Terra
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A deep, rumbling inhale shook the surrounding area, and what followed it was the snore of a Pokémon in a deep, restful sleep. The other Pokémon on the Redwood Ranch were long since used to it though, and the aids at the Redwood Lab knew better than to wake the slowly shifting mountain of earthy tortoise. They did observe him, however. Once a day, every day, the Meadow Plate upon the front of his shell, just above his head, pulsed, and by the end of the hot summer day, the Torterra in question had grown that much larger. Between the heat of summer, and the side effect of Blaze training with Alex's other fire types in his Mega Form, Terra was able to grow truly massive.
This is how the exhausted earth turtle spent most of his vacation, as his Trainer traveled around Koria. He trusted Arbor to keep Alex intact, and failing that, the Storm Crown would, apparently, keep him from expiring early. Probably. Pokémon played on his shell, and the water types occasionally gave the sleeping turtle some of their water, something he subconsciously thanked them for, by producing apples from the tree upon his shell whose species, in nature, did not usually produce fruit. They were a bit sour, but juicy, and best of all, healthy. Those working on the ranch often would give him some water as they passed by, and take an apple to munch on.
Yet as the weeks passed on, each hot, humid day followed by another, Terra slept. Even in thunderstorms, when the humans tried to wake and move him inside, he slept. He ignored the recall to his ball, and even diverted lightning from his tree. With most of his allies able to use electric attacks, and being a ground type, Terra gave absolutely zero Muks about the stormy weather, and eventually, the humans just left him alone. The lightning bolts homed in on his tree, but never seemed to hit him, just the ground around him, or they were diverted to the lightning rods atop the Redwood manor.
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Then, finally, after about three weeks of growing and sleeping in consistent patterns, the Torterra yawned loud enough to gather the attention of Pokémon and humans alike. He greeted his Trainer's family members with a hearty "Terra!" and after taking in some actual Pokémon food, which was essentially just ground up berries mixed with complex proteins, he began wandering the ranch. Blaze was gone, it seemed, and he vaguely recalled the fire lizard had left some time ago. There were others on the ranch who regularly used Sunny Day though. Alex's Sunkern had awakened one morning, about three after Blaze had stopped training and heating the ranch, to find a Sun Stone next to his bed. Since then, as Sunflora do, he greeted the rising sun with Sunny Day, and basked in the light.
Terra greeted the Tauros, Miltank, and Bouffalant, moving between their pods of individuals with ease. None got in the massive earth tortoise's way, as he made his way to the small man-made lake the Redwoods had added to the pasture, once it became crowded with other Trainer's Pokémon. There were quite a few new faces, besides the ones Alex had caught but had not yet had time to train. Terra greeted each of them, and soon learned that, for whatever reason, most of them with some significant measure of intelligence knew who he was. It was weird, being famous. He knew Blaze enjoyed the roar of gathered humans in a crowd, but Terra had never cared for them, or loud noises in general.
On his way back to his spot, where he intended to sleep again, a massive Bouffalant got in his path, and snorted at the massive, bored-looking Torterra. The alpha of his herd, clearly, judging by his size and intense eyes. He pawed the ground, and snorted again. George, one of the other Redwoods who actually worked on the ranch, came over and tried to quell the battle, but the Bouffalant knocked him aside. That, managed to irritate Terra. "Leave the Humans be." He rumbled at the angry buffalo.
His would-be opponent pawed the ground. "Battle me! The Human is not important." Terra helped the man up, and then nudged him away. Far away. He looked at the other herds, and gave George a meaningful look. While not as in tune with the creatures as Alex or Geralt, George had enough sense to understand his cousin's psychically smartened earth tortoise was telling him to move the bystanders, which meant a battle would, in fact, be happening.
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The Bouffalant facing Terra was twitchy, angry, as they waited for the herds to move, but Terra kept him from going after anyone else. His eyes had hardened now, into a stare, and the earthy tortoise's head bobbed whenever the Bouffalant's anger tried to shift focus. He felt the slice of his Trainer's mind join him for this battle, but Terra already knew what move it would call. He would've preferred his Trainer's whole attention, but he knew Alex was likely busy. That he could give commands from so far away was a testament to his strength, and the strength of their bond.
Once everyone was away, the Bouffalant charged. Behind him, Terra heard Alex's brother murmuring, concerned. Likely worried about the damage to the terrain the earth tortoise's attacks would cause. Luckily for them both, Terra had absorbed what his Trainer had about earthbending, namely, how to control it, and so as the Bouffalant came at him with a long-charged Skull Bash, Terra raised a single foot, slammed it into the ground, and shook the entire ranch as the Earthquake went off.
The Bouffalant's charge knocked aside the rising rocks to his left and his right, then, a wave of hard earth protrusions sent the Bouffalant soaring back into the back part of the ranch, near the lake. Its eyes went poli patterned, and Terra snorted. He'd expected more of a challenge from a fellow alpha. He sensed the humans approaching, likely to assess the damage, but Terra was already bending it back into place, and with a flash of grass energy from the massive centrally placed ash tree on his shell, the grazing plants regrew from the fault lines he'd left in the earth. With time, it would all settle again.
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After that, Terra received two more challenges, from other Trainer's partners, who he ended with a single Seed Bomb. Now fully awake, Terra decided to leave the ranch, by making a small, temporary earth bridge over the fence, and then collapsing it back into dirt so the little Pokémon following him couldn't escape. He also used what few vines from Oranguru's Swamp he had growing on his shell to place those resting atop him back in the ranch, before wandering off. For whatever reason, it seemed Alex's family was going to let him wander, which he was glad for.
He actually passed through Derrion Town itself on his way to his destination, half out of curiosity, and had to stop his slow gait, as he took it in. In the year or so since Alex had become Dragon Emperor, many people had flocked to this former pit stop only used by Bostonians for apple picking, or as a place to get fuel on their way south. It hadn't even had a Pokémon Center. Now though, it was a far cry from what it had been. A standard Pokémon Center/Mart had been added on the main thoroughfare. The roads had been properly paved. New houses had been built. There was even a billboard of his Trainer, smirking with a thumbs up, as it promoted some sort of item for the humans to buy. Terra just stared for a good four minutes, taking it all in, before he made his way through.
Of course, as soon as he did, people lost their minds. "Holy Heracross! That's the Champion's Torterra!" "No way, haven't you heard it was sleeping on his ranch?" "No, look at the tree! I'm sure it is. No other Torterra around here is that massive!"
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Some of the hovercars, while initially mad that they had to stop, quickly changed their tune and parted for him, as they realized who Terra was. Several humans came up to pet him, and he greeted them with a friendly intonement of his name. Eventually, he passed by the elementary school, and that, caused the kids playing there in the midst of their summer vacation to bounce around on him, for a time. Terra let them. That took most of the day, as they played with him, babbled nonsense, and gave them fruit, but eventually they went home, and the patient grass tortoise moved on.
He found himself on a more 'country' road then, to the northeast of town, that led to an orchard famous for two things: Torterra, and apples. As he walked towards the orchard, he saw one of the orchard hands nudge his partner, as they indulged in some Leaf. One of them called out to him. "Hail, mighty Terra! Everyone just ate, so they might be sleepy, but you're welcome to try to wake them!"
Terra gave a happy call of his name back to the humans, and they just watched. This wasn't the first time Terra had shown up to visit, but last time, Alex had been with him. Terra planted his feet in the ground at the front of the orchard, and one of the closest earth turtles raised her head, curiously. Then, he roared.
"TOOOOORRRRRTERRA!"
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The two Leafheads watching stumbled and shouted expletives, as the entire orchard shook with the awakening of literally every apple-bearing grass tortoise they had in this orchard, all standing up at once. They began slowly crowding Terra, as he moved through them, and greeted each one, in the way only the grass tortoises could. One by one he said hello, until he found the females he was looking for. Those with eggs, and Turtwigs too young for the Redwood Lab, were near the back, and the orchard herd followed him, as Terra went to check on his offspring.
Those he'd met last time were long gone, and now, new faces from new clutches, but the same father, stared at their sire in genuine awe. He shared with them, and the other Torterra, what wisdom he had learned from his travels to the south and beyond, and noticed that, for the first time since evolving, he wasn't constantly tired. He could sleep, yes, but then, any Torterra could pretty much nap on command. This was different. He finally felt his inner balance recovered, and realized he kind of wanted to keep battling. Beating the Bouffalant had been far too easy, and he realized what he wanted, was a challenge.
Terra spent most of the rest of his vacation at the orchard, fertilizing future clutches with his selected harem and teaching them to use their inherited moves safely. When he finally heard his Trainer's command to 'assemble', he returned to the ranch with a swarm of Turtwigs in tow, and freshly laid eggs behind him. Eric and his assistants began catching them in balls, and Terra spent the better part of an hour getting his Trainer's brother to retrieve his own ball, and send him into the PC. As always, he was the first to answer Alex's summons.
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Leo
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The gorgeous, and rather large thunder cat that belonged to her boyfriend purred, and rolled on his back as the Articuno Riders of Valaskjalf gave him belly scritches, and talked with Jess in their rough, ancient tongue. Any compliments for him were said in Common, but most of their conversation was in the language of Norstad.
"The League sent word. They have agreed to our proposal, provided we can get them eight potential Gym Leaders."
Jess nodded. "Brad is still technically their Champion, since the League never counted Pravus as legitimate. His team is still a bit new though…and when it comes to who the actual strongest in Fornia is, there are many claimants, and most are from the scattered Tribes around the region. Only the Yavano have offered their strongest for a Battle."
One of the other girls spoke up then, a brunette as aesthetically appealing as every other female in the circle surrounding the purring thunder cat. "Maybe you should invite all the Tribes. Then we can gather the new Trainers, and figure out who the Champion, and the Elite Four, should be."
"I tried that…" Jessica said, sighing. "But most of the Chiefs won't come unless Alex himself promises that it's safe, and the competition will be fair. They want him to oversee it personally." Like most of the riders, she was in Fornian attire now, something Leo also greatly approved of. Jean shorts that barely went down one's thigh, with a bikini top. Fornia's sun had also turned every single one of them a pleasing tan that they simply couldn't get back home, and the foreign clothes helped beat the heat, and blend with the locals, many of whom had adopted similarly less Arcean clothing styles, especially around the beaches. Dark toned suits were an awful choice for a region as bright and hot as Fornia. Of the Articuno Riders who'd joined her squad during the war, these were the ones who had opted to remain once victory was achieved, and had since become her lieutenants. It was nice, because they knew how to handle the catty disputes among the Scales that a mostly female squad tended to have.
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As the other ladies digested her words, one of them narrowed her eyes. They were purple, but went really well with the raven black hair she sported. "These…'chiefs', they deny you because…you are not male?"
A ripple of sudden awareness went through the other women, but Jess hardly noticed, as she'd trailed off into a thought, and nobody had diverted her brain train. She blinked then, registering the words of Yennefer, the 'unofficial leader' of the riders, and their Articuno, while they were still in foreign lands. She was, in every way, a bitch, but Jess had come to like her, even if the feeling wasn't mutual. Many people made assumptions about her because of how she looked, but Jess expected that. Apparently her strength during the war hadn't been enough to sway Yennefer. "Erm…no. Because I'm not the Tamer of the Original Dragon."
Yen widened and narrowed her eyes. "You have Tamed Ho Oh, yes? That will be good enough for the likes of them. Tell them to send their strongest, and tell them your Pokémon League will be overseeing the matches." The other riders nodded in agreement, and Jess sighed, as she felt the inevitable battle of machismo between the primarily patriarchal Tribes and the hardcore feminist riders on a doomed collision course.
"Fine." She said with a sigh. It was worth trying, if nothing else, and she was too tired from dealing with conquered Arceans to argue. Yen had enough sense not to strike anyone first, and cause another war. Many people of the Tribes had fought alongside the eastern forces, though none had the absolute joy that was encountering the foreign female Legendary Pokémon riders as a male. They, in turn, had noted that the 'chiefs' of these foreign tribes had not used any of their women to battle, something they had brought up to Redwood, when Jess was unwilling to press the issue, and cause a cultural incident. She'd seen the more…servile roles the women of the Tribes had done, but there was genuine love there, like a team, one side staying vigilant and battle-ready, the other taking care of everything else that the males couldn't while keeping modern-clothed Fornians out of their forests. She wouldn't have split it perfectly, there were always outliers who needed and deserved to be given a chance to fight, or not, but she understood the customs well enough. In fact, if Jess played things right, she could likely solve that imbalance, now that peace had returned.
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She glanced at Leo then, who had, in the midst of blissful belly rub heaven, fallen asleep between the serious toned women. They'd stopped paying him compliments, so he'd stopped caring about their existence. His tongue was lolling out of the agape mouth, and she got a real good look at just how sharp the little kitten's fangs had become. He'd always be that dashingly handsome cub she'd met in Mall Town to her, though. "First, I need to take care of this." Jess finally said, gesturing at Leo. One did not simply leave a curious, monstrously strong electric feline around freshly conquered civilization. Her dashing boy needed to start training again in safer environs, much as she enjoyed having him as a pillow, and making her nightly connection to Alex that much stronger.
The other women left then, and changed into their armor with quiet displeasure. Getting them into their 'real attire' was something Yennefer tried getting them all to do as often as possible, only because every single one of her fliers, when given the choice, preferred the promiscuous outfit to their traditional honored garb. Back home, Yen wore such revealing things often, and didn't mind the attention she got. Here, everything with a penis and hominid ancestry tried flirting with her, and she was very much done with Mewsia their precious 'golden coast'.
Jess woke Leo with calls of his name once they were alone in her Fornian hotel room. She'd demanded a room from a former female high ranking Arcean, one of many who'd used this building as a place to live while away from her family and working for the 'glory of Arceus' twenty hours a day. She was too aware of what the high ranking men had done in such rooms, and frankly, she was of the opinion that she ought to have Ho Oh purify them with fire rather than let people live in such spaces.
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As the cat rolled onto his paws and stretched, his neck came up by her lap, expectantly. She waited for his impressive mane to stop sparking, before giving him under-chin scritches. "There's my handsome boy. Are you ready to train again?"
Leo lifted his hand off her jaw, and stared at the floor as he blinked his sharp eyes. The images of humans being incinerated by his own plasma only lasted a few seconds, this time. He nodded. He was at a place where having a real battle would actually help start burying those memories with new ones. Being surrounded by busty, scantily clad women in a sunny, warm, sand-filled paradise had been exactly what he'd needed.
Jess brought him to a place in Transylveticut, which had recently renamed its region to Sylvinia following the war. She'd been with Alex when he'd looked up where exactly his Luxray had originated, and knew it was somewhere in this particular State. Tao had been recently pushing them to be called provinces again, to further bury their violent past, but the term had yet to catch on.
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They arrived at a breeding facility, large enough for far more than just Luxray. Some of those Pokémon who grew here (with ideal natures) were sold off to Trainers, like Leo had been. Others (with less than ideal natures) were released into the wild of their home regions. There were many such facilities, now that so much of the population was opting to become a Pokémon Trainer. It was the best way to keep Trainers from breeding Pokémon themselves, and potentially releasing inbred members of a foreign species into a foreign region. Places like this had been the solution to keeping the wild populations healthy and genetically diverse.
As Jess led Leo to the Luxray part of the center, all of the female's manes began standing on end as an alpha approached. A flash of black and gold bounded down from a fake cliff, and landed in front of Leo with a poof of dust and a low growl. His black and gold clothed Trainer was almost as fast, and he and Jess had a chat, as the two Luxray males eyed each other, and began sparking their fur.
Jess left him then, as she knew Alex still battled with his partners. Leo had simply asked to stay with her when they'd been given 'mandatory time off' as Alex had called it. "This way." The blonde Trainer said, and Leo glared at him as they walked. He remembered all too well being trapped and then sold by this human. Of course, with how strong that had made him, he hardly regretted that it had happened. He would've preferred to have left in his own time though. The only thing he had to settle here, was a matter of pride.
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"I'll be the referee. You two can work this out by Battling on your own. Begin." The man said, as he leaned back behind the field's energy shields. The inside quickly became a localized thunderstorm, as two alpha Luxray with golden fur faced off on even ground. Leo snarled at his sire. "When last we Battled…I was barely a hatchling. You will regret stealing me from my family with a cheap farce of a Battle!"
As he'd inhaled, he'd gathered the power for his own version of the Hyper Voice, and as he finished, he roared, and the sound became physical, and then started sparking with lightning. It washed over the older Luxray, and the foreign energy paralyzed him, and dealt damage.
"Impressive…" The old cat growled, as it steadied itself. "Most impressive." His fur flared then, and Leo watched as Alex melded their eye's power together. The elder Luxray shot his energy out as spikes, from numerous chakra points throughout his body. Being a Luxray, most were located in his muscled areas, but it was enough to break the paralysis from another electric type.
The energy the old cat summoned stayed though, and the older thunder cat began a Wild Charge at Leo, who countered with Double Team. The charge ran through the circle of shadow clones, until it hit all of them. It burned out of power as the older thunder cat looked around for his wayward offspring.
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From the shadows, four fangs lit with fire energy, and by the time Leo leapt at his father, they'd manifested into an attack he wouldn't resist. The Fire Fang tossed him, but Leo's sire landed, and smirked. "I couldn't see through them…someone taught you the Dark version of that Move."
"We're night hunters." Leo answered, snarling. "The darkness is our ally."
They both fired a Thunderbolt then and as evenly trained as Leo had been in physical and special moves, with his physical ones only being slightly stronger, his father's special attack power was a focus of his rash nature. Leo used Substitution, as he called it, and left a Pokédoll to tank the hit. It was irritating not having a type advantage.
He felt Alex's direct focus then. He was walking somewhere, and had closed his eyes to focus on helping his partner. He put a mental elbow on Leo's mental shoulder and said, "Drill Run looks an awful lot like Fang Over Fang, doesn't it." His mental image smirked, and held up a mental representation of the power in his Earth Plate shard. Leo felt the power, got the reference, and grinned. Alex had taken to mentally watching all the numerous anime Percy had shown Leo and turned him on to, when he'd had time anyways. Leo understood Alex was still only in the early days of the epically long Japanese-inspired ninja anime that had survived from old Earth completely intact, but that didn't make his point less valid.
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On the field, his father swatted the Substitution doll away, annoyed. "I've never met an Alpha that hides so often…and for so long."
There was a noise from where he'd swatted the doll, and while the older Luxray looked, it took him too long to recognize the remnants of an upward jump through the hedges surrounding the battlefield, which hid the energy shield housing. Leo roared from above him, and spun with the ground typed energy summoned by his Trainer's mind, barely controlling it, as he worked it into a tornado of sandy pain that came down on his sire from above. Only seconds too late did the old cat glance upwards, just in time for the move to connect.
Leo let the super effective hit take its toll, and the older cat fell on one leg, and the other three soon followed, as his fainting reflex took over. Leo panted, staring him down, but he'd stopped moving. "That's it. Another victory for the wayward offspring." His Trainer said with boredom in his voice. Before he could do anything, Leo trotted off the field, as his father was revived and restored.
Leo made his way back to the pen, and identified by smell which females were related to him, and which were not. Eventually, he found one who met his gaze evenly. She was a Luxio, but close to growing. With a lightning quick slash of his claws, he cut the Everstone collar from her neck, convinced her to come with him, and the two dashed off into the wilderness, heading north.
It took several days of fast paced travel, but he got them back to the ranch easily enough. They were dirty, hungry, exhausted, but they'd made it. One of the other Redwoods put his female in a Luxury Ball, and Leo spent the rest of his days off relaxing in the warm sunbeams, and making kittens. Eric didn't seem to mind the option to give an electric type to his potential Trainers. When Terra eventually returned, Leo learned he'd evidently slept through his Trainer's order to 'assemble', and he helped the gigantic earth tortoise communicate his need to get into the Box, before joining him and bidding his new little family farewell.
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Hydrus
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After being deposited on the ranch like the rest of his team, Alex told his massive mudfish to enjoy his freedom, and his well-earned break. Like some of his teammates, Hydrus stayed near the ranch, but off of it. To the north was a swampy bog he'd always liked the look of, but it was infested with members of the Poli line. He went there first, intending very much to make a home for his own offspring.
The local Politoed and Poliwrath naturally did not take kindly to his intrusion, but he made it clear he intended to stay. There was only one way to 'peacefully' settle such a dispute, and so, Hydrus called out the alpha of the Poli pod in his own swamp, confident he could beat the frog.
They started, with a Rain Dance. Hydrus understood his Trainer was with him, and he used the power of the Splash Plate affixed to his chest to attain his Mega Form. The rain would make Hydrus faster, and would heal the Politoed over time thanks to its own ability.
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The two Pokémon were slamming the ground in perfect sync as the rain began to fall faster. Hydrus had no intention of striking first, and so the large Politoed fired a Water Pulse at him. Hydrus simply smirked, and tanked it on his beefy chest, as he stood tall on his now comically small legs. He raised the oversized arms of his Mega Form, and brought down an Avalanche of ice on the frog. While it didn't do much damage, it did make him slower, thanks to his biochemistry.
Another Water Pulse followed then, as well as a Mud Shot, but they might as well have been splashes of water and mud for all they did to Hydrus. Seeing the lack of an effect, the Politoed opened its mouth to start singing Perish Song, a move that guaranteed no winner, but Hydrus countered first, with Darkest Lariat, taking the frog in the throat, and cutting off the song of doom. Blaze hadn't been the only one watching old battles.
The Politoed alpha went skipping painfully across water and swampy mounds of earth alike, before crashing into a tree, and Hydrus winced along with the Politoed's family. Hydrus left them to tend the large frog, while he left to Aqua Jet the short distance back to the ranch, take a Super Potion, and then head back to the swamp.
The younger Polis fired water and ground attacks at him, but they did even less than their leader's had against his Mega Form. He slowly approached the unconscious frog, only to be stopped by a burly Poliwrath. Hydrus convinced him he could help the semi-conscious alpha by letting his Mega Form go, and negotiating. After fumbling with the made-for-humans grip, he managed to spray the Politoed's wounds with the concentrated healing spray.
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Once it was conscious again, Hydrus claimed its swamp for his own kind. Many of his kin had moved to the Nameless Bog further south of Derrion town after this one was taken over by a Politoed who could usually handle any attempts on their territory from Seismitoad or a Swampert. This Swampert, however, was on an entirely different level.
Seeing they had nowhere to go, Hydrus offered to extend the swamp. They could have the northern part, but the southern part would belong to the Swampert, and from there, he could send his offspring to find a Trainer at the Lab, if they wanted one.
Over the several months Hydrus had to himself, the swamp expanded, and he managed to create a peaceful union between the Poli line, the Seismitoad line, and his own kind. They worked together, instead of fighting, planted berries with organization only humans had used before, and kept their lands safe from encroaching grass types who couldn't be reasoned with. Before long they had enough food to help other species, and by the time Alex gave the word to assemble, Hydrus trusted one of the Seismitoad to keep things in line along with the alpha Politoed. He too made his way back to the Redwood Lab, and after three of Alex's main ten returning and gesticulating to the PC, Eric had enough sense to recognize something was up.
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Blaze
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"So how do you and your Charizard keep in such good shape after so many years, Chairman Leon?"
"Well, we train. Not as...often as we used to, but just as intense! We Battle, we travel, we use our skills to help those who need it, people and Pokémon alike. Charizard is my Ace, and probably my favorite Pokémon species, but the rest of my team works just as hard to be called World Champions."
"You heard it here first, folks. The Chairman of Galar will be competing in the upcoming World Tournament. Though if he wins, I guess we'll be getting a new Chairman! Leon's thoughts on a potential replacement, coming up in…" Blaze nodded off, as the Galarian accent of the reporter lulled him to sleep. He still listened, of course, his awareness was almost just as good with his eyes closed, linked as he was to a psychic human. He rested his sight balls, and took in the report through his ears instead.
The aged interviewers from PNN's Galar branch played on the old television in front of the pair of lounging Charizard. Blaze had gotten Arthur to tell the humans what he wanted, and Eric had set him up a small TV viewing station just outside the lab, by the window that the older Redwood used to blow Leaf smoke out of. Blaze briefly regretted never having the chance to battle the old man, before focusing back on the tiny, portable TV usually used for Technical Machines. Naturally, they could play other disks as well.
"Your Charizard is easily in a tier of his own though." The reporter, Gillian, said to Leon as her latest inane babble ended. "Renowned worldwide as the Unbeatable Charizard. Not even Alain's could beat yours. Your last match with him only needed two Moves."
Leon nodded, paused, and then decided to share a story. "Master Mustard said my Charizard had an 'interesting lineage' when I first got him. His father was actually a Tyrantrum, and being able to use Ancientpower has been…very good for type coverage. And other Charizard. I knew Flamethrower would be most useful though, so we practiced enhancing his fire. One method we used since he was a Charmander, was parting water with his flames, even if only briefly. First puddles. Then streams. Lakes. Then waterfalls." Blaze opened one eye, as the droning humans finally mentioned something interesting.
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"You're saying your Charizard can split a waterfall with just his Flamethrower!?" Gillian asked, genuinely surprised. Blaze's neck rose slightly off the claw supporting it, but Chari was already snoozing under the summer sun.
Leon chuckled, and flashed the camera a winning smirk. "I'm saying the last time we visited Kanadia, he made Niagara stop falling for a full minute with nothing but flame. We train hard, and the results show!"
Gillian became the central focus of the report again, but Blaze had already turned his focus inward, and tuned her out. He could reach Kanadia. The Niagara Falls were legendary, but also crowded. He too, was a somewhat famous Charizard now. If he was going to split a massive waterfall, he needed to practice on smaller ones first. He rose quietly, not disturbing Chari or her eggs, stomped a few steps away, then raised his wings parallel to each other vertically, and power flapped into the air. Within moments, he was on his way further north, into the mountains.
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It took several hours, but from his aerial vantage, he eventually found a large enough waterfall that not even Magikarp would try to leap. He roared about what he was about to do to the local water types below, and they cleared away from the falls. He landed on a conveniently flat rocky surface just before the falls, and a Milotic popped up beside him. "The Unova Champion is your partner, right?" Blaze blinked, and then slowly nodded. "Then you are welcome to train and rest here."
She didn't elaborate on why the local seemingly wild Pokémon were such fans of Alex, and Blaze was focused on more important things. Like training. He stared down the epitome of a type advantage falling into the lake before him. Arguably, a waterfall was one of the strongest forms water could take. It would take real effort to stymie it with naught but flames. He heard the other Pokémon murmur as he inhaled, and let out an impressive, battle-worthy Flamethrower.
It roared towards the waterfall, and while initially the stream of water parted, it soon overwhelmed the flames, dousing them, no matter how much effort Blaze put into them. Five tries later produced the same results, and he furrowed his brows. He turned up the heat, then. His tail burned blue, and his Flamethrower matched the power of his Heat Wave as he fired again. This time, the surrounding heat was enough to instantly evaporate the fresh, not as voluminous water, and he realized, manipulating the heated air would also be important. Mentally, Blaze reached out to his Trainer, who was currently walking somewhere in Koria.
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He pestered him to find footage of Leon's Charizard splitting Niagara Falls, and as they viewed it through shared sight, Blaze understood what he was doing wrong. Leon's partner had been flying before the falls, but he'd also been heating the air around him, subtly, but as only Charizard could without using a move. It required building up the flames in their bodies significantly enough to affect the temperature of the air outside their body.
Having a new appreciation for the frankly absurd level Leon's partner was on, Blaze had no intention of being deterred. After about two days of nothing but Flamethrowers, with the occasional thirty minute rest, he understood that his wings would be useful, and they had fueled his fire significantly longer. The steaming air around him made parts of the lake bubble, and it was the Milotic who maintained a small Ice Beam wall to keep the local Pokémon from cooking. A lot of them, even infrequent visitors of this particular place of water, were enjoying the hot springs-like heat the training Charizard was giving off, from the far edge of the ice barrier.
It was around this time, that Arthur appeared, mega evolved for some reason, with a twirl of his 'cape' and a bamf beside the fire lizard. He was immediately burned, and Blaze blinked, as he realized someone had Teleported to him. Arthur mentally allayed his guilt, and just tanked the pain. "You're close, brother…but you're not using your full power. I've watched the same Charizard you have, but here's the thing: auras don't show up on human cameras. I've uh…been gallivanting through Galar. I saw the Chairman's Charizard in action…watch…and learn."
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Blaze let his fire die down, if only so that it stopped hurting his brother. The Milotic tossed a rather quickly gathered Chesto berry their way with her tail, and gave the final treatment to her wall. Some of the Pokémon grew cranky as the heat died down, but the massive water maiden was grateful for the break. Keeping up with a maxed power Flamethrower was hard, with just Ice Beam. Arthur caught the berry, despite both Pokémon's eyes now being closed, and he absent mindedly cured himself as he provided context for his team-brother.
Through a surprise invitation after arriving in Trainer-packed Galar, Arthur had been invited by a friend and rival to see the power of his human in action. Arthur was aware the region's League had held a tournament composed of Champions recently, not unlike the World Tournament, earlier in the year, though he hadn't heard who'd won. Or competed. Now, this exhibition match with a former World Champion, and a potential rising star was to kick off the early ranking period for the upcoming World Tournament.
Before Leon brought out his ace, he'd used his newest member, the blue Gallade known to Arthur as Lancelus, to absolutely obliterate his opponent's team. He could tell when people wanted the Charizard though and the experienced fire lizard was always down to battle. He'd been switched in for the final round, ace versus ace, and it was this round that Arthur replayed mentally with the recall of a psychic type.
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The other Trainer's ace, a Golem, was giving the old Charizard a good battle, one hot enough to get his flames going. Leon raised a hand, and quoted the PokéDex, and the entire stadium heard his charismatic tones. "Charizard can spit fire hot enough to melt boulders! Let's test that! Flamethrower!"
Spikemuth was playing home to this match, in an effort Leader Marnie had suggested to Leon, and he had completely agreed with. Gigantamaxing and type advantage from a ground move would've easily crushed the annoying speedy boulder, but one on one in their base forms, the well trained rock type came at him relentlessly.
The air around Leon's Charizard began shimmering in a familiar way, but this time, Blaze could see the fiery purple aura surrounding the Charizard. It was a brief usage, to power up the attack, something actually allowed in the League rules. It was a natural reflex once Pokémon reached a certain level, to infuse their attacks with their aura, usually manifesting as love for their Trainer. The results of these moves were typically critical hits.
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While the Golem had come hard after the Charizard with an ever more deadly Rollout, he'd fired Air Slashes at it repeatedly, and had blocked and countered several attacks with Dragon Claw. Thankfully, each miss reset Rollout's power to non-OHKO levels. Now, this final attack finished off the Golem, as the Charizard lived up to its dex entry. The crowd went nuts, and Leon met the challenger at the half field to shake their hand.
The memory faded, and Arthur nodded wordlessly at his old friend, before he bamfed away, just as quickly as he'd arrived. Blaze took the opportunity to have a lengthier break of an hour, and munched on some local berries the Pokémon had gathered specifically for him.
They were the ideal kind for a special attacker like Blaze, and he quietly wondered just who these Pokémon were, or who their Trainer was. He hadn't smelled any humans nearby, but they had a habit of popping up without being expected.
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As he munched, a young Yanma landed near his pile of Wiki and Leppa berries, and asked if he might have one. Blaze nodded, and rolled a juicy Wiki berry towards the humming bug. They enjoyed them together in silence, until finally, Blaze rose to his feet, surprising the munching Yanma with just how huge he was. "Train hard. You'll become as large as me." The fire lizard said to the young bug, before stomping off.
As he returned to his spot, Milotic refreshed her ice barrier. This time, Alex chimed in on Blaze's thoughts. "I just got some insight into Firebending, that might help too. It's all about breath control. Between that and your aura, you should be able to match Leon's Charizard." Blaze nodded in his mental headspace, and then focused on breathing. He took in Alex's memories of firebending, and found he could very easily apply them to what he was doing. Slowly, as Blaze built his lung capacity with increasingly deep breaths like his Trainer did before taking a hit, the air began to shimmer again, and the water around Blaze's perch quickly reached its boiling point. There were several content sighs from behind the wall of ice as the Charizard resumed his training.
Blaze focused on his aura then, manifesting the red orange shield of energy across his body as he tapped into the Flame Plate affixed to his chest. He didn't mega evolve, but it did give him a bonus to fire moves. He let his bodily energy infuse his fire then, and the aura faded, as Blaze inhaled a final time for a solid thirty seconds. His body lit slightly from the inside, in the darkness of the new night, and then, came the Flamethrower.
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Steam radiated off of the waterfall, and every Pokémon watching the Charizard just stared in awe. The fire was continuous, and the raging waters had stopped. Blaze had seen Niagara Falls though, from memories Alex had, and through the footage they'd just recently taken in. He knew them to be much larger than what he was currently stopping. There was one more trick to this that he could tell he was still missing. Somehow, Leon's partner had produced enough fire and heat to evaporate the Falls in their entirety, all at once, for sixty seconds. He'd spread it, somehow, and with a flap from his wings to test a thought he had, the Charizard suddenly figured out how. He grinned.
He parted the waterfall with his power several more times, before thanking the Milotic and the others, and departing. Oddly enough, the Yanma, who shared his modest nature, followed him on his trip, claiming a Trainer who trained a Pokémon like Blaze was one he wanted to meet and potentially join. Blaze explained to the little bug that battling hurt, but with time, Alex could indeed make him into a strong battler. He actually proved to be faster in the air than Blaze, thanks to his ability, but the Charizard had more stamina, and knew where they were going.
Eric caught the little bug in a ball once they arrived back at the lab and giving it to Alex was as easy as resetting the OT number to his. Once that was done, Blaze stomped out to find Chari relaxing with their eggs, where he'd left her. She gave him a look, and then did a double take that he recognized all too well. "More training?"
Blaze let out a flaming snort. "I'm not done yet…but yes. I will match Leon and his Charizard."
Chari just shook her head. "Everyone on your team also wants a fight with his Charizard. All your training will be wasted if your Trainer doesn't pick you when the time comes."
Blaze chuckled this time, shaking the ground as he sat, and rested. Steam was still rising off of him, as he hadn't cooled down during the flight. "I know my Trainer. He'll choose me. Terra can't hit with Earthquake, and Hydrus is too slow."
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She gave him a look. "But Arthur is his ace."
Blaze snorted again. "We're all aces. Arthur has his own rival on Leon's belt. The Charizard is mine."
Chari rolled her eyes, but didn't argue further. Both Alex and Jess had been pretty good about spreading out the experience gain, with Terra being the exception. It was at that point that she noticed the massive earth tortoise had wandered off somewhere. She was glad. He slept too much, in her opinion. Her tail lifted, and then slapped the ground in annoyance. "Go on then. Niagara awaits."
Blaze shook his head, and laid down. "Not yet. Once these little ones hatch, and are ready for Trainers. Then I'll go." He got nuzzled by Chari for that, and while he was actually eager to get moving, he could linger a while.
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As the days passed, he didn't range far, but when he did leave, it was to practice splitting lakes apart with naught but his flames. He learned how to make them hot enough for an almost guaranteed burn on his opponent, and he also learned that water types did not like having their homes disrupted by random fire lizards in training. He'd trained against their water attacks then, confusing many of them when the Charizard had roared for more. One Flamethrower soon became capable of stopping at least ten Water Guns, and he knew he was almost ready to try Niagara.
His latest clutch of little ones hatched eventually in the heat of the summer, and their mom. Within a few precious days, they were snapped up by eager Unovan teens who wanted a Charizard related to the Champion's. Eric kept track of the Pokémon he gave out, just in case they were abandoned. It did sometimes happen, for whatever reason, and Blaze was the one who volunteered to go and get them. Sometimes, they didn't want to come back, or have anything to do with their pre-Trainer family. Other times, they were traumatized, at which point Eric would, as a Professor, put a digital mark on their former Trainer's Trainer Card that signaled to the Jennies that the holder was a potential Pokémon abuser. The laws for such crimes had been harsh under Unova law, under the Dragon Empire, they were much more severe, their punishments more and more draconian, depending on the level of abuse.
Finally, the last of Blaze's little flames was taken in by a Trainer who'd just been ecstatic to see one of the Champion's Pokémon in person. The kid had the same spark in his eye most new Trainers did, and only time would tell if that spark would be stomped out, or flare up into a proper blaze that could beat their Elite Four. Since the war ended, very few people had made it through Damon and Nick, and even Will and Shauntal had done what they could to cover their type weaknesses. No challengers had made it past Hilbert all summer, so far, and thus Alex hadn't yet been needed in a Champion capacity.
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When Blaze finally did leave, he brought Chari with him, and the two Pokémon took their Mega Forms as they raced towards one of the more famous borders between the States, and Kanadia. In the upheaval of the old world, the horseshoe shaped waterfall that most humans of the time knew as Niagara Falls had been raised. The great lakes merged together, but for quite a few centuries, the falls went silent, as the Kanadians kept the water of Superior Lake for themselves.
Some millennia later, when the first Dragon Emperor united the continent and recognized Kanadia as a State unto itself under Tao's banner, they agreed to reopen the ancient tourism spot, and the result was what Blaze and Chari saw, upon coming within range of it. From a certain height, everything looked small, but the two fire lizards were well acquainted with just how vast the Earth was, compared to them. They landed atop a roof that had a Charizard's face upon it, panting as they dropped their Mega Forms. Flying had taken most of the day, but flying west meant they gained time, if only a little.
Some minutes into their break, an old man came through a door they hadn't noticed, and smirked at them. He was more salt than pepper, and his beard was as curly as Alex's, with a similar style too. His hat had a Wyrdeer on it, he had a plaid overshirt on underneath his green and brown winter jacket, and long pants. Worn brown boots covered his feet, but his scent, was something Blaze recognized all too easily, or rather, what mixed with it. The human's happy grin and reddened eyes informed him as to what he'd been up to probably not too long ago.
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"So, which one o' you is challengin' the Falls, hmm?" He looked between the pair of Charizard, and then settled on Blaze, who clearly trained more. It wasn't that Chari didn't, but her small size and rather consistent egg caretaking filled her time more than breathing fire at large sources of water. "Gotta be you then, big fella'. I take it you saw Leon's Charizard in action, an' now yer aimin' to match'im. Right?" Seeing Blaze's look of shock and confusion made the old man laugh. "Yer face says I'm right on the PokéDollar. Happens more'n you'd think with Charizard Trainers! Hahaha!"
He walked over to the edge of the building then, and Blaze followed. "Oi! We got a live one here, folks! Another challenger of Niagara Falls!" Some of the people below rolled their eyes, but a few, clearly tourists, cheered. The old man looked up at Blaze then. "Where's yer Trainer, lad? An' why…do you look so familiar…you famous or somethin'?"
Blaze tapped his skull, in answer to the man's first question. For the second, he knew what he had to do. He leapt out into the air over the gathering crowd, as word spread that yet another Charizard was trying to copy what so far, only Leon's had ever done. "Hey! Isn't that the Emperor's Charizard!?" "No way…why would he be…wait, the Flame Plate! The size! The glare! It is him!" Blaze circled over the pointing and easily awed humans, before landing before the old man again. Down below, they'd started chanting: "Blaze! Blaze! Blaze! Blaze!"
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The old man ran a hand through his hair, lifted his cap in the process, and then adjusted it. "Right then. The Dragon Emperor's partner…" He looked the Charizard over again. Maybe, Leon's record was about to have another underneath it. "And yer sayin' he's in yer head? I'd heard he was psychic'r'sumthin'. Hmph. Listen up then, both of ya!" Surprising Blaze yet again, the old man leaped, seemingly on his own, to a higher perch on the building, and pulled a collapsible megaphone from his jacket pocket.
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"Alrighty folks, both domestic an' foreign, we have ourselves a Challenge today! The rules'r'simple! No form changin! None o' that Dynawhatsit or Mega Evolooshun! Just like Leon's partner, ya need to face Niagara with what you already have! Do you understand the rules lad?"
Blaze shot into the air again, and roared. The crowd roared back. "Well go on then! I'll tell the ferry to clear out! Once they're gone, it's all you! Ye got three chances to stop the Falls for a minimum of a minute! Sixty seconds! Think ya can handle it lad?"
Again, Blaze roared, this time shooting a flame into the air. The tips of the old man's beard started burning, not because Blaze had been careless, but because he had very much brought the heat, and it was enough to start burning the man's face fur. Despite this, the man seemed amused, hyped even. "Go on then! Get in position. Wait about twenty minutes, so we have a nice large crowd. An' remember, there ain't no shame in admittin' it's too big for ya."
Blaze gave a derogatory snort as he sailed past the old man, and then down and over the massive basin of water before the falls. Water types like Blastoise and Gyarados, probably with Trainers, were moving the smaller water types from the fall's immediate vicinity. A very large, very old Lapras surfaced then, and cooed for the fire lizard to take a rest on his shell. Accepting the offer, Blaze landed carefully, and gave a nod of thanks to the old Pokémon.
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The old Lapras eyed him, and a small smile broke his face. "Why do you wish to do this, fire breather?"
"To prove I am strong. To prove my training has not been wasted. To show those I've beaten that they lost fairly, to a stronger warrior…and to prepare myself for the strongest of them all." Blaze answered, eyes on the majesty of nature before him. The imposing Kanadian Wall loomed above the falls, and could still close the falls off in years when Superior Lake needed to refill. Then, he saw it. The scorch marks on the ancient metal, though they were recent, where the metal itself was not. Alex had told him that, according to Professor Aristole, humans of the ancient Earth had built this wall long before Arceus appeared, when one country believed their neighbors to the south had finally lost all sense and sanity, and had proceeded to shut out them, and the world, leaving them to their fate.
He was impressed that Leon's partner had scorched it so thoroughly, and briefly he wondered if he might not be biting off more than he was ready for. Then, he felt Alex in his head, brushing aside his doubts, and reassuring Blaze. They'd trained just as hard as Leon, they arguably had more knowledge of auras and how they related to moves, and in terms of strength, Alex believed Blaze was at the level Leon's Charizard had been not so many years ago, when they'd accomplished this feat. If not above it.
The Lapras had taken the time to ponder the Charizard's answer. Then, he spoke again. "Is strength all you care about? What will you do if you beat this…rival of yours?" He had a feeling he knew which Charizard this one was gunning for. It was the same with most who came to attempt to stymie the power of nature with their own.
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Blaze snorted at the Lapras' words. "My strength is necessary…it protects my friends. My home. If I beat my rival…I will find another…again and again until I prove my supremacy to the world." His eyes shifted to the transport Pokémon then. "That is what we do."
"I am aware." The Lapras answered simply, and Blaze resumed ignoring him. Finally, several minutes later, he spoke again. "The Humans have signaled. They're ready. Good luck, firebreather."
The Lapras gave Blaze a 'toss' as he turned his frame and dove back under the water, and Blaze hovered closer to the falls. Then, he realized his mistake. It was far too damp here to burn as hot as he needed to. Still, he focused his mind and his breath, letting the roar of Niagara ring in his horns before soaring up, up, far into the sky. Well above what most Charizard could handle. Higher than he'd been when battling Lizardon.
At the peak of his climb, he circled in the air, folded his wings, and pointed himself downwards. As soon as he felt the air warm on his descent, he began burning internally, heating the air around him. He also started glowing, visibly, as he manifested his aura. The viewers below watched as the living comet soared down, then skirted above the crowd with a mighty roar, just far enough away not to burn them. They answered his roar with one of their own, and Blaze felt his special attack power rise as a result.
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Blaze was smoldering by that point, and he let the human's cheers fill his ears, before the roar of nature's water did so again. This time, steam appeared around him as he flared his wings, guided the superheated air that had followed him, and upchucked his built up Flamethrower. The burning air hit the falls first, pushing them out in a growing circle of steam that his Flamethrower soon followed. He floated closer with his momentum, and adjusted the width of the Flamethrower with his tongue as he kept the fire coming.
A few humans in the crowd thought he was glowing with the power of a Mega Form, but others corrected them. With Fornia's blockade out of the way, many Alolans had visited their mainland cousins, and there were others in the tourist hot spot that knew some powerful Pokémon tended to gain auras when they became strong enough.
Blaze kept going, as Alex counted in his head. Thirty seconds in, and his flames were still winning. As before, the water was boiling and evaporating faster than it could flow, and for most of a minute, it seemed Niagara Falls had again been stymied. Then, the minute passed, and Blaze kept going as Alex kept counting. The pride he felt in his partner helped him maintain his Flamethrower, but eventually, Blaze needed to breathe, and nature needed to resume flowing. The scorch marks on the Kanadian's wall were even larger now, more noticeable, but they would fade in time, as Leon's had.
Suddenly very tired, Blaze flapped up towards the crowd, and propelled himself on the sound of their cheering back to the roof they'd landed on. Chari was there as well, landing just before he did, and catching him, as he fainted from the exertion. The old human showed up minutes later, and poured an Elixir into his mouth just to be safe, before he gave Chari some pets, and left the pair of fire lizards alone.
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Word spread like wildfire once more: Redwood's Charizard had stopped Niagara Falls for a full two minutes, before he'd run out of breath and flame. While the method was different from Leon's, who had stayed stationary for his blast, Blaze's atmospheric inferno had caught several eyes, and cameras, and PNN played both Holociever footage and satellite footage as they covered the story. Though nobody had seen Redwood, most assumed he'd been nearby, and thus the pretense of his being around but out of the limelight stayed intact.
Blaze spent the rest of his vacation lounging, and making sure he could still battle. He was in peak condition when Alex called them to assemble, and Eric gave him a final checkup, before sending him and his ball into the PC.
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Shruikan
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Tao's Home Dimension - Circa Chapter 16
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In the infinite cloudy plane that was Tao's home, Shruikan had been warned about becoming lost if he flew blindly into the blinding abyss. The Original Dragon wanted him alone today, though. Evidently, it was going to be a draconic lesson. Tao spiraled through the vast, golden cloudy aether looking very glad to be newly whole. By Shruikan's sense of time, they'd been in Tao's extra planar space for three months now, and the Original Dragon had taken the time to rest…in between training Alex and Jess of course. Little did Shruikan know, he was the first of the twenty or so Pokémon the humans had brought with them to get a special lesson with the Original Dragon.
The language of dragons, as Shruikan currently understood it, was based more on mental images and descriptions that draconic minds could easily make sense of. For those who could reach out with their mind, anyways. In this wordless tongue Tao 'spoke' in his mind with a resonance akin to thunder. "There is a place you should know of, in our world. A place for our kind, and only our kind." Shruikan followed Tao through the clouds, and as they inhaled them, their inner aura, the energy composing their very selves, separated from their physical forms, and hurtled towards the Earth. They aimed above Galar, further north than even Albion, and on Albion's far northern savage coast, north of even the rough inhabitants in the shaggy form of humans and Pokémon, there was a practically frozen archipelago. Tao's memories suggested that at one point in the past quite a few dragon types had lived within that relatively cold, but secluded, part of the world.
All these images of the past for comparison to the present flashed through from Tao's mind, as from the now mostly empty archipelago, they went west, past Neuberke and its Dragon Tamer populace, into seemingly empty open ocean. In these cold dark waters, there was a giant hole in the world, surrounded on all sides by waterfalls, and Tao halted their spirit selves just above it. As Shruikan stared at it, he felt an inexplicable desire to dive into it head first. "It is here you should go, when you have the time, and the desire to rest. There is a dragon below that can bring forth your potential. The true potential of a black Salamence. You will learn much from this place. If you are willing."
Their essences rose back into the sky then, into their bodies, and then out of the clouds. Shruikan mulled over what he'd seen as they returned to Tao's space, and it wasn't until the war with the Arceans ended that he remembered his odd little trip.
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Present Day…
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Shruikan's massive wingspan swallowed the miles between Unova and the place Tao had once shown him. He was exhausted from the lengthy conflict with Fornia, and his pivotal role in keeping the Arceans out of Kanadia. Evidently one of Pravus's plans had been to get past the massive wall, travel along it into Unova proper all but unchallenged, and then wreak havoc. Shruikan never gave them the chance. His dreams were plagued by the faces of dead humans, fried by the plasma he'd willingly aimed their way. He'd stopped regarding the Arceans as humans worthy of sharing the world with him when they'd been credibly proven to be infecting Pokémon eggs with Shadow. That didn't keep their fleshless sockets from staring at him accusingly when he entered the realm of dreams, but he ignored them all the same. They had chosen their paths. Being a Crusader for the Church of Arceus had been a position they'd sought out, and the Church had always had plenty of alternatives to being outfitted for war and slaughter.
When Alex had ordered them to get some rest, he'd taken to sleeping on the Kanadian's wall, something the Kanadians wanted stopped, when his heavy frame started making the ancient metal bow with the weight of his titanic form. By that point he had more than enough rest though, so he headed north, towards Neuberke. There was a so-called Dragon Tamer from the island's tribe of low hygiene hooligans in Alex's squad of Scales, and he'd been just ecstatic to see, and later meet, the massive black Salamence. Apparently one of their Chiefs had once tamed such a dragon, albeit a much smaller one.
Shruikan circled the largest settlement on Neuberke three times, and by the third, he was surrounded by dragon types who were greeting him. Some even had human riders on their back. One of them, atop a Noivern flew up to his nose, and stopped, stopping Shruikan as well. The ground below began to blow apart as his massive wings kept his titanic body in the air. "C-can I have a scale from your hide, O mighty Salamence?"
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Shruikan leaned in to the human then, who met his gaze with the appropriate amount of fear, but also courage. The tiny hand of the teenager patted his snout, and Shruikan took in his scent. The large lips pulled upwards into a grin, and in response, Shruikan scratched an itch in mid-air, the only way he could, these days, and several loose, broken, or shedding scales fell away. He nodded at them, then.
With a whoop of glee, the human and his peers descended on the discarded dragonscale with their mounts, while up above, a rather ancient female Dragapult approached his head next. "You come seeking the Dragon Haven."
Shruikan rumbled an affirmative. The Dragapult simply nodded, and turned, streaking away rather quickly. "This way." She took off then, and Shruikan had to make an effort to match her speed. Some of the flock from the island followed after him, particularly Dreepy seeking the thrill of being used as ammunition. She sped out over the ocean and Shruikan knew what to expect next.
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The massive hole in the ocean hadn't changed since the last time Shruikan had seen it, and the Dragapult he was following arced up and dove straight in with no hesitation. Shruikan followed, and heard the sentient draconic missile platform shout back at him. "Keep your wings close, and try to only hit the crystals!"
Shruikan had only a moment to arch a scaly brow and say "Hit?" Before he understood. Massive crystalline protrusions blocked his way down. They could've been dodged, if he was his former size but his girth now wouldn't allow it. So, he charged ahead, skull first, through the protruding crystals, bringing them with him on his downwards trajectory.
After a time, he came out into a wide space beneath the crust of the earth, and again, Shruikan had far too little time to look around. There were thousands of dragon types along the walls of this undersea crevasse, too many to count. Both known species and those unknown to humans were present in this massive space. Including several Dratini and other first form dragonlings floating below and peering up at the falling debris, and titan who came with it, from the basin of water far below.
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Seeing littles in immediate danger, Shruikan flared his wings once he had space, and inhaled. The gathered dragon types watched with a quiet inhale as the Salamence glowed with golden plasma, and then launched a carefully aimed Charge Beam at each piece of debris. He watched as each piece disintegrated, all except for one. That single crystal chunk hit one of the cliff sides leading down to the water below. Shruikan made to blast it as well, until a rather large female Dragonite sped out and Mega Punched it into harmless debris. She gave Shruikan a nod, and then checked on the Dratini.
Shruikan stopped his descent once the danger was past, and flapped awkwardly, noticeably, in the open space as almost all eyes stayed on him from the dragon types perched around the space. The Dragapault he'd been following roared at him, and he resumed moving, deeper into this paradise of his kind. Many who'd been watching him, followed after his titanic bulk into another, far larger cavern, that had more than enough space for Shruikan, and the many dragon egg nests here. He landed by the Dragapult, and knew he'd have to be careful, in this space. Many of those with eggs had followed him in here, and now covered their nests in case the massive Salamence tried flapping over them.
A flash of blue and red flitted in his gaze then, and he recognized a pair of dragons from the Eon duo, a Latios and Latias, speeding towards them. The Dragapult bowed her head, and even her lil' Dreeps paused their ever present desire for violence to show these two respect. "This one is new here. Take him to speak with Him."
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The Latias floated forward, speaking for the pair. She stared Shruikan down, and once the initial intimidation faded, he raised his scaly lips in an approximation of a smile. This made the Latias smirk, and turn, already speeding off. "Very well."
Shruikan tried not to panic as the Eon duo psychically sped him along with them, over the many nests that would've been disturbed by his wings. Eventually, he unfurled them, so the burden of moving his massive frame wasn't so taxing. They reached the other side of the large nesting cavern, and then dove down to a river cutting into the sides of the cavern, with just enough space above it to accommodate the black Salamence's size. It was a claustrophobic space that went deep, deep down into the planet, with only bitingly cold water to fill it, but the Latios and Latias expected him to endure it, and Shruikan was wondering just who the 'he' the Dragapault had mentioned, was.
He had to curl his wings again, but when the tunnel opened up, he found himself inside a dazzling cavern full of rainbow colored sparkling crystals that, to him and his sense of pressure, told him this was probably one of the deepest caverns on the entire planet, and the largest this far down into the mantle. The air was humid from the mix of heat from the rather close liquid mantle of the planet below, and the crystals, much like those Shruikan had crashed through, lining the upper walls and adjoining tunnel into this space. It seemed like the way they'd come was the only entry point.
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As the Eon duo lifted him out of the tunnel, they followed the river over a massive cliff edge and saw where the water pooled below. And what was swimming within it. Massive white scales, on bluish green skin, and various points of infinitely white power that marked where the Zygarde's eyes were spiraled around and around in an endless circle. As its head rose, Shruikan remembered a story his mother had told him, of the oldest defender of the land that their planet had. The white Zygrade. Jormungandr, who was said to encircle the planet with his size. He'd assumed that was just a legend, but then, both he and his human had a habit of living through legends.
The Eon duo let him drop then, and Shruikan caught himself, gliding down to land on the small plateau of rock and ice that acted as a perch before the steep drop into the swirling, scaly abyss. He felt small again, as the sheer scale of the Zygarde's fifty percent form head, and tentacles, loomed closer to him, and outsized even his own large frame. As he spoke, it was with impressions as Tao had, but this time Shruikan noticed the rumbles accompanying the images were Words of the dragon tongue. He'd noticed only the older dragons rumbled when they spoke like this to others of their kind. It was a more primal, and honest, manner of conversing.
"Shruikan of Draconis Mons. I have heard of thee. Your form has been corrupted by the World Eater's energy. If you stay as you are, you too will go insane." An impossibly white vaguely iris shaped object shifted within the massive Zygarde's eye socket. "Alas, I will have to end you…" Shruikan lowered his head and growled at the massive dragon with a serious type advantage over him. He would not go quietly, though in that moment he realized his connection to his Trainer was severely weakened here. "Or...I would have...but it seems you have brought what I would need to Purge this taint. How came you by that Draco Plate upon your chest?"
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Shruikan had to process for a few seconds, as the massive dragon's words resonated in his very being. His Voice was as forceful as Tao's, when he was using a move or his Hyper Voice, but this level of intensity just seemed to be the norm for this evidently usually solitary creature. He had no doubt that the World Serpent could have easily taken him with one attack. When he finally answered, it was in the language he'd learned from his Trainer's brief merge with a mind that had been antithetical to both his own and Alex's. "The Original Dragon gave it to me, once I finished training."
Jormungandr seemed to process that, and then spoke again, for the final time. "Then the Way is clear…activate it, and have it condense your form into one you prefer."
Shruikan blinked, as the elder dragon honed in on what he'd wanted for a while now, after growing to this size. He'd assumed he was stuck being massive, though. He activated the Draco Plate as he reached out to it, and instead of using the bond with Alex, he drew on the Plate instead and focused on armoring himself. Not as a sentient air carrier this time, but as a set of armor. He expelled the power he'd gained from Alduin into the Draco Plate, and the Plate purified it, before sending it back into his body's network of energy. Then, Jormungandr flashed with its own draconic power, though what exactly it did was beyond Shruikan's understanding. He assumed it was beneficial.
When the Light from the Plate lessened, he was smaller, and heavily armored in deep blurple colored plates that covered everything but his wings. The edges of his wings had sharpened plates of the strange metal, and he assumed they'd be deadly if used improperly. The armor eventually settled, and then Shruikan let it shift back into its Plate form, as he examined his changed body. He did not revert to titanic size, but rather found his very being changed. He was spikier around his head and jaw, and slightly larger than he'd been when they'd faced Alduin. He had a crest of black almost chitinous plated scales that rose from the back of his skull, to his tail, which ended in a sharp point now. A second, smaller set of leathery wings now sat at the base of his tail, and he flexed it, getting used to the new heft. He felt his physical attacks now would be equally matched with his special ones.
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His claws and teeth were now as crimson as his wings and underbelly, his height was back to around twenty feet, though most of it was neck. Shruikan tested his wings, which were larger now, and still felt as strong as he'd been a few moments ago. Then, he noticed they too had changed. While not linked around the back like his Mega Form, the ancient genes Jormungandr had awakened with his Voice had resulted in a series of small scaly spikes lining the edges of his wings.
From the swirling basin of water and scale below, Jormungandr's unmistakable tone echoed. "Now…there is a move you must learn. Latios will show you. You will use it in defense of this world."
Shruikan bowed his head. "As you command, World Serpent." He looked up then, as he saw the Latios from before return. The Eon duo, in quite large numbers, had also been among the dragons he'd seen in this place. He was interested to learn what move they were talking about.
As the weeks passed, Shruikan practiced this new technique, and made the Dragon Haven a place he could come back to. He'd impressed quite a few females with his entrance, and while some had been turned off by his sudden lack of size on reappearing, most others were actually quite glad he was back to somewhat normal proportions.
When Alex gave the command to assemble, Shruikan took his time saying his goodbyes, and with one final gift, for his Trainer rather than himself in his claws, he headed for Koria, and found his natural speed, even with a smaller wingspan, more than enough to eat away the miles. He crossed east across the northern part of the planet, avoiding the Imperium entirely, and then swung around the eastern edge of the supercontinent, towards Ba Sing Se, and the place he sensed Alex residing in. He knew he was late to assemble, but late was better than never, and he'd come with quite a gift.
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Arthur
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Arthur was the first on Alex's belt to really get away from the ranch, and into the world after helping his team-brothers get what they needed for their own relaxation. Naturally, his first stop was Superior Lake, the home of Nimue, the Mesprit who had guided his father, and all of Albion, before Morgana and the Shadow took over the region. Arthur knew Alex very much intended to hit up Galar for some intense training before the World Tournament properly kicked off, but he wanted to head there ahead of his brothers.
Nimue rose from the lake's center and bamfed to Arthur, as he stopped walking, and reached the water. He bowed his head in respect, as the Mesprit appeared, and she smiled at the young prince. "What brings you to my lake, Once and Future King?"
Arthur faltered, and kind of scratched the back of his head. It was a distinctly human reaction, but the distracted Pokémon hardly noticed. "I uh…wanted to head to the Galar region. Not Albion, probably not even to Wyndon, but just…Galar in general. Seems like a good place to get stronger. Will my going there…set off anything? Will the false Queen…I dunno…sense me or something? I don't want to start a whole 'thing' while my Trainer has a special mission to deal with."
Mesprit giggled, leaning back in the air as she did, until she just flipped completely, and kept giggling. Finally, she composed herself, though her antics and cuteness had caused the Gallade to smirk. "No…you'll be fine. If Morgana wanted to track you, she would, and could. But she knows better than to set one foot in mainland Galar. Calyrex would Smite her within an hour of her arrival."
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Arthur tilted his head. "Calyrex?"
Mesprit nodded. "I guess you should know the history if you're going to go there. Galar once had two kings, who descended from the first Hero King, a King in the North, and a King in the South. They were fierce Trainers, and when Galar faced its Darkest Day, they rose to smite it with the Fairy King's Sword, and the Fighting Master's Shield. They found those Heroes thanks to aid from Calyrex, and his brother." She shared a mental image then of the two Calyrex, one green and white with a massive green berry atop its head. It rode upon an icy horse, and Arthur psychically inferred that this was the southern ruler. The northern ruler was golden toned on his otherwise identical white frame and similarly massive noggin. His steed of choice was a ghostly purple horse, in contrast to the white one.
"The King in the South has been restored already, by Champion Victor, but the King in the North remains missing." Nimue gave him a knowing smirk. "Something you should look into perhaps. While you're there."
Arthur was well acquainted with powerful psychic type shenanigans by this point, and gleaned that, somehow, he'd probably end up involved with finding this King in the North regardless. "I'm sure I'll find something if I look hard enough. I'm more interested in finding Lancelus again. He's strong enough for the training I have in mind."
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Nimue giggled again, but not enough for a flip in the air. "Lancelus. Of course. He managed to tame Leon in his time in Galar. I'm sure he's as strong as you are, by now. If not stronger."
Arthur bowed, again. "I intend to find out. Thank you for your guidance, Lady of the Lake."
Nimue watched the young prince bamf away, giggled to herself, and then returned to her lake to meditate, and keep an eye on Arthur from afar. His arrival would indeed set something in motion, but she had no intention of telling him, and potentially skewing Fate.
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Wyndon - Galar Region
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Actually reaching Galar, once he'd helped his brothers communicate their desires for their own vacation, was rather easy for Arthur. Everyone in New Tork knew him thanks to the footage of him almost soloing the entire Elite Four, and the information that he was visiting Galar spread like wildfire. Thus, when he arrived in Wyndon Airfield, he was greeted by a massive crowd, not there for him, but for the purple maned Chairman of Galar's Pokémon League, and the shiny blue Gallade beside him. Lancelus and his newest friend had made quite the stir since his joining Leon's team, and as strong as the Gallade had been already, Leon and his other partners had only made him stronger.
Lancelus came up to Arthur, and offered a sword-arm for an arm bump, which was gladly given by the Unovan Gallade. "Welcome, Arthur. Once we heard you'd be flying in, Leon suggested we come and meet you." As Lancelus finished speaking, Chairman Leon himself strode up to Arthur, and smiled as he offered a hand. Real, physical, in person Leon. The first thing Arthur noticed was the very similar quiet intensity he had. It reminded him of Alex, before a big battle. He was clad in a dapper scarlet outfit that made him look quite regal.
Arthur spoke first. "Chairman Leon. It's an honor. My Human and my team-brothers are huge fans of yours." He shook the hand then, as he subconsciously emanated awe, hero worship, and a cocktail of other amusing but genuine emotions.
Leon gave him a winning smirk. "I've been keeping an eye on you and your Human, Arthur. I saw how you two almost soloed the Victory League's Elite Four. Very impressive stuff, and all without Psycho Cut. I can't wait to Battle him."
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Arthur fought down the wave of fanboyish excitement, and gave the legendary Trainer a nod. "I can assure you Alex is just as eager. So is the rest of the team. I'm sure we'll have an epic clash, someday."
Leon nodded. "A showdown worthy of the World Tournament, I think." He let the Gallade's hand go before the handshake got too awkward. He was very used to fans just continuing to shake his hand, caught up as they were in the apparent awe that came with meeting him. "What brings you to Galar? We're glad to have you of course, I'm simply curious."
By this point, the trio were walking towards the exit of the airport, with Macro Security keeping the cheering hordes of Leon fans from reaching them. Arthur spied more than a few Dragon Empire symbols on hats too, though. It seemed they'd won over some foreign fans as well. "I'm mostly here to train. First with Lancelus, and then after that…I'm not sure. I was going to travel around, see what kind of challenges Galar had to offer, in the wild."
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Lancelus spoke then, "Bedivere, Percival, and Gawain are also here. I'm sure they could help you train too. As for what's going on in the wild…we'll speak of that later."
Leon nodded then, as they arrived at his personal Flying Taxi. It had the space of a limousine, and was pulled by a truly massive, steel gray Corviknight and driven by an older gentleman with a monocle and top hat. He looked like he belonged in another century, but Leon gave him a nod, as he opened the doors for the Gallades. "To Wyndon Stadium, then. Lancelus and the others have been using it. There's an Exhibition Battle later today, to kick off the early rankings for the World Tournament, but you two should have more than enough time for a good spar."
Once they were in, and buckled, the cab brought them the relatively short flight to Wyndon Stadium, as Arthur and Leon waved bye to the crowds that'd swarmed the airport. As they landed just outside of the stadium, Arthur just stared. Leon saw him, and chuckled. "Impressive, right? I hear the one in Unova is just as big."
Arthur nodded, though he'd seen their stadium only once. "Just as big, yes…nowhere near as…grand. It's still being built, though."
Leon nodded. "I'm sure it'll turn out to be a fine stadium, once it's done. I'm glad they decided to rebuild it. Driftveil's always seemed a bit…small, to me." Leon walked into the building then, which was again packed with thousands of his fans.
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The crowd lost their minds when they saw Lancelus do a Gallade's approximation of a Charizard pose, and the famous trio proceeded to the locker room right beside the stadium's field. Bedivere, Percival, and Gawain were chatting inside, and they all turned in surprise as Arthur entered beside Leon and Lancelus.
It was as Arthur greeted his fast friends from their last meeting at Superior Lake that he noticed both he and Lancelus were noticeably taller than the other three. When they heard what Arthur had come for, they were eager to see the battle much like Leon was. So, they went out to the field, and Leon took the role of referee. He lifted his left wrist then, and activated the Rotom Watch. "Let the fans in, they're going to want to see this. Standard rates."
Leon floated out above the field on his Aegislash then, who had been fitted with the unused human-carrying device that had been left on the field. Leon's iconic visage filled every screen in the stadium. "Ladies and gentlemen! These two Alpha Gallade are going to have a bout, to test their new skills! The match will start in twenty minutes, and both participants will Battle on their own power! That's right, it's a match with no Trainers! Get your tickets now!" Leon floated to the ref's box then, and waited, arms crossed and smirking, as his fans, and Trainers who'd probably just heard the news, began rushing to fill the stadium. Within ten minutes, the mostly Trainer crowd was eagerly murmuring.
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Finally, the time to begin came, and Leon hopped back on his partner, hovering outside the energy barriers of the field as he shouted, "Let the match…begin!" The two Gallade began walking towards each other, slowly, and Arthur summoned Excalibur with a softer intonation of "Shine." His arms started glowing, burning with gold, but Lancelus hadn't even extended his swords, yet. Once he was in range, Arthur struck first, disappearing and reappearing via Teleport, to strike Lancelus in his helm, on the left side.
A blue arm rose to meet him, and Arthur shifted his strike to connect with the other Gallade's blade-arm. Instead, the blue limb swelled, into a shield, and deflected the hit from Sacred Sword entirely. Arthur frowned, and followed his strike with another, from his unused arm. It left a small mark on the shield, not effective, but not invincible. Before Arthur could process and adjust for the unusual technique, Lancelus' right arm came at him. Again, Arthur moved to parry a sword, and instead found a piercing lance-arm coming right for him, wreathed in flying energy. An Aerial Ace. It struck his left side, and Arthur leapt away, grimacing. The crowd, meanwhile, was cheering hard for Lancelus living up to his name. The limb reformed into their usual arm, but it was then Arthur noticed that Lancelus's arm was actually rounded at the elbow, not sharp, and his right hand was rather pointy, even for a Gallade.
Checking his memories, this had indeed been the case at Superior Lake, he simply hadn't noticed. It was quite impressive. "Playing with the malleability of our limbs to make something other than a sword. That's good. I'll have to try it sometime…but for now…" Arthur closed his eyes, and the crowd had paused as they heard the Gallade speak. This was pretty much how most of them knew, or guessed, immediately that this was the Gallade of the Unovan Champion, the one who'd almost soloed the Elite Four of the Victory League, and apparently had taken on all kinds of foes, and won, from massive Salamence, to human beings in powered armor, wielding powered weapons. There were quite a few videos of him and his brothers from the war, seen slashing through Arcean energy beams, or creating massive mobile rock fortresses. Apparently, Tao believed they would help the people of the Dragon Empire feel safer, and informed, though naturally any graphic parts of the war had been censored.
His identity was further confirmed as he tapped into the bond with his Trainer, and let that love resonate with the Mind Plate that was now part of his heart piece. His Mega Form swirled his cape as he bowed, and powered up Excalibur again. His arms burned gold, and with this relatively new sight to the Trainers of Galar, they began chanting his name. He gave them a smirk and a nod as they chanted and cheered, and he felt his attack power surge, somehow. He smirked at Lancelus then, who grimaced slightly.
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Excalibur shifted from extruding Light energy to ghost typed energy, as Arthur came at the Gallade with his now-perfected Shadow Punch. It had taken a long time, but he'd finally grasped how to use the physical ghost move, and finally, he had the usefulness of the coverage that type provided. Lancelus blocked the first punch, but Arthur's second utilized another Teleport, behind the shield, and his spent arm blocked Lancelus's right elbow, as Arthur's left fist hammered the second Shadow Punch home.
The force of the blow, the speed of the Mega Form, overpowered Lancelus, and Leon grimaced, as he watched his partner roll, and skip, across most of the battlefield. He raised his left fist, the glove of which now held a Mega Stone, and Lancelus nodded when he noticed what Leon was doing. Brilliant white double helixed energy swirled around him as he took his own Mega Form. The main difference from Arthur's, was that in this form, Lancelus's shield stayed consistently formed from his limb. He leveled his right arm at Arthur. "Feel my…Sacred Spear!" His right arm began shining with Light energy, and Arthur was impressed, as it charged to meet the Shadow Punches he'd formed. Eventually, he blocked with Sacred Sword, and the crowd went wild as Light energy reverberated from the clash of two Mega Gallade.
Leon was proud for another reason though. He looked at the crowd, and saw the faces of Trainers who were very much enjoying yet another impromptu match their beloved Chairman pulled together out of seemingly thin air. Then he looked at the Gallades, and noted both of them were grinning like madmen, as the match became less about damage, and more about whose Light attack was stronger. Even though it wasn't very effective on either of them.
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As the match went on, the speed and versatility Arthur had was being tested by the bunker that was Lancelus, who in this form, could extend his spear back from his elbow as well, like a haft-strike, and cover his blind spot with Counter. Arthur soon found spending a Teleport meant taking a hard counter from his opponent, and the hits he landed weren't effective to begin with, let alone when they were knocked off course by a cheeky elbow hit. Lancelus spun after Arthur's latest bamf around his shield, and said shield hammered into him, sending him flying across the field, this time.
Arthur recovered himself in mid-air, and then landed on his feet as he slid across the turf. Lancelus met his gaze, and nodded, and then began powering up their moves. Lancelus's spear-arm extended as far as he could stretch it, and began shuddering with flying typed energy. Arthur, for his part, had learned a different trick after mastering Shadow Punch. One that made all the long hours learning to condense ghost energy into a dense orb worth his time. The flames of his Mega Form burned around his fists as he formed Shadow Punches, and then between them, began condensing an entirely separate sphere of ghostly energy.
He held it down and by his side as it grew bigger, and the air started to swirl as Lancelus poured every drop of power he had for Aerial Ace into a single strike. Arthur did the same, drawing as much ghost energy as he dared, for his own move. Then, the ghostly ball of OHKO was ready, and Arthur waited, as Lancelus's charge burned over. As expected, the flying type energy boomed, sending the lance-armed Gallade at him like a white comet, but Arthur had already Teleported to his shield side, hiding in his opponent's blind spot before coming around the shield.
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To the crowd watching, this happened so fast only Leon really kept up with the moves, but for Arthur and Lancelus, their heightened perception during their ultimate move had this occurring in slow, but inevitable, motion. Lancelus had seen Arthur bamf away, but he hadn't come from behind, as even more flying energy would've hit him there, he didn't appear above or near the lance, which only left the shield. As Lancelus processed this, Arthur's ball of ghost energy came around the edge of the shield, and once it touched Lancelus, the condensed sphere exploded.
When the dust finally cleared, Lancelus was on his back, in his regular form, and Arthur had a humming, golden sword arm to his neck. Seeing he was beaten, and being very close to fainting, Lancelus admitted defeat. He raised both his arms, and verbalized his mental voice. "I yield." The silence the crowd had held, until those words, ended as they cheered and whooped, and Arthur kept his Mega Form, helping Lancelus to his feet, as Leon flew over, and applied a Max Potion to his partner.
He addressed the crowd then, "Arthur of the Dragon Empire has claimed victory! Show these brave knights how much you enjoyed their Battle!" The roar of the crowd went up, and Leon, Arthur, and Lancelus winced, but they were all smiling as well. All in all, a good battle. "The Exhibition Match of this year's World Tournament will be held shortly! We will have a brief half hour intermission before it begins!"
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The crowd rose then, as people began flooding the stadium-based vendors to gather food, merch, or just catch a glimpse of the two Gallade up close as they walked back to the locker room. Highlights from the battle were replaying on the TV in the locker room, and the other three Gallade waiting there congratulated Arthur on a battle well fought.
They chatted amongst themselves until Leon was back on the screen, for his match. He was facing a random Ace Trainer who'd evidently risen through the ranks in the last World Tournament, though they hadn't even come close to the Ultra class tier. A mix of wins and losses kept them in the Great class, but now, thanks to random chance, he was being given a chance to best Leon, and he'd brought the ideal tool for the job.
The match had no Dynamaxing, Mega Evolution, or Z Moves, and Arthur and the others watched as Lancelus all but swept the boy's team. The crowd wanted a Charizard at the end, though and it was Charizard they got, matched up against a hard fire/flying counter in the form of a well trained Golem. It was as Arthur took in this match, that he realized, through his link to his brothers, that Blaze could benefit from an insight the Gallade had. Auras did not appear on cameras used for TV, most of the time.
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Arthur bamfed away from the others for a hot minute to give Blaze some advice, and came back just in time to see the Unbeatable Charizard Seismic Toss his opponent into the stadium's floor, and claim the win. Once they met Leon and Lancelus back in the locker room, Leon addressed the band of Gallade. "You mentioned you were here to wander into some Galarian problems Arthur? Well we've had disturbing reports from Glimwood Tangle of late. Galarian Rapidash have begun disappearing, and Leader Bede claims an 'aura of Shadow' has descended on the once luminous forest." Leon's intense gaze focused on Arthur then. "You know better than even Lancelus how to wield the Light, Arthur. Might I ask you to take Lancelus, and these Gallade, and investigate?"
Arthur bowed to the Chairman. "I'm happy to aid the Galar League's Chairman however I can." He looked at his comrades for this mission, and nodded, mostly to himself. "We will get to the bottom of this. Galarian Rapidash are exceedingly rare, and important to the health of the plant life in Galar. If they are being poached by Pokémon Hunters, we will stop them."
The Gallade formed their own psychic web as they departed Wyndon Stadium, and Lancelus brought them via Teleport to an anchor he had within Ballonlea. Percival was the only one without a Trainer, and thus the one susceptible to poaching. Lancelus covered him, while the others surrounded him in a diamond formation, immune as they were to being caught by poachers.
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The few Trainers they encountered initially drew balls to catch them, until Arthur or Lancelus explained that they already had Trainers. Disappointed, but not deterred, the humans continued on, and Arthur sensed no malice from them. They trekked deeper north into the Glimwood, to the more unused and overgrown paths that mankind had laid down in an age now long forgotten to most of Galar, and the world. It was here that the Galarian variant of Rapidash and Ponyta tended to frolic, and rest. It was here that Arthur sensed the 'Shadow aura' of which they'd been warned, and he helped the others sense it too.
"That chill in the air…the creeping sensation traveling up your spine…the underlying malice in the darkness…that is what Shadow typically manifests as…but it always has a source. We can't sense the source of this…which means it must be a Dark Type responsible for what's happening to the Rapidash. Stay alert…"
The Gallade extended their blade-arms then, with the exception of Percival and Lancelus in the center of their formation. Then, Arthur sensed it. The mental and vocal distress of a young psychic type. Given what lived in Glimwood, there was only one or two species it could be, and the Hatterene line preferred much more isolated solitude. "Lancelus, take point. Cover Percival as you follow me…I sense something."
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Lancelus nodded, taking the lead as Arthur dashed into the woods. Soon after, the others sensed what he had, but speed was essential for stopping evildoers, and Arthur preferred arriving early to showing up timely, but late. As he came upon the scene of this particular abomination, he recoiled in disgust. A Galarian Rapidash was lying on her side, already beyond fainting, as her magical lifeblood stained the forest's floor. The woods around the area were already turning dark and gnarled at the desecration of their friend, and it seemed that, somehow, even the flora of Glimwood was being infected by the Shadow, likely because of the fairy types who tended it. Fairy forests tended to be all but alive, and quite vicious to those who harmed them.
The one responsible for this tragedy was a Grimmsnarl, easily an alpha judging by its size, though as Arthur witnessed it drinking the blood of the fallen Rapidash, it grew even larger. Its eyes were overcome with mindless rage, and in one hairy claw, it held a baby Ponyta, one barely out of its egg by Arthur's estimate.
Arthur was angry enough to not notice his shift to his Mega Form, but it helped him strike an imposing figure as he leveled a flaring golden sword arm at the feasting Grimmsnarl. "Let. The Ponyta. Go." The Grimmsnarl slowly raised his head, and then roared at Arthur.
Instead of attacking though, his trademark snarl was interrupted, as a distinctly female voice emanated from the open, tusked mouth. "Little Lost Prince, alone in the woods. Reminds me of old times."
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Arthur didn't usually get angry, and prided himself on being friendly and chill, like his Trainer, but as Morgana reminded him of the simultaneously worst and most embarrassing day of his short existence, he felt true, genuine rage. Thankfully Tao had taught all of them how to control and harness their anger, and use it to enhance their strikes. Cold anger, Tao had called it. All the force being angry gave, without giving in to the 'sloppiness' of 'hot' anger.
Thus, coldly, Arthur answered his father's killer. "Your first mistake... was assuming I was alone." Lancelus, Percival, Gawain, and Bedivere strode out of the woods behind him then, and extended their limbs for battle. Lancelus stepped up beside Arthur, nodded, and then extended his arms as well, readying the shield and lance. The Grimmsnarl looked between the group, and snarled. "Your second mistake... was assuming I'm still a Ralts..." His arm-blades focused then, and began filling the wood with an ominous hum. They burned with the Light, and the Grimmsnarl backed up from them subconsciously.
"Grendel...take care of these nuisances and bring me the Rapidash."
The evil presence withdrew then, leaving the Shadow Grimmsnarl with the squad of Gallade. He tossed the Ponyta behind him, no longer sparing a single Muk for it, and Shadow Rushed them, sending all but Lancelus flying from the naturally super effective attack. Arthur blocked the Shadow aura covered ogre fairy with Excalibur as he feigned a strike, but was running for the Ponyta.
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Arthur caught the tiny psychic pony, but the little filly was clearly distraught still, and the source of her distress came from seeing her mother's torn corpse. Knowing all too well how bodies could leave dark, lasting memories, Arthur hid the tiny pony under a large mushroom that obscured the area with red light that was hard to see through. "Stay here, little one. I'll be back."
Arthur turned then, only to find Grendel beating on Lancelus's shield, while strands of his dark hair, manipulated by the Shadow in his aura, strangled the other Gallade. "We could use some help, Prince!" Lancelus said as his King's Shield took a beating from Play Rough, and Grendel's fists. Not wasting time, Arthur activated the Plate armor from his heart piece, and everyone who saw, including the sheltering Ponyta, just stared. He looked quite literally like a hero from a storybook. His cape was completed in the center by the pinkish purple armor plates, and reinforced with them, though they still somehow managed to billow. They were more flexible somehow than the plates on his arms, which focused his Excalibur into an even hotter golden blade, one akin to a plasma sword.
Arthur bamfed as he struck through the hair holding his allies, gracefully doing nine hundred and twenty degree spins after each landing, and eventually, Grendel noticed the pinkish purple armored hero slashing easily through his hair, and drew back, as Lancelus cornered him against two conjoined trees with his shield taking any desperate counter strikes from the fists or hair. Once they had Grendel cornered, Arthur psychically shared the plan with the others, and each of the Gallade smirked. They'd all sensed Arthur was a leader, but seeing him in action inspired a loyalty they hadn't quite realized they'd had until that moment, when he called them to action. It stirred something within them, and they found themselves willing to fight, and even perish, for this noble endeavor.
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What he called for, was actually a technique he'd seen from one of Leo's anime, but had never actually been able to pull off with just Double Team, or Shadow Clones, as Leo called them. Arthur made a mental note to ask him about the dark typed version of the move, as the other Gallade agreed on their plan. First up, was Lancelus. Grendel snarled at him as he moved in first to strike uselessly at King's Shield, which was then followed up by Sacred Lance. The Light attack struck the Grimmsnarl hard, sinking through his hair, and into one shoulder.
Like a fluid wave of pain then, Lancelus danced out of the way and put his shield away, reforming his normal arm. Bedivere came next, with a series of Poison Jabs that hit the lance wound, followed by Gawain, who also used Poison Jab, a move taught by their respective Trainers. Bedivere's wasn't too famous, but Gawain, Lancelot's egg-brother, had been caught by Wally when he was a Ralts, and he had gone on to become arguably one of the best Gallade Trainers on the planet, after Nimue herself had bamfed him into Petalburg Woods, just in time for a fateful encounter guided by Future Sight. The poison typed pummeling left Grendel dazed, as the Trainerless Percival came in front of the Shadow Grimmsnarl, slammed his fists together, and blinded him further with a Dazzling Gleam learned during his time as a Kirlia. Unlike the others, he hadn't immediately evolved to his male form, but his special attack power was still garbage.
He wasn't going for damage though, just a daze. Arthur came in then, holding up the rear, and finishing their knightly barrage of moves with a dual Sacred Sword that left a glowing golden X on the Grimmsnarl's body, and which against a Shadow Pokémon, was super effective. Grendel fell, then and the Gallades shared arm-bumps, as his eyes went Poli patterned. The unconsciousness was brief, and as Grendel returned from it, the others kept him pinned as Arthur, still in his Mega Form, readied to question him.
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A shrill cry interrupted them then, one full of pain, and loss. Each of the Gallade flinched as they felt the raw emotions of the little Ponyta. She came zipping out of the woodwork, saw Grendel, and then stopped before him and gave him a Double Kick right to the face. This pushed Grendel back into unconsciousness, but none of the psychic fighters moved to stop the grieving pony. She trotted over to her mom then, and just started crying, and the sound was enough to break the hearts of every Gallade present.
Arthur went over to her first, and dropped to his knees before the gruesome sight Grendel had left in his wake. "What is your name, little one?"
The psychic filly tried to stop crying long enough to answer, but kept failing. Eventually, she managed to choke out an answer. "Llamrei…"
"We must put your mother to rest, Llamrei…to ease the damage to the forest, and her spirit. I read once that a Galarian Rapidash, when killed like this, can become something truly fierce and restless if left alone. Will you help me?" Arthur turned his head to the filly then, and she let the last tears flow, then wiped her eyes with her tufts of hair by her hooves. "I…I'll try."
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Arthur patted her head, just between her ears. "Strive to do, even as you try." Clearly she didn't understand the wisdom of his words, yet, but she nodded all the same. Arthur pressed his hands together then, much as Percival had. "Fairy energy will cleanse the wound and the body…and then we will lay her to rest." He glanced at his allies then. "I need a large enough hole, from two of you."
Being the Light user, Lancelus stayed laser-focused on the unconscious Grendel, knowing well that the honorless Pokémon would strike while pretending to be unconscious, if it could. If the Grimmsnarl tried, he intended to make it hurt for the attempt with a lance-arm to the face. Arthur emanated a Dazzling Gleam then, which was the pinnacle of the fairy typed moves he knew how to use. Llamrei helped him, adding her own power, and the fairy energy settled into the wound. Empowered by the Light from Excalibur, the darkness lingering in the gruesome wound and the body faded away, along with the blood, which turned from black back to the silver that flowed through Galarian Rapidash.
From the woods around them, Arthur felt eyes on their efforts, though he couldn't tell what was watching. He sensed a vague, but powerful psychic presence that seemed…lessened somehow. He knew it was no Hatterene, but whatever it was, it stayed hidden, watching, and did not interfere. Thus, Arthur let it be. In a fairy wood, it could just as well be nothing, and chasing after it could have him end up lost.
When the burial hole was ready, the Gallade and Llamrei psychically levitated the now passed Rapidash into the earth, and once they buried her, plant life erupted from the spot. Arthur and the others stared in genuine awe, as Llamrei's mother appeared, very much as a ghost, one final time to her daughter. They nuzzled each other, which sent the filly into a new fit of tears, and the mare stared at Arthur, nodding slowly, as she wordlessly asked him to watch over her little one. Arthur glanced at the pony, and then nodded. He would. Whatever came now, they were allies, until the end.
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There was only one more thing to do now, in Galar. Arthur didn't quite know why, but he did know Nimue wouldn't have brought it up if it was nothing. As they'd had their moment with Llamrei's mother, Arthur felt the vague psychic presence he'd felt earlier, lingering behind them still.
Arthur silently stepped away and left Llamrei and the others to pay their respects and grieve, as he addressed the foliage. He couldn't have known, but the deceased Rapidash ghost had reminded the nameless presence of an old friend, long forgotten. Like so much else that had escaped his crown-like cranium.
"Calyrex." Arthur said. The foliage shuddered, and he recognized the invisibility that powerful psychic types, like Mew, were able to utilize at will. A brief intangible outline of the large-gnoggined Pokémon appeared in his vision, only to fade into nothingness again in a brief instant. "Calyrex!" Arthur shouted this time, and from the foliage appeared a Calyrex, in all his tiny white-gold glory.
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He floated above the ground towards the Gallade, the simple intonation of his name enough to give him a measure of his power. "Caly...rex. Yes...that was me, once...someone important...but what did they call me…" The ruminating white rabbit looked up at Arthur, as the others noticed what he'd summoned. "Brave sir knight...do you recall my name? The name the Humans had for me...so very long ago…"
Arthur glanced at his contemporaries, and then shrugged. "Not off the top of my head...the King in the North, maybe?"
The Calyrex's eyes widened. It spoke with Pokéspeech as elegantly as a human noble did Common. "No...my long-forgotten title, yes...but my name was different...special. My idiot brother never claimed one, but my humans gave me mine…and I treasured it dearly."
Lancelus spoke up then. "Could you give us a hint, good King?"
Calyrex waved his words away. "I am no king...not now...hence why my name would be more proper… it was something like...fin? Fin-something? I don't have fins, but that sounds right. Just...call me Finn, I suppose." He floated over to the now buried Rapidash, and inclined his head, which was clearer than it had been in centuries. "I didn't...mean to intrude, but...that spirit…reminded me of an old ally...a friend from a buried past."
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Finn stared at the grave, and the Gallade looked between each other, not knowing what to do with the amnesiatic PokéKing, which was when Llamrei trotted up beside him. It was her mother after all, and if there was one thing the little filly knew, it was stories. She couldn't get enough of them. Seeing all the Gallade bravely fighting the monster had reminded her of King Uther, and his stories, sad as they turned out to be.
This was a different king though, one her mother had claimed to see before. He'd been invisible then, too but psychic types could always recognize their own, if they tried hard enough. Llamrei had caught a glimpse of his large gnoggin, for an instant, before he'd psychically hopped away. Her mom had called him the Lost King, and his story was also sad. Once, the people of Galar had lived even north of Wyndon, at one with the forest, much like Ballonlea was in the present. Wherever this King had gone, there had been berries for everyone, even the Grimmsnarls. The forest enjoyed a lengthy peace. Then, one day, the King met a human called Oberon, and it was Oberon who gave the Lost King his lost name.
Llamrei looked up at the floating white-gold rabbit and said, "Finvarra. That's what the Fairy King called you in the story."
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The Calyrex's eyes widened in visible shock. "My name! At last! The King of the Fairy Forests. Finvarra. Partner to…Oberon…" The shocked expression darkened, as with remembrance, came the re-ignited desire for vengeance. "I can sense him… He's out of his cage..." He looked at the Gallades again, and then first returned his gaze to Llamrei. "Thank you, young one. Thank you, for remembering what I once was. I need one of you fine knights to help me recapture my steed. Then, I must ride!"
Arthur opted out of what his Trainer would've dubbed, a 'fetch quest', as did Lancelus. Arthur, Llamrei, and Lancelus spent the rest of Arthur's free time sparring with Lancelus, and training up Llamrei as Alex would've. When the call came to Assemble, Arthur brought young Llamrei with him.