceberg in the center of this massive body of water, the snow and hail falling around them turned black. The already dark waters were made more so by what Meelo determined was soot, and when Alex asked him how he knew the cause of such a dramatic effect on the weather, the Air Nomad simply pointed north. Eventually, they arrived at their destination, or rather, as close as they could get without being spotted.

What had to be almost two hundred fully armed and evidently coal-powered Fire Navy ships were surrounding the entrance to what was likely the Northern Water Tribe's port. A massive wall, bearing a slightly different water symbol to the southern tribe's at its center, was all that stood between the fleet, and the city built into the behemoth of an ice island. Or at least, that's how it appeared.

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As the ships began launching truly impressively large fireballs at the wall, the sea roared, and Alex stared, a tingle going down his spine as he recognized that call, having heard it only twice before. Once, atop the PNN building in New Tork city, distorted with pain as that cry had been, and again in Norstad, when he'd freed Percy. This roar was one of rage, and the Lugia it belonged to was, by far, at least four to six times the size of the others he'd seen. If their species had a Guardian, this titanic Pokémon was it.

It spun up from below the ice mass, and with a single wing flap, sent the fiery projectiles back from whence they'd come with its mastery of the air, hitting several of the ships as it did. Then, it began glowing with what Alex and Meelo saw and recognized as Light energy. The Lugia's eyes were alight with the familiar, to Alex at least, light blue glow that signified its source was Raava, and even from that great distance, Redwood spied the human responsible for it.

Sitting atop the Legendary Sea Guardian's head, seemingly meditating, was a human figure, whose aura was burning with Light, far more than Alex had ever dared to wield at once. The Lugia formed an Aeroblast then, and the ominous Light energy suffused it, as it ran over the slowly retreating ships, for all the good it did them. Alex couldn't tell how many had sunk, but he knew it was enough to confirm who exactly was atop the Lugia's head. Raava's Avatar.