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The Top Twenty

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As their team spread out across the just over four miles they'd claimed as their training ground, the members of the A and B teams coalesced. Alex's top ten remained unchanged, with Terra, Hydrus, Blaze, Leo, Arthur, Shruikan, Cenomons, Gelauros, Ictus, and even Lux, who was floating among them with his hilt. The B team had, however, had some slight changes in roster. Eremus was now apparently one of the largest Flygon in the Mohave Desert, and he was helping the desert Pokémon adapt to the returning life in the land. Tao's wisdom helped them coexist with the species that were migrating to these newly habitable areas, and apparently, from what he'd told Alex, he was not the only formerly trained Pokémon out there. The League had, after evaluating them of course, released many of the Arcean crusader's Pokémon to the wild, and Eremus had become a kind of leader among them thanks to both his strength and kindness. Alex was genuinely proud of him.

Replacing his dragon and ground type was, naturally, his Garchomp Kalagon, who was eager to reach the same level as everyone else. He had a growing lust for battle that rivaled Shruikan's, and when Blaze was too lazy or tired to indulge Shruikan's admittedly greater endurance, he had found a worthy sparring partner in Kalagon. The massive Garchomp had his head raised proudly among their group of twenty. His Lapras, Pruina, had also wished to do as Eremus had done, but for the Pokémon of the eastern Atlantican coast. She'd quickly ended up with a pod of her species, and Alex had expected no less. They were a matriarchal species, usually, and they gravitated on instinct towards the most powerful female they could find. She wanted to be more social than Eremus though, so she had started training her pod to carry Trainers, or regular citizens, across Unova's coast. In time, she wanted to have pods on every State that had a coastline. Replacing her was his Kingdra, Kral, who had grown rapidly into his new draconic form since evolving. He and James Pond often had shooting contests, which Kral won with regularity despite the Inteleon's accuracy. Kral had speed, and quite a bit more power, in addition to his ability, Sniper.

The final change came from his Orbeetle, Sensus, who was now officially the Empire's best method of detecting threats. His training had gotten him to a high level, and apparently, his job also gave him Experience. Both Pruina and Sensus had agreed to battle, if the team needed them, in the World Tournament. Though Eremus had hid it, he was a bit salty about being replaced by a Garchomp, and had claimed he was too busy for silly human tournaments anyway. 'Maybe next time' had been his answer, and while the salt was a factor, Alex knew he wanted the desert to be more stable and in balance before he left it for long periods to train and compete. The replacement for Sensus, as a psychic type, was why they had gathered. Joining them alongside their respective clones of their Trainer were Espeo, Psi, his Kadabra, and Atlas, his shiny new Metang.

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"This is a waste of time." Shruikan started with an arrogant rumble. "Espeo is the eldest. You have had him longer. He deserves the spot. He deserved it more than even Sensus, the bug was only among us because he had to track down Avatar Jimen."

"That's an opinion." Alex nodded. "But I always intended for Sensus to be our radar. And once he evolved, he practically shuddered with excitement when I suggested it. He had no qualms about leaving. He was always content to eventually be replaced. He knows he's a valued part of his 'colony'. Thus, here we are." Alex took a deep sigh, then. "For a team with a Trainer who is so well known as a psychic, our Psychic Type battle power is lacking. We've only ever really needed Arthur, but now Arthur is available, at best, half the time. Canis and Astrum have covered that deficit, but this spot needs to be filled by a powerhouse. And we have three, even if two of you still need to evolve. I would know your thoughts, Espeo."

As usual, his naturally mild but now artificially modest Espeon was casually licking his paw and grooming himself throughout the discussion. "I'm flattered Shruikan, rrreally," He said with a purr, nodding with respect to the looming black Salamence, his forked tail shifted and swished behind him. "But I agree with Alex. We need overwhelming psychic power, and my species simply doesn't have that. Not without decades of training, and honestly, overwhelming power is not something I desire. Thus far I have been in the background, using my Sight and my skills as needed, when needed. To moderate disputes, feed the new members, instruct the new members, heal injuries, or even enhance a city's battlefield barrier when Terra decides to spawn a forest out of nowhere."

Terra rumbled with a chuckle. "I did do that, didn't I." He smacked his lips, speaking slowly, as his brothers chuckled at his nonchalance. "No regrets."

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Alex nodded, as he chuckled with them. "I will use you as you wish to be used, Espeo. If you ever feel the urge to Battle, don't hesitate to tell me. You've been able to grow through your actions so far, but eventually, you Will reach a plateau that only punching upwards will get you across." His psychic cat prowled over to him, and purred against his legs, seemingly very satisfied with this arrangement. "Now then…that just leaves who officially replaces you. Psi. Atlas." The two newer members of the team snapped to attention, Psi with his spoon literally standing straight up again, and Atlas with his expressive eyes, focused on his Trainer. "I'll be training both of you, make no mistake. I intend to make you both some of the strongest Pokémon in the world as I promised, but this is more a matter of use and preference. When I have Arthur on hand, one of you will have to directly back him up, on the B Team, especially if the Muk ever hits the Fan Rotom. Like it almost did at the Fury Falls. When Arthur is not on hand, Canis will be in his spot, which means both of you will fill in on the B Team. Honestly, it's just a matter of who wants to Battle more and take on more responsibility. Psi, let's hear your thoughts first."

The Kadabra gave a sagely nod. "As you have surmised, I have accepted your offer to become the strongest. Though initially skeptical thanks to how…chill…this team is, I can now properly foresee my potential, and it is nearly limitless under your guidance. With that said…my preference is for gaining knowledge. Battling cuts into this time. Your top twenty Pokémon also have many Special Attackers among them. Atlas is, I believe, more suited to Battling more often. He will learn better from Arthur's physical techniques than I will, and taking on responsibility seems to be something he is quite eager to do. I wish to take a more…intuitive role, on this team. I will keep apprised of the world's news, and the goings on of Human culture. Someone has to. All the dark ghost and the spark do is troll on Chatter and doom scroll through Reditto." Lux chuckled, and Nox feigned a look of indignance, until his species trademark smirk returned, along with a chuckle. He couldn't be mad when the psychic was correct.

Alex nodded again. "Very well. You're on intelligence gathering, and once you evolve and train, you may browse the Pokénet as you wish. I'll be taking you with the other new members, with the clone that will be journeying with Isamu around the Rio circuit for a bit. There are a few methods of achieving your final form, but they all require you to be at a higher level." With that said, he turned to Atlas. "Are you willing to Battle that often? To officially join the B Team?"

The platinum Metang gave a mighty metallic roar. "I will take on this duty…once I grow stronger and evolve."

Alex chuckled. "You're still going to be training. You have Moves to master. All of you do. I'm taking you out with us too, Atlas. See if we can't find ourselves another shiny Beldum. Until we depart, work on the Moves that the TMs gave you. We'll need all of them in the Finals." With that, they set about training their resistance to the cold with Gelauros. This involved Alex taking those with double or quadruple weaknesses to ice, and sitting in his proximity, as he battled the natural heat and humidity of the Dark Continent with his own self-made Blizzard. Their task was to keep up their respective shields as long as they could and then resist the cold as long as they could, at which point they'd be recalled, one by one, until Gelauros needed a break, or they all succumbed to the frost. As he began shuddering from the intense cold, Alex kept his eyes closed, meditating and focusing hard as he managed his sixty or so clones of himself.

Revan, his Charcadet, still needed his armor, and soon, the commission would be fulfilled. The blacksmith in question, a man called Antonio, had been thrilled to have the chance to have his work adorn an Emperor's Ceruledge, one who would undoubtedly grace the World Tournament's stage before long, and Alex had agreed to let him mark it with his brand, so long as it wasn't too obnoxiously visible. Champ and Kel, his newly evolved Machoke and Gurdurr, were also coming on the Rio road trip, as were Psi and Atlas. Fulguron had become an Electabuzz as he'd advanced with his training, and Alex knew the process for getting him to become an Electivire would require a city's power network. The rest of the travel roster included Gauss, his Charjabug, who'd evolved after eating enough of his Magnezone's electricity, Dracala, his Noibat, and Simon, his Drilbur. All needed basic experience to evolve to their final forms. Luckily, he knew everything he needed would be available in Rio. They had a stock of Trainer items to rival Castelia and Levincia.

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The Angry Chicken

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Alex had his Infernape, Goku, and his Cinderace, Cinder, with him as he held a twitching fiery colored Luxury Ball in his oversized hand. They were near Sombra Verde, home of the seventh gym of Rio's circuit, the dark typed gym. The people of Sombra Verde were, to date, the only group of humans insane enough to willingly live in Selva Muerta itself, and their population suffered as a result of that choice. Every year, the local Pokémon of the jungle tested the humans, chipping away at their resolve until they left, and every year the humans stayed, mostly because their Gym Leader was able to protect the settlement from being wiped out, and had no qualms about taking in criminals, or former criminals. Whoever helped protect the town, got to stay, apparently. Alex didn't know the man's name, yet, but he did know he was a League recognized Dark Type Pokémon Master.

The town was not their focus today, however. Since Alex had first caught his Torchic, who he'd nicknamed Garuda, he had very quickly evolved on his own into a Combusken, and ever since, only answered Alex's attempts to train him with fierce Pecks and Double Kicks. Alex could handle them of course, but the furious fire hen always preferred to attack, instead of listen. It was time for that to end. It had been years at this point, after all. Garuda had acclimated to tolerating the other Redwoods, because they fed him, and he ruled their roost of Torchic and other Combusken. Alex was the only one he actively attacked, but enough was finally enough. It was time for an ultimatum.

He tossed the ball, and as always, the angry eyes of the fiery fighting chicken looked around, took in the environment, and then settled with anger on the tall frame of his Trainer. He also glanced at Cinder and Goku, and a smirk formed on Garuda's beak. "Finally attacking me, are you? I knew you were full of Muk. You're literally the worst Human!" As usual, the insult was followed by a fierce Peck, but Alex was done indulging his shenanigans.

"Blaze Kick."

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Cinder launched into the attack before the burning bird could so much as blink, and then he let out a painful squawk as the flaming rabbit foot forced the air from his lungs and sent him rolling back into the dirt. For the first time, he looked at Alex's irritated but still passive face with fear, and Alex hated that he had to do this. But nothing else had worked. For years now. Some species really did only understand one language: the language of strength. It was long past time that Garuda understood who he was.

"I'm done, Garuda. I've tried giving you space. Talking to you as I easily dodged your attacks. Letting you rule the roost, back home, in the hope that some females might calm you the Muk down, but alas, it's just made you more arrogant. Now, you understand. You resist Fire Moves, but that one nearly knocked you out. Cinder was holding back, too. If we wanted you unconscious, you would be."

"You call me arrogant, you self-righteous ape!? I'll end you!" His Peck appeared again then, and Alex watched as it swirled, becoming a Drill Peck instead. He sighed again. Garuda still didn't get it. A life of leisure on the ranch had kept him from understanding just who his Trainer was, and despite his attempts to have the rest of the team explain, Garuda tended to attack them, as well, viciously insulting them until they left him and his females alone. Even Po had left the Combusken house dejected, and disappointed that he'd failed his Trainer's request. Po had been the last, and after half a day of trying, he'd come to Alex saying, "That guy…that guy hates you…" It was at that point that Alex knew more violent measures would have to be taken.

"Mach Punch."

This time, Goku blurred forward, and the results of his training showed, as with one of his weakest moves, he got under Garuda's guard, and hammered him with a quick, powerful jab that sent the Drill Peck into nonexistence, as once again, Garuda was sent spinning across the ground.

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"I said I was Done with your BS." Alex repeated, as he appeared over the nearly fainted Combusken, and glared at him. The weight of the Word kept the fierce fire hen from rising again, as his deep blue aura started burning around the human's body in a fiery outline. "I need you to hear me, Garuda. So shut the Muk up, for once, and listen. I'm going to become the World Champion. That's what my team and I are aiming for. I want you on that team. I've wanted you on it since the day I caught you. You're so full of potential, but your damned personality keeps you weak, isolated, alone on the ranch. Enough is enough, though. This farce ends today." He crossed his arms, and for once, finally, it seemed like Garuda was listening to him and at least recognizing his skill as a Trainer of Pokémon, if not a different kind of human. Being taken down with two moves would hurt anyone's pride, and Garuda had never seen a human glow like this. "You will either begin training with the others, so that I can make you one of the most powerful Blaziken in the world, or I will release you here, in a Region where your species thrives. Not this spot exactly, but close. You can spend your days as a Combusken, and never see me, or the ranch, again while I find a Torchic that doesn't despise me. Make your choice."

Still weak, and on the edge of fainting, Garuda slowly stood up again. "You would…take me away from my Eggs? My wives!? And you expect me to bend to your threats!? You have…no idea…just who the Hell I am!" Flames rose around him in an impressive Flame Charge, considering he'd never been trained, and he charged at Alex again, as Goku and Cinder sighed and frowned in disappointment respectively. This time, Alex just raised a hand himself. The flames went out as they were forcibly guided away, and Garuda's eyes went wide as he psychically hung in the air, in awe. For the first time, he sensed his Trainer's aura properly, and he was speechless at its power. Deep down, he started to believe the human's words. A Trainer like this really could push him to the heights of the world.

"Give me your answer." Alex demanded, holding him in the air still, without inflicting more pain. Weakened as he was, that would faint him, and Alex didn't want to heal him and just attack him again, as that would be actual abuse at that point.

The Combusken looked down at the ground, then. "I have hated you…Human. Since the day you caught me…something about your eyes…just rubbed me the wrong way. The way you looked at me…kept me, in that ball, and on that ranch, like a possession. Despite my slavery, I made that ranch a home. A new one, to replace the one you took me from!" He tried attacking again, but this time, his flames didn't respond. He was truly stuck in the air, at Alex's mercy. He looked up again with tears forming in his eyes. "I know I can't win against you. I've always known you were strong…but this is…more than I could have imagined. I hate you. For taking me from my wives, for forcing me to fight, or lose my home. Again. To serve, or be left abandoned in a foreign country." He met Alex's eyes then. "I will fight, Human…but I will Never stop hating you."

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Alex sighed, and looked down, very tempted to just release him, or accept his words and his hate and let time sort it out. But no, he decided, Garuda had enough time already. All he lacked now was perspective. Thus, Alex gave it. "You misunderstand much, so I will help you remember your humble beginnings. Your former home, one I bet you barely even recall, was a forest. You lived in dirt and I found you in a rotted stump, full of bugs that were infesting your feathers. I saw the potential in you the moment our eyes met. So I caught you. I should have asked first, though. You are right. You're one of the only Pokémon I've caught that way, but I wasn't just going to give up on you before even trying. I figured, like most Pokémon, you'd come around to the idea of getting stronger, eventually." His expression and tone softened, as Goku put a hand on his shoulder, and nodded. This was the right way to do this. His little fire monkey had become rather wise, with age and training. Sometimes. When he wasn't occupied by eating an entire harvest worth of Nanab berries.

Alex let the hurt show, in his big blue eyes. "But all you did was attack me. From the day I caught you, until this very day, all you have ever answered me with, is violence and hate. I gave you a life of comfort you would never have found in the White Forest. Some other Trainer would've caught you, or traded you, or released you somewhere you couldn't survive. I helped you thrive, I gave you access to our female egg layers and cemented your genetic lineage, and all I got from you as a result was more hate. More attacks. You wouldn't even speak to me, once I could understand you! I finally thought we could work things out when I learned that skill, but no. All it did was show me exactly what you'd been saying each time we met. Swears, hate, and promises of violence." Alex lowered him to the ground, and released his psychic hold. Cinder tensed, fully expecting the arrogant fire hen to attack again, but Goku was the picture of calm. "If we're going to work together, you need to forgive me for catching you. I've tried doing right by you, Garuda. The Least you owe me for the life you have and enjoy, is a chance to train you properly, especially if you want to keep enjoying said life. We're not ready to Battle together. Not yet. We'll start with talking. There's a lot to catch you up on. Can you at least agree not to attack me on sight?"

Hearing Alex's perspective did make Garuda feel slightly guilty. Indeed, now that he thought about his former home, it had been a constant fight for food in that forest. His 'home' had been infested with small itchy bugs that the Redwood Lab had cleaned him of. He'd been kept healthy, happy, and well fed, but Alex was right. All he'd gotten for his attempts at bonding properly were battle-level moves towards his person, and he hadn't once retaliated, until now. Finally, Garuda spoke. "Yea. I…I'm realizing now how I've been acting. The mere sight of you made me…too angry to even listen. But we can talk, I guess. If you're not busy…"

Alex just smiled at him. "I have time. Return, all of you. We'll chat back at the training camp." He recalled the three fire typed starters, and bamfed back to their base, satisfied that, finally, progress towards having a Blaziken, a naturally adamant one at that, who had the Speed Boost ability, had been made. He hoped that one day, he and Garuda would look back at the start of their relationship and be able to laugh.

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The Warrior, The Spy, and The Ninja

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Maromnis crouched low amidst the wooden posts that were acting as his targets. He'd studied the ancient Japanese masters of the art of the sword since evolving into a Samurott, and Alex had encouraged this. Leo had even suggested several anime, and once Shippuden wrapped up, they were moving on to Dark Clover. The crouched Samurott from another era took a long breath, and then he struck with both Scalchops in a flash of movement that was starting to reach the speeds needed for the World Tournament.

The logs were perfectly sliced in half. As they flew into the air from the force of the cut, a swarm of Water Shuriken, undoubtedly also inspired by their ninja anime binge, nailed each log with improving aim. Before the shuriken had even landed though, rapidly fired dual-handed Snipe Shots had impacted them with blinding speed. As Alex examined the combined attacks, he nodded, satisfied.

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"I was worried that using the candy would weaken you, but you've all grown into your new forms remarkably quick, and your Signature Moves at least are looking good." The three water type starters moved behind him in a line as he spoke, and James was the last to appear from his camouflage, and nod. "Maromnis." Alex addressed the Samurott first. "You'll want to work with Arthur, Arbor, and Revan, when he returns. Their various sword styles will help hone yours into something truly special. Work on your elemental attacks until then." The Samurott gave him a dutiful nod, and got to work with his clone of Alex, that was set to follow him around as he trained.

"Kage." The black skinned Greninja nodded at the speaking clone of his Trainer with a sharp grunt. "Masterful work, both with the Shuriken, and running up that tree. You're a Special Attacker, so you'll want to work on Dark Pulse next. Try making it faster, and don't forget to condense it too." Kage nodded again, and he and his clone bamfed elsewhere to practice.

"And James." Alex said, turning to his own charge. "Your aim has greatly improved. All we need now are your coverage Moves, and Moves that will help you move around quickly." Like the others, James nodded, but then he spoke, too.

"After my first Trainer abandoned me, I never thought I'd get to this point. And I still have so far to climb." He sighed heavily.

The clone assigned to him raised an eyebrow. "You haven't mentioned your first Trainer before. Would you mind talking about him?"

James pondered quietly for a moment, and then nodded. "His name was…erm…he went by Miko. I know that much. He taught me a bunch of Moves, and immediately challenged the…Grass Gym Leader of…Galar, probably. It was a Double Battle. We got crushed. I'd had a few road Battles on our way there, and I had a basic grasp of Ice Beam, but those two Gym Leaders completely crushed us. I don't know who the other Gym Leader was. She was strong, though."

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Alex could guess what came next, but he let James continue. "It was all downhill from there. He kept trying to force me to evolve, and I just wasn't ready. I was scared, weak, and that woman he'd traveled with eventually suggested replacing me." James sighed, and a single tear appeared in his eyes. "Miko…agreed. Almost instantly. It…it broke my heart. He took her Scorbunny as his starter instead, and admittedly their color schemes did match, and it was the woman who traded me in to the Professor for another Sobble. It was…weird though. I couldn't see too well from inside my ball, but Sonia seemed…dazed when she did it. At first she'd said no to trading me in, and then that woman…Zabrina, that was her name, she did…something, and before I knew it she was given her pick of the other Sobble, and just left me there. Sonia eventually turned back to normal, but by then Zabrina was long gone with the new Sobble, and I had serious trust issues. I denied sixty seven other Trainers, until You showed up."

Alex put a large hand on the Inteleon's thin shoulder. "It's not your fault, James. Everyone loses Battles, and sometimes Humans react poorly to it. Rest assured, I will not be trading you in, unless that's what you want."

Bubble O7 shook his head. "I'm staying right here. I'll help Kage and Nox watch your back. I won't fail again, either. Let's go get stronger." And so, they did. The first thing Alex had him work on was his Ice Beam. If he could make it as accurate as Snipe Shot, they'd be in a good place, as his team's ice type coverage was, much like his fairy type coverage, somewhat lacking. He knew Astrum would be more than enough though, he just had to make sure his water types mastered their ice moves.

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Not too far away, Maromnis and his clone of their Trainer were discussing sword play with Lux. The Sword Rotom had ideas, and Alex was properly amused.

"I've been thinking, Alex," Lux said eagerly, "I can change my hilt pretty much at will by this point. We could adjust our style when I do so."

He flew into Alex's hand, and winked at his Trainer, as his hilt became thicker, more suited for two of even his stupidly large hands, with a familiar t-shaped crossguard that made his nerdy Trainer's eyes widen. Lux's eyes appeared again once he was done, and Alex ignited him, grinning wide. "Strong Style!" Lux shouted, his voice deeper, as the white and black blade was now easily as long as a greatsword, and a greatsword suited for someone who was six feet and five inches tall. Or one hundred and ninety-five centimeters. The blade was almost as tall as Alex was, and it felt heavier somehow. He had to adjust his footwork as he swung, but Lux guided his strikes, and Alex knew if they could shift to this style fast enough, it could be devastatingly powerful. "Speed Shift!" Alex shouted, and Lux picked up what he was putting down, as Maromnis watched in awe.

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lux's hilt became one more akin to a katana, specifically a nodachi (basically a greatsword but with a katana shape), again thanks to his wielder's size. His crossguard this time was a circle around the hilt and resembled a Taijitu symbol. His hilt also created a scabbard, which was black and shone with white energy while sheathed. It seemed to be powered by Lux. Alex assumed it would help with his draw speed, but the time it was taking to manifest was not combat friendly. Still, the white centered and black edged plasma katana blade checked his box for cool factor, and again, after a few swings he realized he and Lux could strike a lot faster in this form. It was a little awkward to sheathe at first, but since he was still a plasma sword, Alex just turned him off, reconnected him to the sheathe, and then ignited the blade again, for a blindingly quick strike that katana wielders were famous for. The Aerial Ace technique had been developed by one such swordsman, and it was that same series of sword strokes Alex and Lux used now. They had work to do, training that would have to be done with his prime body, but the result would be much more effective self defense against opponents with, for example, connecting dual scythes.

Not to be outdone, Maromnis looked at his own shell swords. Typically, they were referred to as 'seamitars', but he found he disliked the triangular shape they had. No sword he'd seen had such a poorly designed hilt, too. He used Razor Shell as Alex and Lux slashed their way through the Dragon Style's sword strikes, Maromnis willed the water energy to take a new shape. He made a proper grip as Alex and Lux noticed what he was up to, a ridged one that fit perfectly with his fingers, and wouldn't slide in his hand. The 'seamitar' was now more like a 'seatana' in terms of shape, and as the watery blade curved, Maromnis guided his control of the typed energy to rework his forearm sheathes as well. The whitish tan bone-like material that acted as his scabbard seemed to change easily, especially once he tried putting his new seatanas away.

He crouched low then, and performed a rapid Razor Shell in the air, blinking in surprise when the x-shaped water energy went so fast, it flew off of his seatanas. "Masterfully done, Maromnis." Alex said, as Lux whooped in the air. "It's like a…Water Typed Psycho Cut. Keep practicing, until Arthur tells you sword-users to gather."

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For his part, Kage watched his friends as they continued to practice, but once again, mastery of Dark Pulse eluded him. He wanted to, like his father, learn it without a TM, which was pretty much the only move Alex had let him not learn like that. Because he was a dark type, he'd get it eventually, and doing it naturally promised a more solid control over dark typed energy, which was something his team actually lacked. Many could use dark moves sure, but actual Dark Type Pokémon were few in number. Nox spoke for them, since Ictus preferred not to, and even with Shadow, his Umbreon, and Noir, who would soon become dark typed with his presumed evolution to a Muertan Meowscarada, there were few. Tyranus would also become dark eventually, but Alex knew the little Larvitar was, at the moment, the most underleveled of his team. He didn't truly know if he'd be a Tyranitar by the end of their training. Pupitar took time and high quality soil to evolve, but luckily for them, Selva Muerta was naturally quite fertile.

"I will deal with Dark Energy later." Kage declared to his clone of his Trainer. "For now…I wish to resume our hunt for new brothers, in this forest of powerful Pokémon."

Alex was quiet for a bit, but Kage waited patiently, rightly assuming he was mentally figuring out where members of his team were currently training. Many were training hard against the jungle's denizens, and finding a partner near one of those battles would be difficult, probably. Finally, he said, "I'll bamf us near the Rain Sage, and we'll search around there." Within ten minutes, his prime body had recalled Kage and Noir, before Teleporting to his anchor near the Sage's doorstep. He had no intention of bothering the large, friendly creature with the potent odor, but he did separate a clone with Kage as his prime body and went off to the northeast with Noir, where they had been told they could find his method of evolution. With them on their way, the clone of Alex and Kage ventured the opposite direction and headed into the jungle.

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The going was slow, especially since the grass types lurking in the trees Kage insisted on traveling through loved trying to attack a water type that they saw as a free meal. Luckily for Kage, he had mastered Aerial Ace, and from that, with Blaze's help, had learned a bootleg version of Air Slash. He was no flying type, but he did have fantastic control over type energy as a special attacker, and a ninja. Naturally, he had turned his Air Slash into more of an Air Shuriken with repetition, but the damage dealt was the same, and it drove off most grass types looking to eat him. It took most of the day, but eventually, Kage stopped in his tracks as he sensed a surge in grass typed energy that could only have come from a natural ability. An ability belonging to a species that Alex sought.

Slowly, they made their way towards this source of grass energy, Kage in the trees, and his oversized Trainer on the ground. If he'd tried jumping through the foliage like his ninja frog, he would've sounded like an Emboar on the rampage, and even on the ground, his stupidly large shoes crunched through the underbrush of the rainforest very obviously. Then, finally, Alex saw their target, and he pulled a Luxury Ball from within his bag, which oddly enough stayed connected across all its copies.

Their target was a young Grookey, likely a few weeks old at most, judging by how fresh his whacking stick was. It still had small leaf sprouts, and a weak, thin top but as he whacked things, it would likely take on the usual blunt and vaguely drum stick shape. He was sitting cross legged, the bottoms of his tiny feet pressed together, with his long but fresh stick laying across his lap. He had a cute smile on his monkey face, and his equally cute eyes opened wide as Alex came closer, hands in his pockets. Gren waited quietly, in the trees. "Hello there."

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The tiny grass monkey sniffed the air around the human and looked him over. Alex looked around, the picture of casualness. "Are your parents around, little guy? Or are you on your own already?" While most Rillaboom stuck together, it wasn't unheard of for male Grookey to be pushed into the wilds on their own at a young age. Their groups typically were composed either of a male and his harem, or a few males, who jived together with their drums and used their strength to keep their groups safe. Galar's Rillaboom were much, much kinder than those in the Jungle of Death. Still though, banishing a Pokémon this young was…just wrong.

The Grookey blinked slowly, as he found he could process the human's words. Pokéspeech was still new to him, and he'd never heard Common either, but he understood every word coming from the human's mouth, which was refreshing. "My…own. My father…angry. Did not like…my…" The Grookey struggled to convey his next word and gestured to the blossoming foliage around him. Then, Alex understood.

"Your Ability. Grassy Surge. You empower the terrain around you with Grass Type Energy when you Battle. Or in your case…naturally." He felt a chill down his spine, as he realized how powerful the Grassy Terrain was, so soon after he'd been born. The healing effect was actually reaching him, too. It was strong enough to make a presumably powerful Rillaboom nervous enough to boot out a baby from his family group. If he could but train it…his grass types would be even more unstoppable. "You're so young, though. Did your mom really leave you out here alone?"

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The Grookey smiled wide at him, though he couldn't hide the sadness in his big eyes. "Not alone. Have Eterna!"

Alex raised an eyebrow, and he sensed Gren tense up. Unlike his other dark types, Gren could still listen to and use their team's mental network thanks to his species psychic abilities. It also helped that his father had been Champion ranked and had long since awakened his own psychic abilities.

Then, Alex saw what Gren was already tracking. Melting out of the gloom of the jungle behind the ideal Grookey, was a massive Annihilape. As it solidified on this plane, Alex didn't sense rage from it, hot or cold. In fact, its mind, such as it was, seemed…balanced, to him. Angry, yes, but a mix of burning fury and cold anger that resulted, oddly enough, in a state of relative calm, by all appearances. Alex could tell though, it was always angry and had been for a very long time. This was clearly an ancient ghost type. The tingle in his spine grew. He wasn't arrogant enough to hope, but if he could convince them both to join their team…

"GreeEEeetings…Human." The dead rage monkey screeched. "You speEEak like a Harmonia…how?"

"Well…" Alex began, not surprised that a ghost this old knew of the ancient bloodline. He then elaborated on how he'd taken on the mantle that had belonged to every Tamer of the Original Dragon, "...and after I opened my mind to the Universe and donned the Harmonia's crown, I could understand Pokémon as easily as I understand Humans."

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The Annihilape let out a hacking, shrieking sound then, and a glob of dark ectoplasm shot from its dead nostrils. "Nyaaagh…much better." The ancient ape shrieked, quieter. "What do you want with my friend… 'Tamer of the First Dragon?'" The dead ape said with intense sarcasm. Annihilape did not seem to believe his claim, but then, Alex couldn't blame them. To a Pokémon, it was like he was claiming to be a partner to one like unto a God, from their perspective. A natural power. An entity so strong, it was ordered by Arceus to defend an entire continent. He might as well have claimed he'd tamed and partnered with a hurricane.

"I'm building a team of Pokémon. The strongest in the world. I intend to make them World Champions…and a Grookey like your friend here would be…a very powerful ally. As would you, old one."

The Annihilape laughed, which sounded like a mocking noise somewhere between a screech and a huff. It was grating on the ears, and actually managed to irritate Alex, though he didn't let it show. "A bold claim, Human. Almost as bold as your first. Tell me…what will you do with such power?"

Alex nodded and could tell now what the dead ape thought of humanity in general, and honestly, it wasn't off base. Humans had a garbage track record of handling phenomenal power responsibly. "I do not seek to conquer or make war. I despise war as a concept. I want my team to be so large, so indisputably powerful that no one, Human or Pokémon, dares to mess with their strength. To be so strong, they don't even try starting a war, or at least, stop once one of my partners arrives to mediate. The long term, ideal goal is to stop all wars completely. Across the entire planet, and for once, have it enter a state of true peace." Though the Imperium was in a truce with Eous, there were still many regions in Old Africa that quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, had people who opposed the Imperator's rule. Once those conflicts were settled in the Imperium's usual manner, through blood and conquest, Alex expected a renewed assault on Eous. He hoped he'd bought a few years of peace before that, however.

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The Annihilape was quiet for a long time, and eventually, its Grookey friend started getting bored, losing focus, tiny finger up his nose as he looked around at the trees. From what Alex could tell, the foliage seemed to be speaking to the young ape. Finally, the ancient ghost spoke. "I too…Dream of a peaceful Earth. After existing for so long…I deeply desire peace. If this is your goal…I will lend my power to it. Only you Humans can advance me to a higher level of Strength, now, I know this…I would have you, when the time arrives, put me in charge of maintaining Selva Muerta. Do this, and you will have my strength, and my little friend too, if he wishes to grow strong."

Alex smirked. "It won't just be you handling the Jungle of Death." He stated flatly, "But I can help you turn this into a…somewhat peaceful jungle. Maybe we can curb all the death and killing but keep the raucous nature of competition that has made you all so powerful."

The dead ape exhaled a cloud of frost from its decayed snout. "I desire thissss…" It hissed. "I Will bring peace…to my jungle. And then…we will rename it." And by doing so, the ancient Annihilape believed it would also, finally, achieve some measure of peace as well.

"And I'll help!" The Grookey declared, with a mighty thwack of his stick. "Make me strong too, Human! Then I can surpass my father and lead all the Rillaboom!" His words weren't that articulate, but Alex grokked his meaning from his tone, and the fire in his young eyes. He may have been young, but he did understand what 'strongest Pokémon on the planet' meant. He was, Alex could tell, rather smart.

The Annihilape had a name that was more like a title, when translated, but it was what all the local Pokémon called him, as they walked towards the team's training grounds. Eternape. The Grookey also had a name. His mother had called him Kurchak, and Alex didn't have an objection to him keeping the moniker if he liked it. Eternape joined his fighting types, and very quickly, Arthur had found someone worth sparring with again. Kurchak was Teleported to the clone with Isamu and the others who still needed experience or items to evolve, and the training continued.

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The Dark Stone

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Alex's prime body was walking alongside Noir, his Floragato, as they headed away from the psychic anchor he had by the Rain Sage. Professor Cashapona claimed that Roca Sombramusgo, as the locals called it, was to the northeast, and Alex followed Noir for this. He could sense the evil stone, but its darkness made actually heading towards it quite difficult, as if it didn't want to be found.

Noir was undeterred though, not even stopping to pick up the fallen berries they passed on the ground. Alex tried grabbing those they came close to, but as his hand only met shadow after the third attempt, he realized they were illusions meant to guide lesser minds away from, presumably, the stone that they sought. Each time the darkness tried guiding him away from his destination.

It took a solid two hours of traversing the jungle in the overpowering afternoon humidity and heat before they finally came within sight of the stone, and Alex had to stop. "Any further, and the clones will vanish." Alex said to Noir, breaking the silence between them. "Just touch the stone, and come straight back to me, Noir. We can test out your new powers, but we need to stay together. I have a bad feeling about this part of the jungle."

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"Evolve and come back to your side." Noir affirmed. "I can do that." As he walked off, Alex frowned, as the clever cat had not said that he would. Alex stayed quiet though, choosing to trust in his partner.

As Noir approached the stone, which was covered in dark green moss and various glowing fungi that seemed to reach towards him the closer he got, he realized that every part within reach was covered in the fungi, and his instinct was telling him to avoid touching the strange multicolored but pinkish limned flora.

"I wouldn't touch that, if I were you."

Noir leapt back from the evil rock at the sound of the sly, feminine tone, and looked upwards. There, atop a tree branch that he wasn't sure had been hanging over the large stone before, was a seemingly disembodied smile, wide and sharp and full of fangs. Before Noir could respond, the rest of the Meowscarada appeared around the mad smile. He was immediately smitten by her beauty. Lithe and strong, her dark green leaf mask fit perfectly with her head and ears, and her striped, green coat was well groomed, for a wild Pokémon. She had a small leafy mane of deep green leaves around her neck, and small pink and green flowers seemed to both orbit her person and grow naturally in her fur at all times.

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"Why shouldn't I touch it? I want to evolve." He told the vision of beauty before him.

She just grinned wider. "Those plants, you see them? They were once like you. Floragato. Seeking to be strong. Embracing madness, or attempting to, at the whim of a Human. Had they evolved naturally, they would have lived. Turn back, handsome." She said with a purr, "I would hate to see you become just another fungus, among us."

Noir's sharp eyes narrowed. "I came here at my own whim, and I seek this form because I dislike the other. It's…it's not what I'm supposed to be. I can feel it."

The beautiful Muertan Meowscarada leaned her head towards him, with interest. "Oh? Perhaps you Are worthy. Well far be it from me to stop you…just understand, touching that stone will turn you Mad."

Noir tilted his head. "Mad?"

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She chuffed at him and rolled onto her back. Noir gulped, as his eyes were drawn by instinct to her lithe body. He understood how Alex felt now, with Jess, and 'not having the words' to accurately describe her beauty. Noir wished the redhead were here, she would be a fine tamer for a fine feline like her. "Regular Meowscarada use their Darkness for tricks, illusions, and act as magicians. We of Selva Muerta embrace it completely…and doing so turns us a bit Mad."

Noir's brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

The flirtatious feline purred in thought. "You know how Humans smile when they're happy, and grimace when they kill?" Noir nodded, recalling how Alex and the others had looked, in their memories of the war. "Well, I used to be the same way. But now I smile when I kill, and grimace when my prey escapessss…" She finished with a sharp hiss. "Therefore…I am Mad. We're all Mad, here. The Jungle's darkness infects every inch of this land."

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Noir was quiet for a long moment, the only sound he could hear, the swishing of her perfect, fluffy tail. "I'm touching it anyway." He declared, and the Meowscarada seemed pleased by his confidence in his choice. First, he made a makeshift warning sign from leaves, vines, and a branch. Then, he urinated on it, not to mark territory like some lesser canine, but to warn any Floragato who came after him that touching the fungus was dangerous.

"How kind." The Meowscarada purred, smirking at the futility of his efforts. Efforts she had once made herself.

Noir ignored her and launched a vine towards the branch she laid upon. Her ears fell back, and with a blur of movement, she occupied another branch, guiding it towards him with her power. "I see Madness has made you skittish." He teased from her old branch.

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She nonchalantly licked a green striped paw, only one eye on him as she retorted, "One does not so brazenly approach a Lady."

Noir ignored her again, which seemed to work for her, judging by the scent his nose was instinctively drawn to, wafting stronger through the air. It was enough to make his head spin, but he stayed focused. If he was going to take a female like her, he intended to do it when he evolved.

He looked down at the stone and nodded. Sure enough, there were four gaps in the fungi, large enough for his paws. He still didn't trust it though. While not his best move, he launched an empowered Magical Leaf from his palm at the glowing fungi, ripping them to shreds and ensuring he had room to land thanks to how much power he expended at once.

"So callous towards the corpses of our kind." The female remarked, watching him with both eyes now.

He smirked confidently at her. "I can't afford to turn into fungus. Seeing beauty like yours has…inspired me to live. And grow." He looked down again as she smirked slightly at him. "By any means necessary."

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With the landing cleared, Noir leapt down fearlessly onto the rock and landed on all fours. Almost immediately, he began to glow bright white. In the distance, Alex muttered with some worry in his tone, "Mukking finally…" He could feel the inherent darkness of this place warping his sight, and he didn't like it. He wanted to evolve Noir and get the Muk out of here. It was not a place for psychics. Or humans.

Alex watched the light of Noir's evolution with Leo's shared sight, and while there was natural dark typed energy everywhere, it did not try to smother or suffuse that bright white light. In fact, it seemed to recoil from it. As the light faded, a spinning pink and green flower bud came hurtling towards him, but he didn't move to avoid it, as he saw it wouldn't hit him. It was strange, he noted, that he had predicted the trajectory just by looking at the move and seeing its arc. He wondered if that might not be the result of fusing a Metang and a Kadabra to his mental network.

He glanced at the impact crater the Seed Bomb had left, and read runes in common, or rather, Noir's attempt at them, and what letters looked like to his eyes. They were more rounded and curved, like Unown letters, but Alex still managed to read them; 'See you back at camp. Later.' followed by a paw print that Alex recognized as Noir's, if a bit larger and shaggier. He had inspected his grass cat's paws often, after the first few times he cut his own vine, which was, according to the Pokénet, not supposed to happen with Floragato, so he recognized the lines on the paw, and once again, his eyes were sharper and easily picking up on the details.

image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/107dc055-197f-4c79-a8d4-bf5e3018e03b/dinzlvj-c6fb7ded-6a33-4167-93ef-902f581d1415.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzEwN2RjMDU1LTE5N2YtNGM3OS1hOGQ0LWJmNWUzMDE4ZTAzYlwvZGluemx2ai1jNmZiN2RlZC02YTMzLTQxNjctOTNlZi05MDJmNTgxZDE0MTUuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.wqDqXNxWtSvGQpO08lS8glfXWe3bWOB5HOnEYp7jMx8]

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In the distance, Alex heard something crashing through the jungle, as well as the cries of several Pokémon being hit by moves, a brief silence, followed by a lot of yowling. From two different Pokémon. Smirking, Alex figured Noir's situation out, more or less, and it seemed his mate was testing him. Or maybe an all-out ambush was just how the locals responded to seeing such a bright flash in such a dark place. Either way, Alex left him to it. He was high enough level to survive, and this was supposed to be the ideal environment for his species. He could make it a few hundred miles southward, probably.

As Noir felt Alex bamf away, he knew in his heart that he'd be returning to the team. As entrancing as this female was, his human had trusted him, newly evolved and on his own, and left him the choice to return later, or not. Local Pokémon of various types came at him, as he chased after the faint form of the female Meowscarada, leaping through the trees just ahead of him. They barely slowed him down. His Aerial Ace and new ability made him overwhelmingly strong. Said ability essentially turned Seed Bomb into a stronger version of Flower Trick, or perhaps the original version. The result, was multiple pink and green flowers, orbiting him almost constantly, as they just seemed to naturally regrow while he was in a battle. They struck hard and fast, and while Noir marveled at their power, he also felt somehow weaker, defense wise, in this new form. He wondered if he might not now be what his brothers called a 'glass cannon', which was apparently a fast attacker with poor defenses. There were a few on the team, but that just meant he had to dodge, as they did, and listen to Alex when he called for one.

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Alex wasn't here now, though, so Noir was forced to fight strategically, brutally, and quickly enough to keep up with his quarry. He managed to do so, though the effort had tired him, he was still conscious and capable. It was a great workout. They finally stopped in a dense part of the jungle that any larger or less lithe creature would have difficulty moving through. Within that tangle of vines, Noir was led to a stand of trees all unnaturally curved in towards each other, to create a safe, and enclosed area to sleep, or drag young, virile males into.

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For three days, Noir had his virility tested thoroughly, but he emerged stronger for it, more confident, after leaving the female satisfied and slumped in her leafy bed. He left her with the nonchalant attitude of a male feline and prowled easily through Selva Muerta without so much as a backward glance.

He tested his new abilities on the locals that, he found, were just a bit too vicious to their fellow Pokémon. His unsettling grin, and ability to camouflage in such grassy terrain unsettled most of his targets. When surrounded by foliage, he could shift his naturally somewhat striped coat to match his surroundings, and blend perfectly. His Flower Bombs, as he called them, also seemed capable of bending the light around his fur, and he used them to hide his eyes as he spied on the jungle's inhabitants.

Disappointingly, all he found was almost mindless, instinct driven Pokémon who only seemed to care about two things: reproduction, and their next meal. Berries did grow plentifully; the only problem was that anyone trying to eat one usually had it nabbed by an unseen adversary too small to reach the berry trees. Chasing after the thief also, usually, found the berry enjoyer drawing the attention of a more predatory and morally grey species, like Liepard.

There also seemed to be a general consensus among the locals, that the stronger one's prey was, the more nutritious the meal it made, and the stronger the predator would become in turn. Noir found that to be nonsense, but he did have to begrudgingly admit that there were some frighteningly powerful Pokémon in this jungle, several of whom seemed to almost see through his camouflage. A wild Meowscarada might have struck at them on instinct and tried running, but Noir knew better. They couldn't break him if they couldn't find him.

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The only one that came genuinely close was a Muertan Arbok, and a massive example of that species. Noir knew it had to be around ninety or higher, in human terms of measuring a Pokémon's power. His instincts guided him away from the massive poison dark type, and towards the pillar of frost that he assumed was Gelauros, testing the endurance of those weak to ice moves. He grimaced, as he knew he was among that number, and would be joining them on his return.

He took his time over that remaining day and a half trek, though his pace increased, when he felt Gel's frost suddenly stop.

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The Archon

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Three Days After Noir Evolved… - Selva Muerta

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Fire. Death. A trail of bodies was all that Archon left in his wake with each thunderous step forward that he took. The titanic bridge dragon was barely even noticing the feeble and forced attacks used by their enemies. They were the kind of humans who had been alive before Pokémon started appearing, and very quickly, had figured out how to forcefully turn these new 'magic animals' into sentient weapons. William Draciel (Dra-see-el) looked upon what he had wrought, and silently wept, for while his enemies were indeed the absolute worst of the remaining Old Earth governments, they were still his people, living in his Empire.

Will was not the only one with tears. Looking up, he saw the Original Dragon, and that sight, is what jolted Alexander Redwood into a sudden state of lucidity within his dream. Tao looked…more primal. Rugged. Less refined, like he currently was. It was like he was a prototype of what he would go on to become. He also had some sort of an icy chin beard going on, that didn't really work well with his features. Alex didn't have long to take in the changes between past and present, however, as Tao then did something that he did recognize. His tail rose into the air, and with the shifting nature of ice energy, fused the designs of both a thermonuclear reactor and an electromagnetic generator. The resulting machine propelled him across the sky as he roared, "Enough! I shall be the one to take this burden! And end this madness once and for all!"

The man, one of Tao's previous Tamers, Will, apparently, gasped as he watched in horror. "No… please, no…" The despairing man fell to his knees, and the tears came freely, now. He was clad in a black Haori, with gold trim and accents, a gold and black Taijitu swirl on his back, not all that different from what Alex wore. Indeed, his pants were the same as Alex's, black and white and from Tao's realm, there was no question. He had skin as pale as Alex's, black hair streaked with grays tied up into what Alex recognized as a classic Unovan ponytail hairstyle worn by their ancient warriors. As the man stood, a golden aura pulsed around his body, and Alex knew immediately who he was looking at. His predecessor. The First. He could be no other. That meant that this…was likely the moment that Tao had forcibly put down the last violent remnants of the oligarchical governmental structure and entity that had once called itself America.

They seemed to be standing atop an ancient stone fort of some kind, but then, Alex realized it was actually the Dragonspiral Tower. He spied Tao's nature garden on a lower tier, while this, the top, was home to a series of white pillars long broken and a space large enough for Tao to land. Alex nodded to himself. Meeting the Original Dragon had once been a lot more ceremonial, especially compared to the ease and casual nature of the modern method. He definitely preferred modernity, but looking around, he could see how that primal beast of a dragon, descending from the sky to treat with humanity, had a certain…epicness to it.

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As Alex followed Will up to the edge of the tower, a bright flash of light erupted before them, on the horizon. Alex tried to get his bearings, and figure out what direction that was, but the stars were different, and the land was unrecognizable, and unhelpfully obscured by tons of…pinkish mist? He blinked, but yes, from up here it definitely had a pink coloration to it as it wafted through the forest below. Strange. But probably normal, for this era. He looked back at the light, and his eyes widened as he recognized the mushroom cloud forming in the wake of a nuclear detonation. No army had a chance of surviving that.

"I don't know who you are…" The first Dragon Emperor said, "But I can tell you are not from my era. The future, then?" He looked directly at Alex then, whose eyes widened. He was channeling the Light, with familiar ease, and apparently that gave him the ability to see Alex through whatever strange dream sorcery was happening in his head and projecting him into the past. Alex nodded, finding that, probably because he was physically deeply asleep, he couldn't talk or respond. All that came out was a weak gasp. He couldn't psychically project his words, either.

"Well then…to you, strange man from the future…look upon my folly and despair. This is…the death of a great experiment. The final nail in a coffin that's been being nailed shut for a while now…the last vestiges of the old world were just blown away, reduced to atoms. By the Dragon himself…" He wiped his eyes. "I don't know how you are here, or if you can truly understand what it is you are witnessing. The most peaceful being I know…just sacrificed his morals so that my team would not fall to blood-madness." He gestured below, and sure enough, Alex made out the Alpha sized forms of ten Pokémon, most of which were dragons, fighting against an army of other Pokémon being controlled by devices that Alex knew had, in ancient times, been used to subjugate Pokémon with brutal jolts of typed energy they were weak to. In his time, all such devices had been irreparably smashed, and all hints of their schematics erased by the Unovan government.

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"My friends would eventually win, but…the Dragon has decided to end things himself before more innocent Pokémon are killed. He is…he is getting involved personally, and as usual…involving a Legend in our problems comes with a steep death toll for Humanity." Will took a deep breath as he sighed. "Learn from our mistakes, future man. And if you can…" His eyes noticed Alex's leg garb and widened in recognition before they moved back to the ghostly intruder's, "Do not let the Original Dragon lose himself in war. Take me at my word…he is better suited as a General than a soldier."

With that, his aura flared, his black hair became golden and unbound, like Connor's transformation, and he shot into the air like a golden meteor. As Alex watched him go, he awoke to a pair of floating, golden eyes. His first immediate clue that what he'd seen was not a trick or illusion. "Alex…at last. Your Pokémon informed me that you would not wake. I sensed a foreign power in your mind as you slept. Are you well? You seem…pale."

It took Alex a second to separate himself from what he'd sensed as the first Dragon Emperor, and he nodded at Tao's question. "I…saw the First. My predecessor. What was his name…William Draciel. Whatever wanted me to see him…it didn't feel hostile. I was deeper in the dream than usual, though. And…he saw me. Somehow, the first Dragon Emperor acknowledged my presence."

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Tao was silent for a long time, as his eyes blazed with gold. "I see. You are correct. It is no enemy that did this. Let me know if it happens again."

With that almost infuriating lack of information or context, Tao vanished, and Alex sighed heavily. He groaned to his feet within his camping tent and exited with an army of clones behind him. They set to making breakfast for their expanding team, and Alex bamfed one of them back home, to Unova.

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New Tork City - Capital Province, Unova

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Alex appeared atop the Dragonspiral Tower, which was home to Tao's garden this time, in this age. He looked around at his surroundings, trying to divine where the dragon had gone nuclear, but it was useless. Ages had passed between his vision and now, and too much was now different. Icirrus City especially so. Even in the past it had been somewhat small, but these days, the center of the Scale's order needed more to sustain them, and the city had risen in response to that need. Taking over the small bit of route between the tower and the town, Icirrus City could now claim to have battle facilities and items on par with Castelia, with architecture honoring the Dragon that rivaled Opelucid. Some residents didn't like the radical change, and Tao had arranged to have another part of the surrounding area developed in a manner that worked with nature, instead of dominating it. The younger generation, of course, had no problem with their home becoming more like, and connected to, Castelia and the other boroughs.

"First things first…Deino." As Alex looked up where they were typically found, Connor appeared from around one of the hedges, the blonde Seeress from Valaskjalf on his arm. "Speaking of our Dragon Emperor…taking a break, are we?"

"Something like that…" Alex said with a smirk. "Y'know, I don't think I've ever actually properly met your friend here." He gestured to the blonde on his arm, who chuckled.

Connor's eyes widened as he realized his longtime rival was correct. "Ahh, right. This is Heidr (Hay-dur). Daughter of Lokra. She, uhh, actually just agreed to be my wife, as it turns out."

Alex nodded, as both he and Jess had expected that eventually. Then, Connor's words were processed, and Alex frantically made the clone have the appropriate facial expression as he said, "Congratulations! I'm glad we'll have familial ties to Valaskjalf. It'll give Jess, Folokraan, and any of our daughters a chance to visit."

Heidr just chuckled, "You and your kin are welcome any time, Dovahkiin. But you know this."

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"I do." He answered, and before the following silence turned awkward, said, "I should be on my way. I'll leave you two be. You should tell your sister too, Connor."

"I will once she answers her phone." He grumbled, "Let her know, if you see her."

Alex shrugged, "You'll probably see her before I do. It's the cost of having the World Festival and the World Tournament at the same time, I suppose. Everyone is occupied with training." With that, he flew into the air, and a few moments later, he saw Connor flying his fiancé into the air with his own powers. Remembering his predecessor's transformation, Alex made a note to try it at some point. Will's had been like…a combination of both the aspects that Connor and Alex had reached the Light with, an aura shield on par with Alex's, and the strange hair-color changing boost that Connor had achieved with physicality and fighting energy. Almost immediately, Alex wondered if it might not take a balance of both psychic and fighting energy, which would make a lot of sense, given how those types interacted. In a way, they were both opposites, and yet the same. Different, but connected. Body and mind. Yin and Yang. That, and the fact that they could both lead to Light abilities cemented the 'equation', as N would call it, for him.

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Alex left it for something his main body could practice and focused on his task for this clone; find a worthy Deino, and train him to be on par with the rest of his dragons. As he flew away, he received a psychic ping. He should've known better than to think he could just fly off in his now iconic robe without getting bogged down. "What is it, Joey?" He answered the man's relatively simple mind, which even now was aglow with thoughts of his Raticate.

"Alex! Long time, my man. There's uhh, there's a bunch of people from Germania who claim they need to see you. Immediately. Nobody knew where you'd gone off to train though, so they've just been waiting here at the Tower…for a while now…and we're kind of tired of dealing with them."

"Right…sounds like the Drachenfels. I'll be right there." He arced back to the tower's lower level, following Joey's psychic aura as he did so. Naturally, as soon as he entered the tower's main level, the conversing trainees paused, many staring in disbelief. Alex just gave them a smirk and a nod, letting his robe flare as he walked just fast enough to make it do so. He arrived in the common area to see Hassel, alongside two other Dragon Tamers, sporting the regal red and gold of the Imperium. Their golden capes had a stylized depiction of Castle Drachenfel on their front and back. The clenched fist of their Imperator clutching a lightning bolt was proudly on display on their chests, as was their apparent disdain at the simple yet comfortable surroundings of the tower.

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Their hair was blonde, and their eyes were brownish gold, but Alex could faintly see the familial resemblance to Hassel, who was in the same clothes he'd worn during their battle. "Ahh, Champion Redwood. I'm glad your people finally got a hold of you."

"Hassel Drachenfel." Alex said, with a nod of respect. "You are welcome in our Tower, of course. Is there something I can do for you and your clan?"

"Three things!" The aged man shouted unnecessarily loud, but it did serve to draw any eyes that hadn't moved to them already with Alex's arrival. "First…accept my humble apologies. It has come to my attention that I- We have been fed falsehoods and fables about you, and your nature. You, young man, are a fine example of everything a Draconid should aspire to be, and the more I learn of your saga, the more impressed I become."

"A saga, eh?" Alex said, stroking his beard slightly, as he smirked. "I kind of like that, actually. Like an old Norstad epic..."

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"Indeed! For epic can be the only word appropriate when describing something as life changing as ending world hunger. By every measure and metric of our people, you are worthy…and thus, the care of Archon now falls to you. The rightful successor to the First Dragon Emperor. This is my second request; I humbly ask that you accept the Ace of your predecessor into your team." He bowed low then and offered Alex the ball. It was ancient in design, and yet just modern enough to incorporate recall technology in the form of a laser beam. This missing link between Apricorn balls and modern Pokéballs had only one drawback that the Trainers who'd used them had simply embraced. The inhabitants could, quite easily, come forth from and return to the ball at will, and even completely refuse to leave it. Modern balls could be left as well, but it was apparently harder to do, and they always ejected the occupant when their Trainer needed them to.

Alex slowly took it, and his eyes widened, as it reacted to being in his palm. Bright whitish gold flashed, and the surrounding Padawans stared in awe at the massive Archaludon that manifested before them. Looking around in disbelief at the relic from the past made real again in modernity, Archon was silent for only a moment as he realized he was not hallucinating, before he suddenly roared so loud all present had to cover their ears.

Alex felt Tao's reaction, and sure enough, an answering roar came in response. It may have sounded angry or full of fury, but Alex could tell these were simply cries of excitement. Archon couldn't believe the tower was intact. Tao couldn't believe his ancient friend had finally come home. The tower shuddered, as Tao made his way down.

"I will join your team in time. I must speak with the Original Dragon first." Archon rumbled. Alex noticed powerful dragons rarely asked for anything, preferring to imply the request with their words.

"Of course, Archon. Tao can send you to us when you're ready. Feel free to roam Unova as you please, just uhh…watch where you step. You're quite a bit bigger than when last you walked here. The sentient dragon bridge nodded and began stomping away. Naturally, quite a few students followed to watch that reunion, leaving Alex and Hassel in relative solitude to continue speaking.

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"And the third thing?" Alex asked, with a smirk.

His ears twitched as he heard a strange sound, heavy almost metallic clomping boots, coming towards them. "Ahh, here comes my third request now." Alex turned at Hassel's words and beheld a gigantic human being. Alex was no decent judge of male attractiveness, but this man could only be described as beautiful. Short blonde hair framed his aesthetically perfect face, and atop his head were golden laurels, shaped like a U, that curved around his skull. Mounted onto his armor's energy backpack so that it framed his head, was a metallic golden sun.

His armor had too much detail and golden trimmed heraldry for Alex to properly focus on. It was Ultramarine blue, bulky, and had no discernible weak spots. Even the kneepads, which each sported a white U on them framed by green laurels, completely covered the joint. The more he looked the more he marveled at how perfectly each piece must have to fit together to stay mobile and completely armored. Each shoulder pauldron was massive and ornately detailed around the white U that marked him as an Ultramarine. The closer the giant clomped, the heavier Alex realized that armor had to be, and he felt a familiar chill run up his spine as they locked blue eyes on blue eyes and evaluated each other. Once again, Alex found himself looking upwards at one of the Imperator's sons, though where Horus had been pent up rage and an obvious sense of superiority, this man, Roboute Guilliman (Row-boo-tay Gill-E-man), for it could be no other, radiated his superiority with his very aura. It was as obvious as his unnatural height.

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Hassel spoke first, as the giant stopped a respectable distance from them, "Alexander Redwood, Victory Champion, and Dragon Emperor, I give you Prime Archon Roboute Guilliman, Strategist Supreme of the Imperium of Man, thirteenth son of the Imperator, and lord of the mighty Ultramarines, the largest Legion of Astartes in the Imperium. He has come to participate in the World Tournament." Alex blinked, as that was new information to him. Professor Aristole had claimed all twenty Legions were around the same size, with one or two exceptions that had come out smaller thanks to genetic defects, but he had also warned his information could be outdated. That meant that this giant golden man before him was in command of a force that, when fully utilized, could not be matched by anyone on the planet. The current comparison in terms of strength between the Empire's Scales, and other Trainers in their military, and the average Thunder Warrior, was thirty Trainers to a single Astartes. A loneAstartes. Against the average squad of twelve, it would take five hundred Trainers, with ten partners each. And even then, things would be dire. By every metric, their analysts determined the only way to oppose these genetically engineered killing machines was with numbers, and as many moves as possible. And those tactics would not work on their Librarians, or a Prime Archon.

Alex had no doubt the being before him would take down thousands, if not millions, before he started feeling fatigue. From boredom. Mentally, he informed Tao that the Brain Trust's request to create less bulky power armor was approved and would have whatever materials they required for mass production. The only sliver of a chance his Empire had against a Legion of Astartes lay in numbers, but better armor could drastically close the gap. He'd been holding off, because of the peace, but seeing just how far ahead the Imperium was made his instincts flare in a mix of panic and warning. This was a being who, if he was inclined to, could probably pulp even his durable body with a single swing of one of his massive, bulky armored arms. With teams in the eighties and nineties in terms of level, and armor that could hold up to a Prime Archon, their odds were much better.

Finally, after a few moments, his clone said, "Hello there," and started acting normally once again. He had no doubt Guilliman had already, or was in the process of, figuring out he was a psychic clone. It'd be hard to tell now that it had his full attention. "I spoke with the League, and we agreed to acknowledge you as your Imperium's envoy, and to allow you to roam our territory and participate in the Tournament. The rules are available from any Rotom Drone, and to register, you'll want to go to a Pokémon Center… Although…"

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Guilliman raised a golden eyebrow at his pause. "Forgive me if this is considered rude, Prime Archon…but the ahh, armored regalia, might intimidate people too much. You'll need to interface with regular Trainers to progress in the Tournament."

Guilliman nodded slowly. "I understand." A flash of blinding blue light illuminated the entire floor of the tower with his power. When it faded, the giant man appeared to be clad in a more casual outfit, more akin to a dress, a toga, Alex believed they were called on Olympius. Blue, white, and gold high-quality robes now adorned his goldish tan skinned titanic frame, and golden bands bearing the Ultramarine's badge were on his wrists. "I trust I will be safe, while I compete. Even so, I advise you not to try attacking me. Even without our armor, a Prime Archon will not fall easily."

Alex gave him an understanding nod. "I'll assign one of our Scale's teams to unobtrusively keep an eye on your well-being, just in case someone tries something. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding a strong opponent, or at least someone willing to test a son of the Imperator. Just remember, we do not kill our opponents. Ever."

Guilliman nodded sagely. "I have read your rules of Battle and find them satisfactory. My team is also willing to comply." Guilliman placed a hand over his heart then and bowed slightly. "I hope this is the first step to true peace between the Imperium and the rest of the world, Dragon Emperor."

Alex bowed in return. "If there is a path to such a future Prime Archon, we shall find it in friendly competition. I wish you luck. We may even meet in the final rounds, if you Battle strong enough foes. The stronger they are, the more points they're worth. Feel free to stay in the Tower while you are here." With that concluded, Hassle and his Imperium entourage left with Guilliman, and Alex bamfed to Opelucid City before anything else could bog him down. The fact that he now owned one of the first Dragon Emperor's Pokémon still hadn't quite hit him yet, and he genuinely wondered how people would react to a son of a tyrant participating in the World Tournament. Of all the Imperator's sons, he was glad Guilliman had been the one chosen. Alex recalled him having by far one of the best temperaments of the Imperator's sons, rivaled only by his white winged brother, Sanguinius.

He should have known better than to think he'd make it through a city like Opelucid unimpeded. Fans, he didn't mind, and by this point, thanks to a message from Lux on his Chatter account apparently, they just shouted out the code phrase for an autograph and seemed to understand he was too busy for a face to face with every single person. Maybe once he mastered his clone trick and understood the cost it took more thoroughly, that would be possible, but for now, his fans were reduced to shouting, "I'm preserving the Emperor's Groove!"

Thankfully, he and Lux were not the only ones who found that amusing. He sent a short-lived clone with his pen their way, and headed for Victory Road, only to find yet another figure blocking his path. This one, he happily engaged with, as his opinion of the man had improved, from what Geralt had mentioned of his efforts.

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"Director Colress!" He shouted as he approached, and the scientist clad in his ever-advancing gray full body tech suit nodded at him as he looked up from the screen on his arm.

"Alex Redwood. Just the man I was looking for." They closed the distance and shook hands. "I have news for you. We finally sorted through Dengeki's Stargate data. It's…not good. Ninety percent of the Human colonies that spread out across the Milky Way in the past are now deceased, as far as he can tell. The few still intact have essentially reverted to cavemen, the last time he was able to see them."

Alex smirked. "Sounds like they need some uplifting."

Colress nodded. "I am of the same mind. We've already started to make contact, but some of them are very violent…"

Alex's smirk widened. "Why Director, it sounds like you need some aid for that endeavor. I'd love to help out."

Colress gave him a knowing look. "You just want to visit another planet. Trainer to your core, you are. We haven't found any…unknown Pokémon, and the few we have seen seem…isolationist. Like they want to be left alone. They also seem to know what the Stargates are, and Dengeki seems to let them through as needed. We hypothesize that quite a few of our local species from Earth, entirely wild and very much on their own initiative, have already gone through the gates, and perhaps have been doing so for quite some time."

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"That is…deeply fascinating, Director. When I have things in hand here, I think I'd like to traverse the Stargates for a time. I'd like to hear why these Pokémon left, and what they've been doing since, in their own words. I think my team would like that too. Some of them, anyway. I wonder if clones would hold up through Stargates…"

Colress blinked at him. "Did…you say 'clones'?" Alex nodded, and Colress's smile became wider. "I thought that was just a conspiracy…you really can psychically clone yourself!?"

Alex nodded again. "My highest amount at once is a few hundred, but I couldn't do much more than have them answer questions. So far there doesn't seem to be a limit on distance that they can travel, provided I utilize the ley lines correctly, and I have to individually control all of them, so it's not actual cloning, just one mind controlling multiple Psychic Energy bodies."

Colress just stared at him. "You do understand no Human mind could do that, right? The amount of sensory input from that many sources across that far a distance would drive a Human being to madness."

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Alex just shrugged. "We're entering a new era, Director. The limits of the Human mind are not set in stone. Not so long ago, the idea of training sixty Pokémon at once was thought to be impossible, if not impractical. Now, for me, it's very much possible. Heck, I could and intend to train more, sixty is just the start. And I'm not the only Champion with psychic potential to expand their roster."

"Speaking of ridiculously large rosters…I hear you're planning on finding a Deino. If you're interested, I have a particularly powerful but ornery specimen in stasis up in Lantea City. We studied him all we could, but he's been deemed too dangerous to release into the wild. If he evolves as he is now…he could level the Capital province. He's not fond of Humans in general…but he doesn't deserve to stay in stasis forever. I figured if anyone could help him, and want to help him, it would be a Trainer of your caliber. I've seen some of your new catches, despite your secrecy. Not one of them is unimpressive. And that Ceruledge…" He shuddered from how cool it had been to his inner nerd, to see a Mandalorian helm combined with the fiery dark knight that was Ceruledge, or, in this case apparently, Revan. "His swords were even purple and red."

Alex smirked, as he'd very much pegged Colress as a nerd. A nerd of culture, no less, for while the Pokémon Wars Saga was a proper epic, doing everything the originals had, but essentially with Pokémon, all three of those trilogies were seen as more of a continuation of the much, much older Star Wars. But the real fans were the ones who dove into Old Earth's pop culture, where one could find classic titles like Knights of the Old Republic, or Skyrim. Colress was very obviously such a nerd, if he understood what a Mandalorian was. "Do you want a bamf back up there?" Alex asked. "This clone's purpose is to catch a Deino after all." Colress spent a solid two minutes then, examining his body then, in a scientific manner, before his curiosity was satisfied.

"Yes, I could use a ride." Colress finally said, offering a gloved hand, which was also a part of his tech suit. With that, the two men bamfed to Luna.

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Monster Zero

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Lantea City Containment Lab - Luna

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Alex stared at the sleeping Deino before him with a look of uncertainty. Being a Unovan, technically, he had of course considered raising a Hydreigon at some point. The only problem was their species' temperament. Even with Champion Nate's now somewhat outdated guide to raising one, the food cost alone would have crippled his journey. They had large appetites correlated to their size, and a seriously bad attitude that only got worse with each evolution, another hindrance to his journey, and that had been enough to disqualify them from his Ace slot.

And yet, now, here he was. They had the young, but rather impressively large dark type, who had to be close to evolution, kept in what seemed like a permanent sleep. His 'cage' was similar to the one Horus had been in, a square on the floor with energy barriers that only became visible when approached.

Growing up had only cemented his negative perception of the line. Hydreigon wasn't exactly what one could call a great flier, either. They had phenomenal power, when their heads weren't fighting, and were very dangerous over short distances, but he'd wanted a globe-spanning species with unmatched aerial prowess and devastating power, and Shruikan had become exactly that. Now, after his Garchomp, Shruikan wanted a Hydreigon to spar with as well. That had been his only request, if they were going to be adding so many faces. More than a few fans had also wondered why he'd gone for Garchomp over Hydreigon, and that was mostly because Garchomp could handle Mega Evolution without constantly rampaging.

As far as he knew, only Nate was crazy enough to try mega evolving his Hydreigon, and subduing the subsequent rampage had taken his main team, all but one of whom had fainted. Thus, the National Dex now had a big red warning about Mega Evolution on the Deino line's entries.

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Alex read the moniker that Pegasus had given their charge, Monster Zero, and then noted the strange patterns of fate and fortune that swirled about the Deino. Finally, he said, "Director." Which got the attention of the man beside him. Those sharp, intelligent eyes tinged with sadness now, shifted back to his. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to the first Dragon Emperor's Hydreigon, would you?"

Colress chuckled humorlessly and looked back at the Deino with a soft sigh. "Sadly yes, I do. With his master dead, he was about as furious as you'd expect, but the Humans of that time were not so easily disobeyed…the subsequent Emperors turned him into a breeder, the only problem, was that every time some self-important elitist snob tried training one, it eventually evolved and became a calamity. Most of the calamities we have record of were caused by these hatchlings. This one was sent up here, by the Unovan Government, back when the last chained Hydreigon of his line finally, mercifully, passed away. He's been asleep ever since…but I have a feeling his rage has only been growing."

Alex felt Shruikan angrily reacting to the story, and Alex agreed with him. But this was not the old Dragon Empire. They would be better. They had to be. "This is Fate if I've ever seen it. There can be only one Trainer for him, and this time, he'll be trained properly."

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"It is folly."

Both Alex and Colress leapt, as they'd locked the door behind them. Even a Deino could be rather destructive. They turned to see the source of the irritated baritone, a pair of blazing, golden eyes floating in the air.

"I will tell you what I told William, when he began this tragedy. Lesser Hydreigon may be Tamed, but those who bear this Darkness, are something else entirely. They cannot help their evil. It is their nature. Like a curse. This little one's ancestor bore it as well, as did his predecessors. Before even my time in Unova, since their species first evolved, this lineage has lasted, and every single one has become a natural disaster. They don't even need to reproduce, an Egg of their species line will simply appear one day with that telltale aura, and once again, the cycle of tragedy and death repeats. Leave him in stasis. It is the kinder fate for him, than the one that awaits."

Alex stared at the ground as Tao spoke. For context on his current thoughts, he had, naturally, at one point just set a clone to watching anime while the others trained. Mostly because he didn't like not knowing a story, but also because he was properly hooked by this point. His clone had made it to Boruto, the slightly less popular but still fairly decent 'Dad Era' of Naruto as a character. Alex looked at the Deino again, destruction incarnate apparently, going back eons. He was seeing some parallels and then asked himself what kind of leader he wanted to be. What kind of leader he was, so far.

"Wake him up. At the very least, I need to speak with him. He deserves to know what's going on."

Colress's eyes widened. "You're…going to tell him!? That…might just actually work…"

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Tao's eyes flared again, and his voice rose. "Did you not hear me? The last Harmonias thought as you do. They could speak with their Deino, so surely it would not rampage. I warned them. Begged them not to raise one, but sure enough, their Deino grew up, and once a Hydreigon, lost all control. He then proceeded to spend centuries chained and imprisoned, living a life of torturously slow decay… They don't talk, they kill, they don't train, they plot their Trainer's death while pretending to put in an effort. Hear me, Alexander Redwood I will Not put down another! Leave him be!"

Alex winced, as he understood, suddenly, why Tao was so adamant. His idiot predecessors had, probably hundreds of times, come to him begging to put down a Hydreigon he had likely fruitlessly warned them not to train, as he was doing now, and with the humans unable to stop the rampage it caused, that duty fell to Tao. "I understand why this is such a sore point for you Tao, but he deserves a chance to live his life. At the very Mukking least, he deserves to know why he's being kept in stasis. And even if he does rampage…" Alex's eyes burned gold, as he channeled the Light into his clone, and met the dragon's eyes evenly, "I will stop him. With my own hands, I will end my failure…but I have to at least try. He deserves that much. Every living thing does."

Tao was silent for a long time as his student finished with a lesson he'd been taught by Tao himself, his eyes no less fiery. Finally, he said, "Do as you will." And vanished.

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"This…may actually not be so great of an idea, Alex…" Colress said in a hesitant tone, "The Original Dragon would know…"

"I made my decision, Director. Wake him up, please."

Colress sighed, but bowed to manners, and began the awakening process. Three balls bamfed up to the clone, as very quickly, the weight of the young dragon's malice filled the room. He woke up with an angry snarl that didn't inspire confidence in Alex. "Deeeeaaaaath…" was what it translated to.

"Not today." Alex answered with a smirk. The Deino's head turned toward him, and slowly, the malice started to fade. "Hello there." Alex began, "I am Alex Redwood. I train Pokémon like you, to become the most powerful example of their species that they can be."

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The large Deino wandered towards him, then tilted his head. "You…you speak like us…I understand your words…you…want to make me strong?" He shuddered, as the visions, memories, or whatever they were, of a murderous rampage caused by his own heads filled his mind again. "I…don't want strength…I…I would be bad."

Alex's eyes widened. "Do…you know already? Do you know what happens when Zweilous with power like yours become Hydreigon?"

At the word 'Hydreigon' the little dragon shuddered in fear. "I see…I see the dead…Humans…Pokémon… please… don't make me strong again…please…"

In a calm baritone, Alex began explaining the young dragon's situation to him, but the more he spoke, the more he frowned. When he finally paused, the dragon said, "I knew I was evil. I can feel it, lurking inside. Put me back to sleep, Human…I don't want to hurt anyone else ever again."

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Alex exhaled a heavy sigh. "You don't want to live, either? To enjoy good food and good friends? You'd give up all that life is just to what, sleep forever?"

"If it means I stop killing young ones, then yes!" The Deino roared at him. "I can't…take these…images…I can't do it again…please don't make me."

"I would never force you." Alex stated plainly, "But you deserve the chance to choose. To experience the good of this life you have."

"I have!" He roared again, "Over and over I have enjoyed my lives, felt good things, eaten good food, made good friends…and I always end up killing them! This is what I see, when I sleep, the faces of my dead friends…but eventually, like last time, they'll stop, and I can just…rest."

"I'm not talking about who you've been. I'm talking about who you are Now. You can always choose differently than your previous incarnations did. You have not done anything wrong just by existing."

"You are wrong…" The Deino looked down sadly, "I can't choose differently…I was cursed…a long time ago. I was evil…purely evil…and punished for it by a powerful Fairy. And I deserve it. I always choose death. I always give in to rage. I've made my choice. Just put me back to sleep."

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Alex nodded to himself as the Deino laid down and turned his back to the human. "Alright." Before Colress could even blink, the white and black clad Emperor, with an irritated gleam in his eye, hurled a Luxury Ball at the Deino's back, and he honked in surprise, as his essence was pulled into the pocket dimension. Moments later, it dinged green.

"So much for deserving the chance to choose." Colress said, as Alex picked up his catch.

Alex ignored the man and set the Pokéball to stasis mode. This meant time itself was now frozen within the pocket dimension, though Deino could still move around and eat, he would gain no Experience. And he would do so in luxury. While initially furious as the dragon realized what he was in from his past lives, he had to admit, this time his Trainer had a most satisfactory space for him. From above, he heard Alex's voice.

"You will remain in stasis, and you will be comfortable, while I do some proper investigating into lifting your curse. It may take some time, so enjoy yourself. If you have to stay like this there's no reason you shouldn't be happy, at least."

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Alex bamfed the ball to his main body then and looked at Colress. "A curse like this is bad news. Whatever put it on him, is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Humans who lived in my Empire. They're the ancestors of my current subjects. Whoever cursed him, they're certainly no friend to the Empire, or Humanity, and probably won't like that it has reformed. So, I'm going to take him, find out what cursed him, try to reason with it, and maybe save an as yet innocent life. Do you have a problem with that, Director?"

Colress just smirked. "Not at all. But what if, after all that, let's say you free the Deino, or believe you do, and he decides he wants to be wild?"

Alex chuckled. "He won't. When I do train him, it'll be done properly. And once he Battles my other dragons…I have a feeling he'll want to stay. But if he doesn't, I can have him watched. Make sure he's not poached or falling into dark habits."

"Well at least you have that much sense." Colress sighed. "I may regret letting you catch him, but on your head be the consequences. Consider him your Pokémon now, the responsibility for him is yours." Alex thanked him and vanished in a cloud of pink sparkles as the clone poofed. Colress sighed heavily. "These Redwoods…are something else."

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Elite Four Common Area - Victory Plateau, Unova Region

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A hush fell over the lavishly decorated common room, as Alex Redwood appeared, and looked around. Sure enough, Will and Shauntal were sitting together at one of the tables. The two had fallen into, the way Alex had heard it, quite an epic romance, and these days Will had his mask off more often and his smile was genuine. Alex headed towards them, with purpose, and Will inclined his head as he arrived at the table. "Champion. It's been a while. I don't believe we have any worthy Challengers yet, once the school year ends, we tend to get a few."

"I'm actually here for your other half." Alex said with a smirk, before meeting Shauntal's bespectacled gaze. "When you have time, Shauntal, I'd like for you to research the first Dragon Emperor's Hydreigon, and any mention of a curse upon him, or just a curse upon Hydreigon as a species in general. What Fairy Type caused it, why, and any information on how to break such a thing would be greatly appreciated."

Shauntal blinked slowly. "But why ask me?"

Alex chuckled. "Nobody in Unova is better at getting to the truth of our legends. And I believe you owe me one." He said with a meaningful look at Will. He couldn't claim credit for the relationship, but he had sent the solitary psychic her way, like an arrow from a bow.

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"We shall both research this for you, Champion." Will interjected smoothly. "When we have time."

"Of course." Alex responded with a smile more authentic than Will's, "I'm counting on you two. Sorry to interrupt. Have a good day." With that, he bamfed away again, and the two Elite Four members chuckled. Alex Redwood didn't ask much of his Elite Four in a Champion's capacity, something they very much enjoyed, and having Rosa, Hilbert, and Hilda around to either stand in for them, or him, was also very appreciated. When he did ask for something though, it was usually of vital importance, and the Original Dragon had made it clear to each of the Four, privately, that his requests were to be taken seriously.

So, while he hadn't given them a time limit, there was still a sense of urgency. If it had been immediately dire, he would've been sterner, and so Will and Shauntal continued to enjoy themselves, and it would be some time until they started digging into the source of the Deino's curse.

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Trial of the Vinewarden

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Alex had Eternape and Coryn with him, inside their balls, as he stomped through an area near the Amazon River itself. Eternape, even from his ball, could manifest what seemed to be a Night Shade capable of speech, or at least speaking to him, while his body rested in luxury. Apparently, to properly confirm he was worthy on more than just how impressive his team was, and his word, Eternape wanted to test him, and he had chosen his ghostly owl archer, Coryn, to accomplish this test. Apparently, the ghostly owl archer had impressed him. Every so often, the ghostly ape appeared to guide him. Eventually, Alex came to a clearing free of vegetation, which was odd to find this close to the river, and this deep in the jungle. In the center of the clearing stood a strange, bright green tree.

It was strange because it was not home to Pokémon. Even the mightiest predators avoided it, Alex saw, as a pair of Liepard skirted it in the jungle across the clearing from him. If they'd noticed him, they hadn't moved to attack, yet. The tree creaked ominously, and both Eternape and Coryn popped free from their balls. "Your tessssst…" Eternape gestured at the tree and hissed, as he sometimes did when speaking.

With that utterance, the tree began to move, in its entirety, all at once. Coryn seemed deeply unnerved, but Alex, Pokénerd that he was, knew immediately what Eternape had led them to. He had no idea why a shiny Tangela this strong hadn't evolved yet, maybe it had simply never bothered learning a rock move in a jungle of violent grass and water types, but it didn't seem to need evolution to be massive. As it returned from absorbing nutrients from the fertile jungle to the form Alex was more familiar with, he found it barely resembled the Tangela he knew. There were brief white flashes of eye within the tangle, and the same could be said of their usual red shoes, but in this instance, the vines dominated all. It was like a sentient pile of lime green seaweed, and once it was in its usual shape, it attacked.

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Alex psychically stopped the vines coming at him, while Coryn took to the air, making use of the clearing that the Tangela's Ingrain had created. The Tangela seemed unbothered by their tactics, more than capable of fighting both at once. Vines limned with darkness came for Alex, who flared his draconic aura shield, and simply ripped them off. Five more times, the Tangela attacked him, before it realized the strange but powerful human was simply ignoring it and not countering. Eventually, it focused on the actual threat, for Coryn very much did counterattack, slamming into the Tangela with flying energy surrounding his body, easily out speeding its vines.

Tangela was famed for adapting however, and this one was no exception. When its vines failed to make contact, it leaned back and shot a burning seed into the air. Alex recognized this move too, as the Indigo League's Leader Erika had a Tangela with the same ability as this one. Chlorophyll. "It's Sunny Day! Get high, and Solar Beam!" Alex ordered, pointing for Coryn. The Decidueye nodded dutifully and soared higher with several powerful flaps of his impressive wingspan. The seed exploded into a second sun, and the Tangela shuddered with what seemed to be joy, to Alex's senses. Coryn's Solar Beam lanced forward from his beak, only to be met by the Tangela, who formed a vine cannon where his face should've normally been and answered the Solar Beam with his own. The explosion of colliding solar powered grass energy rippled through the clearing, and the jungle beyond, but none of the lurking inhabitants decided to interfere in this clash of grass types.

"Coryn! Purifying Spirit Shackle! But watch the vines, they'll be faster!" Irritated eyes peeked at Alex as he gave more orders, and once again, Knock Off tried to hit him, only to end in yet more psychically detached vines. Though, in this climate, it seemed they didn't need a day to regrow, just a few seconds.

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Sure enough, the Power Whips came faster, but Coryn had learned how to fly from Alex's best fliers, and he gracefully barrel rolled into a rising arc that forced the vines to follow him through the Sunny Day. The Tangela hissed, as the manifested fire move was still fire, and hurt, and in that moment of recoil, Alex shouted, "Now!"

With practiced ease, Coryn launched five Spirit Shackle feather arrows at once, through the Sunny Day, which purified the ghost energy, and pinned what seemed to be important vines to the Tangela, as the move knocked it prone. It let out a painful gurgle, and Alex winced. Thankfully, Coryn did not play with his foes. He was atop the tangled mass in a flash, pinning him with Acrobatics on his claws, his wings alight with Dual Wingbeat, if it tried snaring him. "I yield." It gurgled, still in pain.

"Alright Coryn, let the flames die out." Alex said, and the grassy owl extinguished them with a sweeping wing, as he then hopped away from the Tangela, and in front of his Trainer's clone. He spread his long legs then, wings open wide and pointed downward, head raised, and shrieked at the sentient vine mass, daring him to attack again.

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"It is over." Eternape said, as he appeared from his ball with a flash of light. The Tangela gurgled in surprise. It was weird, hearing it speak, as it did seem to use some words, but its vines seemed to punctuate them, or perhaps, among Tangela, they were capable of more simple methods of communicating, like a vine-based sign language. Vine language. "Well fought, Coryn." Eternape said with a pat on his wing, and with that, he stood from his defensive posture, but his eyes never left the Tangela. Their team had run into quite a few so far, and they were vicious in Selva Muerta. Constricting and Mega Draining was a great way to grow strong here, and Alex assumed that tree form from earlier had done that very thing on instinct, without needing Tangela to move. The fact that Coryn had so soundly defeated him very much impressed Alex.

"Indeed." He said, joining Eternape. "You have learned well from each of your teachers. Master your Moves, and you'll be more than ready for the Tournament." Coryn's eyes burned with fire as he simply nodded knowingly at his Trainer, and then they shifted back to the Tangela, who had now approached them.

"Eternape." He gurgled the word with respect. More followed, and Alex slowly deciphered their meaning. "You travel with a Human now? I see why. I could not touch him. But he is not like the others."

Eternape nodded slowly. "He is stronger. Come with us. You will be stronger too. A Tangrowth. He speaks like us too."

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The Tangela gurgled excitedly. "You understand me, Human?" Alex nodded, smirking as that elicited a gleeful run in a circle from the Tangela, and a brief flash of happy eyes within the now slightly lessened mop of vines. "You make me grow!? Stronger? Long have I sought this!" He burbled happily.

Alex nodded. "If you wish to evolve, my new friend, I will help you do so. But there's more to being on my team than just that…you see…" And once again, Alex elaborated on the team's long-term goals. The Tangela listened patiently, but Alex noted his tendrils sneaking over to Eternape, who brushed them off, and Coryn, who eyed them warily, until he recognized the Tangela was just saying hello. Coryn shook his vine with a wing, an action the Tangela vigorously returned, while he gurgled at Alex once he finished.

"The strongest…I am already the strongest around here. I used to lose a lot…but then I drained more, and it became…easy." He said in an almost disappointed burble. "Too easy. Will our fights be like that one!?" His mood shifted again, rapidly, to excited wiggling and hopefulness.

Alex just chuckled. "Of course they will. In fact, once you train a bit, you'll find our Battles to be something completely different from what you've had to do to survive here. Which brings up a good point, actually. We don't kill our opponents in Human Battles."

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The Tangela tilted in confusion, and Alex marveled as its vines seemed to, briefly, form literal question marks. "Kill?"

Alex blinked. "End their life. Drain them until they don't move anymore. We don't do that, we leave them breathing, and healthy, just unconscious."

The Tangela shuddered at him. "But they'll attack when they wake up…better to…kill. Return them to the soil. Makes the forest strong."

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Alex shook his head. "No, there will be no returning to the soil unless they're trying to do the same to us. Understand? I can feed you berries, and lots of sunlight. You won't need to kill, and your opponents won't attack. Once they faint, they'll stop or be returned to their Pokéball. All you need to do to win is knock them unconscious one time. Understand?"

The Tangela was quiet for a moment, and his vines shifted as he processed this strange human idea of not killing one's enemies. "I…understand. I will not…kill until you say so." Alex got the feeling he did not, in fact, understand, but he was just leaving it to the human to tell him when to kill and when not to. Alex hoped that meant he wouldn't try killing each time he won, but he believed the shiny green vine creature understood that he would be deeply distressed if Tangela killed someone. That would have to be good enough.

"Welcome to the team, Chloros."

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The Iron Reaper

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Arthur walked calmly into the Jungle of Death, as the rest of the team continued to train. Being what he was, he had, like his Trainer, made use of Double Team, but with psychic energy. Multi Clones, or whatever Alex was calling the move. They were useful, more durable, and didn't seem to count as a physical or special move. Arthur couldn't make many yet, but those he had were all occupied with training, and even he found splitting his focus to be a lot on his senses. He didn't understand yet how Alex managed it all, but his brother just kept growing more adept with his clones.

Arthur was alone, though. Alex was the least worried for him and his safety, as he had already braved worse than Selva Muerta, and lived. The psychic knight was not cocky, but confident that he could handle anything the jungle could throw at him, so long as he didn't go looking for trouble. Naturally, trouble was exactly what he was looking for. Romulus had faced a powerful Scizor not too long ago and had been hurt pretty bad. Nothing a Full Restore didn't fix, but still, there were some things that Arthur could not abide. The Lycanroc had come back battered from the battle. Whatever he'd faced was clearly higher level, and had a type advantage that it had used to almost lethal effect. Romulus was too good of a boy to not be avenged, so Arthur went on a walkabout through the area Romulus had been honing his Accelerock in.

Sure enough, after about twenty minutes, Arthur heard the telltale flap of a Scizor's wings. Scyther were, naturally, quite common in Selva Muerta, but only a few that had been to the southern curve of the continent had ever managed to find a Metal Coat and become a Scizor. This one was naturally large, and very far north of their usual range. Arthur stopped, eyes narrowed, as the Scizor slid in front of him with its impressive speed. "You! Have you fought a Lycanroc recently?"

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The Scizor's eyes narrowed. "I knew it was a Human slave…it was weak. Lucky, it escaped…you are just as weak. Seeking me out…means death." The Scizor's claws clamped shut, and he shot forward, gliding just above the ground, as Arthur's eyes widened. Unlike most Scizor, this one was actually using its wings, which seemed rather well defined, no doubt from constant use. In a climate like this, they probably had to beat constantly to prevent overheating. The result was that they made up for Scizor's slow steel typed speed. The Bullet Punch met the base Sacred Sword with ease, and the brute struck with the second claw, which was also easily blocked.

"You're not even worth Mega Evolving for." Arthur stated factually. "You have claws. They're more than clubs. Use them." He disentangled their arms then, and roundhouse kicked the steel bug to the face. The move was so fluid and unexpected, the Scizor's eyes went wide as the sturdy foot of the Gallade sent him flying, a sensation he had not experienced since before evolving.

With a metallic snarl, the Scizor flared his wings to stop his momentum, and did as suggested. His claws opened, revealing a sharper, heightened Metal Claw, which had a higher attack power than normal thanks to this Scizor being a technician. The claws came for Arthur, but he simply held out one arm defensively and coated it with Excalibur this time. The Scizor's eyes widened again as he felt the power of the Light, while Arthur used his other arm to stifle a yawn. "I can't believe Romulus had trouble with you. You must have ambushed him."

The Scizor refocused on the Gallade, and the anger returned. "The patient hunter gets the prey…ambushes bring victory."

"Coward!" Arthur shouted physically and psychically, which disoriented the steel bug type. Excalibur flared with the Light's heat, and the Metal Claws lost their grip, having not so much as scratched Arthur's now burning, golden arm. Once more he spun fluidly through the air, this time striking with his burning arm in the Pokémon's chest. A shockwave from the force of the hit visibly boomed through the air, as Arthur held nothing back, and sent his opponent rocketing through three sizable tree trunks.

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Arthur stepped past them, tapping their ruined trunks with an arm glowing with Leaf Blade as he did so. The grass energy infused each trunk, and the damage was repaired slowly. Soon the holes Scizor had made were gone entirely, though new bark would have to grow, the trees would survive. The bashed bug stared at Arthur's mastery in awe. "Not…weak…" He managed to say through the immense pain. He wanted to weep from the pain, but he held it in, refusing to show weakness to this warrior.

"This is why you face opponents head on. That's how you grow stronger. Even when you lose, you can learn something. Cowardly tactics have no place in a real Battle."

"You…Human slaves and your…Battling. Humans are…a source for metal…nothing more."

"Weak, and a fool." Arthur retorted calmly. "Your species can attain great power, but you usually need a Human to bring it out safely. By spurning them, you guarantee your weakness. I am only this strong, because my Human is a great Trainer. He studied hard to learn how to make his partners the best they can be, and you see the result."

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Arthur quietly hoped he wouldn't take the bait, but he also knew Alex would be irritated if he just let a Scizor that needed a little polishing to be World Tournament material just lie here, uninvited. "I…want that…strength…"

Arthur sighed and then shared Life Dew with the steel warrior. He perked up quickly but made no move to attack. Arthur could tell the metallic bug was in awe of him. "Why?"

The Scizor looked down, and then back at Arthur. "All I have brought here…is death. It has…dulled me. The fight to survive has…become dull. I cut through the grass ones. I beat down the dark ones. Few challenge me. All the way, from south to north, nothing but weakness…until you." He acknowledged. "I…wish to be the strongest."

Arthur's brow furrowed. "What will you do with such power?"

The Scizor put a claw to his chest and bowed deeply. "Whatever you wish. You have the Alpha's power. You are worthy enough to follow."

Arthur slowly tapped each of the battered Scizor's shoulders with Sacred Sword. "Raise your head…Reaper."

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The Scizor, named for his deeds, did so, and blinked, as he found a pair of crossed Sacred Swords at his neck. He looked at Arthur, who spoke calmly. "Hear me. If you ever harm Romulus, or any of our brothers like that again, I will finish this attack, and your neck will not be able to take it. No matter how strong you become. Do you understand?"

The Scizor nodded ever so slightly, and Arthur lowered his blades. "Then come, let us introduce you to your brothers."