A New World, A New Way - Swarm

by Kingofsouls

Rating: everyone
Tags: Comedy, Adventure, Crossover, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Other, Original Character
Length: 151505

A Sidestory for Zuesdemigod131's A New World A New way. X is a constructin worker. Nell is a merchant in training. Then Arceus got out of his dimesional prision.

A Sidestory for Zuesdemigod131's A New World A New way.

Construction worker Jacob Arrow, whom prefers to be called "X" was just a small time construction worker in Kalos which his pokemon team as both employee and family. The team does the job, gets paid, and chill out at home.

Meanwhile, young changeling Nell is struggling to find her own way, hopefully one that distances her from her brood sisters, and is about to depart on a short journey as a merchant.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. When Arceus' master plan is kicked off, Nell and the strange family known as ShadowFox construction must survive the chaos the Alpha Pokemon unwittingly caused.

Editing by the amazing TDNpony.

Cover art by me. Currently a Work in Progress.

(9/8) Featured! Many thanks everyone!
(10/26) +1 feature!

Published 2014-05-11 14:00:03 UTC
Last updated 2016-05-23 03:47:45 UTC

Chapter 1 - Foresight

Kingofsouls, in assosiation with Zeusdemigod131 presents
A New World, A New Way
Swarm
Chapter 1 - Foresight

Day 0

The Changeling Empire.

Located deep in the Jungles of Hoffrica, the Changeling Empire was one of Equis's greatest secrets. Equal to size of a small country, the Changeling Empire choose to hide from the eyes of the world for very good reasons. The residents of the Empire were the Changeling Hives, similar in basic shape to their Equine cousins, the Ponies. That is where the similarities ended. The common changeling characteristics were a very dark gray coat similar to that of an insects carapace, a mane, tail, translucent moth bitten wings, each the same color, eyes with no pupils which was either turquoise or the color of the hair, and a horn sharp and curved like a small dagger. Older changelings and those of noble or royal standing often appeared grander and taller. In general, the Changeling's appearance would usually spook the average pony who saw them.

What also made the Changelings unique was their special diet. Not only did a Changeling need physical nourishment, such as food and water, Changelings needed to consume emotional nourishment, the most nutritious being love. Thus, the most elite of Changeling harvesters would infiltrate other counties (usually Equestria and other Pony settlements due to the Changeling's and Ponies sharing a common shape. That being said, there were some Changelings that infiltrate Canida and Griffenhiem), and drain the love from potential targets to return to the hives.

In essence, the entire race were emotion eaters, causing the uninitiated to be fearful of them. Fortunately, several of the world's leaders knew of the Changelings, and instead of hating them for their differences, they welcomed them as friends. At first.

Celestia was the one put the most effort into convincing the other world leaders that the Changelings should be given a chance, and the other leaders relented, allowing Harvesters into their countries to Harvest love, and only love. Celestia's gamble had paid off, and the relationship between the world and the Changeling Empire were for the most part sturdy.

Usually.....

Secte, The capital of the Changeling Empire.

Compared to the other capitals of the world, especially Canterlot, Secte was probably one of the smallest capitals of the world, but in the Changeling Empire, it was their citadel. Like most Changeling cities, a sturdy wooden wall circled the city, providing suitable defenses from the wild beasts whom also called the jungle home. Since removing the trees in the jungle was quite difficult, and would also compromise the Hive's safety the Changelings simply decided that if they couldn't make their houses out of trees, they would simply build houses in the trees while removing only what was necessary. Many of the houses were made of a green, crystalline material resembling a cocoon, with the number of houses in the trees outnumbering the number on the ground.

Thus, to a Changeling, “city” and “hive” were simply different ways to say the same word.

And far within the heart of the hidden city was the Royal Prison. Unlike most Changeling buildings, the prison was made of a mixture of the cocoon substance, and stone.

And it housed a special prisoner.

Deep within the bowels of the Royal Prison, the special prisoner sat silently in the dim light, two guards garbed in armor darker than their coats, watching over her. Her appearance was different than the common changeling, as she had a turquoise mane and tail,and piercing green eyes. A blue-green chitin covering her back like a saddle along with a pair of translucent insect-like wings turquoise in color. Her horn, as large as Celestia's, was crooked, as if it was a cursed sword of legend. Holes, as if she was slightly eaten by moths, were present in her legs, mane, tail, and wings.

Then, echoing in the halls were hoof steps. The guards snapped to attention, and turned to the source of the noise. Alongside the standard entourage of guards, was the changeling the prisoner did not wish to see.

The special guest, like the prisoner, had a more unique default appearance. While he had the same coat color and the holes in limbs they shouldn't be in like the other Changelings, he was of a slightly bulkier build, somehow retaining the physical form from his younger days. His silver mane and tail, each having a stripe of a lighter shade, and his wings with a warm but translucent gray. The chitin saddle was also gray, but lighter and and warmer. His horn, while crooked, curved softly instead of sharply.

He sighed as his gray eyes stared at the prisoner. “Leave us” he stated, the deep voice commanding respect with every word. The guards silently complied as they marched away.

The prisoner turned her head from her guest. “Leave me be, Lord Emperor” she commanded weakly, her scathing remark sharp as a knife.

“You know I prefer you to call me Grandfather.”

Considered by some to be Ponyvile of the Changeling Empire, the city Eintel was the closest Changeling settlement to the closest border city. While it wasn't as danger prone as Ponyvillle, it's proximity to the border made it rather important for the Empire's cash flow. Thus, it was home of many merchants, whom would make periodic journeys outside of the Empire.

The Changeling Empire needed sources of money from outside their lands after all. Trading goods not readily available at home was always was a good idea for money making.

The jungles of Hoofrica bore many rewards to those brave enough to enter it's maw. The many spices that were raised within the walls of the city were probably the number one export of the entire country. The precious metals and gemstones within the jungle also fetched a fine price.

Though it was a three day journey to the closest trading post.

The price of privacy.

Though today was a special day for one changeling. She stood in her room, a mirror from Canida showing her reflection. Her soft gold hair, tail,wings, and chitin glimmered in the sun's light as her golden eyes stared at herself intensely.

In a flash, gold fire consumed her, and the fire faded away to reveal a tan coated, black maned, purple eyed Pegasus mare with a pith helmet cutie mark. She frowned at herself. “No.”

Another flash, and the mare disappeared, a tall lanky diamond dog in it's place.

“No.”

A flash again, summoning forth a light pink unicorn mare with a yo-yo cutie mark, a lock of her light blue mane dangling in front of her.

“No.”

A minotaur, gray fur covering powerful muscles and a vest to mach.

“Uhg, definitely no.”

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a young Changeling teen, about 15 years of age by the looks of it, whom appearance was identical to the changeling in the room, save for her hair and tail having a light yellow stripe. “Minotaur? Really?”

The minotaur turned to her guest. “Nall, knock first!” she scolded, the minotaurs' deep voice resonating slightly.

“Mom says breakfast is ready.” Nall replied as she left as quickly as she came. Nell sighed as she turned back into a Changeling.

Knocking wasn't that hard, was it?

Nell descended the stairs as she trotted towards the dinning room, her father and Nall sitting at the large table while her mother Hira put the finishing touches on breakfast. Her father Citel bore a short green mane, wings, chitin, and eyes, the latter currently glaring at the morning newspaper. Her mother Hira was similar to her daughters: A gold mane in a bun mane style, gold wings, gold chitin and eyes. He

Since Changelings always had gray coats, to Changelings, the colors of a Changeling's mane, wings, chitin and eyes were often used for identification, and color was passed down from one of the parents. Smell was also used, though the scent was very light: one had to actively smell to find the scent, and only at a close distance.

“Good Morning Father, Mother, Nall.” Nell says as she headed to the kitchen to claim her breakfast.

“Good morning Nell.” same her father's reply, briefly looking away from his newspaper before returning his gaze to the paper. “Now all we need is your brood sister to arrive.”

Suddenly, with a crash, a changeling identical to Nell and Nall, the only differences being three lighter stripes in her hair and her wings having a gradient effect with the color darkening towards the base, and five smaller changelings bearing a green coloring, crawling all over the mare. All of them

Hira sighed as she levitated the morning meal of eggs and toast, several pink gemstone lining the edges of the plate “Boys, Nalel, breakfast.”

The leaves fell gently withing the outskirts of Laverre City, the trees gently swaying in the wind. All was quite, save for the occasional snore.

In the special tree house built through tears, sweat, and copious amounts of nails and wood, was a treehouse. It wasn't very fancy, just a room, but for one Trainer, it was home away from home, though to be honest he spent more time in it than he should.

And right now he was in his home away from home simply relaxing.

The boy, a young man, had jet black hair that pointed every which way, a green jacket, and slacks of a soft brown color. His emerald eyes were closed, his head resting on his arms.

“What a perfect day for a lazy afternoon.” he said to no one in particular.

Suddenly, he heard cries of anguish. He sighed, slowing rising to his feet.

“I need to stop saying that.”

The young man deftly climbed down the latter, and signed as he gazed at the situation. In a small clearing just under his tree was a small dinosaur, about two feet tall. It had dark brown scales, comically short arms, and two proportionally large legs and a tail balancing it, though it seemed to hunch just a little. It's underbelly was a light gray, the color extending all the way to the jaw. Two orange ridges adorned the top of it's head, and a small color of sorts adorned the neck like a collar.

The creature was crying, it's short arms struggling to reach his eyes so he could cover them while another strange creature standing next to it. The creature resembled a tree just shorter than the average person. It's head, which was more of a helm made of tree bark, had three horn, two to the sides and one in front, and one eye like a cyclops. Unlike any normal tree, it bore two arms, each ending with a three clawed hand and tuffs of leaves. For legs, it bore six legs, like a spider or other insect. The joints of the “arm”, as well as the “neck” and “lower torso” were broken, a shadowy energy connecting the missing parts together.

The man sighed “Azisa, Apocalypse, whats going on this time?”

The two creatures gazes matched the human's, and immediately started shouting in their native tongue (Pokémon naturally had a hard time speaking any human language, though it was possible for a Pokemon to be able to speak one, though it was mostly though psychic powers, and even then it was a rarity.). The boy sighed, raising in hands. “Stop, stop, you know I can't understand you that well, unless Naruto is around.”

“Someone call for me?”

The boy turned around and smiled when he saw who it was. Leaning up against the tree they called home was a bipedal fox like being, it's gray fur, and red mane contrasting against the tree and surrounding nature. It's arms, ending in three red claws, were folded.

Immediately the tree and dinosaur started arguing again, rushing the Zoroark with a fervor. He sighed “Again?”

“Yea, though I'm a bit surprised that Inti wasn’t the one who started it.”

“We will have to put this on hold., X.” Naruto replied as he raised his claws, stopping the argument before it began again.. “We have a job.”

The boy sighed, relief that it was time to work. He turned to his two companions, two red and white spheres as large as baseballs in his hand. “Time to work.”

“So, come to chastise me again, Grandfather?” Chrysalis spat out, vile in her voice.

The Emperor of the Changelings sighed. “Chrysalis, must we have the same discussion every time we meet?”

“Until you understand that you are no longer fit to rule.”

Carapace inched closer to the bars of the cell. “I feel like slapping a foal every time you say that to me. Especially after that stunt you pulled at the wedding of the Princess of Love.”

“We needed her and Equestria's Love! I've told you time and time again, grandfather, with Equestria under our hooves we could have gorged on love!” Chrysalis nearly screech, approaching the cell, her face would have pressed against her foe if the bars were not in the way.

“And time and time again you have illustrated a lack of foresight.”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes as he hear the retort. “A lack of foresight? From me?” she laughed mockingly “Tell me, how much love do the harvesters bring back? Far fewer than the mouths they must feed! Hiding only gets us so far, the only way for our kind to rise from being a foals bad nightmare was to take what we needed!”

At least she's talking this time. Carapace sat on his haunches, listening to his granddaughter's rant end. “So how did invasion help get us in good graces with the other races of the world?”

“They are our meals.”

“Not a great way to make friends.”

Gasping, Chrysalis looked as if she was insulted. “Leaders do not make friends, they make results!”

“Your brilliant plan had many flaws, Chrysalis” The Emperor fumed, clearly having little patience for incompetence. “First, your plan required you to kidnap the niece of an Alicorn whom is capable of moving the sun at a whim. Do you realize how stark raving mad Celestia was when she confronted me after your defeat at the Equestrian's hooves. I almost had to sing Hinny of the Hills to convince her that I was not involved with your uprising at all.”

Sighing, Chrysalis simply trotted away from the bars towards her bed (unlike most prison cells it was an actual bed with an actual mattress.) As she climbed into it, her grandfather continued. “Secondly, assuming you were successful with your plan, how would you have gotten the love we needed in the first place?”

“You must be getting senile, asking me how our kind's bodies work.”

“It's not a matter of biology,” Carapace sighed. “It's more of a case of psychology.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you were a pony, and suddenly thousands of insect ponies rained from the sky, would you be feeling loving emotions towards your parents, or your colt friend?”

“It would not have mattered!”

“Maybe not for a day, but you had plans to occupy Canterlot for much longer than a few days, am I correct? It's hard to love when your home is no longer yours, fearing for your life and unsure if you will make it to tomorrow, is it?”

Chrysalis's silence betrayed her as Carapace continued “And thirdly, you forgot one other important fact: Word spreads quickly. Harvesters from all over the world reported to me via Message Flames almost immediately after Celestia informed me of your little visit to Canterlot, that the residents of the cities they were in were out hunting for changelings.”

Chrysalis simply slumped into the bed, turned away from her Emperor in the hopes of ignoring him. “Allow me to repeat myself in case you did not get it: Our food source tried to find the changelings responsible for feeding the changelings at home.

“Your actions almost severed our relations with practically every other land in the world. The trust our kind spent years building was almost irreparably shattered because you got impatient. What do you say to that?”

Silence engulfed the air as Chrysalis silently declared the conversation over. Understanding the message, Carapace got up and turned to leave. And as he left, tears fell from Chrysalis' eyes.

Pride's talons have a tight grip on the hearts of mortals that they grasp hold to.

“Okay Inti, let it rip!”

“Helio, Helio-LISK!” the creature named Inti spoke. The creature was a lizard, standing about three feet tall, with yellow skin, and orange stripes on his legs, arms, and tail. Her head was black, and so were her hands, feet, the very end of her tail, and the frill that covered his neck, ending with orange spikes. The lizard deftly grasped two wires, and unfurled it's frill, the frill looking like a sun. Lightning surged and lit up the frill, and more importantly, the lights that the wires were attached to. Considering it was for a treehouse, the wires had to be able to last.

Unlike most members of his family, whom were Trainers and were among some of the best Trainers when it came to battling, Jacob Arrow, whom preferred to be called by his nickname X, wasn't exactly sold on the idea of being a professional Pokémon battler. Sure, it paid well if you were skilled at battling, but X didn't want to become an extension of his parents legacy. When he told them he wanted to be in construction, they reluctantly relented, though he was forced to learn the family trade just in case he needed it.

Even with the training, X wasn't that good of a battler, thus he avoided battles when he could. That being said, his training encouraged him to find his team on his own, and that was something he could never regret doing. His team was more than just a team: they were a family.

Satisfied at the lighting operating correctly, X affectionately rubbed Inti's head. “Well, looks like these lights are working. Can you check the rest, of the lighting, see if everything is on the up and up?”

“Lisk!”

Turning around, X checked the progress the current job: a treehouse for a young girl residing in town. Considering that her parents made a few uncommon requests (the lighting being the main one), X figured the family was loaded. Shoving the thought aside, he looked at Apocalypse and Naruto, currently prepping the stone statues to line the walkway to the entrance latter of the treehouse. Apocalypse was moving the stones with his head, while Naruto was cutting the stones waiting to be moves with his Focus Blasts, concentrated Fighting energy perfect for wrecking rocks and foes.

X turned and gazed at his latest job: A tree house just outside of Laverre City in the Kalos Region. For him, it was a rather easy job, considering it was close to home and working on tree houses was always a favorite of his.

“Hey Azisa, hows the wood?” he asked the Trevenenat. She turned, and gave her a thumbs up, which was an achievement due to the lack of an actual thumb. “Tree, Trevenant, ant.”

“Naruto?”

“She says she thinks we needs more wood in general.”

“Well, if you think we need more,” X smiled “then we need more. I trust your judgment. Go get some trees that look good, then take them down and bring them here.”

Azisa's eye narrowed, as if he had just spoken some unspeakable insult. X quickly got the message and sighed “Fine, you can go to the lumberyard again. Naruto, can you take her?”

“Of course.” Then with a small leap and a flash of light, the fox pokémon turned into a duplicate of his trainer. The real X simply reached into his pocket, producing a wad of bills, and lobbed it at the Pokemon, whom deftly caught it. “Bring back some change this time.”

“You are never going to let me live that down are you?” “X” said, his lips moving to reinforce the illusion. X just shook his head with a smile as the two pokémon went on their way.

“Are you sure you know what you are doing?”

X turned yet again, and saw the person paying for the treehouse, a woman in her mid 40's with her brown hair in a bun and a simple sundress bearing a flowery pattern. “Not a very big show of confidence in our synergy, is it?”

“But you gave your pokémon money.”

“And when they come back, they will give me planks of wood, and I'll use them to build your daughter's treehouse.” X replied, as he walked toward the worktable . “Trust me, Naruto and Asiza won't do anything stupid. When we are on the job, we get it done fast and efficiently, with no problems.”

Picking up the plans he had on hand., looking at it intently. Without looking, he addressed his Tyrunt. “Apocalypse, why don't you carve a few of the rocks with Dragon Tail while Naruto is gone?”

“Ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-runt!”

“I have no what you just said.”

Somewhat rejected, Apocalypse started to push one of the rocks that was uncarved to the walkway, the rocks being used as small statues lining the walkway. Then, the dinosaur noticed Inti's tail waving back and forth, oblivious to all but her work.

Right between Apocalypse, and where he needed to push the rock.

The Tyrunt chuckled in a way that most people would have assumed he was a Dark type if they just heard the sound. Lining his shot up, Apocalypse back up, then crashed into the rock, rolling it towards his workmate at a respectable pace.

Then, just as the rock was about to smash Inti's tail, without looking, Inti deftly and expertly pulled his tail back, avoiding the pain Apocalypse had intended to inflict. Then before Apocalypse had a moment to realize what Inti had done, Inti deftly smacked her tail upside the back of Apocalypse's head.

X chuckled as Apocalypse ceased moving the rock and begun roaring at Inti, with Inti hissing and flaring his frill in retaliation.

“Efficient, huh? Do all of your pokémon act like this?”

“Mostly Apocalypse.” X sighed “Break it up you two, you can hate each other off hours. Apocalypse, you started it, apologize”

As if he almost expected X to demand he apologize, Apocalypse instead sat down and began to roar louder.

“Well, at least it's just Apocalypse having a temper tantrum.”

“ARROW!”

“Arceus smite me now.”

“Nell, you seem a little jumpy.”

“I do?” came the innocent reply.

“Considering what's happening tomorrow, I would understand.” Citel comforted her as Nell silently ate. Nell didn't feel comforted though. Her nerves felt ravaged.

Her father continued. “ I remember when I first left my brood and ventured out into Hoofrica proper. It was the most exciting time of my life, at least”

“Until the lion's found you on the way. We remember the story Dad.” Nalel interrupted. “You ran away, turned into a bigger lion, and scared them off.”

“Well, it sounds better when I tell the story.”

Her family chuckled as Citel sulked, Hira nuzzling her husband.

By trade, Citel was a merchant, the one who had trained Nell before her journey was to begin. It was not an easy path, especial for a changeling. Merchants were often away from home for a while en route to their destinations, and being in a foreign land was not always easy, especially for changelings.

“So, you're gonna change your mind and let us come with you right ?” Nalel said in between bits of food. Suddenly Nell didn't feel so hungry.

“Nalel....”

“Nalel

“Please excuse me.” Nell quietly muttered as she left the table. Her brood brothers quickly pounced on her abandoned breakfast.

Nall and Nalel looked at each other. Their brood sister was easily overwhelmed by the unknown, so to them it was strange that she wanted to take up her fathers trade.

“You think we should go after her?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“You two need to stay put.” said Citel. “I'll talk to her.”

The offending shout of his name came from a dark skinned man with dreadlocks wearing a tank top and sweatpants, duck tape taped around the ends of the pant legs. His belt bore six pokèballs, capsule like devices that break the laws of physics on an alarmingly regular basis used to capture and store pokémon. “You are Jacob Arrow, right?”

“Last time I checked.” came the reply. “What do you want, I'm busy.”

The trainer chucked.” Name's Rick.” he boasted “And I challenge you to a battle!”

“Uh, why?”

“Well, isn't it obvious!?” gasped Rick, as if X's retort was him saying he didn't like chocolate. “It's because you're Jacob Arrow, the son of Morgan and Silas Arrow.”

X simply turned around, and headed towards the workbench. “I already knew that, now leave.”

The client could not believed what she was hearing. “Wait, you're related to the Morgan and Silas Arrow?”

Inti covered her head with his hands. She saw it many times before.

And to her horror it was happening again.

“Yes, I am related to the Morgan and Silas Arrow. But I don't battle.”

Rick's expression clearly showed that he though that X's newest comment was the equivalent of him saying that he ate babies on the weekends. “You're trying to trick me aren’t you?”

“Listen buddy you're not the first one to get the brilliant idea you had. You heard that I was in town, got curious, did your research, and made the connection. Then you though that if you beat me and my team in a battle then you must automatically be some great badass pokémon trainer?”

“No I di...”

“Don't lie to me”

“Fine, your right.”

“Though so. Let me ask you this: Do you honestly think that if you beat me, you're as strong as my parents? Or that maybe you've somehow earned the right to battle them by beating me?” X ranted, furiously gazing at the plans he had just picked up. “News flash: you're just another gory hound who wants fame the easy way: By beating someone better than you just one time. And that's assuming they accept your challenge.”

“You make it sound like they're picky battlers.”

“That's because they only battle people who can fight back.”

“So why don't you battle me and prove it?”

“I'm not falling for it. I'm a construction worker, not a trainer. Now leave. I'm working.” X coldly told the trainer. Rick was about to leave in a fury when he noticed Apocalypse, still having his temper tantrum. Rick suddenly realized he was doing wrong.

“I guess you're right. You don't seem to be a trainer at all.”

Twirling the pencil, he sighed “So?”

“I mean, you must not be, considering how you can't even rein your little dumb lizard in.”

Apocalypse stopped his crying, and X's eyes narrowed. “Leave him out of this.”

“Face it, if you were a good trainer you wold have him under control, not whining like that? By the way, did he accidentally eat his favorite toy or something? I mean, he's crying a storm there.

“Course, no one would really want a crybaby on their team, now would they?”

With a roar, Apocalypse charged at the trainer, his jaws chomping at the air, wishing Ricks leg was there instead on the air. Thankfully he didn't get that far, as Inti quickly chomped on Apocalypse’s tail with her teeth, and was doing an impressive job at holding the significantly stronger Fossil pokémon back.

“Take. That. Back.”

“No.”

X turned and yelled “TAKE THAT BACK!”

“Then Battle me.”

Apocalypse growled. He wasn't the smart one of the group, far from it, but if he could see that his trainer got tricked, then everyone could. X knew he was being baited as well, but noone insulted his fiends. No one.

“Fine. You want a battle, you got one. Apocalypse, time to teach this punk some manners!”

Releasing him from her grip, Inti slowly backed away from the irate Pokémon, Apocalypse striding towards his trainer whom approached Rick, his hands clenched into a fist. “One on one, Rick. First to fall loses.”

“Fine by me.”Rick proclaimed, grabbing one of the pokèballs, and deftly throwing it. “GO POKEBALL!”

By command, the ball burst open, a flash of light racing out of it. Th light solidified, revealing a humanoid tan skinned Pokemon with five protrusion on on it's head, solider pads, a light purple tunic and kilt, and red boxing gloves.

“Monchan!”

Both pokémon and trainer growled. The battle hadn't even started and already they were at a disadvantage.

Nell wandered aimlessly in the market district of the city. Changeling brood families were going about their business, their goals as varied as their coloring and family size. She hoped that her little walk would help clear her head.

And she did need to buy tradeable goods.

Unlike her sisters, whom were both very active, Nell was quiet and calculating. If the three sisters were to try and hit a target from 30 feet away, Nall and Nalel would start throwing the javelins, blindfolded because it made it fun, while Nell would simply take aim and attempt to show a understanding of skill.

“So, what's on your mind?” Nell turned around, and sighed as she saw Citel trot towards her.

“Hi Dad. Just wanted to get the goods for trade. I heard Tarn has a really good spice crop this year and I want to grab some.” She started to walk away, but Citel caught up to her.

“You might want to hold on actually getting the spices until tomorrow when you leave.” her father advised.

“Um, why?”

“Well in my experience, the spices tend to stay fresh longer the more time they spend in Tarn's hooves. He's good at what he does. But he spices but ask him to hold on to them for you until tomorrow.”

“And he'll do it?”

“He's done it for me several times.” Citel replied. The duo had reached a stall selling imported apples from a place called Sweet Apple Acres. Tossing some coins at the stall owner, Citel levitated two apples, bright and red, and handed one to Nell. “But the spices are not the most important thing on your mind is it?”

“Dad, why am I different?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“I'm nothing like Nall and Nalel.”

“Don' the three of you have an impressive stuffed animal collection?”

“Well, yea we do. But to me it seems like the only thing we do have in common. They like sports, I like a good game of chess. They're hyper and active and chipper and me? I'm quiet and calm.”

“I'm beginning t have doubts about this trip.”

“And why is that?”

“Well, you know what Nall and Nalel want to do.”

“Yes, they want to be in the Changeling Hoofball League. They sure do have the talent for it.”

Nell stayed silent. “But Dad, Nall and Nalel know that their talent lies in sports. But I don't know where my talent lies? No magical mark is going to appear on my flank letting me know that buying and selling is what I'm good at. What if I mess up?”

Father and daugher had now arrived at several stalls selling home grown goods. Jungle fruits and veggies were sold in abundance, alongside exotic fruits and veggies such as carrots, lettuce, oranges.

“Then you mess up. I know I've made my fair share of mistakes selling good too low and buying too high. The only way for you to know if you are good at something is to try it, and try it again, and try it again. I though I was going to be a construction worker when I was younger, but I just didn't have the knack for it. So I tried being a merchant, and then it clicked. And I told myself 'Citel, this is what you are good at.' And that is how they say is that.”

“But aren’t your brood brothers also merchants? That doesn't exactly bode well for me.”

“But the point is that I wasn't what I was good at. You were right when you said that there isn't going to be a magical mark on your flank telling you what your good at. But part of life's journey is finding that out on your own, without a mark appearing to let you know that.

The ponies started in the same place as you: No mark on their flanks, and a million possible roads in front of them.”

Nell then smiled slightly as the duo had approached hoof woven clothing stalls. The duo had both taken a cheeky grin. It was time to really shop.

Moments passed, the seconds feeling like hours. The pokémon were tense, eagerly waiting for their trainers commands.

“Apocalypse, Crunch!”

Quickly, the dinosaur roared, and charged at the Punching Pokèmon , his jaw wide and teeth sharp and waiting.

“No wonder you don't battle. Hitmonchan, hit him with Vacuum Wave!”

Hitmonchan deftly did a quick spin, a small vacuum forming around it's first. “Hitmon, CHAN!” he shouted as he threw the punch, the small vacuum racing towards Apocalypse while increasing in size. The Fighting attack stuck the dinosaur hard, tripping him up as he tumbled to the ground.

“One More!” The Hitmonchan acknowledged, and threw another Vacuum Wave.

“Block it Apocalypse! Rock Slide!”

Roaring, Apocalypse stomped the ground, the force launching rocks int o the air, intercepting the Vacuum wave. The debris however, was launched into Apocalypse, though it didn't hurt that much.

“Okay, time for the offensive. Earthquake!'

Apocalypse screamed louder than the heavens as he slammed his head into the ground with more force that was necessary. The Hitmonchan barely had enough time to realize just how loud the battle cry was before the earth shattered underneath his feet, the tremors and random rocks jotting up from the ground striking him.

Rick screamed as his best pokémon knelt on the ground in pain. . “Give up Rick. It's over.!”

“Not from my point of view!”

“Apocalypse, change his attitude with another Earthquake!” The tiny tyrant screamed again, and raised his head to quake again.

“Dodge it Hitmonchan! NOW!” The Hitmonchan grunted in agreement, and with speed comparable to a Ninjask, jumped just as Apocalypse slammed into the ground, the Earthquake's initial shockwave missing the Fighter.

“Now strike with a Mach Punch!”

The Hitmonchan then rushed towards the Tyrunt, his boxing glove glowing with energy, his fancy feet closing the cap. X panicked as Apocalypse raised his head, only now seeing the rapidly approaching Fighting-Type Pokémon.

X did not like were this was going. And as Hitmonchan's right hook Mach Punch connected with Apocalypse's large head, Apocalypse had to agree with his trainer.

“Counter with Dragon Ta---”

“Ice Punch it NOW!”

Despite the draconian energy that flowed within Apocalypse's tail, the Hitmonchan's much faster Ice Punch powered left hook slammed into the Rock Dragon, the cold fist impacting the pokémon. Apocalypse would have screamed, but the cold numbness of the punch made it painful to do so.

“Again!”

Inti and X had a hard time watching as the fighter brutally punched their friend again with a powerful right hook, again strengthened with Ice.

“FINISH HIM!”

“Mooooooooonnnnnn-”

One could almost swear that all of the sound in the area died as Hitmonchan pulled his left fist back, the Icy energies surrounding his fist. Apocalypse stumbled around, bravely trying to see straight.

“-cccchhHHHAAAAN!”

The Fighter punched Apocalypse's head straight in the middle with a powerful jab. The dinosaur slid backwards before collapsing in agony. X fell to his feet, in shame.

Rick apparently didn't feel the same as X, as he was jumping around in joy “I WON! I WON! I'M THE BETTER TRAINER!”

“No, just a more brutal one. Get lost.”

“Huh. Sore loser. Hitmonchan, return!” Mike ordered. The pokèball he had grasped shot a red light at his pokémon, turning it into red light and returning to the ball as quickly as it shot out. Then trainer then turned to leave, still reveling in his victory.

X sighed as he got up, and jogged to his fallen friend. “You okay Apocalypse?” The dinosaur weakly replied with a grunt. “You did good friend. Take a breather” As he was reaching for his pokèball, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw his employer, a very visible frown and very visible angry eyebrows. With no words, she pointed towards something, X turning, then sighing.

The Earthquake damage was still there, and X noticed that among the rubble that used to be the ground, one of the statues had turned into several broken pieces of a statue.

X sighed. More work.

“Do I want to know?”

X turned around again, this time looking at Naruto, his illusion shed in favor of his real form, and Azisa, both with several carts of lumber.

Asia sheepishly waved while X sighed again.

Author's Note

Well, here it is: My first real attempt at fanfiction! (We do not talk about the other attempt) I would like to thank Zeusdemigod131 for letting me write a story in his storyverse, and i hope that the readers stick around for the ride. Let me know what is on your cerebellum in the comments!

Chapter 2 - Nasty Plot

Chapter 2
Nasty Plot

Day 0

Nell and Citel arrived home after a good hour of shopping for goods to trade. Both of them clearly showed signs of parental bonding as Hira, Nall, Nalel, and the brood brothers were finishing cleaning up breakfast.

“Sounds like you had a good time.” Nalel announced as the father-daughter duo set their things down.

“Sure did!” Nell then rushed towards the stairs. “Gotta pack! Love ya, bye!”

‘Kids.”

It was nearing lunchtime, and X was diligently shoveling dirt into holes in a process of turning the pits into flat ground. Naruto, however was simply standing there instead of helping his trainer and friend. “You and Apocalypse sure do make a mess, don’t you?”

“Not in the mood Naruto.” X sighed as he shoveled more dirt into the small pits they came from. His right hand Mon was not letting up though.

“I know you don't like to battle, so why did you battle that man?”

X paused. He didn't have a good answer. “He insulted Apocalypse. And Apocalypse is my friend. I'm not going to let anyone, especially muscle bound glory hounds like that guy insult my friends.”

“Heli-heli-heli-heli-heli-lisk”

“Inti says you could have just said no and still stand up for, as Inti puts it, the brainless Rock.”

X stopped for a moment. “Wow, Inti. That's the nicest thing I ever heard you say about Apocalypse.”

“She has a point, X,” Naruto countered, the insult completely ignored by the Dark Fox.

X sighed as he restarted shoveling. “It wouldn't have solved anything, Naruto. He was just like the rest of those trainers who want to battle me. He would have pestered me until I did battle him.”

“Hel-heli-hi-lisk, Heliolisk heli helio heliolisk lisk lisk lisk."

“She says 'But that’s exactly what he wanted you to do. He had type advantage because of your lack of thinking it though. That’s why the Rock got hurt that badly.”

“Well, it's not like Apocalypse can take a hit anyway.” X retorted. It was true: despite being a Dragon and Rock dual-type, Tyrunts were roaring rage filled cannons made of unbelievably thin glass.

Naruto had a gleam in his eye as he walked towards his trainer.

“You like battling with us.”

X balked as he tried to answer. “That came out of left field."

“Admit it.”

“I don't like battling.”

“I think Apocalypse disagrees.”

“Apocalypse is a Dragon. He likes battling no matter who he fights with.”

“But he likes battling with you.”

“I put his life in danger, Naruto. That Rick guy, he wanted blood. His Hitmonchan could have killed Apocalypse with those Ice Punches if he kept it up.” He motioned to Apocalypse's pokèball, currently attached to his belt. Thanks to Naruto's speed (as he was the fastest member of the team and capable of disguising himself as a human, he was the best choice, though Inti liked to disagree about the speed part), Apocalypse was taken to the Pokémon Center via Pokeball. Thankfully, Apocalypse was fine, though he did have a few lasting bruises. “Surely he must know that.”

“I don't think he cares.”

“We're done talking about this Naruto. We're behind schedule.” X sighed as he walked to another hole in the ground. “Help Azisa with the walls of the treehouse. That's an order.”

Naruto shook his head as he simply did as he was told.

Nell sighed contently as she levitated her chest, which was far larger than a chest needed to be, down the stairs. She noticed her parents, simply relaxing in the living room, three of her brood brothers relaxing with them.

“Three of my little brood brothers not acting like bouncing balls of chaos? Okay, now I know something happened after I left.”

Her brood brothers simply blew raspberries in synch at their sister as Hira addressed her daughter. “Feeling better?”

“Yea, that walk really helped. I gotta get ready for tomorrow though, no time to talk.”

“It's noon.”

“If I get it done now, then I don't have to rush doing it later.” Nell replied, already heading for the door. With a swift hoof, she opened the door and headed out of the house.

“She gets that behavior from you. I am sure of it.”

“Oh Hira, if she did, I taught her her well.”

An easy way of determining the wealth of a Changeling was not the size of their house, but of their yard. Since space was at a premium in the Hoofrican jungles due to the sheer number of trees, houses with yards were far more expensive than traditional changeling housing.

Merchants tended to be able to afford those kinds of houses.

Nell marched toward the shed, her wagon waiting for her. The wagon, a sturdy one that had a roof similar to those of the pilgrims of Appleloosa, belonged to her, sort of. When she announced that she wanted to try being a merchant like her father, she had pooled some money for the basics a merchant would need (like product to trade). Using what remained of her money, she borrowed the rest of what she needed from her father under that agreement that she would pay it back.

Without looking, she magicked the back door of the wagon, which was a curtain and not a door, then lightly threw the chest into the wagon.

Naturally, she was surprised when she heard an “oof” come out of the wagon. Opening the curtain, she sighed as she noticed her two sisters in her wagon, Nall rubbing the side of her head while Nalel was glaring wide eyed at Nell, whom clearly did not look pleased at her two brood sisters.

“Uh....pay no attention to the changelings behind the curtain?”

“Get out of my wagon.”

“Nell, come on,” her sisters whined in unison. “Don't you want...”

“No. Get out of my wagon. Now.” Her sisters silent agreed, leaping out of the wagon in mock shame.

“Nell, please change your mind.” Nall pleaded. “We just want to spend some time with our brood sister. Think of the fun we could have if we went with you!”

“Yea, smores, campfire stories, possible chances to get eaten and die horribly!” Nalel continued for her brood sister “What more could a trio of terrific triplets want on a terrific and terrifying trip like this one!”

Nell's reply dripped with dull sarcasm as she levitated rope into the wagon. “Peace and quiet for starters.”

'You can't have that. It doesn't start with a T. Pick something else.”

“I know what you are doing. And it's not going to work.” Nel sighed, staring at her sisters with a cold iron piercing stare. “I want to just be on my own, without you. I love you, I really do, but....I don't want to just to do something that doesn't include you.”

“That's not very nice.” Nall countered. “We're family. Brood sisters. We did everything together when we were just fillies.”

“And what if something happens and we never ever ever ever see or hear or smell you ever ever ever again!?” Nalel moaned as she got uncomfortably close to her Nell, hugging her like a bear trap.

“It's just for a week. I'll be fine.”

“Tell that to my innocence. It's fluttering away into the wind, into oblivion's embrace.”

Is she sure she doesn't want to be an actor? Nell thought to herself. Her resolve however, was turned to steel as she forced Nalel out of the bear hug. “My decision stands. I'm going on my own. And that is that.”

“And we're going with you. And that is that.”

“That's it.” Nell sighed. As her horn covered in a light layer of frost. “MOOOOOOOOOOM!”

Nall and Nalel got the drift and ran away to safety. “Geez, isn't pulling the Mom card a little cheap for a 16 year old?” Nall asked her fleeing sister.

“Not really.”

“Just wanted to make sure when we do it to her in the future.”

Emperor Carapace simply sat at his private garden, gazing at the majesty of it as Celestia lowered the sun for the day. The garden seemed more like a large oasis than a garden, as a large pond with a fountain in the middle was the centerpiece of the garden. Flowerbeds of various jungle plants sat delicately in patterns, the space between them the path one would walk. Occasional palm trees hugged the walls of the garden.

Carapace enjoyed nature, especially the art of landscaping. When one lived as long as he did, you needed a hobby, a way to relax after the evils of running a country. For Carapace, it was landscaping. An odd hobby for a royal, but it was his hobby. The garden was his pride and joy, the fruit of many years of labor (and it was his labor: He did most of the heavy lifting if he could help it. He was old but not that old) that helped him relax.

And if you got Celestia, whom has seen more than him by a considerable margin, to note how amazing the garden was during her visits, you were doing something right.

“You visited her again, didn't you?”

“What did I tell you about asking permission to enter my gardens Silver Heart?” Carapace wearily commanded. Behind him was the Silver Heart in question, a tall willowy Changeling stallion who ironically had bronze colorings. His barding was on, the style that of an armored beetle’s shell the color of deep obsidian, and the helmet held in his leg. “And since I am on the subject, what did I tell you about minding your own business?”

“Well Sir, I was just on my rounds, and it looked like you needed a guy to just talk you. You know, like a friend or something like that.”

“You only work for me Silver Heart. You are not my friend.”

“Not yet I'm not Sir.” Silver Heart smirked as the Emperor cracked a half smile of his own. “So, as your most loyal guard, you can entrust a few secrets with me, right?”

Carapace rolled his eyes. “You have yet to earn that position. As far as I can recall from your superior’s reports, you seem to cross the line as many times as you can, seeing what rules you can get away with breaking. Such as entering my private garden. Without permission. Again.”

“Eh, it was just once or twice.”

“I believe the last count was 42 times. “

“Really, that many?”

“This month. It's a wonder I haven't fired you yet.”

“Maybe it's because you like me?”

“Or maybe it's because when you actually do your job, you show your true skill.” Carapace commanded. “That, and I kind of like you. But not by much.”

“Sir, why do you visit the Traitor Queen?”

“Why the sudden shift in topic?” Carapace asked.

“Well, I know you visit her every other Monday” Silver Heart replied. The Emperor adopted a curious look at Silver Heart answered the question, the younger changeling smirking all the while. “I do read the day to day schedules when I can. After all, I am such an amazing guard.”

“That is up for debate.”

“That being said, Sir. Why visit her? She could have ruined our entire country with her little revolt, thinking she could do the job better than you can.” Silver heart's eyes narrowed, a level of seriousness one would not expect such a light hearted Changeling like himself to be capable of. “Why do you care for her so much when it's obvious she does not care that much for you?”

“Let me answer your question with a question: Do you have a family?”

“Well, just my brood family. Mom, dad, two brood brothers and seven brood sisters.”

“No fillyfriend?”

“Isn't dating your colleagues a bad idea sir?”

“Right now, that is not the point.” There was a look in Carapace’s eye, one that showed both great love and wisdom. “Family does not turn it's back on family so easily. Just because your family turns on you, does not mean you should turn on them and respond to their hate with more hate. You must be willing to reach out, and at times be willing to risk yourself for them.”

“You mean that?”

“With all my heart.” Carapace chuckled as he said that. “When you are as old as I am, Silver Heart, you begin to appreciate what you have before it fades away.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

“Well then, while you do that, take the evening off. Find somechangeling to get close to.”

“Is my boss telling me to find a date?”

“That's an order.”

'You got it, your highness.” Silver Heart rose to leave for his nighttime adventure, and as we walked away, Carapace addressed him again. “Oh, and Silver Heart?”

“Yes?”

“Stay out of my garden. I mean it.”

The sun was setting as the team relaxed at home. While the treehouse only had one room, it didn’t matter since X's team preferred to sleep outside anyway, as they were Pokémon and used to sleeping outside. When the team felt like it, or the weather influenced their decision, they were allowed to sleep inside, but only in their Pokèballs, though due to the small space that was the room, it was first come first served.

The only exception to this rule was Azisa, for she was forever banned from sleeping in the tree house due to what is grimly referred to as “The Volcarona Incident”.

It was a beautiful sunset, so the team decided that despite bedtime being a few hours away, sleeping outside was much better than sleeping in a ball.

Apocalypse sat down near the base of the tree, his bruises still there. Due to his Rock typing, Fighting type attacks felt like there was enough force to crack his skin. However, he was also a Dragon, and Ice was one of the types his Dragonic brethren feared above all else.

Being both a Dragon and a Rock meant that one Ice attack hurt him far more than an Fighting attack would. Thus more reason to fear it.

“Feeling better friend?” Apocalypse turned to the voice, the sound soft and kind, which was coming from Azisa.

“Not really.” Apocalypse muttered, his voice childlike though the tone of voice was as wounded as his body. “Ice isn't nice.”

“I know what you mean. I'm part Grass.”

“You didn't get punched three times by a Hitmonchan.”

“Judging from the mess you made, I'd say you gave that Hitmonchan a run for his money. That is something to be proud off.”

“But I still lost. So it doesn't matter.” Apocalypse sighed. “I made a mistake.”

Azisa sighed. Apocalypse was a proud one. “We all make mistakes.”

“Says you. You weren't the one battling. You're better at a lot of stuff than me. So that means you don't make mistakes because if you weren’t better than me then you would make mistakes. But you're better than me so you don't make mistakes.”

“Oh right. You weren’t here for the Volcarona Incident.”

“The what?” Apocalypse asked, the curious side in him beginning to surface. Azisa quickly realized exactly what she had said, and tried to backpedal. “We do not talk about the Volcarona Incident.”

“OH come on, now I'm curious.” Apocalypse whined, leaping to his feet. “Tell me!”

“I will not talk about such a thing.”

“Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

“No, and nothing you do will make me talk!”

In response, Apocalypse simply barred his impressive set of teeth. Azisa got the message and started running as fast as a six legged tree could go as the Dragon Rock ran after it.

Naruto sat hidden in the branches of their home, watching Apocalypse chase Azisa. He sighed, wondering why in Arceus' name did he have to work with someone who could be such a brat at times. As he sat and watched, he smiled.

“Do I want to know what the Rock is doing?” Naruto turned his head towards the voice's owner, which was Inti, a basket of round blue Oran berries and pink heart shaped Pecha berries being held somewhat poorly in her tail. The Electric Reptile traversed through the branches as well as she could towards Naruto.

Heliolisk were native to canyons and other rocky environments. For Inti, traveling through the branches of a tree was a talent she needed to learn. Though she was no expert, in time she was able to traverse the leafy branches of home. Somewhat.

Somehow, Inti completed her trek to Naruto without having the basket fall, a feat that would have impressed any Aipom. “See for yourself.” Naruto replied as he pointed towards the chaser and the chased, whom were currently running in circles around another tree. Inti couldn't help but laugh at Apocalypse's expense.

“Is Apocalypse chanting 'Chase the Tree? Chase the Tree?'”

Naruto grabbed a berry as he replied “That's what is sounds like to me.”

Inti started laughing at that point. “He always is entertaining to watch.” she sighed. “What did he do this time?”

“It's actually what Azisa did this time. She mentioned the Volcarona Incident, and Apocalypse got curious.”

“Oh yea, Apocalypse wasn't with us when that happened.” Inti reminisced. The two continued to watch the chase, which was in Azisa's favor. As the lizard Pokémon closed in on the Ghost Tree, Azisa flicked one of her claws, the roots of the nearby tree rising just enough to trip Apocalypse.

“Stupid Rock.” Inti muttered in between bites of her berry. Naruto growled at his workmate. “Must you stereotype Apocalypse so often?”

“Hey, if the stereotype fits....”

“They never fit. Take it from me. Do you know how bad of a reputation Dark Type pokémon like myself get based on stereotypes? Not every member of my type are cruel as our type suggests.”

“Oh, the stereotypes can't be that bad,”

“Some people in Jhoto call us not Dark Types, but Evil Types.” Inti was silent as Naruto simply continued. “And that is just the tip of the iceberg. True, we Dark types may do things other view as underhanded or unfair, but is it just and fair to assume that every member of a group acts like exactly like the one member you do not like? A stereotype is born not because others don't understand you, but because others do not wish to understand you.” He got to his feet, grabbed a Pecha berry, and tossed it to Inti, whom dropped it but was able to catch it. “Some food for thought.” he said to his friend as he started to leave for the treehouse.

The worst part of any part of any business is actually running the business. X sighed as he started to fight against the incoming headache. Thanks to Apocalypse being more destructive than needed and Azisa's picky lumber preferences, his jobs had been making less profits than expected. Not that X minded that much. He was still making money, just not the numbers he was hoping for.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, that he barely noticed falling asleep far earlier than he usually did. Then with a whisper of wind, he faded into nothing, the pokèballs his team called home turning to dust.

Inti was silently chewing on her berries as she observed Apocalypse and Azisa, the latter deciding that “Chase the Tree” was no longer fun. She was dwelling on Naruto's parting words.

“A stereotype is born not because others don't understand you, but because others do not wish to understand you.”

Inti did like picking on the Tyrunt, but she still considered him an ally while working.

Right?

Before Inti could contemplate this more, sleep grabbed her, and she dozed off. Gravity soon claimed her, as she fell out of the tree, fading away just before hitting the ground.

Apocalypse yawned loudly, the sound more like a growl. He felt sleepy for some reason. He stubbornly fought the sleep but failed and crashed to the ground. Azisa fared little better, her one eye closing as a dreamless sleep awaited her team. Then, they two faded away as if they were never there.

Naruto sat cross legged atop his favorite sleeping spot (the roof of the treehouse), meditating on his conversation with Inti. He hopped his friend would let up on her teasing Apocalypse, and as a result, would have him stop wanting to pick on Inti.

Although to be fair, Apocalypse had equal opportunity when it came to picking on others. He on occasion had chased his own trainer.

Before he could think any farther on the subject, sleep had called him, and he too had fallen asleep. And like the illusions his kind could create, he faded away.

“Rest now my children, for when you awake a whole new world shall be your home.”

Day 1

Carapace smiled on the inside. Due to a stroke of pure, random, unbiased luck, there was very little work to be done that Carapace could simply have someone else do for him. With an abundance of free time, that could only mean one thing to the Emperor.

A visit to the local Green house for new plants for his garden.

He almost chuckled like an impatient foal. Almost.

The mood seemed to be both infectious and alarming as he practically skipped on his way to the dining hall. Two of his maids dressed in dark Gothic maid uniforms noticed their Emperor act so childish, and simply stopped and stared.

“I have never seen anychangling so darn happy about buying plants.” one of the maids.

“Must be a royal thing.”

Clinging to a rafter in the roof, Naruto cursed every Dark hating Legendary he could think of. Due to a stroke of pure, calculated, simply evil and biased bad luck, Naruto had awoken in an unfamiliar place, infested with Bugs.

Hundreds of them.

At least they looked like Bugs.

In any case, since Naruto was a Dark Type, Bugs had type advantage against him. And since he was in their hive, getting out was the number one goal for the moment.

Never seen Blitzle Bugs before....those wings sure do look out of place. Maybe they are a new kind of Pokémon? Naruto thought. Doesn't explain how I got here in the first place.

Or where X and the rest of the team are. I need to find them.

Naruto quickly climbed down a nearby pillar, then stiffened. Something was coming. He ducked behind the pillar as two Bugs, one black with a bronze tail, the other one also black but with a white tail. The two were having a conversation as they walked past the pillar.

“So, how did last night go Silver?”

“Well, I did find a cute mare to have a few dances and drinks with.”

“Really? You found a date on the first night of looking for one?”

“Yea. The date loved me. The coltfriend? Not so much.”

“Oophf.”

“Yea, that's what I said when he punched me.”

“Sounds to me like a fun evening.”

“Yea, gonna go have more fun tonight. Anyways, wanna join me when I sneak into His Highness’s garden.”

“You just don’t know when to quit do you?”

The one called “Silver” and his friend continued n their way, but unbeknownst to them, from out of the pillar waked a changeling whom looked strangely like the white tailed one, only with a large bushy dark red mane coming out of a hole out of his helmet, and a bushy deep red tail. The strange changeling then rushed in the opposite direction, quickly and quietly.

Inti had no idea what the hell was happening. One moment she was observing Apocalypse being Apocalypse, and the next?

She's in a strange room, seemingly made of a green crystal structure, with three beds in it, a large mirror, and a box crammed with sporting equipment, with a mountain of stuffed animals next to that.

What happened?.Inti thought to herself. Lets see. I was watching Apocalypse try to eat Azisa because he wanted to know what the Volcarona Incident was, then Naruto and I talked, then I watched Apocalypse and Azisa some more....guess I fell asleep and wound up here.

Where is here anyway?

Suddenly, she heard a groan, and she turned her heard a groaning sound to her left. Two strange equip bugs were rousing from their slumber. Inti panicked and dove into the pile of stuffed animals, her head head sticking out of the pile.

Befitting a hive of wretched bugs, the palace as Naruto assumed it was, was nothing but winding identical passages that lead nowhere. He ran into the occasional guard, servant, and other bug, but he kept his distance: His Illusions were quite realistic, but he was in the home of his mortal enemy, so any moment he stayed in this hive was a moment too much.

A few more minutes passed, and he found two (hopefully) female Bugs, dress in gorgeous dark gothic dresses, cleaning several vases outside an impressively large door. “Excuse me!” Naruto asked the ladies. They turned their heads to the newcommer, one quickly suppressing a smile. “I'm a little lost.”

“Not surprising. This is the palace of the Empire after all.”d

“Yea....do you know where the main hall is? I am a new recruit.”

“Well, you need to simply go the way you came, until you come across the third left. Follow that until you find a set of stairs next to a tapestry....” the maid's partner droned. Naruto sighed. Bug places tended to have long lists of directions for the simple task of leaving the place.

“Or he could just follow me.” The maids turned around, seeing their Emperor, whom had just exited the dining hall.

“Emperor!” The maids bowed, Naruto staring for a moment, then kneeling as well. Carapace motioned for the three to rise. “New recruit?”

“Yes I am sir.”

“You have a name?”

“Uh...Naruto.”

“Sounds Neighponese.”

“Not to me sir.”

“Well, as your Emperor, I suggest you follow me so you can get your bearings, and so I can get to know you a bit.” The Emperor then marched onward, Naruto quickly following. The maids then turned to each other.

“He's pretty attractive.”

“Must be that gorgeous red mane. So wild.”

Nell grumbled as she lead the caravan towards the first Fort. As the journey was three days each way and it was in the middle of the dangerous Hoofrican Jungle, two forts were constructed to act as safe zones so caravans could rest and be safe for the night. Nell could handle that.

She just wanted to be alone on this journey.

The day of her departure, Nell was shocked to learn that her mother had hired four bodyguards to join her on her journey as an extra precaution. Nell suspected this was her brood sister's way at getting back at her for denying their company.

“Anything on your mind?”

Nell turned to see the apparent leader of the bodyguards.

“Yea, family troubles.”

“Oh boy.” The guard was silent for a moment. “Parent problems?”

“More like my brood sisters.”

“Really?”

“Well, I wanted to go on this journey alone. As in 'On my own.'”

“Now I feel insulted.” the guard feigned being hurt, and Nell chuckled.

“Oh, it's not like that. I love my family but I just needed to get away from my brood sisters.”

Now the guard looked a little disturbed. “Siblings can be like that.”

“I'm not like them. Nall and Nalel are hyper, sporty, loud....Me? I'm skittish around changelings I don't know, present company sort of excluded, I'm soft spoken, I don't like sports. How we're brood sisters still eludes me.”

The Guard thought on this for a moment. “I think I've heard of this. Brood siblings tend to have a lot of the same interests. But for you to be this different is rare but not unheard of.”

“Glad I'm not the only changeling who has this conundrum.”

“I still say you should try and connect with them.”

“But....i don't want to.”

“Why not?”

“Because I want to be my own changeling, not just a member of a trio.”

The Guard remained silent for all but a minute, until that silence was broken by his subordination. “Anteater, we got movement!”

Anteater and Nell turned to the source of the voice, another of the bodyguards. He was pointing towards rustling bushes.

Considering where the five changelings were, that was not a good sign.

“Finally, a reason to earn our paychecks. Line formation boys!” The guard, who's name was apparently Anteater shouted as he drew his sword, forsaking the magic usually used when wielding weapons and favoring the hilt in his mouth. The others rushed into formation, each surprised when Nell also joined them, standing behind . “We can handle this, just...”

“Your job Anteater is to protect me. My job is to protect my goods.” Nell horn then glowed with an icy aura as her favorite ice spell was charging up. “And I am doing just that.”

“Fine by me. Just stay behind us.”

The rustling intensified, Nell beginning to question her judgment: What if it was a beast they couldn't fight, like a manticore, or a chimera, or (gasp) a hydra? She looked at her guards, their weapons drawn and their guard raised.

They could handle anything.

So could Nell.

Then, without warning, a head popped out of the bushes, and Nell awed. It was a lion, it's head a dull light black and a tan coloring on it's face, surrounding it's eyes, nose, and mouth. It's ears were large and round, and it bore a small tuff of fur on it's head, the coloring reddish orange.

“Lit-li?”

And all it took was one look at the five strange creatures for the tiny lion to duck back into the bushes in fear.

“False alarm.” Anteaters confirmation was muffled as he sheathed his weapon. “Lets get going. Back in formation you louts.”

“Hold on.” Nell approached the bush. “It's scared.”

“It's a lion. It could hurt us.”

“Oh, he's so small. I don't think he'll hurt us.”

Anteater simply shrugged as Nell made her way though the bush with little difficulty. Then, she saw the lion in full. Alongside the cute head, the lion's body was mostly the dull black that was the color of it's upper face, and it's paws were the light tan color. It's tail, short but cute, ended in a tan fur that was teardrop shaped, though Nell though it looked vaguely like a fire.

“Hey there little guy. I won't hurt you.”

The lion didn't look convinced. He tried to back away from the changeling, the fear evident in his face. “Lit-li?”

Nell was stunned for a bit. It sounded like the lion could talk. As far as Nell knew, lions did not talk. At least, not any lion she ever heard of.

“Can you talk?”

“Li!”

“Okay, I'm going to assume that is a yes. Can you talk the same way I can?”

“Li.”

“Um...is that a 'yes' Li or a 'no' Li?”

“Li Li.”

Nell face hoofed, the lion smiled, still weary of the strange creature in front of him, but at least she was funny. As Nell removed her hoof from her face, she looked at the lion's front leg. Bruises where on it, hardly noticeable but still there.

“You're hurt!” Nell proclaimed. “How did this happen?”

“li-li-Litleo-liteo-eo...”

“I'm uh,” came the interruption “I'm not getting any of that.” Annoyance was the best way to describe the face of the lion and Nell knelled. “Here let me take a look at that.” She reached a hoof, the lion quickly inching away, pain visible on it's face as it tried to escape.

“I don't want to hurt you, Little guy. But if you put any weight on that leg it's going to hurt more. If you let me, I can help you.”

The lion though over this for a moment. Then he nodded and inched towards his hero of the day. Nell hoof a paw in her hoof, taking a look at the wounds of her new friend. “Weird. It feels cold. Almost as if it was frozen or just really really cold. But we're in Hoofrica. It doesn't get cold.”

“Lit Li Li Li”

“Well, I need to go get some bandages. Get on.” Nell motioned towards her back, the lion climbing on it in the most ungraceful way possible. With her new passenger on her backside, Nell rose, and returned to whence she came.

“I see you have a new friend.” Anteater teased his employer. Nell would have shrugged if she wasn't carrying a passenger. “He's cute, at least I think he's a he. That's a plus.” Marching towards the wagon, she addressed her team. “Do we have any medical supplies for frostbite?”

“Uh, frostbite?”

“Little guy's front paw seems to be either frozen or frostbitten. I think. We don't get cold weather here.”

“We know that. We're natives of this jungle too.”

“Right, right. Silly me. Still a little nervous.”

“We have some bandages, but that's it. I think they are in the first aid kit.”

“I'll go get it.” Nell marched towards the wagon's back area, the lion still riding her. “So, do you have a name or do I just call you Little Guy.”

“Litleo Litleo!”

“Okay. Litleo Litleo it is.”

The lion simple rolled it's eyes, As the changeling went to take care of Litleo Litleo, Anteater totted up to the guard. “You ever see a lion like that?”

“No I have not Rolling Iron.” Anteater replied “Which is weird. I've crossed this path many times and have yet to see a lion like that.”

“A rare breed perhaps?”

“I've seen weirder. Keep your eyes open. Just in case.”

“Okay Litleo Litleo, all fixed up.”

In the already cramped wagon, Nell had just finished bandaging the little creature known and Litleo Litleo. True to Anteaters word, they didn't have anything for the frozen aspects of the lion's wound, but the bandages seemed to work. Litleo Litleo looked down at it's now bandaged leg. It did indeed feel better. He smiled, thanking his helper with a “Li! Litleo! Li!”.

“See, I'm not that scary once you get to know me, huh.”

“Li”

“Is that a yes Li or a no Li?”

Ignoring the question, the lion started to walk, but didn't get far as Nell used her magic to hold the lion in the air (with much effort, as the lion was heavier than he looked) as he attempted to leap of the box that was used as a table. “Where are you going?”

“Li Li lit lit Leo”

“I don't know what you are trying to tell me. “

Both of them looked stumped. The language barrier was a cruel mistress sometimes.

“Okay, why don't I ask you questions and you try to answer them with a yes or a no okay?”

“Li!”

“Okay, then. Are you hungry?”

“Li!”

Nell suddenly realized how bad of an idea that was. “Was that a yes Li or a no Li.”

The lion sighed, his mysterious friend frustrating him. Then Nell's eyes lit up. “I got it. If the answer is yes, you say Li once, and if the answer is No, you say Li two times, for 'maybe' you say Li three times, and for “I don't know' you say it four times, Okay?”

“Li!” The lion happily replied.

Nell chuckled. “Okay, I'll take that as a yes. So, are you hungry?”

“Li Li”

“Good, I wouldn't know what to fed you. Um.....” Nell pondered. “Okay, do you have a family?”

“Li!”

“Great! Do you know where they are?”

The lion then looked quite sad. “Li Li”

“Oh....so..... you're lost?”

“Liiiiii.”

“Oh, I'm sorry....” Silence hung in the air as Nell contemplated what to ask next. “Litleo Litleo, do you know where they might be?”

“Li Li Li Li”

He doesn't know....

“Well, I can't take you with me. I mean, my trip is going to be for a few days before I return to the jungle, and if your parents are looking for you, they might think I took you if they find me leaving the jungle with you. I need to take you deeper into the jungle so I can find your family.”

Litleo Litleo looked at the strange creature as she put him down, and watched as she dug through a chest. As quickly as she opened the box, she found what he was looking for.

Rope. Lots of rope.

“I was planning on selling these ropes, but I think any buyers wouldn't mind a rope that was been tested, right?”

“Okay, we need to get moving towards the fort now or we'll get there after sunset. Tell Nell to hurry up.”

“I agree.” Anteater tuned around, Nell standing behind him. On her back was the lion and around her waist was a rope tied to it. A large pile of rope was behind her, and Anteater did not like where this was going. “Dare I ask about the rope.”

“I'm going to find Litleo Litleo's family.” She stated as he used her magic to tie the rope to a nearby tree. “Since I found Litleo Litleo in this general direction, That's where I'm going to look first. The rope is so I can find my way back to to the main path once I do find his family.”

“We're going with you.”

“No. If it's just me, I can look faster. What I need you and your men to do is to get the goods to the fort.”

“You? Alone in the jungle. Not gonna happen.”

“Anteater, I am not taking no for an answer.”

“Neither am I.”

Litleo Litleo looked a little panicked, wishing he could hide in a bush. “Anteater, what I really wanted was to go on my own and discover who I want to be, without my sisters being my sisters. I appreciate why you and your men are here, but I feel that your presence is making my journey a little less personal. Please allow me this one request.”

“Sir, she does have a way back to the main path with that rope.” Rolling Iron piped up as he and his two other comrades prepared to leave.

“You do realize how dumb this idea is, right?”

“I know, and I'm still going through with this.”

“Fine. But if you're not back by nightfall, we're coming back for you.”

“Don't worry, I will.” Then, with a brisk pace, she charged into the wilds of the jungle, “Lets go Litleo Litleo!” her last words before she was out of sight.

Rolling Iron marched towards his boss, hesitation in every step. “You do realize if anything happens to her, we're in serious shit right?”

“Just make the cart go forward.”

Silver Heart and his white tailed friend could not believe their eyes.

The garden was infested with....things. There were several large moths, bearing purple wings, a crested purple head, and a dull brown abdomen, some fluttering about, while the majority were simply on the walls and some of the palm trees. The oasis pond on the other hand had easily three dozen turtles in it. The turtles were all blue skinned, bearing dark brown shells with yellow bottoms. Their tails were short, and ended in a spiral curl curling inward. Some of them were playing with each other, others simply relaxing. Among the turtle shells was a impressively large shell the same color of the tiny turtles, the shell seemingly empty.

“Well, I'm guessing the Emperor has branched out and turned this into a animal sanctuary.”

“And ruin his prized Foxgloves? Not on your life. “ Silver Heart then approached the turtles, seamlessly shifting into a serious guard of the Changeling Empire. “Okay, I don't know how you and your moth friends took over the garden in a single night . But that's not the point. Time for you to go somewhere else turtles!”

The turtles stopped what hey were doing, gazed at the strange creature before them, blinked, blinked again, then promptly ignored him and resumed what they were doing. Silver Heart was not amused. “Hey, I mean it. Scedadle!”

“Squirtle Squirtle Squirt?” One turtle asked another whom was playing with him

“Squirt Squirtle Squirt!” his friend replied. Both of them then started to laugh their heads off.

“Okay, fun time is over, and leaving time has begun. Lets go.” Silver commanded. Then, with his horn glowing bronze, one of the turtles in turn was engulfed by the aura. The creature then struggled to break free, shouting “Squirtle!” repeatedly. The other turtles then turned their attention to the attacker, and began to approach him to save their friend.

“Rizen, I could use some backup!”

“On it!” Which a quick charge of his horn, a burst of magic shot out of his horn. A second, then a third followed suit, the trio of magic bolts striking three of the turtles, stunning them and scaring the rest.

Then, with a splash, two arms and legs, shot out of the large, apparently not empty shell the duo had ignored. The limbs, the same blue color of the turtles, were thick and sturdy, ending with three white claws on each. Then a head followed suit, the ears triangles and the eyes brown. His lower jaw was a cream color that complemented the blue coloring of the head nicely.

The creature then rose to it's full height, the five foot tall tortoise apprising some fear in the Changelings and respect in the turtles. The moths had started distancing themselves from the creature as much as they could.

“Blastoise.” the creatures voice rumbled deeply as it spoke, resonating with a air that commanded power and respect.

“Watch yourself Silver, that's a big turtle.”

“Doesn't mater, I'll just throw him out like the little ones.” Silver replied. “Lets go, buddy.”

Then, two slots on the large turtles back opened, and two gunmetal gray cannons extended out of this back. Needless to say, Silver heart was rendered speechless. “What in Tartarus!? That thing has cannons!?”

As if to answer his rhetorical question, the large turtle took aim, and a powerful torrent of water blasted out of one of the cannons, crashing into Silver Heart and flinging him across the room. He rolled to a stop, groaning as he list is momentum. “Heart! You okay!?”

“I just got launched across the garden by a giant turtle who has bucking water cannons in it's back.” Silver shouted. “Do I really need to answer that?”

Rizen felt silly after realizing how simple the answer was. “Good point.”

The large turtle then marched out of the oasis, the cannon's trained on the two changelings. “Go get reinforcements Rizen.” Silver commanded as he got to his feet. “I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.”

Rizen didn't waste a second and immediately ran for the exit. “You got it buddy. Stay safe!” Then, bronze fire engulfed the soldier, and as the turtles and moths were trying to contemplate what was happening,the fire resided, revealing a different tortoise, this one on all fours and it's shell a dull bronze.

The cannon-wielding turtle was stunned, but only for a moment. He then made a beconing motion several times, taunting his foe.

Silver guessed the large turtle wanted to fight.

Good. He was getting a little rusty anyway.

It had been several minutes since Nell and Anteaters company had parted ways, and so far she had not found anything resembling a lion pride. Considering how dense the jungle was, and the fact that if was a jungle and therefore must have many dangerous beasts in it, it was both unusual and lucky. Litleo Litleo was trying and failing to take a nap, the lion bored from not finding anything.

“Don't worry Litleo Litleo, well find them.”

As if on cue, rustling was heard in the trees to their right just a ways away. Nell sighed in content. The duo had finnaly found something!

“Litleo Litleo, I think we found something!”

Then, the rustler burst out of the foliage, a creature that vaguely looked like a small brown dinosaur. It roared in rage and changed the duo, the foliage in it's path doing absolutely nothing to slow it down.

Nell and Litleo screamed and ran in the opposite direction, praying to anyone listening that the creature would not catch them.

Chapter 3 - Foul Play

A New World, A New Way - Swarm
Chapter 3
Foul Play

Day 1

Naruto was nervous as he walked with the apparent leader of the Bug Pokémon hive. “So, Naruto, enjoying life as a guard?”

“I, uh, just started yesterday sir.” A flimsy lie, but until I get out of here it would have to do.

“Intriguing. Well, I hope that you get acclimated into the routine of the guard soon. It has been rather peaceful as of late, so I assume that would be a plus for you.”

“It's hardly work if you like what you do Sir.” The red maned 'changeling' replied. “That, and if you have a good team behind you.”

“I take it you're a team player.”

“You could say that.”

The conversation became awkwardly stagnant after that, the emperor simply leading and the soldier simply following. Time felt like it had crawled to a painfully slow stop as Naruto and Carapace walked by several open windows, revealing the many tree houses of the jungle city. Naruto suppressed a gasp of wonder.

X would love it here. He always did have a thing for tree houses.

As soon as the sound of his charge stopped, Carapace turned around and noticed Naruto simply staring at the capital city. Must be first day jitters. The Emperor thought as he got a good look at the stallion. The red mane was simply stunning, seeming more like it belonged to a fox or some other animal. However, as Carapace got a closer look, he noticed the soldier's shadow.

It looked like a mix of an equinoid...and a fox.

That and he smelled like a fox as well.

Naruto turned and noticed the interesting expression on the Emperor's face. “Something on your mind?”

“I must agree with the maids.” Carapace deftly answered, his eyes drifting towards the shadow on the ground. “Your mane is simply outstanding.”

“It's a gift.” came the sarcastic reply.

“Well, come on. You're still lost, and I want to get your bearings straight as soon as possible. I don't want to be late.”

“Must be rather important if you, the Emperor, wants to be where he's going.” Naruto then pondered to himself for a moment as he tried to figure out the answer on his own. “Uh, where are you going?”

“Oh, just a Greenhouse not too far from the palace.”

Naruto was a little surprised at that. “A... greenhouse?”

“I assure you, my hobby has produced the greatest garden in the entire Empire. In fact, I say it rivals the hanging gardens of Colaylon.” The Emperor then turned to the Pokémon. “Seems a little old fashioned, doesn't it?”

“Actually, it seems a little... obvious.” Naruto commented on the typical Bug-like hobby the Emperor had as the two continued their trek to the entrance.

“Well, this is where we part ways.” The Emperor pointed a hoof forward at a door connecting the hallway. “Simply go through that door, then take the second door on your left.”

“Thank you sir.”

“Only happy to help.” The Emperor then opened a different door, this one on the left side of the room. This elected a sigh of relief from Naruto: He was afraid that the Bug would see though his Illusion and do something horrible to him. In any case, it's time to get out of here. The less time I spend with Bug types the....

“Hey, you! Red guy! Over here!”

...better. Turning around, Naruto noticed the white tailed Bug he used as a reference for his Illusion, and judging from his ragged breath he was doing quite a bit of running. “Yes?”

“We got a bit of an emergency and we need every guard on duty on this. That means you. Come on!” the guard shouted at Naruto.

“Uh, listen, I really need to get going....”

“You want a paycheck or not?” The guard reached out to Naruto, the illusionist directing his illusion to barely miss the leg of the guard to uphold the Illusion. “Lets go, now.”

“Why ask me? I'm just the new guy. You don't need me, trust me.” Then Naruto's 'eyes' lit up with an idea. “In fact, the Emperor just came through here. I'll go tell him, maybe he could clear this whole mess up.” before he could even turn around to face the other door, the white tailed changeling rushed in front of him, blocking the path.

“I am not going to let you send me to an early grave. If the Emperor finds out that his personal garden is infested, well lets just say no changeling's skin is safe.”

“Over a garden? Doesn't that seem a little silly?” Naruto sighed “He could just replant anything that gets stomped on.”

“No new guy. You don't understand. The Emperor's garden is serious business to him. Here's how the story of the last guy who thought they were just flowers went; The current ambassador from Griffenheim visited the Empire. It was going well until the ambassador wanted to see the garden. The Emperor refused, so late that night the ambassador bribed two guards to let him see it. The ambassador was enthralled with the gardens' beauty so much he wasn't looking where he was walking. And he accidentally stepped on the Foxgloves. The Foxgloves are the Emperor's favorite plant, even puts alarm charms on them to let him know if anyone does anything to them. The Emperor was so angry he threatened to declare war on Griffenheim.”

“Over plants.” Naruto deadpanned. “He threatened to declare war over plants.”

“Well, the Emperor was talked out of it but he's holding a serious grudge against that ambassador, the guards that let him in, and any descendants of those three. Keep in mind that this happened fifty years ago.”

“And you let this guy lead you?” Naruto balked.

“Emperor Carapace is a powerful and wise leader, strange devotion to his garden notwithstanding. Now, you wanna keep your job or not?”

Okay, lets check my options. Naruto thought to himself. This seems pretty serious, but it's just sounds so stupid! Nonetheless, if I started to run away, he might chase me to get me to help this garden fetish of his boss's. And if this guy chases me and makes me drop my Illusion, well that would be bad.

The other option is to play along and lend a claw. He's probably over exaggerating the issue, but the longer I stay the more likely it is that hey catch on and figure out I'm not one of them. But why would I do that? I don’t owe them anything.

Suddenly, images flashed before his eyes, revealing a defining moment of his life:

He crashed into the rocky wall of the canyon as he fell, his front right paw scratched and bloody along with the rest of that leg, luckily using that same paw to grab a small grip in the canyon's rocky surface. He struggled to avoid looking down, for he knew that the tree filled bottom of Route 9 awaiting him to finish falling to his doom.

“Naruto! I'm coming buddy!” X shouted. He lept to his feet, and ran past the Rhyhorn he was riding, whom had started to run away, and rushed towards the edge of the cliff “Hang in there!”

“'Hang in there'? Not a good choice of words X!” The Zorua screamed back. He quickly scrambled to get a grip with his other paw, which was his right paw, but winced, his face in pain. It was far bloodier and broken than his other three limbs. “What did we bring in that backpack of yours?”
X quickly took the backpack off, and dumped everything out of it. Several items spilled out of it, a can of soup rolling off the cliff and missing Naruto by a mile. “No rope!”

“I told you we needed a rope!”

“Wait, the pokèball!” X reached for the ball on his belt, hoping it could save his friend.

To his despair, the ball was cracked to the point of being broken. “Dammit!”

` “What?”

“The ball's broken!”

“Are you kidding me!?”

“Do you honestly think I would joke at a time like this?” X replied. “What do we do now!?”

Silence reigned as the grim reality set in. “I guess... we say goodbye.”

“Are you kidding me!?” X shouted.

“X, you can't save me. You can't reach me, you have no rope, and I can't hold on forever. I know you will try to save me, but I know it won't work. I'll have to let go sometime..” Naruto closed his eyes, avoiding his trainer's tear stained eyes. “..so, thanks for the good times we had this past year.”

Then, Naruto's grip then loosened, and he felt the ledge slide out from under his paw.

X screamed, the yell transcending space/time.

Then, a sharp pain shot through Naruto's paw. He opened his eyes, he saw a sight he thought he would never see: A yellow lizard with two frills on the side of it's head. It's right hand grasped Naruto's injured paw, and it's face was strained. Then, the lizard amazingly started to climb up backwards. X was simply amazing, almost neglecting to grab the Helipotile's tail when it was close enough. Once the did, the quickly pulled them up.

The Electric Reptile loosened her grip on Naruto, who staggered towards the dreaded ledge and hurled. X simply sighed.

“I swear Naruto if you ever get stuck in a situation like this again I and going to hit you.”

“Fair enough.”Naruto replied, sounding rather woozy. It was a common feeling when you almost fall to your death.

“You okay?” the Helioptile asked the Zorua.

“Thanks to you.” the Dark Type then turned to face his savior. “But you attacked X and I almost all day after we tried to capture you, so why save me? You don't owe us anything.”

“Does it matter? You needed help, and I had the power to help you. Living in the wild, you quickly learn that life is a team sport.”

Underneath the Illusion, Naruto gripped his right arm with his left. Although his arm was healed after his near death, the pain never truly went away. The best way to describe it was a form of residual pain: the arm flared up in pain if he overexerted it, causing Naruto to favor his left arm than his right.

Guess I could lend a paw. It's not to the extreme as saving someone's life, but if I did just leave them be, I would feel a little guilty about it. Even if they are Bugs.

Inti is definitely getting to me. This is something she would do.

“Lead the way.” The white tailed Bug then quickly turned around and started to move at a brisk pace, Naruto effortlessly keeping pace. “Mind telling the new guy the situation?”

“Well, it started about 15, 20 minutes ago when Silver Heart and I snuck into the Emperor's garden again.”

“The very same garden that got three entire family lines the silent treatment?” Naruto had to raise an eyebrow to that. “This Silver Heart sounds like he has a hard time staying out of that garden.”

“You can hardly blame him. The garden is legendary. But that's not the point.” The duo made a turn into another hallway. “We weren’t the only uninvited guests.”

“Another ambassador?”

“Giant purple moths actually.” Another turn was made.

“They sound... familiar.” Naruto shuddered at the thought of more Bugs.

“Well thankfully they didn't do much. They just sat there. The turtles were the bigger issue.”

“Turtles?”

“About thirty of them. Blue with brown shells, curly tails. When Silver tried to kick em out they attacked him. When I started to give some range support, their leader decided to get involved, and the leader is a big one. Five feet tall. And you are not gonna believe me what happened next,”

“Try me.”

“It has water cannons that popped out of it's shell. Two cannons. Made of steel. Out of it's shell. Two fully bucking functional water cannons. And they look like they hurt.”

As they made another turn, Naruto had to dwell on this for a bit. “Strange. Squirtle and Blastoise normally are not so aggressive. This Silver Heart must have made them really mad for them to just attack them.”

“You seem to know a lot about these turtles. Most turtles I've seen don't stand on two legs or have bucking water cannons in their backs.”

“Lets just say information is my specialty.”

And hopefully that Squirtle colony will help me with the biggest question I have at the moment; How I got here.

“By the way, you're mane is amazing. I'm a little envious.”

Naruto simply shook his head. His illusion mane wasn't that amazing.

Was it?

Nalel sighed as she combed her mane, her pale yellow magical aura gripping the comb as it flew across her mane. Nall was still in her bed, paper and pencil floating about, and deep in thought. “I still can't believe Nell would do something like that. We're sisters. Brood sisters! Together forever and ever and ever!” Nall complained.

“Can't we wait to have this conversation until after breakfast?” Nalel sighed. “We just got up.”

“No. I want to complain now.”

“Maybe Nell has a point.” Nalel countered.

“Oh no, you're not using logic! Logic bad!”

“Hear me out Nall.” Nalel stopped brushing her mane, turning to her twin. “Look, I know you’re upset that Nell didn’t want us to come along. I really do, since I’m disappointed too. But even so, this is Nell’s choice and she has every right to make it.”

“But Nalel…” Nall started, though the serious look in Nalel’s eyes caused her to stop short.

Nalel sighed as she put her brush away. “I don’t like it anymore than you do, but I’m sure you noticed that Nell’s been thinking hard about finding her own path in life. As much as I’d like it if the three of us were together forever, it’s her choice to make. All we can do is support her, so if she wants to follow in Dad’s footsteps, then it’s her choice to make and we should be happy for her.”

Nall sighed in response, shuffling her hooves on the ground. “I know… but it’s just that… brood sisters… together forever and ever…”

Nalel smiled sadly, before nuzzling her sister. “Come now, it’s not like we’ll never see Nell again. She may be looking for her own path, but us being brood sisters will never change. We can still be together forever and ever,” she reassured.

Nall just nodded, still looking a bit sad, before trotting up to the pile of stuffed animals. Reaching out to grab one, she stopped short when she saw what looked like the head of some kind of yellow and black lizard poking out of the pile. “Um… Nalel? Was this big lizard doll always here?”

Blinking at the question, Nalel took a close look at said ‘doll’, and said, “Hm…” she murmured, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. On one hand she thought it was probably just an old doll they had forgotten about. However, something was still bothering her. “Strange… I don’t remember ever seeing a doll like this.” she muttered, before reaching out to said doll, intending to get a closer look.

To Nalel's surprise, the lizard slapped her hoof.

“Uh, Nall. I don't think that's a doll.”

After Naruto and the white tailed changeling (whom Naruto had learned was named Rizen) had found one of the guard's break rooms, the small Changeling battalion had just arrived at the garden. Naruto had to agree that the garden was simply majestic, even with the Squirtles and Blastoise making a mess of things. Several guards were facing off against two or three Squirtles at a time amongst the ruined collection of flowers, the Changeling's hesitant of the strange turtles. The purple moths Rizen mentioned, the moths clearly being Venomoth (just what he needed, more bugs), were staying as far away from the conflict as possible. To Naruto's amazement, two magical shields each manned by a guard surrounded what Naruto assumed to be the Emperor's foxgloves.

Although the Changelings outnumbered the Turtle Pokémon two to one, it was clear that they were not winning his encounter.

There, standing in the middle of the fount was the Blastoise in a battle stance, his twin cannons aimed at the brown haired changeling Naruto saw earlier. He was a mess, for his armor was shattered in some places revealing bruises covering his body, breath ragged, and the only remains of his helmet was a circle of iron around his horn.

“Silver, I found some more reinforcements.” Turning around, Silver Heart turned to see the dozen new arrivals. “Great. I need a break from fighting the mutant here.”

“I am not a mutant, tiny insect!” The Blastoise shouted, clearly insulted. “Stand down before you anger me any more and leave his place, and I will call my colony off. There is no need for you to continue for you do not entertain me anymore.”

“Sounds like he wants some more. You guys, take him down!” The reinforcements shouted battle cries, rearing up as they did so. Rizen shouted the loudest, and started his charge first. He was quickly interrupted by Naruto running in front of him blocking his path to the Shellfish pokémon.

“The Blastoise clearly said to stand down and he will stop attacking. What part of that didn't you understand?”

“Who in Tartarus is the redhead?” Silver shouted at the horde of changeling reinforcements.

“I'm new. But that's not the point. The Blastoise made his point clear as crystal. Now is obviously the time for talking and getting information.”

“We tried, but it keeps saying the same thing over and over!” Naruto balked at this revelation.

This is odd. He claims he can't understand the Blastoise? That is odd. I know I can understand the Blastoise since I'm a Pokemon, and these Bugs are clearly speaking English, which I can also understand. That must mean they cannot understand the language of Pokémon. This can only mean one thing:

These Bugs are not Pokémon. But the only species in the world that can't speak the language of Pokémon are Humans. So if they aren't Pokémon, and if they aren’t Human... just what are they? And where exactly am I?

This is getting weirder by the minute.

“I can understand them. I'm going to talk them into backing down.” As Naruto turned to face the Blastoise, Silver Heart hobbled into his path. “Kinda convenient you're the only one who can understand them.”

“Convenient indeed. Step aside.”

“No.” Silver Heart defiantly declared. “I'm in command, not you, and I say that we are not talking to them! They are the enemy. We attack.”

“Yes, and it's quite obvious how attacking them is turning out.”

“I don't need snark from you soldier.”

“You clearly have no idea what you are doing. I do. So back off and let me do my job so you can do yours.” Naruto growled.

“Stand. Down.”

“Make. Me.”

This elected a response from Silver Heart, the changeling's bruised face showing signs of worry from the new guys aggression.

“Fine, but if it goes south, we're rushing in.”

“That's good enough for me.”

Slowly, Silver Heart got out of Naruto's way, as he approached the leader of the colony.

The Blastoise aimed it's cannons at Naruto, the intent clear. Naruto simply stopped his approach towards the Blastoise, and cleared his throat. “I'm here to talk!”

“Why should I listen. Your kind cannot understand mine.”

“A little quick to judge, aren’t you?” Naruto chuckled. The Blastoise's expression remained stern though. He raised his arm, and the Squirtles retreated to the pond and rallied behind him.

“So, there is someone here who can speak the Pokémon language.”

“I want to know why you and your colony are here.” Naruto asked dryly, ignoring the statement the Blastoise made. The Blastoise pondered this for a moment, then spoke “I do not know.”

“You don't know? Are you sure?”

“I am sure. The last thing I remember is that I was guarding the colony that day. We live in Johto, near the place the humans call the Whirl Islands. My colony has always enjoyed peace, even when predators or Humans came to attack or capture us. And each time they came, I made them return from whence they came by force. I did not become the leader sitting on my claws watching my colony suffer after all.”

'What's he saying?” one changeling shouted.

“He's not done talking yet.” Naruto shouted back. “Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything at all?”

“Aside from the fact that we all fell asleep, then woke up here, that is all I am willing to talk about.”

“What did he say that time?” the same changeling shouted. Naruto growled, then turned his head.

“Give me a minute, I'm not done yet”. Turning his head upwards towards the Venomoth, he spoke towards the Bugs. “And what's your story? Did you take a wrong turn at Santalune Forest?”

“Our tale is eerily similar fellow Bug.” One Venomoth replied, the apparent leader. It spoke with a dull tone in it's voice, as if it was trying to separate it's emotions from it's speech. “We were simply going about our business when we fell asleep during the daytime, as if we were compelled to do so. We remain here for we have no idea where we are and do not wish to be more lost.”

Their stories sound like mine; Fall asleep, wake up in the middle of these creatures home. No leads. Well, I guess I can leave no and get out of here.

“The Blastoise said he has no idea how he or his colony got here, and so did the Venomoth.”

“The Vena-what?” Silver Heart asked.

“No. Venomoth.” Naruto dryly replied. He pointed a hoof upwards at the moth pokémon. “The last thing they remember is falling asleep, then waking up here.”

“Are you telling me they just woke up here?”

“That seems to be the case.” Naruto stated as he approached Silver Heart.

“Well, glad we have a question for an answer instead of an actual answer. “ Silver sighed. “In any case, they gotta go. All of them. The Emperor's already gonna be pissed when he discovered the damage we already done.”

“Yes, we can't go starting wars over the precious Foxgloves now can we.” Naruto sighed.

“We are not going anywhere.” Naruto turned at this, surprised that the Blastoise's statement.

“What did he say?”

“He said they aren't going anywhere.” Naruto translated. “I want to know why.”

“This garden is simple amazing. Far better than the Whirl Islands. Since my colony was forced here, I see no reason why it should not be mine.”

“Do I even want to know what 'Blast blast toise Blastoise Blastoise toise blast toise' means?”

“He's claiming the garden as his own.” Naruto deadpanned. As expected, this did not go well.

“Yea, not gonna happen freak. You have forty seconds to get out now before I stop showing mercy.”

“That's mercy?” Naruto again deadpanned.

“Compared to what the Emperor will do, it is.”

“Wasn't he kicking your ass before I got here?”

“That was a warm up!”

“You are in no condition to fight!”

“You are not the boss of me soldier!” Silver defiantly shouted. “Listen here you cannon-backed abomination of nature! This is Emperor Carapace's garden, and you are not welcome here!” Then, with a swift maneuver, Silver Heart charged past Naruto, the fox quickly chasing the Changeling. The Blastoise simply aimed his cannon, the precipitation of a shot being armed clearly seen from the barrels of the cannon.

“No Bug, this is my garden, and you are not welcome here! Hydro Pump!” The blasts of water screamed towards the Changeling and Fox. Naruto quickly saw the shots race towards them, and with a burst of speed, caught up to Silver Heart, and pushed him out of the way, his Illusion barely making the movement believable. The water then crashed into Naruto, the Fox screaming as he was pushed back into the horde of soldiers. Thankfully, Naruto was relatively okay.

Relativity being the key word.

However, to everyone's surprise, and to Naruto's horror, the force of the attack forced Naruto's Illusion to fade.

“He's not a changeling!” Rizen shouted. “He disguised himself as one of us and we never knew! I feel embarrassed.”

“Better than feeling the impact of a rushing tide crashing into you.” Naruto moaned as he got up. He quickly wished he hadn't: The Blastoise looked like he wanted to sit on a Poochyena just for the sick joy of sitting of a Poochyena.

“EVIL TYPE!” The Blastoise screamed, pointing an accusatory claw at him. “YOU WILL PAY FOR DECEIVING ME, AND FOR MUCH MORE!”

“It's pronounced 'Dark'!”

The two changelings simply stared at the lizard that was most definitely alive and not a doll. The lizard stared back, blinking with a scowl on it's face. “Lisk. Lisk. Lisk.”

“Uh Nall. Why do we have a lizard in our doll collection.”

“I have no idea.” came her sister's reply. She looked at the strange lizard with intensely, the lizard doing the same. “But he sounds like he can talk.”

“HELIO!” The lizard hissed, the black part of it's neck unfolding out to reveal a sun shaped frill.

“Lisk Heliolisk LISK!”

“Totally a guy.” Nall stated. “Hey, I know! Lets keep him!”

“Nall, I don't think lizards are supposed to be this... big.”

“But Nalel, look at him!” Nall then practically shoved the lizard into Nalel's face, both changeling and lizard expressing discomfort. “He's so adorable and yellow. How can you say no to Mister Frilly Face?”

“Frilly Face?”

“Hey, I thought up of the name in five seconds. I wasn't going for quality.” Nalel shook her head. “Besides, Mom and Dad would totally let us keep a pet. We're responsible, if you aren’t comparing us to Nell that is, so they gotta say yes!”

“Okay okay, the least we can do is try. Lets go ask them now.” Nalel horn glowed, her magic grip opening the door.

“YAY! PET LIZARD!” The lizard looked horrified at such a statement, her warden practically dancing in place.

“Interesting” Hira sated. She was sitting in the living room, an old leather spell book with a emerald embedded in the cover. “Who knew that a breath-holding spell could be used in that way?”

“That sounds like it could easily misused.” Citel commented. He was in the kitchen, imported tofu bacon sizzling in the pan Citel was tending. Another pan was next to the bacon, several pancakes cooking inside it, a plate of already cooked pancakes next to it. Several bananas and the pink gemstones were in two bowls next to him as he cooked breakfast. “Why the sudden interest in a spell like that? The nearest body of water that one would absolutely need a spell like that would be the ocean. And that's a long journey.”

“My students are learning magic that would be useful for travel outside of the walls.” Hira turned the page as she talked. The spell book was one she used for research out of the classroom, as Hira was a teacher of magic at the local school. “You of all changelings would appreciate the usefulness of spells that help one not die.”

“Sticking to the beaten path is a very good way to do just that.” A spatula floated in front of Citel, and tended to the pancakes. “Less changeling eating plants.”

“Well, one of my students asked about the application of such a spell outside of watery environments. I'm merely doing a follow up about the applications. Quite interesting really.”

Citel simply smiled as he continued to cook breakfast. Not even a minute later did Nall and Nalel fly down the stairs, Mister Frilly Face struggling to get out of Nall's grip. “Mom, Dad, we found a lizard! Can we keep him!?” Nall practically shouted.

Hira closed her book as Citel peeked his head out of the kitchen, both noticing the strange lizard that clearly did not want to be there. “Didn't know they grew that big.” Hira commented, ignoring the question for now. “Or were that yellow.”

“Where did you find the little guy?” Citel asked, ducking back into the kitchen to finish cooking breakfast.

“He was in the stuffed animals.” Nall cheerfully replied, hugging the lizard tightly, Mister Frilly Face growing more agitated. “And he's soooooo adorable! But you didn't answer the question. Can we keep him? Can we? Can we? Can we?”

Hira's eye's narrowed as she took a good hard look at Mister Frilly Face. As a teacher of magic, her magical scenes were better than the average changeling. Her senses were sensing something, but she could not figure out what it was. “Well, I have no problems with it. Citel?” At that exact moment, Citel walked out of the kitchen, the last of the pancakes apparently done. “Let's talk about it over breakfast. Can you two ladies go get the boys?”

The ladies did that, and as they entered the front yard, they encountered the male brood roughhousing (as usual), but this time they made a new friend. It was a large brown quadruped with a long neck. Leaves covered it's neck and head, and four large leaves that reminded the sisters of wings. Oddly enough the creature had what looked like a beard made of bananas. It looked both tired and confused as the young changelings climbed all over it. The creature didn't seem to mind though.

“HE”S HUGE!” Nall shouted, causing the creature to turn towards the girls. The creature noticed Mister Frilly Face, whom made a pleading look. The creature simply muttered “Tropius”, then yawned, content in letting Mister Frilly Face suffer. Mister Frilly Face's face fell when it realized the creature was planning on doing nothing. “Do you think we can keep him as well?”

“Only if I get to keep him.” Nalel said

“Awwww, why?”

“You have your heart set on Mister Frilly Face.” Nalel taunted.

“But Banana Beard has bananas for a beard!”

“One or the other.”

Nell groaned, realizing that the cool creature was out of her grasp. Ingoing her sister's plight, Nalel hollered to her brothers “Boys! Breakfast!” It unnatural reaction speed, the boys stopped playing on the creature and rushed into the house, their older sisters following them.

The creature then had a thoughtful expression it face, as well as Mister Frilly Face, as they both wondered what was going on.

“Little Litleo, the next time I think it's a good idea to tie a rope to me and then waltz into a thick jungle, slap me!”

“LITLEO!”

Nell ran for dear life, Litleo Litleo gripping her tightly, as if he was trying to squeeze her wings into her sides . Nell would have loved to use them, but due to the combination of a rope tied around her, a lion on top of her, and the general thickness of the trees flying was a bad idea.

It didn't stop her from trying her hardest to not die by running though.

Nell darted past a tree and made a sharp turn, hoping to lose the beast. As she made the turn she look behind her, and cursed: the beast had deftly made the turn as well.

Continuing her mad dash for life, Nell addressed her companion. “Litleo, cut the rope!”

“Lit Lit Lit!” By the sound of it, it sounded like Litleo Litleo did not approve of this plan.

“I'll be able to move easier if the rope isn't attached to anything! Trust me!”

Figuring it was better to just do it than argue and possibly get eaten, the lion begrudgingly popped a claw out of it's paw, and carefully started picking at the rope, being careful not to slice his new friend's back. He looked up, and quickly wished he hadn't; the dinosaur had a grin on his face that would make even a criminal feel guilty.

Suddenly, Nell felt the ground fall out from underneath her feet, changeling tumbling to the ground and lion flying into the air, tumbling a few feet into a tree, the impact inflaming his hurt paw. Horror filled her being as she turned to look behind her again, her eyes first noticing a root sticking out of the ground, the cause of her tumble into the ground. Her eyes then noticed the lizard was now closing in on the duo, his maw open slightly, almost inviting his future meals to jump in.

This is it. I'm going to die. That thing is going to eat me and I'm going to die and no one will know and I'll be dead! Nell thought to herself, fear Guess this is what happens when I ignore perfectly sane advice and go into the dangerous jungle with just a lion....

Nell closed her eyes, simply wanting the lizard to get it over with.

Nothing came.

Nell opened her eyes, and saw the lizard was... staring at her. Before she could act, the lizard then roared at her, the sound instilling more fear in her, and she found herself quivering in fear in the monster's presence.

Great, it's playing with it's food!

The beast then tilted it's head at Nell, as if it was confused. It roared again, his one a little less heartfelt. Nell's quivering started to slow down as the reptile stomped the food with it's ground, roaring a third time.

Okay, he has me at his mercy, so why doesn't it just eat me!?

The beast's looked sad as Nell apparently did not react the way it wanted to. “Runt runt Tyrunt!” It shouted as it apparently was no longer interested in Nell. He stomped towards Litleo Litleo, the lion attempting to get up after being launched from Nell's back.

Then the beast roared, causing the lion to look at their attacker. Litleo Litleo was not scared, as he returned the roar with one of his own, though it was not as impressive, or as loud, as his attacker.

Then the lizard roared at Litleo Litleo again, his roar just as strong and powerful as the previous. Which resulted in Litleo Litleo roaring at it again.

Nell felt like face hoofing as she clearly had no idea what was going on: The two were just roaring at each other. As Nell rose from the ground, she trotted towards the dinosaur, it roaring at Litleo Litleo again. “Leave him alone!”

The dinosaur turned to Nell, his expression a frown. He messangly took a step forward, Litleo Litleo beginning to grow fearful for his new friend.

It's not going to work, but maybe.....

“Leave my friend or I'll hurt you! I will!”

“Runt! Ty ty runt?”

It's not buying it? Well then. Nell then narrowed her eyes, and frost covered her horn again. “I mean it!” This time, the message was gotten loud and clear, for as soon as the frost formed on her horn, the dinosaur squealed, and ran away from Nell, darting past Litleo Litleo.

Nell just stood there, shocked that scaring the beast was that... easy. Litleo Litleo apparently did not feel the same way, as it simply stared at Nell, it's expression stern. “Lit leo Litleo!”

“You’re welcome Litleo Litleo.” Ignoring the glare Litleo Litleo was giving her, Nell turned her attention to the rope and gave it a tug. Her eyes suddenly widened.

That tug felt way too loose.

Panic filled her being as she followed the rope, Litleo Litleo behind her, her journey ended rather quickly when she found the end of the rope.

Cut messily in two.

Litleo Litleo and Nell simply looked at each other with dread. “We're lost.” Nell stated.

A full minute passed of no action. Nell ended that by screaming. Loudly.

“WHAT DO WE DO!? WHAT DO WE DO!? WE'RE LOST IN THE JUNGLE!”

With a smirk, Litleo Litleo simply made a small notch in a tree trunk.

“Hey good idea Litleo Litleo.” Levitating two rocks, Nell smashed them together until a sharp point was made on one of them, the process being surprisingly quick. Then, she slashed a tree with the rock, then again forming an X. “This might help. Come on Litleo Litleo, lets get going.” She said with a smile, the lion leaping onto her back the exact moment she finished speaking.

The two then restarted their journey, never noticing the red eye watching them from the safety of the trees.

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay. I had life. And Calulus. Life and Calculus.

I wanna give a big thank you to my editor tdnpony for help with the writting. He really helped me out.

Chapter 4 - Close Combat

A New World, A New Way
Chapter 4
Close combat

Day 1

If the Blastoise was mad before, it paled in comparison to how mad he was now. He pointed a finger at Naruto, and shouted “EVIL TYPE! YOU TELEPORTED MY COLONY HERE DIDN'T YOU! ADMIT IT!”

“Yes, lets all assume that a member of a type of Pokémon immune to Psychic powers used psychic powers to teleport not only you, but that Venomoth swarm and myself several thousand miles to a location that not a single one of use apparently knew existed.” Naruto deadpanned. “Let me know when you're ready to use your brain and actually think about it.”

“LIES! ALL OF THEM! LIES ARE ALL THE EVIL TYPES ARE CAPABLE OF SPEAKING!'

Wearily, Silver Heart marched up to Naruto. “Something tells me he doesn't like you.”

“I lied to you. Aren’t you at least a little wary of me?” Naruto spoke as he turned to face Silver Heart, the guard a little startled from the invasive voice in his head.

“Of course. I'm not stupid. It's just that you could have let that attack hit me. You dove in and took it for me. Something tells me that you had no real intention of hurting me or my men. If you did, you would have done it sooner.”

Naruto did a quick nod to agree with what Silver Heart had said, then turned to face the Blastoise. “Blastoise, let me make something incredibly clear: I did not cause you or your colony to be transported here. I'm a Dark type, so Psychic moves are a little tough for me to consistently use. That, and my species can't teleport.” The Blastoise snorted as Naruto continued. “Second, this garden is not yours. If you leave, the guards will show you leniency. Leave in peace, or leave by force.”

“HYDRO PUMP!” Naruto and Silver leaped out of the way as another torrent of water crashed into the ground, Naruto leaping into a patch of willowy pink flowers.

“Well then. Force it is.”

Silver apparently caught the drift. “Every changeling, I want a shield up surrounding all of us! And shore up the shields around the Foxgloves. If those things get even a scratch we can kiss our collective flanks goodnight and thanks for all the fun times!”

“Sir yes sir!” The guards shouted, understanding the gravity of the situation, and did as their captain commanded, Silver leaping behind the large shield as it was being formed. The shields around the foxgloves doubled in thickness as more magic was poured into them.

“You dare to face me and my colony on your own!?” Blastoise laughed as he taunted his foe. In response, Naruto calmly pointed in the Blastoise's general direction. Curious, the Blastoise looked behind him. His face fell as he did: his Squirtles had begun retreating as far back as they could, obviously declaring the Zoroark not their problem.

“Looks like you are on your own.” Naruto observed. “Scared?”

Facing the Dark Fox again, the Blastoise smirked. “I actually prefer it this way.” he gloated as his cannons aimed at Naruto's head.

“So do we want the Fox to win?”

“I know I do. I have a good feeling about him.” Silver Heart replied. It had only been a few moments, but the tense stare down between Naruto and Blastoise felt like it lasted for a week. Both sides simply stood there at the ready, waiting for the other to make the first move.

But something about that other creature, the Blastoise, felt off.

“You think a Pokemon as skinny as you can face a Pokémon like me?” The Blastoise taunted.

“I'm a construction worker.” Naruto replied. “We value finesse over power. Case in point: Nasty Plot!” Naruto quickly made quick simple hand signs, the dark energy enhancing his metaphysical powers.

“Hydro Pump!” on cue, twin streams of water shot towards the fox. At the very last moment, Naruto leapt to the left, his feet barely leaving the ground while two deep purple orb made of rings formed in his hands. “Dark Pulse!” he shouted, thrusting his left arm forward, launching the orb as a beam made of rings. The attack stuck Blastoise's arm, which he can quickly use to cover his face from the Dark attack. Naruto pressed the attack, launching the other orb, a slight grunt from exerting a little too much effort. The Blastoise was caught unaware of it, and groaned in pain as the second Dark Pulse stuck his right side. More Hydro Pumps screamed from the cannons, the sound of rushing tides sounding like a horde of devils.

Noticing the water racing towards him, Naruto broke into a run around the Blastoise, several Hydro Pumps hitting the ground around him. “Stand still!” the Turtle shouted.

“Why would I want to do something like that? The weather is just perfect for a jog, don't you think?” This elected a laugh from the guards, which apparently angered the Blastoise, whom turned around and fired a shot at the guards, the blast striking the shield, though the shield still stood.

It was a dumb idea, for as soon as the Blastoise lashed out at the guards, Naruto rushed towards Blastoise, and jumped onto his shell. Just as the Blastoise noticed the extra weight, Naruto began slamming his fists down on Blastoise's head.

“See? Finesse over power.”

Blastoise tried to reach up and throw the Zoroark off of his back, but his arms were too short, the guards cheering for the fox. Then, to Naruto's surprise, the Blastoise tucked his head, limbs, and cannons into his shell. “Rapid Spin!” the Blastoise shouted. Immediately, Blastoise started to spin at a rapid pace, Naruto holding on to the shell for dear life. Naruto cursed as his grip loosened, and he was flung of the shell and face first into several flowers.

“See how power is stronger than finesse?” The Blastoise taunted as his limbs and cannon's exited the shell, a smug smirk on his face.

“Our battle isn't over yet.” Naruto groaned as he flipped himself over, bruises on his fur. “Not by a long shot.”

“I disagree.” Blastoise stated as an orb of energy, this one a light blue, charged in the barrels of his cannons. “Ice Beam!”

Twin beams of icy energy raced through the sky, striking the legs of Naruto. He screamed as the cold struck him. When the attack ended , Naruto groaned as he realized that his lower legs and the surrounding ground were covered in ice, imprisoning his legs to the ground.

Crap! Gotta get out! Gotta get out! Gotta get out!
“Hydro Pump!” The water crashed into Naruto, slamming him into the ground, his spine feeling that impact the most. The water surged for a few good seconds, the fox gurgling, desperately aching for air. Then, at the last moment, the water recede, the Blastoise spitting a curse as Naruto gasped for sweet air.

“NOW THIS ENDS!” The cannon adjusted it's aim just slightly, to get a better angle to drown Naruto at. At the same time, Naruto lifted himself up as much as he could, seeing the Blastoise aim the cannon.

Smirking, Naruto trust his arms close together, as if he was gripping an invisible ball. “Focus Blast!” At his command, a orb of light blue energy, more solid than energy should be, formed in his hands, before he raised it above his head. In a move that surprised everyone there, he slammed the orb into the ice, chipping it, then striking it again. Horrified at the fox's ingenuity, the Blastoise fired it's Hydro Pump as Naruto slammed into the ice, the third strike freeing his legs. Then, in a quick fluid movement, Naruto threw the orb towards the Hydro Pump, the Fighting attack exploding upon impact. The Hydro Pump kept coming, and in another fluid movement, Naruto transitioned into a backflip of the ground, flipping into the air, and out of the Hydro Pump, the attack leaving a pool of water amongst a fresh grave of flowers.

The Blastoise was seething at this point. “Why?” he growled. “Why won't you just give up and fall?”

“And end the fight now? I may be a construction worker alongside my trainer, but I always did feel a certain rush battle gives me. I almost wish he would let me and the team battle more often.”

The changelings behind the shield were watching the battle intently, most of the interested it the strange creatures that were battling, and all of them were sweating bullets as they watched the battle. The damage was incredible, most of the plants caught in the crossfire of the Hydro Pumps ruined.

They collectively knew that running would be pointless. They were getting the boot for sure after this.

Silver Heart however, was worried for a different reason. “He's holding back.”

“Pardon?” Rizen asked his fellow guard.

“That.....Blastoise, I think that's what it's called. He's holding back.”

“Why would a creature like that hold anything back?”

“I don't know. I just feel something, some force within the Blastoise. Something that is gonna turn the tide in his favor.

“The real question is why hasn't he used it yet?”

“I swear, I will end you by the time this fight comes to a close.”

“Lies are unbecoming of a leader of your standing.” The fox said as he got into a battle ready position. He cursed in this thoughts, the snarkiness of Inti coming out in full force. Okay, I really have been spending too much time with Inti. Her snarkiness is infectious.

The Blastoise roared, the sound freighting the Squirtles, as another pair of Ice Beams soared towards Naruto. This time he was ready, as small flames leaked from his mouth. “Flamethrower!” he shouted, fire flying amongst the sound of the shout. The two attackes met head on, fire and ice colliding and refusing to yield to the other.

Without hesitation, Blastoise ended his attack first, the stream of ice ending abruptly as the Flamethrower overcame it's eternal elemental rival. As quickly as the Ice Beam ended, the Blastoise tucked into his shell again, hovering in the air due to his Rapid Spinning. The fire struck the shell harmlessly. Naruto scoffed, ending the attack. As the Blastoise stopped spinning, and his limbs exited the shell, Naruto breathed fire again, this time towards the large puddle in front of him. Almost immediately steam rose, covering the Zoroark from Blastoise's sight. In anger, Blastoise fired another Hydro Pump, the water striking the freshly made steam, and causing it to dissipate.

To his dismay, Naruto was not there.

The Blastoise turned to the left, hoping to find his opponent.

Naruto was not there. Blastoise then turned to the right, back to where the smoke veil was created, hoping that the Fox has returned.

Naruto was not there.

Yelling in anger, Blastoise made a half circle turn to see what was behind him.

The fist smashing into his face told Blastoise he had found Naruto.

The Blastoise staggered as Naruto began wailing on the Blastoise, his punches mixed with an occasional kick to mix it up. After several strikes, Blastoise finally blocked an attack, and lashed out with a punch of his own, forcing Naruto to leap back to avoid the strike. Posting the assault, Blastoise transitioned into a Rapid Spin, the whirling shell approaching Naruto faster than a giant spinning shell should. At the last moment, Naruto kept calm and jumped over the Rapid Spin, landing in a handstand, then front flipping to his feet. Then, just as the Blastoise was exiting the Rapid Spin, Naruto spin around, the dark orb of rings in his paw already formed.

"Dark Pulse!" The Dark attack flew thoroughly the air, striking the Blastoise square in the face and knocking him flat on his back. The Blastoise screamed as he flailed his limbs, desperately trying to get up.

Naruto laughed at his opponent, the Turtle finally flipping over with a combination of Rapid Spinning. "I underestimated you Evil Type." Blastoise declared, his breathing heavy, the Pokémon tired from the fight.

"Nobody likes a Typist" Naruto countered.

"Me? A Typist? You are Evil. I am Water. Is it Typist to declare the truth about you rotten lying evil Evil types?"

"I'm a construction worker. Everything my trainer and I have we earned through hard work. "

"You are a thief! You don't know what hard work is!"

"Says the Pokémon attempting to take possession of a garden that clearly belongs to someone else, hypocrite."

"It doesn't matter. In the end the garden will be mine and you will be dead."

"I doubt that. In case you haven't noticed, you only managed to land one, maybe two attacks. I have landed practically all of my attacks and have energy to all spare while you are clearly gasping for breath. Face it. I win.“

"That the thing about liars.“ Blastoise taunted as he aimed the cannons at Naruto, the two shots this time were deep blue orbs of what could best be described as living energy, currently growing in size. "They never know when to stop."

Naruto was frozen as he realized what Blastoise was doing.

As emotion eaters, Changelings could sense the dominant emotion their prey was feeling at the time. This ability proved useful for more than finding a good meal, as it allowed them to judge how a target was feeling.

As Naruto fought the Blastoise, the guards felt confidence with a hint of joy, the flavor a rich tropical orange with a splash of strawberry. Now, the taste turned grimy, acidic, and suffocating, a rare taste that only the most cruel or insane Changelings sought, and ever fewer actually enjoyed.

It was fear. Fear for one's life.

"Behold the power, Evil type. Behold the power of the Aura!" The Blastoise gloated." AURA SPHERE!”

At his command, one of the Fighting attacks fired. This snapped Naruto out of his daze, and he ran towards a tree, the Aura Sphere chasing him intently. Deftly Naruto climbed a palm tree, and at the last moment, he jumped off the tree, barely missing the Aura Sphere, causing it to smash into the tree, the Aura tearing the tree to Ribbons. The second shot fired, a third orb charging in the meantime. As quick as a bullet, Naruto ran for dear life, the Aura chasing him.

And it was slowly closing the gap, tearing the plants and decorations asunder.

Suddenly, the ground turned to ice, the results of a Ice Beam. Naruto leapt over the tiny glacier. Then, more Ice Beams struck the ground, the field ripe with ice inviting Naruto to fall to his doom. It was no challenge for him to avoid the ice, but each movement he made that wasn't forward only gave the Aura Sphere more time to advance, Naruto practically feeling the Aura sear his fur.

As he ran, he eyed another palm tree, this one with a thicker trunk, intent on repeating the leap he made beforehand. Smirking, he increased his pace, rushing the tree and leaping on it, clinging to it like the ninja he fancied himself to be. Again at the last moment, as the crushing Aura closed in on the Dark type, Naruto launched of the tree, using it as a sort of ground to push off of, sailing over the Aura Sphere. The tree wasn't so lucky, as it was torn to shreds like the other tree that was also torn to shreds.

Landing in a perfect three point stance, Naruto quickly got up, curiously his point of landing was near the point where he started the battle, and got up to face the Blastoise. To his horror, the Blastoise had just fired the third shot. A third shot Naruto had failed to notice was charging.

He barely had enough time to turn around before the Aura engulfed him, the explosion tearing the ground asunder.

With a scream, Naruto was launched into the shield, a flourish of light in the shape of a pillar emerging from the point of impact. To Silver Heart's surprise, the point of impact appeared to be shattered, like it was glass instead of solid magical energy.

Things were getting out of hoof.

“Silver, what do we do?” Rizen panicked as he sought direction from Silver Heart. The other guards showed the same expression, afraid of the Blastoise's power. “There is no way we can go up against that thing now!”

“I’m thinking.” Silver looked around, trying to find the solution. All he saw were ruined flowers, a gloating turtle mutant, a critically wounded Naruto, the Foxgloves, panicked guards, panicked tiny turtles...suddenly, Silver had an idea. An incredibly stupid idea.

“Drop the shield.” Silver commanded.

“If we drop the shield, we're dead Silver.”

“Not this shield.” Silver calmly said, his tone making it clear that what he was about to suggest was a desperate answer to a desperate situation as he pointed. “That shield.”

“Uh, why?” asked Rizen, silently regretting asking. With a grim tone, Silver replied. “I'm going to smash them.”

The guards gasped, as Silver was pointing to the shields guarding the Foxgloves. “Are you as mad as Discord!? You know the Emperor has Alarm Charms on them. If anychangeling touches them, he'll be alerted immediately.”

“It's exactly why I'm doing it. Carapace is among the strongest of all Changelings. We need his power to put a stop to this.”

“Silver...”

“I know the risks. But I'm going to take sole responsibility for what happens. So drop it.” Silver commanded. The changelings powering the shields begrudgingly did as they were told, the shields fading. As soon as they were down, Silver Heart leaped into the Foxgloves, crushing them under hoof.

A few minutes beforehand.

As the ruler of the Changeling Empire, Carapace felt that the royal carriage needed something to help it stand apart. The black iron carriage was Gothic in nature, the cabin garbed with deep green curtains, currently not in use, with the rear wheels larger than the front. Vine shaped railing used to add a flourish to the vehicle. One coach changeling sat on top, a bridle set of to the side. Most carriages in Equis were usually generally drawn by the local equinoid species, mostly as a form of employment. The wealthy however used other options to flaunt their wealth. For Carapace, it was the pair of tigers, both garbed in iron armor.

However, the occupant of the carriage had something else on his mind.

“Coachman, do you see what I see?” Carapace asked as he took a look outside. Outside the carriage, strange creatures Carapace had never seen before were frolicking amongst the population. One pair of Changelings appeared to be playing with what looked like large tadpoles that had drum like bumps on the sides of it's head, while several purple rats were running from another Changeling levitating a broom. Up on the trees of the city, several vultures large and small sat and watched. The small vultures were oddly wearing diapers made of bones, and were bald save for a single feather on their heads, while the large ones wore aprons, again made of bones, and had a bone in the several feathers atop their bald heads.

“I do sir.” the coachman replied. “Odd sort of creatures.”

“Take a good look at my staff if you want odd creatures.” The Emperor replied. The coach stopped at an intersection, and yielded to a large group of the creatures traversing the road. The group was mostly comprised of several buffalo with large horns, whom oddly had afros covering most of their heads. Riding a few of the buffalo were pudgy green scaled creatures that looked like the offspring of a shark and a dragon. At the end of the pack lagging behind were a handful of small hippos, some of their hides light brown with darker browns covering it's body and others inverted with a dark brown skin with lighter browns covering the body. Watching over the hippos was a large dark gray skinned hippo, with what could best be described as a shell with holes covering it's back. Sand was flowing from the holes, leaving a trail of sand behind her. “Odd indeed.” The Emperor muttered to himself.

The parade now gone, the coachman flicked the reigns, commanding the tigers to continue their advance. As the carriage did so, Carapace pondered for a moment. Throughout the ride, he had seen many of these strange creatures. To his knowledge, they just appeared today. His thoughts then wandered to the new guard Naruto.

That Naruto confuses me. Carapace thought. His shadow showed a fox. I want to say he's actually another Changeling disguising himself as a new guard just for fun, but we Changelings are shapeshifters. The light would reflect off our transformed states. So why was his shadow a fox?
"What also confuses me is that he appears the same day these creatures appear. In any other case I would simply ignore it, but it just seems to be too much of a simple coincidence. He's hiding something. Though I guess it can wait until my return from the greenhouse. Maybe......gyah! The Emperor then screamed, a psychic jolt shocking him. The coachman shouted a command to the tigers, the two felines pulling over. “Emperor, are you alright?” came the worried response, the coachman hovering over to the door of the carriage as he asked.

The Emperor groaned, the shock fading. “Coachman, continue to the greenhouse. I must return to the castle for an urgent matter.” Carapace replied, ignoring the question. His horn started to glow, a spell being prepared. “Someone grew tired of living.”

A flash of fiery light ignited, and when it receded, the Emperor was no longer there. The coachman quickly realized what the Emperor meant, and pitied the poor soul who angered him.

With little flair, the shattered part of the shield gave way, the shards falling like glass. Naruto then crashed into the ground with a thud and a scream of pain. “How you holding up?” Rizen asked the fox as several of the guards used their magic to seal the hole in the shield. Thankfully Blastoise was no longer attacking, taking Naruto's retreat as a sign of his victory.

“On the verge of passing out.”

“Take a breather then.” Rizen's horn glowed, white energy circling several of the wounds on Naruto's body.

“No. The battle isn't over yet.” Naruto groaned as he tried to get up, Rizen stopping him from doing so. “I must fight.”
“Don’t worry. Reinforcements are on their way.”

“I don't think any more guards are going to help. No offense, but most of you just watched the fight.”
“Remember how I said the Emperor put alarm charms on the Foxgloves?”

“Yes, but what doe.....Oh dear Arceus you didn't.”
“I didn't.” Rizen said as he pointed to Silver Heart, dancing among the Foxgloves. “But he did.”

Naruto let that image sink in for a minute. “He's going to die horribly isn’t he?”

“Probably.”

On cue in a flash of fire, Emperor Carapace, ruler of the Changeling Empire, appeared before the guards present. In mere moments of arrival, his eyes were focused on Silver Heart, whom had just stopped his dance.

“Silver Heart!” the Emperor shouted. “What in Tartarus are you doing to my Foxgloves!”

“Emperor, I would like to take his opportunity to note that stepping on your prized Foxgloves was entirely my idea and that only I should be punished for it. That being said, you may wanna take a look behind you.”

“You honestly believe such a juvenile trick is going to work against me? You know how important my Foxgloves are, and what happened to the last geniuses who so much as touched them? At least it's only the Foxgloves that are ruined.”

“Uh.....then maybe you shouldn't turn around...”

But turn around the Emperor did, and he didn't like what he saw. His garden was in ruins. Plants were flooded, a handful of craters littered the ground, patches of ice melted among the tattered pathway. To top it all off, there was a giant turtle with cannons coming out of it's shell gloating.

“Does that turtle have....”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing things.” The Emperor narrowed his eyes, a cold chill running up everychangelings’ spines. “Anything else I should know?”

“Those cannons actually fire things, it's called Blastoise, he wants the garden, the fox other there is the only one that can translate so we have no idea what he's actually saying without the fox parroting everything...” Silver rambled, tapping his hoof on the bottom on his muzzle as he listed each item of the list. His horn flared as a white arrow pointed towards Naruto. “..also the fox in question disguised himself as a guard, and the Blastoise just started shooting at it after the disguise fell. And then the two fought and that's why the garden is ruined.”

“Excuse me!?” Naruto almost screamed, winching from pointing his right arm with too quick of a movement. Carapace turned to face the fox, Rizen levitating a roll of medical bandages to cover his wounds. “If I recall events correctly, didn't you start the fight before I even arrived to bail your ass out of a fight you were losing?”

“Hey, I may have started the fight but I didn't trash half the garden!”

“I'm primarily a construction worker and I fought better than you did. You're supposed to be a professional!”

“I was getting warmed up. I took several of those water and ice attacks before I went down! You? All it took was one energy ball to make you almost die!”

“Well excuse me for having a Fighting weakness. At least I don't have a double weakness to Ice you Flying Bug!”

“That just sounds like an excuse for being skinny you furry f...”

“ENOUGH!”

The Emperor's piercing shout, alongside the angry stomp of his hoof which was almost unheard due to the shout, struck fear into all who heard it, especially Silver Heart and the Blastoise. “Now listen up troops. After I handle this, we, and by we I mean all of you, are going to have a meeting that will involve me yelling at you and questioning your courage and ability to be royal guards!

“Silver, you and I are going to have an even longer long chat as I am holding you personally responsible for the devastation of my garden until proven otherwise. Understand?”

Silver's reply was anything but hopeful. “Yes sir.”

“Good. Keep an eye on the fox. I want him taken in for questioning. I'm going in. Lower the shield.”

Wordlessly the guards did as their Emperor commanded, a door shaped hole just large enough for the Emperor to walk through. Naruto struggled to comprehend his actions. “He did notice how wounded I am, right?”
“Pretty sure.”

“Let me up. He's going to need my help.”

“You helped cause the mess.” Rizen remarked. “He's not going to just let you help him.”

“Water Type Pokémon are some of the most damage resistant Pokémon in existence. Blastoise reign near the top of the most resilient list. I had a hard time damaging that Blastoise, and I knew what I was doing. I am not sure your Emperor knows how to fight against a foe like him.”

“Trust me, he's not our Emperor for no reason. He earned that position.”

Blastoise stopped gloating as the Emperor marched towards the invader. “I am in a foul mood. Surrender, or suffer.”

“You think you can order me around like a Trainer!? This garden is mine! MINE!” The Blastoise aimed his cannons and fired, high pressure water soaring towards the Emperor. The Emperor dodged, the water grazing his leg in the process.

“I'm going to assume your choice is 'suffer'.” At his glowing horn's command, two trick vines with thorns covering them burst from the ground, and stood next to Carapace, awaiting his command. “Honestly I would have been surprised if you hadn't chosen that option.” The vines then shot towards Blastoise, their intent clear. Without a chance to resist, the vines wrapped themselves around Blastoise's waist, the victim screaming in pain. Then, two more vines shot from the ground at an angle, leaving gaping scratches across Blastoise's face, receding back into the ground as soon as they burst from it. Then two more vines burst from behind the Blastoise, crashing into the shell.

Alternating between duos, the four vines burst from the ground to piercing attacks into the Blastoise.

“Okay, so why are those vines doing noticeable damage when your Dark Magic didn't?”

Naruto turned to Rizen, currently dressing his wounded right arm with makeshift bandages. “It's not magic, it was an attack.” Naruto spoke to his medic, addressing Rizen's question with a questioning look on his face. “Water types aren’t weak to Dark attacks, nor do they resist them. But Water Types are weak to Grass Type attacks, like those thorny Vine Whips .”

“I'm not sure I follow.”

“It's basic Type Matchup 101, something every Trainer knows.”

Rizen's expression told Naruto that still didn't get it, so the Pokémon decided to drop it.

The vines relentlessly assaulted the invader, Blastoise clearly taking visible damage from the Emperor's assault. However, one of the vines leaned a little too far to the left, wandering in front of a cannon, and a quick shot of an Ice Beam froze the vine's end. The vine slammed into the turtle, shattering the ice and the frozen end of the vine into pieces. Quickly, the Blastoise aimed his cannon, freezing the other vine in front of him as it burst from the ground, the vine imprisoned in ice and ground.

The Blastoise grinned as he took potshots at the Changeling, the first Ice beam striking his front leg. The Emperor screamed in agony as he dodged the other incoming shots, hovering close to the ground. However the other vines had halted their assault, their commander's attention placed in not being frozen. Noticing this fact, Blastoise tucked into his shell, and started to use Rapid Spin, causing the vines imprisoning him to get torn to shreds.

Landing on the ground, Carapace noticed the Blastoise charging another blast of water. Thinking quickly, Carapace cast another spell as the Blastoise fired his Hydro Pump. As the water soared towards the Emperor, a trio of vines shot from the ground, the makeshift shield deflecting the torrent of water. Switching tactics, the Blastoise fired an Ice Beam, the beam of ice slowly freezing the shield.

“Come out and fight me like a man!” The Blastoise taunted as his assault continued. “Only cowards hide before the stronger foe! Just like the Evil Type you obviously are allied with!”

The assault ended, most of the vine shield frozen. Then, Carapace burst through the frozen shield, reducing it to rubble as the Blastoise stared at the form Carapace had taken. It was a wolf made completely of wood, with glowing green eyes and leaves for eyebrows. Green smoke escaped from his mouth as he growled at his foe. Bits of ice remained on the leg that was frozen, the transformation of his leg breaking it free.

“I said a man, not a Mightyena!” The Blastoise shouted as he fired more Ice Beams at the Timberwolf. Must to Blastoise's dismay, the Emperor was faster, the wolf dodging the Ice Beams with little effort. Then the Wolf roared and tackled Blastoise to the ground, breathing the smog into Blastoise's face as the turtle fell Blastoise coughed as the Emperor slashed at him, the wooden talons leaving noticeable wounds on the shell.

Flailing about, Blastoise punched the muzzle of the Emperor, stunning him for but a moment. In response, the Emperor begun biting, striking the arm that punched him. The Blastoise screamed in pain as he punched Carapace in the muzzle with the other arm, forcing his attacker to release his grip. Then, tucking into his shell again, the turtle Rapid Spinned, flinging the Emperor off of him, the impact of landing turning him back into his true form.

The Rapid Spin ended, with Blastoise still on his back, gazing at his foe in a manner that looked like Carapace was hanging from the ceiling, if the ceiling was made of grass. Then, twin Ice Beams fired, striking the Emperor and freezing him, the only parts spared by the encroaching ice his head.

“Now Bug. This ends.” The Blastoise aimed his cannon at the frozen Emperor, Ice Beams charging in the barrels of the cannons.

Then from the shadows, Naruto leapt in front of the frozen Changeling just as the shots fired, and shot a Flamethrower. The fire and ice met head to head again, and like their last duel, both elemental forces refused to yield to their enemy.

“How did you?” Carapace begun to ask his hero of the hour when Naruto wordlessly pointed towards the entrance to the garden. Ripples danced across the shield. Carapace gathering that the guards that lowered the shield to let him out, and by Rizen's expression, it was a decision that was made with much protest from the changeling.

Blastoise screamed as he ended the attack first, similar to the previous duel of fire and ice. “HOW MANY TIMES MUST I BEAT YOU TO THE GROUND EVIL TYPE!”

“I'm not going to answer that.” Naruto deadpanned as his fire ended. He leapt over to the frozen changeling, charging a Focus Blast as he did so, hoping the Fighting attack would not destroy the bandages on his arm. Then, he started to carve Carapace out of the ice as Blastoise threw a hissy fit.

“Quite the charmer isn't he Naruto?” The Emperor spoke as Hydro Pumps fired from the Blastoise's cannons, the duo dodging them.

“Well he does have that vibe that screams 'I need a girlfriend' quite loudly...” Naruto almost stopped, barely avoiding another Hydro Pump. “Wait....how did you know it was me? Was it the hair?”

“Actually it was your shadow that got me thinking something was not as it seemed. I'm actually surprised that you manage to fool an old shapeshifter like me.”

“Finally someone thinks to look at the shadow!' Naruto backflipped as he avoided the incoming shots, wincing from adding too much pressure. “Do you realize how often others realize that the best way to find a Zoroark is to look down? Almost never. I swear, it gets even more annoying when they know a Zoroark is in their midst.”

“Preaching to the choir there.”

More shots were fired, and in retaliation, Naruto charged another Dark Pulse, and flung it. It hit one of the incoming Hydro Pumps, the attacks bursting in an explosion of shadow and water. “I take it you know something about how my garden looks like a warzone?”

“I fought he Blastoise yes.”

“I hope you realize how seriously I take my garden.”

“I heard you tried to start a war over flowers.”

“And I would have done so if a pesky thing called common sense had not appeared before me in the form of my advisers.” Another barrage of water sailed towards them, the duo dodging yet again. “You realize that I am going to make you suffer for ruining my garden?”

Suddenly, Naruto turned to face the Emperor, and to his horror, Naruto had another Dark Pulse in his paw ready to fire. Then Naruto Fired, the shot nearly hitting the Emperor while striking the Hydro Pump that Carapace that not noticed. Water showed Carapace and Naruto smirked “You're welcome.”

'I like him' Carapace thought to himself.

“As much fun as our conversation in, we need to focus on developing a plan.” Naruto asked the Emperor. “Got any ideas?”

“Think you can cover me?”

“Of course. Ranged Moves are what I'm good at.”

“Use them.”

With a burst of speed, the Emperor waded through the incoming water, dodging each shot while Dark Pulses followed the Emperor as if they were his wingmen. Unlike the Hydro Pumps, the Dark Pulses hit their marks, the Blastoise staggering backwards. However, throughout the assault, Blastoise's cannons were charging a familiar sphere of energy. Then, as soon as it was ready, it fired, soaring towards the Emperor.

“Watch out! Aura Sphere homes in on it's target!”

“Thanks for the advice Naruto.” Carapace shouted. Then, addressing Blastoise, he taunted his foe. “Do you honestly think an attack like that is able to follow me?”

Effortlessly, Carapace dodged the attack, but to his confusion the attack made no effort to follow him, continuing forward. “Foolish Bug. I wasn't aiming for you.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he wasn't aiming for you.” Panic filled Naruto's voice as he broke into a run, the Aura Sphere chasing the Dark Pokémon intently.“HE WAS AIMING FOR ME!”

Stopping his advance, Carapace turned and noticed Naruto running for his life towards the safe haven that was the entrance to the garden, Naruto shouting for the guards to open the shield and let him in. Thankfully the Blastoise was gloating, laughing at Naruto's peril.

Thinking fast, Carapace's eyes glowed with gray fire, the same fire covering his horn. Then a ring of fire carved itself into the ground, and fire rose engulfing him. When the fire faded, Carapace was nowhere to be seen.

Naruto didn't see any of this, as he was busy running for his life, the Aura Sphere gaining ground. Then, to his surprise, a gout of fire appeared in front of him, Carapace appearing out of thin air. Naruto slid to a stop just in front of Carapace, surprised at the Teleport. Then, the same fire engulfed the duo, the Aura Sphere slowing down, unable to find the Aura it was hunting.

Then, the duo reappeared behind a tree, and the Aura resumed it's hunt. Thankfully for Naruto, the tree blocked the Aura, the tree suffering the same fate as two of it's brothers.

Another gout of flame, and the duo disappeared before Naruto could say anything.

Blastoise was stunned at the Teleport the bug was able to perform. Before he could think about how a Bug would use Psychic moves, the gout of flame appeared again, Carapace materializing in front of Blastoise.

“Get out.”

The flames then engulfed the Changeling and the Turtle, and they were gone.

Both the Changeling guards and the Squirtle colony were unsure what to do next, and simply stood there.

–

Naruto wondered what had just happened. First he was being chased by an Aura Sphere, then he just appeared behind a tree. Then the tree got destroyed by said Aura Sphere, and then he wound up here.

Here being an empty training ground somewhere in the palace, with walls surrounding the rectangular battleground, and a closed door behind them. At least, he assumed it was the palace.

Then, with a burst of fire, Carapace appeared, with a confused Blastoise tagging along. Before Blastoise could figure how what was going on or how he got to where he was, he had to contend with the more immediate issue of how much pain Carapace’s hoof planting itself in his face inflicted.

“Okay, what just happened?” Naruto asked, somewhat annoyed. Carapace flew towards his ally, Blastoise still reeling from the sneak attack.

“I teleported you and that....uh...”

“Blastoise.”

“Blastoise here to a training ground. That way my garden doesn't get ruined anymore than it already has.”

Naruto then addressed a rather important issue that was plaguing his thoughts.“But how did you Teleport me?”

“Well, Teleportation involves taking one being and...”

“No, I mean how did your move work on me? I'm Dark, and that was obviously Psychic.”

“How does that matter?”

“Dark types are immune to Psychic. You couldn't have teleported me! It couldn't have happened but it did!”

“Are you done complaining about me saving you?”

“No, I complaining about how you broke almost every law of physics.”

At that moment, Blastoise that recovered front eh shock of being teleported against one's will. With a scream he tucked into the shell, though this time his canons did not retract .

“What's he planning?”

Then, the Blastoise begun Rapid Spinning in place, sped up to a impressive speed. Then, he fired a consistent stream of Ice Beams, adjusting the cannon’s slightly as he spun.

“Apparently that!” The duo then dodged the Ice Beams spun around, ducking or leaping based on the positioning of the ice. This went on for several moments, when the Blastoise suddenly cut the attack off, and stopped the Rapid Spin.

“Is it just me or, whaAHAahH!” Naruto slipped as he landed after a dodge, ending up in a split that would have hurt if he had been a human. To his horror, he realized the Ice Beams had covered the entire battlefield in a coat of ice, save for the spot Blastoise was standing in. “Yep. He froze the ground.”

“Not impressed.” Carapace said with a sharp tongue, hovering in the air as Naruto was getting up on this feet after a struggle to not slip. Then the Blastoise charged forward, and transitioned into Rapid Spin again, with the ice speeding him up. The Emperor then covered Naruto in a gray aura and levitated him, carrying him as the Blastoise charged towards the duo, with Carapace barely getting them out of danger. “Okay, now I'm impressed.”

“What's impressing me is how you keep using Psychic moves on me.”

“You're going to dwell on that aren't you?”

The conversation was put on hold as the Blastoise chased the two, having little trouble traversing the icy battlefield in pursuit of the hovering Changeling. With the added sped, he crashed into Carapace. His spell interrupted, Naruto felt, landing on the ice with surprising grace considering how he was being levitated. He slid to a stop, and gasped as he saw Carapace plastered on the shell of the Rapid Spinning Blastoise.

“Dark Pulse!” Thinking quickly Naruto launched twin Dark Pulses, the attacks sending him sliding backwards. The Dark attacks hit their mark, messing with the rotation of the attack to slow it down just enough to launch Carapace off of his shell.

“I have an idea. Levitate me again!”

The Emperor flew towards his ally, panting from the attack, his ribs aching. “Feel like sharing?”

'I'm going to melt the ice and slow him down!”

“Sounds like a plan.” Carapace levitated the Fox, and Flamethrowers screamed out of his mouth melting the ice, leaving water in it's wake. The Blastoise, still Rapid Spinning, chased them, avoiding the water as much as he could. Noticing the Blastoise's choice of tactic, Carapace pondered the reason for it.

After about half of the ice melted, with Blastoise still nipping at their heels, Carapace mused. “This isn't working.”

“You're right. We need to end this now. Even before you arrived, Blastoise kept shrugging off several of my attacks. What we need to do it to strike his weaknesses. I lack Grass or Electric attacks, and I'm pretty sure you can't just make those vines appear.”

“I could, but they would be small and weak since we’re far away from healthy plants.. Maybe enough to trip him, but nothing more.”

“Do you have any stronger Grass attacks? Like Leaf Blade or Solarbeam or Leaf Tornado?”

“A Solar beam.....as in an Earth spell?”

“Grass. Not Ground.”

“That's not important right now. Get on with the plan.”

“So you do know Solarbeam, right? Because if you do, it might be strong enough to take Blastoise down.”

“I'm pretty sure I can borrow some solar energy. I’m sure Celestia won’t mind. In any case, I need some time to charge the spell, and channel enough solar energy to take him out in a single blast. You run interference and keep him off me since I won’t be able to cast any other spells.”

“Considering how Typist he his, I think that won’t be hard to do.” Without any further words, Naruto dashed towards the Blastoise, twin Focus Blasts charging in his hands and flames dancing from his snarling mouth.

As expected, the Blastoise attempted to run over Naruto. With some effort, Naruto leapt on the shell of the Blastoise, slamming down the Focus Blast, and leaping off him using the explosion knockback to soar off the Blastoise.

Staying as far away as he could, a concentrated sunbeam focused on his horn, Carapace continued to watch the battle.

--

With a blast of the second Focus Blast, the ice and ground formed, sending the Rapid Spinning turtle into the air. He landed, losing control, and slid into the wall, leaving an impact in the wall. As he recovered, he barely had enough time to get up as Naruto rushed him, punching him in the face. Blastoise's response was a sluggish punch, which Naruto easily dodged. The Blastoise continued to punch at the Fox, continuing to strike at the air Naruto used occupy before dodging.

"Dark Pulse!"

The dark move struck Blastoise, the turtle staggering from the hit. As he recovered, he noticed Carapace. More importantly, he noticed the glowing horn.

"You sneak! You are distracting me! But I will not let you hit me with that Solarbeam! Hydro Pump!"

Surprised at the sudden attack, Carapace jumped to the side as Naruto retreated. The Emperor leapt to dodge, but in doing so, he triggered the spell early, launching the Solarbeam early. The beam of light struck Blastoise, the Pokemon screaming as the Solarbeam pushed him back. However, the attack had failed to knock him down.

“I believed you when you said his kind were incredibly durable, but I didn’t think he would be this durable. “ Carapace groaned.

"We need to try again." Naruto lamented. “The Solarbeam seemed to work but it needs more power, more time to charge before firing.”

"Agreed, but he's wise to our plan now." Carapace groaned, speaking just loud enough so the Blastoise could not hear. “There is no way I’m going to be able to get a full charge before he attempts to interrupt me again. If only we had a way to get him to not shoot at me.”

“Yes, like a distraction of some sort…some way for him to believe he’s doing what he wants to do, instead of what we want him to do…” Then, Naruto’s eyes widened slightly, and he turned to Carapace, tilting his head down slightly towards the ground. Carapace took a look, and noticed the water they were in.

“Are you thinking what I'm thinking.”

“I hope so. “ came Naruto's response. Fire formed in his mouth as he shouted. “Flamethrower!”i

Again, the fire screamed from Naruto's mouth, and steam rose from the water he aimed at, the steam thicker than the the last one. Blastoise's eyes narrowed as the fog concealed his foes.

“You think you are clever! I know you are trying to run away from me, hoping I will fire at empty space! Well the joke is on you, for I am not falling for it!”

Moments passed as the steam faded, revealing Naruto and Carapace had not run away at all, only switching positions with the other. “Ha! That's your big trick? Simply switch the place you are standing on with the other? Honestly I would have expected the Evil Type to run away, try to punch me in the back. Oh well. If goldeen were wishes.”

Then, Naruto charged the Blastoise again, determination glowing in his eyes. The Blastoise laughed, and aimed his cannons, preparing to fire Hydro Pumps. But then he noticed Carapace, standing as still as a tree, his horn glowing with the familiar light of a Solarbeam. “Oh no you don't Bug.”

The cannons readjusted their aim, and fired at the Emperor. He dodged the shots effortless, angering the Blastoise whom was ignoring Naruto's advance. Blastoise screamed and torrents of water swelled in the cannons. “FIRE!”

The twin Hydro Pumps, twice the thickness of the previous Hydro Pumps and with more sped. Carapace tried to leap out of the way, but it was in vain. The water attacks struck Carapace, and launched him into the nearest wall. He groaned, and slid to ground.

"HA! Stupid bug. You thought you....could...fool.......“ Blastoise's words dies as Carapace burst into shadows, revealing Naruto, battered and bruised.

"Good aim," Naruto complemented in as much as a mocking tone as his condition allowed, before falling to the ground, unconscious.

Scanning the room in panic, it didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for, but by that time it was already too late: Naruto had ended his advance towards Blastoise, and the flames surrounded Naruto, revealing Carapace once the flames died down.

To Blastoise's horror, the horn glowed brightly.

"Morning."

Without another word, Carapace fired the Solarbeam at point blank range. The concentrated blast of sunlight struck with enough force to push Blastoise through the air, the turtle screaming as loud as an explosion. He then crashed into the wall, leaving an impact next to the previous impact, the sunlight continuing to tear into the Water Pokemon. When the spell ended, Blastoise was left embedded into the wall, groaning pitifully as he finally collapsed, unconscious and beaten.

Letting the ground slip from underneath him, Carapace fell to the ground exhausted. He then looked at his ally, noting that the fox was out like a light thanks to the injuries he sustained.

Carapace had questions for the Fox, and he was going to get them...after he made sure the Fox wouldn’t die from his injuries. The emperor owed him that much at least.

Author's Note

Just a heads up, Blastoise can learn Aura Sphere via Egg Move in generation 6.

Chapter 5 - Calm Mind

Chapter 5

Calm Mind

Day 1

As Naruto and Carapace were fighting the incredibly irate (and possibly insane) Blastoise, we must turn back the clock, to just a few minutes beforehand, and check up on Nell and her lion like companion.

“Geez, who knew the jungle was this dense?” Nell asked her companion. Litleo Litleo sighed again. They had lost track of time, though thankfully the trees were not as thick as Nell thought, as she was able to simply walk a pseudo path in the jungle.

Though to be honest, she did feel like she passed the same rock four times. And one tree six times. At least.

Thankfully she was marking the path, but it didn't help relieve the hopelessness of the situation.

“Well, hopefully we can find your family, and then I can get back on my way to trade my goodies. Hopefully I can do a good job, make Dad proud, maybe get my sisters to let up a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love my sisters but they can be a little overwhelming at times. Do you have any siblings?”

“Li.”

“Is that a yes 'li' or a no 'li'?”

“I gotta stop asking questions I can't translate the answers to.” Nell sighed, the lion chuckling slightly. “Well in any case, you're a good buddy to talk....oh no.” Nell suddenly stopped, groaning. The little lion then clambered up her head, standing on her back and putting his paws on her head. He growled too when he saw what Nell saw.

A smiley face carved into a tree.

The same smiley face they carved 30 minutes ago.

“We've been going around in circles!” Nell shouted.

“I can't believe that I thought this was a good idea.” the changeling lamented. Litleo Litleo dangled his paw over Nell's back, and sighed. “What do you think?”

What Litleo Litleo thought was how mind numbingly bored he was. And he was going to let his friend know it.

“Lit! Litleo Litleo leo-leo-leo! Litleo! Lit Litleo Litleo!”

“I really gotta stop asking questions I can't translate....oh no.”

Litleo was puzzled at that statement, and clambered onto Nell's head so he could see in front of her, and growled.

The lion growled at the infernal evil of the language barrier, prepared to give a rebuttal. Then he stopped.

He heard something, that something sounding like a roar.

Like someone had found something in a hunt.

“Litli! Lit Leo Litleo!” he shouted, clambering onto of Nell's head, his bandaged paw covering an eye.

“Hey, what's up?”

Litleo then pointed in the direction of the sound, uncovering Nell's eye in the process. She looked in that direction, and narrowed her eyes. “You..want me to go there?”

“Li!”

“Is that a yes “li” or a no 'li' ?” she said. The cub just whacked her head, clearly no longer finding that line funny. “Okay, I'm going to assume that's a yes 'li'.” She said as she marched towards uncertainty.

After a good minute of running in the direction Litleo Litleo urged her to go in, Nell burst through some foliage, she and Litleo Litleo burst from the plants into a small meadow, and Nell gasped.

In the meadow were easily a dozen lions circling their prey. Half of the lions were almost identical to Litleo Litleo, while the other half were larger and were similar but different to Litleo Litleo. They stood almost five feet tall, their paws the same cream color as Litleo Litleo's, the hind legs having the cream color meet the brown main body in a manner similar to boots. Five of the lions had a long flowing lock of red hair with a gold stripe in the middle, while the other one had an impressive mane, also red, with six gold stripes coming out of it.

Nell assumed that the lion with the very impressive mane was the leader, and a guy while the pony tailed lions had a feminine grace to them.

Spread across the ground was yet another strange creature the lions were circling. The creature was wearing a shell that looked like a cloak that was mostly a creamy yellow with a red and green trim. The cloak had four spikes coming out of it, two spikes per side. It's arms, legs and tail were spread out every which way (Nell assumed the creature was a biped). The arms were green on top with two small spikes, white on the bottom with three brown claw-like fingers while the legs were the same cream yellow with three brown feet, and the tail had a cream yellow bottom with green on top. The head of the creature was white with an impressive spiky beard made of white fur, and his head as what could be described as a cream yellow helmet ending in brown and red.

The eyes were shut, so Nell assumed it was out like a light.

Or dead.

“Please tell me that's your family, Litleo Litleo.” Nell said, the annoying feeling of fear yet again rising. Litleo Litleo leapt from his equine perch and ran towards the pride of lions, shouting in joy. The circling lions turned to hear the shouts, and gasped when they saw who it was. One of the females and two of the Litleo Litleo ran to it, the little ones tackling Nell's friend in joy while the older simply watched.

“I told you we would find them.” Nell said as she trotted towards her fiend. Some of the lions in the pride did the same, yet the leader did not. The leader leader approached the creature, then sniffed the creature, sniffed again, then recoiled in disgust. Apparently the prey was either not good enough to eat or not dead enough to eat, as the leader barked some orders, and at his command the pride converged around him. Litleo Litleo looked at his pride, then back at Nell. “Go on.” She urged. “I'll be fine. Go.”
The lion didn't look convinced, and hugged her leg. “Trust me Litleo Litleo. I have a family too. They're waiting for me back at home. And as cute you are, your family was probably worried about you, just as mine is worried about me. And like my family, your family was waiting for you. “

Then, with a smile, the lion rejoined his pride as they faded into the jungle.

“Well, lets see how I can help you.” Nell said to the possible corpse. She started prodding at the creating, hoping that it was just unconscious.

And friendly.

X groaned. His head felt like a thousand Tauros had decided to tap dance on his skull while a small legion of Miltank did the can-can, with a Bouffalant square dance just for good measure.

Not a good thing to wake up with.

X groaned as he opened his eyes, the sunlight bright and obtrusive. And everything was blurry, a consequence of his eyes being closed for who know how long.
Okay, the hell just happened? I fall asleep then wake up....here. I swear if that Rick guy came back and did this to me just to be a dick...actually, I'd rather not finish that though.

Finally, his eyesight unblurred, and he was treated to a strange sight: A black skinned, golden haired, golden tailed, golden winged, golden eyed Blitzle with a horn. To add to the disturbing image there were holes in her legs, hair, tail, and wings.

Judging by her expression, (the creature had what appeared to be curves, so until proven otherwise X assumed it was a her), she was just as surprised as he was.

“You are one weird looking Pokémon.” X announced to the lady.

“Uh, Hi. I think. I'm not sure if you said hi, but I think you did.”

This surprised X. “Wait, you can talk?”

“Uh....I agree. I like my hair too.” it spoke apprehensively.

“Okay, how did you get 'I like your hair' out of that?”

“Oh no, not you too.” the creature then face hoofed, X not liking what that implied.

“I'm a little lost here.” X sighed. “What do you mean, 'not you too'?”

“Well, in the meantime I'm going to call your Chesnaught Naught, since you say that a lot. Do you like that?”

X's reply was very droll and flat. “No.”

“Is that a yes 'Naught' or a no 'Naught'?”

X simple started to get up, as he was spread flat on the ground and he did not like being spread flat on the ground. It was struggle to get up though: It felt like he had put on fifty pounds. “Okay, let's start over again. I'm X.” he said, pounding his chest twice. Oddly, it felt like his skin felt a little tougher, and rougher, than what his chest should feel like.

The bug like creature just stared at him. “Uh, that's nice Chesnaught Naught, but I should probably get going.” Then, to X's dismay, the creature turned around, and started to leave.

“No no no, you can't go!” Running in front of the creature, though it felt like he both faster and more clumsy, he cut off the Bug's retreat.

“Look, I want to help you, but I really need to get back to my group. It's been a while, and they probably are really worried about me. If I brought you back with me, they might make me put you back.”

“Seriously, we're speaking the same language.” X sighed, gripping his forehead with his fingers, feeling the headache intensify. “I'm honestly not sure how a Pokémon like you can even speak English, but then again Naruto can speak it as well, so it's not that farfetched. It still doesn't answer the question though.”

The creature giggled. “It's funny how saying Naught so much sounds so funny.”

“Well, I'm glad I was able to make one of us smile.” X sighed. Then he noticed his arm.

His arms were not that thick. Nor where they yellow and green.

“Uhhhhh.........” Quickly he felt his head and face. He didn't remember having a beard.

It felt glorious though.

“You don't look so well. Do you need a mirror so you can look at yourself?” the creature asked X. He slowly nodded, and the creatures horn then started to glow, frost forming around it. Then as quickly as it formed, she shot a beam of ice at the ground, then raised the beam, forming a slab of ice as the beam rose.

“There. Instant mirror. Not as good as the one back home, but sometimes you need one.”

“Yeah, I can see the benefits.” X answered, knowing she would not understand. He then turned to see his reflection in the mirror.

He wished he hadn't.

The mirror showed a Chesnaught. He blinked. The Chesnaught blinked back at the same time. Then X lifted his left arm. The mirror showed the reflection doing the same.

X had turned into a Chesnaught, and was in a jungle somewhere. There was only one logical thing X could do at this point in time.

X screamed. Loudly.

“Hey, did you hear that?”

“We are not investigating that.” Anteater commanded. “Our orders are to get to the fort, and wait for Nell.” His teammate just grumbled, and continued pulling the cart. Anteater didn't like it either, but there was a fire in Nell. Saying no would not have stopped her from going to find that lion's family.

Suddenly, more rustling in the nearby bushes interrupted his thoughts. “Great. Another lion.” Anteater remarked. “Ignore it!”

Suddenly, one of his teammates screamed. Anteater turned around to look in the direction of the scream, but as he did, he never noticed the creature burst out of the bushes from behind him and attack him.

“I'M A CHESNAUGHT! I TURNED TO A CHESNAUGHT! WHY AM I CHESNAUGHT!” X screamed repeatedly. “WHY GOD WHY!?” He then turned to the creature as he was walking around the creature, whom was currently sitting on her haunches. Somehow the creature shrugged, though X did not know if it was because she was answering the question or if she just did it to make him feel like he was having a conversation with her.

“Okay, lets recap. I was in the treehouse, I was doing the finances, then I fall asleep, and then......this happens.” X finished his recap off with a dramatic switch of the arms. “Though considering I live with a Ghost...I could just be dreaming.” Then, with hesitation, he slammed his fist into his stomach with a fair amount of force. Naturally, he felt to the ground, one knee on the ground groaning in pain. “Okay, not at dream. Not a dream. Oh god, that was stronger than I thought that was going to be!”

Looking around X took in his surroundings, standing back up again. The trees were more wild and free than the trees back home, which were tall and majestic. “So, definitely not in Laverre anymore. Doesn't actually answer anything.”

The, turning to the sitting Bug, he asked “Any ideas?”

“Uh, Naught Naught Naught?” The Bug replied.

“Funny.”

Then the Bug sighed. “Well, I really need to get going. You can come with if you want to find your family.”

“Eh, isn't wandering off in the middle of nowhere once you wake up in the middle of nowhere a bad idea?” X shrugged. Then again her idea had merit...he didn't want to be attacked by a Flying Type, to which Chestnaught’s were doubly weak to. But X was a man who liked to at least know something about whom he gallivanted with. This Bug, well he knew nothing about her, so going with her was a risk in and of itself.

“Gonna need a minute to think about this.” He muttered, putting a hand (or was it a claw) on his chin, which was a little difficult to do due to the beard, and the other on his hip.

Observing through the foliage, a hand made of bark reached forward. With a twitch of the three fingers, purple orbs appeared , heat radiating from the orbs. With another silent flick of the finger, the orbs raced towards the Changeling and Chesnaught at an alarming pace.

To X's surprise, he heard something rustle in the nearby trees. The sound was soft and he almost missed hearing it. The turned to look in the direction of the noise.

Then purple orbs of fire raced out of the treeline, making a beeline for the creature.

X didn't need to think twice about what to do next.

“GET DOWN!” He shouted, instinct and his personal code commanding him. He rushed past his Bug friend and swung his left arm swinging towards the fire, just barely grazing the top of the Bug's horn. The creature screamed and ducked in desperation as the fire crashed into X's arm, the boy screaming in pain.

X had been touched fire once when he was using the Flamethrower TM to teach Naruto Flamethrower. Thankfully they had gotten aid from a passerby who just happened to carry Burn Heals, medicine specifically designed to heal heat related damage, and to quickly heal Burns.

The scorch marks left by the ghostly fire had left only burns. But to X, the burns were more intense than any fire Naruto, or any Fire Type, could ever breathe.
Okay, that had to be Will-O-Wisp! Crap, this burn is gonna do me in if I don't act fast. X though as he gripped his burned arm with his good arm.

“What in Tartarus what that? What's going on? Is the dinosaur back!?' Nell shouted, fluttering up onto X's mighty shell cape, hanging on to a spike for dear life.
Gotta figure out what's going on, and fast! “I have no idea.” X moaned as he started turning around, trying to see his attacker. It was a good thing he did such a thing: More purple flames shot out, this time striking his other arm. X screamed again, the scream strained.

“Do not resist and give me the Bug.” a voice spoke. X assumed the speaker was a female, though he thought he had heard a voice similar to it before.

“So, you can speak.” X taunted. “Lets see if you have a face.”

“I like it here in trees, where you cannot find me.” Another volley of flame shot from the right. X saw the fire just out of the corner of his eye and leaped backwards to avoid his feet getting burned. “Especially since I have the range advantage.”

“You gotta get close to me to beat me.”

“A problem neither of us will have to solve if you give me the Bug.” the voice demanded

“Why do you want it?” X replied. “She doesn't seem that harmless to me.”

“She threatened my family. And no one threatens my family. True, he may be a little brat but he's my brat, so to speak.” The voice continued. “Besides, you cannot hope to defeat me. You are Fighting and I am Ghost.”

“Eh, never really cared about type match ups.”

The, X felt something on his head. A hoof dangled just out of the corner of his eye, X assuming that the Bug was sitting his head. “Hey, maybe I can help us survive this.” the changeling spoke. Frost covered her horn, and her Ice Beam shot from it, striking one of the trees. Frost covered the tree, and X swore he saw movement.

“Okay, you fight, I move my head and then we get some answers, okay?”

“Whatever you just said, I agree!” the creature shouted.

“Close enough!” More fire shot out of the treeline, this time behind them. Thankfully, X's hearing, enhanced slightly due to him now being a Chesnaught, heard the rustling of the bushes behind him, and was warned of the surprise attack. Nell then shot her Ice Beam, the ice causing the ball of ghost fire it hit to explode in a burst of frost and flame.

X then screamed again. He looked down: more Will-O-Wisps had been fired while they were distracted and struck his leg, the burn marks proving that was the truth.

“Oh no, it got you again!” Nell shouted.

“Just get ready for the next one!” X commanded.

“Well, since you asked. Phantom Force!” X's eyes narrowed. He knew what the move was: ghostly powers allowing the user to strike the target from behind. Okay, this is weird. Whatever is attacking us is focusing on burning me. But if I remember my Trainer lessons, Will-o-Wisp can't actually hurt me, just burn me. And eventually the burns are gonna make me too weak to even stand.
It's probably the only thing she can do. Grass Type pokémon are resistant to their own type, which for some reason I am one, somehow, and as a bonus they can't be Leech Seeded.

Several moments passed, X thinking that the threat had simply left them. Okay, what's my opponent's plan?

Then the Bug screamed, the weight of the mystery attacker causing X to fall to his knees. The attack then leapt of of X, revealing herself to be a Trevenant. Nell in her wooden claw.

“LITTLE LADY!” X screamed. He tried to get up, be the burn in his leg flared up, stopping him from advancing. Nell struggled in her grip, trying and failing to get out of the tree's grip.

Them, the tree raised her free claw, several Will-o-Wisps forming in her hand. “This is for hurting Apocalypse!”

“Wait, you know Apocalypse?” X shouted.

“Yes I do. I work with him. I live with him. I hatched him!”

“And he's a Tyrunt, right?”

The Trevenant did not answer, her grip loosening. Then X got a good look at the Trevenant. “Azisa? Is that you?”

“You clearly know my name. But what I want to know is how you know that.”

“That's because I named you.” X then rose to his feet. “Azisa, it's me. It's X.”

Azisa's eye widened, then immediately narrowed. “Impossible. You must be delusional for believe you are my trainer. X is a human.”

“Look, I know it sounds weird but it's true! I'm X!” X pleaded. “My real name is Jacob Arrow! I met you in Laverre City! You joined ShadowFox Construction after I showed kindness to you! And I'm not your trainer! I don't train Pokémon, I just live and work with them!”

“This is unreal. You could just be a crafty Ditto or a Psychic!” the tree tightened her grip. “I am done playing around Chesnaught! Anyone could know those things about X! He is well known where I come from!”

X sighed as he started to slowly march towards Azisa. “Need I remind you about what happened on March 12, 2009 at 1:32 P.M in the North District of Laverre City?”

The Trevenant released her grip on Nell, the changeling falling to the ground and running behind X. “The Volcarona Incident.” Then she clambered towards her burned friend, taking a good look at his eyes.

They were the exact same shade of emerald as X's eyes.

“Oh my. You are X.”

“The one and only.”

Suddenly, the lizard that chased Nell earlier rushed out of the jungle, rapidly chanting “X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X! X!” He jumped towards X, the human turned pokémon catching the Tyrunt, the weight of Apocalypse and the burns causing him to strain under the weight. “You got bigger X!”

“Yea, I noticed that too buddy!' X laughed, falling flat on his ass. “Wow, it's weird understanding you without Naruto translating. Speaking off, where is he? And for that matter, where's Inti?”

“No idea!” Apocalypse cheerfully shouted.

“Well, I'm not sure about Inti, but Naruto can handle himself. We won't find him, he'll find us.”

Inti viewed herself as a warrior, always ready for a fight. It angered her to no end being treated like some damsel in distress. And the fact that somehow these Bugs though she was a guy was just adding salt to the wound. True the males of her species looked a lot like the females, but it was easy for other Pokémon to tell what gender a Pokémon was.

As her captors sat at the table eating breakfast, Inti simply growled at her breakfast, consisting of fruit and pancakes with a strange pink stone of to the side. The strange bugs happily ate their meal, some of them apparently draining some form of energy from the pink stones they had.

While she could easily just attack and run away, Inti didn't like to fight on anyone eles's terms. She set them. That, and even if she did manage to get out, she had no idea where to go next.

“So can we keep Mister Frilly Face?” Nall and Nalel spoke in unison, their voices merging into one.

“What do you think Hira?” Citel asked.

“Well, taking care of a pet is a large responsibility. Mister Frilly Face will need you to take care of him, so you just can't have a pet and call it a day.”

“Hey, I am no one's pet lady.” Inti mumbled.

Citel chuckled. “I think he agrees.” Inti groaned. It was going to be a long day.

“In any case, I think they're ready for the responsibility. You’ll need to decided who does what in regards to Mister Frilly Face's care.”

“About that.” Nalel interjected. “I was thinking about having a pet of my own instead of sharing Mister Frilly Face with Nall.”

“Oh? How come?” asked their mother. “Nell rubbing off of you a bit more than you thought?”

“It's not that. It's just that Nall found him first.” Nalel replied. “And...I found something better.”

“She just wants Banana Beard all to herself.” mumbled Nall. “He's way cooler than Mister Frilly Face.”

“Speak for yourself.” Inti commented through a mouthful of pancake, knowing her response would fall on deaf ears.

“Well, I see no problem in both you having a pet of your own.” Citel replied. “Though I do want to see this Banana Beard.”

“As do I.” Hira agreed. “I do not know what this Banana Beard is, but he sounds lazy.”

Hira and Citel were mildly shocked at how big Banana Beard was. Thankfully, he hadn't left his spot. “Well?” Nalel asked.

“He's definitely not coming in the house, that's for sure.”

Without hesitation, Nall and Nalel fluttered in front of their parents, Nall holding a disinterested Inti in her front legs and practically shoving her into their faces. “Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaseeeeeeee?”

“Well, the beard of fruit is a good selling point.” Citel answered. “I'm not sure though.”

“We can sell the fruit from his beard as an exotic product.”

“I'm sold.” Hira groaned at her husband's quick reply.

“Okay, I'm fine with it was well. But you must take care of him. Promise?”

“Promise” Nalel replied as she flew towards her new friend.

“So, X, the Grass and Fighting Types look great on you.”

“I dunno. I'm not used to the extra weight.”

X, Azisa, Apocalypse, and Nell, who was riding X, marched through the jungle, Azisa leading the group. The large wooden cloak was surprisingly comfy for the Changeling, and she decided to ride X, holding on to one of the spikes on the cloak. X didn't mind though, as his thoughts were directed elsewhere.

The most prominent being what the hell was going on.

The bigger priority, at the moment, was getting the little Bug back to her wagon. However, the task was both made harder and easier at the same time. Azisa, being a Trevenant, was adept at traveling through forested areas, and rarely got lost in them.

“So, just so I know what was going on while I was out like a light. Little Lady here was with a Litleo, and while she was trying to do something, you...” X recapped, pointing a clawed hand at Apocalypse, who alongside Azisa had taken point.. “..had decided to roar at her. Repeatedly.”

“I was playing 'Roar at the Litleo' and 'Roar at the Bug'. “

X sighed. “What?”

“Its a game were I find a Litleo and roar at it! And my other game is where I find a bug and I roar at it. And the best part is I can play these games at. The. Same. Time.”

X's left eyebrow raised itself higher than it's right aligned brother, “Did it occur to you that a Rock Dragon running straight at her would probably want to eat her instead of play with her? Honestly, I'm pretty sure nothing you do surprises me anymore.”

Apocalypse grumbles and he kicked the ground, mumbling something about how he wasn't trying hard enough. Ignoring this, X continued. “So then after she scared you away with Ice Beam, you found him Azisa, and decide to play with Little Lady in your own way.”

In response, Azisa dug her six legs into the ground. By her command, several of the nearby trees began to move slightly, several vines flinging themselves across the canopy, creating a lattice of vines above the groups heads.

“Impressive.” Nell remarked. “I'm guessing that you got me and Litleo Litleo lost by moving the trees.”

Azisa nodded, thankful that some visual cues were universal no matter where you go. “I would agree. These trees are old and stubborn though. I'm surprised I was able to manipulate them enough to get you lost for that long.”

“And then you found me. Unconscious. As a Chesnaught.”

“That is as it is.” Azisa withdrew her roots, surrendering control of the trees. “You DO have a plan, right X?”

“Right now it's getting Little Lady back where she started and then move on from there.” X sighed. “I'm not used to not having a plan.”

“I don't have a plan and it works out for me!”

X laughed at the simple mindedness of Apocalypse. “Right you are buddy. Okay Azisa, lead the way.”

The group continued to march in silence as Azisa led the way, knowing the general area of the cart.

“Admit it Azisa, you don't know where we're going.” Apocalypse grumbled, the young Pokémon beginning to get testy. Nell looked at the tiny Rock Dragon, sure he was saying something that wasn't flattering to the Changeling.

“I do know where I am going. It's just that these tree's are harder to manipulate than I thought.” Azisa shrugged. Travel was slow, as Azisa needed to bend the thickest trees to allow easier passage. Considering how large X was now, it wasn't that easy, though it was doable.

“Well, go faster! I wanna go home!”

“We all do Apocalypse, but Lumiose wasn't built in a day, remember?” X trudged ahead, the Changeling on his back. “He does make a point, though. Are you sure you know where we're going?”

“Trust me, I used to live in a forest. I know how to navigate them.” Azisa sighed. She released her control over a tree, the branches she controls reverting to their uncontrolled state, flinging into X and striking his arm.

“OW! Azisa, a little caution please.”

“Sorry friend.” Before X could respond with anything else, Azisa delved into the trees, vanishing from sight.

“I still think she doesn't know where she's going.” Apocalypse reaffirmed his opinion,

“Well, she is the best navigator we have. We have to trust her.”

Suddenly, Azisa's head emerged from the trees. “X, Apocalypse, Little Lady, I found a road, and there are tire tracks in them!”

“See. Told ya.”

“Lucky call.” the Tyrunt moaned, plunging into the treeline. X followed suit, emerging from the trees to find a road, Azisa standing in the middle of it. Nell was ecstatic. “Oh thank the Hive, the road. I thought we were going to be lost in the jungle forever!”

X gazed at Azisa, a grin on his face so smug and wide that looking at it gaze you a chill. “What?”

“So now what?” Apocalypse asked, his attention focused on a small trail of ants. As if on cue, the party heard a chorus of rumbles. Collectively, the all looked down, realizing the rumbles came from their stomachs.

“Well, now is a good time to take a lunch break. “ X observed. He eyes quickly gazed towards a old rotting tree, obviously past it's prime. He smiled, and marched towards it, limbering up as he did so.

“X....”

“Let me try something. I'm a Chesnaught right? I gotta be stronger now. That and the wood looks pretty old.” X grasped the tree with a hug, his arms easily encompassing the tree. With a grunt, he took a step back, easily freeing the tree from the dirt. However, he quickly lost balance, and fell on his back, the tree still in his death grip. His two comrades and Nell laughed as his undignified fall. “Real funny, lets all laugh at the Chesnaught.” Tossing the log to the side, he quickly got up into a sitting position, his tail making it feel a little uncomfortable.

“Well that was impressive, friend.”

'Eh, not really.” X responded. Azisa's eye narrowed. Something about how he responded made it sound like he didn't feel like what he did was a great accomplishment. And in reality that would not have been. But considering how X was a human turned Chesnaught, and was still getting used to being a Chesnaught, to Azisa that was impressive.

“You still have those sitrus berries, right?” X asked his friend. With a nod of her head Azisa reached into her self, revealing a handful of yellow berries in her hand. “I always do. You know I always have enough sitrus berries for a Harvest.”

Nell stuck her tongue out in disgust. “You keep fruit inside of you? Weird.”

--

“Azisa, you're looking at me. And in the weird way.”

Azisa's looked a little surprised as X addressed her. Thankfully there was enough Sitrus berries to go around. There wasn't enough to get everyone full but it was enough to keep them from starving. Nell had been a little weary of the yellow fruit, but one bite was enough to convince her to enjoy it. She sat on the log next to Apocalypse, still weary of the lizard but not afraid of it anymore.

“Well, my trainer just turned into a Pokémon. Forgive me for being unused to your new form.”

”It's okay.” X took a bite of berry, fumbling a bit due to the different size of his hands. “It feels weird though, like I just visited the gym for a week straight. I dependently feel stronger.”

“You definably look the part.” Azisa reached into her branches, pulling another Sitrus berry out, and tossed to Apocalypse, leaping up and engulfing the berry in a single bite.

“I'm just worried about how this happened. And why.”

“I'm sure we'll find the answers soon.”

“Well, patience is a virtue.” A sigh. “I just wish we had the answers now.”

“Who knows, maybe Naruto is out and about finding that answer. You know how he is. Always has to go looking for jobs and juicy news.”

“I'm pretty sure he's trying to find us. Me and him are like brothers.”

“You think Naruto will believe that you are his trainer?” Azisa munched a berry as she said that, reaching in her branches to find a replacement.

“Hey, you believed me, and it wasn't that hard. All it took was a few Will-O-Wisps to the leg and a Phantom Force. And mentioning the Volcarona Incident.”

“Well, to be honest, I was expecting a human. Not an incredibly handsome Chesnaught.”

X's eyes narrowed, a nerve clearly touched at. “What was that?”

The ghost stammered. “I mean, you were attractive then but now? Well you have a glorious beard for starters, and...”

“Azisa, you know how I feel about Pokèphilia.”

“X, that is not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?” X narrowed his eyes, his gaze piercing Azisa while he waited for an answer. Azisa's single eye looked around nervously, looking at X in silence, the moments passing by slowly, the tension in the air building in pressure. Just as Azisa was about to answer, she was interrupted by Apocalypse whom ran up to Azisa and reached his tiny arms into the tree. “Apocalypse, out!” she commanded. “I'm in the middle of something here!”

“But I wanna berry!”

“Then ask! It's rude to reach into other peoples bodies!”
Nell tried to stifle a laugh, out of respect for her party. X did not, and laughed out loud, the humor clearing the tension.

“You have very interesting companions.” Nell told X. X turned his head towards the changeling, putting the awkward conversation on hold for now. “Reminds me of my sisters. They're very hyper, rushing into situations without thinking.”

“Sounds like a fun set of siblings to have.” X replied. “His answer went on deaf ears, the changeling still subjected to the evils of the language barrier.

Ignoring X's unintelligible language, Nell continued. “Sometimes I wonder if I really am their sister though. I'm pretty different from them. Makes me feel a little out of place.”

“I understand the feeling.” X's thought, the visages of his parents appearing in his mind's eye. Nell continued. “I just hope our differences don't drive us apart.”

As this was happening, Azisa had managed to push Apocalypse away from her, a single berry his prize. He quickly consumed the berry, Azisa sighing as she got up to chase him. The Rock Dragon ran in playful fear.

“He is kinda cute.” Nell mentioned. “Scary though.”

X's smile was all he needed to use to convey his thanks to the changeling.

Several minutes had passed since their lunch break, and Nell had gone back to riding X, Apocalypse and Azisa behind them. “All we have to do if follow these wagon wheel tracks, and then we'll find my wagon, and Anteater.”

“Chesnaugth Naught?” Chesnaught Naught asked, pointing towards something in the distance. Nell narrowed her eyes, trying to see it better. “Hey, I think that's them Chesnaught Naught. Thanks!” She beamed as she said that, joyful that we was able to get back on track.

As the team approached them however, joy turned to dread.

The wagon was a mess. No, scratch that, it was a disaster, considering it was torn asunder. Wood and wheels were scattered across the road, and several of the wagon's contents were scattered around and broken.

Among the wreckage was Anteater and his team, wounded and on the ground in pain. Without a moment of hesitation, Nell and Azisa rushed to their aid while X and Apocalypse simple stared at the ruined cart.

“Anteater!”

Anteater opened his eye, this entire body bruised and weakened by something. “Nell?” he groaned, his voice weak and hoarse.

“It's me Anteater. What happened?”

“Attacked.” he coughed. “By...creatures.”

“What kind of creatures?”

“They attacked quickly. Couldn’t get a good look, but they glinted like light does when it's reflected off of metal. ” Anteater coughed again. “They ambushed us. Thought it was you. Used strange attacks. Almost like magic, yet at the same time it wasn't. They took us out like we were nothing, then went after the wagon. Took almost everything.”

Nell's eye went wide. “Not only did something trash my wagon but they took my goods!? Oh no Dad's gonna kill me!”

“Really? You're worried about that?”

“Oh.”

Without a word, Azisa dug through her branches and leaves, searching for more berries. Her search only yielded three berries, the tree cursing as she split two of the berries in half and stuck the third back in her leaves, Anteater eying the fruit wearily as Azisa handed one of the slices to him.

Nell quickly caught on to his body language. “I was weirded out at first, but they're pretty tasty. Helped energize me as well.”

Reluctantly, Anteater took the offered food, and smiled as he ate. It did taste good, and he did feel his energy be restored by a small amount.

“Ant Ant. Treven Trev Trevenant. Ant Trevenant Ant Ant Treve.”

“I'm scared too.”

The tree just sighed. “Treve Nant Treven.”

With a cough, Anteater tried to get up, but it proved to be a bad idea, for just as quickly as he got up, he felt to the ground, his injuries making it hard for him to get his balance. Using her magic, Nell used her levitation magic to help Anteater get up, and leaned up next to him, giving him stability as he stood.

“Thanks.”

“You were hired to protect me, but I don't think it has to be like that. I can protect you, or in this case, help you. I'm not much of a soldier or warrior like you.”

“Not every soldier needs to fight to be a good soldier.”

“Thanks, but if I can change the subject, something seems off.”

“My team was almost killed by something in there that I don't recall ever being in this jungle in the first place. We didn't even sense them via magical detection. That does seem odd.”

“That's not what I meant. It looks like they just went after my goods, and not you. Considering what lives here in the jungle, most monsters would try to kill you and either leave the wagon alone, right?”

“Right you are.”

Nell looked down at the ground, her eyes narrowed in worry.“So what kind of a jungle creature would attack you, then just leave you alive and raid the wagon?”

X knelt as he took at look at the other three wounded creatures. Like Little Lady they were black furred and had holes in their legs, tail, mane, and wings. “What do you think Apocalypse?”

“Serious Apocalypse says that these Bugs shouldn't know Ice Beam.”

“We can question that later. I'm talking about right now, Serious Apocalypse.” X said with a slight laugh.

“Honestly, I don't know.” Apocalypse sighed. “I'm not good at using my brain. I'm not sure if I even have one.”

“Let me guess, Inti told you you didn't have a brain?”

“Yeah, and I think she's right.”

“What makes you say that?”

'Well, even if I had a brain, I wouldn't know where to put it.”

“You know Inti likes picking on you, and so most of the things she says are just so she can get a reaction out of you. You do have a brain, and a place to put it.”

“But why doesn't she like me?”

“That I do not know, buddy. Sometimes people just don't like other people.”

Sighing, Apocalypse sat down at looked at one of the wounded. Like the other ones, he had holes everywhere. But something was off....

“X, I think I have an thought.”

Walking over to his friend, X addressed the Rock Dragon. “What's up?”

“Well, I got thinking. Whatever attacked them used biting attacks.”

“Biting attacks? Like Bite or Crunch?”

“Yeah, bites. You know, like this.” Apocalypse then gnashed his large jaws, biting the air to demonstrate. X then took a closer look at the wounds of the strange Bug.

“They definitely look like bite marks, Apocalypse.”

“But if I was biting someone, I wouldn't bite them like this. The bites aren’t that deep. Like someone wanted to hurt them, but not actually hurt them.”

“The bite marks also look pretty thin, like a rubber band. Like it wasn't a regular jaw that did the biting.” X added. “So what could have done it?”

“You think it was that Hitmonchan?”

X laughed a the out-of-left field answer. “No Apocalypse it wasn't the Hitmonchan.”

“They have teeth!”

“X, find anything?” X turned his head and saw Azisa and Nell, and the wounded Anteater, leaning up on Nell, walk towards the two.

“Bite marks. Right here.” X answered, pointing to the marks.
“We found the same on this one as well.” Azisa motioned towards the bite marks on Anteater, which were indeed the same as the marks on the other three.

“So, something attacked them, but what?” X pondered.

A moment of silence passed before Nell spoke up. “If I can say something, whatever did this wanted the wagon. They only attacked Anteater and his team because they were probably in the way.”

X's eyes wandered towards the wagon, the few remaining goods that were there scattered among the corpse of wood that used to be a wagon. “I'm beginning to see what your saying. Whatever attacked them wanted the wagon. They only attacked those four Bugs in order to weaken them enough so that when they did steal the stuff, the four would be too weak to stop them.”

“Is that a yes Naught or a no Naught?”

“I miss Naruto.” Apocalypse piped up, Azisa nodding in agreement.

“In any case, they need medical attention. They must have come from a town from somewhere. We gotta get back there and get these guys doctors.”

“I don't think they wanna move right now.” Apocalypse then lightly kicked the neared Bug, resulting in a painful groan emerging from the wounded. “See?”

“Apocalypse, don't kick the wounded.” Azisa moaned.

“Yes, mom.”

X's eyes narrowed as he wandered over to the wreckage, Azisa mothering Apocalypse as he did so. The wagon was broken, the many planks of wood that used to form it now broken, though a good number of the planks were intact enough to be usable. “X? What are you doing?”

“Give me a minute. I'm looking for something.” X dug through the wreckage, lightly throwing whatever he found that was not of use or interesting his shoulder. Paper, empty cans, broken dolls....

“Chesnaught Naught, what are you doing?”

Ignoring Nell, X's continued his search. He found broken planks, more broken planks, another empty can....

“Bingo.”

In his hand was a hammer. The hammer was just large enough to be gripped in X's hand and still be uncomfortable, as it wasn't that large of a hammer. It was made to accommodate something of a smaller stature, like a changeling or something with smaller hands.

“A hammer?” Nell remarked. “I remember that. Dad got that from some minotaur a few years back during his travels. How is that going to help us?.”

“Hey, a tool is a gateway to a finished product.” X smiled, the first real smile, one that radiated warmth and kindness, he smiled all day. “Guys, I have a plan.”

“And all is right in the world!” Apocalypse shouted, his faith in normalities dominion over the randomness of the day reasserting itself.

“Azisa, I need vines. Lots of strong, thick vines that I can use as a rope. Apocalypse, break the pieces that are too large into smaller pieces while Azisa is doing that. While you two do that, I'm going to use this hammer and try to get some of the nails that are sticking out of the wood out of the wood, maybe use them in other parts of the plan.”

“What are we making? Another wagon, only instead it's a super wagon?”

“No Apocalypse, We're going to make two sleds, and put two of the wounded on each of them, and drag them to a doctor.” As he was saying that, he was drawing in the ground using a broken piece of wood as a pencil of sorts to draw the plan into the ground, so Nell could be included in the conversation. She gazed at the picture as Azisa brought up a valid point.

“It's the middle of the jungle. We need ice for a sled to even work, X.”

“Little Lady can use Ice Beam. She can freeze the ground and make some ice if we need it, but honestly I think that's unnecessary. Apocalypse and I will pull the sleds as we're probably the strongest psychically of everyone here. I mean, he's a Rock Dragon and I'm part Fighting, so we have to the power to drag it through the rough terrain. If we need the ice, great. If we don't, also great.”

“Well, your plans usually are pretty good X.”

“Glad you think so Azisa. Now how about those vines?”

“On it.” Digging her legs into the ground, Azisa began her search for vines, several of them beginning to move on their own towards the team. Meanwhile, X and Apocalypse dug through the wreckage to find planks suitable for their purposes. Nell had finished gazing at the pictures. They depicted figures of X, Apocalypse, Azisa, and herself building something, then the four dragging that something towards a giant circle.

Honestly, Nell thought the quality of the pictures looked like stick figures having seizures.

“Okay, the second sled is ready to go!”

“Then lets go!”

The sleds had taken longer to make, but made they were. The twin sleds were held to together quite shoddily. Two planks placed underneath the rest of the planks ran perpendicular to the planks that made up the sleds, nails hammered into them to prevent the sled from coming undone. Vines were tied through holes in the front of the sled, allowing the vines to be tied to them. Apocalypse stood in front of one sled, vines tied to his body tightly to prevent any mishaps.

“Okay Little Lady, lead the way.” X commanded, the changeling in question currently loading the last of the passengers. Like Apocalypse, vines were wrapped around his chest, which was not as easy as one would think seeing as there was a cloak of wood that was on X's back.

The ambient sounds of the jungle was all that answered X. Realizing that Nell was ignoring him, X called to her again. “Hey, uh Little Lady. Kinda need directions.”

“Oh, wait, are you talking to me?” Nell replied innocently as she fluttered on top of X's cloak, which was apparently turning into a seat for her to sit on.

“Yes.”

“Is that a yes 'Naught' or a no 'Naught'?”

Apocalypse stifled a laugh as X and Azisa sighed. “I think that was a yes “Naught'. Turn around and then follow the road.”

With an exuberant yell of “Charge!” Apocalypse was the first to turn around, and run in the direction Nell told them to go. In his exuberance, the sled 's bouncing movements had bounced the two wounded passengers off of the sled, the two changelings shouting in pain as they tumbled in the ground.

“Dammit Apocalypse.” X yelled. “Be gentle!”

“And the nightmare continues.” Azisa sighed. “I love him like a son but he really needs to use that brain of his.”

“He's convinced he doesn't have a place to put one. Right now I'm beginning to agree with him.”

“So, you got a trainer?”

“No I do not. Do you?”

“On a technical level? Yes. But he prefers to be called a construction worker.”

“You mean one of those humans who build things with those whatachathingers?”

“We're more of a small scale organization, so if we use whatachamthingers, they are small whatachathingers.”

“Sounds hard.”

“Gee, never would have thought you would ever say that.” Inti taunted, lounging like the lizard she was on the ground leaning up on Banana Beard, the Tropius liking his name and apparent new owners in stride. The terrible twins had thankfully given the two Pokémon a moments rest, doing something somewhere where she wasn't.

Readjusting her position, she got a good look around. The sheer number of trees in the town (she wasn't sure if it was large enough for it to be called a city) were packed in densely, several of the trees used for housing seeming more like apartments built into trees rather than regular treehouses her team was used to living.

In the immediate area, the house of her captors was built into a tree, the dwelling a house built on the ground and with a yard, a commodity Inti guessed was rare in these parts. The yard was decent sized, enough for Banana Beard to live comfortably in without being packed into a tight space.

Out of the house came her two tormentors, both bearing mile wide grins. Inti felt a shiver run up her spine. She did not like that feeling.

“Come on Mister Frilly Face, lets go shopping for a bed and other pet stuff for you.” Nalel shouted. “You too Banana Beard.”

Inti was very tempted to shock her captors and just make a break for it. But the Bugs managed to hover up to her and grab her in a hug, making resistance futile. Besides, there would be more opportunities later on in the day.

“Fine.”

“Nall, Nalel, a moment.” the two changelings turned to see their mother, a book levitating near her head. “I want to try something before you go.”

“Sure thing Mom. What do you want to try?”

“Well I noticed that Mister Frilly face may be trying to talk to us in a strange unique language that his kind use as their primary language. So I took a look inside my advanced spellbooks and found a translation spell. It should be able to translate whatever Frilly Face is saying.”

“Wait, Frilly Face can talk?”

“Well, every animal can, but just because they can talk doesn't always mean we can understand them. Animals are every different from equinoids, and other species such as the Diamond Dogs and Minotaurs, so naturally their languages are as well. I'm hoping this spell can let Frilly Face talk to us.”

“Well, fire it up Mom!” Nall flew into the air to punctuate this, a leg raised into the sky for extra emphasis. Hira smiled and her horn glowed, the aura covering Inti, the lizard beginning to panic. The aura quickly subsided, and the three changelings inched closer to Inti.

“So, did it work?”

'Not sure. Mister Frilly Face, did the spell work?”

“Du sagst es mir“

“Oh. That was odd. Here, let me try again.” The aura covered Inti again, and the Pokémon sighed. “How about now.”

“Én nagyon kezd hiányozni Apokalipszis. Ne mondd meg neki, hogy ezt mondtam.”

“What is wrong with this spell?” The aura flashed again, Inti looking really annoyed. “Allvarligt, sluta med det! Det kittlar. Jag tycker inte om det.“ the lizard hissed. Banana Beard took the moment to laugh at the anguish of the Heliolisk, who hissed at him.

“I don't think it's working Mom.” Nalel sighed.

“Maybe I need to tweak the spell a bit.” Hira sighed as the aura covered Inti yet again. “This probably removed the spells effects.”

“You tell me.” Inti moaned.

“It worked, well kinda. He's speaking normally.” This got a glare from the lizard, angry at the persistence of the language barrier, causing Nall to laugh. “Can we go now Mom?”

“Well, at the very least, at least I'll have time to figure out what is causing my spell to not work right.”

“You might want to take these little guys with you.” With the opening of the backdoor, the five young male changelings rushed out the door, heading towards a ball laying alone in the large, and started playing with it, sending another terrifying shiver up Inti's spine. “The Hordelings would probably make it harder for you to concentrate honey.”

“We will Dad. We'll keep an eye on them.” Nalel then hovered on top of Banana Beard's head. “Lets go! Everychangling aboard!” At their sister's command, the Hordelings as they were collectively called rushed the plant animal, jumping onto his back. Inti grumbled and climbed aboard, hoping the five rambunctious young changelings would leave her be.

“Oh, and if you run into Firequake tell him I said hi!”

“We will Dad!”

(Korruk, Kyo, Roku, Aang, Kor)
“Look at all the animals! Maybe Mom and Dad will let the Hordelings have one each.”

“Why do I get a bad feeling about that?”

“Heli Heli Li Heliolisk Helio Helio”

“Sure feels like Nell got home early.” Nall complained.

The odd group had just made their way to the marketplace, and to the non-pokemon in the group, it was an invasion of strange creatures that looked like they belonged in a children's story book.

The marketplace itself was imbedded in the tree scape, some stands littering the ground and many more stands built into the trees above, creating a tiered look. Near the middle of the marketplace was a fountain made of stone, water flowing from the ordinate statue of a Changeling built in a way that caused water to flow from the statue's mouth. A field of grass, bright green in contrast to the browns of grass normally found in Hoofrica, surrounded the fountain

Among the creatures were a trio of crocodiles, brown with black stripes with one set of stripes surrounding their eyes apparently begging for fruit from a nearby fruit stand in a adorable way that could melt ice. The stand owner was making a valiant effort to not give in and give them free fruit, but it was clear that it a fight we was losing.

On top of the stands were what appeared to be birds. They bore brown feathers with white feathers on their chests, and bore pinkish gray talons and beaks. Several of them were shooed away by the stall owners, only for more to arrive.

“Wonder why all these animals are here?”

“Who cares? I don't! Look at all the cute little guys!” Nall shouted. She pointed at a group of six oval shaped creatures with eyes, many of them having cracks on their bodies that resembled a facial scar. One of the ovals having a large crack in it's head, revealing what looked like an egg yolk. Whether they are eggs or seeds was hard to tell, though this did little to deter Nall. The bunch looked up at the travelers, and in unison shouted “Exeggcute!”

“I'm not sure Nall. Eggs are not cute. “

“Yes they are.”

“Exeggcute!”

“See? Eggs are cute. The eggs say so.” Nall countered.

Nalel sighed and smiled as they approached one of the more permanent stands, though it was more of a building than a stand. The building was a forge, racks of hammers, swords, spears, small scythes, machetes, armor, and other metal objects lining the walls of the building.

Inside the building, near a small anvil was a small biped. It was black with red legs and arms, and a black helmet with red on the top. What surprised the two sisters was the blades on the creature's body: the largest were the four blades on the chest, two acting as its hands and one on the helmet. The creature gazed in wonder at the owner of the building: a old changeling with scars on his body, and parts of his dull red name and tail burnt away. A hammer was gripped in his red magical aura, and it was currently pounding a slab of metal into the shape of a blade.

" Hiya Firequake!" The two shouted in unison, the changeling looking up from his work.

"Well, if it isn't Citel's brood. A pleasure seeing you two out and about." Firequake responded, his voice tired and raspy. His eyes wandering towards the Hordelings. "I see you're letting your little monsters out for a walk."

"Mister Frilly Face sure is small, but she isn't a monster, nor is Banana Beard. Isn't that right BB?" Nalel flew in front on her Tropius, and started to scratch his head, the Pokémon sighing in content.

"I was referring to you brothers." the forgemaster chuckled. One of the Horde immediately ran up Banana Beard's neck, hovered by his beard, and grabbed one of the fruit. As Banana Beard was wondering what the little changeling was doing, he threw the fruit at the forgemaster. The throw however was a little short, the projectile simply landing with a splat at the feet of the forgemaster.

“Roku....”

“It's okay. No harm no foul, right?” The forgemaster chuckled as Bana Beard sighed. “Well, mostly no harm. How can I help you?”

“We're just off to find some wood for Frilly Face and Banana Beard's homes.”

'I think we might need a tarp for Banana Beard.”

“Well, I have some scraps of metal. Might help stabilize whatever you plan on making.”

“Thanks, but first we need a wagon to put the metal and wood and other things in.”

“Didn't think this through did ya?” The girls shook their heads, Frilly Face hissing in a way that sounded like evil laughter. “Should have asked Nell if you could have borrowed that wagon of hers.”

“It's kinda hard to borrow something that is currently somewhere in the great wide yonder of the jungle just outside the walls.”

“And she didn't bring us along for the ride!”

“Was that today? Honestly, when you get to be my age, the days just blur together. Hopefully she's staying safe .”

“Oh, she's fine. Mom made her bring some guards for protection.”

“That's good. I'm afraid those strange creatures are also in the wilds, and considering what these strange creatures can do.”

“Oh, they're harmless, aren’t you Mister Frilly Face?” Nall tightly hugged her pet, the lizard struggling to breathe.

“Sis...”

“oh, right. Pressure. Sorry Mister Frilly Face.” she apologized as she let the lizard go, Frilly Face gasping for air. “So, what were you saying?”

“I was saying that these creatures may be more than they seem.” He turned around, and pointed towards a pair of creatures deeper inside the forge. The creatures had yellow fox like faces, with triangle like ears and mustaches, one of the creatures having a shorter mustache than the other and two bracelets on it's arms. Both creatures were bipedal, their chests brown, giving the appearance that they were wearing armor. Currently, the creatures were sitting on the ground with their legs folded meditating, their eyes closed, two spoons at each of their feet.

“They don't look that scary.”

“Oh trust me, they are. They appeared right out of the blue, just like all of those other creatures. Walked right up to me, then some voice started speaking in my head. Told me that they were lost and confused, and needed a place to think. So I let them in. Since then, they've just kept to themselves.”

“Weird.”

“Yes indeed. Then this little guy walked up, noticed me working on some spear blades. Since then he's been observing me hard at work.”

“I still don't think these guys are dangerous, right Frilly Face?” Nall asked her pet. Frilly Face wasn't paying attention, as at that moment had gotten off of Banana Beard, and walked up to the two fox creatures. “Lisk! Helio Helio Helio Lisk!” she spoke. The creatures ignored her, continuing their meditation.

“Li! Helio! Lisk! Lisk!” helio Helio Helio heliolisk-isk-isk-isk!” Again, the creatures paid no attention to the lizard, causing the her to sigh. Then, with a smirk the Lizard spoke again. “Heliolisk lisk lisk”.

Both pairs of eyes shot open, their eyes pools of white energy. An aura covered Frilly Face, the lizard panicking. Then, without a moment to speak, Frilly Face was launched away, the lizard slamming into Banana Beard, the force of the impact managing to cause banana Beard to stumble a few step back.

Wide eyed, the seven changelings gazed at the two foxes. Their eyes had ceased glowing, revealing their pupils. Nall wasn't paying attention, the changeling quickly grabbing the currently unconscious Frilly Face and dragged her up on Banana Beard. “Well, it was nice seeing you Firequake. Gotta go. Lots to do. Totally not afraid of the foxes you have behind you. Dad says hi. Nalel, get on!” her sister complied, and Banana beard slowly marched away.

The forgemaster sighed as he resumed his work, the hammer rose above his head, a dull red aura covering it yet again.

Nalel sat atop Banana Beard, the Tropius lounging next to the fountain. A half hour had passed since they had talked to Firequake, a wagon tied to Banana Beard's back leg. The wagon was piled with large stacks of wooden planks,several metal poles, and a tarp.

The group had taken the time to simply sit and relax, giving the Horde and Nall an opportunity to play with Frilly Face, the lizard enjoying the roughhousing they usually engaged in. Nalel, whom sat on Banana Beard's head, took the opportunity to levitate their new hoofball in her aura.

She also took the opportunity to go crowd spotting. Many of the strange animals flittered around the marketplace, most of them simply observing the Changelings.

“Hey, Nall, Nalel!”

Thinking along the lines of his owner, Banana Beard turned his head towards the sound of the voice, Nalel jumping out of her trance. Gazing down, she saw four other changelings, all of them female. Each of their colorings were different, the leader's being blue and her associates being orange, yellow, and azure. With them were two more strange creatures. One of them looked like a flying blue furball with bat wings, a single pink circle with a heart that vaguely looked like a nose. The creature was hovering around the head of the lead changeling. Also next to the leader was a creature that looked like a purplish blob of slime with two green circles for cheeks.

“Hi Victoria! What's up?”

“I just came to the marketplace, hoping to find something for these two little girls.” the blue named changeling responded. Her charges had just gotten a good look at the ball of playful violence known as Nall and her siblings, and had decided to join in, the bat being the most weary while the blob jumped in.

“Ooooooh. They're so cute! Are you gonna keep them? “

“Oh course. The bat's name is Batty and the blob is name Sticky.”

“Well, they're names are not as good as Banana Beard...” The Tropius let loose a tired sigh of incredible indifference. “...and Mister Frilly Face!” At the mention of the name, Frilly Face was launched out of the havoc of the Horde and Nall. With a huff, Frilly Face ran towards the Tropius, running up the neck and jumping off of Banana Beard as if he was a diving board, screaming a lizardy war cry as she dove back into the chaos.

“Frilly Face?”

“Well it was just a placeholder name, but I'm beginning to like it.”

At this moment, the three crocodiles they noticed earlier had emerged from the crowd, several baskets of fruit on top of themselves, and a rather peeved stand owner pursuing them in the air. Nalel and the four other changeling girls observed the chase with a smile, finding the situation comical.

Then, as the trio of crocodiles got closer to Nall and Nalel's group, a burst of dirt shot up from the ground, the action surprising the crocodiles and Banana Beard, causing him to rear in surprise. This action caused Nalel to tumble of of his head, but was caught in one of the giant leaves on Banana Beards back.

All action ceased when the dust settled, revealing who caused the halt in the action...

Inti narrowed her eyes as the dust settled, revealing the uninvited guest. The guest was a giant metal ant when compared to other ants. It's eyes were red, and it snapped its jaws menacingly at the three crocodiles it faced. Without hesitation, the ant charged the crocodiles, the trio quickly attempting to get out of the way, their fruit falling to the ground as they did so. One of them failed to dodge, and the ant clamped its jaws on the poor crocodile, the creature screaming in pain.

Nall gasped in horror as the ant tossed the crocodile back a fair distance, the croc crying in pain. “Hey! That's not nice! Leave him alone!”

The ant turned to Nall, and charged at her. The changeling panicked, attempting to hide behind her mane. Then, to her surprise, the sound of thunder soared past her ears, striking the ant and stopping it's charge. Nall turned around to look behind her, and her jaw dropped when she was Inti's frill, extended and sparking with electricity.

“Finally. Something fun to do. ” Inti taunted. The ant fell for the taunt, and charged again. “Thunder!” A giant bolt of thunder shot from the lizard striking the ant again, this time causing it to roll over. “HA! That all you got!”

Inti's question was answered with a dozen more ants burst from the ground in all places. By now the crowd had begun to notice, and naturally the crowd begun to distance themselves from the ants.

“I had to say it.”

Half the ants then charged Banana Beard, Inti charging towards them yelling loudly. She then jumped into the fountain, and the water then began to swirl around her with a light current. “You guys could use a little water for a hot day like today! SURF!” At her command,a Wave of water rose from the fountain, crashing into the attackers and washing them away.

Then, a scream of “KOR!” was heard, and Inti turned to see the other half of the attacking party. One of them had the Hordeling in it's grip, while three more had the baskets of fruit, and were going back into the holes they made. Kor struggled to get out, but the grip of the ant was too strong, and he was dragged into the earth. Nall was distraught, and ran to the hole, screaming for her little brother. Inti sighed.

“Might as well play hero....even if I don't like her.” Inti charged towards the hole, and dove in, leaving a surprised Nall in her wake.

Author's Note

Oh boy what a long chapter. I jsut add more and more tryig to get this to be just right.
Also i made a small edit to Chapter 2.

Chapter 6 - Extreme Speed

Chapter 6
Extreme Speed

Day 1

Nell and Nalel were many things.

At this moment, calm was not one of them. The sisters were running around the hole in circles, hoping their act of panic would be some strange rite that would summon Frilly Face and Kor from the mists of the unknown. Surprisingly the other Hordlings simply sat in stunned silence, a rare occurrence for them.

“Oh no. Oh no. Oh nonononononononononooononononno. “ Nall panicked.” What are we gonna tell Mom and Dad!?”

“Well I know what we're not telling them.”

“Really? What?”

“We're not telling them a giant ant creatures took Kor and Frilly Face followed him! What's Dad going to think that! I'll tell you what he's going to say. He's going to berate us about how we weren’t being responsible! We told him we could be responsible and responsible was the one thing we weren’t!”

Nall sighed. Her brood sister made a good point. “Okay. You make a good point. When we go back home, we're not going to tell them. But what about Frilly Face? How could Frilly Face shoot lightning out of his head? Lizards can't do that!”

“Maybe he a magically enhanced lizard? I don't know. Something weird is going on and I'm not sure I like this, with all of these strange creatures just appearing.”

Her panic was interrupted by the yawn (which had a tone of worry to it) from behind her.

“Well, mostly not sure.”

“Slow down you stupid thief! I only want to electrocute you!” Inti cursed as she chased the Durant, their captive struggling in vain. After the first small section of tunnel, Inti was surprised at the size of the tunnels: large enough to move in at a brisk pace but not big enough for the almost 3 foot lizard to stand up in. She swore in her thoughts, cursing the Durants for being smaller than her. To her horror, the Durant split up, each going into several different tunnels. Inti gasped for air, then collapsed.

She wasn't used to running in tunnels.

After resting for a bit, Inti crawled into one of the tunnels, unaware of what she would find. To pass the time, she grumbled and complained about her captor.

“Well, Inti, you’ve gone and done it. You try to play hero and you lose the little brother.” With a mocking voice, she continued her rant. “'But Inti! If you don't help her, she won't like you anymore.' Ah, who needs her anyway! I ain't no pet. I'm Inti of ShadowFox Construction. I build. I fight. I do everything except be a pet.

“I swear, when I get the kid back she owes me big time for this. Big time. Like a new name. I mean, I'm a fighter. A warrior even. I ain't no Frilly Face. No self respecting warrior is called Frilly Face! No one must ever know. Especially Apocalypse. If no one is to ever know, I will make sure he never knows it at all costs.

“Aaaaand I'm talking to myself. Geez, I'm not that far off the deep end, am I?”

Then, Inti thanked Arceus as she saw a light at the end of the tunnel. She ran towards it, and glared at what she saw.

The good news is that the area she waltzed into was a large chamber, which was thankfully spacious enough for her to stand up in. Several holes littered the ceiling, providing pillars of sunlight to filter into the normally dark and dank underground labyrinth. The bad news is that it was crawling with Durant. The ant Pokémon crawled to and fro, hither and thither, going back and forth doing what Durants do. Many of them were simply carrying supplies, ranging from food to lumber.

Weird. What do Durant need wood for?

As if to answer her question, a section of tunnel near it's appropriate entrance collapsed on a duo of Durant. The two ant's easily dug their way out while another team brought wood to reinforce the walls of the tunnel in question.

Well, that's a good answer.

Scanning the area, she quickly found what she was looking for: The Durant whom took Kor, the little changeling making small struggling movements in the jaws of his captors. At a glance, he was alright, but being captured by someone you didn't really know always left you with a chill of horror running down your spine.

Inti shuddered as she thought that. All pokémon had to come to grips with the prospect of being captured by a human, a stranger that comes out of the blue. Thankfully her trainer X had been a pretty nice guy, treating her like a friend rather than a scaled tool once he did catch her. Though to be honest she didn't make it easy for him.

She shook the thoughts out of her head. She had a rescue to do.

Inti carefully traversed the awkward angles of the ground, being careful not to be seen. Again cursing Naruto's sneaky nature and tactics being the only viable tactic at the time, the lizard followed Kor's captors. Time crawled to a standstill as Inti tailed her targets, going into tunnel after tunnel avoiding several close calls.

Finally, the captors stopped in a large chamber with many connecting tunnels, a dozen Durant surrounding the captive. Kor was dropped with a thud on his rump as a Durant went to a pile of wood planks. The Durant grasped a piece in its jaws and brought him to him while two more Durant grabbed a second piece. Curiously, the changeling looked as his captor with a strange look in his eye, as if to ask his captor “What do you expect me to do with this?”

The two Durant with the plank approached a tunnel while a third Durant, already in the tunnel, used it's jaws to dig a small indent in the top of the tunnel, clinging to the wall with it's six legs. The two workers then worked together, one climbing the wall to do so, to place the plank in place. Another team of Durant then started to push dirt behind what little unfilled space there was behind the plank.

Kor nodded hesitantly, understanding what the Durant wanted him to do. He marched towards a plank, and grabbed in in this mouth, dragging it slowly towards the walls. In response, a Durant snapped its jaws at the child, Kor yelping in surprise, and cowering behind a rock that was not there, hoping to fool the Durant.

The Durant growled as it gnashed it's jaws again, when a bolt of lightning struck the Durant, knocking it back into a wall of the chamber with enough force to embed him in the dirt. The ants turned around and noticed Inti atop one of the several piles of dirt.

“Okay bugs, listen up!” Inti shouted defiantly, the electric energy dancing anger. “I woke up in the middle of who knows where, I got adopted by two crazy people who insist on treating me like a Furfrou, they call me something unflattering that shall never be spoken of again, and now you start stealing stuff including those crazy ladies kid brother. Please allow me the pleasure of taking my frustrations out on your collective asses! THUNDER!” With a crash of sound and thunder, another bolt of thunder impacted the Durant, the insect flying across the room and ending up next to the last unlucky Durant.

As one, the Durant ran towards the intruder, the lizard screaming a battle cry as she ran towards the enemy. “THUNDER WAVE!” the lizard shouted. At her command a soft wave of thunder shot from her, striking two of the attackers. Lighting coursed through their bodies causing their muscles to stiffen, their pace reduced to a crawl. Then, another Thunder wave shot out, striking three more.

The seven remaining Durant charged the Heliolisk, Inti leaping over them and landing in the middle of their formation, striking the face of a Durant with her tail, causing it to stumble back in confusion.

As one, the horde of Durant lowered their heads, a metal sheen shining across them, charging Inti. As the ant's closed in, Inti leapt into the air. The Durant slammed into the others heads, the sound of metal scraping together causing Inti to cover her head to block out the sound as she descended from the air, and young Kor to cower even more.

“Seriously, a Steel type attack against a li'l old Electric Type like me? I'd use a 'you're so dumb' joke, but that would be insulting to Apocalypse.” Inti jested. She then put a finger on her chin. “Oh wait. I usually do that to Apocalypse anyway! You guys are so dumb you make Rocks look intelligent!”

A sudden impact to her back stopped her insults. Inti felt to the ground as the three of the paralyzed Durant jumped her from behind, screeching as they did so.

“You think that will stop me!?” Inti taunted. One of the Durant that Iron Headed it's ally marched up to her, a vicious look in it's red eyes. Inti took notice of the Durant and narrowed her eyes. “Just so you know, I regret nothing. Thunder.”

Lightning danced around her, shocking the mob on her back into falling off, then fired the Thunder into the face of the approaching Durant. The thunder hit Durant head on, the attack knocking it out as it collapsed. The other Durant charged again as Inti stood up to face them. The lizard then shouted “THUNDER!” as more Thunders shot from her, striking each of the Durant that approached, taking each one out one by one.

Sighing a sigh of relief, Inti turned to Kor, the changeling gazing up at his savior. Inti motioned to him, and the changeling soon rose and approached the lizard.

“Almighty, lets get the hell...”

The tunnel Inti had just come out of collapsed.

“...out of here. Whatever, lets find another way out.”

Inti then marched into a different tunnel with Kor in pursuit.

In their haste to leave, Inti and Kor didn't notice that there were only ten Durant sprawled unconscious, with two pairs of eyes spying on the intruders in the shadows of another tunnel.

“Okay Chesnaught Naught, we're almost there. Only about an hour more of travel.”

“That's what she said an hour ago.” X deadpanned.

“It feels like forty minutes to me.”

“Really Azisa? We're really going there?” X said with a chuckle. “You almost sounded like Inti right there with the snark.”

“No I really mean it. It feels like forty minutes to me.” Azisa sighed.

“Well in any case we should keep moving.”

“I'm going to assume you said something encouraging.” Nell told her steed. X cracked a smile at the creature's strange ability to understand the gist of what he and his team was saying. “In the meantime, I'm going to check on Anteater and the others.”

With a flutter of her wings, Nell leapt off of the Chesnaught and hovered in front of Anteater, whom was taking residence on the sled Apocalypse was pulling. The dinosaur grumbled as he pulled the sled, sad that he had to be gentle and go slow.

“How are you holding up Anteater.”

“Considering a wild animal in the forest tried to eat me and apparently failed, I think I would be in the mild discomfort range.” He ended the sentence with a wince of pain.

“I wouldn't call it mild discomfort.”

“Okay, so I have a bad poker face. Kinda hard to have one when your barrel feels likes its a broken jigsaw puzzle.”

With a glance Nell looked at the other wounded members of Anteater's company. Since Nell, Chesnaught Naught, Treve Trev, and Tyrunt Runt Runt. The four of them were feeling better, considering what they went through, but not quite at full strength. They lay on their sleds, Anteater being the only one strong enough to be in a sitting position.

“Just....hang on.”

A book was angrily closed as it's reader fumed. “Problems with the translation spell?” a voice said from outside Hira's study as it's owner walked into the room.

Hira looked as her husband as she levitated her glasses off of her muzzle, the glasses landing next to a lamp while a pencil was levitated in it's stead. “The problem is that doesn't seem to be a problem.”

“Uh......I may not be a scholar like you but isn't that a bit of a paradox?”

“Yes and no. The spell is working correctly. Everything the spell does is being done correctly. The problem is I can't seem to translate the words correctly.” She pointed the pencil at her subject, a small sunflower seed with a face and a sprout coming out of it's head. The creature replied with a small squeak of “Sunkern!”

“That bad huh?”

“Watch.” The changeling mare's horn glowed, and a familiar aura surrounded the seed. “Okay Sunny. Can you tell me what you are thinking right now?”

“Watashi wa ima dewa o yatsu o motsu koto ga dekimasu?”

“See? At the very least, I've managed the spell to pick a language and stick with it.”

“Well, I do know a little Neighponese.” Citel remarked, sitting next to his wife.

“What did Sunny say?”

“Something about a snack.”

“Well, I promised Sunny some food if I could experiment on her.”

“You sure it's a her?”

“I assume so. Sunny are you a girl?”

“Hai” The Sunkern responded.

“She said yes.”

“Well that's good to know.” The teacher slid deeper into her seat, sighing as she ended the spell. “At the very least, I'm married to a translator.”

“I honestly don't know how to respond to that.” Citel laughed, Sunny joining in on the laughter. “Really, though. I think you need to step back and think from a different angle.”

“That's good to know.” Hira sighed. “Maybe your right. I could use a break. Maybe use the translation spell on those audiobooks you got from Canida.”

“Honestly I'm surprised that the Diamond Dogs don't have that many books to begin with. Most of them prefer audio books.”

“And it's rather annoying to translate them....wait. That give me an idea.”

“An idea?”

“What if I cast two translation spells? One to translate whatever Sunny is saying to Neighponese, then another to translate that to Equish?”

“A double translation? You're the expert here. Think you can do it?”

“I just need to do my research. I think I can do it.”

Then, coming from the living room, the sound of a opening door rang through the house, followed by a voice. “Mom, Dad, we're back!”

“How was the market kids?” Citel shouted to the kids in the other room, taking a sip of coffee.

“We most certainly did not in any way lose Kor and Frilly Face because giant ants made of metal kidnapped them.”

The cup Citel had in this grip fell to the ground in a crash, the coffee inside it spreading across the carpet as he spit out the coffee in surprise and horror.

“GIANT ANTS KIDNAPPED KOR AND FRILLY FACE!?”

“We said that didn't happen!”

In the silence of the tunnels, a Thunder shot through the empty space, light illuminating the tunnel then fading as quickly as it was created. As the light faded and darkness returned, Inti and Kor ran through the darkened tunnel, followed by several angry Durant, each of them snapping their jaws.

Inti wasn't really sure just how the entire colony was alerted to her entering the colony uninvited, nor how they discover Kor's attempted escape.

Inti would figure the answers out later when they weren’t in immediate danger.

“Faster little guy! I see an exit!”

The duo charged into the entrance, and skid to a stop once they saw what they saw.

The entire room, a rather large room with many small light holes in the ceiling was filled with Durant. And oddly there was a few Venipede mixed in, the pokémon being a small magenta armored bug with a green thorax. A black marking that looked like the letter Y was just behind it's head, which bore two antenna. Their yellow eyes glared at the Electric Normal pokémon as her face fell.

“ARCEUS DAMN IT!”

Far away, in Equestria's Everfree Forest, in a temple that stood for ages in a world abandoned by it's god, Arceus turned his head towards the ceiling. His daughter Mew hovered around his head, seeing him apparently try to hear something only he could hear.

“Dad? Something wrong?”

“No sweetie. Just thought I heard something.”

“SERIOUSLY, HOW MANY OF YOU ARE THERE!? YOU BREED LIKE BUNNLEBYS!”

The bugs ignored her question, several of the Venipede curling up into balls and rolling towards the intruder and prisoner while the rest of them charged. Inti concentrated, and twin strands of grass grew from the ground between her and the attackers. “Grass Knot!”

The grass then grew towards the other strand and then tied themselves into a knot, then stretched apart, tightening the trip they made. It worked, as one of the Venipede ran into the Grass Knot and rolled out of its Rollout, sliding on the ground in pain and surprised. The other two continued in their assault, Inti dodging one and getting stuck by the other, sliding across the ground into a wall. The Heliolisk recovered and jumped out of the way as the rolling Venipede attacked again, crashing into the wall and somehow getting stuck.

“Just great, me against the horde. Gotta get out of there and fast, but how!? A horde in front of me, more from behind. It's not like I can just Dig my way out.”

A screech tore Inti from her thoughts, the lizard barely noticing a screaming Durant charging towards her, the Durant breaking away from the pack to get the jump on her. The Electric lizard roared at the ant as the ant leapt towards her, and sunk it's jaws into her. Rearing up in pain, Inti fired the Thunder, the electric attack soaring through the sky and striking the ceiling. Screaming, Inti balled her fist and punched the Durant in the eye, the Steel Bug releasing its grip as it moaned in pain. Without a moment to lose Inti fired a Thunder point blank, the Durant launched into the crowd of charging bugs, scattering several of the Durant, though the vast majority of them just kept charging. Inti scanned the room, the fear she was feeling being feed to Kor, the small changeling choking in surprise and disgust of the emotion he was consuming.

“Okay. Little guy. I think I'm out of.....” Inti tone was full of defeat as her sentence trailed off into silence, the lizard's eyes ending up glaring at the impact of the stray Thunder. The bolt had struck near one of the light holes, the beam of sunlight widened due to the angle of the impact.

“Idea.”
“GRASS KNOT!” Inti shouted with such power that the Durant slowed their assault for a split second, the resultant Grass Knot bursting from the ground, the blade of grass much longer and thicker than the last Knot. With deft moment Inti ripped the Grass Knot out of the ground, and threw one end to Kor. “GRAB ON!”

Despite the language barrier, Kor figured out what Inti had asked of him and grabbed the Grass Knot. As soon as he did so Inti wrapped the grass around her hand and leapt onto the wall, Inti surprisingly able to dig her hand in the wall with ease. Thankful for the dirt being rather soft Inti climbed up the wall with ease, Kor flapping his wings to hover near her. The Durant and Venipede stopped the charge as they approached the wall, the Durant chasing the duo through the tunnel merging at this moment. Without a moment to lose, Into turned her neck towards her mark and shouted “THUNDER!”, the lighting sailing through he sky and striking the mark. Dirt fell from the cloud of dust that exploded into existence, widening the hole.

Needless to say , all present stopped what they were doing, and simply looked at the Heliolisk, then her mark, then the Heliolisk again. “AGAIN!” The Thunder sailed again, blasting more of the hole away. Within moments a third Thunder following it's brother to the same point followed by a fourth.

Suddenly, one Venipede eyes widened as it realized what Inti was planning. “SHE'S TRYING TO MAKE A TUNNEL OUT OF THE COLONY! STOP HER!” The Durant roared as the ones closest to the walls began to climb up it, their feet suited for climbing in such a manner.

“Time to go!” Inti shouted. Quickly Inti climbed up the wall, hoping the dirt in the ceiling would be just as soft as the dirt in the wall, Kor flailing in the air as he held on for dear life.

Somehow, Inti managed to grip the ceiling, the weight of Kor valiant in it's attempt to make her lose her grip. With gritted teeth, Inti advanced while Kor held on for dear life, the Durant climbing on the walls and ceiling in all directions as a giant side of glinting steel and gnashing jaws.

Inti cursed the speed of the ants were surprisingly fast. Then, with a last burst of power, Inti charged towards the hole with a Thunder arching across her head. He made it to the hole, aimed, and fired another Thunder, widening the hole enough for her and Kor to enter. “Grab my tail!”

Without an argument, Kor released his grip, his tiny wings keeping him in the air long enough to bite Inti's tail, Inti wincing as he bit down. “That hurts but whatever. We are outta here!”

With a final push of willpower, Inti climbed into the now wide enough hole, Kor barely squeezing into the hole. The Durant swarmed the hold, gnashing, following the escapees one by one.

X pondered the situation as the party marched towards the mysterious home of the little lady, and decided to recap the situation.

He woke up in a strange land far away from Laverre City with a Blitzle shaped bug with wings that talked in English, with the irony of him behind unable to speak English back despite knowing the language. In addition, he had taken the form of Chesnaught, which was the reason behind the inability to speak his own language.

In addition, Inti and Naruto were unaccounted for, Azisa and Apocalypse having found him shortly after he woke up. Hopefully Inti hadn't gotten into too much trouble, as the Heliolisk was a scrapper: She enjoyed getting into fights.

All in all, it was a very stressful day.

“I'm bored!”

“Shush Apocalypse” Azisa mothered the Rock Dragon, Apocalypse grumbling again.

“But I'm bored! And I'm kinda tired! I don't wanna do this anymore.” To illustrate his point, Apocalypse stopped moving, his passengers glaring daggers at him.

“Hey, move it you scaled moron!”

X and Azisa stopped their advance was well, Azisa twisting her head around ( the sight of that alone causing the jeering Changeling to shut up in shock and horror), raising her aim in a gesture to science the jeering changeling.

“Apocalypse, we need to keep moving. “

“I don't want to. All day we've been walking and walking and I don't want to walk anymore. I quit.”

Azisa completely turned around, and started to approach the misbehaving Tyrunt when X's arm intercepted her. She looked up at X, the former human having set down the vines he was using to pull the sled, shaking his head while Nell looked on with a worried and confused expression on her face.

X knelt down to face Apocalypse, his eyes narrowed, stern but still kind. “Tired?”

“Kinda. More bored than anything.”

“Well, once we finish we can relax for a bit and unwind before we look for answers for why I'm now a pokémon, and why we got there.”

“BUT I DON'T WANNA!” The Tyrunt shouted.

“Well, why not think of the situation in a different manner. “

“Like what?”

“How about you think of this as a job Apocalypse.” X countered. “Remember the number one rule I tell you where we're working on buildings and making houses and statues and all of those other jobs?”

“The job comes first.”

“Exactly. Little Lady is depending on us to help her friends, and if we slack off these, uh beings might wind up in a worse state than when we found them.”

“Are they gonna pay us? Because if it's a job then we get paid and then we get fun things.”

“Well, uh no.” X rubbed the back of his head, Nell scootching back a bit to avoid the arm. “We're not getting paid. Not this time.”

Obviously, this was the last thing Apocalypse wanted to hear. “Then it's not a job...”

“But it is a job. See, when you help other people, it's a job. And when people are relying on you, you can't just quit in the middle of the job. You'll let them down and in the end, nothing good happens.”

“Well, I don't like this job.”

“Not every job we take is one we like. Remember the time when we were making that one tree house with the fountain outside it?” Apocalypse nodded and X continued. “Remember how bossy that guy was, wanting everything done with the super expensive rock for the fountain instead of the rocks that actually useful? Among other things?”

“I remember. He wasn't very nice.”

“No he wasn't. But we kept working until the job was done, trying to get it done the way he wanted it to. We might not enjoy every job we do, and we might not be able to do what we want to while doing it, but when we do take a job, we see it through to the end.”

“Even if the other guy isn't nice?”

“Even if the other guy isn't nice.”

A moment passed, the air tense. Then, Apocalypse got to his feet, and roared. “Okay. Not bored now! Lets go!”

“That's my Tyrunt!” X shouted with joy. He marched towards this sled, Azisa holding the vines in her hand.

“What a speech.” she whispered to her trainer.

“He's a kid. All he needed was a little pep talk.” X said as he grabbed the vine. “Ready to go?”

“Indeed friend. Let's get going. We don't want something to jump out of the trees and ambush us.”

As if Azisa asked the universe to do such a thing, a bolt of lightning visible from among the trees burst out of the ground, causing X to stumble and fall down backwards, thankfully missing the sled. “What the!?”

“What was that!?” Nell shouted, point a hoof at the thunder, which at this point had just dissipated. “It was lightning, and it came out of the ground!? Doesn't it go the other way!?”

“Yes, yes it does.” X and Azisa echoed

Another thunder flew from the ground, tearing it up as it flew into the air and faded from existence. Azisa marched forwards toward the lighting, X choosing to remain on the ground, while Nell flew off of X and flew alongside the tree spirit.

The duo approached the area in question, a hole torn through the ground. “Huh. Weird.”

Then, as suddenly a head popped out of the hole, quickly crawling out of the hole. The tree and changeling gasped as the creature, a Heliolisk crawled out of the hole. She was panting and heaving, clearly out of breath and holding a rope that looked like it was a very long blade of grass.

Nell glared at the lizard, the creature falling to the ground unconscious. Azisa narrowed her single eye, curious. Pokémon, especially those whom had above average senses of smell, often used scent as a form of identification in addition to eyesight. Often scent was more accurate considering many Pokémon look almost identical compared to members of their own evolutionary families.

Yet scent could be fooled. The Heliolisk smelt like underground musk mixed with the smell of steel overpowering the familiar scent of a friend, to the point of being confused as to the identity of the Heliolisk.

“Treve Trev?” Nell turned her head to the Trevenant. “Do you know this....person?”

Azisa almost nodded. The Heliolisk looked so familiar, felt so familiar. There was only one was to be sure. Carefully, Azisa lifted the frill of the Heliolisk, and lightly moved her fingers across the neck.

Almost immediately the Heliolisk cracked a small smile, and her tail started to slightly swing left and right.

“Inti?”

Before Nell could make a failed attempt at translation, a second figure floated out of the hole. It was a changeling like her, but much smaller with green colorings instead of yellow. He also want panting, gasping for breath as he felt to the ground.

Nell was in shock. “KOR!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?”

The changeling foal looked up, and saw his big brood sister and Azisa. With a burst of energy and a scared whimper he leapt into Azisa, the changeling blending into the ghostly aspects of Azisa quite well. Azisa was less than pleased at the invasion of her personal bubble, trying and failing to remove the little insect.

Nell gazed at her brother hiding in the ghost. His expression told Nell everything she needed to know: her little brother was terrified of something, and wa hiding in the tree hoping whatever he was running from would just turn around and go away.

“Kor, what happened back there?”

Nell quickly got her answer. A third entity burst from the hole, an ant made of metal that made a screeching sound of scratching metal announcing its arrival. The three beings present screamed in horror as a second ant followed, whom was followed by a third. Without a moment to lose, Azisa picked up the Heliolisk and immediately turned and ran, Nell nipping at her heels.

Nell did not know what kind of creatures they were, but it didn't take an expert to realize what was happening as the number of emerging ants rose exponentially.

Apocalypse smiled as he sat and waited. After all the walking he was finally getting to take a break and just sit and relax. X was standing near his sled, his passengers looking around the jungle.

“Honestly, you'd think checking lightning falling up wouldn't take so long.” X told Apocalypse. “...I just realized how odd that sounded.”

“In my opinion, the longer they take, the longer we wait, and that means the longer I get to take a break and rest up.”

“Well hopefully they'll come running back and we can get back on track.”

Then, Azisa, Nell, and two newcomers (one slung over Azisa's shoulder, or at least the closest thing she has to a shoulder) the other a bug similar to the other five hiding in the trunk that formed her legs came running back, their eyes widen and faces horrified. Before X could question them Nell leapt onto her steed of the day, whom was surprisingly followed by Azisa leaping onto her trainer. X lurched forward a bit, the weight of Azisa the cause. Apocalypse laughed as he got up, the four changeling warriors looking at the tree in a worried manner, as if they knew what was happening. “Uh Azisa, apparently you're a hugger now.”

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

X's following question was stern and demanding. “Okay, what happened back there?”

Then a metal ant leapt out of the brush, screeching a battle cry loud enough to wake a Snorlax from it's Rest. As quickly as the Durant made it's intent clear, Apocalypse slammed his head into the Durant, the Earthquake attack embedding the attacker into the ground, shatter marks similar to that of an impact crater snaking from underneath the Durant.

“...right. Explanations later.”

X and Apocalypse then ran, following the road and hoping that the end of the road would protect them as a small tide of steel burst from the treeline as if it was a broken dam, threatening to engulf all in it's path without the slightest thought of mercy.

Through the jungle X and Apocalypse dragged the sleds holding the wounded changelings, each of them holding on for dear life. Behind them, a swarm of Durant relentlessly followed them, and were slowly gaining.

“ANY IDEAS!?” Azisa screamed as she held on to X, the human-turned-pokèmon beginning to wheeze and gasp for breath.

“Getting... off of me....would be a good start!”

“X, I'm a tree. I wouldn't be able to keep pace if I ran instead of clinging to you.”

“Well, then I don't have any ideas!”

“But you're the idea guy!” Apocalypse shouted, the tiny tyrant, currently right beside his trainer with his sled bobbing to the left and right as Apocalypse ran.

“Well, yea but...

“THEN THINK OF SOMETHING!?”

“Yeah, I'll just think of a plan while a small army of Durant are chasing me with the intent of grievously harming all of us. No pressure, right!?”

“Apocalypse has a point. We need a plan and a plan now.”

X grumbled, sometimes hating the fact that he was the one expected to think of every plan the team used. Then again, he was the leader, and it was his job to do just that. He just wished right now he wasn't being chased by a horde of pokémon who were by nature very territorial.

“If only we could slow them down without losing any momentum! But it would be easy if I wasn't under all of this pressure. Geez, breaking construction rule number four would be easier than this right now!” X shouted.

“Remind me again, what rule is that?” Apocalypse asked innocently.

“Never build a house on sand. The weak foundation would be shaky and eventually any strong impact would make it fall down and be just a pile of broken wood.” Then his eyes widened. “Wait, that could work! Azisa, Apocalypse, I have a plan!”

“And all is right in the world!”

“Not now Apocalypse.” chastised X, the Tyrunt grumbling. “Azisa, I want you and Little Lady to shoot as many Will-O-Wisps and Ice Beams at the trees as possible ahead of us to weaken them.”

“Will-O-Wisp doesn't work like that!”

“It's fire right? I hoping that if we mix fire and ice, it might weaken the trees enough so they would fall down with a strong enough impact. Like an Earthquake. And even if the Will-O-Wisp doesn't work that way, it's the only way I think we can convince Little Lady to do it since we're having a failure to communicate.”

“I approve of the Earthquake part!” Apocalypse shouted. He gnashed his teeth, hoping to strike soon.

“But what about the other sled!”

“We'll just hand the vine to me and I'll drag both of them myself to free up Apocalypse.”

“The vine is tied around his waist!”

X mentally face palmed. He had forgotten about that. “Crap. Looks like we're gonna double up on passengers.”

“X, that's a bit of extra weight there. Think you can handle it, friend?”

“Pretty sure. Make it happen!”

Azisa then turned to Apocalypse's passengers, and mimed jumping from one sled to the other, hoping the message would not be lost in translation.

“Boss, the tree is telling us something!”

Anteater narrowed his eyes, watching Azisa mime. “I think it wants you to join us on the sled.”

“But sir...”

“Trust me. I think they have a plan.”

The two changelings nodded, and weakly jumped to the other sled, their weakened wings granting them enough push to leap across. Azisa smiled on the inside, and then turned to Nell. “Treve Trev, what are you doing?” she asked. Azisa did not respond,, only pointing at several of the trees near the side of the road. “I hope this works. Will-O-Wisp!”

At her command, the purple orbs shot out of her hand, flying to her targets. The fire danced around the impact points, but did little other than that. “Uh, Treve Trev. What are you doing?” Nell asked, a whimper of fear in her voice. Azisa turned her head, and pointed at Nell's horn, then at the trees.

“Wait...you want me to help you?” Azisa nodded in agreement, Nell's expression turning sour. “I dunno...it sounds really important, and I'm not that good at magic. Are you sure you need me?”

Azisa then pointed behind her, her eye narrowed and clearly not happy with Nell's response. She looked behind her, and saw the approaching horde, which had apparently gotten bigger the last time she looked. “...Right. Well, here goes.”

Nell took a deep breath, and got into a good position to shoot. “Ready?”

Azisa said nothing as she took aim. Nell gulped, then focused as her horn was covered in frost again. Then, the changeling and Grass Ghost fired their magic and ghost fire, the two attacks flowing through the air and striking the trees. The Will-O-Wisps did little, but the Ice Beams covered the trees with a nice layer of frost. Continuing the assault, Azisa fired more Will-O-Wisps at the farthest trees within range, with Nell tentatively mimicking her. Again the two attacks danced in the air and struck their targets.

By the time the pokémon and changelings ran past the frost flamed trees, the bases of the trees were lined frost with the wisps of ghost flame underneath them, the Durant were closing in. “NOW APOCALYPSE!”

At his trainers command, Apocalypse skid to a stop and turned to face the approaching horde of Durant, the empty sled whipping behind him, nicking X's tail. Apocalypse then roared to the heavens, raising his head as high as he could as many of the Durant sped up and broke from the pack, intent on landing the first blow.

“Earthquake!” Apocalypse slammed his head into the ground, the ground shattering as shock waves ripped through the earth. The force of the impact was enough to shatter the frozen trees, and just as the Durant were but five paces away from the Rock Dragon, the trees fell, crushing many of the Durant under the trees. At this the horde stopped the advance, concern for their allies outweighing any hatred of their enemies.

Apocalypse then ran towards his trainer, leaving the crushed ants to their own devices.

At long last, Nell gazed upon the wooden walls of her home, the strong wood separating the wilds from the city. Changelings walked the top of the wall, the sentinels patrolling the wall with diligence.

X slumped to the ground, panting for breath as he stand on the ground, thankful that the Durant had apparently given up pursuing them. “Well, today is turning out to be rather exhilarating huh?”

Apocalypse felt to the ground alongside his trainer. “Speak for yourself, I'm tired.”

“Indeed.” Azisa agreed, sliding off the back of her trainer and landing on the ground with a thud. “Almost reminds me of the...”

“Don't go there...” X wheezed. Nell had taken the time to fly up to the sentinels, two of them pointing their spears at her.

A moan was heard as this was happening, the Heliolisk stirring from slumber. Azisa set the Heliolisk down, Kor (whom was still inside Azisa) leaning forward. The lizard slowly opened her eyes, gazing at the pokémon gathered around her. “Azisa?”

“Inti?”

“Azisa!”

“Inti!”

“Azisa!”

“ME!!”

Sigh. “Apocalypse.”

“Me again!”

“Apocalypse....”

“Me again again!”

“Apocalypse, just stop.” Inti sighed. “I just recovered from being unconscious. Please don't send be back there so soon.”

“That's Inti alright.” X chucked at the feisty response. “Glad to see ya.”

“Uh....I don't know you.”

“It's me, Inti.”

Inti stared at the Chesnaught. “....X? What happened to you. You got....bigger.”

“I honestly do not know, and I am not entirely sure how it happened. I fell asleep doing the finances and then I woke up in the middle of the jungle. Thankfully Little Lady found me.” X pointed to his rescuer, whom was still talking to the guards.

Azisa's eye honed in on the guards. “Think they'll let us in?”

“I don't see why not.” X answered. “I mean, we're not dangerous so they should let us in.”

“Look, lady, you and your wounded can come in but the captain of the guard made it very clear when he said none of those things get in the city after what happened earlier today.” One of the guards, his voice deep and gruff, a perfect fit for a profession such as his, was trying to convince the little changeling to see things his way. The other simply stood there in silence, letting his partner do all the talking.

“But they're friends of mine. The lizard helped my little brother, and the others help us escape from whatever those things were when they tried to kill us.” Nell counters. The guard didn't look convinced, and pointed his spear at the biped hedgehog, the tree, the lizard, and the bigger lizard that looked like it was carved from a rock.

“They don't look friendly.”

“And our species doesn't?”

The guard that to think about that one. “Look, I'll talk to the captain, but I'm not so sure he'll change his mind. What was your name again?”

“Nell.”

“Well then, as I said I'll see what I can do. Off with you then, and good day.”

Nell flew back to her new friends, feeling somewhat dejected, and returned to the group.

“Apocalypse....”

“No really, as you sure it's Inti?” Apocalypse replied. It was obvious that Apocalypse was planning something. “It could be Naruto. Or a Ditto.”

“I hate to say it. The Rock makes a point.”

“That's something Inti would say.” X smirked. Apocalypse clearly wasn't buying it.

“Well, maybe she could tell us only something she knows. Like say, a certain Incident.”

Inti snapped at the Rock, slapping him in the face. “I am not telling anyone, especially you Apocalypse, about the Volcarona Incident.”

“But I wanna know!” Apocalypse moaned, then bit his tongue. “I mean, yes. Yes you will tell us. Especially me.”

“Knock it off Apocalypse, she's proved she Inti already. Drop it.” Apocalypse mumbled as his trainer stopped yet another attempt at him learning what the mystery of the Volcarona Incident was. As Apocalypse was about to whine again, Nell flew down to the group, looking somewhat detected. She didn't say a word, simply sitting on her haunches, and gazing at the mighty wall.

Several minutes had passed, which had somehow turned into a massive free for all game of connect the dots, with Nell choosing to relax on X again while Anteater and his mean simply watched.

Inti was winning by a considerable margin, with made Apocalypse more pouty than usual.

Meanwhile, the two sentinels had returned to their post guarding the wall and entrance alongside their captain, a burly changeling with bright orange mane, tail, and chitin. He gazed at the pokémon present, and then spoke. “For the last fifteen minutes those creatures have yet to make a move.” The captain spoke, a accent that was a thick and heavy accent of Stalliongrad.

“So, are they harmless sir?”

“Nothing is ever truly harmless. We as changelings should know this.” He narrowed his eyes, gazing at the large armored green one. “Especially that one.”

The deep voiced guard said nothing, miming his silent friend as the captain continued. “I am allowing them passage past the wall and into the city. But I want an eye on them. I sense a great power within him. Those ants, well we have seen ants before so we had a general idea of what they could do. But him? I feel a force within him, one that is kept under control. A force that wishes to remain that way. I shudder to think that would happen if he were to unleash it.

“Keep a close eye on him.”

The doors opened unceremoniously, Apocalypse being the first to notice. He cheered and got up first and ran towards the doors, the wooden passage practically calling him as he left the others behind him. Getting up slowly, as he was still not used to the added weight and the tail, X smiled. “See. Told ya. All it took was a few games of connect the dots.”

Inti shuddered. “Wait...I just realized something.” She pointed at Kor, who was clapping his hooves in joy. “We need to return him.”

“What did you do?” Azisa scolded the Electric Normal pokémon, Inti feeling smaller now that Azisa had gone into her mother mode.

“I didn't do anything this time, I swear!” Inti defended. “I was rescuing him from some Durant who just appeared and started making a mess of things. It took a bit longer than I thought.”

“So....why the bad vibes.”

“Because I need to stay away from his sisters.” Inti moaned. “It was....different. And not exactly in a fun way.”

“....uh....”

“I'm not talking about it X. It wounds me.”

“fair enough. Lets get these guys to a Center or something.” Dragging the injured, X and his team entered the city behind the wooden wall. They barely took three steps into the city when they stopped and gazed in wonder, the walls closing nonchalant behind them.

Tree houses.

Hundreds of them.

X had a plan, one of many, where he and his team would go on a trip to the Hoenn region for a vacation, mostly to vacate from the day to day chore known as being a construction worker, and partially to exchange the glory hounds of Kalos seeking him so they could battle him for an easy victory against the not so legendary legend of Jacob Arrow, son of Silas and Morgan Arrow for the trainers of Hoenn whom would hopefully battle him for fun and practice instead of glory (he still would have said no, but at least they accepted the definition of no as “no” instead of whatever the challenger wanted to say.)

The main destination would have been Fortree City, a forest town with several tree houses for the residents to live in. That reason alone was why X had wanted to go, with the Feather Festival, a festival to celebrate the Flying type was an added bonus.

Compared to the pictures X had shown this team, comparing Fortree City to this city was the same as comparing a pie from a fast food joint to one you would find at the Ritz: Similar, but not quite the same.

“It...it's....beautiful.” X sniffled, tears coming down his face. Apocalypse and Azisa did the same, the three of them overwhelmed by the majesty of the city bound by trees. “If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up, and if I do wake up I wish I could come back to this moment in every future dream.”

“The majesty of the forest and the wonders of urban sprawl, combined in a form such as this...” Azisa whipped a shadowy tear from her eye as she gazed alongside her trainer. “I never thought it would be real.”

“I'm not tired anymore. The prettiness made it go away.”

“Eh.” All pokémon eyes turned to Inti, the lizard looking mildly confused as the sudden focus given to her. “What? They're houses in trees. They're not to different from the ones we build.”

“You take that back.” X commanded.

“Uh, Chesnaught Naught...” X perked up at the sound of Nell's voice, the changeling tapping him on the head to get his attention. “The hospital's that way.”

X took a look at where Nell's was pointing, a long stretch of residential treehouse buildings towering over their land bound counterparts that occasionally split into a side road. Changelings and pokémon littered the ground and air, most of the changelings getting along with the pokémon quite well, while several of the more insectoid pokémon present were staring down obviously angry changelings.

“Oh right. That.” X chuckled as he marched, wading through the stubborn tide of changelings and pokémon. “Wait...doesn't she mean Center? Because hospitals are for people. Right?”

Inti shrugged, the motion serving as her answer to the question.

It didn't take the team very long to find the hospital, as it was the tallest building in town that wasn't a tree house. The building was made of the same substance of the tree houses, with some traditional materials like wood and brick thrown in, making the ascetic a little hard on the eyes. This made X a little upset as they left the hospital, nurses quickly pouring out of the hospital's doors to escort the wounded inside it's hollowed halls.

“If they can make a city out of....are those crystals?” X begun to rant, curiosity slowing the rant down to a question.

“Weirdest crystals I've ever seen, X” Apocalypse responded. He had taken the lead, his appearance convincing the crowds to conveniently move out of the parties way, a fact X's increased girth needed.

“Guess that makes one thing you and the things have in common.” Inti snarked, choosing to ride X alongside Nell.

“Thanks Inti! I knew you would be nice to me someday!”

“Uh...”

“Give him a minute X. He'll get it eventually.” Inti's grin was rather devious, X's sigh wondering how long it was going to take to get Inti to stop singling out Apocalypse.

“If you say so...”

“Okay take a left here.”

The team obeyed Nell's direction, arriving in the market. From the looks of things, there was a small scuffle earlier in the day. “...as I saying, if these pokémon can build a city in the trees, why not build the Center in it as well?”

“Wouldn't the ground be a better foundation? After all, construction rule number four.”

X pondered that for a moment. “Yea, but those crystals look pretty sturdy. If only I could have gotten a closer look...” Silence followed as the team advanced through the stalls, many pairs of eyes glaring at the pokémon. Eventually, the motley crew reached a forge, it's forgemaster pounding away at a long metal shaft with a hammer encased in a dull red aura. A Paniard was helping him, gathering materials for him while two Alakazam meditated. At that moment, the forgemaster took a moment to pause from his work, and looked up and saw Nell and Kor, the little changeling waving from his seat within Azisa.

“Nell!? You're back so soon?” The old changeling set this hammer down, and walked towards the pokémon present, the Paniard following him.

“Hello Firequake.” Nell replied. “How's the forge treating you?”

“Well, fire can be a cruel mistress when she wants to be entertained.” A hoof pointing towards the scorch marks he had accumulated was proof of that statement's truth. “But you're picking up your dad's merchant misdirection tricks pretty quickly now. Why back so soon?”

Nell's ears drooped at this, clearly a topic she'd rather not talk about at this moment. “I'd rather not talk about it...”

“Does it have something to do with the cart? Or lack thereof?”

“Oh, that...uh...It's in the shop?”

If Firequake's glare was a material object, they would be drills, drilling into the feeble lie and tearing it to oblivion in the blink of an eye. A sigh preceded Nell's revised response. “It got broken...”

“Oh you're father isn't going to like that.”

“No. No he's not.”

“Mind I ask how that happened?”

“Well, I found a lion, and I kinda let my bodyguards go on ahead of me while I took him to find his family...whom were deeper in the jungle...”

This had Firequake's expression become one of utmost concern. “You're father isn't going to like that even less. He knows first hand how dangerous the jungle can be. Leaving the road and wandering into it invites only death, and he is a more devious being than fire ever will be.”

“I guess he wasn't feeling to devious...” Nell mumbled. “I made it out in one piece, even made some friends along the way. Just...the wagon wasn't one of them.”

“I'm curious how the wagon got broken if there were guards around it.”

“Uh....creatures?” Nell responded as a thought came to her mind.

Among the wreckage were Anteater and his team, wounded and on the ground in pain. Without a moment of hesitation, Nell and Azisa rushed to their aid while X and Apocalypse simple stared at the ruined cart.
“Anteater!”
Anteater opened his eyes, his entire body bruised and weakened by something. “Nell?” he groaned, his voice weak and hoarse.
“It's me Anteater. What happened?”
“Attacked.” he coughed. “By...creatures.”
“What kind of creatures?”
“They attacked quickly. Couldn’t get a good look, but they glinted like light does when it's reflected off of metal. ” Anteater coughed again. “They ambushed us. Though it was you. Used strange attacks. Almost like magic, yet at the same time it wasn't. They took us out like we were nothing, then went after the wagon. Took almost everything.”

“Something on your mind?”

The voice of the old forgemaster snapped Nell out her thoughts. “Sorry. I was...uh how would Nall and Nalel put it? Uh...right. I was having a flashback.”

“That does sound like your sisters. What were you flashbacking about?”

“Well, before we got here to the safety of the city my guards were attacked by metal creatures. And much later, we were attacked by metal ants. I think those ants may have been the same metal creatures that attacked the guards and....uh destroyed my wagon.”

Firequake thought on this for a moment before responding. “Sounds like what happened earlier.”

“What happened earlier?”

“Well, I heard that some of the creatures that showed up started causing some sort of trouble, unlike the other critters who just appeared. Started tearing the market up, stealing some wood.” His eyes landed on Kor, the little changeling wincing from the experience of being kidnapped. “Apparently that's not all they took.”

Nell's eyes fell on her little brother, feeling the remnants of the fear he felt. No words were needed as Nell took Kor out of the tree spirit, and the two hugged. Silence drowned out all other sounds, all other emotions save that of sisterly concern. Firequake smiled as he let them be, the creatures she accompanied moving away to give the siblings much needed space, a tear falling from Chesnaught Naught's eye.

Author's Note

So, here we are, Chapter 6! Thanks to everyone who's been reading so far. You guys rock out loud.

As for other things of importance, I want to let everyone know about two things. One is the TV tropes page for A New World, A New Way located here. Tropes are awesome and that is all.

The second thing is this thread I made in the New World New Way group a while back, located here. If you have a question for X, Naruto, Azisa, Inti, or Apocalypse, head on there and drop a line. We'll answer it.

BTW a link to the group can be found here, just want to cover my bases.

Chapter 7 - Bug Bite

Chapter 7 - Bug Bite

Day 1

Citel sighed as he sat on the couch in the living room, the tree within the house serving ahead of him. He had lost track of time as he simply gazed at a simple photograph, which stood on a small coffee table. The picture showed his loving wife standing next to him while their brood daughters, small and adorable at that age, sat in the front. The three were close to the others, smiles on their faces as they played together.

Citel wondered where Nell's energy went. The mare was almost as energetic, maybe even more so than her brood sisters at that age.

Judging by the time of day, she was most likely an hour away from the first fort to rest for the night.

-

"And then I charged at those Durant, firing Thunder after Thunder at 'em, showing them that I was the boss!"

With little Lady, whom was still riding X at this point, giving directions the ragtag group of Pokemon, they had left the market, and entered a high end residential district. The housing was rather high scale, and compared to what they had seen beforehand, there were actual yards.

Inti was too busy recounting her tale with vigor to notice, the electric lizard wrapped around one of X's shell spikes. "Then, I take Core and lead him out, but then a bunch of Durant swarm the tunnel we were using so we ran back and tried to find another way out."

"Sounds fun. What happened next?

"Well X, we entered this huge chamber, and there was a bunch if Durant waiting for us. And a couple of Venipede, but mostly Durant."

"That strikes me as odd, friend." Azisa put a hand in the bottom of her head in the sane manner a person would put a hand on their chin. "Venipede do not have type advantage against Durant. Why would Poison Bug pokemon be in a hive of Steel Bugs like Durant?"

"I was in the middle a Durant colony rescuing someone they kidnapped while they chased me with the intent of hurting me. Wondering why there were Venipede wasn't a pressing concern."

"Fair enough." X consented. "So, how did you manage to escape?"

"Well, they had a few holes in the ceiling to light the room up. I just used a few Thunders to widen the hole just a bit, then used Grass Knot to make a rope for Core here. He grabbed a hold while I climbed up the wall. Naturally, the Durant chased us once they figured out what I was doing. Ever see a Muk just spread out and climb up something? It was like that, only it was made of metal."

"I take it you made it to the hole?"

"Sure did. Once I got there, I fired a Thunder like a laser beam to drill our way out. Took me a while but we made it out, and that was the last thing I remember before fainting. Next thing I remember are you guys crowding over me."

"We're here!"

Nell fluttered off of X's back and gently landed on the ground as X looked at the house. It was a somewhat large house, the green crystalline substance mixed with brick, wood, and mortar. In the middle of the house was a thick and powerful tree rising from the middle of the house, almost as if the house was built around the tree. In the branches of the tree were several other houses made of a similar substance.

Surrounding the house was a yard, the large grassy terrain bearing the occasional flower patch. Sitting to the side of the yard was a Pokèmon, a green quadruped with leafy wings and Nabab berries for a beard. The Pokemon was currently napping, but judging by its expression, the Pokemon's rest was anything but restful.

"Please tell me we're going upstairs." X remarked. To his dismay, Nell had marched to the front door, dashing X's hope. He sighed.

"Maybe next time."

"Thanks Azisa."

The doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of someone Citel probably never seen before, and very likely wanted to sell him some obscure item that he had never heard of nor would ever likely need.

Slowly getting up after setting down the picture, Citel groaned as he approached the door. He really wasn't in the mood for this. Opening the door, Citel had prepared a small but scathing speech towards the changeling at the door. He hadn't expected a sheepish reply of "Hi Dad."

The response had caused him to take a closer look at whom was at the door. His eyes widened when he realised who it was. "Nell?"

Nell nodded her head. Her father then embraced his daughter, tears forming in his eyes. "I worried for you. Ever sence the marketplace was attacked and Kor was stolen from us I feared that those monsters were in the jungle. I feared that your fate would have been the same as Kor's."

A sudden impact told the father and daughter that their Kor had joined in the hug. No words were spoken as the three embraced. No sound, no words, only love.

The hug lasted for several moments, a sound from the creatures bringing Citel's attention towards them. He opened his eyes and studied what he saw. The tallest of them looked like a biped heavily armored hedgehog with a white beard and spikes in several places. Standing next to him was a strange one eyed tree with a strange, almost ghostly energy connecting the limbs to the tree. Beside the tree was a lizard like creature with a head as large as its body complete with comically small arms and strong legs. Compared to the other two, it looked like someone took a rock and carved a creature out of it.

Wrapped around one of the hedgehog's spikes was a familiar yellow lizard. "Come over here Frilly Face," He grinned towards Inti. "You're part of the family too."

"Frilly Face!?"

"Stop it."

"Frilly Face!?"

Inti shot a glare at Apocalypse, the Tyrunt trying not to laugh while X and Azisa stifled a laugh. "Seriously, Apocalypse. It's not that funny!"

"You're right. Its not funny, it's hilarious!" At this point Apocalypse broke into uncontrollable laughter, falling to the ground as he laughed.

"Uh...."

"I think we'd better go inside, and inform your mother and siblings about your safety." Citel opened the door with a surge of magic, and beckoned the quests into the house with a motion of his hoof. "You're welcome to come in if you wish."

A cry of joy was Apocalypse's answer as he rushed past the three changelings and entered the house with vigor. The changelings, whom had at this point exited their hug followed him, a scowling Inti leaping off of X to follow. "And thus the torture session continues."

"Oh, it can't be that bad, can it?"

"Yes." Inti replied.

"Okay then...."

"She's probably is." Azisa commented on her friend's scathing response. She followed Inti, and was about to enter when X's voice stopped her. "Azisa, just control yourself. There are treehouses above us."

"I only dropped one treehouse on that Volcarona."

"But it was our treehouse!"

"Point taken..." Azisa conceded as she entered the home. X approached the door, and attempted to enter, but a sudden impact had stopped him from going any farther.

"Huh?" To X's dismay, his increased bulk had widened him, his now broad shoulders preventing him from going into the house. He grunted as he tried to get past the dreaded door frame, dull pounding sounds of his shoulders accompanying his attempts.

"Uh, guys? Little help here!"

X sat on the couch, taking up most of the space, scowling with his head in his hands. Several attempts to get through the door had ended in failure and aching shoulders. One of the attempts ended in the doorframe showing visible damage.

Eventually X had to take off his shell cloak, the cloak currently sitting just outside the house to warn intruders what lie within the walls of the house, and had to maneuver through the door that could best be described as an awkward attempt at interpretive dance.

"I feel naked."

"You are naked." Inti pointed out the obvious.

"Not exactly what I meant." X look a look around the living room. Inti and Apocalypse were sitting at the foot of the couch, while Azisa and Nell sat on a second couch next to the one X occupied.Kor had sat next to Azisa, resigning after two failed attempts to jump back into her stump. "I've only been a Chesnaught for a few hours. You'd think I would be happy to get the cloak off. Well I am, but it just feels weird to not be wearing it. Its almost like I'm trying to feel the cloaks weight despite knowing it's not there."

"Honestly, you humans and your thing with clothing." A smirk grew across Inti's face. "Most of the pokemon I know fell all stuffy and confined when they gotta wear the stuff. Except for Furfrou. Those things will do anything to look good."

Azisa had a ghost of a smile as she joined the conversation. "I can understand their point of view about clothing. It helps them adapt. That, and don't humans value self expression? With all of the available clothing available it's rather easy to express yourself."

"You tell me little miss Trevenant. I mean, aren't your species..."

"I am neither confirming nor denying what you are implying Inti."

Apocalypse turned to the tree, bearing a look of confusion. "So is that a yes?"

"It means that I'd rather not talk about it."

"...so is that a yes?"

All pokemon present laughed at Apocalypse's statement, lightening the mood.

"What? What did I say?"

Nell looked at her friends with confusion. She really hated being unable to join her friend's conversation.

Fortunately, she had six more immediate matter at hoof that just crashed into her.

"Nell! You're back!"

"Nall, please stop crushing me."

"Actually Koruk is doing that."

"Koruk, please stop crushing me."

Koruk loosened his grip as the siblings embraced their sister, their parents choosing now to appear. At this Nall had noticed a certain yellow lizard, whom immediately froze up, her muscles becoming rigid with fear. "Frilly Face! You came back!"

The rock lizard looked like it was struggling not to laugh, while Frilly Face's scowl widened. "I don't think Frilly Face likes being called that..."

"So Nell, spill!" Nalel deftly ignored her sisters question as she countered with her own question. "Why are back so early? Did you miss us? Oh! Oh! Did you change your mind and decide to take us with you?"

"No, nothing like that. I think its best to start from the beginning."

"So then, Chesnaught Naught, Treve Trev, and Tyrunt Runt Runt look me and my injured on sleds made from the ruins of my cart. It was going great, until we saw a lightning bolt shoot up from the ground.

"Obviously lightning doesn't do that so Treve Trev and I took a look. It was a hole and before we could take a closer look...Frilly Face...and Kor climbed out of the hole, and...Frilly Face passed out. Then these huge ants made of metal popped out of the hole and chased us!

"Thankfully we managed to escape thanks to my friends. Especially you Tyrunt runt runt really helped."

THe dinosaur grinned as the Tree pet his head.

“After that, we ran for our lives. And it was again Tyrunt Runt Runt who did the most, although…. Treve Trev and I lent a hoof with fire and ice. Then we just kept running until we reached Wall Maria. And well, here we are.” Nell finished with a sheepish shrug. Her family were as silent as they were during her tale, sitting in a semicircle around the couch Nell and her guests were occupying, listening intently.

Hira slowly replied with a slight quiver in her voice. “Wow. Your day was exciting.”

“See! You should have totally taken us with you! We would have had the same exciting day instead of two exciting days then! And that would have been awesome!”

“Seriously Nalel. I almost got eaten by ants and that’s what you have to say?” The changeling glared at her sisters, who tried to hide, their coats during the same shade as the walls they were by.

“Girls, show your sister some consideration….” Nall and Nalel said nothing as their coats returned to their original color.

“Well, honestly I’m not sure my day was any less exciting than yours. Would you like to share?”

“SURE! It started with me and Nalel having a talk about responsibility, then we found Mister Frilly Face in your stuffed animal collection. Don’t worry he didn’t nibble any of them.”

“Then the ants took Kor, and then we were like ‘oh noes we’re in trouble”. And then Mister Frilly Face just chased after them and then we were like ‘oh noes we’re in even more trouble. And then we went back home, got in trouble, and then you arrived home. And now were not in trouble!” At that, Both Nall and Nalel smiled, as if they were expecting a badge of honor. X had other things on his mind.

"Inti?"

"Yes, X?"

"Why do they think you're a guy?"

"I honestly have no idea. I mean, I look nothing like a guy..."

At this point Apocalypse burst into obnoxious laughter. "They think you're a guy! A guy! Hahaha ha ha har har ha!"

At this point X felt something in his gut. Without warning he rose at the same time Inti let loose a horrid screech, and shot his arm out. It was too slow, as Inti's tail whipped out of his range at just the last moment as she dove towards Apocalypse, latching onto his face.

Needless to say, Apocalypse panicked. He got up, trying to shake his head to rid himself of the enraged lizard. Judging from the grip Inti had on his head, it was going to take something more than that to get her off. The duo began rolling around, crashing into walls as they rolled into the kitchen.

“STOP LAUGHING AT ME! IT’S NOT FUNNY!”

“YOU LAUGH AT ME FOR STUPIDER STUFF!”

“THAT’S BECAUSE IT’S FUNNY!”

“STOP MAKING FUN OF ME THEN!”

“MAKE ME!”

‘I WILL!”

Suddenly the two’s struggle suddenly stopped as two strong arms suddenly tore them apart. Inti struggled as Azisa’s wooden claws gripped her while X was holding Apocalypse back.

“HEY LET GO X!”

“Not until you calm down Apocalypse!”

“I’VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH INTI! HOW COME SHE CAN MAKE FUN OF ME, BUT I CAN’T MAKE FUN OF HER!?”

“That is a very good question. Inti, why can you make fun of Apocalypse yet not let Apocalypse make fun of you?”

“Becuase.”

“Because why?”

“Because! It’s not my fault he takes it too seriously!”

“Inti, you’ve always made fun of him, and you don’t stop even though everyone asks you too.” X then shot a glare at Apocalypse. “And attacking Inti is only going to make her go at it again, Apocalypse.”

“Oh come on X, It’s just a little teasing.”

‘No Inti, no it’s not. When everything calms down, you and I are going to have a chat about this.”

“HAHA!”

“Apocalypse, don’t start it up again. Look, we’re all a little stressed, and really confused, so here’s the deal: Azisa is going to make sure you two don’t kill each other while I clear my head. Azisa, do you mind?”

“Not at all friend.”

“Good.”

And with that, X marched towards the door. The three pokemon stared at their trainer, unsure of what exactly just happened. Behind them, the nine changelings simply watched them, crowding behind the corner, trying to hide from the strange beasts. Azisa closed her eye.

“...I don’t suppose they’re going to let us stay for the night….”

“The yellow ones might. They’re not exactly the brightest…”

The sun was inching below the trees, the last remnants of the day fading away. In the yard, X slid his cloak back on to this back, the weight of the cloak both familiar and foreign to the "human". He sighed as he thought back to what had transpired.

Inti and Apocalypse had never really gotten along, but at this point it was getting ridiculous.

He needed to do something to get the two out of his head for now. Deciding to take a walk around the property, X wandered into the backyard. Sitting near the edge of the yard, X noticed a large pile of lumber next to the Tropius.

Sweet beautiful lumber.

"That will do."

As he approached the lumber, a tired voice spoke to him. "I wouldn't."

X turned around, seeing only the Tropius, the pokémon turning its head towards X. "Uh....."

"Over here."

It took X a while to realise the Tropius was talking to him. "Oh, right, thats a thing now."

"What's a thing now?"

"The whole 'I can talk to pokèmon thing now." Tropius looked a X as if he had spontaneously grew a second head. "...I'm a human. Well, I used to be one, at least."

"...right."

"It's true."

Awkward silence reigned, the Tropius giving X a strange look, one that said told people that they didn’t believe you. X chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “In any case...mind if I use some of the wood.”

“Well, the girls are using some for a little hut for me, but but I think they wouldn't mind if you used those." X looked at the pike Banana Beard was pointing a leg at. It was several scrapped pieces of lumber, planks and blocks that clearly needed some TLC were strewn about the pile.

"Phew, that’s one heck of a reject pile," X commented as he inspected the reject piles contents. "Dare I ask what happened to these?"

"You don't want to know."

"That bad?"

"Well, uh, no not really. I just don't want to tell you."

"So...why tell me 'I don't want to know' then?"

"I dunno, It sounded more legitimate, I guess."

"Fair enough. Spot any carving knives around?"

Nell exited the house and entered the backyard, spying Chesnaught Naught. He was sitting on the ground, hunched over doing something. "Hey, Chesnaught Naught. Whatcha doin?"

Chesnaught Naught turned his head, noticing the little lady and motioned for her to come closer. She did so, and saw his little project.

The biped had a block of wood in his hand, a half-carved figure trapped in the wood. At his feet were several more figures, each of varying shapes. Among their numbers were a jellyfish with a face, a small robin, a dinosaur like creature with its eyes covered by hair, and a very tiny electric eel.

"Wow. Those are really good."

"Ches."

"So...yea."

Wow, Nell. That was the most awkward way you could have ended a conversation.

Nell felt a nudge and looked up to her giant friend. In his hand was a block of wood, the one Chesnaught Naught was carving being set down, and the knife. Nell looked at the block of wood with a curious look and a raised eyebrow: the wood had clearly seen better days as it was warped while still in the form of a block (somehow), and was silently begging anyone listening to take it back to those better days.

"Wow. Nall and Nalel really did a number on this, didn't they? I mean, this has them all over it."

"Naught Ches Chesnaught Naught Naught Chesnaught Ches."

"So, uh, what do you want me to do with this?" Her answer was given in the form of Chesnaught Naught miming the motions, carving an invisible block of wood with an invisible knife. "You want me...to carve a figurine?"

A nod of creature’s head confirmed that her assumption was correct. "I dunno..."

"Ches Ches Naught?"

"Is that a yes Naught or a no Naught?"

A glare was her answer. "Right....look. I've never done anything like this. How will I know if I do it right?"

"Ches Naught Naught."

"...okay." Gripping the knife in her aura, the knife set itself gently against the grain. "No pressure right?"

With a shout of "Grah!" the figure was swiftly struck with an ice spell, then thrown at the ground. It soared towards the ground like a comet, and shattered on the ground. The figure split into three pieces, and toppled into a pile of other frozen/smashed figures.

"What is wrong with me!? Why can't I get this right!" Stomping a hoof down to emphasize her point, Nell glared at the knife, still in her aura, and with another shout, she hurled it at the wooden graveyard. The knife landed in the grass pointy side piercing the dirt.

"Naught Naught Na Ches Ches."

"You're right, Chesnaught Naught. I'm just not good at wood carving." A dejected Nall sighed as she hung her head, and turned to leave.

"Naught."

Nell halted, Chesnaught Naughts emotions swirling into her. She felt a small sour taste, one that came quickly and tended to linger the more you ate.

It was disappointment. Thankfully the taste was very light, the emotion very far from being dangerous. Her giant friend pointed at another pile, this one full of its own unfinished figures.

"Well, okay you made a few mistakes, but you know how to carve already. I don't."

Chesnaught Naught got up, picked up the knife and a new block of wood, this one relatively unwarped, and approached Nell. He then sat down with a thud, wincing in pain, as he as just sat on the end of his tail.

"Ches Naught Chesnaught Naught..." with a kind look, he handed the wood and knife to Nell, whom promptly shook her head.

"But I messed up."

Gently, Chesnaught Naught set the block down, and handed her the knife, expecting the aura to grip it again. When no aura came, Chesnaught Naught grasped her hoof, and was about to give her the knife, but stopped.

Chesnaught Naught realized she didn't have any fingers.

Thinking for a bit, Chesnaught Naught started sticking the handle into several of the changelings leg holes. Sadly, none of the holes were the right size, either being too large and the knife going through the hole, or were too small. "Uh, what are you doing?"

At this point, Chesnaught Naught held her hoof in his hand, the knife gripped between the two. He then gripped the wood, gently set the knife next to the wood. He then stayed to carve, the knife slicing the wood with each strike.

Nell certainly felt awkward as is was happening, her hoof being forced to move without her consent. "Uh...are you teaching me?"

"Naught."

"Is that a yes Naught or a yes Naught?"

Chesnaught sighed in exasperation. "Ches Ches Naught..." he stopped mid rant and spotted Nell's grin. "Naught Naught Naught Ches Naught Naught."

Treve Trev stared at Tyrunt Runt Runt as the two sat in Hira's study, the tree staring at the dinosaur intensely. Hira busied about, ignoring the two as she finished writing down a note. "Okay, that should do it. If this works, I should be able to understand you. Want to help me?"

"Runt!"

"That's the spirit." Just as she sat down on her haunches, Nall and Nalel fluttered in, Frilly Face in their grp. "Hi mom!"

"Hello girls. Care to watch?"

"Honestly, we're not exactly fans of watching your research projects. We know you like teaching but we don't like school. Just not us."

"Oh, you wound me so." Their mother feigned hurt feelings, we hoof waving is a dramatic manner. "In any case, I thought you would enjoy listening to our friend talk in our language. I think I got it."

The two siblings looked at each other, then back to their mother, whom continued. "Well, by applying two translation spells, I should be able to get it right."

"Runt!"

"I'm going to assume you're ready." With a flash of energy, Tyrunt Runt Runt glowed. "Okay, that should do it for the first spell. Do you feel okay?"

"Si."

"So far, so good. Right, second spell." Her horn flashed again, this time causing a questioning look for the tree. Impressive, considering her only facial feature was her eye.

"So....anything you would like to say?"

Tyrant Runt Runt took a deep breath, and spoke: "Inti toDSaH jatlh vIneH. ghaH qlp vIneH 'ach tIn nach tiny DeS 'ej vIghaj.”

"Hey, isn't that that weird language those archeologists speak?"

Hira levitated a book, and slammed her face into it.

"uh, ghIq vay'?"

"Trev, Trev Nant Trev Trevenant Trevenant ."

The Shadows of the night had begun to emerge, the sun fully set and Little Lady carefully carving a new figure, the knife tied to her hoof with twine. Small torches surrounded the duo, the light dancing on their sticks as they provided light in the night. Little Lady’s eyes narrowed as she carefully stuck her chunk of wood, carving away the wood.

X looked at his student intently. SHe had a few confidence issues, something he had a minor struggle with in his past, but all she really needed was someone there just to be at her side, and assure her that she was doing just fine.

“And...done!”

Having his thoughts interrupted, X looked at the finished product. It looked like a creature much like herself. However, the carving was very rough, the knife being quite unkind to the block of wood. Compared to the previous attempts, the rejects sitting in a pile of their own.

“Hmmmm….” X reached out, taking the figure into his hand (or was it a paw? X wasn’t sure), studying it. Little Lady stared at him intently, waiting his judgment. SHe sighed when he flashed her a smile. “Not bad. THis is your best yet, though it really needs some touch ups.”

“....paint?” X flashed a thumbs up, or at least the closest thing he could get to a thumbs up, considering he only had three fingers now. “Well, I think the market is still open. We could go and get some paint and paint them tonight.”

“Don’t worry X. I’ll keep an eye on everything.” X turned around, and sighed. Azisa stood next to the backdoor, almost blending in.

“Thanks Azisa.”

And with that, the two went on their way to the market.

“Thanks Toka!”

“Anytime Nell. You let your sisters and parents know I said hi, okay?”

With a large pack of paint cans, X and LIttle Lady marched from the home supply stall and marched home. But as they did, X looked around with worry. There was a good number of pokemon among the strange creatures that had taken him and his team in, but X had yet to see a single human among them.

Considering he was now a Chesnaught instead of a human….what if he wasn’t the only one this happened too? X shook his head. He really didn’t want to dwell on that.

“You okay?”

This thoughts interrupted yet again, he looked at his new friend, the changeling looking up at him. He shook his head.

“Well, at least it’s a nice night…”

A scream echoed into the night. Followed by another. Then another.

X didn’t hesitate as he dropped the paint and ran towards the screams. A stunned LIttle Lady flew after him.

X skidd to a stop as he approached several stalls. Changelings and pokemon alike were attempting to escape from six Durant, two of them gnashing their jaws at their victims while a third was tearing down stands and salvaging the wood. The remaining three were standing guard.

“That….explains a lot actually.” X moaned.

“Uh…..what do we do?”

“Well, I’m going to walk up to them, chat a bit…” X stopped when a young changeling tripped and fell. A Durant closeby marched to it, and grabbed the foal with it’s jaws, squeezing him tightly. “....and save the kid!”

He ran forward, rushing towards the victim with determination in his face. THen, the earth burs in an several explosions of dirt and dust, circling him as he skid to a stop. The dust settled, revealing several dozen angry Durant.

I really should have seen this coming.

Little Lady screamed as the Durant leapt on her friend, the larger one falling to the ground in pain.

Ever since X left the house, Inti had decided to hide on the roof of the house. It wasn’t like the roof of the treehouse, but it was pretty close.

“Thinking about today?”

“Hi Azisa.” Inti didn’t turn to face the Ghost, who had just approached from behind, the tree sitting down next to her. “Anything exciting happen with my captives and the others?”

“Well, X and the LIttle Lady went to the marketplace, while your captor’s mother is trying to translate our language…” Azisa added a chuckle. “It’s not working out as well as she hoped.”

“She’s still trying that?”

Azisa returned a look at the lizard. “I take it you are familiar with what she is trying to accomplish?”

“I was the test Tepig. The thing made me speak everything except their language. It was actually kinda funny, watching them try to figure out why it wasn’t working right.”

“Well before you get your hopes up, she doesn’t have it right yet. SHe used it on Apocalypse, and now he’s speaking some weird language with more g’s, v’s, and q’s than necessary.”

“Kinda sounds like that one language on TV. You know, the show that takes place in space.”

“I wouldn’t know. I’m not that big of a sci-fi fan. But that’s not why I’m here.”

“Look, it’s not my fault the Rock takes my jokes a bit too seriously. Naruto already had the chat with me. The problem is Apocalypse not me.”

“How so? You are the one who keeps the game going. How can you blame him for wanting to continuing the game in an attempt to win?”

“Of course. He thinks it’s a game.”

“And I think he’s trying to win at the cost of his feelings.”

“Geez, Azisa you know how to hit low.” Inti shrugged. “Look, honestly? I being mean, but there’s a difference in being mean and you know, being mean? Right?”

“Yes, but I don’t think you can hide behind that for much longer. Every action has a reaction, yes? And I’m pretty sure yours caused a few more problems than just an angry Fossil.”

“As their pet. They think I’m a guy.”

“You do make a point, but that’s not the point here. They could have kicked you out, thrown you away, but they wanted to be kind to you. They opened their doors for you. And you respond with complaints about their thoughts on your gender.”

“You ever see a guy with this physique?” Inti unfolded her frill, revealing her body. “No guy can compete with this. And before I forget, I haven't caused any trouble for the two ladies or their families. I usually just do that to Apocalypse because it’s easy. They’re not bright, but they are attentive. They have an eye for detail, I tell ya that. It would make it hard to mess with them. Now Apocalypse? Force and nothing more. That’s why I do it to…..”

Inti suddenly stopped. “You sneaky Ghost. You wanted me to admit that didn’t you. And here I thought I was the smart one.”

“Only when wires are involved friend, and I don’t think I see any nearby.”

“Yea, I’m gonna just go and clean up the kitchen.” And with that, Inti started to climb down the house. Azisa shook her head, choosing to remain and gaze at the marvel of the city, the buildings merging with the trees as naturally as nature itself.

Being raised by trainers, X understood quite well that Pokemon were forces of natures in the form of flesh and bone. And although they were cute and cuddly times, X’s parents never let him forget trainer rule number 1.

All pokemon are dangerous.

The dozens of Durant currently jumping on him proved this point quite clearly.

The Durant climbed on him, biting into him as they climbed, making room for more invaders as X stumped around. In a panic, he flailed his arms, shaking off the Durant biting his arms. Yet as he struggled to get one Durant off, two more replaced it and rewarded the Chesnaught with crushing jaws.

X grit his teeth as the Durant continued to bite at him, crawling over his shelled back. The powerful cloak did little to stop the ants’ attacks.

“GET OFF!”

He struggled, slowly rising. He didn’t get far as three more Durant went for his legs, biting it with tremendous force. WIth another scream of pain X fell down again, landing on those three Durant.

Tears streamed down his eyes, his heart full of fear, fear for his life. The emotion flowed into Nell, the grimy taste of her friends emotions causing her to step back, her muscles turning rigid with each step.

All the while, Nell stood there, stunned as changelings ran around her, the girl a rock in the tide of escaping innocents. The ants had returned in force, one that could possibly kill her new friend.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a piercing scream of desperation from her friend. “LIttle Lady, run! Now!”

Nell didn’t know what to do. Hesitantly she took a step back as her friend roared in pain, the titan struggling to get off his knees as more ants crawled onto her friend, pinning him down as their friend continued to raid her city.

“I….I…”

“RUN DAMNIT!”

“He’s telling you to run.”

Nell started to yell in surprise, the thoughts not her own as they continued. “Relax. I’m not going to hurt you. “I’m using my psychic powers to communicate with you. Think, don’t speak.”
“Who...who are you?” Nell asked the voice. The changeling noticed the voice sounded feminine with a hint of bitterness behind her words.
“I am a friend.”
“My actual friend is in the middle of being mauled by metal ants. I’m not in the mood to talk with someone I have never met calling me her friend.”
“You are a smart one. I can see that your friend is in danger. But I’m talking to you not him. The real question is what are you going to do?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. The way I see it, the Durant do not see you as a threat. They will ignore you unless you give them a reason to notice you.”
“I…...I don’t know. I’m not good in these situations.”
“Battle is never calm, but in it you must be in control of yourself. Letting your thoughts guide you rather than your emotions can decide the battle.”
Nell yelped quietly as more ’Durant’ as the Voice called it surrounded Chesnaught Naught. Tears ran down his face, his eyes closed in pain. Reinforcements continued to raid the stalls, going for wood and other building supplies before disappearing into the dirt. “But I can’t just leave him!”
“Then fight.”
“Woah, hold your hippogriffs Voice. There’s one of me, and like, definitely more than one of them.
“Well, if you hurry and run now, they will not chase you. You can run away, and be safe, but then the death of your friend will forever haunt you. Or you can stay and fight, and try to save someone you care about, and gamble both your life, and your friends.
“The choice is yours, young Nell. Make it matter.”
“Why do I have to choose! Why can’t I just choose both instead of one!?” Her head was suddenly devoid of the second voice. “Voice? Voice? Are you there?”
The silence that remained told Nell she was alone. Alone to watch her friend be tortured by invaders. Her thoughts turned into a frenzied panic. “What do I do? I’m not good in a fight alone! But I can’t just run away. I need help, someone who can help me even the odds somehow….Oh which plan do I take? Run or fight? Run or fight? Run or fight?”
Her horn quickly flashed with a yellow light, a small ding audible as her eye’s widened. She turned to run, her hooves carrying her as fast as she could. “Hang in there Chesnaght Naught. I have a plan!””

With a grumble, Inti marched out of the house with Nall and Nalel behind her, a bag of trash in Inti’s arms. Inti and Apocalypse had caused a surprising amount of damage during their roughhousing. As punishment, Inti had been forced to clean up the mess as she was the one who attacked first.

“He’s a little powerhouse isn’t he?”

“Yea. You think it’s still a good idea to keep him?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it Nall.”

“Yea, but Frilly Face has lightning powers. He did a good amount of damage without shooting lighting to something that looks like it was actually carved from a rock.”

“Your point?”

“My point is maybe we should err on the side of caution. We really don’t want to blow the house up by angering our pet.”

“Oh, you worry too much. He’ll be fine right, Mister Frilly Face?”

Inti mumbled under her breath as they set the bag of trash outside on the side of the road.

“So….wanna finish making a place for Frilly Face and Banana Beard to sleep tonight?”

“Sure. We have plenty of wood. Maybe the big guy can help! Nell said that the big guy made sleds out of wreckage right? Well maybe he knows how to make a place for everyone.”

At this, Inti had a confused look on her face. “Wow….they’re smarter than they look.”
Before Inti could respond, the clamor of hooves announced the arrival of several guards clad in armor, racing towards their destination. The two changelings looked at the soldiers with worry. “Uh...hi.”

One guard stopped his advance and turned to the changelings, staring at Inti with a questioning look. “Stay here in your homes until further notice.”

The guard left the girls, rejoining his battalion as the girls looked at each other. “You wanna…”

“No Nalel. He said stay put. If the army is saying stay put, it might be a good idea. I mean, you have seen the strange creatures that just...appeared, right?”

“I’m curious!”

“Hey, we’ve already been to the marketplace today, now it just happens to be...where X and Little Lady are...right now…..”

It didn’t take much to get Inti running towards the house, screaming for Azisa and Apocalypse, leaving a confused Nall and Nalel in her dust.

Inti found Apocalypse and Azisa in the study. An exasperated Hira had her head in a book, her eyes darting across the book, desperate for an answer. “Azisa, Apocalypse, I think X and Little Lady are in it deep.”

“What makes you think that?” Azisa turned to her panicked friend. Apocalypse turned his head, ignoring his workmate.

‘A bunch of guards in armor just marched past two of the wonder triplets. It sounds like something big is happening at the marketplace.”

“And?”

“And we gotta go now! We gotta save him!”

“Save him? But who nee….” Azisa’s gasp interrupted her statement, as she moved a claw to the bottom of her head. “...that’s where X and Little Lady are.”

“And?”

“Apocalypse, X was a Human who is now a Pokemon.” A blank stare was Apocalypse’s response. Inti grew more and more frustrated as Azisa tried to explain. “What does X have the ability to do now, yet lacks the knowledge of how to use it?”

“The ability to walk around without clothes on?”

“No you idiot. Human’s can’t use Pokèmon attacks. And if X was a Human, but is now a Pokemon, that means he can use Pokemon attacks.” Inti counter.
Apocalypse restored with a glare. “Well, why is that a bad thing, Shorty?”

“The problem isn’t the fact that X can now use Pokemon attacks. The problem is that X doesn’t know what attacks he can use. Or how to use them. IF something got into a fight with him, his lack of skill in combat combined with the lack of knowledge we just discussed will not bode well for him.”

“Well then why are we standing around here then!” With a crash, Apocalypse ran past his teammates, running into a wall. He backed up, then continued his spirit towards the front door.

“Well, he is easy to excite I’ll give you that.”

“You do rile him quite often friend.”

“I see with nothing wrong with that.”

X screamed as the biting continued. The rather painful biting tearing into him. The weight of the Durant on his back pinning him down, the crushed Durant under him wriggling against his stomach.

“Of all the ways I imagined myself dying, this is gotta be somewhere in the top ten.”

“You have a top ten list of the ways you think you’re going to die?”

“I was six and really bored that day. But lets face it, Durant are pretty dangerous and in my defence I’m...wait. You’re not my thoughts.”

“A very observant observation. Congratulations on figuring that out.”

The pain of the attacks and their weight seemed to fade, present but sent to the back of his mind.

“That actually make me feel a little better. Man, I wish Inti was here. How did you manage to mind read me anyway.”

“You are part Fighting Type. The Type’s dedication to the psychical arts leave many with a weakness towards the mental arts, with a few exceptions. I believe your thoughts tell me you should have learned that during Mr. Heart’s Type 103 class during your Trainer School days.”
“Are we really doing this in the middle of me dying?” Because now I’m disappointed. Can you please not ready my mind anymore?”
“What do you fight for?”
“Pardon?”
“What do you fight for?”
“Nothing. I don’t like fighting.”
“Yet you train Pokemon.”
“Only because my parents made me. Since you’re reading my mind you probably know who they are.”
“I do. But the matter at hand is you, not them. What do you fight for.”
“I don’t like to fight. The situation I am in is because of fighting. Now I’m dying and having a chat with a mind reader.”
“You're not being completely honest.”
“....I don’t have a reason.”
“Oh?”
“I mean, my parents are trainers, and their parents were also trainers, and so on and so on. Fighting's kinda in our blood. But me? I felt like I was the odd one out, the shiny Whimsicott who’s different. I‘m just not sure if deep down I am a Trainer or a construction worker. It’s pretty obvious which one I want to be, but I’m not sure which one I need to be. You understand right?”
“That doesn’t really answer the question, does it?”
“....”
“Silence. A answer purer than any yet more cryptic than any question. You might want to have an answer. It might be of more use than you know.”
X’s mind turned to a single voice as the other voice left his mind. The pain of the attackers returned to the forefront of his mind, X screaming again.

“GET OFF OF ME!”

“THUNDER!”

“ROCK SLIDE!”
The two shouts heralded a bolt of thunder crashing into a group of Durant, launching them off of X. The attackers stopped for a moment to watch rocks hurled into their faces, causing a few of the surrounding Durant to stumble. The rest were taken by surprise when a second bolt flew into another group, launching them into the first group. Instinctually, X rose, causing the stragglers to tumble off of him. He opened his eyes as he retreated from the Durant. Before him was LIttle Lady, Inti, Apocalypse, and several armored changelings. His changeling friend flew into him, the human pokemon grabbed her, hugging his friend. “Did she…?”

“Well it went like this, X.” Inti had a smug look as she and Apocalypse glared at the DUrant, whom had recovered.

The three pokemon had joined the advancing guards, whom were at the moment uncaring of the three creatures that had just joined their ranks.

“Please tell me we are almost there…”

“Not sure Azisa. Just keep running.”

Azisa groaned as she tried to keep up with the others, and failed. “You try running with two extra pairs of legs. It’s not as easy as it looks.”

“I’ll keep that in mind when I reincarnated like you did.”

“Again, I am neither confirming nor denying that.”

“Calm down kid, and tell us everything.”
“Just…did...friend...dying. No time...to rest...come with me….”
The guards did not question her, and followed the tired and afraid Changeling with urgency.
In the meantime, Azisa moaned as she tried to catch up.

“And that’s why we’re here!” Apocalypse shouted.

“Thanks for coming for me.” X coughed. His body had bite marks everywhere. As he spoke Little Lady crawled onto his back, her horn glowing with frost. “Okay, lets get out of here!”

“And miss the fight? Hell no.” Lighting surged around Inti’s body and Apocalypse gnashed his jaws, jumping forward and joining the guards on the front line.

“I’m guessing diplomacy is out fo the question?"

“You could say that,” Inti remarked. The Durant had recovered from the sneak attacks, righting themselves and getting into a formation. The scavengers had dropped what they were carrying to join their brothers and sisters. They were eager for a fight, and no was not an answer for them.

“Guess we don’t have a choice.”

Both sides stared at each other, eager for the other to go first. As they waited, Azisa waded to the front line, out of breath. “Why am I out of breath? I have no lungs. Phew what did I miss?”

“Honestly? Not a thing slowpoke.” Inti taunted as the Durant charged.

Author's Note

Finally, it's done! Hope you enjoy it!

ANd now a word from my editor

tdnpony - Glad to see the next chapter up, and glad that you got over your writers block. The plot is moving along nicely, and I look forward to the next chapter

Bubba was not here.

Omake

OMAKE

Hong Kong Shatterdome, 2025

Marshall Stacker Pentacost, clad in his obsidian armor, stood before the collected Pan-Pacific Defence Core. This was it: Humanity's last stand against the unfathomable power of the Kaiju. The end was nigh, for better or worse, and at the end of the day he and his team were going into the hornets nest. Today the fight would end.

The end result be damned.

"Today...." The words crawled out of his mouth, weak and strong at the same time. His choice of words perfectly reflected him: A tired man that had traveled to the gates of Hell themselves and back, whom only wanted a brighter tomorrow for his kind. "Today... At the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves, but in each other.

"Today there is not a man nor woman in here that shall stand alone. Not today. Today we face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them! Today, we are canceling the apocalypse!"

Before any cheers could be cheered, a very loud collection of sad sniffles echoed through the silence that was now in the Shatterdome. He turned to see a small dinosaur made of rock sniffle. Standing next to it was a tall creature that could best be described as a mutant hedgehog wearing spiky green and cream armor.

The dinosaur started to bawl. "WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO CANCEL ME?" With that, the dinosaur ran away into the depths of the Shatterdome, crying louder than any siren.

"Really Pentacost? Really?" Came the reply from the mutant hedgehog knight. His face was visibly angry as his arms were very vibrant in their waving about to express his mood. He then turned around a broke into a awkward run, shouting "Wait for me Apocalypse! They didn’t mean you!"

Moments passed as the entirety of the staff was processing what happened. As it was the voice of the entirety of all present, Pentacost's reply summed up everyone's thoughts quite nicely. "What the hell was that!?"

Author's Note

And this ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when I pun.

chapter 8 - Big Buzz

chapter 8 - Big Buzz

Night 1

"FOR THE HIVE!" The Changeling guards’ screams reverberated through the air as they charged at the metal ants. The ants responded in kind, mirroring the guards’ advance. As the two forces advanced on the others, battle plans soared through X's head.

Many of them involved getting the hell out of there. Images of gnashing, gnawing ants still flashed before his eyes. He shuddered as the thoughts took hold. Everything slowed down to a claw, the changelings and Durant freezing in place as they charged.

It was a fear similar and strange to the young man as a memory took hold.

X sat in a dingy room, the light above being the only source of illumination. Before him were three figures. Two of them were the same: twin females with khaki brown uniforms and hats covering their blue hair, identical in style. A badge was on each of them, identifying themselves as Kalosean Police Officers. They stood between the third of their number, a man with casual clothes that suggested he was a rock climber. Colored things that could be described as fake rocks adorned the dark skinned man's hair.

He sat in front of X, a table between the two parties with papers and envelopes on it. On his face was a scowl, and narrowed eyes that hid behind clasped hands."Where are they Arrow?''

"I don't know what you're talking about." was X's reply. It was obvious he was frightened, the quivver in his voice doing nothing to hide that. The Leader before him was going to capitalize on that, if Pokemon Training 103 was to believed.

"You know exactly what you did. We have proof. And to be honest I really expected better from a person of your standing. I mean, returning to the scene of the crime? I honestly thought only badly written TV drama villains did that."

"It's kinda hard to return to the scene of a crime you never committed. I told you this three times already: The only reason why I came to Cylage City is because of that letter you sent me Grant." X nodded to the afromented letter, confiscated and currently in front of Grant sat in front of the Gym Leader. The Leader paid it no mind as he unclasped his hands, X seeing the full angry face of the leader for the first time since the interrogation started.

"Bluff all you want Arrow. You're parents can't help you get out of the little mess
you're in."

"So my proof is a bluff and yours isn't? Prove it."

Grant reached for a folder, calmly opening it and taking out it's contents, which appeared to be photographs. Wordlessly, he slid them to X, who carefully picked them up and gasped when he gazed at them.

Inside his gut he felt fear rising. His world came crashing down around him through no fault of his own, the sounds of the world fading into the background of his mind as he tried to comprehend what he was looking at. It couldn't be true. Every part of him was telling him it couldn't be true. Yet in front of him was a truth that turned his own truth into a lie.

His life was over.

Grants question pierced the silence in X's mind, the sound echoing loudly in the silence. "Where are they?"

"X? X? Yo, X!"

X snapped out of his flashback, his eyes blurry as everything seemed to return to its normal speed. He was greeted with the sight of battle. The Durant easily outnumbered the Changelings two to one, the Ants viciously taking advantage of this as much as they could. At least two Durant ganged up on a guard, the land bound pony bugs using their spears as best they could to prod at the metal beasts but to no avail. The remaining guards took to the air and fired spell after spell ranging from lightning bolts to pure magical forces. The attacks that landed seemed to just annoy the ants, knocking them down for just a moment before getting right up again to continue the ground battle.

"Sorry. Zoned out of it for a moment. Did I miss anything?"

"Not really friend."

"Please tell me you have a plan." Inti's quip was more of a statement than a question. X sighed as the pressure was being put on him. "I really want to hear those words X."

"Well, its kinda obvious we need Fire, but I don't think they can learn any." X lamented as he motioned towards the guards. "If they did know any they might have used them by now."

"Might? Why might? If I knew a Fire attack I'd use it right now." Apocalypse pawed the ground as he stared down the Durant. Thankfully the Steel Bugs ignored the pokemon, their focus occupied by the Changeling guard.

"Apocalypse, look at how many trees there are in this city. Fire is probably discouraged here. One stray Ember and several blocks go up in smoke." Inti sighed.

"I didn't think of that."

"In any case we need to even the odds and weaken them before we make a break for it. I have a plan." X replied with a slight quiver in his voice. "You three charge in and drive them back into their hole and make them run away. Apocalypse, only use earthquake in emergencies, and only when I tell you."

"Why?"

"Well, we wouldn't want to cause even more damage." As if on cue, one stand that was cannibalized of all useful materials simply fell apart, the strain of the holding it together with only half of it's supports remaining too much for it.

Inti wasn't convinced. "I don't think we need to worry about that actually X."

"Inti, no attacking Apocalypse. Same goes for you Apocalypse. Friendly fire isn't friendly. Anything else goes."

"I'll restrain myself."

"Azisa, Leech Seed and Will-O-Wisp everything. The more you drain them, the less willing to fight they will be. How's your Sitrus Berry stash?"

Azisa reached into herself and revealed her stash. "I'm afraid I have only one. I need that to make more. What do you plan on doing?"

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on everything and direct things from here. My orders take priority, but use your best judgment when you don't hear any of my commands. Little Lady can Ice Beam for a distance, if she thinks of it. Azisa, can you mime it for me?"

With a hand motion, Azisa did as she was asked. Nell looked puzzled for a moment. "uh..... what?"

That elected a groan from X. "Never mind. We'll just stay back. Go for it guys!"

With a roar, Inti and Apocalypse ran to the aid of the guards, wit Azisa limping along at a Shelmet's pace.

A young mare screamed as one of the accursed ants lunged at her, biting her with terrifying force. She lunged her spear at the beast in retaliation, the weapon shattering as it struck the metal skin. Hissing, she then punched it in the face, shouting in pain as hoof met head. She was surprised to feel steel. Not skin like steel, but actual steel for skin.

Just what was that thing?

A screech interrupted her thought as her attackers friend decided to join in. It's mandibles opened wide, eager to strike.

"HEILIOLISK!"

A bolt of lightning struck the ant, stunning it and halting its assault. Before anyone could react, a wave of lighting heralded by a shout stuck the other ant. The attackers grip loosened as his muscles turned rigid. With spite, the guard slammed her hoof into it’s face again, the strike managing to make it back off.

The mare shook her hoof vigorously as she turned to the origin of the lightning bolt. To her shock, one of the strange creatures that had joined the guards en route was her hero of the moment. The lizard gave her a thumbs up, an act of positive reinforcement if her time with that minotaur motivational speaker taught her anything. The mare nodded, picking up the pieces of her spear as the bulkier rock-like lizard and the walking tree joined the fray' with her savior of the moment speeding past them screaming a battle cry.

The mare fluttered her wings and took to the air, joining her airborne comrades and observed the battle. To her horror, many more ants were emerging from a giant hole in the ground, many going into battle while a small number simply scouted around.

The mare didn't have to think twice as her scream heralded her dive into the horde's heart.

"Apocalypse Rock Slide! Azisa Will-O-Wisp! Mix the two together!"

Apocalypse roared as he slammed his head into the ground, launching several rocks into the air which he proceeded to ram his head into. Ghost fire was launched at the same time, the two attacks flowing through the air in unison. Several Durant bunched together were hit, dents showing in half of them while heated steel marked the other half.

"Again, but this time Azisa use Leech Seed!"

Another storm of stones rose to the air, and as Apocalypse rammed his head into the stone, small seeds joined them as they soared into the Durant again. Several of the seeds that landed on their marks sprouted, doing their best to burrow into the metal skin.

Words weren't wasted when the ants launched towards the duo. Apocalypse dived while Azisa faded into the ground, purple energy echoing from her disappearance. Confused, the ants turned their attention to Apocalypse, one zealous ant leading the assault.

"Dragon tail them!"

"Dragon tail!" Dragonic energy surrounded the Tyrunt's tail, forming the shape of a dragon's head. With no pause, the Rock Dragon spun it's tail into the charging foe, launching him into an ally, the guard tumbling from the weight off the Durant. The two Durant the guard was fighting crawled over his prone form, striking the guard while he was down. The guard angry shouted "Hey, watch where you're aiming!

Apocalypse weakly chuckled as he noticed what he had done. "Eheh. Whoops."

A metal scream sent shivers racing up the spine of the tiny tyrant turned his attention to a second charging Durant. As the attacker Approached, the familiar form of Azisa faded into view, her fist raised high. "Phantom Force!"

The attack was true to it's name as the phantom punched the Durant with enough downward force, the Durant seemed to be slightly embedded into the ground.

"Thanks Azisa!"

Before thanks could be returned, two Durant raced up to Azisa and plunged their jaws into her, the bites crunching her. The Tyrunt attempted to intercept, but was sent tumbling into the chaos of battle, as the very same guard who he was launched a Durant into was launched into him, mirroring what had happened earlier.

Azisa growled as he raised her hands, the fingers glowing green with nature's power. A cry of "Horn Leech!" heralded her plugging it into a Durant, the energy being sapped from him.

"No good. Those Crunch attacks are Super 'Effective. I'm not sure I can drain enough of their energy to keep up with the damage."

"X! Help!"

"I'm thinking!" X observed the battlefield. Azisa was pinned down by obvious Crunch attacks, while Apocalypse had fallen and was having trouble getting up. Inti on the other hand was doing well. Five Durant were currently surrounding her, charing as one. The Thunder Lizard was doing her best to control the situation, using two Grass Knot whips to keep them back. Her expression was a determined one, her battle cry an exuberant "Back! Back I tell you!"

Inside X worried. "Okay, gotta think. Azisa is probably okay due to how good she is at not being KOed. Inti And Apocalypse are powerful but have a hard time taking hits. Man, I hate this. Too little of us and too many of them."

"Uh, Chesnaught Naught?"

"I could probably have Apocalypse use Earthquake. But then again it would hit a lot of the grounded guards assuming they can't fly out of the way in time, and Inti is half Electric."

"Uh, Chesnaught Naught? Ants!"

"There's no water nearby, so no Surfing for Inti....geez I hate not having a plan. Makes me feel naked."

A whack to his head jolted him out of his thoughts. "Chesnaught Naught! Ants! Glowing head! Glowing Ant Heads!"

The warning came too late as A Durant lept into X's chest, it's Iron Head striking with terrible force. X stumbled back, his passenger tightening her grip. More Durant burst from the ground, them being obvious reinforcements. They stared at him with a hungry glare.

The fear within built up inside of him again, X stepping back slowly. Then, as sudden as a flood the Durant charged him as one. At this, X broke into a run, attempting to escape. It was not to be, as two Durant bit his leg, causing him to fall. Nell screamed as she was thrown off of her friend, landing in the dirt with a thud. The Durant ignored her, choosing to go after the Chesnaught, the ants surrounding him with little effort.

Several bolts of magical force struck the ground, the Durant assaulting Inti confused for a moment as to where it was coming from. With frightening speed Inti fired a Thunder into a Durant, knocking him out. Inti made a break for it, lumping over the unconscious Bug and fire a Thunder Wave followed by a rather large THunder Wave into the other four. Aerial magic from above resumed it's assault, striking the helpless ants with it's power.

Inti looked up and flashed a smile towards the three flying Changelings that had saved her hide. She ran into the chaos of battle while the changelings charged their magic again, seeking new targets.

"Gotta thank them later...."

Apocalypse was quickly hating being pushed into everything. As soon as he got up with help from that guard, they were separated by the Durant. His assaulters were ramming him into several of his new allies, whom in turn gave the Tyrunt dirty looks.

"Stop pushing me into things! Its not fair!" Apocalypse whined. Tears started to well up in his eyes, which gained no sympathy from his attackers whom continued to press the assault, Lunging at him. "Fine then. CRUNCH!"

Apocalypse opened his maw and bit down on an attacker, lifting his victim into the air and violently shook the ant. The Durants ally roared and attempted to save his friend, only for a Thunder to fly into the ant, knocking him out. Apocalypse then threw the ant through air and into a Durant that was being chased by an guard. The flying ant crashed into his freind, causing the two to stumble around.Naturally, the pursuing guard could not stop in time, stumbling over the ants.

Apocalypse turned to see Inti standing there, her frill unfurled and crackling with thunder. "We're even."

"Eh, okay. Wanna jump on some Durant?"

Inti's grin could almost be considered criminal. Almost.

"I do not like being Crunched!" Azisa howled as she was Crunched. The Durant continued to Crunch her as she retaliated with Horn Leech. The energy flowed from attacked to attacker the best it could, the metal skin of her foes interfering with the Grass type attack.

Thankfully the Leech Seed was more effective, their parasitic roots able to cling far better than her attack. As of that moment the only reason why she wasn't unconscious was the mass energy theft she was orchestrating.

One Durant suddenly fell off of the tree, his eyes closed in pain as two more climbed their way to the now vacant spot.

She needed help, and needed it now. A barrage of attacks from the airborne warriors, Apocalypse, a Volcarona (as Azisa hopped to Arceus himself that such a thing would never happen. Inti would never let her hear the end of it.)

"If only I had a stronger Horn Leech..." At that moment, Azisa wished she had a proper mouth as she dug her legs into the soil. She would have smiled deviously.

The Durant gazed at the Chesnaught intently, the Grass Fighting Titan sweating bullets. Then without warning they charged, X closing his eyes and raising his arms.

"Stop."

The command was forceful yet controlled, causing the ants to immediately cease their advance. After a moment of not being attacked, X lowered his arms and opened his eyes. A lone Durant stepped in front of the others, who backed away from X until they were behind him.

X didn't really know how to go from there. "Uh, Thanks?"

"Do not thank me." Came the reply. THe voice reverbed slightly with a metallic twang.The ant whom spoke had several scars on his metal carapace, signs of battle no doubt. "I remember you. You are the Chesnaught that ran from me in that jungle. I can tell whom you are because I see the same weakness as that Chesnaught."

"Beg pardon?"

"You are weak Chesnaught." The Durant insulted. "Your kind has great power, one I have seen with my eyes. You do not use it. You stand behind allied lines, commanding pokemon like cowardly humans. You like them so much, those cowardly creatures who rather dirty mandibles other than their own, you act just much like them!"

"Hey, my species doesn't suck that much!" X shouted. "Take that back!"

"You even think you are a human! Power you wield is wasted on you, scum of the Chesnaught!"

"But I am a human. I woke up to suddenly being a Chesnaught! And let me tell you, today has been very confusing, so maybe if we all calmed down...."

"You are a coward. We will not stop. But you are not worthy of fighting the full power of the colony! You there!" The Durants eyes darted over to Nell’s prone form. "Take her to Iron Shell while we handle the coward! Pray to Arceus both we are merciful Chesnaught!"

Nell screamed as a Durant burst from the ground startling her. It quickly grabbed her hoof painfully as she tried to back away, the metal bug quickly overpowering her. It started to drag her into the hole it crawled out of, a second ant widening it.

At this X's eyes narrowed without his consent. "STAY AWAY FROM HER!" He started to run towards his friend, but a sharp pain in his tail stopped him.

He didn't need to turn around to know it was the same Durant who called him a coward that had holding him back. With a powerful tug, X was dragged away, panicking as he tried to shake him off, eventually succeeding. Then in a bellow of rage, X charged his attacker, and slammed his first into the ground, barely missing him. He bellowed again when the Durant crawled over him again, fear building up within X's heart.

Today had been a bad day for Nell.

For starters she was chased by a rocky lizard in the deep Hoofrican jungle. If the rock lizard didn't kill her, whatever else was in there would have happily killed her for it.

Then, after escorting a lion to its pride and finding the mammalian oddity that was Chesnaught Naught, she was attacked by a cycloptian tree.

The kicker being that the mammal, tree, and lizard all somehow knew each other. So she was stuck with them before being convinced by their actions that there was something lost in translation.

Throw in her escorts and more importantly her wagon being trashed by these metal ants, and you get very narrowing escape from them.

The very same kind of ant that not only are attacking right now, attacked the same area in town earlier today.

And right now she was being dragged to the Hive-knows-where. Nel screamed she continued to try and fly away, the attempt failing. The hole was dangerously close, the deep darkness of the hole wanting to consume her.

In desperation, she turned her head and fired her ice magic at her foe. To her shame the attack missed,the attack covering the hole with ice. The Durant slipped as it walked on the newly formed ice, losening its grip.At that moment' Nell flew to the air, out of the range of her attackers.

Observing the battle, Nell released a held breath. Things had quickly gone from bad to worse. The ants were numerous and many of the guards that were still conscious took to the air. It became very clear the ground battle was lost.

The fear that Chesnaught Naught was experiencing was almost paralyzing her. It was a testament to Nell's inner strength that she hadn't just fallen down in despair. Now she just needed a way to fight back.

Before she could think another thought, a horrible din was heard throughout the battle. Her mind felt like it as chalkboard being scratched at as she tried to think through the noise. She felt herself falling towards the ground, unable to focus on flying, and to her horror so were the flying guards. As soon as they landed, the ants stuck without mercy, the warriors of the Hive struggling to get back into the air.

"At least they have armor. I'm wearing nothing! I'm a...."Her horn glowed yellow and dang again as a thought appeared again. "Well, I've got nothing to lose. Might as well!"

With a shout, a ball of ice fired out of her horn, bursting into an icy dry mist when it shattered on the ground. The ants stopped their din, confused as their vision was interfered with. Unbeknownst to them, Nell took to the air again, and landed on the top of a stand.

She was surprised to see several of the bird like creatures that had appeared this day, these small creatures that looked like pigeons simply observed the fight. Nell could taste the sickening fear they felt, with sounds of a bickering argument being spoken between them.

Placing them out of her mind. Her horn focused as lessons from her past emerged.

"Mom, why are you good at magic?"

Hira looked down at her little girl, the young Nell gazing up at her mother with the most adorable eyes. "Well honey, magic has several factors, but for me, it is about focus and will."

"What are those?"

"We'll, focus is about concentration, doing something without being distracted by something else. And will is trying to do what you want to, even though you may feel like you can't do it."

Nell looked at her mother with confusion. "So is that why me and my sisters are not good at magic?"

"My sisters and I honey." Hira corrected, her teacher self emerging at that single moment. "And it is one reason, though not the sole reason. Your sisters lack focus, but they do have great willpower because I've never seen them back away from anything. They're always willing to try something even if they know they might not succeed.

"Magic is complex, a being that isn't fully understood. And while magical talent and skill at using magic take precedence, in a tight spot all you need is focus and will.

"When you're back against the wall and you need something done, unshakable focus and overwhelming will can let even the weakest of mages perform great wonders. You just need to find it."

Nell braced herself as the fog dissipated, her attackers looking around before quickly spying her on the stands roof. They moved as one, seeking their prey. With a deep breath, Nell closed her eyes as her horn glowed. Images of she wanted to do were clear, the magic building slowly.

"1..."

The ants reached the stand, Nells pidgeon friends flying away from the changeling.

"2...."

The ants started to climb quickly.

"3!" Her horned fired a beam of frost as her front leg, encasing it in block of ice. To her amazement she could still feel the leg, the ice not immediately freezing it. With a smile she fired another ice beam, followed by another, then another, and another, and another.

With a roar, a Durant had finished his climb, only to be knocked off with a terrible force. He fell off, landing with a thud. This caused his allies to halt for a moment once they finished their climbs. To their confusion, Nell had covered her legs and her tail in columns of ice, the frozen water glittering in the moonlight. She jumped off of her perch, and glided into the falled Durant, stunning it with the weight of the impact. The other ants charged after the frozen changeling, eager to avenge their ally.

Nell charged with a scream, uncharacteristic of her. With a leap, she slammed one of her legs into her enemy, the ice cracking alongside the clang of ice striking metal. The ant looked incredibly annoyed before Nell punched it again, following up with a spin, the ice covered tail slamming into the ant and sending it away with a Tumble.

"I...I did it. Hey, that infiltrator lesson really did come in handy."

Nells celebration was short lived. The Durant behind her target lowered its head, the metal glowing brightly. Nell raised a hoof to block, but the force of the Steel attack shattered the Ice, the limb now exposed.

"AH!" Nell screamed as she punched her new attacker still glowing head with the other frozen limb. It did nothing as the impact shattered most of the ice. The ant banged it's mandibles together, almost as if it was mocking her. It lunged again, Nell barely avoiding an attack as she covered her legs in ice again.

"You really are noisy aren't you?" Azisa asked. She got no answer from the increasingly large pile of metal that was crawling over her. The added weight made it hard for her to move. But move she did, and she continued to move until she got close to a rather large tree, tall with a large trunk.

"Last chance, enemy. Get off of me, now."

"You are weak! We will continue to strike you until you fall, you weak Grass type."

"You know not who I am. I am Azisa, the vampire of Laverre City, and you will now face the fury of the forrest!" Azisa shouted as she plunged her legs into the dirt again. For a minute, nothing happened and the Durant continued to Crunch her. Then, three roots, as large as the tree and as sharp as spears emerged from the dirt they called home. Before the Durant could react, the roots slammed into them, sending them off of her one attack at a time. Screams echoed as the Durant lost their advantage, many of them backing away from the Ghost Tree.

One of the few who had a hard time getting up looked at his approaching attacker. Her eye could almost pierce the metal skin he bore. "How?"

"I am more than what you think you can see." With that, Azisa faded from view, the roots returning to their earthen home.

Nell screamed again, the Durant ramming into her icy armor, shattering it. It was clear that the ants were stronger and more numerous. But she made it clear that whatever they planned to do with her, she wasn't going peacefully.

She was just worried she might not be able to rescue her friend as the titan swarmed by ants again. Judging by his emotions, he was at his emotional limit, the fear threatening to overwhelm him.

With conviction Nell made another swing, striking the foe. A sharp jolt of pain was her reward as the ice fell off her hoof. She struggled to make her horn glow to fire another ice beam and get her advantage back...

Those hopes were dashed when a duo of durant, their heads glowing, slammed into her sides, the wind forced out of her breath. She crumpled to the ground, the pain in her barrel and wings overwhelming her. A third of their number charged at her again, the glowing head an indication of her soon to be defeat.

As if the heavens decreed it to be, the strange tree creature levitated out of the ground, and was struck with the blow meant for Nell. The tree stared at the Durant with a terrifying glare. "Tevenant Trev Nant Nant Trevenant. TREVENANT!"

Treve Trev bent over and backhanded the attacker away from her, the Durant collapsing from exhaustion. Before any other action could be made the ghost fire formed in Treve Trev's hand, quickly seeking the other Durant. They were struck with the fire, their strength disappearing into the burning embrace of their burns. With her other arm, Treve Trev took Nell into her grip, and faded away just as the Durant leapt at her. They crashed into each other, leaving small scratches in their heads.

X had never screamed as loud, or as often, before in his life. The Durant wouldn't stop attacking, repeatedly biting him to no end. Every attempt to get up ended in failure as the attacks kept coming.

Salvation came in the form of Azisa appearing in front of the attackers, a shivering Little Lady in her grip, the girl wided eyed in shock and mild horror. With a Ghostly blow, Azisa punched two of the Durant while the still shocked Nell stuck two more. The reduced weight allowed X to get up, the remaining Durant still attached to him arms. With a shout X swung his arm backwards into the nearest solid object, the blow loosening the grip of the now unconscious attackers.

With extreme prejudice, X stomped the two Durant, knocking them out before he turned to his Ghostly Pokemon. "You have no idea now frightening these things are!"

"I can imagine." Azisa replied with confidence. X raised an eyebrow as he saw Nell, the girl still shivering. "...I take it you took her of a Phantom Force trip."

"It was the only option for getting her out of danger."

"...Azisa you know what happens when you do that to a non-Ghost."

"Azisa, humor me for a moment, but what exactly did you do to X?"

"I assure you it just was a journey through the world of intangibility." Azisa replied to Naruto's question, the Dark Fox leaning up against the walls of X's room. The house in question was their brick and mortar home they had for when they weren't staying at their treehouse. Naruto glared at Azisa with a questioning look on his face. "I assure you, he's fine. I do it all the time. Nothing to worry about."

Naruto simply opened the door, revealing a traumatized X rocking back and forth on his bed, wide eyed and sleep deprived. He was chanting as he rocked. "All these squares make a circle. All These squares make a circle. All These squares make a circle. All these squares make a circle."

"Uh...."

That elicited a groan from Naruto. "I have a lot of things to worry about now thanks to this."

Azisa huffed as she crossed her arms. "It's not my fault you scare easy."

"Azisa, I had nightmares for two weeks because of that."

"oh look, Inti needs our help." Azisa then faded away from view as a sigh escaped X. "We're not done talking about this Azisa!"

"I was having a good day, then this all happens." Nell moaned as she stumbled to Chesnaught Naught. Her words were slightly slurred, and Nell could swear she was hearing the color green talk with a German accent. "You have scary friends you do know that right? I mean, wow that thing Treve Trev just did? That tops growing fruit of your own body."

Chesnaught Naught simply knelt down, clawing at the ground as a wounded guard crawled to Nell. "You....get out...now."

"Sorry, little woozy. Can you repeat that?"

The guard gave Nell that look. "Kid, run. "Theres too many.....save yourself."

"Eh." Nell moaned. Honestly, after what that tree did to her, anything sounded like a good idea just as long as it got rid of the headache she manifested. Before she could obey the soldier, Chesnaught Naught grabbed the soldier, and deftly placed him upon his back. "Hey, whats up Chesnaught Naught?"

Chesnaugth naught pointed to the doodles on the ground, and as Nell looked at them, she smiled. "That's a good plan."

The Durant found themselves in an awkward position facing the Storming Thunder Breaker. Word had traversed through the colony about her escapades earlier that day, how she followed the scouting party into the colony, rescued their captive, and got out in one piece with the captive in question.

One of the Durant the Storming Thunder Breaker had beaten joined the attacking Durant in this assault, hoping to enact revenge against her for bringing shame to the colony, especially to Iron Shell, and restore the colonies respect for him.

"RIDE EM COWGIRL!"

Considering how the Storming Thunder Breaker was now using him as a ride while he tried to buck her off of him like he was some poor substitute for a Tauros, the lizard shooing Thunders at his comrades to keep them at bay, getting that respect back was going to be a monumental journey.

A fellow Durant charged at the "Storming Thunder Breaker, the lizard jumping off of her ride at the last minute, the attacking Durant striking her impromptu mount.

A monumental journey indeed.

"WHO'S NEXT!" Inti shouted. The Durant charged as on as Inti launched a Thunder Wave hitting one after the other, slowing them down before she Thundered them.

Inti pumped her fists into the air as she sought more to fight. "Man,I feel good!"Inti thought. " I haven't fought like this in a long time!

As Inti ran, another though pooper in her mind as she saw fallen warrior after fallen warrior. She looked up, noticing a significantly more empty spy. "....that explains why they haven't been giving me air support. That Metal Sound earlier must have made them fall out of the air, and they got ganged up on before they make it back up in the air.

"I guess I could help a few out. To be nice, i guess.

Inti turned around to find those in need of aid, and smiled at what she had found.

"Over there Chesnaught Naught!" Nell shouted, the mare shed of her ice armor and was now clinging for dear life to one of X's spikes. Two groaning wounded guards goaned in pain as the titan marched towards them. With a practiced motion X grasped the wounded, and lifted them behind him. Managing to bring the last of their energy to the surface the duo fluttered to the stack of wounded currently clinging to X's back.

X's plan was simple: He would run around finding the wounded and simply carry as many of them away from battle and to Little Lady's house. With each changeling in need he would find, he could drape them across his back, the wounded clinging on as best they could. Hopefully the wounded wouldn't mind being stacked on top of each other as was the case. To X they weighed less than paper.

He hoped that the same was true was the same for the changelings.

"X! Over here!" X turned to face the shooter, who was Inti. She ran to her trainer, and gazed at the stack of changelings on his back. "....you've been busy."

"Inti! How are you?"

"I'm good. Super good. But the real question is you and your numerous friends are doing?" Inti swayed to the left as she said this. She wasn't looking as good as she said she was.

"You need to ask?" X almost shouted. "We gotta get out of here, and now! Tell Azisa and Apocalypse we're leaving!"

"I don't run X!"

"Inti, we're outnumbered. Any longer and we're seeing stars if we're lucky!"

"Fine, whatever, you're the boss. But I have no idea where they are and even if we do find them and then run, we won't run far. We gotta get them to run, or at least stop them from their reinforcements!"

A Durant attempted to charge at them, but didn't get far as Azis emerged from hiding, her Phantom Force sticking it hard. "She’s right X!"

"I know I know. If we stay, we're dead, and if we run, they'll chase us down, and then we're dead. Yea that's...wait." X snapped his fingers as he gasped in realization. "Damnit, I'm such an idiot! They know Dig!"

Inti blinked before realizing what X meant. "Earthquake does more damage to Digging opponents!"

"You got it Inti. We can do a lot of damage , especially to the tunnels. By the time they recoup, we'll be long gone. Apocaly..."

Inti panicked as she whacked him. "You want them to know right now? The closer to the entry point, the better! He's gotta get closer!"

"You sure?"

Inti stared at her trainer. "I lived on Route 9 for years before you appeared. Trust me, I've seen many an Earthquake and Magnitude there. They work best near the hole."

Z stared at the chaos of the battlefield. Durant were swarming everywhere. Unless Apocalypse had a clear path, he wouldn't get anywhere close to the hole. And Apocalypse may not be the bright one, but if told to do something in battle, he usually did it. The decision to ban earthquakes unless told to do so was now a bad idea.

"Get ready." X commanded as he took a deep breath.

"What are you...."

Before Inti could ask X shouted as loud as he could while stomping the ground. "AZISA USE HIDDEN POWER - FIRE!"

"One by one, the Durant skid to a stop as they stopped what they were doing. All action among their number stopped as they turned to face X like a single entity. They roared and less than half their number charged At him, the metal tide of Durant flowing towards them.

Azisa gulped. "X, I don't know that move!"

"I know that, but they don't!"

"Please tell me you thought this plan through all the way?"

"Uh, no."

Inti was incredibly shocked. "You usually think it though! You never do anything without thinking it through!"

"I'm having a off day Inti!" X shouted as the tide got closer. "Thunder Wave them Inti! Azisa, Will-o-wisp!"

Just a few minutes beforehand

Apocalypse was pushed into another comrade, the guard cursing as she was hit. Apocalypse got up and brushed himself off, a feat difficult with his tiny arms. He roared and Crunched the attacker in his jaws. Another Durant picked up the slack, and Stuck him with Iron Head, the blow forcing Apocalypse to release his captive.

"Quit picking on me!" Apocalypse shouted. it was to no avail as the two Durant stuck him again, sending him to the ground. Apocalypse moaned as he tried to get up, watching the two Durant approach him.

A shout rang out through the battlefield. One by one, the attackers stopped, and turned to the offending sound. THis confused Apocalypse, and was confused even more then they started to march away from him, ignoring him after several minute of trying to attack him.

"Pick on me! Pick on me!"

X ran for his life as he sought out more injured to pick up as Azisa, Inti, and LIttle Lady covered him. They were doing great but it was only a matter of time before the entirety of the attackers swarmed them.

"X, I think now would be a great time to do something!" inti shouted. She fended off two attackers, while more approached.

"I think we got enough attention. Apocalypse! Head for the hole and use Earthquake!"

Apocalypse grinned as he charged towards his target. He was not alone, as several of the "Durant broke from the pack to charge at the Dinosaur. Thankfully for Apocalypse, the gap was one the ants could not close.

To his shock, several of the durnt that had stayed behind had made a perimeter, blocking access from the hole. They gnashed their mandibles at him, angry as he approached.

With a favored shout, Apocalypse continued his charge, and as one of the durant made an attack Apocalypse jumped and landed on the ant, and used him as a springboard, jumping just high enough.

"EARTHQUAKE!"

His head slammed into the ground, the vibrations causing the earth to shatter from underneath. The nearby Durant struggled to keep their footing as the attack ripped through the ground, striking all present.

The tunnels from under the ground started to rumble as the metal reinforcements halted their approach. Without warning, the tunnel collapsed, burying the attackers from underneath.

The ground caved in from under their feet, many of the Durant losing their footing while X and his team managed to avoid the worst parts. X sighed a sigh of relief. " Okay apocalypse, reel it in! We're getting out of here!"

Apocalypse cheered as he ran past the struggling Durant, the metal bugs deciding that enough was enough, letting him pass without trouble. He quickly caught up with X and the others, the Human carrying the vast majority of the injured guard on his back while the few that were healthy enough to walk or fly did so. "Did I do good!"

"You did Apocalypse." X replied. "You all did."

Naruto stirred, groaning as he opened his eyes. What laid before him was a dingy cell made with cobblestone walls. He tried to move his arms, which he couldn't to his surprise. He took a look, and noticed each arm and leg bound in a shackle with a short chain to the wall. His right arm was wrapped in hard medical tape. A iron gate served as the door with two guards in front of it. Currently their backs were turned.

For added embarrassment he was wearing a muzzle.

"A muzzle? How embarrassing."

Naruto tried to release himself from his bonds, the rattling of the chains the only sound to be heard. One of the guards turned to face Naruto, and whispered to his partner. The partner left the fox and the changeling.

Minutes passed and the guards returned, two more changelings identifying themselves as Silver Heart and Rizen.

Curiously Silver was lacking his armor.

"Good evening Naruto," Silver told the fox. Naruto simply narrowed his eyes, choosing not to speak. "The Emperor wishes to speak to you."

Naruto gave no reply. At that, Silver looked a little sheepish. "Oh right. The muzzle." His horn glowed, and a key flew from a key ring, and entered the muzzles lock. The lock was unlocked, then it fell to the ground with a clatter. The muzzle followed next. "You'll have to pardon the muzzle. We wanted to be careful. "

"I'll keep my exuberance in check. Feel like explaining why I am in prison?"

"The Emperor wanted to be sure you wouldn't try to escape." Rizen was the one to reply this time. "Considering what you're capable of with that fire and dark magic, we hope you understand why we're being careful."

"It's not Dark magic, its a dark attack," Naruto corrected with a hint of irritation in his voice. "and, I do understand why you imprisoned me, but it doesn't change the fact that you imprisoned me for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Let's have this conversation elsewhere, shall we? The Emperor is waiting." With that, the door opened as another key magically flew towards the other locks.

Aside from the Squirtles, the dungeon (which Naruto was assuming it was) was surprisingly empty. The moonlight danced through the few windows as he marched towards wherever the Emperor was, his four guards leading the way.

"...Just how long was I out?"

"A few hours at the least." came Rizen's reply. "You took a lot during that fight. The Emperor carried you on his back after you and the turtle disappeared. He had some doctors give a quick check while you were out. You're fine, but the doc was worried about your right arm."

The answer came quick and sharp. "A persistent injury from when I was younger. I assure you I am fine."

"That's not the only reason why you're jumpy isn't it?"

Naruto looked at Rizen intently, the guard returning the look. "Was it obvious?"
` "Understanding body language is something we changelings try to be good at. Right Silver?" Silver grumbled as Rizen continued. "Feel like elaborating?"

Naruto replied with only a shake of the head. All conversation ended until they reached an interrogation room, the door opening with an ominous moan.

As Naruto entered the room, lead to the far end, Emperor Carapace sat in front of the table on a cushion, a stern expression his face. Silver and Rizen took seats next to their emperor, Silver on the left and Rizen on the right, while the other two guards escorted Naruto to the other side of the table. A horn glowed, and the door was shut.

"I trust you were treated gently Naruto." Carapace gently welcomed the fox.

"Yes, because I do enjoy waking up in a prison cell." Naruto curtly replied as he sat down. "I don't like prisons. "Can we go somewhere else"?"

"Feel like elaborating?"

"No."

"Fine by me. It's irrelevant anyway. Lets start with why you were in my castle today."

"...."

".....I'm not earning any brownie points am I?"

"Your highness, with all due respect, I'm a little reluctant to talk after I woke up in prison after defeating an antagonistic foe that a good number of your guards were reluctant to even approach."

"Hey, you made it worse by showing up,” Silver pointed an accusatory hoof at the Pokemon. "That Blastoise thing became more violent when he saw you!"

"It's not my fault that Blastoise was typist."

"Typist?" Rizen was the one to pipe up this time. "Why would he have a thing against typewriters?"

"No you....gah, I hate explaining simple things." Naruto put a paw to his head. "Look, I'm a Dark Type, and most Dark Types are shady. Not evil mind you, just shady."

"I'd say destroying infiltrating the guard and my garden fits that description quite handily." Carapace muttered.

"Which, again, is not entirely my fault." Anger started to boil within the fox. "Battles get messy and destructive. Remember who was trying to steal that garden in the first place? It wasn't me."

"It could have." Silver countered. This earned the changeling five glares. "I'm just pointing it out."

Naruto's reply had the same amount of exuberance one displayed when they were assigned jury duty. "What?"

"Magic takes a lot of forms right? I'm just saying that we changelings aren't the only shapeshifters in the world."

"It's not shapeshifting, its Illusion! " Naruto scoffed. "Do I look like a Ditto to you?"

"A Ditto?"

"Lets change the subject. Explain what you were doing in my castle."

"I'm not telling. Information is power, and I intend to keep as much as it as I can."

Carapace was impressed how stubborn Naruto was, yet at the same time being somewhat civil. "Naruto, I'm only charging you with the destruction of my garden. I just answers."

"So do I. Tell me Emperor, the penalty for damaging your garden is quite steep from what I hear. Steep enough to almost cause a war against an offending country, due to the actions of one diplomat. Did I hear correctly?"

"Carapace steeled his gaze. "You did."

"Due to my actions and your own rules, what's preventing you from simply keeping me here forever?"

"Several factors that I really don't want to answer at this time, as it would detract from my questioning. Which, as it stands, was 'Why were you in my castle?'"

"He' persistant."Naruto thought. He then spoke with resolution "I refuse to answer."

"Fine then. Stay in here." The Emperor prepared to get up, but Rizen coughed, drawing attention to himself. "Emperor, if I may?"

A nod gave him the go ahead as he sat down again, Rizen clearing his throat. "Would you like to explain why you're being uncooperative?"

"I'm lost, hungry, wounded, and more importantly, I'm unfairly arrested for what is quite honestly a load of Tauros." Naruto exclaimed. "I just want to go home."

"Says you." Naruto's eyes darted to Silver Heart.

"I'm sorry but what was that?" Naruto’s tone turned bitter as Rizen buries his head into his hooves.

"You are the reason the garden is ruined and you want to get off scot free?" Silver scoffed. "You're hiding something. You've never actually answered our questions. I mean, you've responded but not actually answered them."

"Silver, let me handle this." Rizen started at Silver, the same kind of stare a mother used to disable her family. Silver grumbled. "Naruto, he is correct. We ask questions, and you refuse to answer yet expect us for you to simply leave. It can't be done."

"Yet you can arrest someone for stepping on flowers. Hardly seems fair, now does it?" Naruto hoped that it would break the emperors resolve.

"To be fair, it's my empire, thus my rules. And the one rule I actively enforce is 'Don't touch my garden'. So yes, it is fair."

"And that's not the point here Naruto." Rizen continued. "You're an outsider and you expect special treatment for being an outsider, one who has done in his eyes, a favor."

"How did you...?"

"...know? I used to be a psychiatrist before joining the guard. It's come in handy. And you're a fox. It's obvious you're from out of town. But it's not the topic. You think you're better than us."

At this Naruto took offence. "No I don't"

"You swoop in from out of nowhere, and being to single handedly fight a foe we ourselves had problems simply standing up to. Ergo your attitude. You did something we could better.

"And even then you had trouble and Silver resorted to breaking rule number one in order to save you once your foe grew to be more than a challenge."

"Which need I mind you cost me my job, which will placed in effect after we're done here, and put everychangeling in my battalion on probation, Rizen included!" Silver shouted. "So what gives!? Why do you think you're better than us?"

"I don't!"

"I sacrificed my job for you!"

"That was your idea, not mine!"

"That's ENOUGH!" The shout sent shivers down all spines in the room, even managing to outrace them. Carapace glared at the fox. "We're done here. It's obvious that you have no intention of cooperating. Until you want to talk, you stay here. No exceptions. " The door opened, the intent to leave clear.

"Yea, lets leave the obviously superior fox to his own devices," Muttered Silver "Unthankful freak expects the world on a silver platter for being different."

At that Naruto violently rose and screamed in fury. "YOU DONT UNDERSTAND! IM A DARK TYPE! A DARK TYPE! MY DIFFERENCES ARE USED AGAINST ME! I AM HATED FOR SIMPLY EXISTING! MY TYPE ARE HATED AND FEARED FOR THE SOLE CRIME OF BEING DARK! I NEVER WANTED IT BUT THAT IS THE WAY IT IS AND I MUST DEAL WITH IT LIKE IT WAS MY FAULT!

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF A BURDEN THAT IS! AN ENTIRE REGION CALLS MY TYPE DEMONS! AN ENTIRE SPECIES IS FEARED AS THE HARBINGERS OF ARMAGEDDON FOR SIMPLY BEING ABLE TO PREDICT WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN AND NOTHING MORE! MONSTERS WHO WIELD POWER THEY ARE NATURALLY IMMUNE TO TERRORIZE INNOCENT!

"AND YOU, ALL OF YOU, ARE SHAPESHIFTERS! EVERYBODY LOVES YOU! EVERYONE WANTS YOU BECAUSE YOU CAN LITERALLY DO EVERYTHING! AND MY KIND ONLY MANAGE TO LOOK LIKE ANYTHING! WHY DO I GET THE SHORT END OF THE STICK? HUH ? HUH!? I HAVE A SIMILAR POWER AND YET I AM DARK, NOT NORMAL!

"AND TO TOP IT OFF I'M IN AN BLASTED PRISON! I'M AFRAID OF THEM! THE CONFINED SPACE, THE HOPELESSNESS, THE GENERAL AIR OF HOW HOPELESS YOUR EXISTENCE IS! I'M A VERY LEVEL HEADED POKEMON SO FOR ME TO FREAK OUT LIKE THIS IS A VERY BIG DEAL!

"YOU HAVE CUSHY JOBS IN A PALACE PLAYING SOLDIER. AND YOUR EMPEROR RUNS A COUNTRY THAT VALUES THE GARDEN OF ITS LORD TO A RIDICULOUS DEGREE! I'VE WORKED HARD WITH MY TRAINER FOR EVERYTHING, EVEN OUR FREEDOM TO CHOOSE THE PATH OF LIFE WE WALK DOWN! SO DO ME A FAVOR AND FUCK OFF. BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND ME, YOU WIL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE GONE THROUGH, AND YOU WILL NEVER, EVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS TO BE HATED FOR EXISTING!"

No One spoke, Naruto still string with violent intent. The Emperor didn't move, his gaze still steel. "I do actually."

At that Naruto calmed down slightly, as the Emperor continued. "I am an old stallion Naruto. Do you know how old I am?"

"Seventy?"

"Try Eleven Hundred. At the least."

The Emperor sighed, a heavy sigh one who has been more time than one could remember and forget would sigh. "I am unique among changelings for my lifespan. And with it I've seen many things. My kind have been hated for our powers to transform and our diet of emotions. I am one of the few who remember the years my subjects ancestors went through.

"It was over four hundred and twelve years ago. I was with a group of young gatherers sent to gather love for the hive. But I had another mission, and it was to make contact with another group of gatherers who had gone dark as the term is today. Everything went swimmingly until we actually made it to the location in question, a large village deep in Equestria.

Carapace's soft voice became filled with sorrow as he continued. "We learned that those gatherers were found out by accident. Before the gatherers could explain what they were and why there were there, the ponies there assaulted them. Viciously. The gatherers were dragged by their wings in front of all to see, and executed in a graphic manner.

"I will not lie. It was not an easy thought to comprehend. The first thought that went through my mind was finding out exactly how my people were slaughtered, then exact that punishment tenfold. As my party approached the village, we noticed there was a gathering.

"The village elders had gathered several ponies. Pegasus, Unicorn, Earth pony. Adult and child. It didn't take us long to figure out what was happening at that gathering.

"It was a changeling hunt. The elders became paranoid, and were worried that the great horrid monsters that were my people were still in the village. Anyone even suspected of being different was thought to be a changeling was beaten and killed, the truth thrown out in exchange for worthless lies that rewarded the innocent with death.

"A witch hunt." Naruto gasped. Carapace did not acknowledge that statement as he continued.

"I was disgusted. My gatherers only wanted food to feed their families and country. Instead they were rewarded with death because ignorance reigned instead of compassion, from a nation whom can be said to be the Origin of Harmony herself

"Needless to say we took action. I failed my people by not investigating sooner, and I would not fail these innocents by standing by when I can do something important. I lead the charge, giving everypony a shock. Our merry little band managed to spook the locals long enough to save the innocent, and get out. We didn't let them out of our sight.

"I let Celestia know what her little ponies were doing, and my personal thoughts. She was disgusted as much as I was and I let her know that I was planning on annihilating that village once I returned home with my army. But as I started to leave to prepare the drums of war, it was one of the victims that convinced me otherwise."

"What do you mean?" came the fox's question. It was slow and hesitant.

"A young pegasus we had rescued had caught wind of my plan and stood in my way, telling me that if I wanted to harm her country, I would have to go through her first. At the time I almost flew into a fury. The mare I had risked my chitin to save was defending the monsters I saved her from. I had heard from the rescued that her loyalty was iron clad. I told her that her loyalty was misplaced and she had one last chance to change her mind. Do you know what her reply was?

"She told me 'I could never be loyal to a village that cannot trust itself. But I believe in an Equestria of kindness. One that respects others for who, or what, they are. We are not the same, and that is not as bad as everyone pretends it is. I may not be loyal to my village, or even my country with the words I speak right now, but I am loyal to what my country stands for, and that is what I stand behind. That is what I believe in.'"

"Needless to say I was moved. I was reminded that for every monster in the world, there is one to prove that monster wrong."

Silence hung in the air as Naruto turned silent. "If I may Emperor?" "Silver asked his emperor, whom replied with a nod. The former soldier narrowed his eyes as he focused on Naruto. "We're trying to help you. And I may not show it like everychangeling else, but the last thing I want is you to feel like is like no one understands. You think you have it rough? My dad is an earth pony. I'm a hybrid. Because of that, I was stronger physically thanks to my dad's Earth Pony aspects. I got a lot of grief from the other foals and fillies my age. Told me I was a freak, that I wasn't a real changeling, only half of one. I was angry. I wanted to even the scales and show them my power. Do something and get them to back off.

"My mom told me that I shouldn't. She told me my deeds made me who I was, not what my body was. It didn't make sense to me at the time. I wanted to just ignore her, and do it anyway. One day I was near Wall Almos, and some of those bullies cornered me. I was about to make a run for it when a cascade of building supplies fell down. It fell on some of my tormentors, pinning them down. Thankfully they weren't killed.

"I really wanted to laugh and leave them. But then I remember what Mom said. I used my strength to lift the goods off of them. If I hadn't, they would have died.

"After that, they warmed up to me. I wasn't a freak then: I was a hero."

At that, Naruto's eyes turned downcast. ....I was wrong. I leapt to conclusions and....this. This is not how an Informant like myself should be.

Images of his trainer flashing before his eyes. His trainer, treated him like a pokemon, not just a Dark type. But thats what trainers did: They cared for their pokemon.

But X went above and beyond. X cared for the team, but X always cared for him in different ways. Memories of a young X and a young Zorua danced in his mind.

Memories of X playing frisbee with Naruto.

Memories of A baby girl riding Naruto, her grip tight for a baby, with X rushing to supervise.

Memories of Naruto singing (horribly) to his favorite music while X tried to bury himself in the bed.

Memories of X wearing a green justacorps and an overly large pirate hat, swinging a pirate sword while a dour Zorua in a Froakie costume stood outside a door.

Memories of a X leading him reluctantly into battle against a Vivilon against a backdrop of trees inside a gym.

Memories of a Aurous beating the fox, with words of hope from his trainer.

Memories of a burst of energy, power flowing from the core of his being into his fiber of existence.

Memories of a powerful Zoroark fighting to not let his best friend down.

Memories of a scared, wounded Zorua fearfully looking up at a boy parting the bush he was in and looking with wonder. Words echoed from what seemed to be afar, their sound familiar to the Dark Fox.

"Hey little guy. Hold on, I'll help you. You don't need to worry anymore."

"...Brother."

This got Carapace's attention. "Beg pardon?"

"You win," Naruto sighed, sitting back down. "I'll talk."

Author's Note

Another chapter down! Stay tuned!

Chapter 9 - Dream Eater

Chapter 9
Dream Eater

Night 1

"I believe some refreshment is in order. Can someone get something for us to eat and drink? Naruto in particular must be starving. Anything in particular you want to eat?"

"A glass of Leichi berry juice would be fine if you have any."

One of the guards on Naruto's side gave a strange look while the other left the room to relay the orders.

"While we're waiting for that, lets start at the beginning. Who are you?"

"Before I answer anything, I have one request." Naruto stared at his imprisoner, who stared in return.

"You're not in any position to make requests." Silver said in a steely tone.

"Silver is correct. But, if it isn't too unreasonable I might do so." Carapace countered. "Name it."

"I would like Silver Heart to be given the same punishment as his squadmates. Probation, nothing more."

At this, Silver balked. Carapace narrowed his eyes again as he spoke. "Why should I? He knew the rules."

"In his defence, I caused the more severe damage to your garden. He only damaged your Foxgloves to summon you. It was the quickest way to get you to the garden."

At that, Carapace thought to himself, Rizen and Silver carrying worried expressions on their faces.

Slowly, their Emperor responded. "This was not the first time Silver disobeyed my orders and entered my garden. But, this time he did so for the right reasons. I will consider it, and that is the best I can do."

"You mean it?" Silver's tone was hopeful as he faced his emperor.

"I do. But don't get your hopes up. " The emperor's gaze was soon turned against Naruto, the fox fidgeting. "Let's start with your name, and what...exactly you are."

"My name is Naruto. I am a Zoroark that hails from Laverre City," Naruto replied in a downcast tone.

"And that would be were?"

"The Kalos Region."

Rizen was the next to reply. "I don't think I ever heard of either of those places. What country are they in? Equestria, Cania, Griffenheim?"

"...The Kalos Region." sternly replied Naruto. Carapace wondered for a moment.

"I'm afraid I've never heard of either the city or region you speak of." He paused for a moment before continuing. "And believe me I've been around the entire world. Several times in fact. And trust me, if it exists as a country or city, I would know of it."

"That is odd. Kalos is a rather old region, so I'm Surprised you have not heard of it. "

At this Silver groaned. "Hey, if the Emperor says it's not a country, then it's not a country."

"Are you saying I'm a liar?" Naruto felt anger rise again. It was clear that Silver was doing any goading he could get away with.

"If I need to be the sceptical one, then thats okay with me." Silver felt Rizen’s glare against him.

"Silver, you can't just say that."

"No, I agree with Silver. You need that scepticism." Naruto stretched his good arm as Silver replied with "Wait, you agree with me?"

"I'm an Informant Silver Heart. I deal with information, primarily. And all information must be questioned."

"So you Darkie Types can do something to it?"

"It's Dark Type, and that quirk is one of mine, not of my Types."

The welcoming sound of an opening door served as an introduction to the guard whom had left, the two maids Naruto had seen earlier that day carrying food and drink. There were several platters of various fruits and vegetables and three pitchers of liquids - one a blue juice, one water, and one had what appeared to be cider - with accompanying glasses.

The maids set the food and drink down as Carapace asked the next question: "So now that I know who you are, I must ask what a Zoroark is. Like your country you say exists when I know it does not (At this fire could be seen escaping Naruto's closed mouth), I have never heard of a Zoroark, let alone seen one. You look like a strange bipedal fox to me."

"No, I look like a Zoroark, well at least for now." The Zoroark sheepishly corrected. "I'm not a liar. "

A grape hovered into Carapace’s mouth. "That may be, but the truth remains; I don't know what you are."

"I'm a Zoroark, a Pokémon like you." Naruto reached for what appeared to be an Oran berry, only smaller and a deeper blue. He snatched a handful as Rizen poured himself a glass of water. "Hey, I'm only a fox half of time. I prefer the wings over the better sense of smell."

Naruto's started to chuckle as Silver's expression failed to change. "What's so funny?" the changeling asked as Naruto leaned back in his seat.

"Sorry, but to me it sounds like you're saying you're not Pokémon." he replied.

Awkward silence filled the air as Carapace took a long hard look at his captive. His captive popped the blueberry he held in his hand, and his eyes turned wide . Eagerly he reached for more. "Okay, new question, and it is the one I want to know the answer to most. What were you doing in my castle?"

"Well, it started out like any other day. I woke up, went into town, and started looking for job opportunities. I found one, and got my trainer and the rest of the team together to go to the job site. After we got the job done, we headed home. And around, oh I'd say a few minutes past 6 I suddenly felt very drowsy. When I awoke, I was in the upper parts of one of your hallways.

"After doing some recon, I realized I was in a hive of Bugs. Needless to say I was slightly afraid due to the Type disadvantage. I thought about getting out as soon as possible, so I disguised myself as your kind and tried to leave without raising any alarms."

"I knew something was off about that Changeling I ran into this morning." the Emperor muttered. "You felt off. If that makes sense to you."

"I thought it was the hair. It did draw attention to me in my opinion." retorted the fox. Naruto then held up the berries he had yet to eat. "What are these exactly? I've never had them before."

"What, you've never had a blueberry before? Thats odd." Rizen was the next to speak as he magically reached for some fruit, red berries that like plump triangles with green tufts of leaves on the top. "I think you'll like the juice. It's blueberry as well."

"You don't say." Slyly Naruto poured himself a glass, and downed it just as fast as he poured it. He licked his lips before saying "You're right. This is good."

"I'm curious as to what kind of jobs you were looking for." Carapace spoke. "It sounds shady."

"Its not actually. My trainer and I, along with the others members of the team are construction workers."

A cloud of liquid burst from Silver Heart’s mouth, thankfully only spraying his plate. "Wait, wait wait. You mean to tell me that you are a construction worker?"

"Yes. My trainer likes getting his hands dirty so to speak. He wanted to be a construction worker his entire life, deviate from his family's legacy to create his own. In fact, my trainer owns his own business, and he named it ShadowFox Construction."

"A very unique name." Rizen replied. "I assume he named it after you?" Naruto nodded in agreement.

"...but you're a construction worker!" the outburst from Silver Heart drew the expression of ire from Rizen and Naruto. "How could a construction worker fight that Blasty Toiser guy like you did!?"

"First, its a Blastoise. And second, as I told the Blastoise, as a construction worker I use finesse just as much as power. Until he used Aura Sphere I was winning due to him simply being unable to hit me."

Silver was about to retort but was cut off by the Emperor. "Your trainer sounds like a driven being. Care to elaborate?"

Naruto chuckled as he reached for the red fruit. "With all due respect, it's X's story, not mine. I'll end it here, and you can ask him if you see him."

"X huh? That's a dumb name." Silver mocked. "What, are his parents named Alpha and Omega or something pretentious like that?"

"No, but his little sister wants to be called Y. It's a sibling thing. I won’t tell you his real name because unwanted challengers tend to follow."

"Oh, we understand the sibling part, don't we Silver?" Rizen replied with a laugh. Every Changeling in the room responded with light laughter as well as Naruto ate the red fruit, green leaves and all, and chewed. "If I can ask a question Naruto?"

"As long as it related to me I will answer." The response was stern but polite.

"You keep mentioning a trainer. I'm a bit curious about him, and based on what kind of a man you are I find you acting like a trained pet unbelievable."

"Well, I say trainer, but he's more of a brother to me. He found me in my old home about eight years ago, and took care of me when I was hurt and scared. After that I wanted to be with him, so he caught me and I've been with him since then."

"Sounds like a one sided relationship. Is he a Pokèmon like you?" Naruto looked at the Emperor, whom began to pour himself a glass of the cider like liquid. "...It's Cider. Would you like some? It's imported."

"I'm not a heavy drinker, so I'll pass." Carapace shrugged as he began to drink while Naruto continued. "And to answer the question, he's not a Pokèmon actually. He's a human. And let me guess: you've never heard of them either."

"No."

"I have not."

"Never."

"Well, this is what my trainer looks like." With that, Naruto got up, and jumped, performing a series of quick small frontflip as light flowed around him. When the light subsided and Naruto landed, he took a form of a biped wearing a green coat, messy hair, and kind emerald eyes.

The changelings present were surprised, not at the Illusion, but the form of the creature present. "...wow. That is one ugly minotaur." Silver muttered. "Where's the fur? Must make it rough to be outside in the winter."

"Humans are quite ingenious. They manage." Naruto spoke with his own voice, the sound not quite matching the body as the Illusion faded, the fox's true form being revealed. "And many humans become Pokèmon trainers. They roam the world, finding pokèmon to capture by battling them with their own Pokèmon. In fact, human society has a very large emphasis on pokèmon, ranging from battling for sport to contests and other day to day chores."

"The humans sound rather.....lazy if they can get these Pokèmon like yourself to do just about everything." Rizen sounded rather down when it said that. "I assume the humans have no magic of their own when compared to you pokèmon, thus explaining their reliance on your kind."

"You mean Moves? Well no they don't but as I said humans are ingenious. If they want something done, they will think of a way to get it done."

The conversation halted for a moment as the Emperor drank his cider. The beverage did a wonder for his nerves, which were shot due to the events of the day.

"Why did you come with me when I came to you earlier today Naruto?" The soft voice of Rizen drew Naruto's attention.

"You mean when I was just about to get out of you castle and leave?"

"Yes. You had the chance to leave, but didn't. I'm curious."

Naruto took a drink of blueberry juice before answering. "I couldn't in good conscience just let you handle a problem like that without at least attempting to help."

"Oh, so it was a matter of pride?"

"No, more like...honor."

"If you'll excuse us for a moment. " With that, Carapace began to leave the room, motioning for Silver and Rizen to follow.

As soon as the door closed, Silver Heart was the first to voice his opinions. "Sir, he's hiding something from us. I don't know what, but he's hiding something."

Almost at once Rizen gave a dirty look to his partner. "I disagree. I think he may simply be confused. Like he doesn't know what is true or not."

"What, like he's being brainwashed?"

"It's possible, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions just yet." the Emperor responded. "What do you think Silver?"

"Well...I'm not entirely sure. It's just that, I think its too much of a coincidence." The Emperor's expression clearly told Silver to go on. "I mean, first a fox comes out of nowhere and is able to fool even us shapeshifters but doesn't want anything except to simply leave. Then turtles appear in the garden at the same time?"

"Lets not forget the fact that there seem to seem to be more of these creatures in town. This is worrying." Carapace replied. "What are you suggesting?"

"Something clearly made it happen for a reason Sir."

"I find that to be rather hard to pin on Naruto alone Silver. He made it clear that he has no idea how he got here, or why. To me it seems that if his land is real, which I myself kinda doubt, then it must be very far away, and hidden."

"That is indeed a possibility, but assuming all of the creatures came from the same place then I doubt that only one being did this."

A clatter of clanging doors and the rapid shuffling of hooves resounded through the dungeon as the two maids returned. One held another platter of food, while the other held several large stacks of paper.

"What is this?" the Emperor asked. The two maids stopped in front of Carapace as the food bearing one spoke. "Well, we were on our way to gather more food for you when we were stopped by several of the guards."

"They said it was important." The other continued for her friend. "They handed us these."

The magic surrounded the papers as the Emperor skimmed each one before speaking. "It seems our humble capital isn’t the only location where these creatures have just appeared. AND I would like to know why I am getting these reports several hours after they were filed."

"We apologize Emperor, but we were told that due to the large volume of complaints it took them a while to get them organized." The second maid looked apologetic, lowering her head in shame. "And from the contents of the reports that we were informed of, most of them were minor."

"She's right Your Highness." Rizen told his emperor. "They seem to be simple complaints. A few overturned yards, general confusion, the occasional stealing of fruit....Other than that it seems that these complaints are what rowdy teenagers would do when trying to get attention."

"I agree with Rizen." Silver skimmed his reports with an equal mix of curiosity and caution. "Practically every report here is just how the changeling populus is trying to adjust to the sudden appearance of these creatures. To me, the reason why we're getting these reports late is that similar cases appear everywhere in the Empire. The large volume of reports bogged the system down.

"Nothing a stern sweep with the cops to straighten out the messes since these creatures seems to be somewhat well behaved."

"Except for one case." In the Emperor's magical grip held aloft both an official report, and what appeared to be a newspaper. "It seems that not all of our visitors are benevolent. According to this, what appeared to be a horde of angry ants attempted to raid one of the border villages. And they left quite the mess." He gave the newspaper to Rizen whom also skimmed it. He in turn gave it to Silver who express concern as he read. "Damn, those guards look trashed. Ants did this?"

"Only one way to know for sure." With that, the stack of papers save for the two in his grip already were dropped by the doorframe with an unceremonious thud, the impact toppling the pile. "Ladies, please leave the reports there. I will handle them on my own later. I thank you for bringing this to my attention. Silver, Rizen, I think we should go back in and chat with our guest."

The door opened with a creak as the three changelings returned. To their surprise Naruto was happily eating at a calm pace, his face expressing the flavors that were dancing in his mouth. " I like the red ones almost as much as the blue ones. What are they called?"

"Strawberries. In fact, I grew them myself in my garden. In the far right corner? I'm pretty sure that was the one area you didn't waltz into."

"You need to let it go. With all due respect of course."

"Naruto, let me get this out of the way. I'm a very old changeling and have lived far longer than any one changeling should. Any creature whom is subject to this tends to suffer from something called Immortality Madness. That is, beings with extremely long life spans or actual immortality tend to go mad without something to tether them to the present.

"All have their own ways of doing so to avoid the madness. For me, it is my garden. It reminds me of the new that can be created from the old. It reminds me that being Emperor is worth it. Granted, I tend to forget that when something comes along to threaten my sanity, but it's much better than the alternative.

"Moving on, I think you may want to take a look at this, and help me identify these creatures." The papers hovered into Naruto's hands as another aura refilled the glass with juice. "All day we've received reports across the Empire related to these Pokèmon creatures. Most of them are minor, easily fixed encounters, but this report in question is the only one where these Pokemon have actively been aggressive and antagonistic."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he read the paper.

STRANGE ANTS ASSAULT! STRANGE WARRIORS SAVE WOUNDED WARRIORS!

Earlier this evening, local businesses were visouly disrupted as more of the mysterious creatures that have seemingly invaded the city emerged from the ground. The creatures, resembling metal ants of unusual size or M.A.O.U.S. for short. They're first and only battleground was the marketplace.

Local soldiers bravely charged into battle against the creatures but were quickly outmatched and overwhelmed. Thankfully all was not lost due to the brave actions of four mysterious creatures, local residents referring to the creatures as Chesnaught Naught, Treve Trev, Tyrunt Runt Runt, and Mister Frilly Face. Displaying their strange magics, they managed to send the M.A.O.U.S back to wherever they came from.

Special mention must be made to Chesnaught Naught, whom managed to single handedly carry practically every wounded warrior to safety.

However, it was not without loss. Many of the stands were robbed of their wood and other supplies and goods. The projected cost to rebuild is a moderate number compared to what could have been, but loss is still loss.

Naruto gazed at the newspaper and report, reading the story with interest. The front page had a image of a vicious squad of the aforementioned M.A.O.U.S fighting against a changeling warrior. The piutre made it quite clear that the changeling was losing. Badly.

Naruto moaned. "Great. Durant."

"I take it they are pokemon?" Carapace asked.

"They are. My best advice for dealing with them is don't." Naruto began to take a drink of his blueberry juice before continuing. "Durant are very territorial. If you walk into the land they claim, they will swarm you and make you leave with a body covered in wounds. A rule of thumb is that if you see only one Durant, then you're either dreaming or blessed with an unrealistic amount of luck."

"And why is that?" the spectacle SIlver asked.

"Because you never see just one Durant." Naruto grimaced. "There are always more than one."

"So you’ve had a bad experience with them?" Rizen asked, his eyes sparkling in the way only a psychiatrists do.

"No, but Bugs in general tend to act the same way. Besides, if I did run into a Durant they wouldn't stand a chance. I know Flamethrower, the Durant's only weakness."

"Kinda convenient you can breath fire." Silver noted. "Just be careful shooting that fire: We have fire limit laws in place. Don't want half the nation in flames because someone didn't exercise caution."

"To be honest I managed to get X to teach me Flamethrower by telling him how much such a move could help with the business. Rock melting, Leaf burning, the like. Fire has any purposes."

"There's more to it right?" Rizen noted. "You have another reason for knowing such magic?"

"It's not magic, it's an attack!" Naruto snapped. "Please get it right!"

"Touchy." muttered Silver under his breath.

The Emperor sighed. "Want to explain? I'm rather curious how a fox can breathe fire, let alone why he does that."

"The why is simple. I wanted to learn how to use Flamethrower. I'm a Dark Type."

"Not this again."

The words came through gritted teeth as Naruto continued. "And I bring that up again Silver because as a Dark Type I am weak to Bug Type attacks. Since Bugs tend to know Bug Type attacks, I wanted to be able to fend off any unruly Bugs thinking they have the advantage. The how is a little more complex, as some aspects of Pokemon tend to get.....weird." Naruto put extra emphasis on the weird part.

"Like a turtle having metal cannons come out of its back." Silver muttered.

"Or said turtle knowing Aura Sphere." Naruto commented. ""Seriously, how in the hell can it do that?"

"We can wonder the implausibility of nature later. Can you tell me anything about the creatures who stopped these...Durant?"

Naruto nodded as he took a look at the other picture on the paper. He chuckled as a smile crept across his face. "Huh. What a small world."

The Emperor gazed perplexed as Naruto laid the paper and its pictures on the table for all to see. On the picture in question was a mighty Chesnaught carrying a veritable mountain of wounded warrior Changelings with a Heliolisk leading the charge while a Tyrunt was beaming with pride. The last pokemon, a Trevenant, was in the back of the back, her head turned all the way around to keep an eye on their retreat from the battle. "I personally know these pokemon.”

"You do?" A chorus of the changelings present, the two silent guards speaking for the first time since the interrogation started filled the room as Naruto held his hand up, the motion asking the changelings to let him answer.

"Yes. Yes I do.They’re the other members of my team." Naruto pointed to the Treveneant on the picture. "This is Azisa, A Grass/Ghost type. She's like the mother of the team. Keeps everyone on the same page. And if you mess with her, you might regret it."

Naruto then pointed to Inti. "This is Inti, a Heliolisk. She handles the electrical aspects of our jobs due to her skill and Typing."

"And what would her...typing...be?" a somewhat confused Carapace asked hesitantly. This Typing thing seemed to be important. He would need to ask later.

"Electric/Normal."

"That doesn't sound normal." Silver snarked.

Naruto scoffed as he responded. "I assure you everything about Inti is normal. To a point. She is a scrapper, likes to fight. Of us all she probably has the best record as she lived her life in the wild the longest before she joined."

"Before being caught against her will?" a concerned Rizen asked.

"Uh, not really. " Naruto then grasped his right arm, as if it was a reflex., Rizen noticed this and asked "I take it your arm has something to do with it."

"She actually saved my life. If she had not, I would be dead. Considering the alternative, I would prefer the arm injury any day." To his captors surprise, Naruto grabbed an empty glass and began to fill it with cider.

"I thought you didn't drink." Carapace commented.

"I don't. But that was a rather traumatic memory I dug up, and considering how my day is going combined with Silver getting the easy facts wrong ("HEY"), I think one drink would help the nerves."

"That they do." came the response from Carapace, as Naruto began to drink the alcoholic beverage. When he finished, he set his glass down with a thud as he pointed to the Tyrunt.

"This is Apocalypse. He's the youngest of us, just over a year old. He's probably the strongest physically. But he's not too bright, and his stone skin is only skin deep. He tends to feel like everyone picks on him."

"Quite a cheerful fellow."

"The only time he's more cheerful is when he's playing Chase the Tree, Chase the Fox, Chase the Trainer, Chase the Gym Leader, Chase The Random Person, and Chase that Stupid Bright Yellow Big-meanie Head Jerkbutt Jerk Jerk von Jerk Inti."

Silver had a look of confused wonder as Naruto finished the list. "...That guy has issues."

"The thought never crossed my mind," Naruto spoke with words dryer than a desert. He put a hand to his chin as he looked at the last pokemon on the picture. "...I'm going to be honest. I have no idea who the Chesnaught is."

"He looks sturdy." Carapace noted. "I'm amazed that what I assume to be a male is able to carry all of those Changelings at once. There must be at least three dozen in his pile. At the least.

"Chesnaught are Grass/Fighting types that are known for the famed physical power the Fighting Type has dominion over. A Chesnaught is capable of flipping over a tank like it was nothing."

"I don't think the fish inside would be too happy if he did that." Silver snarked again. He got another scowl at Naruto.

"Not a fish tank. A tank tank." Naruto groaned. Blank stares were his answer. Naruto groaned again. "Tanks are metal vehicles with large cannons designed to shoot other metal vehicles with large cannons and make things explode by shooting large bullets at them are large velocities."

"I take it they aren't light. " Rizen asked, a slight quiver in his voice.

"Tanks tend to weigh anywhere from one to fifty tons. All of the metal tends to add up."

A wolf whistle escaped Silvers mouth. "Emperor, if I may make a suggestion..."

"We are not building a tank."

"But sire it has a cannon...."

"We are not building a tank."

"And it would be too heavy to lift with magic..."

"We are not building a tank."

"It's sounds like a faster, lighter train..."

"Silver Heart of the Capital Sect you are on probation at best and fired at worst. Do not push me. We. Are. Not. Building. A tank."

"Yes sir..." moaned the disappointed changeling. Naruto took the opportunity to continue.

“In any case, something seems familiar about this Chesnaught,” Naruto mused. “But for the life of me I can’t put my paw on it. I know for a fact that Chesnaught aren’t too common where we live and we don’t get out of Laverre too often. But I can tell you that he isn’t a member of ShadowFox.”

“Well then, we’ll just have to wait and see as they say.” Carapace magically gripped the papers and took them from Naruto. “Naruto, what I am about to offer is something I do not do often.”

“I’m listening.” naruto asked, the curiously compelling him to answer.

“Normally, the sentence for trespassing in my garden is several years in jail with Fifteen years being the minimum sentence. Considering what is happening in my empire, I am willing to offer an alternative sentence.

“Seeing how you are one of the only beings that seems to understand pokemon as you are one, I will pardon you of all charges in exchange for service to the crown for two years or until I feel you have performed a duty fit for early leave.”

“Sir, I want this to be on the record that I think that you are making a rather large mistake.” Silver groaned.

“Noted and ignored Silver.” Carapace snapped as he narrowed his eyes. “Deal?”

“So let me get this straight. You are willing to let me essentially get off for damaging the one thing that is keeping you sane…” Naruto asked with a confused expression “...by giving me a job?”

“And it’s a limited time, once only deal.” Carapace took a sip of cider, the way he drank displaying a smugness of an emperor.

“You’re quite good at driving Pokemon into corners and keeping them there aren’t you?”

“I’ve had a long time to sharpen my edge.”

Without hesitation, Naruto poured himself another glass of blueberry juice. “So….when do I start?”

Nall and Nalel were surprised at Frilly Face leading the charge while Treve Trev and Tyrunt Runt Runt followed. Confused, they simply told their parents and let it be.

Needless to say the two were very confused when what appeared to be Chesnaught Naught carrying an entire battalion on his back while the aforementioned trio lead the way to the house.

Nall and Nalel weren't the brightest changelings, but then again it didn't take a genius to figure out that they needed medical help. They sent word to the hospital and royal guard immediately, hoping that it was enough.

In the timespan of a few minutes after word had been sent to the hospital the yard had turned into a field hospital, wounded changelings lying on cots in quickly constructed tents as medical personnel began to arrive, Citel ushering them into his yard.

Thankfully for the family Nell was mostly unharmed as Citel had urged the doctors to give her a check up first as the price of admission for everychangeling using his home as an hospital. She rested on her bed as her family swarmed her, trying to calm her and urging her for details.

"Nalel, I already told you: we were attacked by those metal ants only this time there were dozens of them!"

"Well we didn't know that!" Nalel shouted. Nell winched at the volume while Nall lightly whacked her.

"First you almost die in the jungle, then you almost die in the marketplace." Citel murmured. "I'm concerned. This sounds like a pattern."

"Dad, I'm fine. Like I said I covered my self in ice and I used it to fight back."

"That's not the point honey." Citel walked up to his daughter, and put a hoof on her. "I assure you, you are not going to be attacked again. I will do everything in my power to make sure you're safe."

"...okay."

"Now, I want you to stay and rest. Nall, Nalel, can you keep her company?"

"Sure dad!" twin voices answered in unison as Citel smiled, turning to exit the bedroom. "Rest peacefully, Nell."

"I will Dad." The door closed, silence filling the room as the three sisters were alone.

That silence did not last.

"Nell, that was amazing! You're amazing!" Nalel began to perform the happy dance with a confused Nell watching.

"I'm not that awesome." Nell muttered.

"Nonsense sis! I mean, you were kicking some serious butt from what you told us! When did you even learn that Icy Armor thingy?"

Nell waited a moment before answering. "....I just made it up."

"Wait, what?"

"Remember that lesson about focus and willpower Mom taught us all those years ago? Well, it came to mind when I was being attacked. I thought about how I wanted my ice to protect me, and then I cast the spell and I did so.

"Maybe I'M not as bad at magic as I thought I was."

"...Is something the matter?" Nall asked her sister. Her voice was calm and soft, which contrasted her usual tone (loud and excited).

"Nothings wrong Nall."

"Nell, you're not a very good liar." Nall sighed. "Tell us. We're family. You can tell us anything"

"....I could have died today." Nell spoke with a worried tone. "In the jungle I could have died because I wanted to help Litleo Litleo, and I wasn't using my common sense. Then on the way back I was chased by metal ants. And when I make it back they attack my home.

"When I saw them up close...their eyes were so cold, so unflinchingly dedicated to trying to hurt me. Trying to kill me. Because I was in their way and nothing more. It was....cold simplicity."

"But why did you stay there?"

"Oh I wanted to run, but a voice talked to me. Told me that I could run, or I could fight. Then I ran to get help, so in a matter of speaking I chose both."

"Nell...."

"I'm scared Nall. I'm Scared because I could have died by doing what was right. I don't know anymore. I just need some time to think."

Changelings could not eat the emotions of other changelings, they could still detect them. And sadness and guilt were coming from Nell like a hurricane. The taste of the two were two tastes avoided for good reason, as sadness tasted like a lime, sour and sharp that rolled off of the surface like slick rain while guilt bore a heavy taste akin to overly burnt bear meat.

The real danger of these emotional flavors is that they tended to influence the emotions of the consumer more than the other emotions in the world.

"...We'll go check up on the others. You stay, and rest." Nalel asked her sister whom responded with a nod. Nall however went over to the pile of stuffed animals and picked up a small stuffed butterfly. She gently put it down next to Nell before following her sister out of the room.

It had taken a while for the doctors to get to X, seeing as the changelings on a general whole tended to be far squishier than a Chesnaught. Thus, a creature as sturdy as him was low on the priority list. Two of them started to wrap bandaged around the arms and waist of a X whom was sitting up on his cot while a third took a look at his cloak.

Thankfully he was away from most of the changelings, who congregated in the front yard while he sat in the award part of the yard that transitioned between the front and back yards.

A head popped into view, nearly startling the doctors. It was Azisa, bearing what appeared to be a bowl of soup.

X sniffed the air, getting a small wiff. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Cheddar Cheese chowder with mushrooms and corn. Your favorite." She approached the patient, one of the doctors flying in front of her barring her from getting any closer. With a spell the soup was levitated away from the pokemon as the other doctors continued to examine him. "I suppose you get to eat when they are done."

"It smells delicious." X commented. "Was there any..."

"White wine? Bottles upon bottles." Azisa chuckled as she continued. "I found a bottle labeled as a brew from a place called Minos. I think it was called uh, White Warwine. I had Inti take a taste of the wine."

"Did she like it?"

"She explained how tasty yet dry it was and then went outside while she was screaming about skulls for a skull throne."

"That sounds like Inti. Once I'm done with being checked out, I'll take a taste." X grinned as he thought about the warm soup he was going to partake in. "You spoil me when you cook you do know that right?"

Azisa said nothing as the the final bandage was applied, the doctors leaving to check on the other wounded. The Ghost grasped the soup bowl as she matched to her wounded friend. "Well I don't like to brag as much as Inti would but I do have the skills that are mad."

She handed the bowl to X, gently taking it from her hand holding the bowl in both hands. The bowl was easily dwarfed by the size of them. He moved the bowl closer to him, intending to drink from it. Unfortunately, as he did, he somehow spill more than he managed to drink.

"UH, I think I need a bigger bowl." came the sheepish request.

"Coming right up friend."

As Azisa left her friend in a quest for more soup, two changelings (X assumed they were Little Lady's sisters) entered his vicinity and started to get uncomfortably close. They looked at him with admiration in their eyes.

"Uh....."

The two suddenly hugged the Chesnaught, X wincing slightly due to the sudden hugs he had received. "THANK YOU!" They shouted.

This elected a strange look from the Chesnaught. "You saved our sister right? We need to thank you for saving her today. Twice!" Nall exclaimed.

"And we love our sister so if she died, well then we would each only have one sister to love instead of two. And that would make us sad."

"But she's not dead so we're not sad and its all thanks to you being big and tough!"

X began to look contemplative as the sisters continued to heap praise on him. Azisa returned, carrying a much bigger bowl with a wooden spoon in her hand, steam slowing rising from the chowder. She handed the bowl to X before shooing the sisters away so he could eat In peace. "Leave friends. My friend needs it."

"It's okay Azisa, they're not bothering me." X explained. He took the bowl in his hand, and the spoon in the other. Slowly, he took a sip, and smiled. The warmth of the food did wonders, calming him down slightly. "Thanks."

"X, is something the matter?" Azisa asked. Her eye focused on X, whom continued to eat the soup, Nall and Nalel riding on the Chesnaughts back like their sister.

Flashes of angry ants flashed in front of his eyes, the former human shuddering, trying to repress the fear that was rising. "....No Azisa. It's nothing."

"This was your first battle wasn't it?" Azisa asked picking up the subtle motion. "Not as a trainer whom commands, but a person in the thick of the fight."

"You know how I never really liked having you guys fight in battles? Well, if you win, that's great. You win. Prizes, fame, general awesomeness, that sort of thing. But if you lose? Nothing. You get nothing except wounds and shame.

"That's why I don't like to fight. Its not because I don't like to lose. It's because I don't want you guys getting hurt for no reason. "

"X, you know that we don't blame you for when we lose or get hurt right?"

"But I do Azisa. I blame me. Especially in this fight. I did nothing but get bit by Durant. Everyone else did more, did things that mattered, and the best I could do was be the Designated Target."

Azisa said no more as X continued his meal.

It didn't take long for the members of ShadowFox Construction to drift into sleep, their bodies calling for well deserved sleep. X slept where he ate, laying down after taking off his cloak. Azisa, Inti, and Apocalypse however slept outside, leaning up against the household of their new friends, just outside of their trainers tent.

Naruto was lead to a guest bedroom though,as he had been liberated from the dungeon. A guard was posted in front of his door to make sure the Emperors decision was not a foolhardy one. Naruto could hardly complain. The mattress in the room was comfortable, the fox slipping into sleep almost immediately.

And in sleep, they dreamed.

The Dreamscape.

As it was a place with no physical boundaries or corporeal form, the Dreamscape was a vast place whose size varied from moment to moment based on the number of dreamers and the intensity of those dreams.

As Princess of the Night, Princess Luna had a duty to guard dreams from the darkness of nightmares that afflicted all who slept, not just her little ponies. She flew through the vast darkness, points of light all around her representing a dream. Every now and again there was a chain connecting two or more points of light, signifying emotional bonds between sleepers.

It was an imposingly monumental duty, but it was one Luna cherished. She had missed it dearly during her time-out on the moon, justifying her recent increase in patrols around the Dreamscape.

Seeing as she could enter the dreamscape at essentially any time she wanted, and not just when she was sleeping as per the norm of others beings. It wasn't uncommon for her to excuse herself for a quick ten minute rest to check on a hundred thousand dreams.

Thanks to Arceus though she found herself taking these "Power Naps" as Rainbow Dash called them several times this day. She grumbled as the thought crossed her mind, the arrogant God 's actions making much more trouble than it was worth. The last one hundred and seventy two dreams were essentially the same: pokemon and transformed humans confused and scared as they had a hard time coming to grips that everything they knew was now wrong.

One dreamer had even declared that black was white, up was down, and short was long.

Thank Harmony that they are just dreams rather than nightmares...I dread what kind of a nightmare would come from a world with spirit possessed swords and tests of combat apparently being an everyday occurrence."

Her wings suddenly twitched, Luna halting her flight with a thought (as thought was much more influential in a world as abstract as the Dreamscape). With a quick glance she spotted her disturbance: A bright green flare of light that seemed to be convulsing, four chains of different colored light tethered to it.

Luna did not hesitate as she started to head towards her new destination.

"It seem I am about to answer that question."

The sky was calm and filled with clouds white and fluffy as X walked towards the job site with a spring in his step and a cart of wood he was pushing making the occasional sound of wood lightly hitting the carts walls. A toolbox, red and filled with tools, was on top of the stack.

"Alrighty, first day as a construction worker guys!" X shouted to this two Pokemon whom walked behind him, Naruto and Inti tailing him as they walked through the streets of Laverre City, the people whom were walking in the streets giving him a wide berth to walk past without hassle. The city was very rural, though there was a healthy urban environment for those who wanted the atmosphere of Luminose without actually living there. "So lets impress our first client with a smile and a good work ethic!"

"There's no need to be nervous X. We're going to do just fine." The Zoroark reassured him as the human chuckled.

"Nervous? Far from it Naruto. I am pumped up!" X shouted with a fist shot straight up into the air. "I mean, I ...ubh we waited years for this day to come! And the best part? Nobody here knows who I aM! My parents legacy has no hold over me anymore!"

Three girls unfurled a banner as he spoke, the words on it reading "Marry us Jacob Arrow. We love you!". The girls giggled as X noticed the banner,burying his head in his hand.

"It seems you have a fine selection of dates to chose from for tonight." Naruto lightly elbowed his trainer as the he groaned.

"Its probably just a phase. The number of challengers will go down after the first couple dozen of declines I give them."

In no time at all, the trio had arrived at their destination: A house in suburbia whom had requested a small shed to be built. X rolled up his sleeves as he stepped forward. "This the place?"

"It is."

"Well, time to say hi." X approached the front door, Naruto and Inti staying back as he rung the doorbell.

To his confusion no one answered. He rung the doorbell again, getting the same response.

That's weird" X thought. "I don't remember this happening."

"Is something the matter X?" Naruto called. X left the door, approaching his best friend as he returned to his cart and pokèmon. "Yea. I rang the door and got no answer."

"Maybe they just don't want to see you. Like how I'm not going to ever see you again."

"They're probably just getting lu....wait what?"

"That's right X. " Naruto replied in a manner that one would use to tell you what todays weather was. "I am never ever ever going to ever see you ever again ever in forever ever ever. Ever."

"Wait what?!"

And then he spontaneously combusted, X screaming as he jumped backwards, flailing his arms in a panic. The fire subsided, leaving behind confetti.

"At that, X shouted what sane person would if their best friend if not brother would if said best friend/brother suddenly died in front of them.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE!?"

Inti gave him no answer, save for suddenly having smoke escape from under her feet, which had suddenly been garbed in tank tops for a sporting team. Then without warning she flew into the air, propelled by twin bursts of fire sending her skyward.

Before X could contemplate the utter insanity, two hands flew across the sky. They were giant, almost twice the size of a person, and they started to fade near where their wrists would be. X swore he could hear evil laughter come from them, the right hand laughing evilly while the left was laughing maniacally. They fist bumped each other twice, then appeared to grasp the sky with themselves, and pulled.

To X's amazement, the Hands had pulled the sky back as if it was a curtain, revealing a jungle in the sky above him.

Which started to get closer for some reason.

X screamed as he realized that he was falling up.

In a startling quick amount of time, X crashed into the jungle above head first, quickly managing to get up. The shift in weight told him that he was no longer human again and was back to being a Chesnaught.

As soon as he got up and got his bearings he wished he hadn't: a horde of eager Durant were waiting him, and wasted no time charging him. X took no time to wait as he ran away screaming his head off. "Nightmare, not a memory! Nightmare, not a memory! NIGHTMARE, NOT A MEMORY!!!"

The endless horde chased him for what seemed like an eternity, the city of Laverre up above him upside down as he continued to run for his life over the deepree of the jungle. To his relief the mighty Wall Maria stood in front of him, its wooden form beckoning the human towards her.

With a shout X leapt towards her gate, bashing it in with a mighty shoulder. He stopped for no longer, continuing to escape from the Durant. But as soon as he reached an intersection he skidded to a stop. Naruto was standing there, though it seemed he was as stiff as a plank of wood. he gazed at his trainer with an unnaturally large smile.

X slowed to a stop, panting and heaving for breath. "Naruto! Help me! Help me!"

Naruto did nothing, only retain his unnatural smile and stiffness as X looked at him worriedly. Then, to his surprise Naruto just stood there, slowly laughing like a mad man before increasing its speed and volume.

"Naruto?"

Without warning, Naruto's head because to slowly turn, speeding up as it seemed to rise. The unsettling thing was that it was only Naruto's head that was spinning: His hair was staying put. As if the head and hair were separate.

Like his head was a screw being removed.

Then there was a sickening pop, X screaming louder than an explosion. Naruto’s head had fallen towards, his nose landing on the ground. The head however continued to spin, as if nothing was any different. X couldn't tell which was more disturbing: His best friends head spinning like a top or the rest of his body standing like a mannequin with a hole similar to a cavern entrance where the head used to be.

Then eyes appeared in the cavern, chittering among them. X quickly decided it was the former as a stream of Durant burst from the Zoroark like a living Flash Cannon. The attack impacted X, impacting his shoulder as he tried to jump away from the attack.

Echoes of fire turned his attention to Inti, the Heliolisk flying from above. She stared straight up to the city in the sky, and unfrilled her frill, the pokemon looking like a lizard shape umbrella. Then with a crack of Thunder Durant fell from her, the ants falling like it was a metal rain. They even flowed out from their landing ground like they were a metal puddle flowing towards him.

To the third road Azisa appeared from the ground, and leaned forward. Then she knocked the back of her head with fist, forcing her eye out of her body. Then her eye shot up like it was a gaping maw, widening as more Durant marched out. Azisa then spun her head around, fireballs shaped like Volcarona's firing out of her eye socket at rapid intervals.

Hoping for it to end, X turned to face the last of the roads, which bore an approaching Apocalypse, the Rock Dragon skipping as he ran. He skid to a stop, grinning. Then, almost as if X KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, Apocalypse fell down, as he had suddenly turned into a cardboard cutout. revealing a massive horde of Durant, the number there significantly higher than one would expect there to be.

X gulped as he realized that he was surrounded. Nowhere to go, nowhere to run, an infinite number of the Bugs wanting him dead.

"HEEEELP!"

As if his cry was answered, X felt the ground buckle beneath his feet repeatedly. It didn't take X long to realize that the help he had requested had arrived in the form of a spiral staircase leading down. He started to descend, the Durant chasing him.

X descended into the darkness of the earth, the earthen stairs eventually shifting into white glass that seemed like it held a soft glow. The decent felt like his previous escape, one that continued on with no end. Then, to his joy he saw a grand platform floating in the middle of the inky black darkness. The circle was made of many colors of stained glass, with the eighteen type symbols circling the perimeter of the stained glass. However, the stairs did not reach the platform, creating the entrance to the bottomless pit that surrounded X.

With a shout X leapt into the air, landing on the platform. He got up, and to his surprise as soon as he turned around he faced a wall. He suddenly felt lighter, though he was more concerned with what was happening at the moment. He spun around, and quickly scanned the room for what he saw.

X quickly noted he was in a chamber.

The chamber was a bright golden white, radiant yet soft on the eyes. The platform he landed on served as a battlefield, one that exuded the energy of many battles throughout the ages. Four stained glass windows lined the walls, each depicting a pokeball while a statue of a woman stood between them in an alcove nestled next to each of the pillars.

Standing in the far end of the room was a famous white garbed figure. X slowly walked toward the figure, his footsteps producing a resounding clatter with each step. "Hello?" X asked the figure. His voice echoed through the chamber. "Are you like some dream version of Champion Dianthia?"

"Not exactly." The figure responded. X furrowed his eyebrows. The voice didn't sound anything like the Champion of Kalos. The figure turned around, X yelping again as he jumped back.

The figure wasn't Dianthia. It was X.

The human form of X grinned a vile grin as he watched the real X gasp in shock. "What....what are you?"

"I'm you. Jacob Arrow." 'Jacob' was garbed in clothing similar but not quite like Dianthia’s. It has as if someone had designed a male version of it: Long white slacks with a white tank top underneath A DUSTER Of the same color. White wings were attached to it and while boots finished the outfit.

"My name is X." X stated, his words straining as he spoke them.

"But my name is Jacob Arrow." 'Jacob' countered. "Actually, Champion Jacob Arrow."

"That explains the cosplay." taunted X. The fake chuckled.

"Its tradition. All Kalosean Champions wear this outfit. Its like our uniform." The fake began to circle the Chesnaught, many emotions swirling within, confusion being evident. "Oh, don't give me that look. It was a History lesson back in our school days. You should know that."

"How is that relevant?"

"Because, it's obvious. I'm you. What you should be. What you will be. What you are."

"I am not like you!" X shouted.

"Behind you."

X turned, a hesitant turn but turn he did. And he growled as what he saw. Behind him was a Gothitelle engaged in battle with Naruto. But Naruto was wounded, scars covering his body with several parts of his hair burnt. But what worried X the most was the bandages on Naruto's arms. They looked ready to give at any moment.

Fight on the Zoroark did, punching away the Gothitelle before firing a Dark Pulse. Before he could catch a breath, a Garbodor lept onto him, driving him to the ground.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Jacob replied. "The perks of being Champion are great aren't they?"

X did not say reply as Jacob pointed to anther section of the room. Inti, scratches all over her body as he battled with a Dugtrio. Next to her was Azisa being accosted by a Delphox, the mystical fox's fire leaving scorches over her body. The Ghost was on her metaphorical knees, a pleading look shot towards X and Jacob.

And little Apocalypse was being beaten, nay tortured by a flurry of ice from a Froslass, the Rock Dragon crying in pain amongst the Blizzard.

Tears welled up in his eyes as X did the same.

"Stop it. Stop the fight."

Jacob scoffed. "Why should I?"

"You're hurting them! They can't take much more!"

"Who cares? The fight because they want to. I just let them."

"No. I refuse to believe that!" X shouted. "You're making them fight!"

"So blind you are. Admit it. You like to battle. You keep repressing the core aspect of your self, your very being. And you know I am right.

"Deny it. I dare you."

X step back as the doppelganger grinned, an evil grin that showed teeth that were far sharper than any humans. He could take no more, turning and fleeing. With a mighty blow, X lept into one of the chambers walls, a large hole formed from where the impact was.

"Don't bother X!" Jacob called out as X ran into the darkness beyond the chambers walls. "You can run all you want, but you can never outrun yourself!

"Trust me. You will become me. And then you will be the dream."

X ran.

X ran as far as he could. The road under his feet were stained glass in the same manner as the Radiant Battlefield. The abyss around him was as black as night with vague cloud like shapes just above the horizon line. The road kept going toward, never turning, never changing. Only going forward.

It felt like an eternity, as if time was inching towards into infinity when it felt it was time to move, but the road finally ended: A bright white circle at the top of a grey colored cylinder that slowly faded away near its bottom, leaving no bottom, only a top.

X slowly stopped as he approached the center of the platform. He gasped for breather, leaning forward and placing his hands on his knees. He had no idea where he was, but on the bright side, at least he got away from 'Jacob'.

"Hello son."

X gulped as he turned around, noticing a man roughly 50 years in age. Despite his age he had a fair share of muscles. His face had a somewhat square face with hair that was messy and a familiar shade of black with narrowed emerald eyes glaring at X. His shirt was a bluish gray, with two silver straps across his chest resembling a X of sorts. His slacks were a silver barely covering yellow shoes. His hands were covered by fingerless gloves, the color the same as his shirt. "Enjoying your little run?"

X started to whimper, backing away from the man who had begun to advance on him. "Get away from me. You’re not really here."

"Of course you did. “ his ‘father’ continued, ignoring the pleas of his son. “You enjoy pointless activities, don’t you? Like denying your heritage and being a...construction worker". The man spat out the last two words like it was rotten meat.

"He's right Jacob....We're disappointed in you." A voice from behind spoke. X turned around, noticing who had just appeared. Standing in front of him was another person. She, like Silas, was in her 50's with a large black ponytail that went just under her shoulders. She dressed modestly, a sky blue sundress with gloves of the same color going up the entire length of her arm. She also wore knee high boots that were the same color. Six pokeballs adorned her silver belt. "We only wanted you to be like us."

Out of the corner of X’s eye he noticed Jacob, his look alike sitting in a throne of obsidian that hovered in the sky, glaring down at X from above.

"No....get away from me." X whimpered. "I'm real. I exist. You....You're a nightmare. You're not real. You're. Not. Real!"

"Oh I am real." Morgan replied. "Very real. You're the one who is a nightmare."

The mother and the father circled their son, the humans glaring at him like he was a Remoraid in Sharpedo infested waters. "Listen to your mother Jacob. Mother knows best and all that."

"Leave me alone!"

"We only want the best you after all. You're our little nightmare. Our little mistake." The acid of Silas’s words stung As X tried to block them out of his mind.

"And like a mistake, mistakes don't know what is best for themselves." Morgan taunted. "And we told you that you were to be a trainer. The best trainer."

"I didn't want to be a trainer!"

This halted the circling of the two humans, though they grinned as the began to step back. Before X would continue speaking he caught a glance at their shadows.

The shadows were lengthening, growing wider and longer as the humans began to crumple like rubber suits. The inky blackness of where the walls used to be turned into a starlit sky that gave any who looked into it hopelessness. The hopelessness seeped into X's soul as he looked at the piles of flesh his dream parents used to be.

A burst for the ground forming into a paper thin wall of shadow shot in front of him, another of the shadows doing the same but from behind. Hyperventilating X crawled away, no attempt to get up at the shadows formed into monstrous parodies of his parents, golden eyes glowing with malicious light echoing the utter hopelessness they sought.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT, JACOB." Silas's bellowed. His voice had become distorted, almost demonic as it echoed. "IT'S WHAT WE WANT."

"AND WE WANTED YOU TO BE A TRAINER. LIKE US. LIKE YOUR FATHERS' MOTHER AND FATHER, AND THEIR MOTHERS AND FATHERS...."

"....AND LIKE YOUR MOTHER'S FATHER AND MOTHER, AND LIKE THEIR FATHERS AND MOTHERS, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH!"

"Shut up!"

"YOU DO NOT DESERVE BEING ANYTHING BUT WHAT WE WANT YOU TO BE!"

"LEAVE YOUR PAST AND EMBRACE OUR FUTURE!"

"I don't want to!"

"OBEY US!"

"OBEY US!"

The limit had been reached. "STOP! STOP! DON'T! PLEASE, JUST LET ME GO! LEAVE ME AND GO! HOW CAN YOU CLAIM TO LOVE ME AND TORTURE ME LIKE THIS!!"

"OH, JACOB, DON'T YOU SEE...." The parents began to get closer to X, their shadowy forms surrounding him, cutting him off from everything but their demonic forms. "...WE DO THIS BECAUSE YOU....ARE NOTHING....TO ANYONE..."

"Please....stop..."

Suddenly, Silas screamed as a bolt of light pierced his darkness. He twisted around unnaturally as Morgan turned her attention away from her son. "WHO DARES! WHO DARES TO STRIKE THE GREAT SILAS ARROW!"

"I DO NIGHTMARE!"

The shadows and X looked up into the sky and saw a particular sight. Flying in the middle of the abyss was a Ponyta like creature, like the Little Lady and similar creatures he had seen all day. Unlike them she (X assumed it was a she) didn't have holes in her legs or mane, giving her a healthier appearance. Her coat was a midnight blue, with a black blot of night on her rump under a white crescent moon. The horn was straight, and her wings were feathered rather than insect like, the wings spread out and keeping her aloft with powerful flaps.

The odd thing was her mane and tail looked to be alive, or at least akin to flowing water. It was like a living constellation of stars compressed into a hairstyle

Silas hissed as he pointed a crooked arm at the creature. "YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE. THIS BETWEEN OUR SON AND US! IT IS OUR JOB TO PUNISH OUR CHILD, TO MAKE HIM BE WHAT WE CRAFT HIM INTO! NOT YOU!"

"Then I suggest you find a new manner of employment." The interloper spread her wings as a moon appeared behind her, the moon dwarfing all whom here present. Moonlight shone from the silver disk, the dreary sky becoming one of hope.

The shadows would disagree, the light anathema to them. They howled and twisted in an inhuman manner as a million points of light rained from the moon, striking the fiends. Holes burned where the light struck them, screaming in pain. In usion they pleaded to their attacker. "STOP THIS! STOP THIS NOW! WE COMMAND YOU! DO AS WE SAY FOR WE ARE ARE YOUR SUPERIORS!"

The pony narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

"No."

The moonlight intensified. The shadows writhed, holding their heads as their shadowy forms began to burn away faster into nonexistence.

Jacob growled at the interlopers attention turned to him. “You do not belong here, nor do you have the right to interfere.” he said with a hushed tone. The interloper only glared as her horn

Then with a predatory grin, he faced X, and spoke with anticipation: "See you tomorrow night X."

Jacob then faded from existence, throne and all.

With a heavy sigh of relief, X gazed as his savior gently flew towards him, landing on the stained glass platform that remained with a delicate chime. "Are you well?"

".....what are you?"

"Not what." she corrected. "Who. And who I am is Princess Luna of Equestria, princess of the night and mistress of the Dreamscape. A place you currently are in."

"So, I really am dreaming.I think." X replied. He then thought, and asked a question. "Uh....how much did you see?"

"All of it, in a manner of speaking." X raised an eyebrow as Luna continued. "You see, as I already mentioned I am the mistress of the Dreamscape. Thus here, my powers over dreams are vast. Though I entered your dream but a few moments ago, I was able to see your dream in its entirety.Thus, I saw everything.”

"What I am curious about is that your dream is much different than the other Pokemon whom's dreams I have visited. Many of them dreamed of the new world they were thrust into. Yours was not like theirs. Would you like to talk about it?"

"....It's kind of a touchy subject." X looked a little guarded as he got into a sitting position. He felt too tired to stand, the fact he was in a dream notwithstanding.

"Part of the healing process is being able to talk about it." Luna gave X a warm look as her moon shrunk to a smaller yet still large size as it moved into the cloudy horizon. "The choice is yours though."

Tense moments dragged on before X spoke. "...my parents are Silas and Morgan Arrow. Where I come from, they're famous pokemon trainers. They are among some of the stronger trainers to ever train pokemon. " X spoke softly as he told his tale.“ Their dream was to defeat the Pokemon Champion of Kalos, especially my dad. She was the person the other me was replacing in my memory before….that happened.

"But my choice in what I wanted to do with my life wasn't that my parents expected. They didn't like the fact that I didn't find the trainers life appealing and wanted to go into construction. I lost count of how many times they tried to convince me that they were right, that they knew what was best for me. "

Luna balked for a moment as X rushed to clarify. "Oh don't get me wrong. I love my family a lot, and they never actually forced me to do anything. But I never wanted their legacy to define mine. I wanted to get out of their shadow, create my own legacy, and live my own life, not theirs." He chuckled as he put a hand behind his head. "Sounds a little out of left field, doesn't it."

X noticed his guest hesitated for a moment before answering "Not at all. I too faced the shadow of family suffocating my own. But unlike you...." Luna waited for a moment before contuning. "...I took a more drastic course of action. It did not end well for either me or my sister, though eventually we were able to reconcile. But the damage had already been done. It is a wound that can never heal. No matter how much I tend to it."

"Well, would you like to talk about it?" X asked, his question echoing the Lunar Princesses'. She shook her head.

"I'm afraid I cannot. I have many more to check upon, to face the nightmares of others. Perhaps another time."

Luna started to take flight, slowly rising into the sky. "Take care young human. Do not lose heart as you find your way in this new world, and pay no heed to the words of a nightmare: They only twist the truth, never speak it."

Then, the pony disappeared, fading away while a confused X simply stared at where Luna was before she simply wasn't.

Author's Note

I like to call this "The chapter of the shout out." There are quite a few in here.

Chapter 10 - Wide Guard

Chapter 10
Wide Guard

Day 2

Inti groaned as she awoke. The sunlight danced in the sky as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

She quickly realized that she was seeping in Azisa’s head, the lizard quickly coming to the conclusion that she had at some point decided that Azisa’s head was very comfortable.

Okay, that is the last time I drink any wine. I only had like one glass but still.”

Still groggy from the wine, Inti gently lept from the head of the tree, landing on the ground with a graceful landing. Then, a wonderful aroma hit her: she couldn't tell what it was, but it sure smelled good.

Humming, Inti walked to the open door of the house. As she entered, she gasped in horror as she saw what was before her:.

Nall and Nalel.

The sound of a closing door behind her made her situation even worse.

"Help."

X moaned as he awoke, the sunlight filtering through his tent. He yawned, stretching as he did so.

"Man, what a weird dream." X commented. He knew he had dreams, like any other person did, but he never really remembered them. Figments, sections, ideas....but just that. Just parts of the dream. But this one, this one was different.

He remembered everything about it.

And it scared him.

Especially Jacob.

X shuddered as he tried to get up, a small grunt of pain coming from his lips as he tried to do so. The pain was like sliding your arm across the carpet: It wasn't the act of sliding your arm across the carpet that hurt, but the carpet burn that remained after. It was a pain that lingered, never truly hurting yet the pain was still there.

A head popped in, revealing Apocalypse. "Hi X! You're up!"

"You too Apocalypse. Sleep good?"

"I had a really weird dream, other than that, I did."

"Really?" X mused. "I had a really weird dream too."

"Did it involve Inti being nice to me? Because that was what made my dream weird."

X shook his head. "Nah, mine was a bit more....complicated."

"Inti being nice to me usually is."

"...Moving on, can you ask Azisa to get me something to eat? I'd do it myself but I want to wait for a bit before I move. I still feel a little sore."

"Sure. AZISA! X WANTS FOOD!" Apocalypse shouted, ensuring a few of the wounded would wake up angry as he left his trainer, X smiling.

"Kids,"

To Inti's surprise, the girls brought her to their mother instead of "playing" with her.

"Okay, this time, its going to work!" Hira trotted to her notebook, many equations and languages scribbled in it. Scribbles was putting it gently: The way they were written, even a rabid wolverine would right more legible literature. "Is the subject ready?"

"Lisk."

"That means yes Mom!" Nalal cried with joy, Nell looking on in confusion. A cup of coffee was in her magical grip.

"Lisk lisk Lisk!"

"Uh, you sure Mister...Frilly face...is going to be okay?" Nell asked in between sips of coffee.

"Trust me Nell, Mister Frilly Face will be fine. " Hira replied as he finished a calculation. "It's my sanity I fear for."

"That's....encouraging." Nell remarked. "So, what exactly are you doing?"

"Mom's been trying to translate what Mister Frilly Face and the other creatures that just showed up are saying." Answered Nall. "Trust us, its gonna be amazing once Mister Frilly Face and us are speaking the same language.

"Can you imagine how hard it must be if you had a best friend you couldn't understand for like forever? It would be like 'Hi friend? Would you like something? I hope you can get the general idea of what I am saying and hopefully not think I'm saying something disrespectful ending with 'your mother'. That's just low, you know that?"

Nell just sipped her coffee.

"That's the general idea. The single and double translations didn't work, so hopefully a triple translation will do the trick." At that, Hira put on a pair of goggles, her three daughters doing the same. Mister Frilly Face's eyes widened at that, worried that something was expected to blow up.

Hira horn glowed, engulfing Mister Frilly Face. Then, when the glow ended, a second immediately replaced it. "Okay, here goes."

Hira's horn glowed, though this time the glow was more....solid. Mister Frilly Face squeezed for a moment before the glow ended.

"Okay....speak. Please." Hira grinned in anticipation, the smile wider than it should be as Mister Frilly Face blinked, then spoke.

"01010111011001010110110001101100001011000010000001101001011001100010000001110100011010000110100101110011001000000111010001101000011010010110111001100111001000000111011101101111011100100110101101110011001000000100100100100000011101110110111101110101011011000110010000100000011011000110100101101011011001010010000001110100011011110010000001100011011011110110110101110000011011000110000101101110001000000110000101100010011011110111010101110100001000000111100101101111011101010111001000100000011010110110100101100100011100110010111000100000011101000111011101101111001000000110111101100110001000000111010001101000011001010110110100100000011000010111001001100101001000000111000001101111011100110111001101101001011000100110110001111001001000000110000101110011001000000110100101101110011101000110010101101100011010010110011101100101011011100111010000100000011000010111001100100000010000010111000001101111011000110110000101101100011110010111000001110011011001010010110000100000011000010110111001100100001000000111010001101000011000010111010000100000011010010111001100100000011011100110111101110100001000000110000100101110001011100010111001101111011010000010000001100100011001010110000101110010001000000100000101110010011000110111010101100101011100110010000001100001011011010010000001001001001000000111001101110000011001010110000101101011011010010110111001100111001000000100001001001001010011100100000101010010010110010010000100111111001000000101011101001000010110010010000001010100010010000100010100100000010010000100010101001100010011000010000001000001010011010010000001001001001000000101001101010000010001010100101101000001010010010100111001000111001000000100001001001001010011100100000101010010010110010010000100111111001000000101011101001000010000010101010000100000010101000100100001000101001000000100100001000101010011000100110000100000010001000100100101000100001000000101100101001111010101010010000001000100010011110010000001010100010011110010000001001101010001010010000100111111"

(TRANSLATION: Well, if this thing works I would like to complain about your kids. two of them are possibly as intelligent as Apocalypse, and that is not a...oh dear Arceus am I speaking BINARY!? WHY THE HELL AM I SPEAKING BINARY!? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!?)

Hira screamed as she took the goggles off and threw them with enough force to break the window she threw them at. At that, Nell, Nall, Nalel, and Mister Frilly Face wisely moved to the other end of the study.

The doorbell thankfully rang, drawing Hira's anger to it. "Excuse me for a moment. I need to take my anger out at the changeling at the door. It will be messy." The mother then angrily trotted out of the room, leaving the stunned changelings and Heliolisk behind.

After a moment, Nall spoke. "Mom, can you at least undo what you did? That many numbers scare me!"

With an angry slam, the door opened, a crashing sound erupting from the point of impact between door and wall. "Piss off!"

"Yet another bad first impression. I'm losing my touch."

Hira gulped when she realized who was at her front door. She stammered incoherently, Emperor Carapace witness to her babbling. A strange bipedal fox with black fur and glorious red hair stood next to him, looking at Hira quizzically. There were bandages on his right arm that looked to be freshly applied. Behind them were about two dozen Royal Guards, whom started to laugh at the misfortune of Hira.

"....is she alright?" The fox asked.

"I'm pretty sure that she, like many of us, had a rough day yesterday due to the arrival of your kind....uh they all are part of your kind, correct?"

"In a manner of speaking you are correct, mostly." The fox corrected. "...Are we just gonna...."

"Give her a minute." Carapace reassured him. Hira was slowly able to make coherent speech possible. "My Emperor! What a surprise? Um....please don't take what I said personally. I've had a bad morning, and all the coffee in Equis will do nothing to fix it."

"I would never dream of taking a small bout of anger like that personally. You are not the only one who's troubles from the day before haunt you today. Are the Pokèmon bothering you that much?"

"No, my Emperor." Hira spoke as she bowed. "It's uh.....Translation spell mishaps."

"Ah."

"Well, its a good thing I am here, am I 'Boss'." Naruto quipped. Hira raised her head and focused on the fox, curious.

"Wait, I can understand you." Hira took a closer look. "Does that mean the translation spell works!? What did you use? A Quadruple translation? Time Dilation? Mana Overcharge?"

"It's a talent that I always have possessed actually." Naruto said with a grin. "But we're here for official business. May we come inside?"

Before she could answer, a shout was heard as it's owner marched through the crowd. "Moving time, Tyrunt walking! Want in, please move! I have jaws, hear me whine!"

Turning and looking down, Naruto smirked as he was the troublemaker. "Apocalypse, play nice. We've been doing a lot of traveling lately and don't want to scare the locals any more than they already are."

"Hey, if the back door had a lower handle I would use that but nooooooo! I'm the short one. Now scooch Naruto. I want in! " Apocalypse had just entered the house before skidding to a stop, slowly turning around and looking at the Zoroark he talked to. "NARUTO!?"

"Ta-da."

With a cry of joy, Apocalypse jumped into Naruto, the Zoroark giving a small screech before being talked to the ground by the Tyrunt. "YAY! YOU'RE HERE! YOU'RE REALLY HERE! NOW INTI HAS SOMEONE ELSE TO PICK ON! WHERE WERE YOU!? WHY ARE YOU WITH THESE GUYS!? WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE A DUNGEON? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!?"

"OFF APOCALYPSE! OFF! YOU'RE HEAVY AND I CANNOT BREATHE!"

"NEVER!!!!!!!!"

"CARAPACE HELP ME!"

Carapace simply smiled as the company began to laugh with a smile on their face, the ecstatic dinosaur completely oblivious to the Fox's cries for help. Carapace's horn glowed shortly before Silver Heart approached him. "Sir, if I can, I suggest you delay that help." Silver Heart asked the emperor.

"Why?"

"I would like to savor the moment."

"Silver...."

"What?"

Azisa made herself at home in the kitchen. She rummaged through the cupboards and drawers, looking for something to feed her family.

She also made a mental note to replace whatever she used. And to make enough for the family taking them in. She pondered for a moment, and reached into herself, bringing out a branch filled with small Sitrus Berries. She was very thankful for her Ability to Harvest Sitrus Berries so quickly, though the actual time from bloom to fruit varied from crop to crop.

This batch needed at least another day.

"Hmm, there goes Sitrus Berry Crepès." Azisa noted. She begun her search anew, looking for a replacement fruit. She did find a strange black berry that resembled a Blukberry, but she was keeping her options open for now.

"Honestly, this is a strange fruit. I have never seen it before."

"True, but the things you find and don't expect yield their own pleasant surprises." A strained voice spoke to her from behind. Azisa turned her head around, just her head, and her eye widened in joy as she saw Naruto standing behind her.

For added adorableness, Apocalypse was riding him piggy back style, compressing his hair by an impressive amount as Naruto buckled underneath the weight of the Dragon, trying to not to fall to the ground. Azisa tried very hard to not laugh.

"Help. He's heavy."

Azisa quickly grabbed Apocalypse, who despite the death grip he had on Naruto's hair, was easily taken off of his back, relieving the fox of the extra weight. She set Apocalypse down before Naruto wheezed a reply. "He needs to go on a diet. Or take a bath."

"Is that a rock joke?"

"Sorry. Inti rubbed off on me," Naruto commented with a shrug.

"Well enough of that." Azisa shook her hands, some of the foodstuff stuck on them falling off before hugging the second in command. "What about you? Where were you? We were worried. I was worried!"

"Well, I may have woke up in the castle of the local Emperor..." Naruto's eyes darted around for a moment, as he sighed. "...who is not as quiet as I think he thinks he is, and is currently behind me."

"And here I thought I was good at being stealthy." The Emperor chuckled. “You really did hear me?”

"I take it you are Azisa the Trevenant? I am Emperor Carapace, Emperor of the Changeling Empire, which is where you are now."

"I am indeed Azisa, your highness." Azisa bowed, showing respect to the Emperor of a land she never knew. "My apologies for making you bring Naruto to us, if that is the case."

At that, Carapace had a hard time keeping his face free of a perplexing emotion. "...I can't actually understand you."

"What?"

"He can't speak our language Azisa. One moment." Naruto told his Ghost friend. He turned to face the Emperor. "Emperor, she said 'I am indeed Azisa, your highness. My apologies for making you bring Naruto to us, if that is the case.'"

"Oh, there was no trouble. Mostly." Carapace stressed the 'mostly' part, at which Naruto cringed. "Though, I came for another reason, involving....what were they called? Derent?"

"Durant, sir."

A glow guretal groan came from Azisa, it sounding like it came from a ancient Behemoth who just awoke from its slumber. "Oh.....them. I swear, they are despicable."

"My sentiments exactly." Naruto turned again, facing his fellow workmate and family member. "Mind telling the Emperor what happened yesterday from your point of view?"

"Not a problem..." Azisa then pointed to her crepès, the pasties unfinished. "But X just woke up and I kinda need to feed him. I told the family that I was going to cook the meals as payment for letting us stay here. I'm pretty lucky they can read our language. But the point is that I need some fruit, and I used most of my Sitrus berry supply yesterday and the new ones aren't done growing."

"We have some blueberries on the ship we used to get here. I'm sure the Emperor would not mind if you used some."

"If I can correctly guess what you are referring to..." Carapace mused with a hoof on his chin. "....I can arrange that. But I would like one of whatever you are making."

"And while you are making it, I was hoping I could talk to X." Naruto asked with a smile on his face. At that, Azisa's head drooped. "...Azisa...is...is X....okay?"

"He is hurt rather badly friend, but on the general whole he is fine. I'll take you to him, but I should warn you, you will be surprised." Azisa then started to head towards the exit of the kitchen. "He'll probably feel better once he see's you."

"Naruto, what did she say?" Carapace asked the Fox. Naruto sighed as he followed the Trevenant. "She's going to take me to X..."

"Then why do you sound apprehensive about it?"

"Something that is causing my fur to stand on end. Whatever it is, I am not going to like it."

Naruto and Carapace stood outside of the tent where Azisa led them, the door of the tent closed. "Please don't freak out."

"I assure you I will not."

With that, Azisa opened the door and ushered the two in. "X, you have a visitor."

What Naruto saw was not what he expected. Instead of his human he saw a Chesnaught wrapped in bandages staring at the ground he sat on.

"Uh....Azisa?"

"Yes Naruto?"

"That's a Chesnaught."

"Not...exactly."

At that, the Chesnaguth raised his head, a weary look on his face, and gasped as he saw who it was. "Naruto?"

"....yes?"

"Naruto, its me. It's X."

Naruto couldn't help but look at him as if he was a little off in the head, though considering what had happened the day before, that might not be too foreign of a statement. The emperor bore the same expression. "Naruto, what is he saying?"

"He's saying that he's X. But....that's impossible."

"I sure do hope it is Naruto." Carapace warned. "I do not like being lied too."

"Trust me Naruto, its X." Azisa looked at her friend, the Zoroark looking at her awkwardly. "He knows things only he would know."

Naruto simply narrowed his eyes. "Okay then. If you really are X, tell me, what was the name of You Know Who."

"Naruto, we agreed never to talk about it."

"Indulge me."

"Fine. Fire Wing the Incredibly Fiery Who Causes Storms To Flee In the Terror Of My Existence And Power Within All Eternity." Naruto was about to interject when the Chesnaught continued. "But we called him Hornswoggle to make him mad."

Naruto sighed. "Do I even want to know why you are a Chesnaught? Or how you became one for that matter?"

"I don't even think I know." The being now identified as X signed. He then took a closer look at Naruto, and noticed the bandaged arm. "Oh my god your arm!"

"I'm fine, trust me."

"But that's your bad arm!"

"Trust me, I'm fine." Naruto raised his good hand the gesture trying to get his wellness across to X. Turning to the Emperor, he asked "Emperor, may I have a moment?"

"Take all the time you need." With that, Carapace exited the tent, Azisa in tow.

"So..." Naruto approaches his trainer, and sat down next to him. "...Want to talk about those wounds of yours?"

"Don't change the subject Naruto. What happened to your arm? Is it broken?"

Naruto chuckled. "Trust me the arm is tougher than it looks. I landed on it wrong, but otherwise it is fine. A little sore though."

X glared, the visage of death in the corner of Narutos eyes. "I got into a fight with a Blastoise. He was threatening to steal the Emperor of this lands garden, that's the man who came with me just now, and I tried to talk the Blastoise down.

"Turns out he was a Typist, and started the fight with me. I fought, but he got a few good hits on me. "Did you know Aura Spheres hurt? They do, and they hurt a lot."

"How can Blastoise learn that?" X mused.

"Honestly?" Naruto answered. "I believe its probably though some ancient ritual that was actually something Pokemon were not meant to know."

X laughed. "Good to hear you got out of it alive. "

"And now its your turn." X sighed as Naruto glared at his trainer/brother. "I heard you and the others got into a little bit of a fight against some Durant."

"It wasn't fun, I'll tell you that."

"But that's not the only thing you are worrying about." Naruto noted. At that, X's face fell. "X, I know you are confused right now. Winding up in a land that we do not know, you turning into a Chesnaught....the stress must be eating you alive. It might be best to take it slow, and let it out. Sometimes you must simply talk about it."

Words rang through X's head as the mysterious Mistress of the Night echoed in his thoughts.

"Part of the healing process is being able to talk about it."

"...I had a weird dream." X replied. "It started out as a memory of our first job after we got our construction licence..."

"I just don't know why the damn spell isn't working!" Hira lamented over a cup of coffee. The soldiers who were not outside tending to the wounded, asking questions and receiving answers. The ones who were not were milling about, either outside near the fence to stand guard, or inside to await their Emperors orders. "I got Mister Frilly Face to speak Binary! Binary! That's not even a language! It's a series of yes and no answers that those newfangled computer things use to do things!"

Nell put a hoof on her chin, musing. "Wait, don't we have one of those computer things somewhere?"

"Yes. Your father found it during one of his merchant trips. " A sip of coffee paused the mother's comment. "He found it, though I would like to play with the thing. More trouble than it's worth actually, because right now...its in the closet."

"Why is it in there? I may not be familiar with computers but I don't think that is where they go."

Hira calmly replied with a simple "I got mad."

"Oh."

"It could be just our biology." The Emperor noted. He sipped on his coffee, which was straight black with no sugar or cream, before continuing. "Changeling magic is not as powerful as Unicorn magic. That is simply the way it is. Even one as long lived as I may have trouble with the spell as you are."

"The spell is working your highness, its just not working the way it should." Hira moaned.

Carapace had no answer.

Nell was there as well, sitting and thinking. Nervously, she asked "Emperor,can I make a suggestion?"

"And you are...?"

"I'm Nell, your highness."

Carapace returned with a warm smile. "Well then young Nell. I am Carapace."

"Oh, I uh, I already know that sir." Nell replied. If she was nervous before, it was nothing compared to how nervous she was now.

"Yes, but when one gives their name it is polite to get a name in return. It's more personal to me."

That calmed Nell down a bit. "Well I had an idea. The spell is working correctly but not correctly at the same time, right?"

Hira noded before Nell continued. "Is it possible to cast the two translations spells....at the same time?"

"Nell, that's...."

"Brilliant." The Emperor finished His thought for her as Nell looked in surprise. She had not expected that. "At the very least we must try."

"But dual casting magic, even the same spell, is not an easy feat. I don't think I can do it." Hira pointed out. An aura covered book floated to her, the teacher flipping the book open and rushing through the pages quite quickly. "With no disrespect meant Emperor I doubt even you can cast two spells at the same time reliably."

But deter the Emperor it did not. "Then we shall each cast one of the two spells. If we cast at the same time, it should achieve the same results."

"Honestly I don't think this is going to work." Hira expressed her doubt. "But I've spent far too many hours trying to answer why the spell just won't work right." She turned her book around, revealing runic markings in a language that screamed magic. "This is the spell I have been using."

"Seems simple enough." The Emperor gripped the book in his aura, the book floating to him. His eyes darted back and forth as he absorbed the information that lay before him. After several tense moments of reading, he set the book down. "When you are ready. If you do not mind, I shall handle the second half of this spell."

"Nell, can you get Mister Frilly Face for me?"

Mister Frilly Face was being held tightly by Rizen, the soldier's hoof on her tail. She did not want to speak binary again, but she really didn't want to get into a fight this early in the morning.

Inti loved to get into a good fight but even she had standards.

The commoner and the Emperor were looking over the notes one more time, looking over for any irregularities in the magical instructions. "This seems simple enough. I never really needed a translation spell lately so I am a little rusty."

"Really?"

The Emperor smiled at Nell, and responded. "Well, I am long lived. Gives me plenty of time to study."

"I'm ready when you are your Highness." Hira closed the book, her confidence shifting between "Reasonably worried" to "Oh by the hive I am going to screw up in front of the Emperor and completely destroy my reputation and make it time to move to another town."

"It is your spell. You lead, and I will follow."

HIra was thankful for the Emperor deferring to her judgment. "Then...on three."

"One."

"Two."

"'Three!"

Horn horns glowed brightly with their auras. The colors melded and surrounded Mister Frilly Face, the lizard resigning herself to her fate. The aura faded, Mister Frilly Face glaring at the Changelings. "So....how do you feel?" Hira asked.

Mister Frilly Face growled before answering. "I feel Violated! I mean you almost left me talking in binary for who knows how long when you had your little temper tantrum! I didn't wanna leave the room after that. That many numbers scare Apocalypse!"

Nall was slightly offended at that. "Hey, that's what I said....before..."

"IT WORKED!" Hira shouted. She rose to the air in celebration as Rizen released her tail. "Tell us anything, anything at all!"

"Well, since you asked...." Mister Frilly Face pointed a hand at Nall and Nalel. "Those two have been the thorn in my side ever since I got here...wherever here is... and I am SICK OF IT! Oh, and my name isn't Frilly Face! Frilly Face is a stupid name! My name is Inti, I already have a Trainer, and like Samus...I AM A GIRL!"

"Trevenant Nant Nant!"

"Now if you excuse me I am going to drown my sorrows in crèpe!"

And with that, Inti left the room.

"What kind of a stupid name is Inti?"

"Nall....not now."

"You have the weirdest dreams."

"I've been under a lot of stress." X responded. "You too by the looks of it."

"What, afraid of one little fight spelling my doom?" The Zoroark countered. "I admit it was close but without Carapace it would have been a different ending."

"That's what I was afraid of."

The tent opened, Inti popped her head into the tent, a blueberry crèpe dangling out of her mouth. "Oh, hey Naruto. Heard you were back. Awesome." She spoke through a mouth full of food.

"Good to see you to Inti. Heard you got into a scuffle."

"You know me." The Heliolisk gulped, the crèpe now swallowed. "Anywho, the geniuses managed to do some Move that let's us speak the same language. Sorry Naruto but it looks like you're out of a job."

"I take it they want to talk with us."

"Yeah, I'll go get Apocalypse, he's doing something involving that Tropius in the backyard."

Inti's head vanished from view as Naruto asked X, "There's a Tropius in the backyard?"

"Yea. He's a cool guy but he's kinda lazy."

Thankfully for X, he was deemed well enough to get up and wander.

So he wandered into the house, which was quickly turning into the temporary HQ.

Thankfully there were crèpes waiting for him there.

X walked through the door (minus the cloak so the could actually walk through the door) and saw a plate of crèpe waiting for him and for Naruto, their places at the table chosen for them. The table at that point was rather crowded, a second table sitting next to it in order to accommodate the Emperor and his men. The Emperor sat at the head of one table, Rizen and Silver on each side. In their own spots scattered around the tables, Inti and Apocalypse dug into their crèpes, Apocalypse far messier than Inti, while the other changelings simply sat and ate in a rather clean manner (well, clean when compared to Inti and Apocalypse)

As X sat down, the Emperor cleared his throat, the sound drawing attention to himself. “First, I would like to give my thanks to you Citel, and your family, for allowing me into your home under these interesting circumstances.”

“The honor is mine your Highness.”

“Second, I believe introductions are in order, since Hira broke the language barrier between us and our guests.Whom wished to go first.”

“If no one minds, I think we shall have that honor.” Citel cleared his throat before continuing. “I am Citel, and this is my wife Hira.”

“I’m not sure if I already said this, but it is a pleasure meeting you.”

X smiled as the replied “Uh, it’s no biggie.”

“And these are our two broods. Our oldest Nell, Nall, and Nalel…” The trio of young mares nodded as their names were called. “...and our youngest: Kyo, Koruk, Roku, Aang and Kor.”

The five of them shoot their hooves into the air as one.

“As for me, I am Emperor Carapace. I am the ruler of the Changeling Empire, which you are currently in.” The Emperor pointed a hoof at Silver Heart. “This is Silver Heart, and on my other side is Rizen.”

“Friends of yours?” The tree asked. She was still in the kitchen, the rooms distance not to far from the tables, allowing her to be in the conversation will little difficulty.

“In a manner of speaking.” The Emperor replied. At that, Silver Heart sighed.

“Well, to kick things off on our end, I’m X.” X patted himself on the chest before motion to his team. “Next to me is Naruto, my best friend.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“The one in the kitchen is Azisa.”

“Hello friends!”

“Next to Naruto is Inti.”

Inti said nothing as she ate he crèpe.

“And I’m Apocalypse!” The Tyrunt shouted. The tension in the room broke, and the changelings started to laugh as Inti growled at the Tyrunt.

“I must say, your friends are quite interesting X.” Nall laughed.

“Tell me about it.” X replied.

“In any case, I would like you to recount your tale of the day before. I need a few holes filled in.”

“Uh sure.” X paused for a moment before continuing. “Well, for me, I woke up in the jungle….”

X was not alone in recounting the events of yesterday. As the told his tale, Nell, Nall, Inti, Apocalypse, and Azisa each chipped in, adding details and other points of view

Levitated coffee poured into X’s cup as the finished his tale

“...And that’s what happened sir.”

“So, like Naruto you claim to hail from a land that I have not heard of. And like Naruto, you claim to be a different creature than what you are right now.”

“That sums it up sir.”

“Intriguing.”

"I think the more important issue are those ants sir." SIlver Heart. "I got a few reports from a couple of the troops. Those ants really made a mess of things. What if they come back?"

"I've never actually met a Durant, but from what I hear, Durant are pretty territorial." All of the eyes in the room turned to X. "Maybe they think that they you guys moved onto their land for something?"

"I wouldn't put it past them. Plus they might do something....questionable." Inti words rang true, looks of worry on the faces of Kor's family. "Case in point, the kidnapping of Kor there."

"Anyone have any suggestions? Because I'm pulling a blank." Citel sighed.

"I say we find where the Durant are living, and attack back." Carapace, Silver Heart, and Naruto turned towards the speaker in surprise, which was Rizen. "...What?"

"Uh, that was my line." Silver moaned.

"Indeed." The Emperor was just as surprised as Silver. "I would not have expected such a bloodthirsty suggestion from someone who's specialty is psychology."

"Sir, these ants attacked first, and kidnapped one of our own. It's clear they are not friends." Rizen replied. His gaze was hard, something that seemed out of character for the normally soft spoken changing guard. "I am a warrior first and a psychologist second. If there is a battle to be fought, then in it I will fight."

"Woah, you're just gonna march into battle just like that?" Demanded X.

"I believe that is what we just said." The Emperor replied like it was casual day to day talk between friends.

"But these Durant must have had a reason to attack! You don't just attack people for no reason. There is always a reason for people to attack other people! I should know!"

"You expect me to just sit on my hooves while these creatures plan to assault my people again!" Carapace was almost yelling, his berserk button clearly pushed. "I will not stand by and watch my people be treated as nothing but targets!"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't need to. Your emotions told me." The Emperor's eyes narrowed. "You fear them, and that fear is combined with another far. One that you are hiding from me. I applaud your ability to hide such information from an ancient emotivore like myself, but that is not the point I am making.

"Those fears is why you want me to avoid a battle. Because you are afraid of what they can do. You do not like others being hurt. But I have been alive for a very long time. I saw first hand what terrors like Discord, Nightmare Moon, and King Sombra are capable of. These Durant pale in comparison to what true horrors are. They will not be able to stand to me, or my power."

X was not convinced. "That's not the point! Look at the evidence! The Durant only attacked those who attacked back! They clearly wanted something, and obviously wanton violence was not it! They have a reason, maybe we can use that to reason with them!"

"Uh, what about the Durant that attacked Anteater and his men?" Nell replied. X looked at her, causing her to sink into her chair in a vain attempt to hide. "Sorry, but...he never said anything about his side attacking first."

"Okay, maybe a few Durant attacked first, but my point still stands."

"X, are you suggesting that we just talk to the Durant?" Nall's question was as loud as a whisper, the quick ascension into shouting scaring her. "Because they seem like mean, not-talky types."

"As much as I loathe the peaceful approach, X has a point. Maybe talking to them could save our collective butts."

Apocalypse scootched as far away from Inti without actually leaving his seat. "Who are you and what have you done to Inti!?"

Inti shoot a quick glare at Apocalypse. "It's still me, Apocalypse." She then turned her glare back to the bickering Emperor and human. "When I went to their colony, there were easily one or two hundred Durant, maybe even three hundred. At the least. I honestly believe there are more than that.

"Let's not forget when the Durant paid a visit last night. No offence Carapace, but the soldiers that serve you were outnumbered and overpowered, badly. They had a hard time surviving them, let alone fighting them. You honestly think they are capable of fighting back when the Durant come back? Trust me, they are coming back. If we can stop the fight before it even starts, that's a win in my book."

The Emperor cast a hard glare at the pokemon, his subjects staying silent. They were starting to regret letting the Emperor have what was amount to a war meeting in their house.

So much for a simple breakfast with royalty.

"....They will not listen X. They know they have the upper hand."

"At least give it a try. You can never an answer to a question you never ask. If we can stop the fight then we can get on to the more important question of finding out how all of us pokemon wound up in your little Empire in the first place. And how to get back."

"...maybe you are right. It will not end the way you believe it will end, but I will humor you. Rizen, Silver?"

"Yes Emperor?" The duo replied as soon as Carapace stopped talking, Silver replying through a mouthful of crèpe.

"Prepare a carriage. We'll take to the skies to get there faster."

Silver swallowed before speaking. "Uh, isn't my employment questionable right at this moment?"

"Consider this an opportunity to redeem yourself." He turned to Inti. "Inti, you know the location of the entrance to the colony, do you not?"

"I wouldn't call it an entrance." Inti smirked. "More like an emergency back door."

"Close enough. You will accompany me and my troops, serving as our guide to where you exited their colony."

Inti grinned like a mad woman as Carapace turned to Citel and his family. "If it is not any trouble, I need you and your family's help. I declare that you Citel to be Emergency Aid Director, with your wife and children Junior Aid Directors.

"Your duties are to keep watch on those whom are still injured, answer any questions regarding what is happening truthfully, and to shore up the defences of the city as you see fit. Until further notice, what you say goes. If I can suggest something, please place priority on your little camp here: The Durant seem intelligent. If given the chance, they would most likely finish what they started here. Do not give them that chance. "

"But, we're just....changelings!" Nell pointed out. "You Think we're good enough?"

"You are the changelings with the most experience regarding these ants. So yes, I do think you are good enough."

Somehow that didn't make Nell feel better.

"Finally, Naruto. You said that Fire was the only weakness of these Durant?"

"I did say that." Naruto replied.

"And you know fire magic."

"I told you already, Sir. It's not magic, it's. An. Attack. And yes, I do know Flamethrower, which is a fire attack."

"Then you're coming with us."

"Yes sir. "

"Uh, no you're not." X grumpily replied.

At that, Naruto looked...worried. "Uh yea...uh....I...uh...."

X sighed a weary sigh. "What happened?"

"...I got arrested."

X shot out of his seat, knocking over his seat, and almost did the same to the table if he did not slam his hands into it. Which caused the tablet to splinter. "WHAT!? YOU GOT ARRESTED!!"

"MY TABLE!"

"Uh, yea . Funny story. See, I kinda accidentally damaged the Emperor's garden. "

The changelings present (Save for Citel, who was still shouting
MY TABLE!") sighed. They had all heard the stories of the garden's legendary beauty. And the Emperor's extreme fondness of the garden.

Mostly about the fondness of the garden.

"The garden is on the level of a national treasure. And, well to shorten the story considerably either I serve time in jail, or work for the Emperor. I choose to work for the Emperor."

Flashbacks of Grant interrogating X flashed before his eyes. "Oh come on. You can't do that Carapace! It's just a garden!"

"One, it keeps me sane. Two, my country, my rules. And three, the deal I gave Naruto was extremely generous. I do not give that deal to just anyone."

"He's right." Hira replied. "We almost went to war with the Griffins due to an ambassador stepping on the Foxgloves."

"What the hell is a griffin!?"

"SERIOUSLY, DOES ANYONE HERE NOT NOTICE THE CRATER IN MY TABLE! IT WAS AN IMPORT FROM BALTIMARE!"

"In any case, I'm on your side X! " Naruto shouted. "You want a peaceful way to end this little spat, so I'm going to look for one unless you want to go!"

"You know what? Fine, go on then! Screw me over! I'm only your best friend/brother in spirit!" X marched towards the door, and opened it forcefully, almost tearing it from it's hinges. "Go ahead, go work for you new best friend! Who needs me anyway!?"

X slammed the door with terrible force. Miraculously, the door still remained connected to its hinges.

"...what happened to you X?" Naruto asked. No one answered, unsure what to say.

Thirty minutes later, The carriage was ready, four changelings hooked into its harnesses. The Emperor, Rizen, Silver Heart, Naruto, and Inti marched towards the gothic vehicle. "You feeling okay?" Inti asked.

"No." Naruto's answer was blunt.

"Look, X is just stressed, right? He's come round. He always does."

"It's not that. X never snapped like that. I know he isn't a fan of battle, but he always knew that there were causes to fight for. Battles that must be fought. This is one of those causes but he refuses to stand. Why? What happened yesterday?"

Inti sighed before asking a question of her own."You think he's still guilty about Apocalypse getting trashed by that Hitmonchan?"

"It's a factor, but not the reason."

"Hey, if you two are done doing Rizen's job, we got a negotiation to negotiate! Come on!" The shout of Silver Heart pulled the two back into reality. The soldiers were already in the carriage, sitting in the front of it while the Emperor sat in the far back.

"Are you well?" The Emperor asked the two pokemon.

"I am."

"Same here."

Inti's words fell on deaf ears as the changelings folded theirs against their heads. “Oh my. It seems the translation spell has faded. I can understand Naruto, but not Inti.”

“Goodie.”

At that moment, Hira approached the carriage with a strange item hung on a string around he neck. It was what appeared to be a lovestone that was thinner and longer than the others. Around the pylon was a yellow ring with runes carved in the four circles in the rings. It glowed with an unnatural light. “Your highness, forgive the intrusion, but I think this might work for your little trip.”

“Do tell.” Naruto was curious at the mysterious object that Hira handed to the Emperor, who began to put it around his neck.

“We call it a Spell Pylon. What it does is that during creation, we charge a spell into it, so that it can be cast using the love stored inside of it. That way almost anyone could cast simple spells. Like the translation spell. Using this, anyone could use the translation spell just as long they they themselves casts the second half.”

The stone glowed as Carapace’s horn did the same. “Inti, did it work?”

“You tell me.”

“It worked. Fine work indeed Hira, if you can, can you construct additional pylons?”

“If I can get eh extra man power then yes. Pylons aren’t easy to make. I needed help from at least two dozen skilled spellcasters to make this. And it’s not the best quality as well. It might not last the entire day.”

“As long as it doesn’t break when we need it, I can live with that.”

Into the jungle the three changelings, the Zoroark, and the Heliolisk traveled via a flying carriage pulled by four changelings.

"Gee, I sure do hope that I will be able to find something in the air that can only be found on the ground. There is nothing that can go wrong with this. Nothing. At. All." Inti moaned as she looked the edge, looking down for any signs of the Durant colony.

"Inti, remember the last time we invoked Murphy?" Naruto quipped.

"Who's Murphy?" Carapace asked.

"Some guy who had a horrible bad luck streak." Naruto replied. "He had many sayings, all of them dour. His most famous was "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong"."

"Oh we have a guy like that." Rizen chuckled. "We call him Thrackerzod."

"....interesting." Naruto turned to Inti. "Find anything yet Init?"

"Nah, but we're getting close. It's just that everything looks the same up here. Nothing but trees and trees and...wait I think I see something. Over there!"

The others looked at where she was pointing. There was a sizable hole in tree's leaves, burn marks around the edge.

"You sure?" Carapace asked the Heiliolisk. She scoffed. "The edges are burned via thunder. That's definitely my calling card."

"Take us down."

“Definitely my calling card." Inti noted. The group had landed, and had begun to investigate the place of Int’s escape the previous day.

“So...who wants to knock?” Naruto asked.

Half a dozen Durant burst from the ground, answering his question. They surrounded the intruding intruders, snapping their jaws in anger.

“Great. We’re barely here three minutes and we must fight."

At that Inti walked towards them, a grin on her face. “I know! Isn't it great? This is gonna be fun!"

One Durant was not impressed. “You will have no fun, as we will have the fun!”

“No wait, do not attack!” A fellow Durant shouted. Judging from its expression, the Durant feared inti.

“And why not?”

“That Heliolisk is the Storming Thunder Breaker!”

“The what?” Naruto facepalmed while Inti smiled even wider. “I have a title? Awesome!”

“You five may fear a mere Heliolisk, but I do not! RAAAA!” The first Durant charged at Inti, the fire in his eyes burning brightly. To his horror, Inti dodged his assault without any real effort. WIth a shout, a Grass Knot sprung from the ground, and Inti lept on the Durants head. As the Durant came to grips with the weight of the Heliolisk on his head, Inti wrapped the Grass Knot around his jaws.

The Durant struggled as Inti jumped off of his head. Naruto walked up to he defeated ant and knocked on his head. “Trust me. There is nothing mere about that Heliolisk.”

“We’re wasting time.” The Emperor stepped forward, glaring at the Durant. “I am Emperor Carapace of the Changeling Empire, and you are trespassing on my land, in my empire, and I do not take this lightly. I demand that you take me to see your leader. If you accept and do what I ask there will be no quarrel. If you refuse, I will simply let myself in. And I will not be gentle when I knock.”

“...follow us.” The other Durant delved deeper into the jungle, the fear of the Storming Thunder Breaker rivaling that of the fear of what their Leader would do to them.

X sat near Banana Beard, whom was currently playing host to the male children of the family.

His muscles still ached, and X was content with simply sitting, relaxing, and healing. He wasn’t used to this body, and he didn’t want to push too far.

But what hurt was the fact that everyone seemed to just...ignore him.

The was X. He was the planner of the team. The leader. Why was everyone just….ignoring him?

Was he really letting something bother him?

“Uh, hi.”

X turned his head, and saw LIttle Lady look up to him, a plate on her back with two cups of coffee sitting beside a coffee pot. “oh hey. Uh, Nell, is it?”

“That’s right. And you’re X, right?”

“You got it. You gonna drink that coffee?”

“Go ahead.” The chesnaguth gently grasped the cup, and started to drink. He choked for a moment, as liquid spilled from his mouth.

“...is the coffee…?”

“No, the coffee is good. I’m used to having a smaller mouth devoid of facial hair actually.” he laughed.

“Then turn back.”

“Pardon?”

Nell covered her muscle with her hooves, embarrassed. “Sorry, I thought you could transform.”

“Yea, uh Chesnaughts can’t do that.” He took another clumsy sip of coffee, the miracle elixir doing wonders. “What made you think I could transform?”

“Well, I sometime forget that my species is the only one that can transform.” Nell then looked at the strange look X was giving her. “Uh, yea. My species can do that.”

“Can you show me?”

“uh, sure.” After setting down the plate, she shook herself for a little. “Let’s see...uh...got it!” A circle of fire surrounded he, faltering for a bit before consuming he. The fire quickly subsided, revealing a creature shaped similarly to her old form. Only she was black with white stripes, her name was a short mohawk, and he wings and horn were gone. “So….like it?”

“A Blitzle? neat.”

“Uh, actually I’m a zebra.”

“Oh. You look a lot like a Blitzle.”

“uh, that’s good….right?”

X nodded as fire surrounded Nell, shedding he zebra form and returning to normal. “So, can you transform into anything?”

“If it’s about the same size as me, then yea….” Nell then sighed. X put a hand on his chin, thinking hard about something.

“I understand you know.”

“Understand what?”

“Remember yesterday? When I was teaching you how to carve those figures?”

"Oh yea. " Nell smiled. "That was...tricky. But I'm still not sure I'm good at it."

"Oh?" This caused X to raise an eyebrow. "Well, what makes you say that?"

"It was my first time."

"You sure you want it to be your last time?" X sipped the remnants of his coffee, little of the remains of the coffee hitting the beard rather than the mouth. Nell did not answer. "Okay....uh...you have a nice family."

"Thanks..."

"Okay, what nerve did I hit this time?"

Nell sighed. "My family means well, but they're putting a lot of pressure on me to find my calling. The one thing I'm good at. And well...It kinda scares me."

"How so?"

"What if I find something, think its my calling, then I find out that years later I don't like it? I'd have to start all over again. So, I'm trying a bunch of things to see if I like them."

"As an explorer in the big scary jungle?"

"Merchant actually. Do you mind if I uh..."

"Go ahead." Nell levitated a cup of her own, and poured herself a glass of coffee. "Though....why not just sell stuff in the city where there aren't angry Durant?"

"We gotta get some exports, right?" Nell sipped her coffee, then spat a little out.

"Too hot?"

"Too hot." An Ice beam quickly shot at the liquid solved that conundrum quickly. She took another sip, then smiled. "There. Much better."

"You were saying something about exports?"

"Yea, well my dad got his fortune going in and out of the Empire buying and selling. He spent a lot of time away from home, but he says it was worth it. He keeps it local now, so he doesn't have to travel far from his family. In fact, that's where I was headed. There's a small town near our borders. I was going to enter town, disguised, and sell or trade my goods, and then come back with new goods to trade here."

"Well, I apologize that my arrival put a damper to that." X sighed before continuing. "Well, there's always the next time, right?"

"Not really..." Nell sighed, he sign an echo of X’s. "I don't have enough money for another cart, or tradable goods. The way I see it, I'm in debt..."

"Then try something else." Nell looked at him in confusion. "It's not that hard Nell. You just gotta follow your passion.

"Take me for example. Ever since I was little, I wanted to build things. To me, the art of taking a bunch of stuff and turning it into something you could live in, or store something in, or live in and store something in was amazing.

"But....I only had wooden blocks and other toys to play with at the time, so I wasn't very good at building when I first picked it up."

The changeling looked up at X, a small amount of wonder in her eyes. "So, what happened then?"

X hesitated for a moment, allowing Nell to sample his emotional state. It was apprehension, the taste dull at first, followed by a slick taste shortly after. "Well, I got older and then I went to school, and learned how to do it there. I figured that if I liked building with my blocks, then building with something a bit bigger would be the same only on a different scale."

"What I am trying to say Nell is that you gotta start with something you already like to do, Applying it as a job will then be easier, because you like what you do for a living. Randomly picking something willy-nilly is gonna make finding what makes you...uh you a little harder.

"So...what do you like?"

Nell had to think for a moment. "Well, I like to draw."

"Good. Anything else?"

"And...well I do like to explore. To go places I've never been."

"Now you're on a roll. Go on."

"I like to organize!"

"...what?"

"Well..." At that, Nell looked embarrassed. "I mean, I like everything to be in it's own little spot. Sometimes, when I was younger I would just reorganize things and put them back where they go. It just felt good."

X was expecting something a little more exhilarating. "Well, okay then...anything else?"

"....I liked the patterns that would appear after I organized them. One time, during dinner, I reorganized all of the Lovestoned that we eat our emotions from. I put them from smallest to tallest, and I noted that the smaller ones were rounder than the taller ones, as they looked like obelisks."

"See, there you go. Now, take all of those together, and think of something you could do as a job."

"You're really good at being motivational, huh?" Nell joked, patting her friend on the arm. He smiled in response.

"Not really. I just spoke what I thought. You don't have to be good at something to do it, right? You don’t need to answer right away, just….think on it."

So Nell thought on it. Her face scrunched up as she thought about things as X sipped more coffee.

"Can I say something I don't like? Would that help me?”

“Yea, that way you can avoid that. What do you have on your mind?”

Nell sighed. “I don’t like sports. I’m not very athletic. At all.”

The sounds of playful laughter caused the two to look at the five changelings playing on the Tropius. Nall and Nalel quickly joined them, appearing from what seemed to be from out of nowhere.

“They seem….hyper.”

“Remember when we were having lunch back in the jungle? How I talked about my family?”

“Oh yea...I remember.”

“You have very interesting companions.” Nell told X. X turned his head towards the changeling, putting the awkward conversation on hold for now. “Reminds me of my sisters. They're very hyper, rushing into situations without thinking.”

“Sounds like a fun set of siblings to have.” X replied. “His answer went on deaf ears, the changeling still subjected to the evils of the language barrier.

Ignoring X's unintelligible language, Nell continued. “Sometimes I wonder if I really am their sister though. I'm pretty different from them. Makes me feel a little out of place.”

“I understand the feeling.” X's thought, the visages of his parents appearing in his mind's eye. Nell continued. “I just hope our differences don't drive us apart.”

“Let me guess...you feel different?”

“Yea. My sisters are very hyperactive, and they are almost always smiling. Not a creepy smile, an actual smile. Like they really are happy all the time. But me, I’m the different one.”

“Hey, siblings are like that. I mean, I have a little sister and she’s different from me.”

“Well, for Changelings, it’s not uncommon for broods to act like the other members of the brood.”

“....Big brood.”

“Oh the boys are their own brood. They’re more hyper than Nall and Nalel.”

Nell looked back at he cup of coffee. “It’s just that sometimes I feel like the square peg trying to be stuffed in the round hole. They feel like I belong, but I don’t.”

“I can attest to that. My family has a very long history of being trainers.”

“Trainers?” Nell asked. “What are those?”

“Well, they’re people who travel the world, and train pokemon. My family has had a very long line of trainers in our history. Needless to say, we have a reputation.We were practically famous.” X sighed. “And that reputation and fame was something I didn’t want.”

“Really? But your family was famous, right?”

“Yea, especially in the Kalos Region.” To that, Nell gave him a blank stare. “...my home country. Where I was before I wound up in that jungle.

“That was one of my main motivations for going into construction rather than training: I wanted to build my own legacy, and be more than just another Arrow.

“Naturally, my parents did not share my sentiment. They still love me, but they didn’t think being a construction worker was a thing that fit for me.”

X chuckled. “...sorry. I tend to ramble when I talk about my life choices. Point is, being different isn’t bad.”

“Thanks…”

“Hey...you wanna practice carving some more? I can teach you some more tricks while I make your dad a table.”

“Really? you don’t mind fixing it? Dad would be really happy if you did.”

“Hey, I broke it. Least I can do is fix what I broke. Or, well, make a new one in this case.”

The inside of the colony was as dank and dark as Inti remembered it. The Durant whom were guiding were now pariahs of their community: the other Durant gave them dirtier looks than the ones they gave Carapace and his team.

“I do not like this.” Naruto whispered. “Bugs...Bugs everywhere.”

“Can’t you shoot fire out of your mouth?” Silver quipped. “These things look like they are made of metal. That, and you did say that Fire was their only weakness.”

“Thats because they are made of metal.” Inti replied. “Makes them super tough to damage because they resist half of all the good types of attacks.”

“Wait, they’re actually made of metal?” replied Rizen. “That….seems odd.”

“Actually, the Steel type is sort of normal where we come from.” Naruto replied. “The odd things are usually Poison types. Pokemon like Muk and Garbodor are sentient objects.”

“Dare I ask?”

“Living sludge and living garage. respectively. Trust me it is as weird as it sounds.”

Their conversation was interrupted as a small squad of pokemon talked through one of the tunnels. Several of them were Venipede, and several more were mammalian pokemon. The fronts were brown while their backs and parts of their head were covered in a green shell of sorts. Their arms were a dark brown.

The other was a foot taller, and very round. Its entire body was covered in a similar green casing with enough space for its face to peek out, which had a brown cress on its head above a comical coned nose. The limbs of this creature was a dark brown as well.

The round creature spoke up. “You! You had better have a good reason for bringing outsiders into the colony! And a better reason for bringing the Storming Thunder Breaker!”

“They...wish to speak to the leader.” A Durant replied.

“He will not see them! They are the enemy. Take them to the working grounds and put them to work! As of this moment they are our prisoners! Take them!”

The Venipede and mammals charged at the Emperors team. Inti grinned again, eager to fight while Naruto adopted a stance.

“Naruto, Inti. Stand down.” carapace commanded. “Rizen, Silver Heart. Your turn.”

“YES SIR!” The two changelings rushed towards the enemy. One of the Venipede fired a needled coated in poison. It flew towards its target. To the Centipede's shock, Silver Heart did a small jump in midair, spinning around as he did so and reflected the Poison attack back at the attacker, the needle grazing its shell.

Then with a shout, Silver bellowed as he slammed into the ground, his hooves embedded into the ground as it shattered, the force causing the charging force to loose their balance.

He wasn’t done yet. He leapt higher into the air as Rizen flew over the stumpking pokemon. They somersaulted as they were in the air, fire surrounding them like a wheel. The fire faded as they landed, revealing their new forms: Duplicates of Naruto with their natural hair colors instead of Narutos red.

For some reason, their feet were covered in their magical auras as their eyes glowed with the same color.

“ULTIMATE STRIDER!”

Their speed was blinding. Over and over, they dashed in tandem, their claws slashing at a foe before changing targets and striking again, barely a moment's rest between strikes.

Their targets fell to the ground as the assault ended. The Changelings turned Zoroark backflipped before the fire engulfed them again. As they landed, the fire faded again, revealing Rizen and Silver Heart standing on four hooves.

“I am no prisoner good sir.” The Emperor declared. “Rather, I am the warden, and these are my guards who turn chaos to order. Now that you have seen their power….you will take us to your leader unless you wish to behold my power.”

The round creature was cowed. “I shall...do as you request...follow me.”

“...they can do that?” Inti asked. The two soldiers, slightly exhausted but still ready to fight, smiled as they followed their guide.

“They can do that.” Carapace replied. He then noticed Naruto. He had a paw on his chin, and he was thinking.”I do hope that Rizen and Silver Hearts transformation was the sincerest form of flattery?”

“It’s not that…” Naruto pondered. ‘It’s just that I find this horde to Durant to have far too many pokemon that are not Durant in it’s colony.”

“And that is odd?”

“Durant aren’t very social.” Inti replied.

“Yet there are Venipede, Chespin, and Quillaldin among their numbers. The Venipede I can understand. Both are Bug types, and must share a kindred spirit. The added bonus is that Steel pokemon are immune to Poison type attacks, so the Venipede cannot rebel. Their masters have the advantage.”

“But why are Chespin and Quillaldin with them?” Inti pondered as well. “They’re Grass types, but you would think that they would stand a chance in getting out despite the Type Disadvantage they gotta deal with.”

“...I don’t think they are slaves, like you are implying.” Rizen walked up to the pokemon. “They seemed...comfortable here among potential enemies if this talk of Type matters any.”

“Trust me.” Naruto looked at the soldier. “Type matters in battle.”

“That being said, they seemed to be willing to work with these Durant, despite their bad reputations I assume the ants have.”

“The only way to find out for sure is to venture deeper in. Stay on your guard.” Carapace ordered his troops. "I have a bad feeling about this."

As the Changeling Emperor and his small group were lead through the many rooms of the colony, Carapace had to make a comment.

“I’m impressed at how fast these Durant were able to build a colony of this size so fast.”

“Eh, its just a bug hive. No big whoop.” Inti snarked back. “Best thing to come out of it is my awesome title. The Storming Thunder Breaker...that I am keeping.”

“Inti, it’s more of a problem than you think. They attacked you sometime near noon right? That means they built the basics of a working colony in about six hours. No doubt that they have continued to work on it since then.”

“Eh, what’s the wo…”

“Please, do not invoke Thrackerzod.” Rizen sighed.

The Quilladin stopped, and turned around. He looked confused. "Who is...Thrackerzod?"

"The guy who said "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.'." Silver answered for Rizen. "Guy was a real optimist."

"That sounds like that Murphy guy the humans talk about." The Quilladin replied.

"Well we call him Thrackerzod."

Their guide scoffed. "What kind of a name is Thrackerzod?"

"Well, what kind of a name is Murphy?" Silver shot back. The Quilladin was about to return when Carapace trotted between them. "Gentlemen, we are not here to talk about naming conventions. We are here to talk. As you were good sir."

"You do not command me." The Quilladin snapped before continuing to guide his "quests'.

No more words were spoken until they reached what appeared to be a massive door made of stone. The Quilladin turned around, and smiled with a darkly grim grin. "I hope you not mind an audience as you talk to the Leader. Word travels fast among our number, and some wished to witness it themselves."

"As long as we are not attacked unless there is a good reason, I am fine with such an arrangement. This matter concerns all of you so a few extras is something I do not mind."

"Good." The Quilladin pushed open the door forcefully.

As it opened, the Emperor and his men (and one woman) gasped at what they saw.

They were in a huge chamber, the size rivalling that of an ancient cathedral. The room was lined with large decorative rocks, carved into crude torches. Littered around the room's perimeter were more stone doors. Some were open, some were closed. In the ceiling of the room were large holes. Grates made from sticks were in the holes as light fell down from them, lighting up the room in ways the torches could not.

In the far end of the room were two seats raised on a step sized platform. One was a simple pile of rocks, but the one next to it was a throne fit for a minotaur. The seat was carved of stone, with arms to rest the arms of the one who sat there. Behind the two seats was another door, but it was slightly larger and lacked a door. It lead to a corridor blanketed in shadow. Off to the side of the platforms edge were two doors, easily eight feet tall and skinnier than the other doors.

But what worried Carapace and his team was the audience. The room was filled to the brim with Durant, Venipede, and Chespin. Scattered about was the occasional Quilladin, and dark grey Bugs that looked like wheels surrounding eyes located in the center. To the outsiders horror, the walls were also seats, as they bore host to half-buried Durant who could not find room on the ground.

The pokemon present on the ground were split into two sections, a space between them large enough for Carapace and his team to walk through without a problem. They were eagerly awaiting something, most likely the arrival of the outsiders, and many were conversing among themselves. The ones near the edges were eying the outsiders, some baring their fangs and mandibles.

Naruto gulped. Loudly.

"....That is not a few."

The Quilladin ignored Carapace. "Advance towards the thrones. Our leader is coming shortly."

The outsiders did as they were told, Naruto clearly nervous as they did as they were told. "You okay Naruto?"

"I am fine your Highness." Naruto lied. "I just..."

"Didn't expect so many Bugs?"

"No sir I did not."

"Well, at least we know how many are here." Silver remarked. His eyes narrowed as they advanced down the aisle. Many of the looks given were not polite.

"But how many are in the colony total?"

"Aw, Naruto. You worry too much. I'm the Storming Thunder Breaker!" Inti gloated. "I bet half of these Bugs are scared of me!" She stopped and looked at several of the Durant, whom returned the look.

Without a hint of warning she quickly jolted forward, shouting "Boo!". The Durant jumped backwards into more Durant. They snapped their mandibles and glared, but did not attack. "See?"

"Manners Inti." Naruto groaned.

"Whatever."

The outsiders had stopped at the end of the makeshift passage. Three Durant. On each side of the throne snapped their mandibles together four times. The sound echoed throughout the room, and the sound of conversation died as the sound faded.

A pair of red eyes shined in the darkness of the Corridor behind the thrones. They grew in size before two figures walked into the room. The owner of the red eyes was a Durant, but it was slightly bigger, and it's metal skin was a dull copper.

The second figure's emergence cause more alarm. She was a Chesnaught, like X, but her color scheme was all wrong. Her body and shell were green rather than tan, the arms were colored a dark brown rather than green, and the underarms and facial fur were a sandy brown rather than white.

Blue sparkles seemed to shine off of them as the Naruto and Inti gasped. "They're...Shiny."

"That we are, Zoroark." The Shiny Durant growled. It's voice was low, and powerful. It was akin to that of a falling rock: blunt.

"And, forgive me for being out of the loop regarding Pokemon, but I am a little confused. I can understand why you..." Carapace pointed to the Shiny Durant. "...are shiny, as you are made of metal...but I do not see any metal on the Chesnaught...I got that right, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Thank you. So why did you refer to both of them as Shiny?"

"Because they are. Duh." Inti quipped. Naruto sighed as he took control of the explanation.

"You see your highness, when a pokemon hatches from their egg, there is a chance for the pokemon to suffer from a very rare genetic mishap. Those who suffer from this are differently colored compared to others of their species, and seem to glitter in the light. These pokemon are called Shiny pokemon because of these differences.

"Moving on, who do have I have the displeasure of speaking to?” The shiny demanded. The Emperor growled.

He was not used to being talked down to, like he didn’t matter and was just an old stallion taking the slow road to eternity.

“I am Emperor Carapace, and I rule these lands. Lands you are currently trespassing in. And who are you?”

"I am the Leader, and this is Iron Shell. She answers to no one but me, and is responsible for our colony's training. A training I am currently questioning.”

The Chesnaught bowed her head in shame. “I apologize Father. I will redouble my efforts.”

“Daughter?” The Emperor raised an eyebrow as Silver and Rizen groaned. “That seems….very awkward.”

“Our personal lives are not your concern!” Iron Shell shouted. “You came here with a point to make, so make it and then leave.”

“Right. You attacked one of the cities in my colony. I want to know why.”

"You barge into my home...to ask me a simple question? How arrogant of you!"

"Answer the question."

"You believe that a colony of this size can sustain itself without supplies such as wooden planks and stone to keep our home intact? Look around you. Look around you. What you see is but a fraction of our numbers. Our previous colony suffered from tunnel collapses every day. We must fight both invaders and the inevitable collapse of our own home!"

"Do you know how much energy we put into creating this colony?" Iron Shell

"Then why not ask?"

"Because we cannot trust you!" The Leader bellowed. His subject cheered in his favor, causing the guests of the Leader to quivver.

"Great, more Changeling haters. And here I thought things couldn't get worse." The Emperor cursed in his thoughts. Naruto stepped forward, clearing his throat as he did so. "If I may ask, why can you not trust these creatures?"

"Why do you ask?" Iron Shell leaned forward, eyeing the Zoroark. "Is our stance on these...things so hard to understand?"

"When you lack context, you can turn the simplest sentence into an unrecognizable mess. So no, I do not understand."

"You must have seen the homes of these creatures. The paths they roam. The way they act, the way they carry themselves...they act the way humans do!"

"I assure you, the one human aroun here, if you can call him that, acted nothing like my kind do."

"Then you've never met the ones I am familiar with. But that is neither here, nor there. You act like the humans, the kind that walk all corners of the world. The kind that acts like we are just objects to be captured, to be used and placed on display like we are just toys! This negotiation is OVER!"

"Take these intruders out of my father and my sights!"

"I can give you what you want." The Emperors words rang true, the advancing horde stopping in its tracks. The Leader and Iron Shell looked at each other before returning their glares at Carapace.

"Go on."

"I assure you, I am familiar with your M.O. My granddaughter recently invaded a nearby land for the one resource my people need more than anything: love. Love, and other emotions are our food. Her concern for her people is admirable, but she let her pride cloud her judgement."

"Is there a point?" Iron Shell sighed.

"My point is that I understand what you are going through. You, Leader, are wise to put your people first, and for that I salute you. But you drive away potential allies because they remind you of your enemies. A simple question could have saved you the trouble you are in now. I will not turn my back on my people, but I will not turn my back on those who need aid.

"So, why don't we settle it your way? Tomorrow morning, you and the fourteen best warriors will battle against myself alongside my fourteen best warriors in one battle. One single battle. The last man standing wins."

"Intriguing. What will happen if you win?"

"If I win, you must surrender to me and my country until we can figure this mess out."

"And if we win?

“Then you may take what you need, and we won’t stop you,” Carapace conceded.

The Leader thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. However, if we win, then we will be taking this area for ourselves,” he said, before adding, “But we’ll allow your people to leave first.”

Carapace glared at him for a moment, not exactly happy with his response, but in the end, he decided that the terms were...fair enough, as for all they knew he could have just as easily ordered them to leave if they lost (even if he wasn’t going to), so he nodded. “Very well then. We shall settle this in the morning. Select your fighters and meet us near the walls of the city. There you will be lead to the Staging Grounds. That is where we will fight.”

“The Staging Grounds?” Inti asked.

“Its not far from here actually. It’s been used for military drills and training for well over two hundred years. I would rather our battle be in an area suited for battle.”

“You had better not be deceiving us.”

“I would never dream of it.”

“Good. Now, leave.”

The Changelings did that they were told, as Iron Shell leaned down to her father. “You still do not trust them.”

“Yes, but he has a warriors scent. If his deeds on the battlefield do not match his words, I will know.”

“I seriously hope that you know what you are doing.”

“You and I both Naruto.”

The carriage lifted into the air, heading for home.

X was not going to like it.

Chapter 11 - Follow Me

Chapter 11
Follow Me

DAY 2

Citel had to admit, X did good work.

The Chesnaught was busy sanding a slab of wood he had gotten from somewhere, with a promise to repay the seller as soon as he was able. The wood sat in X's impromptu work area, moving back and forth.

He took a step back to marvel in his work. "You know, I gotta admit...having a Chesnaught's power does make it easier."

"Really?" Nell paused for a moment to look at the Chesnaught, a knife floating. She had several pieces of wood, carving the one her grip into a leg. While they could have just put the legs on without carving them, Nell wanted to help.

"Really."

"So, how's my girl doing so far?" Nell looked up and saw her father trotting over to her. She smiled, and showed him her work.

To say it was sloppy was accurate. Nell was carving away some the wood, giving it the appearance of a cylinder that was moving in on itself before widening as it reached the bottom. Although the wood was a block rather than a cylinder, progress was good. Not excellent, nor bad, but decent for a newcomer to the craft.

"I think I might be getting the hang of it. I'm taking it slow, because I don't want to mess up."

"Words to live by." X replied. Like Nell, he was taking it slow, not because he was new to the job, but because he was new to the power of his body. "Can someone hand me that finish? I'm gonna need it soon."

"...You think your friends are okay?" Nell asked.

"What makes you say that?" X replied. He didn't look up, focusing on his work.

"Just.....felt the worry from you." was Nell's reply. X took a moment to stop his sanding.

"I gotta ask....what's the deal with you and the Emperor guy talking about my emotions? You two must be good at reading people."

"Uh, not really. Your emotions are pretty vibrant and easy to sense." Nell answered the question like it was a normal thing for her.

"Uh.....kinda new to this neck of the woods. Not sure what you mean by that."

"Don't get freaked out, but Changelings can eat emotions. Preferably Love and other positive emotions. So we have a natural ability to detect what emotions nearby creatures are feeling."

"....wait what?" X had a strange look on his face. It was a mix of confusion and curiosity.

"Please don't be scared. I know it sounds weird,but yea Changelings can do that."

"I'm not scared. Honest. That's actually kinda cool when you think about it."

"Really?"

"Yea? Helps cut the crap and get to the point." X felt something hover into his grip. He took a look, noticing what it was: A bottle of finish for the table. "Honestly would have speed things up for me with my folks."

"Feel like talking about it?"

A shake of his head served as his answer. "Not really. It's kinda personal. Really personal."

"That bad?" X was surprised it was Citel who spoke rather than Nell. "Be honest."

"No not really. It's just that being the black Whimsicott is not always fun."

X suddenly found a very curious Nell on his back again, her hoof just dangling past his face. "....my parents didn't really approve of my choice in occupation." X spoke, quickly giving in to the Changeling's request.

"They didn't like construction workers?"

"Well, the family has a rather long legacy. At least five generations of master pokemon trainers. Our family is one of the greatest training families in all of Kalos, possibly the world."

"And they did everything in their power to stop you and get you to change your mind?" A hint of anger rose in Citel's voice. From what little X described of his parents, they sounded like they did not bend, yet expected others to bend for them.

"Don't get me wrong. I love them and would never trade them for anything, but yea. That is exactly what they did."

"You're worried about them more now. I can feel it."

X sighed as he sat down. "Yea, but not just for them. I'm worried about my little sister. Rosemary. She's about nine. Cutest little girl you would ever see." A smile was on X's face. "She always sent me letters, asking how I was and other things like that. I....wasn't around much when she was growing up..."

"How come?"

"Went to school in another town far away. I visited, but it was never for long enough." X gave a wistful sigh. "I don't like to admit it....but I really wish sometimes that I didn't go to school to learn construction. That way I would have been around more for her.

"To my surprise, even though I wasn't really around, she thinks I'm worthy of being her hero." With a look of longing he looked up at the sky above him, a flock of Swablu flying above him, ignorant of the Chesnaugth below. "So, honestly I'm not sure exactly why she puts me so high on the pedestal."

In turn, Nell's eyes darted towards her brood sisters and brothers. "Yea, I think I know what you are saying. My sisters and brothers all think I'm more amazing than I really am. "

"All families are like that. Trust me, my brothers all though I was pretty amazing." Citel remarked.

000

"I feel at peace actually. Like nothing can break the mood."

"Attention citizens of Equus, both old and new.”

The voice, powerful and distant at the same time, caused Nell to scream, and turn invisible (actually transforming her fur to the colors around her, in an attempt to hide). X jerked around, moaning while adrenaline was running in his veins at maximum speed while trying to spot a person who was not there. And Citel got into a lower stance, his horn flaring with fire that formed a blade from his horn and his wings.

"Why do I say things like that?"

A few minutes earlier.

The carriage flew through the sky as Inti leaned over the edge, looking at the trees below. Every now and again there was a creature she spotted. The creatures were a almost equal mix of pokemon and other...creatures.

"Those are some weird pokemon below us." Inti said to noone in particular.

"That's a chimera actually."

Inti turned to face the speaker, whom was Rizen. He joined in leaning with Inti. "You seem down. "

"Congrats on figuring that out. What was your first clue?"

"I'm a psychologist and a ..."

"Shrink, you mean."

"...Uh. No. I am both a psychologist an..."

"Shrink."

"A psychologi...."

"Shr. Ink."

"Psychologist."

"Shrink."

"Psychologist!"

"Shrink."

"IMA A PSYCHOLOGIST!!!!"

All heads turned to Rizens angered shout. Rizen didn't bother turning around, as he realized that he was a little too loud. Attention towards him faded, and the others returned to what they were doing. The chimera below them however, turned upwards with three heads ( which were from a goat on the right, a tiger in the middle, and a dragon on the right. The creature snorted before shaking its wings and simply walking away, it's tail (that of the tiger) swaying as it walked away on cloven feet.

"...Smooth."

Rizen resisted the urge to slap the lizard. "I refuse to be acknowledged as a shrink. You think professionals in the mental aspect of health enjoy being called that? It makes us sound childish, uncaring, alien even."

"Shrink, psychologist, same thing really." Inti scoffed. Rizen took a closer look at Inti before speaking again. "This is not the first time you instigated anything, is it Inti?"

"Its fun."

"So why do I sense fear from you."

Int scoffed as she turned to face the soldier/psychologist. "I am the Storming Thunder Breaker. I made an entire colony of some of the meanest Bug types in the world afraid of me. Honestly, you're Psychic mind reading ain't working right."

"Citel's two daughters Nall and Nalel."

It only lasted for a moment. Rizen quickly noticed a spike of emotion, of fear, flare quickly inside of Inti before it faded. "You lie!"

Rizen was not impressed. "No, you lie. Changelings can sense and consume emotion. Trust me, I felt the same emotion that flared within you."

"I wanna get this out of the way, they annoy me! They're nothing but two hyperactive balls of hyperness that act first and think never! How could I, Inti the Storming Thunder Breaker be jealous of two good for nothings that have two parents that love them!"

"Oh, so you have a reason to despise them."

"Yea. They practically kidnapped me, dragged me around, and just stood there when their own brother was kidnapped. Their own brother! I had to save him, not them! They sat and waited! I tried it it once! I did it for a whole month. A WHOLE MONTH! I WAITED AND NOTHING HAPPENED! WHY DID IT WORK FOR THEM AND NOT ME!?"

This time the stares were focused on Inti. Inti grumbled and ignored them. "Even?"

"Even."

On the other side of the carriage, Carapace was concluding Silver Heart and Naruto. The elder Changeling had seen many things before in his long life. A situation like this was foreign to him. “Suggestions?”

“The only thing we can do is to fight back, show them that we are not afraid of them.” Naruto look at the landscape before them. “Fight metal with fire.”

“You honestly think they’re going to uphold their end of the bargain?”

“How very cynical…”

“But accurate.”

“How so Naruto.”

“The durant know they outnumber us, and because of that...outpower us. “

"I'll begin planning contingencies." Carapace sighed. "As of right now, you are probably our best bet alongside your friends."

Naruto sighed. "I'm not sure X will be to ecstatic about what you're implying...."

A grim expression was on Silver Hearts face. "I'm more worried about what would happen if we lose. The city of Citel has a population of anywhere between thirty thousand to seventy thousand.

"And that's not including any pokemon there?" Naruto asked to which Silver nodded. "Then I would bump that number up a few thousand. Realistically we could be looking at a possible number between sixty thousand to one hundred thousand refugees if we lose."

"Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

Determination. In a single moment determination was the only discernable expression on Silver Hearts face, the intensity of it beginning to overwhelm Narutos calm demeanor. "I want to kick some metal ant flank. I know I'm not the most subtle warrior, or the most...obedient. But I solve problems. Violently. And that is something we need."

"But these Durant are not my only concern."

"Let me guess....the Pokemon in general."

"I checked all of my maps, and information in general about the lands you talked about. Kalos, Unova, Kanto....and not a single one. Of them are on my maps."

“That is something to worry about…” Naruto mused. “Something transported not only me, X, and the others here...but several pokemon. And it must be assumed that this happened at the same time.”

“The real question is who is capable of moving that many beings at once here?” Carapace mused as well. “It’s something that I just can’t seem to answer.”

“The problem at hand is what I’m concerned about Sir.” Silver mused as well. “Think about it. Back at your garden the troops and I were roughly tied in power before Blastoise got serious. When it was just Blastoise fighting, it took you and Naruto combined to stop him.”

“And that was taking Aura Sphere into account. If he didn’t know that then I don’t think I would have needed the Emperors help to win.”

“Right. But...these ants are on a different level. They easily won when it was their turn to tango with the guards.” Silver noted. His voice was grim as he recounted what he knew. “They had three things in there favor: Numbers, tactics, and the element of surprise. Count in that our troops didn’t fight these things before doesn’t hurt them in the slightest.”

“Naruto. Can I count on you to help in the coming battle?”

The fox returned the Emperors glare with one of his own. “Yes, and no.”

“Hey, I’m the smart ass here….”

Naruto rested his head on left arm as he replied. “What I mean Silver is that due to my sentance I must assist the Emperor in whatever he asks me to do, but….X comes first. I cannot give a more concrete answer until I talk to him first, though...I am leaning towards assisting. I know X would be fine with this. He would not approve of the Durant doing what they are doing now.”

“I understand. Family is important.’

The trio simply sat in silence for a moment before Silver spoke up. “So….who wants to bet that the Durant are gonna send more than just fifteen?”

“Naruto’s right SIlver. You are cynical.”

“I try to keep it real your majesty.”

"Attention citizens of Equus, both old and new.”

All present jumped in their seats, looking for the source of the voice. “This does not bode well.” Carapace muttered under his breath.

X looked to the sky, desperately hoping to find even a hint of whomever was speaking. “Dad? What’s going on? Who’s doing this?”

“I don’t know Nell. Get close to me!” Father and daughter raced towards each other, hugging each other tightly. As they embraced, X raced to them. He towered over them, shielding them from the unknown voice that echoed in their heads.

“X?”

“Stay under me!” X shouted. His facial expression shifted suddenly, once cool and calm, soaking in teh peace around him. The next, focused fury toward a single driving goal.

It was somewhat startling to see his expression change so fast.

”I am Lord Arceus, creator of the Pokémon realm. You have no reason to fear me, I come in peace.”

“I have revealed myself to inform you that I am the one responsible for the Pokémon’s presence in this world, for the citizens of Equus, the Pokémon are the beings who have appeared over the past few days.”

“I have my reasons for bringing them here, and to the leaders I will reveal them in time, but for now a warning. The Pokémon, while some may not seem it, are just as intelligent as any race who calls Equus home, and seeing as how they are my subjects, I will not tolerate them being treated any differently than you would treat your fellow Pony, Griffin, Minotaur, Diamond Dog, Changeling, Deer, Hippocampi, Zebra, Horse, Buffalo, Cow, Donkey, or Dragon depending on whichever race you belong to.”

“To my Pokémon, I say this, I brought you, all of you, here so that you could live in peace, do not seek to harm the natives of this world, for I am the one responsible for your displacement. And to the Pokémon who went through changes when I brought you here I say this. You are the ones who proved themselves worthy, those who were fair, kind and good in the old world, consider this your reward. And to all of you, as sapients the laws of Equus, and the varying countries, now apply to you, and only the laws of Equus.”

“That is all for now, but just to be clear, the Pokémon are not to be harmed simply out of spite, if you have a problem with what I’ve done, feel free to contact me, I currently reside in an ancient temple deep in the Everfree Forest, or a pocket dimension outside of the space time continuum, so if any of you wish to face the sheer power of a god, feel free to come by.” “Goodbye for now, though I doubt this will be the last you hear of me, and peace to you all.”

X gulped, going over what he just heard as Nell and he father crawled from under his imposing form. As they did, X fell to the ground, his face pale and his mouth open.

“X? X?”

Nell was trembling as she sampled the emotions of X. They were powerful, more powerful than any other motion Nell feasted on.

Emotivores had to focus on what made themselves unqiuge in order to not fall victim to the emotions they feasted on. Those who ignored that fact often got caught up in the emotions while they lasted.

For X, the strongest emotions were confusion. And awe.

Fear induced awe.

“Inti?”

“Yes Naruto?”

“I just want to double check on something here. Did you hear a voice in your head claiming to be Arceus say that he just teleported what I can only assume to be the entirety of both the Human and Pokemon races to these lands?”

“We’re assuming that these lands are in another dimension right? Like that one show from the nineties that Apocalypse and Azisa watch bout the four dorks from college sliding around or something?”

“Don’t forget the implication that said humans are no longer human.”

“Then yes Naruto. I did hear that. Did you?”

The two pokemon stared at each other.

“I heard it too Azisa. It sounded really funny having someone’s voice in your head.” Apocalypse was sitting down, Nell’s siblings surrounding the two.

“So….that must mean….”

“ARE WE ALIENS!?”

Azisa stared at Apocalypse before answering with a gentle laugh. "Yes Apocalypse. We are aliens.”

“YAY! I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE ALIEN!” Apocalypse began to dance around Azisa, repeatedly chanting "IMA ALIEN!" Unexpectedly Nall and Nalel took to the air, flying away from the pokemon with worried expressions on their faces.

"...Smooth Apocalypse. Smooth."

"Do I care? No. Why? IMA ALIEN!"

Inti and Naruto figured that now was a really good time to panic.

"WHAT DO WE DO? WHAT DO WE DO? WHAT DO WE DO?" Naruto shouted. He rushed back and forth, screaming his head off. The changelings simple gawked at him, unsure what to do. "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS ON WHAT TO DO? I HOPE YOU DO, BECAUSE I DO NOT! OH DEAR OTHER OF AR..."

At that, Inti slapped him in the face. Hard. Naruto shook his head in reaction to the slap, exhaling. "Better? the lizard asked her ally.

"Yes. I needed that."

"As entertaining as that was..." Carapace addressed the pokemon, whom now turned to face the Emperor worry still in Naruto's eyes, steel vibrating in his tone. "...What the Tartarus just happened? Who was that?"

Naruto took a deep breath, apprehension in his voice and a slight tinge of fear in his heart before speaking. "That.....was Arceus. The Alpha Pokemon."

"And judging by the context of what he just spoke, I think he was giving pretty much everyone here a public service announcement about how you guys have some new neighbors." Inti continued for the Zoroark. "I'm guessing he moved all the pokemon on our planet to yours, plus a few humans I am guessing."

"Considering it's Arceus that explains why X is a Chesnaught." Inti mused. "Good thing too. I always thought he could use a little extra muscle."

"That's your opinion about everyone."

"Whoa, wait up a minute." Silver raised a hoof. "You guys honestly believe that his one guy moved an entire species here? "

"Yea, because that one guy is a God," Inti explained. "Arceus created everything. The stars, the planet, the water, the land...everything goes back to him. He even created us Pokemon. That's why we call him the Alpha: He's the first of us."

"Forgive me for being skeptical. I just find it hard believed just because a voice in my head told me so." Silver coughed. A dirty look was given to him by both pokemon, a nerve clearly hit.

"Then look at the evidence." Naruto explained. "We, creatures your kind have never seen nor heard of appear right out of the blue hailing from a land you have also never seen nor heard of. In turn the very same creatures arrive in a land they have never seen nor heard of. Add in the face that I am assuming you heard the same message we did...the evidence is staggering."

"Okay, fine. I see your point, but until I actually see it I will remain cautious."

"A good idea." A horn of the Emperor blazed with his magic. "I am returning to the capital. You four are to return to Sect and keep the peace. Once I get everything under control in the capital and other cities I will return to show those Durant exactly why I am the Emperor of the Changeling Hive."

"The Emperor then vanished in a blaze of magic. The four assembled pokemon and changings just looked at each other, a loss for words. The Emperor of all changelings had just vanished, so the feeling was one that was understood.

Naruto was the first to speak. "So....this cannot get any worse...can it?"

"Lets see how big the angry mob in town is, then we'll talk." Silver replied.

Carapace had learned long ago that if you were capable of long range teleportation, one had bette4r have a place set aside for the explicit purpose of appearing there. Mishaps when teleporting tended to be messy at best and horrifying at worst.

The stone walls of the Receiving CHamber as it was called was illuinated with four torches that were enchanted to light when someone was in the room, and only then. SIlently, the Emperor opened the door, a creaking sound echoing. To his surprise, a mob of his servants and elders (for many the described or "old" a word far too kind to use) were standing outside the door.

Carapace hated when Changelings did this. I tment they were literally doing nothing but wait for his return so they could swarm him with pieces of bad news followed by more pieces of bad news finished with a side order of disastrous news.

Now was no different.

The Horde was about to speak before Carapace beat them to it. "I know what you are about to say.The situation looks bad but lets face it we have handled crises before, so lets handle this in a neat and orderly manner. I will be heading to my office to map out a plan, and in the mean time, get the soldiers to keep order and the mages to replicate this." The emperor revealed his pylon before heading to his office. "

The Emperor then quickly dashed for his office. A changeling long lived as him learned that when faced with any mob, the best bet for survival is to be faster than them.

Naruto stood on the stage in front of Town Hall, the building carved into the oldest tree in town. Several offices lie above the main trunk of the building. But that did not matter to the Zoroark at this time.

What mattered to the Zoroark was the very large horde of Changelings and Pokemon, gathered at the Town Hall as requested. The loud din of an entire city's populace complaining as fi they were one was not distracting at the least.

Naruto did see the rest of ShadowFox in the crowd. That did calm him a little.

Standing next to him were Inti, Silver Heart, and Rizen, the trio behind Naruto hoping that the crowd would focus on in rather than them. He turned to the other three and whispered "Explain to me again why I am the one breaking the bad news to the populus?"

"It's a pokemon related matter. The populace will be more at ease if someone with a positive demeanor. You have that." Was the answer Rizen gave them. "Silver and I are soldiers so that might give everychangeling bad vibes about what we are going to say, and Inti sounds a little too enthusiastic about marching into battle."

"Oh so the straws we drew had nothing to do with it?"

"Told him he wouldn't fall for it." Inti moaned.

"Hey, he still drew the straws..."

"Inti, I know it was your idea. You are not that sneaky. And Silver....even if we didn't draw the straws, I still would have been the unlucky sap to be the target..."

"Guys, the Emperor wants this done while he's back at the Capitol handling the fallout there. You wanna let him down?" Rizen pleaded to his allies. Silver scoffed for a bit before replying "I know I don't. I'm already on thin ice."

"Look Naruto you got this. Just tell them. They'll understand. I bet you a bushel of fruit I'm right."

Naruto though on this for a moment. "You know, I know you're baiting me..."

"Just take the damn bet and go up there and talk. We don't have time." barked Silver. Naruto sighed before approaching the podium while he cleared his throat. "Good afternoon all."

He was met with many sounds of complaint.

"What's going on!?"

"Why am I an Oddish!?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"Naruto, why are you doing a speech?"

"Are we dreaming?"

"Was that really Arceus?"

"Can I have a pizza?"

Naruto raised his arms trying to settle the crowd down. "Settle down everyone!"

"What the hell are you?"

"Can I adopt you?"

"IMA ALIEN!"

"Will we get reimbursed?"

"Was that really Arceus?"

"Why am I a Ponyta?"

Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs "Trying to speak here!" He was promptly ignored.

"Where's my family?"

"What's the deal with those metal ants?"

"Why are you a ginger?"

"Answer the question! Was that really Arceus!?"

"Why am I a Mothim?"

"Who put you in charge!?"

"If you would just quiet down for a moment..."

"Where's our stuff?"

"Why do I lack arms?"

"Where's my pokemon team?"

"Who put the Dark type in charge!?"

"What's a Dark Type?"

"I'MA ALIEN!"

"Apocalypse not now!"

"Why am I a Sceptile?"

In a thunderous roar a Thunder shot from Inti, striking a nearby tree. The small tree exploded in a shower of bark. "EVERYONE SETTLE THE HELL DOWN OR YOU AIN'T GETTING ANY ANSWERS!"

All of the chatter died down in response.

"IMA ALIEN!"

Most of the chatter died down in response.

"Thank you Inti." Naruto made a very strained groan, slumping into the podium. "Okay, let me try to answer the questions the best I can. "To start, who I am is Naruto, of ShadowFox Construction, and what I am is a Zoroark. On a more broad sence, I am a Pocket Monster or the more common term 'Pokemon' for short."

"Prove it!"

"Can you narrow it down please?"

"Prove you're a Zoroark!"

"And with that, Naruto lept in the air, spun as he did so, and turned himself into Talonflame. He landed on the ground rather than fly. "Proven." He said. He raised his voice, attempting to sound feminine.

One changeling was not impressed. "Big deal. We're changelings. We do that everyday."

Naruto pointed a wing at his shadow, which unlike him had not changed shape. "As many of the denizens of Earth know, my kind have the ability to create Illusions. However this does not mean we actually can transform, unlike the powers wielded by your kind."

"Or Ditto."

"Or as the gentleman five people deep on the left side pointed out, Ditto." Naruto spun around as the Illusion faded and Naruto returned. "Now that that is out of the way...I'm pretty sure everyone recently got the message?"

Many heads turned to face one another while the rest simply nodded. "Now, from what we have been able to deduce...several thousand, possibly million Human and Pokemon have been moved from our world....to yours...by Arceus. In additi...."

"Who?"

"I have a lot to cover Ma'am. Please refrain from interrupting next time." Naruto grumbled. "To answer the question before I move on, our Legend states that Arceus created the world...pardon our world...from nothingness once he, or be fair she, hatched from an egg at the beginning of time."

"Other than that the legends are conveniently sketchy about anything relating to Arceus on a personal level." Inti voice carried as she snarked. The crowd grew worried as Naruto grew annoyed.

"Thank you Inti for that colorful commentary." He moaned. "As Inti pointed out, what I said is literally all almost anyone knows about Arceus. But, as I was trying to say before I was interrupted...we are under the assumption that the Humans that are here....are not exactly human anymore."

X resisted the need to shout as many of the pokemon that started to shout, complaining about their sudden lack of humanity. "Listen please, I know you are upset but that...is not the most important issue I address at this moment."

The crowd grew silent before Naruto continue. "As many of you noticed last night....several Pokemon attacked this fair city. They are Durant." A gasp was heard among several of the Pokemon and Human turned Pokemon present. This worried the changelings. "I, along side the Emperor of these lands, Emperor Carapace, went to talk to these creatures...and it didn't exactly go according to plan."

"Figures , he brought a stupid Dark Type with him!"

At that, X Charged in front of the crowd, pushing many in his way out of his way (thankfully he was near the front of the crowd so he didn't push many people. "Hey, why doesn't whoever said that about my best friend say that to my face!"

A quadruped fox like creature with fiery red fur marched out of the crowed to confront X. "He's yours?"

"Yes he his!"

"Then I'll say it again! I said It figures this Emperor who's his face ("Carapace") got the shaft because he brought a stupid. Dark. Type. With. Him."

X was about yell and charge when about two dozen changelings and Pokemon rushed in between forming a wall to separate the two from each other. He quickly had a change in plans and simply backed off, going back into the crowd were Nell was.

"Moving on...." Naruto cleared this throat yet again before moving on. "I'll skip over the details so I can get to the point. The Durant want the city. And Carapace challenged them for it. In other words, Carapace and the Durant are going to have a battle tomorrow, with the winner gaining possession of this city."

Everyone present made their displeasure of that announcement very clear, Naruto almost cringing from the volume. Rizen stepped forward before Naruto could speak. "What this means is that the crown is issuing a mandatory evacuation notice starting immediately. All citizens are hereby ordered to prepare to leave this city and proceed to the city of Chell. Any who stay will be expected to stay and help our forces prepare for the coming fight taking place in the morning."

The crowd roared again, the voices of many merging into a distorted sound. The most intelligible sounds to be heard were several shouts of how the creatures were the cause of the problems, and several very unflattering responses from the pokemon.

Throughout the chaos, X left unnoticed.

It had taken some time, but X finally found a quiet place to be alone, to think things over, and that place was the park. The park had several trees and places for children to play in, just like any other park X had seen.

Oddly the trees were different from the tree that overwhelmed the city's infrastructure. The parks trees where coniferous and evergreen trees compared to the tropical trees that served as brick and mortar.

A swingset stood in on the edges of the park, the structure standing alone in a arena of sand. X approached the swing, as he put a hand on the playground toy.

Thirty months before day zero

"Higher X! Higher!"

"You got it Rosemary!"

X grinned as he pushed harder than before, his sister soaring as far as her swing dictated. The little girl, garbed in a white sundress with flower designs on the dresses bottom, was laughing as she emulated flight, her black hair flowing through the gentle winds. Gravity took its hold, and The swing soared back to X. His hands gently caught Rosemary before pushing her towards the sky again. "Having fun?"

"Yea!" Rosemary shouted. "Watch this!"

"Rosemary you'd better not..."

As X spoke, Rosemary reached the apex of her swing, she slid out of the swing flying through air.

"...jump."

Rosemary landed in the sand, a small cloud bursting from her landing point as she crouched during her landing. She quickly got up and looked where she landed. "X! X! I beat my record!"

"That's nice Rosemary, but what Mom told you before we left?"

"Have fun and stay out of trouble?" Rosemary grinned innocently as she ran back to the swing, a exasperated X gripping his head with his fingers. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"I didn't forget, I had a convenient memory lapse. "

"....Rosemary..."

She sighed as she walked back to the swing, sitting down before answering. "No mischief making, and that includes jumping from the swings."

"Right. Wouldn't want you to twist your ankle again." X pointed out.

"X, why can't you stay longer?" Rosemary asked. Her question was quite innocent, causing X to turn to his little sister. "I miss you."

"Hey, I miss you too sis, but...it's complex." X replied.

"No its not. You went to someplace else to be a builder at construction school, to learn how to...build. But you're done with builder school right?"

"Yea, but...."

"So why didn't you come back? I really love it when you play with me, and give me ice cream, and let me play with Naruto and Inti. But you can't do any of your big brother things when you're not with me. I feel a little bad when I talk about my really cool big brother, because he's not really here.

"It's like I don't really have a big brother at all."Rosemary began to sniffle. "It's like I made up my best friend."

"Hey, hey, don't say that." X got up, and knelled, his eyes on level with Rosemary, whose eyes begun to tear up. "Hey, no tears. Big Girls don't cry."

"But I miss you..."

"Hey I miss you too...but the reason why I didn't move back is that I...wanted to live my own life."

"I don't understand."

"You know how Mom and Dad are pokemon trainers?"

"Yea."

"And you know how their mom and dads were also pokemon trainers?"

"Yea."

"Well our moms, dads, grandmoms, and granddads are trainers. It's kinda what our family does. But I didn't want to do that. And mom and dad....really didn't like that."

"You mean they don't love you anymore!"

X couldn't help but laugh. "No Rosemary, they still love me. It's just that they didn't think that being a construction worker like I wanted to be was what was best for me. But I'm me, not Mom or Dad. They can help me, make suggestions, point me in certain directions... but ultimately I choose what path of life I go down. Not them."

Rosemary made a frown before responding. "It sounds confusing. I'm only a kid."

"You'll understand when you're older. But until then, the short version is that I didn't want to be a trainer just because Mom and Dad are trainers."

"Well, I don't like that..." the young girl pouted. "I wanna be more like you. I even have a cool nickname like you!"

"...That's not what I meant. What I mean, is that I didn't want to train pokemon just because mom and dad are trainers. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be a trainer because Mom and Dad are trainers.

"When you get older, try being a trainer, or a construction worker, or a ballerina, or anything you want to do. If you like it, then go ahead and do try it out. And if not, that's good as well because you can always try something else and keep trying other things until you find something you do like. You understand that?"

"So if I want to be more like you, and I don't like it...I can stop doing it?"

"Pretty much."

Rosemary said nothing for exactly half a minute before replying with "I feel better now."

"Great. So...what is your nickname?"

"Y."

X put his hands on his knee. "Well, as your big brother, I gotta see if it passes the big brother test."

"Why?"

"Because it's what big brothers do, I think. I'm not that good at being a big brother."

"But you're the best big brother ever!"

"Great! So what's your nickname?"

"I told you. Y."

"Rosemary, have you been hanging out with Inti?"

"No." X silly gave the little girl a hard stare. "Yes..."

"So what's your nickname?"

"Y! I told already."

X finally put two and two together. "Rosemary, is your nickname the letter Y?"

"Yes! Its wasn't that hard to get right?" The now christened Y grinned. "I wanted to be like you when I got bigger, and you have a cool nickname that's just a letter, and since I'm your little sister, then I should have a little letter for my nickname. But there really aren't little letters. So I thought about it and since your nickname is just a letter and I'm your little sister and I kinda came second I went with the next letter in the alphabet."

"I gotta hand it to you. That's a pretty smart way of choosing a nickname." X ruffled his sisters hair before checking the time. "Well, we gotta get going home now Ro....I mean Y. Dinners gonna be ready soon."

"Hey, when we get home, can you help me with my game? I'm having trouble with Thanatos. He's tricky."

"Hey compared to me you're a pro at video games." The older brother teased the younger as they began to leave the playground. "But I can try. "

"Yay!"

"And to give us the energy we need let's go get some ice cream on the way home. "Rosemary gave her older brother that look you give someone when they start speaking in a foreign language. "What? You have your ways of making mischief, and I have mine."

X sighed as the memory faded. Rosemary...Mom...Dad...please...be safe.

"There he is!"

His thoughts leaving him, X turned to face (in his horror) over four dozen young changelings, lead by Nall and Nalel. The two grinned as the horde surrounded X, whom was in the middle of panicking.

“Uh…..please don't break out the torches and pitchforks. I apparently now have a fire weakness.” X pleased. Nall grinned as she did pull one from out of nowhere, while others nt eh mob did the same.

“Oh don’t worry, its just for show.” Nall replied. The torch, along with all the others, were thankfully unlit. “I mean, you can’t have a mob without torches and pitchforks. But there are a bunch of strict fire rules here and we thought it would scare you, so we just have unlit torches.”

“And the pitchforks?”

Nalel pulled out he pitchfork, again from what seemed to be nowhere. “We gotta keep some traditions, right?”

X just gave her a hard stare as the crowd got rid of the pitchforks. "Okay, so you corned me. Uh, what happens now?"

"You tell us stories!" The two replied in unison. The gathered foals sat on their haunches, bearing eager grins.

Needless to say, it was not what X expected. "Uh, what?"

"You're an alien!" Nalel stated. "I mean, how cool is that!"

Nalel continued the train of thought. "And we wanna know all about It!"

"Because we're not aliens."

"And thus cannot know what an alien feels like."

"But you're an alien! So you can tell us what an alien feels like!"

At that X sighed. "Oh good. For a second I thought. You were just gonna yell at me and blame the Pokemon for something that was out of our control."

Meanwhile , back the ranch known as City Hall.

"ALRIGHT CHANGELINGS AND POKEMON, THE NEXT ONE OF YOU WHO TRIES TO START A FIGHT OVER WHO'S AT FAULT HERE WILL HAVE THE ROCK LIZARD...!"

"Apocalypse the Tyrunt."

"...THE ROCK LIZARD AND THE LIGHTNING LIZARD...!"

"Inti the Heliolisk."

"I prefer the Storming Thunder Breaker."

"We are you not calling you that, Inti."

'WHATEVER THE HELL THEY ARE CALLED, THE NEXT ONE OF YOU WHO TIRES TO PICK A FIGHT WITH THE OTHER SPECIES WILL HAVE THE TWO OF THEM PLAY WITH YOU. THAT IS AN EMPHASIS.!!!

Naruto let loose a sigh. "I cannot believe they talked me into this."

Silver Heart's shouts did little to calm each side, as they were very eager to point hoofs and fingers. Naruto then leaned to Rizen and whispered. "You're the psychiatrist. Anything you want to point out?"

"Well, from what I can make out, the Changelings are blaming the Pokemon in general for the Durant attack. Not just the Durant, all the Pokemon." Rizen pointed out. "It's because of the rampant change of pace. They were comfortable where they were in life as a community, and now something drastic has caused that to change. Change this drastic is never really easy to adjust to.

"The Pokemon however are not really blaming the Changelings for the Durant, but they are obviously angry at the Changelings for blaming them when only a small number of their kind is at fault. Mostly they're confused and scared at the deeds of a being that claims to be God."

"For all intents and purposes Arceus is God." Naruto replied.

"It sounds like you revere him."

"All Pokemon do. It's something we just understand in our gut. Thought to be honest, before today I kind of doubted the legends."

This got Rizen's attention. "How so?"

"I consider myself an intellectual Rizen. Everything question can be approached logically, and thus errors, especially intentional errors..." Naruto glared at Rizen, who was doing his best to keep relative peace between the species. "...bug me to no end."

"I figured it was a personality trait of yours. I noticed how you always took an opportunity to correct a mistake."

"The reasons why I doubted the legends is this." Naruto replied "If Arceus created our world, then where did he come from? The legends say he hatched from an egg, and then created the universe. That's fine with me, but that doesn't explain where the egg came from if nothing existed before the egg existed."

"That is a good question. Considering that you apparently come from a different world, maybe he came from one of them? What do you think?"

"I think we should lend a hand..."Naruto deadpanned. Rizen had come through on his promise: A Geodude on the pokemon side threw a rock at a Changeling. He was immediately pounced on by Apocalypse, and both sides decided that maybe calming down was the best choice of action.

At that, Azisa and Nell approached the soldier and the Zoroark. "Naruto, have you seen X?"

"Not since this morning." Naruto thought on it for a moment before continuing. "Though I think I did hear him in the crowd..."

"Well he was there, but when everyone started to argue, he vanished." Azisa sighed. "You think he's going to be fine."

More shouts rose as Naruto sighed. "I think it might be a good idea to find him. The general attitude towards Pokemon is getting to be....hazardous."

"I'll go in the air. You try the ground 'Azisa." Nell replied. With a nod of her head Azisa agreed, the Changeling taking to the air to search for X.

"So...any particular story you wanna hear about?"

Nall shot her hoof into the air. "Oh OH! PICK ME PICK ME!"

"Okay okay. Someone is jumpy." X laughed.

"Tell us a story about how you kicked some plot!" Nall practically shouted. X's face quickly contorted. "Uh....yea....Um....I try not to do that."

"Then can you tell us a story about how you saved a bunch of lives like you did yesterday!"

"Yea, look. Full disclosure here, I'm just a construction worker. I don't do stuff like that."

The crowd started to express their dislike of that sentence. "Boo! Do something exciting!"

"Well my job is exciting actually. " X retorted.

"But how is not saving the day not exciting!" Nalel started to pout. "YOU'RE AN ALIEN!"

"Nalel, right?" The filly nodded. "You know, making things isn't as boring as you think it is. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to build and create rather than fight. I remember the time my parents took me to a festival one time. And there was a guy with his Diggersby and Gurdur doing a show.

"See, they were artists. Now, the guy had a giant slab of stone he got, and it was a slab of stone. Ugly, plain....no one wanted it. Then, the three of them just went at it. They punched, kicked, hit it with a girder, cracked a joke...they just wailed on it. And fifteen minutes later that slab of rock turned into a statue that was really a sight to behold.

"That's boring!" Nall sighed.

"Okay, I think a practical demonstration is in order." X got up and took a look around. His search quickly ended as he saw several small pieces of wood and some vines near a lonely tree. He approached, picking them up and returning to the crowd. "I need a volunteer."

A hoof shot up. "Oh oh oh! Me me me memememememe!"

"Okay Nall. You can help me."

"YAY!" Nall was ecstatic. She quickly got in front of th crowd and sat on her haunches in front of X. "What do you need?"

"I need you to sit still." X explained. He then started to rub the wood up against her horn.

An awkward silence arouse before Nall had the courage to ask "Why are you using my horn like that?"

"I left the knife at your house."

"Oh."

"Don't worry. This won't take long." X grinned.

"If you say so."

The carving really didn't take that long as X seemed to know what he was doing. Just as quickly as he started, he finished. Four of the wood pieces now had carved indents in them. "Okay last step. I need to drill some holes in the wood, but your horn is pretty small, and sort of crooked..."

A flash of fire quickly remedied that as the horn was now a bit longer, straight, and pointier. "...And now it isn't. I forgot you could do that."

"It's a gift." Nall smiled.

"Kinda makes me wish I caught that Ditto I ran into." X spun the wood around, drilling into the wood the slow way.

"A what now?"

"It's a pokemon that is capable of transformation." X explained. "They can turn into pretty much anything."

"Gee, I wish we had that talent!" Nalel deadpanned. To prove her point many changelings in the crowd transformed. Many were ponies of various breeds, though here and there were zebras, diamond dogs, and others scattered around.

"Yea, I got nothing there." The former human laughed. "Okay, done. Thanks Nall."

Nall returned to the crowd (currently in the process of detransforming) as he took the vines, which were rather skinny, and stuck them in the holes and tied them together. "And tada!"

Nall and Nalel looked at the little project X had worked on. It looked like he had took a piece of wood, tied it so another piece of wood was on it, and did it twice. Each hand held one of the strange things. "Okay....that's...nice." The girls replied.

They were not impressed, to which X looked a little shocked for lack of a better word. "What, you've never seen castanets before?"

"Uh, no."

X smiled as he demonstrated. With deft handiwork learned from his trade, he opened the closed the toys, clunking sounds that suggested they were music flowed into the ears of the younger. "Like I said, they're called Castanets. They're musical instruments that people use to well...make music." X explained. "As you can see, I took individual objects and put them together making something new. And that's what building, whether it be the houses and structures I usually work on or small instruments like these, is to me: Taking something and turning it into something someone can enjoy."

"That being said....who wants to have some fun?"

"You work fast."

"Thanks Nall." X gave her a thumbs up. He sat down, watching all the changeling simply play in the park. X didn't know how they did so quickly, but after his little demonstration the crowd of eager children sought out as many pieces of junk they could find to build with, inspired by the construction worker.

The kids mostly stuck with toys, simple figures made of wood, either uncarved or very messily carved, while a large number of them were building what looked like a tower.

Sort of.

"What do you think that is?" Nall asked. Nalel was head of the item's creation, changelings buzzing to and fro in a hurry.

"Looks like either a totem pole of a tower you can jump off off."

This sparked Nall's interest. "I can get behind that. I'm coming!" She then buzzed towards the towers construction.

"Kids."

A commotion then arose, X getting up to investigate. Through the hear a young green mammalian creature ran as fast as it's stubby little legs could carry it. "Help! Help! Anyone, please please help! It's an emergency! A BIG ONE!"

The changelings were quick to approach, Nalel being the first to speak as she gazed at the pokemon with a questioning glare. "He's kinda cute. What is he?"

"He's a Chespin." X approached the Chespin, the group making a space for him to approach the Pokemon, the Chespin holding it's head in it's hands as he felt to the ground in sorrow.

"He kinda looks like you." Nalel remarked. "OH! Are you two related!"

"Uh.......no."X gave a look at Nalel as he explained. "Pokemon tend to look a lot like members of their species and evolutionary lines. For example, Chespin evolve into Quillaldin, who in turn will evolve into Chesnaught." X patted his chest twice. "Which is what I am. Somehow."

"Wait, this little guy is going to one day be all big and buff and strong and spiky like you?" Nall then shook her head, her face scrunching up like she had eaten the emotion of puppy love, the emotional equivalent of sticking a whole lemon in you mouth and trying to suck out all the liquid at once. "I don't buy it."

X was confused. "Well it's true. But that's not what's important." X kneeled down, his eyes level with the Chespin. "Hey little guy. Something the matter?"

Chespin stopped crying, opening his eyes and seeing X. "Yes mister! I need help! Help like right now!"

"Whoa whoa whoa....slow down, and explain."

"Well, me and my brother were just being still, we didn't want to make the Bug Thingies angry at us." Chespin sobbed. Many of the Changelings present showed various reactions to being called Bug Thingies. "Then a lot of really heavy boxes fell from everywhere! I got away but my brother didn't, and now...." he sobbed harder before continuing. "I can't get them off of him! I'm worried! I tried to find help but noone would help me! I looked and looked and then I found you!"

X spoke his next sentence with steely resolve. "Get on and lead the way. I gotta job to do." Chespin wiped the tears away as he climbed up onto X's back, pointing towards the innards of the city. Before leaving, X turned to Nall and Nalel and pointed to one of them. "Nalel, you're in charge until I get back!"

"UH, I'm Nalel." Nalel spoke. "You're pointing at Nall."

X paused for a moment before pointing to Nalel. "Nalel, you're in charge."

"Hey, why is she in charge?" Nall complained. Loudly. "I can do it!"

"Well, he said I was."

"But I can do it just as good!"

"Not. The. Time." X pointed at the Chespin on his shoulder with each word, the Chespin glaring at the two. "Lead the way little guy."

At his guide's command, X rushed towards the brother, as the
Changeling children just stood there, watching their new hero run off to do a heroic deed.

"Turn left here!"

X did as his guide told him too, hoping he wasn't too late. Fortunately, he was pretty easy to see, so anyone who was in the way had plenty of time to get out of it.

"Are we almost there?" X asked.

"Yea. One more right turn." Replied Chespin. He quickly shouted "Right turn!"

As X did such a turn, going into a long alley that was obscured with shadows near it's dead end. X though nothing of it as he approached the end, quickly skidding to a stop as he noticed who as in the alley.

A figure obscured by the shadows, with six Durant in front of it. Each of them snapped their jaws at X.

Fear welled in him. X made a quick turn around to escape, only to discover four more Durant, two on each wall, snapping their jaws to deter the Chesnaught. "What's going on!?"

"Relax. We mean you no harm." X turned around yet again as the figure in the shadows stepped into the light. It was a Chesnaught like him, only for one difference.

She was Shiny.

"I have heard a few things about you." The Shiny spoke with a curt tone, giving a small bow as she introduced herself. "I am Iron Shell. A pleasure meeting you."

Author's Note

Hard to name this chapter actually. If anyone can suggest a better title, all will be appreciated.

Sorry for taking my sweet time. I had other thing on my plate. Also, public service announcement: If you read the Infinite Loops, including the rather large compilation here of FIMfiction, you may notice me there every now and again. Yes, that is me! And if you don't, well advertisement for that series. So win win.

Hope you all had a good holiday!

Chapter 12 - Dark Void

Chapter 12
Dark Void

Day 2

X glared at the Pokemon before him, trying to back away slowly. It was not working, as the Pokemon were slowly approaching him, closing the gap as soon as X tried to open it. "Do not fear. I am not here to hurt you." The shiny calling herself Iron Shell assured X, her voice calm and controlled. X furrowed his brow at those words. "Yea, forgive me for not believing you when you seem to be working for the Pokemon that almost killed me yesterday."

"You really are a Trainers weakling." The shiny remarked. The Durant started to laugh, finding that funny. "In the wild you either win, or you lose. The price for losing is one that cannot be paid with coin alone."

"What do you want?"

Iron Shell grinned. It was a cold grin. "Like I said, I want to talk about tomorrow's great battle, and how much of a folly it is."

"Oh great, finally someone is talking some sense around here." X felt a large weight lift off his shoulders, the impending battle he silently dreaded no longer a thing.

"Indeed, for you and the creatures you ally yourself with are helpless against us."

Suddenly that weight returned with a vengeance. "Wait, I'm a little lost here..."

"You see, the Durant that struck yesterday came with news of you and the creatures you fought with." Iron shell began to pace back and froth, though the small space of the ally gave her little room for her to go far with each back and forth. "It was only when Pokemon intervened that any progress for you side was made. The Heliolisk was especially noticeable. We have given her a name to fear and respect her with. The Storming Thunder Breaker."

"Yea, I was wondering where she got that..."

"Do not interrupt." Iron Shell's voice, the power within her words strong and mighty, jolted X just a little, the Chesnaught stepping back. "As I was saying, the Pokemon who fought those Durant were strong, but one did not use the strength he was blessed with. You. It almost makes me...sad to be the same species as you. Almost."

"You know...gloating isn’t becoming of a lady," X shot back in annoyance. "In case you didn't get it the first time, not everyone is big on the whole thing about fighting just because you can. Just so happens, I'm one of them."

"You made that abundantly clear." This soured X's mood just a bit.

"Can't we just talk this out? I mean, come on, didn't what can only be described as our God just say ‘Do not fight with the locals’?"

Iron Shell gave X a grin, one that seemed to instill fear rather than reasurance. "That is a good observation, but my Father decreed that since we struck our little deal to march into battle before Lord Arceus’ decree, we feel that unfinished business must be...addressed."

"....you sure we can't talk about this?" X asked nicely. "Human to Pokèmon or something like that?"

"Human? You are human?"

X suddenly felt a chill go up his spine (How can it get so cold so often in the jungle? X mused to himself.) "Yea, I'm human. Uh used to be human. I think. It's a little complicated and there are still a ton of things going on at the mom..."

"So that explains why your Pokemon are so weak."

"...ment what did you just say?"

A stomp of the foot jolted a few of the Durant. X glowered a the shiny with hate in his eyes. Iron Shell paid this no mind, as she continued.

"You see human, I was never given the easy way through my entire life. My misery started the day I was hatched. The only moment I remember during my hatching was the look of awe and dread inscribed in their eyes when they saw the baby that was me.

"I was Shiny. Different. Rare. Valuable.

"I never understood my parents actions, why we kept moving, hiding and waiting for a great terror to happen. When they found us, I understood."

"They?" X asked. He didn't need to, for he already had an idea about who they were talking about.

"Humans." Iron Shell spat out as if it was Toxic. "Shiny Hunters. Humans who hunt Shiny Pokemon like me for our rarity. Because we are the same yet different from other Pokemon. My parents turned to me, putting themselves between the Hunter and me. As they faced down the Hunters teams, they turned to me and told me words I will never ever forget.

" 'Run, and never look back'."

A single tear fell from a Durant's eye, the tale causing him to tear up as Iron Shell continued. "I know not what happened to the Pokemon who gave me life. Where they captured, beaten, killed? I do not wish to know. What I do know is this: I did as they commanded, and ran. I ran and ran and ran and never looked behind me."

"...What happened after that?"

"Days passed, possibly weeks. I lost count, for I focus on one goal: Running. I arrived in a forest, though it was more of a mountain. I looked around seeking food and water. I found Durant, the Steel Bugs gnashing their jaws at me, telling me to leave for it was their home. I was about to, when he appeared. The Hunter.

"He found me, his prey. All of us were frightened, and did not react when he threw a Pokèball at me. To my surprise, something got in the way. A Durant, larger than the others leaped in the way, getting hit by the ball, and was consumed by it.

"Fear grabbed me. The fate that Durant had subjected himself to was soon to be my own.

"Then, in an explosion of light and metal, my saviour screamed a metal cry of defiance as he broke out of the ball like it was the leaves of the forest that surrounded us. Imagine what was racing in my young scared mind when my hero was like me. Shiny. Different that the others. This did not deter the hunter, who released his Pokemon to fight my hero.

And one by one the hunter's Pokemon fell in battle. The Hunter fled, returning his Pokemon to their cages, and only then did my Shining hero turn to face me. I remember his words fondly. 'You are weak.' He told me. 'Why did you not fight back?'"

"I answered, meekly and with fear 'Because I am a child and do not know how to fight. My parents told me to run away from that person while they fought him.'" My hero replied in turn: "'A brave act, for they have performed a great sacrifice. You shall join us, and be part of the Colony. And we shall teach you how to be strong.'

"Ever since that day, I lived among the Durant, adopting the Shiny, whom was the leader of the colony, as my one true father. They taught me, and I learned how to shed my weakness. And then I evolved and evolved yet again to the form you see before you."

"That explains why Naruto said there are more than just Durant in that colony." X mused. It went ignored as Iron Shell made a command towards X.

"Hit me."

This got X's attention. "Excuse me?"

"Hit me."

Her expression was as cold as ice and as blank as steel, confusing X. "You want me to hit you?"

"Are you trying to anger me? Yes, I want you to hit me." Iron Shell taunted. "So hit me."

"uh...why?"

"Well how else am I to gauge the strength of your Pokemon? If you wish to gauge a student, rather than test the student you test the master. So, hit. Me."

The apprehension in X's voice was clear. "Okay...if that's what you want..." The two titans approached each other, the gap closing as the Durant gazed as the Iron Shell glared at X, who reluctantly raised his fist, before swinging it at her, but due to his apprehension, as one might expect, it was half-hearted at best.

She caught it with her own, the grip tightening. A split second later, Iron Shell drove that same fist into X's face, releasing her grip as X tumbled into the ground. He groaned as Iron Shell looked down on him. The Durant and the Chesnaught that lead X to the alley snickered, enjoying the show they were watching. "Get up and try again. "

X groaned, slowly getting up. "Cheap shot..."

"Try to hit me again." commanded the Shiny. X eyed her in annoyance. He just couldn’t understand her. But despite that, he threw another punch anyway. Again, Iron Shell caught it, and with a shout she punched her foe in the gut.

X wheezed, falling to his knees, his eyes wide. The Durant and the lone little Chesnaught started to laugh harder. "You're holding back."

"What?"

"You're holding back." Iron Shell stepped back, giving X room to get up. "I do not know why, because maybe..just maybe..it is because..."

“Maybe because its what?” he growled in annoyance, before taking another swing, this time not really thinking about it.

To his surprise, she blocked the blow with her arm. The blow did little, not even a stunned expression. "...you do not know what true power really is?

"Hammer Arm."

Like a rocket soaring into the sky Iron Shell slammed her arm into X, the former human falling to the ground in pain.

"I think I made my point clear. You cannot stand against me. And if a Pokemon with strength like the kind you are holding back fails to use it, a Pokemon like me will be able to trample over you like the dirt we walk upon." The titanic form of Iron Shell towered over X, who simply looked up at her as she spoke. "And if you cannot stand against me, how can the ones you trained?"

X had to silently admit she made a good point.

"So, here is what I want you do to. You are to sabotage these creatures. Ruin them, demoralize them, ask them politely to surrender, do what is needed to end this battle before it begins. And if you manage to do so, I will convince Father to allow these creatures to live among us."

"As slaves?"

"As inferiors."

“I don’t see how that’s any better,” X deadpanned despite the situation.

"There's a difference." Iron Shell replied. "And if I have to explain it to you, the meaning will be lost. I think I have made my point clear. You cannot stand against me, and if you think for a moment that your Pokemon can, you may wish to reassess that. I have spent my entire life fighting while you have spent all of yours trying to run from a fight. If you cannot stand against me, how can the ones you trained?"

"But these..these are innocent creatures...you want me to stab them in the back?" X tried to sound tough as he asked Iron shell, but the quiver in his voice did little to convince her. "It is up to you. But know this: If you do not, then our colony will come, and we will fight our hardest to win. When we win..."

"If you win. Don’t go counting your Torchics before they hatch."

"When we win...the loss of these creatures homes will be your fault, and no other. They will hate and despise you because you said that you would aid them. Aid them you did; Aid them to fail. Think on that."

Iron Shell turned her back to X, motioning to the Durant and Chesnaught around her. "We're going. We are done here." With a nod the Pokemon clamored into the alley towards a hole X was unable to see was there thanks to the imposing bulk of Iron Shell.

"Wait!"

Iron Shell stopped moving towards the hole as X's words resounded. "You can't just come to a different world and try to take these people's, changelings, whatever the plural is, you can't do this! It's just not right!"

"Do you think what we are doing is right?" she asked him.

"Anyone with HALF a heart could tell you its not!"

"Then why will you not defend these creatures with our might instead of what I presume is your preferred tactic of using words? Do you truly believe that you are strong enough to stand against my family with mere words? That your Pokemon can stand against us with certainty that you can win?"

X took a moment to reply. He wanted to say yes, but as he remembered how...minimal at best his efforts to train his team had been over the years, he faltered. "Yes....No....I....I don't....I don't know..." He hated to admit it, but it looked like his constantly trying to avoid fights was about to bite him in the butt.

"And until you do know, nothing you do will ever yield success." Iron Shell leaped into the hole, ending the conversation.

X fell to the ground, overwhelmed.

What did I get myself into? He wondered. He had to admit, at this point, it was getting painfully clear that talking was out of the question, and really...compared to someone who was fighting for something she believed in...what chance would a guy who kept running from fights stand? Sure there was one option but...he couldn’t believe he was even considering it.

"X?" X took a look behind him, spotting Azisa walk towards him, a worried look in her eye. "There you are. Are you okay friend?"

"Yea, just taking a closer look. Thought I saw something on the ground." X lied. He got up, brushed himself off, and turned to face Azisa. "Is something the matter?"

"I just wondered where you went? I lost track of you after the big town meeting." Azisa explained. "

"No you cannot make a nest on someones head." Naruto moaned. The Fletchling, a small red bird with a fire motif, looked at Naruto with naivety as Naruto felt the growing need to slam his head into the table he sat at. The table in question was next to other similar tables, each sitting a high ranking official of the Changeling Empire, trying to perform the monumental task of keeping things calm as citizen after citizen came to the overworked staff with question after question.

Naruto was the unlucky one. Until the the Translation Pylons were finished, he was the only one who could speak both the language of Equis and the language of Pokemon. It meant the line in front of his desk was easily four times as long as the others.

"Why not!?" the Fletchling was clearly annoyed, confused why his Zoroark was saying sitting on heads was bad. "Heads are comfortable."

"I assume they are, but it's not just the comfort factor you must take into account."

"Like what?" Naruto said nothing as he pointed at the very clearly annoyed Changeling the Fletchling was currently standing on. "....A minor inconvenience."

The Changeling let loose a exasperated sigh. "Is it going to get off my head any time soon?"

"Uh.....sure....one second sir..." Naruto then leaned in, whispering to the Changeling. "Find a berry, throw it, hope it goes for the berry and if it does, run for it. That's the best I can tell you."

The changeling nodded, leaving to do just that, Naruto's cry of "Next!" Reverberating behind him. As the changeling left Silver Heart approached the Zoroark, who was conversing with a Pokemon that looked like a raccoon with brown and whit spiky fur, the coloring resembling zig-zags. "So, how's it going?"

"Slower than a Snorlax climbing uphill...no you cannot play in the tree houses. They are houses that are lived in, so that is a no, unless of course you have permission. Which I am guessing you do not." Naruto returned his attention to Silver as the Zigzagoon left, replaced by someone else. "Honestly I wish those pylons could be made faster."

"We're running our resources thin already." Silver took a quick look around. Line after line of changeling and Pokemon stood as orderly as they could, sounds of conversation around. Darting in and out of the lines were the local police and guards, trying to keep order to a city quickly loosing any semblance of the word.

"Honestly right now I think the rampant lack of people keeping cool heads is more dangerous than our imminent struggle with the Durant." Naruto noted.

"Lets try and keep the city in our procession first, then we focus on keeping order." Silver put a hoof on Naruto's shoulder, an act to reassure the Zoroark. "Something’s bothering you isn't it?"

"Well, the more I stay here, the more I am uncertain what I must do." Naruto replied. "I must tell you...I have never been formally introduced into a peacekeeping organization. The only peace I kept was the peace at our home and business. But there were times when I had to stick my nose in someone else’s business to do what is right."

"Not something I would do honestly."

"But it is what X would do." Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly as he smiled. "He would often rush in the middle of things if he felt someone was wronged. He says he doesn't like to fight, but if someone is getting hurt, he'll do something. I learned that lesson from him. He worries about us, but his own safety? I think he has a hard time understanding that concept. That is one of the reasons I call him my best friend, and my brother."

"Pretty deep." Silver jested.

"I am glad you appreciate that." Naruto jested back. They were about to go another round of jesting when the next Pokemon in line stepped forward. Well, slid forward was a better descriptor as a duo of purple piles of foul smelling sludge with arms accompanied by a third pile slightly taller and twice as wide with two arms, one larger than the other. "Hey, Zoroark!"

"My name is Naruto."

"Sure, whatever, you know where any sludge is? Me and my amigos are starving here! We haven't had a good meal since we got to this crazy place!"

It was then that Silver got a good whiff. "Oh by the Hive, these three smell like cr..."

"Do....not....finish that sentence." warned Naruto with one hand motioning for Silver to stop and the other gripping his face.

X walked though the houses, streets, and stalls of the city, oblivious to the tree houses he so loved about him. Normally, he would have loved to see an entire city filled with tree houses, but right now his mind was filed with doubt and concern.

Though as he trekked through town he saw families, both changeling and Pokemon, try their best to prepare for the possibility of evacuation. The royal guard that were in town was trying to keep order, a task they were destined to fail. Chaos bounded, control seemingly beyond their reach.

X paid this no mind as he approached his destination.

Naruto was clearly having a hard time, his head buried under his arms as he just tried to hide in vain. "No you cannot do what I am trying to forget you just said. Now please go! I have other Pokemon to help!"

The Pokemon in question was a Surskit, a small blue ball creature with four spindly spider legs. She huffed as she walked away. "Next!"

The next in line was about to walk up and ask what he wanted to ask as X approached Naruto from behind. "Hey Naruto."

"X! I am so glad to see you! I really need your help..." Naruto moaned. "I seem to be one of the only Pokèmon here who is using his brain! I am one stupid request away from ripping out every single strand of hair from my head!"

"Well considering how much hair you have, that's going to be entertaining to watch." X jested. He fidgeted ever so slightly, the act not escaping Naruto's sight. "Hey Naruto, can I talk to you...in private?"

"Something is the matter, isn't it?" Naruto asked his friend. X stammered for a quick second when replying. "Uh no, it's you just look a little overworked."

"Well, the entire city is in a panicked state, so I cannot blame them." Naruto turned to face Silver and Rizen, whom were busy calming down another irate changeling. "Silver, I need to take a quick break. Something came up."

"Make it quick!"

"Understood!" Naruto then got up from his seat, walking away from the line of now angry Pokemon who had to wait even more to get some answers.

"Where's Inti and Apocalypse?" X questioned his best friend. Naruto shrugged as he sat on a barrel far away from the chaos. "Last time I checked they were in the crowd during your public service announcement."

"Well after Azisa noticed you disappeared and went to find you those two decided to go off and train. Inti isn't going to be left out of any brawl this big and Apocalypse followed because he though it would be fun." Naruto answered. "I've been busy answering questions as to why the Pokemon race became dimensional travelers."

"I take they they aren't buying 'Because Arceus said so?" X jested. "Because I know for a fact that is what happened. I just have a hard time believing it."

"I got teleported twice in the span of twenty four hours, both times without the use of Miracle Eye. I'm a little more open to the idea of Arceus doing it being legit." Naruto took a moment to laugh. "Honestly, being teleported is a strange feeling."

"Yea...."

"X, there is something on your mind I want to know what that something is."

"it's just..." X was hesitant in speaking, stopping just short of what he wanted to say.

"X...."

X sighed. "I just thought maybe, just maybe....we should...uh...let them handle it."

"What?"

"I mean, nothing drastic like skip town, just not...get involved with the fighty parts."

"X, I can't believe what I'm hearing..." Naruto's expression told X that those words were quite sharp. "Are you suggesting that we just...let the Changelings try and hold their own against these Durant?"

"You know I don't like to fight." X pointed out. "They have soldiers right? It's kind of their job to do that."

"I know that, but are you saying we should just watch because you honestly don't want us to fight, or if it is because you're afraid of something?" Naruto questioned.

"I'm not afraid."

"You're denying it. That must mean it is true."

"This isn't our fight."

Naruto threw a arm in the air in exasperation. "X, I can't believe what you are saying. You care about other people and Pokemon more than your own neck. I've seen you rush into danger just to get a single person out of harms way several times! You took a Fiery Dance to the gut to get Valerie out of the way of that Volcarona! You got stabbed by Azisa's Horn Leech just so you could get close enough to talk her down! You save helped save my life! I refuse to believe that the very same X I would go to the ends of the Earth for is the one I am talking to right now!"

"It's not that simple Naruto!"

"Do tell."

"Naruto, our lives were perfect just the way they were, and now we're suddenly not only in a different universe or something, but I'm no longer Human! I'm a Pokemon now, and ever since I turned into one, I’ve been thrust into stuff I'm not really okay with! I've never been in a fight, and I mean actually fighting not just giving orders! And now I gotta handle Iro....."

"X's abruptly stopped, this causing Naruto to become even more worried. "Iro who?"

"Nothing."

"Iro who?" Naruto asked again. X refused to answer, silence serving as his reply. "Fine. Keep it to yourself. I'm only your best friend. I have to go back to work."

"Naruto wait, it's not like that!"

"Then what is it like!?" Naruto spun on his heels to face his brother, a tear beginning to well in his eyes. "Ever since we got here, you have been distant, cowardly...you're not you! I get that you don't want to talk about it but you're distancing me for you, and its beginning to frustrate me! X it's almost like you don't want to do anything to help!"

"I do, but not if it results in a fight! We gotta try diplomacy again, try to get the Durant to talk it out..."

A shout echoed in the air. "We already tried that! The Durant won't listen to words, only action! And I plan on lending a hand during the big battle tomorrow!"

"Is it because you're forced to work for The Emperor because you broke his garden?"

"It's because I want to help!" Naruto shouted. "You're my trainer! You trained me, taught me all I needed to know, and the most important lesson for you I learned is to never turn your back on anyone in need! Something you obviously either forgot, or lied to me about!"

"TAKE THAT BACK!

"I understand that you are scared and confused. I am too," Naruto ignored his friend as he continued to yell at this friend. "But that is no excuse to simply pick and choose when to be heroic based on convenience!"

"Convenience? Naruto, these...changelings are not going to stand a chance against the Durant, against Pokemon in general! The Durant are going to run them into the ground! I mean, it took you to soften up that Blastoise before the Emperor finished that fight, and last night when those Durant poured from the ground, they were intent on hurting anyone in the way, and badly! This isn't a trainer battle where we can brush off the results!

"Which is exactly why I am helping them! I know a Fire Attack, and I'm pretty sure someone here does as well! And even if I am the only one with a Fire attack, we must to be the heroes they need."

"Naruto, you have no idea how strong those Durant or Iron Shell are!" With great haste X stopped speaking, the words dying like flowers in winter.

"It never stopped me, or any ShadowFox ever before so why does it matter now! We must be the heroes they need us to be!"

X groaned loudly as he gripped his head, his eyes closed shut. "I don't want to be the hero! I want to be normal, not some inter-dimensional hero! I just wanted to build buildings!"

"So that is what you want? Us to run for the hills?" Naruto shouted in turn. "You want me to run away from thousands of innocent civilians just so you don't have to get involved in a fight? Is that it!?"

"Yes! No!? I don't know!" X slammed his arms into his head, screaming from the recoil. "No matter who fights someone is going to get hurt, I know that! I don't want the Changelings to fight because they are going to get slaughtered! And if you and the others fight then you're going to get hurt just as badly! I gotta choose between watching the changelings suffer, or have you guys join them!"

"So you're worried about our safety, I understand that, but why now?" Naruto demanded. "Why now when we are needed to fight? You were never this adamant in not having us fight!"

"Because now that I know what really goes on in a Pokemon battle, I do not want the Pokemon I care about to be hurt like that in a simple sport." X grit his teeth, eyes burning in rage.

"You know that is not true, not now!"

"Naruto, talking is the only way that no one gets hurt!"

Naruto just looked at his best friend, and felt...hurt. A numbing hurt that ached everywhere yet nowhere both at the same time. "You don't really know why you fight, do you? Why any of us fight? Do you?"

X said nothing.

""I'm going back to work. And I don't want to see you until tomorrow afternoon. Because until then....you are not my trainer, and more importantly, you are not my brother, Jacob."

Those words dug into X like salt in the wound. He walked away, unable to decide what to do.

But as he walked, another person whose presence was undetected left her hiding spot.

X…..what is going on inside your head?

The marketplace fountain was in shambles, but all things considered it was still a good place to sit and think.

Sit and think was what Nell was doing.

“NELL!”

Nall and Nalel rushed to their sister whom replied with a almost whispered “Hi Nall. Hi. Nalel.” The broodsisters skid to a halt, eyeing thier currently depressed sister.

“....what happened?” Nalel asked.

At that, Nall grimaced just a bit. “I’m getting the distinct feeling that X...is not whom he seems to be.”

“You mean he’s really a robot?” Nall asked.

To the shock of Nall and Nalel, Nell screamed. A trio of birds “Damnit Nall! This is not the time to make jokes!”

“But...I like jokes….everychangeling likes jokes…”

“Nall, we are being attacked by ants who want our city! Now is not the time!” Nell screamed. “And to top it off X, the very same X who carried half the guard on his back, is honestly thinking about giving up!”

“We’re talking about the big green one that broke Dad’s table right?” Nalel put a hoof on her chin. “That doesn’t seem like him.”

“I know that. What I want to know is why he’s acting like this!” Nell mused.

“So….explanation?” Nalel tilted her head, expressing her confusion. Nell sighed, recounting the tale.

Several minutes passed, Nell explaining what she had overheard between the two ‘friends’ chat.

“Huh….I did not know they were related.” Nalel mused.

“I don’t know why X is acting this way. I don’t know him that well, but the X I know is not the X I saw.”

There was a thick presence in the air, one the trio of sisters would rather not want to talk about. “So what are you two doing?”

Nall explained. “Looking for Apocalypse.”

“See, while we were to the park with X, Inti Frilly Face and Apocalypse went off to see the other troops and train with them. To you know, prepare for battle.” Nalel continued for her sister.

Azisa was walking.

Just walking.

As a Phantump, she had no legs and did not walk. And all things considered floating was in her opinion natural while she was a Phantump. When she evolved, she traded her floating for legs - six of them - and while it did take some time to get used to walking everywhere instead of floating everywhere, she came to enjoy walking just for the heck of it.

Walking was also good for when she needed to think. A lot was on her mind, so she needed to do a lot of walking.

As she did, she noticed a lot of Changelings march past her. Among their number was Inti, marching along side the pack, and Apocalypse, whom was riding one of the Changelings. "Hi Azisa!" Apocalypse shouted. He waved his tiny arms in an adorable fashion as they marched past the Trevenant. "We're gonna play with the natives! For Sci-fi!"

"Science Apocalypse. It's 'For science'." Azisa corrected the child.

"I can't say it that way...I'm not a scientist."

"Have fun Apocalypse." Azisa waved at the Tyrunt as he yet again waved back.

"Serioulsy, can someone get this guy off me?"

“Nalel, how did you know about the stuff you weren’t there for?”

“The tree told us.”

Nell just shook her head. “Look, I know what you are trying to do and it’s not going to help…”

“We weren't done talking….” Nall interrupted.

”I wonder how Apocalypse and Inti Frilly Face are doing?” mused the changeling known as Nall. Nalel shook her head. “Probably having fun playing with the other changelings. You think they’re going to fight alongside our guys?”

“I sure hope so!” Nall fluttered into the air, shooting into the air. “It will be just like a Hoofball game! With violence!”

As the duo approached where they last knew Azisa was, they were treated to a sight that was not training. Several of the changeling who were willing to fight were arguing with Azisa, the tree flailing her arms trying to explain things. Inti on the other hoof sat off to the side, grumbling and giving death glares to any and all things

“Okay, this does not look like fun…” Nall mumbled. As the two approached their Pokemon friends, the context of the conversation was made clear.

“Look you tree, everything got worse ever since you things got here!” One of the changelings pointed a dismissive hoof at Azisa. She was clearly offended.

“Excuse me, but how is any of this our fault?” Azisa pointed a dismissive hand at her verbal assaulter, changelings trying to separate the two. A good thing, as Azisa had said dismissive hand raised and ready to strike.

“Why don’t you go into the jungle and tell your metal friends!”

“In case you did not know, we are on the same side, and that side does not have any Durant on them!” Azisa countered. “We are helping you. Do not taunt the help!”

“Yea, what she said!” Inti taunted from her secluded area. “All of you suck harder than than four sumo wrestlers with one straw!”

Azisa turned her head a full 180 degrees, creeping a few changelings out. “That does double for you, since you caused it!” she shouted.

“Pics or it didn’t happen!”

Nalel said what was on her and her sisters minds at that moment. “Okay I’m lost.”

Azisa then turned her apparently disconnected head to the duo of Nall and Nalel. “Oh friends! How good to see you! Unlike some people….”

“Same here invader!”

“Ignore him.” Azisa sighed.

“So what happened here?” Nalel asked. “And….where’s Apocalypse?”

“You mean that rock lizard?” A changeling mare garbed in light silver colored armor, almost like robes, approached the young ones. “Friend of yours kidos?”

“Yep! He’s our friend and we’re checking up on him.”

“After the yellow one and her friends saved the guards hide, her friends are mine as well.” the mare replied. “Name’s Verot. Spellcaster in the guard. As for what happened, fast is can apt way to put it. Everything was happening smoothly by my counts. But a few of the miscreants and rowdy soldiers started to pick on the Pokemon. Especially that rock lizard.”

“I apologize again…” Azisa sighed. “Apocalypse is young, very young, and he takes criticism and teasing poorly.”

“Not my fault!”

“Inti, you have no right to say it is not your fault! You are a part of this mess!” Azisa shouted. “To make the story short, mad villagers plus guards telling him that he’s only going to get in the way combined with Inti agreeing with them and making it worse caused Apocalypse to make a mess and run away!”

“It’s not like we need him!” Inti shouted. “If I show up, they’re going to be too afraid of me to actually do anything.”

“Apocalypse is the strongest of us when it comes to raw physical power. We need him.” Azisa replied. “Without him we lose much of our offensive presence.”

“I am the offensive presence!”

“You got that right!’

“Shut up changeling person!”

“Uh..why not go look for them?” Nall asked with impatience. “If you need him that badly then you should find him.”

“Then who’s going to keep this lot in line?” Verot replied. Behind her lay soldiers, upset Pokemon, and upset changelings. “Somechangeling needs to make sure there is order.”

“Then we’ll go!” Nalel smiled as she offered to help. “He likes us! It will be easy to find him!”

“Needless to say...we haven’t found him yet.” Nalel sighed. “We looked everywhere. How hard is it to find a lizard made of rock?”

“Apparently really hard…” Nell sighed in turn.

“Okay Nell you’re worrying us.” Nall sighed as well, mirroring her sisters.

“I’m not sure what I can do…” Nell narrowed her eyes at her sister, clearly frustrated. “I have no idea about anything related to these Pokemon, and I want to help but I don’t know what to do.”

The sisters looked at each other before glaring at Nell. “Well what are you doing right now?”

“Uh….moping? I guess.” Nell sighed yet again.

“And what are we doing?”

“Looking for Apocalypse.”

At that Nall beamed. “Which is something. And something is better than nothing because nothing is nothing and something is something. Sure, we’re not sure how much something our something really is but we would rather have something than nothing like the nothing you have right now.”

Nell blinked a few times. “So….I should be doing something to help out the effort? Even if it’s really small it can lead to bigger things yet to come?”

“See, told you she understands us.” Nalel grinned. “I mean, sure what we’re doing isn’t as spectacular as say fighting, something we’d never ever do, but something is something! And something is what we plan on doing.!

Nall then rushed off shouting “We gotta go. Time is a-waistin!” with Nalel quickly The sisters trotted off, confident in there impending success. Nell began to slowly wonder the true meaning of her sisters words as she turned around and headed for home.

Hopefully one that remain her home come tomorrow.

The sun was setting in the horizon, the sunlight of Celestia's sun giving it's last gift of light for the day as it prepared it's daily rest as Luna's moon begun to awaken from it's slumber. And in the treetops of the city Citel X sat. He sat on a platform made of logs reinforced by very long nails and lingering magic, his legs dangling over the platform.

The platform was in the trees and X had to admit, the sunsets in Kalos could not compare to his one, thanks to the spectacular view.

Well, except the one he as seen off the coast of Ambrette Town. That one rivaled this one.

"Man, what am I going to do? X thought to himself. "I screwed everything up... Naruto probably hates me, and because of what? Because I care for the team? But...that's not the real reason is it?"

"Hello X." X turned to face whom Rizen, the white maned Changeling whom served the Emperor. "I see things are....not going well for you."

"I'd rather just think on it, if you don't mind." X replied. "Did Naruto send me?"

Rizen shook his head. "Well, no. When Silver and I tried to get him to talk about it...he just stared at as before going back to work. We're worried."

"We had a fight. That's all." X replied.

"X...I used to be a psychiatrist before I joined the royal guard." the changeling took a seat next to X, his front leg dangling over the platform. "You seem tense, and you are radiating emotions of doubt, uncertainty, depression, and the most alarming..."

"What's that?"

"...shame."

"I'm beginning to think this whole emotion thing is a violation of privacy." deadpanned X.

"Well yes and no. We can sense emotions, but it's not perfect. It can be fooled. One time I though I detected the emotion of joy when it was really disgust." Rizen replied with ah chuckle. "I was pretty embarrassed. And of course our trick doesn't work as well on changelings as it does other species. We have natural ways to fool it."

"Sounds useful."

"It is, but while we can detect what emotion somechangeling, or somepony, or something in general is feeling, we don't know why. We have to find that out the old fashioned way." Rizen explained. "Would you like to talk about it?"

X thought about it for a second. "....He called me Jacob."

"Pardon?"

"My real name. It's Jacob Arrow." X replied. "You didn't think my name was X was it?"

"I was beginning to think so." Rizen replied. "But why hide your birth name? Do you not like it?"

"I do like it, but that name....comes with strings." X explained. "...my parents have a legacy, a legacy spanning several generations. And I took the name of X to escape from it, because I wanted to build a legacy that was my own, not one borrowed from those who came before me. I wanted to add on to it, not continue down the same path."

"What legacy would that be?"

"The legacy of a Pokemon trainer." X answered. "I'm not a huge fan of fighting. How could I? My best friends, no family gets hurt just for titles. But I'm a human. I don't get in fights, I just command others to fight for me. But now? Now...I'm a Pokemon. I can fight now, do things humans just can do, but It comes with the expectation to fight. Do I choose to be human or Pokemon?"

X heaved a mighty sigh as he tried to stop the tears in his yes from forming. "So, when Naruto and I talked...he called me Jacob. It hurt. I know why he called me that, wanting me to make the right decision, and asked me why I fight. But....no decision I can make is the correct one."

Rizen moved his hoof and put it atop X's hand, the hoof resting on it as Rizen looked up at the unsure human/Pokemon "You can mend this situation with Naruto. I am sure of it."

"How?" a laugh came from X's mouth, seemingly not believing what Rizen said. "I'm a coward. I'm too afraid to send my team into a fight that I'm not sure they can win. I've done it before so why not now? Why can't I be that brave now?"

"Maybe it's your identity crisis?"

“I dunno…”

Rizen responded by simply looking down at the streets below, eyeing the wide variety of Pokemon.

"...you Pokemon are rather strange."

"I could say the same about you changelings." X replied. "I mean, Dittos can transform like you do, but the only thing Dittos can do when they’re...well Dittos is transform. You guys can do Moves before you transform.”

Rizen silently nodded, agreeing to can extent, as he didn't really know what a Ditto was. He looked below before, spying something. "Hey, isn't that the creature your friend's broodsisters are adopting? The one with bananas for a beard?" Off in the distance was the large creature that was christened Banana Beard. It was just walking through a (thankfully large) street, panicked changelings moving out of it's way, afraid of being trampled by it.

"Yea, that's him." X confirmed. To X's surprise, the Tropius started to run. "Odd....i didn't strike him as a runner."

Then Banana Beard leapt into the air.

He did not come down.

"Oh a running start? That explains it." X mused. Rizen however, dropped his jaw, and was thankful the limitations of his bone structure was preventing the jaw from going any further. "That thing can fly!?"

"Uh, of course it can." X looked at Rizen like he was from another planet (which to be honest was true) "Tropius are Grass and Flying types. Pretty much everything that is a Flying type has the capability to Fly. Well, except Hawlucha."

Rizen did not see it that way. "But it's wings, if you can even call them that, are leaves! Literally leaves! How can something that big, with leaves that thin use them to fly!?"

"Because it's a Flying type. That's what Flying types do."

The creature whom was currently defying the rules of gravity shot past the Chesnaught and Changeling, Rizen honestly thinking he was in the middle of a bad dream. "I am beginning to doubt many things. The Laws of gravity being the most important one."

"Understatement of the century..." X snarked. He just watched the flying Banana Beard shoot past them, towards the jungle. Both human-turned-pokemon and changeling eyed the flyer, both having questions to ask the other.

"He's heading towards the jungle. I wonder why he wants to go there?" Rizen asked, his voice a little shaky as he was still getting used to the idea of a creature like a Tropius can just up and fly.

"That is a good question. I got a better one." X replied. "Why is Nell riding him?"

Author's Note

Hey everyone, new chapter! The plot thickens as the wheel turns!

Chapter 13 - Fire Pledge

Chapter 13
Fire Pledge

Day 2

A still shocked Rizen took a look at the rider of Banana Beard, whom was still trying to comprehend the fact that it was flying. "Yeah, it kind of does look that way," he replied. The flying sauropod flew into the distance at a steady pace as the psychiatrist had a thought. "Wonder what she's doing."

"But where would she go?" X asked. "I don't think she'd fly around town if she could just walk there. And considering who she's riding, I doubt Banana Beard would fly her to a place she can walk to easily. His demeanor just screams 'I'm lazy.'"

The duo just continued to watch the flying Pokémon sail through uncontested skies. The green creature seemed to blend well with the sunset filled sky and the jungle below.

The jungle Nell and Banana Beard were apparently going into if their crossing of Wall Maria was any indication.

X and Rizen gulped rather loudly. "She just flew towards the jungle..." Rizen noted.

"... The currently Durant infested jungle," X finished.

Silence.

"IS SHE INSANE!?!?!?!?" X shouted. "She already got attacked by Durant once, why is she going back into their backyard!?"

"Don't look at me! I'm a soldier-slash-psychiatrist, not a detective!" Rizen shouted.

"Okay, lets not panic," X told himself. "It's just the Durant... nothing worse than that right?"

"Trust me when I say that her running into the Durant is the best case scenario," Rizen whispered in fear. "Wild lions, tigers, the occasional bear...and the monsters."

"Like....Pokémon?"

Rizen shook his head, the motions slow and echoing with worry. "No, monsters. Real monsters. Like chimeras, manticores, or the dreaded Amphisbaena."

"The What-a-whata?"

"It's like a giant snake, except it has a second head where its tail should be." X suddenly had the thought of a two headed Onix chase a panicked Nell screaming for help as she ran for her life. "And it will not hesitate to kill anything that is in the same area it is."

"Wait a minute..." X though on that for a moment. "Nell found me in that jungle. You're saying that Nell willingly went into a jungle full of these....deadly sounding monsters. Her family was just....okay with that!?"

"The roads are safe. I've traveled them many a time."

"Oh, so those four Changelings me and my team found on the road just so happened to be injured by something that doesn't live in a jungle that your road go directly through?"

"Hey, you Pokémon did that, not our monsters!" Rizen shouted.

"Does that really matter?" X pointed out. He was on the verge of hysterics, the situation he was discussing with Rizen panicking him more and more with each passing moment. "Nell is flying into enemy territory! She could have gotten herself killed then, and she can get herself killed now!" He rose to his full height, trying to calm the thoughts in his head that were racing at the speed of light.

"You're right." Rizen hovered in the air above X, his wings emanating a light buzz. "I'll go after her and try to get her back."

In that moment, X spoke a single word that pierced the silence. "No. I'll go."

"Oh by the hive don't tell me you can fly too."

"No, but that's not going to stop me from chasing after her and Banana Beard." X got up and rushed for the nearest bridge or ladder to the ground floor.

"But I can fly..."

"You're a soldier. You're needed here," X commanded. His voice was now filled with commanding strength, the tone Rizen would respect. "But I'm just a somebody who wants to be a nobody who just watched his first friend in an alien world fly towards the very same creatures that are trying to take her home away from her just because they can. I know it's not my fault, but she is my friend, and to some extent that makes her one of my responsibilities. One that I need to fix, and fix now."

"I understand what you want to do, but I cannot let you do that. She and I can fly and you can’t," Rizen pointed out. "I cannot let you go out there on your own on the verge of night."

"How are you gonna stop me when you're out like a light'?"

Rizen paused for a moment "What does that mean?"

X demonstrate by popping him in the back of the head. Rizen plummeted to the platform he was hovering over, drifting into unconsciousness. "Sorry Rizen, but this is something I need to do."

A few minutes earlier

Nell sat in the backyard. Her mind was racing, the events of today and yesterday overwhelming her.

"Hey kiddo."

Citel trotted towards his daughter, Nell sighing as she replied. "Hi Dad. What a day, huh?"

"Not sure that is a good way to express the scale of what we- no, all of Equus is going through," Citel sighed. "I mean, creatures from another world being moved here by their god? Sounds like something out of a novel."

I’m just not sure about a lot of stuff right now,” Nell sighed. “What if we lose? What if we have to leave our home and go to another city because of this?”

“We’ll think of something. The changelings are not one to surrender so easily.”

“... Dad?”

“Yes honey?”

“... Am I brave?”

“What makes you ask that?”

"It’s just that... well, X got me thinking,” Nell admitted. “When you were my age, did you get pushed into being a merchant?”

“Well, my family expected me to at least try it.”

“And do you regret it?”

“Not in the least. Without that, I wouldn’t have had you and your sisters and brothers,” Citel grinned. “Maybe I did go down a path that wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but in the end it was worth it. I was brave enough to see where my choice took me.”

Nell sighed. “That’s a good way to put it.”

“Well I am your dad. We tend to know these things.”

Silence reigned for a few precious moment's before Banana Beard walked up to them, ruining the moment. “Stupid Fairy types...think they’re so pretty and can ruin my nap just because they can…”

“Something bothering you buddy?”

“Fairy Types. They like to bug me for some reason. No matter what I do or where I go, they like to mess with me when I try to just relax, and I do that all the time so they bug me all the time.”

"Banana Beard, these Types all the Pokémon keep mentioning…”

“Yes?”

“I have to ask… what's the whole… deal with these Types?"

Banana Beard scoffed. "What, you don't know about Types?"

Nell shook her head. "Until yesterday I didn't know anything about Pokémon, so no.

"Great..." Banana Beard sighed. "I gotta do the explanation. This is simple stuff, why do I have to explain it?"

"Well if you don't want to..."

"Nah. I'm only talking about it, so its not that much of a hassle." Banana Beard moved his head closer so Nell did not have to strain her neck to look up at him. "Okay, so where we come from, there are Types, and there are eighteen of them. And these eighteen types are Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel, and Fairy.

"Now Pokémon can have either one or two types. And these types help decide what moves they can learn. And how they react to different types of attacks when they get hit by them."

"So what else to these types do?" Citel asked. "What you said doesn't explain everything."

"I'm getting to that part..." Banana Beard moaned. "Okay, so each Type has pros and cons. That's where Moves come in."

"You mean like the biting and the lightning?” Nell asked. "Honestly surprised Inti could do that."

"Really? Creatures here can't do that?" Banana Beard mused. Nell shook her head no. "Uh, moving on… Each move has a Type. Lava Plume is a Fire type attack, while Dark Pulse is a Dark type attack.

"This is where what Type you are comes in: each type has pros and cons like I mentioned and you can take less damage from attacks your type resists. You see that Dragon over there?" Banana Beard pointed his head at a small Pokémon sitting on a passing Changeling. The creature was a snake of sorts, blue with a white underbelly.

"Aw...that's a cute one." Nell remarked.

"They don't stay cute. That's a Dratini, a Dragon Type Pokémon," Banana Beard explained. "As a Dragon type Pokémon, they resist Fire, Water, Grass, and Electric Type attacks, and take less damage than they normally would from those types of attacks."

"I'm guessing there is a flipside to that," Nell asked. "If there are Types of attacks that do less damage your Type, then I guess there are Types that do more damage to your Type as well."

"Bingo," Banana Beard stated. "That Dratini I showed you? Dragons like them are weak to Ice, Fairy, and Dragon Type attacks."

"So… it's weak to itself..." Nell mused. "Odd."

"EH, Not really."

"So big guy, what type are you?" Citel asked the new family pet.

"I have two types, actually: Grass and Flying," Banana Beard explained. He flexed his leaves in pride. "That means I have both weaknesses and resistances of both types. Normally, Flying types are weak to Electric type attacks, but since my Grass typing resists that type I take normal damage from them."

"So what if you get hit by an attack that both of your types are weak to?" Nell asked.

"Lots of pain." Banana Beard Snarked.

Nell sighed. "So… know anything about those Durant things?"

"Oh damn, you're serious? Durant are here?" Banana Beard seemed to exert some effort at dramatically gasping. "Oh… Bug and Steel types... what a combination. Steel types already resist just about everything; add in the Bug typing, and that it actually does make them resist pretty much everything. Well, except for fire. In fact, the only thing that can hurt them reliably is a good Fire attack."

"Good thing Naruto can breath fire," Nell mused.

"Wait, I let a Fire-breather in my house?" Citel moaned as he reached for something on the tray of drinks he brought. "That can only end badly."

Banana Beard shared his sentiments. "Hey, I'm Grass. I got a Fire weakness as well. I'm not too thrilled about that either."

"So I'm guessing Naruto is a Fire type?" Nell asked. The only thing that seems to be flaming is his mane."

The Tropius shook his head again. "Nah, Zoroarks like him are Dark types. Honestly, I'm surprised a Pokémon like him can even use Fire attacks in the first place."

"So you're saying that you can use attacks that are not your own type.”

"Yeah. It happens all the time," Banana Beard elaborated. "But a Fire type will be better at it. Especially if a Fire Type is the one who goes up against a Durant, since Steel and Bug attacks are not very effective against Fire types."

"If we can find one. I have no idea what any Fire Type Pokémon look like," Nell mused.

"Well, most Fire types are obviously fire. They tend to look like they’re on fire or actually are on fire,” explained the Tropius. “There’s Pokémon like Chimchar, Charizard, Pyroar, Magcargo, Rapidash, Talonflame-"

"Wait… hold up..." Nell held a contemplative expression. "Pyroar… that sounds familiar.

"I saw one of those once; a Trainer had it back in Hoenn," Banana Beard shuttered. "I am very thankful that my home was a very rainy one, otherwise I would’ve needed to exert actual effort."

"But what does it look like?"

"... Fine." Using his mouth, Banana Beard grabbed a stick and with it drew a very crude picture of a cat with a very long name of hair that looked like a red tube of hair.

Nell gasped. "I saw that one! In the jungle yesterday! You said they could use fire, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Then I need to find Litleo Litleo and get his pride to help us out!" Nell exclaimed as she rose from her seat. "Be back soon Dad."

Citel had to replay what his daughter was suggesting in his mind twice before he started to chase her. "Nell, what are you-?!"

"Dad, I need to find Litleo Litleo and his friends! If Banana Beard is right, they can breathe fire! And fire seems to be the only thing that can actually hurt these ants! And I know where these fire breathing lions are!"

"But aren’t the lions in the jungle?” Citel asked. “The same jungle where those ants are? What if they find you?”

"Dad, I feel like I can do something to help, something more than just sitting on my hooves,” Nell replied. “Nall and Nalel are doing what they can do to help and so can I.”

“They’re looking for a lizard in town, and you want to go back into the jungle which is filled with… more beasts than before thank to that… Arceus… thing!”

“Which is doing something!” Nell shouted in turn. “Dad, you love me, I know that, but the reason why I even wanted to go on my merchant trip was to have a chance to find myself! And while I was on that trip I found myself in danger. But when I got to town I found myself in more danger, only that time I helped fight back.

“Let’s face it, thanks to the arrival of the Pokémon, no matter where anyone goes anymore, there is going to be danger. Things are no longer what they used to be. I need to be the me that fights for what is important.”

“Nell, I…” Citel sighed. “... You’re right. But that doesn’t stop me from worrying. I refuse to let you go back into the jungle alone. If there are three Pokémon things inside the jungle as well….I would feel safer if someone went with you for protection.“

Both heads turned to face Banana Beard. “... Feed me and you got a deal.”

The Tropius walked slowly through the streets of Eintel, changelings and Pokémon moving out of the large creature’s way. Nell was on his back, a strange pendant on her neck, and was clinging on to him somewhat tightly. “Thanks for coming with me, Banana Beard.”

“Trust me, you better deliver on that that promise of food,” Banana Beard snarked. “I don’t do dangerous thing for just anyone you know.”

“If we manage to pull this off we could be heroes of the town,” Nell joked.

“The only problem is how we’re going to find them.” Nell mused. “I mean...the jungle is really thick. I was lost in there for several hours.”

“Hey, if we can find them in a safe way that would be excellent,” Nell mused.

“You mean, like… in the air?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think any of the birds would… well, help me.”

Banana Beard sighed as he ruffled his leaves. “... This had better be worth it…”

“Trust me, it will be.”

“Not that. The extra effort to do this.” With a sigh, the Tropius began to run, causing more citizens to get out of the way. “Hang on!”

“Uh...okay?”

Banana Beard surprised her when he leapt into the air.

He did not fall back down.

It took Nell a few minutes to realize that Banana Beard was, for some unexplainable reason, flying. Actually flying.

“Wait… you can fly?!” Nell shouted.

Banana Beard nodded as the two rose into the air. “Well yeah. I’m a Flying type. Flying types fly. It’s something we just do.”

“Really?” The sound of leaves flapping quick got Nell’s attention. “Honestly, on any other day, I would say that sounds… ridiculous, but an entire species of… uh, what’s the term? Aliens, right?”

“Yep.”

“Aliens just got moved here by their god, so I’m going to be a little open minded about the whole situation,” Nell concluded. “Okay, fly straight. We’ll try to find them from above and hope for the best.”

“You owe me!”

Nell lost track of time as she and Banana Beard flew above the jungle. She peered down into the jungle below, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything. The flying alien sighed as he asked (again) “Can we go home now?”

“No Banana Beard. We cannot go home.”

“... How ‘bout now?”

“No.”

“Can we at least stop doing stuff now?”

“Banana Beard, you can lounge about later. If I don’t find those fire lions, then we may not have a home to lounge at.”

Banana Beard said nothing for a moment, as if he was thinking about something. “... So how about now?”

Nell groaned. “Banana Beard, I have the very real chance to become homeless in a matter of hours and the only thing you can think of is taking a break?”

“You try flying for two hours straight,” rose the complaint. “We haven’t seen anything yet and it’s getting dark.”

“The moon is providing enough light. Trust me on this.”

This obviously did not convince Banana Beard. “My point is that I’m overworking for nothing. There is nothing to prove there even is a pride of Pyroar here.”

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to help.”

“And boy do I regret that.”

Nell groaned loudly again, frustration rising. “I don’t want to… hey, wait a minute...” Nell leaned over her ride, looking down.

“What?”

“I think I see something. Can you fly down closer to the trees?”

Banana Beard didn’t say a word as he did what Nell requested of him, descending towards the tree line. “So, what did ya find?”

“Scorch marks.”

After taking a closer look, Banana Beard did indeed see scorch marks decorating several pieces of the tree. The marks covered the trees in varying locations, ranging from the trunk to the highest reaches of the tree’s branches.

"Well, here is a good spot to start looking."

As a dense jungle in the dark heart of the Hoofrican Jungle, it tended to get really dark at night there. A level of darkness rarely matched by any other. Hornlight however, served to be a very useful way to alleviate the darkness. Nell peered over Banana Beard head, the Tropius lowering it so it wouldn't be in the trick of the branches above.

"You sure this is the right way?" he asked.

"Honestly? I hope so. Scorch marks aren't much to go by, even if we are following a trail of them."

Indeed, several of the trees they passed had a scorch mark on the bark of the tree, a veritable line of them pointing them to who knows where.

As the duo marched through the jungle, eyes peered from the depths of the jungle, watching the two walk through the unforgiving jungle.

“Ah, that feels good.”

Nell moaned, resting on the back of her ride. After another fifteen minutes or so, the complaining of Banana Beard, and the fact that the trail had gone cold convinced Nell to finally agree to taking a break. The duo sat beside a cliff face, about seven feet tall in a clearing of the jungle, the break in the canopy ceiling providing beautiful moonlight “You know, my sisters are really hyperactive. And you… are very… lazy.”

“Your point?”

“Well…” Nell put a hoof on her chin to contemplate for a moment. “They’re definitely not going to let you just sleep all day.”

“Hey, they seem like good people. I’m gonna stick with them.”

Nell then asked the Tropius. "...what was your old world like?"

"Honestly?" Banana Beard asked. "Not bad. I lived on route 120 in Hoenn."

"I have no idea where that is."

"Well the route was near a long river with waterfalls, kinda like a jungle but not as jungle-y. More like a forest."

At that Nell gripped the bridge of her muzzle with her hoof, quickly morphed into a hand to serve the purpose of gripping her muzzle. "... they're the same thing."

"You know what I mean. Less jungle-y trees, more forest-y trees," Banana Beard scoffed. "And tall grass that goes up to the chest. And it rained. All the time."

"I guess the weather teams there really like to make it rain," Nell sighed. "Not a lot of pegasi live her in the Empire so our weather is pretty random, so rain is...not always on time. Not like Equestria, which is why we don't get a lot ponies living here; they tend to not like random things happening.."

"... Weather teams?"

"You know, weather team," Nell replied. "Groups of Pegasi who move clouds and make it rain or snow or really windy and stuff like that."

"... Yeah, that's not a thing."

"Wait… you mean… back where you came from... no-one manages the weather?"

"Nope. Weather just does happens by itself. I mean, I can make it really hot with Sunny Day, but only where I am at the moment, and it takes a lot of work to crank up the sun's temperature." Banana Beard's reply just made Nell stare wide eyed.

"... That is weird," was the only thing Nell could say at such a statement. "I mean, there isn't a lot of ponies working the weather here, but everyone here, or in Equestria, or well anywhere knows how pegasi can work the weather. It's something that everyone knows about."

Banana Beard just gave a lazy huff. "... Right. Alien. Forgot about that. But it just seems so....weird that such a place with no weather management just...exists at all."

"Hey, don't expect me to help with that. I like just lounging around."

"....You really are lazy aren't you?" Nell sighed.

"I like my freedom," Banana Beard barked. "No-one bosses me around unless I wanna. No trainer for me, no way."

At that Nell scootched closer to the neck of the Tropius, whom just sighed as he started to explain. "I take it you know about Pokémon trainers? Humans who travel around the world and catch Pokémon for various reasons?"

"Kinda."

"Well a few years ago some hotshot found me and caught me. That really ruined my day. He didn't let me out of the pokeball for days, and when he did, I found out he was a Pokémon salesman. Someone who travels the world looking for Pokémon to sell to exotic regions. Turned out I was being sold to some chick in the Sinnoh Region. I didn't like that."

"So, first chance I got I said ‘screw it’ and flew away. It took me a few weeks to get back home, on the account of me… getting lost."

"So wait, these humans like X just… catch creatures against their will? Because they can?" Nell wasn't feeling so great about X, the image of a gangly, heinous creature with an equally gangly, heinous, and unbelievably long tongue whipping Naruto and Azisa with a fiery whip suddenly assaulted her mind. "But X seems so nice."

Ruffling wing-leaves somehow soothed the changeling mare. "Nah, don't let it get to ya. Not all of them are bad. The Pokémon that salesman caught? They were well taken care off, fed, watered, the whole deal. They actually kinda liked it there. Some never wanted to leave."

"So why did you?"

"I liked my home. I like it when it rains," Banana Beard sighed. "And....I wasn't sure if the trainer who bought me was gonna be a nice person or not a nice person, and I didn't want to find out."

"Yet you decided to stay with my sisters after you magically appeared in our backyard."

"Hey, I was planning on running away before Lord Arceus told us what was going on," barked the Tropius. "But I was too lazy to think of a plan before then."

"Liar."

"Eh, too lazy to argue with that."

"Banana Beard… I gotta ask… what's a Pokeball?"

Suddenly bursts of flame shot at the duo, Nell just barely leaping out of the way. Unfortunately for Banana Beard, the fire struck him, causing the Tropius to yell in pain. Nell quickly landed, bracing herself as several of the lions she recognize from yesterday leapt out of the jungle and into the clearing, quickly surrounding the two. The leader, the male with the impressive mane, stepped forward, and growled.

”This….isn’t going the way I thought it would.”

Many of the changelings gasped as they moved out of the way of the advancing group. A small seven-man team that consisted of six guards, and more importantly, the Emperor of the Changelings.

In silence they walked, until they reached Town Hall. Two guards standing there as still as statues noticed their leader and opened the building's doors, welcoming him and his men into the building.

Inside the building, several changelings buzzed to and fro, trying to maintain order. Groups of changelings conversed, plans forming before quickly being rejected in favor of another plan. Carapace eyed each and every one of them as he walked deeper into the building, before ending up at the office in the deepest depths of the Town Hall.

The mayor's office.

As a consequence of the chaos, the mayor had temporarily surrendered his power over Eintel to The Emperor and had granted Carapace the use of his office as Carapace’s personal HQ until a solution was reached. Opening the door, Carapace slowly entered, spying Silver Heart and Naruto. The Zoroark held a sour expression as Silver trotted to their leader. "Emperor, welcome back," Silver replied.

"And believe me I would rather be here on the front lines that back at the castle handling paperwork," Carapace moaned. "You'd think I would have at least built up a tolerance to it after a thousand years or so of doing the damn things. What's the situation here?"

"Well, the city is still intact. That's good, right?" Silver replied.

"Indeed. Any actual reports you like to give me?"

"Well, we managed to get the situation as a general whole under control."

"... A general whole?"

"Let’s be honest, your Highness… there are going to be conflicts between Pokémon and the changelings. We just don't have enough troops to keep watch of everything and keep to the town's normal schedule. We do need someone on the wall patrol."

"...Fair point," Carapace replied. "Naruto, what say you?"

"..."

"...Naruto?"

"What was that?" Naruto quickly spoke. Rizen sighed as Naruto shook his head. "... Sorry, had a bad evening."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Carapace offered. Naruto shook his head before replying.

"No, I think I'm good. This is between me and him."

"....Naruto..."

"Don't worry about me, I’ll be fine. A job is a job, and you don't stop until the job is done." Naruto then got up from his seat and approached his boss. "In any case… I have been thinking over the challenge we are going to partake in tomorrow. I honestly don't think we can win."

"Well that's reassuring." Silver spat out.

"What I mean to say is that the Durant specialize in swarm tactics," Naruto spat out in turn. "Even though they’ll have the same number of troops as us, they are going to systematically take out each one of our own troops one by one. And let’s be honest here, a fifteen on one fight is not going to be fair odds. For us, that is."

Carapace was about to respond, when his eyes lit up light a lightbulb of inspiration. “... I think I see where you're going with that.”

"I see that you are thinking about what I had in mind," Naruto grinned. "Let us hope they see it our way."

The door creaked open, revealing Rizen walking inside in a guarded manner. "Oh, Emperor, you're back."

"Yes I am," replied the Emperor. "You look a little… beat up. What happened?"

"Well you see, X-" Rizen began to explain, but stopped when he saw Naruto in this sour state "... the reason why I look beat up is that I fell down some stairs."

"Fair enough. Silver, mind taking me to our troops? I need to choose the roster so to speak."

Silver nodded as he and the Emperor left the room, closing the door behind Rizen and Naruto. "... I doubt you fell down some stairs, Rizen."

"What makes you say that Naruto?"

"Call it a hunch." Naruto yawned as he approached the door. "Not that I care anyway. Everything just seems to be catching up to me, and I need a rest because of that. See you in the morning."

"And to you as well." The door closed, leaving the soldier alone in the room. He sighed. "...I can't tell Naruto. Not yet. The X I saw was the X he knows. I am sure of it. But he won't believe me if I told him that. He needs to see it for himself. Maybe then his faith in X will be restored.”

The Pyroar surrounded the Tropius and the Changeling, growling as the two shivered in fear. The pride’s leader stepped forward, his star like mane practically glowing in the light of the moon. He narrowed his eyes as he took one final step towards Nell and Banana Beard. “Who are you who seek us?”

“I’m Nell… and this is Banana Beard,” she replied. “We came looking for you.”

“So you may hunt us?”

“So you can help us,” Nell replied. “See…”

“No more. We are wasting enough time. If you are not here to kill us then we must continue on.” He roared, turning his head to face his pride. “To me, my pride!”

The Pyroar and Litleo behind him however did not move. Many of them seemed tired, and several of the Pyroar bore scars and burn marks across their bodies. The Litleo were no better, but in comparison to the Pyroar their wounds were rather light. One female walked up to the pride’s leader, barely able to stand. “Pride leader, we cannot stand. Can you not see that?”

“I see that, but what choice do we have? If we do not keep moving then we will die to that thing when it finds us. Is that what you want? To see our children become a meal for something no Pokémon has ever seen before, something our fire cannot burn?”

“Well… no… but…”

“We move. Now.”

“Wonder what happened to them?” Banana Beard whispered to Nell.

“Let’s find out.” Nell then started to walk towards the Pyroar leader, who immediately noticed her. He growled, a warning that Nell immediately heeded, stopping just as she started to walk. “Uh...excuse me?”

“This does not concern you.”

“Well, it might. See… I live here,” Nell explained. “In fact, yesterday I helped a lion cub find his, or maybe her, pride and I was hoping that pride could help us."

"I knew it! It is you!" Before Nell could think twice, a Litleo rushed from the safety of his pride and jumped onto Nell's back, laughing as he did so. "You’re the one who saved me from the scary jungle when I was alone! I was hoping you would come back, and you did!"

"Litleo Litleo!" Nell smiled. "I missed you as well."

"So it is you. The one who returned our cub to us," the pride leader noted. "... Fine, I will trust you. For now. But this still does not concern you."

Nell took the opportunity to take a closer look at the approaching pride. Many of them looked like they were on their last legs, struggling to stand. As if they had fought a battle, and lost. "...What happened to you?"

The pride leader refused to speak again, choosing to check on his pride.

"I apologize for my mate. He takes his duty as our alpha and pride leader quite seriously." The female Pyroar answered in the pride leaders steed. "It has been a rather hectic time recently."

"Tell me about it. My home is trying to keep itself together because of you Pokémon." The Pyroar narrowed her eyes, seemingly in a threatening manner. Nell gulped before backpedaling. "I mean… well… we kinda didn't expect an entire species to just… appear out of thin air."

"Well when you put it that way, I cannot be offended then," Came the reply. Nell sighed a sigh of relief before hearing the rest of the Pyroar's words. "After you returned the cub on your back to us, all was right. We explored our new home in earnest, seeking its wonders....and it's dangers.

"As wild Pokémon we are no strangers to the trails of living in the wild. But what has been hunting us… we have never seen anything like it. It found us this afternoon, and quickly waged battle against us. It hunted us, seeking to eat us all, a fate we fought our hardest to avoid. Our fire could not pierce it's scales, and we had to retreat, and quickly. It had been hunting us ever since, never stopping for a moment."

"And that is why we must not stop either!" The pride leader shouted. "We cannot rest until we cannot be found by it!"

"You all look pretty tired." Nell noted the obvious statement, quickly receiving one of those disdainful looks from a few of the Pyroar and Litleo. "...hey I got an idea. See...the short story is that my home needs Pokémon who can breathe fire to help protect it from some nasty ant Pokémon who kinda want to steal my home from us. And well...I was hoping you could help us."

"...You speak of Durant."

"I guess I do." Nell tried to smile, but it didn't calm the Pyroar down. "....are Durant really that bad?"

"Well they aren't nice, that’s for sure," she answered.

"Well, you think you can come with me? I mean… my kind, the Changelings, well, we have a city not to far from here. And it's walled. You'll be safe there. Uh… relatively safe, I think."

"I will try and convince the pack leader to agree to that."

"Thanks." Nell then put a hoof to her chin, an act she found herself doing far more often than before, and thought. "So… what was hunting you… um… what's your name?"

"I do not have one," she answered. "For most Pokémon personal names are not needed. We are able to identify another by sight and smell."

"Well, do you mind if I name you?"

"I do not."

A few seconds of thinking passed, and Nell's hoof morphed into a claw, snapping it before shifting it back. "I got it. Do you mind if I call you Pyre? It kinda sound like Pyroar."

"Pyre… I like that," The now christen Pyre relied.

"So… about that creature."

Pyre looked dour as she recalled what she could. "I… do not know exactly what it is. It stayed mostly in the trees, shooting bolts of Thunder at us. And when it did emerge… it was… indescribable. And it seemed to be unbeatable. We shot our flames at it, unleashed our Hyper Voices, but it shrugged our attacks of like it was nothing. Like it resisted our attacks due to it's type. But..it did not look like it was a Rock."

"Anything else?"

"it had wings, twice as wide as itself, and it… had three heads. "

Banana Beard decided to but in, his head dangling over Nell and Pyre. "Eh, I never did like Dodrio in the first place"

"You think a Dodrio did this Tropius?" Pyre barked. "Dodrio cannot shoot lightning bolts out their mouths!"

"Uh, Hi. I'm not sure if you noticed, but of all of us here, I'm the only one who didn't come from an alien planet," deadpanned Nell. "What's a Dodrio?"

"It's a three headed Normal-Flying type Pokémon," Pyre explained. "But the creature hunting us was not a Dodrio. The reason why is that Dodrio lack wings, and cannot use Thunder or any form of it. The creature hunting us had both Thunder and wings."

At that, Nell began to wonder aloud. "That almost sounds like..." she stopped, eyes widening as the only logical solution to this conundrum surfaced in her mind. "... No way. It can't be!"

"'What it is?" Banana Beard asked.

Oblivious to Banana Beard, Nell continued to muse. "...No way. It can’t be. Dad said they lived deep in the jungle. There is no way they would live anywhere near here."

"You know what hunts us?" Pyre asked, urgency in her tone. "Speak. Now!"

"Pyre… I need to ask… did that creature look like a bunch of other animals smushed together into one body? Like someling mixed and matched them?"

It seemed like an eternity before Pyre answered. "I believe so, speaking from a foreigner's point of view."

One could practically hear Nell gulping. Her wings started to flutter at an alarming pace, rising into the air "We need to go. Now. Before it finds us. "

The cracking of thunder echoed, and a bolt of lighting soon shot from the trees. Before anyone could react, the bolt struck into Nell, her scream echoing in the night. She fell to the ground with a heavy thud, struggling to get up. All heads turned to the source of the attack, not eager to fight knowing their limits had been reached.

"Nell, speak to me!" Banana Beard shouted as he tried to pick her up with a wing leaf. "You okay!?"

"... Think… so."

The Pride Leader had other concerns. “YOU FOOLS! WE LET IT FIND US!” the pack leader shouted. "I WARNED YOU ABOUT RESTING, ABOUT HOW IT WOULD DOOM US! YOU DID NOT LISTEN TO ME!"

Nell struggled to hold on to Banana Beard's leaf, but it was in vain as she slipped off of it, landing on the ground again. The force of the many impacts that had occurred in the past minute were continuously felt, the pain rebounding within her small body endlessly. When everything stopped being blurry, she saw the attacker.

Fear was a well-justified response.

Chapter 14 - Brave Bird

Chapter 14
Brave Bird

Day 2

“DId you find anything yet Nalel?”

“Nall, I was with you the entire time. Did you find him?”

“Nooooooooo.”

“Then neither did I.”

The changeling duo of Nall and Nalel sighed. They sat on one of the rope bridges littering the treescape of Eintel, the light of the Moon and stars illuminating their perch. Nall took the opportunity to groan loudly. “Ugh, we looked for hours. How hard is it to find an alien rock-dinosaur-lizard thingy?”

“Apparently really hard.”

Silence.

“The tree and the fox are going to kill us, aren’t they?”

“They won’t do that. They sound too nice to do that.”

“She is correct in assuming that I wouldn’t go that far.” To the horror and surprise of the changelings, a tree walked out of one of the nearby trees, eliciting a scream from Nalel. The tree put a hand on her gently to reassure her. “Fear not. I am friend, not foe.”

“Tell that to my heart.” Nalel moaned. “It’s going 'bumbumbumbumbumbum' like a drum.”

The Grass-Ghost type looked equal parts insulted and dejected. “Sorry… sneaking up on others is something we Ghost types tend to do. I tend to forget that I am not… entirely alive, and thus I tend to forget that others have what I lack.”

“Wait wait wait… you’re dead!?” Nall gasped.

“I will neither confirm nor deny that,” huffed the tree.

“So you’re dead.”

“Just because I’m a Ghost type does not automatically mean I am an actual ghost.” The sisters just gave Azisa a look that told the tree that her statement was one the girls didn’t seem to believe. “Okay, so being a Ghost type makes me a Ghost but that doesn't technically mean I am dead.”

“Well, are you?”

“Asking a lady if she’s dead is like asking her for her age. It’s rude.”

“Okay, okay… pushy,” huffed Nalel. “Honestly, and some ponies think we changelings are weird. Compared to some of the pokemon we’ve seen, we look like normal ponies.”

“Well your kind is weird,” Asima replied. Nalal gasped, dramatically for added awkwardness while Nall faked swooning in surprised. “I did not mean it that way.”

“I’m pretty sure you meant it that way.”

“What i meant is that my fellow Pokémon and I are simply not used to your kind. To us, your kind is just was weird as we are to you. Is that inherently a bad thing, to be weird simply because we are different?”

The girls shook their heads. “I guess you’re right… but…”

“You have something more important on your mind.”

“... We’re just worried about Apocalypse,” the duo replied in unison. Azisa gazed at their forlorn expressions, the intended emotion quite clear to see.

“I worry for Apocalypse as well. He is, in a manner of speaking, my son.”

Nall was the first to react. “Awww… hey, wait a minute. You… gave birth to a rock lizard?”

“Well technically he’s a Rock Dragon, and no I didn’t give birth to him,” Azisa explained. “I hatched him.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” the changelings asked as one.

“The same thing? Well yes, and no. I mean just because you hatch a Pokémon egg does not automa… wait… I just remembered that we’re aliens and you know nothing about Pokémon genetics.” Azisa gently laughed at her own mistake, the idea now funny to her. “Well, to put it simply friend all pokemon belong to one or two categories called Egg Groups. And if two pokemon of the same Egg Group, uh… do it… then they can have children.”

“So when you say “it’ you mean…”

“Yes, that,” Azisa forcefully replied. Nall shutted. Forcefully.

“That explains why there seems to be so many different kinds of Pokémon.” Nalal looked down, spying a large variety of the creatures. “It must be easy to mix and match Pokemon and get a ton of half breeds.”

Azisa blinked, drawing on all of her love of sci-fi to get an answer. “Half-breeds? Oh, that’s hypothetical and impossible. You either are part of an evolutionary family or not.”

“Wait, what?”

“Well you see, when it comes to Pokémon the species of the child will belong to the evolutionary family of the female. However in some very rare cases, like in the case of a species being male only, there is a small chance for the child to come from his species instead.

“So… about Apocalypse being your son…” Nall scootched towards the Ghost Tree, smiling. “... he looks a lot like you.”

“You are adorable.” Nall grinned wider as Azisa continued. “Well you see, for reasons I wish to keep to myself, my trainer and family got into an altercation, and after the situation was cleared up we were given an egg as an apology. Apocalypse's egg. So X and I watched over the egg and hatched him. Ever since then he’s been like a son to me, even if he doesn't act like it. But….”

Nall grimaced as Nalel spoke for her.“Oh no… let me guess, drama?”

“You could say that. Ever since Apocalypse was hatched… Inti has never cared for him. I never knew why, she wouldn’t tell me. But since he’s been missing, I worry for him. He is but a child. And he lets words wound him in a way that is… to put it accurately, childish.”

“Yea, there was a bully back in our school when we were young, picked on us because he could,” Nalal reminisced. “It wasn’t fun.”

“For Apocalypse Inti teases him relentlessly.“ Asia bemoaned. “To be honest Inti is equal opportunity. She picks on everyone, speaks to them roughly, and in general has no qualms about speaking her mind about anyone and anything. But when it comes to Apocalypse, she frequently targets him. And as I said, she won’t tell me or anyone else about it. And I fear that she has gone to far.”

“Apocalypse will be fine. Trust me. Apocalypse doesn’t need her if she can’t be nice to him.“ Nall put a hoof on Azisa's shoulder area, but as Azisa had no shoulder her hoof slipped through the cracks of her body where the ghostly substance that connected the limbs and body together. She shuddered, the feeling quite odd and alien. “Wow, that felt creepy.”

“Forgive me for being doubtful,” Asiza sighed. “It’s just that our situation mirrors that of my favorite television show.”

“Television?”

“Think of it as a tiny box that would show moving pictures,” Azisa explained.

“Oh, you mean movies?” asked the girls in unison. Azisa nodded, looking confused.

“They are like that, but it’s on the television.”

“Not sure if we have television but I know we have movies.”

“Well moving on, Apocalypse and I enjoyed watching shows of the science-fiction genre. Stories about travel in space, travel through time to both past and future, and alternate dimensions. The last of which is no longer fiction,” the tree laughed a little, and continued. “My point is that anyone who awakens to a place they do not know will long for home. And for a child like Apocalypse, whom is barely over a year old, I hope that when he realizes that we may never go home again it does not break him.”

“We’ll find him and make him feel better. That’s what friends do, right?” Nall smiled.

“Thank you.”

“So… if I was Apocalypse, where would I hide?” Nall mused.

“Well if I was Apocalypse, I would definitely try hiding in a place no-one would look. I would try near water.”

“Why water?” asked the changelings.

“Well, seeing how Apocalypse is primarily a Rock type Pokémon, water is something Apocalypse doesn't enjoy, even though his Dragon Typing removes that weakness.” Asiza then shuttered, repressing something in her mind. “... bath time is not a fun time.”

“Apocalypse is a dragon? He doesn't look like one.”

“He is. Trust me.”

“Okay then, moving on. Let’s go look again!” Nall shouted to the heavens. “First we look by the public pool. Then the water reserves! Then the public pool again, and then at home, and no matter what we will not stop looking until we find the one true Apocal…”

“QUITE DOWN! SOME OF US ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING!”

“Sorry about that, mister guard!”

“MY NAME IS SILVER HEART!”

“... This happens often with you, doesn't it?” Azisa asked. Nalal just grinned.

Nell was, to put it gently, freaking out. The creature that strode out of the dark abyss of the jungle was a Chimera, the monster a fusion of three separate monsters combined into one unholy beast. It had three heads on its heavily muscled and striped body; a goat’s head on the left with a gray-scaled dragon’s head on the right and a tiger’s head in the middle. Its scaley forelegs and tiger-like hind legs ended in oddly-sharp cloven feet and a tiger’s tail. To add more horror for Nell to behold, the creature bore wings. And all three heads looked hungry.

“Well brothers, it seems to me that our little hunt as bore fruit of the insectoid kind,” the goat spoke, his voice a low rumble that oozed with evil intent.

“About time too. I want a taste of these lions! They look pre-cooked and tasty!” the dragon roared. His voice was a rumble like the goat’s, but of a higher pitch that was still threatening.

“Hey, let’s kill them first. Then we can gloat,” The tiger moaned.

“Spoilsport.” The dragon opened his mouth wide, the aura of electricity glowing inside his maw. Glowing, and growing.

“Scatter my pride!”

The lions did so, just as the dragon head roared, sending a bolt of lightning to race just above the surface, striking into the cliff the group was cornered by.

"Oh, decided to fight again, have you?" the goat bleated. He laughed, cocky and sure of his success. "Remember what happened last time?"

"Flamethrower!" Streams of fire shot out of several of the Pyroar's mouths, striking the Chimera. To Nell's surprise, the Chimera was unhurt; the burn marks that the attacks left behind faded just as quickly as they were created.

"Looks like they didn't!” the tiger laughed. He then noticed Banana Beard, the Tropius struggling to get out of there. He never got the chance, as the chimera leapt towards him and slammed him into the rocky wall behind him. Banana Beard moaned as he slid down once he was released from the chimeras grip. The fight within him was obvious stamped out in that single blow.

"Paws off you... you!" Ice beams shot from Nell’s horn, peppering the chimera with the icy strikes. Like the fire, they seemed to be no good, and elicited a haughty annoying laugh from the beast.

"Think we'll save you for last, little changeling," the goat taunted. The tiger and dragon laughed as they charged ahead, slapping away charging Pyroar with powerful paw strikes.

Then just as quickly as it started, it ended. The Pyroar lay on the ground defeated, Pyre and the Pride Leader struggling the most to get up as the Chimera stood above the defeated Pokémon.

All three mouths grinned akin to that of a monster from the pits of Tartarus. "So brothers, let us see how lion tastes."

"Finally! I was wondering when we were gonna eat!" the dragon bellowed. He raised his head, higher than his brothers, grinning as his mouth drooled with anticipation. "Dibs on the first bite."

"NO FIRST ANYTHING FOR YOU!" A sudden weight slammed into the beast, stunning it for just a moment. That moment was all that was needed, giving Pyre and the Pride Leader just enough time to retreat to their pride mates. The Chimera turned and faced Nell, whom had shifted form. She now was in the shape of a Pyroar, her mane yellow rather than fiery red and her fur a light charcoal.

"You changelings don't know when to give up, do you?" the dragon roared. "And I thought I was the stupid one."

"Less talk, more fight." Nell charged ahead, gripping the ground with her paws as she ran. The Chimera simply lunged and shot a cloven foot at Nell. She lept to the side, just barely dodging the hoof. To her surprise, the hoof was sharp, almost as sharp as a dragon's talon.

Nell grimaced. The pain was unbearable, yet despite that Nell stood up valiantly as the Chimera readied another strike. The Chimera roared, but before a blow could be struck, three Pyroar slammed into it, knocking it just a little off balance. “Not gonna let you win,” she groaned before firing another ice spell at the Chimera.

The Chimera spread its wings, using them as a shield to cover and protect itself, before swatting away another Pyroar. On and on the battle raged, the Litleo cubs hiding the best they could in the foliage, too fearful to run lest they be separated from the evolved Pokémon. They watched in fear as the monster started to fly just a little off the ground, it’s wings spread and filling most of the clearing with it’s incredible wingspan.

With powerful strokes of the wings called forth powerful gusts of wind, several of the Pyroar struggling to keep their footing, Nell among them. She screamed, being lighter than the Pyroar she was pushed back farther than the lions.

Then he flew towards several of his targets, grasping one in each mouth. Quickly spinning around, it threw them into the cliff face, knocking them, and the wind within them, out. Over and over the chimera lunged, picking up Pyroar and throwing them away, the Pokémon crumbled on the ground, struggling to resist.

With the distractions out of the way, the Chimera focused once more on Nell. In fear, she shifted back to her true form, the chimera approaching the wounded changeling licking all three of it’s lips. “You will make a tasty meal.” the goat spoke.

“I am not going to die. I have too much to lose.”

The three heads slowly opened their mouths, their fangs sharp, eager to tear into Nell.

And they lunged.

”GET YOUR CLAWS OFF OF HER, YOU THREE-HEADED BITCH!”

Like a meteor falling from space, the Chimera felt the impact of a falling creature slam into it, pinning it down. Nell ran for it, hoping the creature that saved her would distract her long enough to run. She leapt into the air and flew aboard Banana Beard, several of the smaller Litleo climbing onto the flying Pokémon as the Pyroar stood their ground.

As their transport flew higher and higher, Nell gasped as she noticed whom saved her.

“X!?”

The Chimera roared, all three cries merging into one as it was able to buck of X with a surge of strength. The hero of the moment was effortlessly launched off the creature, rolling with surprising ease considering the spikes on his cloak. As soon as he stopped, X quickly rose and steeled himself as he stared as his foe. "Who is this guy!?" The dragon demanded.

"I'm the guy who's gonna make you wish you never saw me or my kind!" X shouted. "One chance: you either back down, or get put down, because nobody but nobody hurts my family!"

"Brothers, I believe the bipedal armadillo is threatening us." The goat sneered.

"You think? Sounded like the same word repeated over and over again to me."

"Uh oh… looks like whatever move that was just wore off. They can't understand me."

"I don't care what he's saying. He interrupted our dinner. Now he's going to become dinner," the Goat bleated. "Let him have it, Draze!"

Draze (which was apparently the dragon head) roared in agreement as the lighting in his maw quickly charged before losing it against X. With little time to react X raised his arm, the upper part of it receiving the brunt of the lighting bolt. The force pushed the Chesnaught back, but X was undaunted as he stood his ground, resisting as much as he could.

The lightning strike ended with three very confused heads. "Uh, Gorz...why is that thing uh...not dead?"

Before Gorz (most likely the goat head) could answer, X began his charge towards the creature, slamming both fists into the goat and dragon heads. "Grass resists Electricity! Sucks for you, doesn't it?!"

The tiger paid him no mind as he lunged at X as best he could, gnashing at him with his fangs. X leaned back as much as he could to avoid getting bit, but the chimera spread his wings and started to flap, flying closer to X.

X screamed as the tiger bit into X's unprotected shoulder, the human turned Pokémon screaming as he felt the fang plunge into his flesh. The tiger then pulled his head back, but it was not to relive X of the assault. The front legs of the creatures then slashed across X's face, the cloven feet of the chimera were surprisingly now sharp, as if it was a claw in cloven form.

"Myeyh! Tyke tat yu movergrnw steak!" the muffled Draze taunted. The tiger paid his brother no mind, and continued to lunge again and again, each bite eliciting a scream from the Chesnaught. With a echoing roar, the tiger lunged again.

X screamed again, the surge of adrenaline commanding his arms to pull back, pulling the twin heads gripped in his hands (and the body they were attached to) even closer to him. Before the fangs of the middle head could plunge into him again, X slammed his head into the tiger’s, dazing it.

With a roar X slammed the other two heads into the tiger’s, releasing them from his grip as he leapt backwards. The creature stumbled back, dazed from the attack.

"Oh...this is gonna be tough," the tiger moaned. "I'm seeing stars..."

"All I see is a free meal, Tize" Draze moaned.

"Oh, stop thinking with our stomach Draze and shoot again!"

Meanwhile, in the air.

The Litleo started to cheer as their pride joined X in battle, Nell looking on as she saw the heroes fight against the Chimera.

The Chimera roared as he ignored the Pyroar and charged for the biggest threat: X. This time X was ready for them, parrying the attack and keeping the jaws that bite and claws that catch away from him. A occasional punch was thrown to destabilize the beast as the Pyroar shoot gouts of flame to damage it, though the beast had already proven itself to be fireproof.

Some damage was better than no damage in this case.

"Banana Beard, we gotta lend a hand!" Nell shouted. She fluttered on top of the tropius's head, her horn glowing with her icy energy. "Don't you have anything you can do to help!"

"You owe me!" The Tropius began to flutter his leaves. Walls of air began to form in front of each leaf, the swirling wind somehow gaining a sharp edge. "Air Cutter!"

A Beam of ice from Nell's horn shout out at the same time as one by one the balls of air shot forward, morphing into blades of sharp wind. The strikes hit their mark perfectly, the Chimera roaring in pain from frost and wind.

"And now they have air support!" Tize growled, he and his brothers barreling past a duo of Pyroar who tried to foolishly tackle it to no avail.

"Let me at him! I can hit them from here!"

"Good idea Draze, but here's a better one!" Gorz then bleated, rather loudly, the sound akin to rusty nails on a chalkboard. The attacking Pokémon screamed as the horrid sound invaded their eardrums. X gripped his head in pain as he fell to the ground, trying to not think about the horrid bleating. The Pyroar did the same, paws covering their more sensitive ears.

To X's horror the Chimera spread its wings as it turned around, climbing up the small cliff wall behind them. Then just after it breached the top, it leapt into the sky with wings extending and flapping, sending it towards Banana Beard.

X's eyes widened as he watched the chimera's movements.

A vision of gnashing fangs tearing into Nell and the Pokémon replaced reality for but a moment.

"NO!"

The Chimera came out of nowhere. Before Banana Beard or Nell could see the chimera take into the air, they were greeted with a cloven talon slicing across Banana Beard's face. He recoiled in pain, flying backwards to open space for him to maneuver.

Space the Chimera was dead set on not letting Banana Beard have. Over and over the Chimera charged, its front limbs slashing and slashing again and again, striking at the Tropius before it could fly to safety.

Another well placed slash drove Banana Beard down towards the tree line, the Tropius recovering enough to just avoid crashing into the trees. He flapped again, gaining altitude.

He barely registered the roar of the dragon.

Or its screaming lightning.

The lightning struck into Banana Beard's chest, the lazy Tropius screaming as he spasmed in pain. Nell and the Litleo cubs held on for dear life, screaming from the residual current that they were feeling from the strike, and hoped that they would remain in the air.

However, the end of the lightning was not a reprieve as they had hoped, only an opening act for the Chimera to ram into Bana Beard. The force of the impact was great and terrible, launching three Litleo and Nell off of their ride.

It came to no one's surprise that the four fallers screamed for dear life.

Seeing the falling changeling and Pokémon served to be a great motivator for X to do what he did best: Plan.

It didn't take him long to think of the plan he so desperately needed. He gripped the seven foot wall he was behind and started to climb up it.

He had the plan he needed in his mind was as clear as crystal. Now, getting that plan to work was something entirely different.

Transforming shared many similarities with magic. One of the similarities was the focus on concentrating on what the caster, or in the case of transformation the changeling, wanted to happen. if one was unable to clear their head then they had a better chance throwing a javelin from the Empire all the way to Canterlot.

Nell quickly came to the conclusion that falling towards the ground at ever increasing speeds was going to be a very pain filed, and possibly lethal, experience she personally did not want the joy of experiencing. She fluttered her wings, panic filling her as she plummeted towards the ground.

As expected she was slowing down, righting herself in the process. However, the Litleo were not so lucky, as they lacked wings.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Fluttering as fast as she could, she raced towards the cubs, reaching her hooves out for them to grasp. Two of the cubs, screaming as they fell, grabbed the hooves of the pride's new friend.

The third was not so lucky, as he had no hoof to grab.

Nell suddenly felt the weight of what was going to happen as they got closer and closer to the ground. This Litleo was going to die.

And it was all her fault.

'NOOO!"

The little Litleo was scared.

Obviously now was a good time to be scared. His pride were taken from their homes in Kalos, and brought to this world by Lord Arceus, the most important Pokémon of all time his mother told him. Yet they were barely here for three days and soon he would go to the afterlife, separated from his pride and family until it was their turn to join him there. And all because a strange monster wanted to eat him.

It wasn't fair.

He closed his eyes, a scream echoing in the air (probably his pride) not wanting to see the ground he was going to go splat on.

Seconds passed and he felt the splat, the Litleo now spread across the jungle floor.

”... The afterlife feels fluffy,” Litleo thought to himself. ”It feels glorious though!"

"Hey kid, you okay?"

Litleo opened his eyes, looking up into the night sky, the faces of his pride around him with concerning looks.

"Uh… what happened?"

A few seconds beforehand

X stood up on the top of the seven foot wall, the ground sloping downwards as any hill would. With a gasp, he observed the blow of the chimera that launched Nell and the three Litleo off of their flying friend.

Fortunately, the fallers were pretty close to him. Unfortunately they were not that close, so if he wanted to catch one, he had to jump for it.

Taking a few steps back, X did some quick planning in his head. Then, he charged, and leapt into the air just as the Litleo Nell could not save was above him. He screamed as he lunged, arms outstretched towards the lion. He crashed into the Litleo, his arms now clamping around him as tightly as he could. The world flipped around as X flipped in the air, landing with a thud on his back.

The pride, whom watched the heroic act quickly swarmed X. He looked down, seeing the Litleo instinctively cuddle his furry chest.

"Hey kid, you okay?"

Now

Nell’s horn glowed, the pendant she wore glowing as well as she heaved a sigh of relief as she carefully got closer to the ground to release her passengers. Once she did, the two Litleo ran behind the Pyroar, fearful for their safety. "Thank you, mighty Chesnaught. We are in your debt."

"Save it. That thing is still here, so thanks aren't in order yet!" X bellowed. "Hang on. I got an idea." He screamed as he plunged his hand into the rock, punching straight through it. He clinched his teeth, pain jolting through his arm.

Chesnaught were powerful, no doubt about it. However, no amount of power can negate the pain of punching your hand into solid rock.

With another yell X screamed as he pulled his arm out of the wall only to strike again over and over. Rubble begun to loosen, falling as rocks of varying sizes. With a judo chop X slammed his bloody fist into the rock, splitting it into several shards. He lifted one, holding it like a spear as he pulled his arm back, closing one eye and holding his over arm out, a single claw held up like a thumbs up.

He pointed it at the clashing Chimera and Banana Beard, whom was flying lower and lower to the tree line without breaching it, the Litleo onboard still clinging for life by some miracle. "Hey Nell."

"Yea X?"

"Did you know that Chesnaught are strong enough to flip a tank on their own?

"...What's a tank, and why is it relevant?"

X then screamed, pushing his arm forward and flinging the rock into the air, flying towards the Chimera. "Rocks weigh a lot less than a tank."

Banana Beard was now regretting several life decisions.

Mainly the one where he spent more time lounging around rather than training. Because right now, that training would have been incredibly helpful. The Chimera roared as it slashed at Banana Beard yet again the blow hitting again. He descended from the force of the impact, stopping just as he brushed his feet across the top of the trees.

Tize grinned as he bore he and his brothers spread their wings, terrifying the strange creature and the little cubs. "Looks like the hunt is over!"

"About time! I'm starving!"

"Then let us end this brothers!" bleated Gorz, Draze readying another lighting breath attack.

So much for lazy days.

Suddenly a rock soared just past the heads of the chimera, Draze ending the attack' charging period as he and Tize looked at Gorz. "Don't look at me." He bleated.

A second rock soared into the sky. This time the mark was hit, Draze screaming in pain as the chimera clumsily turned to face the rock thrower. Down below was the strange armadillo thing, a pile of spear-shaped rocks by his feet. He had a third in his hands, and screamed as he threw it.

"Dodge!" Tize shouted. Taking control, Tize commanded the body he shared with his brothers to beat its wings, flying back to avoid the rock. A familiar light formed in Draze's mouth as the creature changed its priorities.

Banana Beard felt it was a good time to change his as well. He quickly started to fly down towards the ground where it was safe.

"NOW DRAZE!"

Draze obeyed, shooting the bolt of lighting at the foe. X in turn lifted his rock above his head, and screamed as he hurled it into the bolt. The rock and bolt of lightning collided, bursting into a shower of pebbles raining from the sky.

Before the Chimera could react, a fourth rock shot through the air. To the Chimera’s horror, the rock pierced their left wing, tearing through the leathery membrane as if it were tissue paper.

The creature’s three heads screamed in horrid pain as it started to fall. The damaged limbs flapped its vain, desperate to stay airborne; but such a task was doomed to failure. The beast’s screaming continued as it tried to right itself, and started to gide away, the act a very sloppy one thanks to the giant hole in its wing.

The creature then vanished into the trees, unseen by all.

Moment passed, and silence rang. Suddenly, Litleo Litleo roared. Another Litleo joined him, followed by a Pyroar, and soon all the Litleo and Pyroar roared into the sky in celebration of their victory and survival. Pretty quickly Nell and Banana Beard joined in with cheers of their own.

"We're not done yet!" X called out. The shout ended the joyous celebration quickly, earning him several glared of disapproval. "That thing isn't done yet! It's gonna come back and finish the job it started!"

"But..you beat it." Nell replied. "You threw a rock at it and it fell out of the sky."

"No, I threw a rock though it's wing." came the cold reply. "I didn't stop it from fighting, I just stopped it from flying. He will come back."

The Pride Leader could not be any angrier. "Then we will fight on until we defeat it once and for all!"

"No. Get your pride out of here! I can handle this!" X shouted.

"You expect to handle a foe we could not?"

"You bet. You guys look beat up. Any longer and you're not gonna make it to see tomorrow. I can handle this on my own, buy you time to get out of here and into the city."

"Wait what?" Nell shouted. "You want to what the what?"

"Trust me! Now go!" WIth a shout, X started to punch the cliff that he had climbed but a few minutes before. As he struck at it the wall soon gifted him with rocks of various sizes and shapes.

The Pyroar and Litleo then fled into the jungled one by one until all but their alpha remainded. Before following his pride, he turned to face the hero and the changeling before in a low tone speaking, "Our faith in you had better not be misplaced."

X said nothing as he punched the wall one last time, debris created from the powerful punch he threw. He left dug around his rock pile as he spoke to Nell, magic form her horn glowing as she reapplied the spell.. "Nell, I need you to go with them, and keep them moving away from the fight."

"Wait, you want to fight a Chimera alone?"

"Yes."

"X, that's suicide! If that Chimera is capable of beating a bunch of fire-breathing lions, then what makes you think you can do much better?"

"Nothing, but if those Pokémon can make it to safety then I don't care how badly it hurts me."

"I don't believe this," Nell moaned. "You're okay with being the bait? I'm not leaving you alone, no way."

"Nell, this is not for discussion."

"I am not moving from this spot! You are my friend and that is why I am not leaving you at the mercy of a chimera!"

"And I'm your friend, and that is why I am demanding that you run!"

"I didn't run when you needed help back at the city, so what the Tartarus makes you think I'm going to do it again?"

X hefted a rock, momentarily stunned by Nell's words. "Look X... I can't claim to know what's going on in that thick head of yours, but I want to believe you're a nice guy. The kind of guy who will do anything for anyone for nothing because that's who you want to be. But when Naruto and you talked you and him butted heads over whether or not you should send him and the rest of your Pokémon friends into battle tomorrow."

X growled, the kind of growl that was a herald of rage on the horizon. "You overheard my conversation with Naruto didn't you?"

"I didn't plan to, it just… happened." Nell admitted. "But you made it sound like you're afraid of fighting. That you don't like or even want to fight. I get that.”

"No! No you dont!" X bellowed. "You have no idea what it's like to be the son of the famous Silas and Morgan Arrow, master Pokémon trainers of Kalos. As soon as I was born everyone, and I mean everyone expected me to be just another Arrow! As soon as people hear me tell them I'm a construction worker and not a Pokémon trainer, they say 'yeah right, stop joking' or ‘Uh no you're not, you're a Pokémon trainer' or 'but you're an Arrow and Arrows are always Pokémon trainers' or even 'but what you really meant to say was I'm a Pokémon trainer, not a construction worker, right?' Every damn time!

"The worst of it was that when I tried to enroll at the school I learned the construction trade. You know what the admissions person at the construction school said to mel? He said 'I'm sorry, April Fool's Day is in a few months.' When I told him that I wasn't joking he flat out refused to accept me as a student because I was an Arrow, and Arrows don't do construction! He acted like he knew the best course for my life and he was a freaking stranger! I had to go the principal to get in and even then it was difficult!

"And even after all that, no one would listen! Everyone tries to battle me when they hear of my family's legacy! And I have to battle them just to get them to go away. And every time, every battle, I am afraid that I will lose myself. I am afraid that the next battle will break me and turns me into just another Arrow who's just a part of the Arrow Family; a nameless, faceless cog in a legacy that I was born into.

"I am afraid... that with every fight I will be less like me... and more like my parents. It... terrifies me. I... don't hate my family, I can never hate them. But I want to be me. Not them."

Nell sat on her haunches, understanding what X truly felt. "So... you either let the fear of dying to the Durant take over, or you let the fear of losing yourself to your family legacy kill who you are on the inside."

"Pretty much," X sighed.

"So why do you keep rushing in to save those who need it?"

"Because I didn't want them to get hurt because of something beyond their control," X replied.

"But that's not going to change your mind is it?" Nell asked. "You’re still going to forbid Naruto and the other from fighting?"

"Those Durant are on par with the Chimera. I can feel it in my bones. If my family fights, they are going to hurt, and they aren't going to shrug it off like any other fight. I am not letting the people I care about get hurt. Not if I can help it."

"I can't claim to understand what you’re going through, but this... 'oh woe is me' thing has gotta stop. Tomorrow your best friends are going to try and help my people keep their homes. You want to know why? Because it's something you would do! And they are going out there because of that fact! But they are going out there without you, and that makes me sad because they need you just as much as you need them! The five of you are a core so strong nothing can break it because you help everyone become better people! You make them feel complete like they make you feel complete! So, are you going to cower here and hope things get better, or are you going to runs out there with your family and make it better!?"

"I want to make it better but not like this! I don't want to become a monster."

"X, let me ask you a question: How many times have you fought?"

"Well, myself? Not a lot," X responded, thinking hard. "But I have commanded my Pokémon to fight. Thats pretty much the same thing. Just because I'm not the one fighting doesn't mean I'm not fighting if someone else is doing it for me."

"And when you do fight, is it for yourself, or for someone else?"

"Well for someone else. Almost every Pokémon battle I sent one of my Pokémon in is to either protect them or because they wanted to."

"And let’s not forget yesterday," Nell smiled, recollecting on the events that had transpired. "You pretty much ran into the thick of it to save someling else. Those guards that did the heavy fighting, that foal that you rushed in to protect. Heck, you even tried to protect me from Azisa when she thought that you were someone else. I even heard that you tried to save someone from a... Volcarona right?"

X groaned. Loudly. "The less said about the Incident, the better. Is there a point?"

"My point is that every time you did fight, you never lost sight of who you were. Who you are. You are X, the bravest, most heroic hero I have ever met. You can fight all you want. You can even stop being a construction worker and be a professional fighter. But that doesn't mean you are your family . Take a look at me. I wanted to have the same job my dad has, so does that automatically make me a copy of my dad?"

"Uh… no, I guess?"

"And that is the point I’m making. No matter how much you change on the outside, you can only change on the inside if you want to. And even then, you are mix of what you are, and who you are."

X looked at his hands, covered in scratches and small amounts of emerging blood. Past decisions raced in his mind, the paths he took and did not take merging into a revelation that defined himself from that point on.

"... My god… I'm an asshole," X spoke. "I can't believe I was willing to let a bunch of innocent people lose everything because I thought I was seeing a lie when I seeing the truth. No matter what happens, I am not going to like fighting. But… the weight of everything… just crashing down at once… It… well... "

"Sucks?" Both Chesnaught and Nell turned to face Banana Beard, the lazy Tropius not leaving his spot. "Don't worry, I'm here for you. I can work up a sweat. Maybe."

"Banana Beard, if you become a Chimera's meal, my sisters will kill me if the Chimera somehow doesn't," Nell joked. "Go with the lions. Trust me."

"I may be lazy but I'm not stupid," Banana Beard retorted. "It has three heads. Together we have three heads. So, even. Right."

"Aw, that’s cute… it thinks we're evenly matched."

X snapped his head toward the jungle and watch the Chimera emerge from the trees. the three heads glared at X, anger overflowing, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why: the wounded wing had a gigantic tear in it with blood dripping from the wound. "Banana Beard, you're needed with the Pyroar. Take to the skies and keep an eye on them." X spoke. "And keep an eye on this area. Since I can't seem to talk Nell out of this, we can send a signal into the sky using her Ice Beam and if you see it, that means come and get us. "

"I am not.."

"Banana Beard, this is not up for debate. I can handle this. Go."

Bana Beard did not know X for very long, but Banana Beard sensed something within X. A fire that burned brighter than Sacred Fire. Nodding silently, Banana Beard flapped and took to the air, following the Pyroar. In response Draz prepared to shoot Banana Beard down with his lightning breath, his maw open wide as the attack charged. "Save our breath, Draze," Tize growled. "Our prey is not that fat giraffe."

Draze just moaned "But he's getting away!"

"It doesn't matter anyway. We can't fly so even if we do hit he can just get back into the air by the time we find him on the ground!" Gorz shoute. "And it's because of him!"

"Sucks, doesn't it?" X taunted.

"Do you know how long it is going to take for our wing to fully heal? Do you?" Gorz growled.

"A few weeks?"

"TRY MONTHS!" Draze screamed "AND WE ARE GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR IT IN BLOOD!"

X just closed his eyes for just a moment, cracking his neck and knuckles. "Sorry...I only take cash and checks."

“Kill him, and make it hurt!” Gorz shouted. X roared as he charged the Chimera, the Chimera charging X in turn. With a shout, X slammed his fist into Draze, dazing him. In retation the cloven hoof on the Chimera slammed in to X, launching him into the wall of rock.

A flying rock served as the Chimera’s “reward,” hitting Tize square in the eyes. More rocks flew toward, the Chimera dodging the rocks thrown at him. Before X could react the cloven foot slammed into him with terrible force. The chesnaught was launched away, slamming into the cliff face.

He recovered quickly, ducking from the Chimera’s next attack, running as fast as he could to a safe distance. Ice beams shot from Nell’s horn, peppering the beast with spells. Yet the attacks were doing little good, for the Chimera continued to attack X. Cloven feet slashed back and forth, furiously dashing across X’s chest and face. X responded in kind, throwing punches at his opponent's faces, burying his fist into them whenever he had the chance.

It was like watching two minotaurs fighting, each one trading blows with the other. Neither side was willing to yield, each blow stronger than the one that came before it. “Why won’t you die?!” Draze demanded.

“Why won’t you?”

“You have to ask?” Gorz growled. “We are a Chimera, powerful creatures that are the true rulers of the lands they reside in. All other creatures serve one purpose and that is to be our meals!”

“Not a good reason to fight in my opinion!”

“It’s better than yours!”

“Better than mine? You’re just a bully who hunts weaker creatures because you can. You want to hurt Nell, and she has friends and family! Friends and family that care for her! I’m fighting you because I’m her friend, and friends risk everything for each other! That’s what friends do!”

“Friends?” Gorz laughed. They lunged, slashed across X’s face and actually drew blood this time. “I don’t need friends! I only need Tize and Draze! ‘Friend’ is just another word for late-night snack!”

“And that is why I will defeat you!” X shouted. “Even though there are three of you, you’re always going to be alone, while Nell and I are never alone! Nell believed in that, believed in the bonds one can forge with other, and because of that bond she forged with me, I am here to end this and send you back to whatever hole you were dumb enough to crawl out of!!!”

The already intense struggle somehow intensified even more and the blows became faster and more brutal. The heads of the chimera growled as they silently reached an understanding with the others.

A leg shoot forward, and instinct guided X to block. The other then swept against his legs, knocking them from under him and sending X tumbling down. Before X could recover, Draze bit into X’s leg. The pain was like fire: it burned as feeling in the leg began to numb. The other heads laughed as Draze then flung X towards Nell, slamming him into her.

Changeling and Chensaught slid across the ground. X got to his knees, struggling to not give in. Nell was not so lucky. She was a fair distance from X, and her eyes were closed in pain, and X could not help but notice trace amounts of blood near the top of her barrel.

“Stupid creature! See what your bonds of ‘friendship’ and all that happy crap did for you?” Tize laughed. “Let’s see how hard you fight when we kill her! When in the end it turns out that you failed and have no reason to fight us!”

“YOU WOULDN’T!”

“WE WOULD!”

The Chimera charged towards Nell, who opened her eyes at exactly the wrong moment.

She screamed, tucking herself into a tight ball, hoping by the grace of the hive that the futile attempt could save her. In her fear, all she heard was the yell of X and the sound of something slamming into another something.

”... It’s been two seconds and I hear the sound of a struggle, yet I feel no pain and I’m obviously not dead,” Nell thought to herself. ”What happened?”

Nell quickly got her answer when she untucked herself and looked in front of her.

The Chimera was slamming itself against X who was valiantly standing his ground, and for some reason he was wielding a shield. The shield seemed to come out of his arms, spikes littering the grassy green shield.

X held it up, covering his body as the Chimera struggled to remove itself from the spikes that suddenly appeared as gently as possible. The pain yelled Tize and Gorz screamed proved that ‘gently’ was the wrong word to use to describe things.

This did not stop the Chimera from attacking. The roar the three heads screamed was louder that the crashing tide of the oceans, the creature rising to an impressive height by standing on it’s back legs. Without a warning, the talon-like cloven leg crashed downward, striking the shield with a audible crash.

To the Chimera’s horror, X did not move.

At all.

The beast simply growled, shocked and amazed at this thing capable of standing up to its powerful attack. The Chimera arose and struck again. The stinging of needles raced across the Chimera’s skin as the clawed hoof slashed across the shield, yet the result was the same as the previous strike: an unmoving X standing strong against the hurricane of blows.

All the while the spikes of the shield scratched the skin of the chimera’s slashing limbs, slowly but surely weakening the beast.

“BLAST HIM!”

“YOU GOT IT!” The lighting formed in Draze’s mouth, the electricity sparking within the open cavern on his maw.

“SAY GOODNIGHT HERO!”

The shield lowered, and X rushed his foe. He screamed as he charged the mighty beast, the other heads confused. “Wait, what?”

“He dropped the shield Gorz!”

“I can see that Tize!”

Before any of the heads could react, X was on them, just as the lightning in Draze’s mouth was it’s brightest, ready to strike. “EAT THIS!” With tremendous force, X grabbed the bottom of Draze’s mouth, and slamming the other hand into the upper jaw, forcing the mouth closed.

The other heads then screamed in unbearable pain, as the lighting within Draze had no place to escape. The Chimera convulsed, flashes of light bursting within the cavern of their mouths frequently. The screaming seemed to go on without end, until at last it ended, the chimera falling to the ground with a heavy thud.

Slowly with heavy measured breaths, X released his iron grip from the very dazed Draze, eyes looking at something absently, moaning “But momma the teeth are made of rainbows, how could I not wanna eat them?” With unsteady steps X stepped back before taking a step towards the other two heads. They looked up at their foe, the edges of their eyesight blurry. A hand gripped each one as X glared at the foe, his eyes sharp as daggers. “You don’t scare us…”

“Oh really?” Nell noted X’s voice was low yet sharp as steel. A clear sign that X had reached his threshold. “Your lightning doesn't phase me. My body and my shield withstand any blow you strike against me. No matter what you did to me, what you do to me, know this: when anyone wants to hurt my friends, my family, Hell, anyone, they gotta get through me first. And getting through me is something you are incapable of doing,” he said, eyes narrowed. “So here’s what is going to happen. You are going to go anywhere but here. And you are going to leave that pride of Pyroar alone, forever. Got it?”

Gorz and Tize nodded weakly, X releasing his grip from the beast’s heads. In shame the beast walked away in defeat, shameful in their lost. X sighed, the battle finally over, and turned his back to his foe.

At that moment, Nell gasped as the Chimera quickly turned around, and gazed in horror as the Chimera went back on its word, and struck X in the back, the human screaming as he tumbled forward. The chimera began to laugh in a maniacal manner, but quickly stopped when he saw his opponent's next action.

While X started to tumble, he curled up into a ball, his body and cloak almost appearing as if they merged into one. The Chimera and Nell just… watched as X spun to a stop, then turned around and rolled towards the creature head on. WIth anger in his eyes the Chimera swiped at X when he was in range, yet to its horror X somehow evaded the strike, racing back towards its flank. Then, with even greater speed, X raced towards the side of the creature, and slammed into it, launching the Chimera onto its side, helpless.

Uncurling, X quickly ran to that creature's rear end before it could get up and grabbed its legs. With another shout, X struggled and lifted the chimera and started spinning around and around and around.

“Stop! We’re gonna be sick!” the heads shouted, getting a little green.

X begun to spin faster.

“NOT!”

X somehow spun faster.

“MY!”

X somehow spun even faster.

“PROBLEM!”

With a final shout X released the Chimera, throwing him with all his might. The heads screamed in unison, soaring into the trees, rending them apart as the beast was thrown into the dense jungle, the trees falling in a way that was rather reminiscent of bowling pins.

Moaning, the Chimera struggled to get up, only to be greeted by the imposing figure of a Chesnaught slowly walking toward them, anger burning even brighter than Celestia’s sun.

It was odd seeing the three heads gulp loudly in unison. Gorz, the fear most evident in his face from among the three, took command of the body, ordering it to stand. “Okay, okay you win! You win!” he shouted “We’re leaving! We’re leaving!”

And so the Chimera ran into the dark depths of the jungle, disappearing into the night. X sighed, panting for exhaustion. The trees then began to blur, as darkness enveloped him.

He fell to the ground with a thud. Nell wasted no time rushing toward her friend, panic on her mind and for good reason. X was covered in scars and scratches, with small amounts of blood on a fair number of the wounds.

The mare hyperventilated, repeatedly stomping the ground as if she was dancing in place. Panic took over her thoughts as she tried to think of a plan, worry for X consuming her.

A single thought lit up in her mind, inspiration driving away the darkness of her doubt. her horn glowed brightly, and a beam of ice shoot into the air.

Author's Note

Betchya guys dind't expect a second chapter so soon huh? Huh? BEHOLD MY TYPING SPEED!

Okay truth be told this started as one chapter. As you may have guessed by now I am a slow writer. But still double update! yayayayayay

Also i wanna give a big hand to my new beta buddy SerpentKing789. He's helping.

In case you didn't see it, Molten Tears is a side story for this side story, taking place just after the Pokemon World Summit and is a crossover with Evowizard25's A New World A New Conflict. SO if you haven't read it I recommend taking a look.

Anyway, until next time!

Chapter 15 - Hidden Power

Chapter 15
Hidden Power

Day 3

Guard duty.

Easily the most boring of all duties in the guard.

Verot yawned, catching the attention of her partner, whom had two bottles of water held in his magical grip.

“Rough night Verot?”

“Yeah, didn’t get that much sleep.”

“Honestly not surprised,” Verot’s partner replied, passing over a bottle. “I mean, this sounds like some weird science fiction book.”

“I hear that,” Verot replied with a smile. “I overheard that some of the civilians are starting to call it ‘the Day Equus Stood Still.’”

“Sounds legit to me,” her partner joked. “Honestly wish I was patrolling instead of just standing here watching the trees. At least in town it can get interesting with preparations for that big battle tomorrow.”

“Still can’t believe the Emperor is negotiating with those things.”

“Yea, this reminds me of when he wanted to declare war on the Griffins because one of them stepped on his precious plants.”

“If I hear the rumors right, that black fox that’s working with us actually got arrested for doing damn near the same thing,” Verot mused.

“No kidding?”

“Seems legit to me. Good thing too; I hear that Fox, Naruto’s his name, fought a giant turtle with cannons coming out of its back to a standstill before the Emperor arrived. They beat it together. Didn’t know something that skinny could fight a giant turtle.”

“Okay now that is hard to believe,” laughed the partner. “I mean come on, a turtle with built-in cannons? Isn’t that a little out there?”

“Hey, when I walked here I found sheep that loo…” Verot’s ears twitched, ending her speech in mid-sentence.

“Hey… Verot…?”

“Shh… the trees, they’re shaking. Something’s coming.”

Her partner focused, closed his eyes, and listened closely, “You’re right.”

Several moments passed, the almost inaudible rustling of trees and bushes filled the air. Without warning, Verot’s horn began glowing brightly, a magic sphere forming just above her horn. “COME OUT WITH YOUR HOOVES IN THE AIR!”

“DON’T SHOOT!” A figure came out of the trees, followed by a large Pokemon that kinda looked like a green, overweight giraffe with fruit growing on his chin. Several red-maned lions limped out of the jungle behind them, followed by the very odd (and honestly worrying) sight of a large hedgehog-like creature garbed in a green spiked cloak being dragged by the fat giraffe with the aid of several yards of vines. “IT’S ME, NELL! I’M THE DAUGHTER OF CITEL! LET US IN! WE HAVE WOUNDED!”

Verot let her spell die, turning to face the rapidly approaching wall guards that were with her and her partner. “You heard her. Let them in, and hurry!”

X opened his eyes, and beheld the sight of a gentle lime green ceiling with fluorescent lights. The lights were not the concern of his thoughts. At the moment his more pressing concern was how he got there.

He struggled to get up, but he quickly regretted it as pain jolted through his body. Looking down, he saw his entire body covered in gashes and assorted claw markings. Some were shallow, and were minor damage when compared to the more troubling scars.

They looked pretty deep.

Another jolt of pain made itself known, and this time X responded with a quick groan of agony. Sounds of movement from beyond his range of vision were heard, and before X could react a duo of a Chansey and Audino rushed in, uring X to lay down as he struggled out of confusion while a third (A Blissey) began to apply medical aid in the form of Heal Pulse.

During the chaos, X spied a sleeping changeling beginning to stir from her slumber.

Nell awoke with a yawn, and when her eyesight unblurred, she saw X sitting in a magically reinforced bed that was capable of holding his weight up. His cloak sat next to his bed, the shell of wood standing in silence vigilance. On a small table next to X was a plate of assorted berries. yet they sat untouched.

It took a moment for X to realize that Nell was awake. “Hey…” the words came out hoarse and weak, as if it was a small struggle to speak them without harming himself.

“Hey yourself.” Nell answered. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I feel like I just walked through a blender,” X spoke as softly as he could while remaining audible. “Last thing I remember is punching followed by more punching…”

“You punched a chimera in the faces. Repedietly. And when it tried to go back on your deal you rolled up into a ball, knocked it on it’s side, and then threw it into the trees like you were bowling.” Nell explained. “I never knew you were that strong. But then again, I don’t really know you well.”

“I’m not that strong,” X answered in turn. “Humans aren’t that strong. The most I could carry on my own comfortably was about fifty kilos. But now that I’m a Chesnaught, I have no idea how much I can lift. What about the Pyroar. Are all of them… well…?”

“Alive?” X nodded, and Nell smiled. “Don’t worry, the entire pride is alive, but they’re pretty hurt. All of them except one are still out of it, resting while they get healed up. But …”

“But?”

“... Well, the other Pyroar aren’t going to be well enough to rush into another battle, and the Litleo are just cubs. I’m not going to let them fight a bunch of scary bugs. So… I went through all of that for just one Pyroar.” Nell sighed, her ears flapping down as she curled up into a ball. “Some hero I am.”

“Nell… don’t say that.” A confused Nell looked at her injured friend as he shook his head. “That pride of Pyroar would have been in a lot of real trouble if you hadn’t of found them when you did. And you were pretty brave, trying to do something important like that.”

Nell smiled before frowning again. “My dad’s going to ground me once he finds out I almost died again isn’t he?”

“Probably. I know that’s what I would do.”

There was an awkward pause as Nell and X just looked at each other, unsure how to continue their conversation. After several tense minutes, Nell found the courage to speak first.

“Why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Come into the jungle. I thought you didn’t like fighting.”

X sighed. The tough conversation had revealed itself at last. “I don’t. But… I couldn’t just let you go in there on your own. Don’t you know how dangerous that jungle is?”

“Yes…”

“I don’t care about my personal safety. I can be beaten, slashed, crushed, set on fire, frozen… and I’ll take it. But I won’t let anyone I care about get hurt for a stupid reason if I can take it for them.”

“... You care about me?”

“Well, yeah,” X smiled, rubbing his head (a habit he found himself to be doing a lot in the recent days). “Once Rizen told me what was in there… well, I didn’t know exactly what they were, but I knew it wasn’t good. What made you want to go back into a place like that?”

“... I needed to lend a hoof. No-one else was,” Nell answered. She stammered for a moment, backtracking and trying to replace what she said with what she meant. “I mean… everyling was lending a hoof but me? I wasn’t doing anything important. And when I realised I knew where some Fire-types were, I thought… I could get them. Even knowing that...”

“You were willing to risk everything for someone you barely know,” X answered.

“Yeah, isn’t that what friends do? I mean, I’m not sure they think I’m a friend, but I’d like to think I’m their friend.”

X said nothing as he mulled over Nell’s response. No-one said a word, letting the silence govern the conversation. A Nurse Joy (the Blissey from earlier) entered the room, ready to give X another look over. Nell rose to her hooves, shaking one as she walked out of the room. “I’m going to get something for us to eat. Any preferences?”

X just shook his head as Nell left the room as the nurse started to give X a basic check up, hands holding bandages they intended to use.

Minutes passed as the Nurse Joy was wrapping X up with bandages. ”So, rough night?” she asked.

“You could say that.”

“I’m surprised by how beat-up you look. Your friend said you ran into a chimera. Not sure what that is, but it must’ve been a real monster to have done this to a Chesnaught. Even if you are an Arrow.”

“... you know who I am?” X replied.

“Sure do.” The Nurse wrapped X’s arm with her gift of bandages as she continued. “Your friend brought you here with that pride of Pyroar and that Tropius. She told us everything, and she told us your name was X. As in Jacob ‘X’ Arrow.”

“Not a lot of people use both my real name and my prefered name,” X noted. “It feels nice, that’s for sure.”

“I would hope so. I’m not sure if you remember a job you did for my husband: a simple clubhouse for our daughter in Coumarine City.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that job. Your Audino insisted on giving everyone of us a check up.”

“The living room never really was the same after that,” Nurse Joy chucked. “Still, I never expected an Arrow to be a construction worker. Consider me pleasantly surprised. You know I recommended you to all of my friends.”

X simply nodded before changing the subject, “What time is it?”

“It’s about two hours before dawn according to the locals,” she replied. “Everyone is getting ready for that big battle if they’re not sleeping. Huge waste of time in my opinion.”

“Good.” X lifted himself off of the bed, gasping once his legs touched the ground. He felt the weariness in them, hear them screaming for rest. But it was a request that X had to deny them. For what he had to do was more important than an extra hour of rest.

“What. Do you think. You are doing?”

“Going. I need to get things square away, try to control my power. My family will go to hell and back for me. About time I did that for them on the field of battle as they do.”

Nurse Joy could not believe what she was hearing. “... Wait just a minute mister! You honestly can’t expect me to just let you leave! Have you noticed the wounds you’ve sustained or is that just me?”

X hefted his cloak, putting on with deft precision. “I noticed. I just don’t care. Naruto, Inti, the Changelings. They need me. And I need them. I am going.”

“You just can’t go!” The nurse pleaded. “As I already mentioned your body is covered in nothing but scratch marks and wounds! You look ready to bleed out at any moment! As a Nurse Joy, I cannot in good conscience let you leave this room. Of wit h the cloak, and back into bed.”

“Well why not just use Heal Pulse and fix me up? You said you already did it to me when I was out. Why not just do it again?”

The nurse huffed and eyed X like he was asking why the sky wasn’t green. “Because mister, Heal Pulse is dangerous for your health if used continuously! Heal Pulse uses psychic energy to accelerate the natural healing process of the target’s body. If it’s used too much in a small time frame the rapid regeneration of the body actually causes more damage than it is trying to heal. That’s why it only heals partially rather than completely!”

“... Okay, good to know. But it’s not changing my mind.” The indignant Chesnaught marched toward the door, cloak on his back, but the Blissey quickly got in his way. “... Please?”

“No. As a nurse, I cannot let you leave.”

“Nurse… I’ve gotta do this,” X pleaded. “Naruto is my best friend- no, my brother in spirit, and right now he hates my guts. And you want to know why? It’s because he knew what was important when I had forgotten. And now this is my only chance to make things right with him. Because Naruto has always been there by my side, through thick and thin, and without him…

“It’s lonely. I felt a lot of mixed emotions towards what I was even thinking about doing, and now that I look back I can’t believe I even entertained those thoughts. But we always have the chance to makes things right. We just have to be brave enough to make that choice. So please… let me do what I need to do.”

Nurse Joy was about to say no, but then she saw X’s eyes, framed with scars.

It was as if those eyes were were steel monoliths, standing tall in the middle of the greatest hurricane. They showed resilience, determination, resolve… an absolute refusal to simply let things lie as they were.

Resigning to the steel in his eyes, the Blissey sighed, stepping off to the side to let X through. “... Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m just doing my job.” This statement confused X, and Joy continued, “I’m a nurse. It’s my job to not only physically heal but to mentally and spiritually heal. You body doesn't need the healing process as much as your spirit does. And letting you get hurt even more is not my idea of proper healing, but it is what you need to spiritually heal. So go, before I change my mind.”

X said nothing as he exited his room with a smile, the thankful Chesnaught leaving with nothing more to be said.

Outside of the room, Nell was snacking on a large pile of berries, a mix of strawberries and pomegranates. “That’s a lot of Berries.”

Nell gulped, swallowing her mouthful before gazing up at the towering X. “I get nervous and I snack.”

“... Three plates?”

“... I have a large appetite,” Nell shrugged. Her wings buzzed with excitement as she flew and landed on X’s cloak, the Chesnaught smiling as he walked.

The fires of the forge burned brightly as stacks of armor lay scattered in neat piles, each piece poetry in steel. The clanging of the hammer was the only sound to be heard as the old forgemaster Firequake struck a red hot blade over and over, each strike shaping it into the shape Firequake willed.

He stopped for a moment as he caught his breath, whipping off the sweat from his brow, and spied his works of art.

“Pawn. Pawniard!”

The elder changeling stopped his work for a moment and looked up to see his friend Pawniard escorting Nell to him. “Hi Firequake. AM i interrupting anything?”

Firequake laughed before placing his blade in the water to let it cool. “Never for a family friend. But isn’t it early for a girl like you to be running about?”

“I… had some things that needed to be done. But I’m not here to chat. I need something for a friend,” Nell replied. Firequake nodded in a knowing way before turning to Pawniard. “You think you can handle this?”

Pawniard saluted, and started his work on the blade. Pleased, Firequake let the forge with Nell, and headed towards the front door of his workshop. “So what does a young lass like you need with an old forgemaster like myself? Thinking about joining that brouhaha as a soldier?”

“I’ve had enough fighting, thank you very much,” Nell replied. “But I do know someone who may need one of your weapons.”

“Oh?”

Firequake then heard soft sounds outside, and when he went out to look, he saw X, the mighty Chesnaught swinging his fists into the air, fighting an unseen foe. His eyes were like steel, focused only on the foe that was not there.

Firequake whistled. “So… do you have something that X can use?”

“I think I have just the thing for a big guy like him.”

The sun rose and cast its morning rays on the armed forces of the Changeling Empire congregated around the western gate of the city. Many citizens were with them, wanting to watch the contest to be held at the Staging Grounds.

Their city was at stake. This was an event they needed to see.

Among the crowd was Naruto, yawning as he noticed Azisa approach with a worried look in her eye. “Rough night?” the tree asked Naruto, the Zoroark nodding.

“Let’s just say that our little trip to this world is bringing the worst out in some of us. The less said the better. What about you? Where’s Inti and Apocalypse?”

Azisa shook her head. “I couldn’t find them. Me and the two sisters split up in the night and tried to find Apocalypse. As for Inti, when I went to check up on her, someone told me she went missing.”

“That is troubling.”

“Apocalypse is just a child. I should be looking for him… but here I am playing the hero of this city. What a horrible mother I am.”

“Don’t say that.” Azisa felt the soft hand of Naruto grip the closest analogue to a shoulder she had as he gave her a hard stare, eyes shining with care and understanding. “This is a terrifying situation for all of us, I know. We’re all in the same boat. And I understand that since you were the one who hatched Apocalypse, you and him have a special bond nothing can break. But think of it from another angle: maybe Apocalypse doesn’t want to be found. You said it yourself: He’s just a child. A Pokemon his age waking up in a different universe where nothing is the same? He’s sturdier than we give him credit for. I think he just needs a moment to decompress.”

“Forgive me for not feeling completely okay with a child walking around a city which may or may not suddenly have a change in ownership,” Azisa countered.

“We’re not going to lose. We have too much to gain and too much to lose. Losing simply is not an option.”

“Your confidence is truly amazing.” The Pokemon turned to face the speaker, whom was Carapace. The elder changing was garbed in heavy armor covering every part of him save his face and wings, along with several members of the royal guard, Rizen and Silver Heart among their number. “Even I have a shred of doubt in me, and that’s because I dread the paperwork that’s going to come out of this.”

“... Really? Paperwork? That’s what you’re scared of the most?”

“You try ruling an empire for a thousand years and then we’ll see how much you and paperwork enjoy each other’s presence.” The two shared a laugh, the mood lightening for just a moment before the grim reality of what was occurring settled in again. “You look like you had a hard night. Are you going to be okay?”

"I had a hard time sleeping," explained the Zoroark. "But I assure you it will not deter me from what needs to be done."

"I appreciate what you are doing for us. We're strangers to you."

Naruto paid this no mind. "Someone needs to stand for what they believe in."

Carapace nodded as he faced the crowd, a mix of Changeling and Pokemon with the Changelings outnumbering the Pokemon by a fair amount. On their faces was a mix of emotional tells: uncertainty, fear, confusion, confidence, hope… the spectrum of facial expressions was as wide and varied as the peoples of the world. Finding several boxes, Carapace climbed atop of them, cleared this throat, and spoke with a commanding boom. “Citizens of the Changeling Empire! I am your Emperor Carapace! I speak!”

All noise died when the Emperor spoke, all attention focused on him, and all other concerns banished for their Emperor demanded their attention. “I am not going to mince words. What is waiting outside of your home is a foe we of Equus have never seen nor heard of before. Never before in our dreams have any of us even imagined the kind of creatures the Pokemon are. Yet here they are, walking among us in the flesh, as real as you or your neighbor.

“And waiting for us are those metal ants that have been running around, acting like they own the ground they walk on. Do you know what I say to that? To that I say this: This is our home! This is our land! They are guests, visitors from a world beyond our own! They feel that because we are not the same they can take what they want by force because they are deluding themselves with false superiority!

“But here I say this: If we do not make our stand here, we give them the authority to treat us as servants, obstacles to be removed at their own discretion! If we let them this one time, they will come a second time, and third, and continue until we choose to stand up against them when it is too late! We must make our stand against these ants now, stand up and defeat them in the the art of war that they worship, and tell them that this is our home, and that they must follow our rules! Who is with me!”

The crowd roared as they stomped the ground, some morphing into minotaur form so they could calp and thrust their arms into the air. The Pokemon present cheered as well, simply going along with the crowd. “Then no more needs to be said. Citizens of Eintel and Pokemon… MOVE OUT!!

“Hold up a bit.”

The Emperor turned to face the speaker, whom was an incredibly wounded Anteater. An axe was slung across his back, and scars covered his body. “Got room for one more?”

“Aren’t you one of those changelings we found in the jungle?”

The mercenary grinned. “Yeah, and I thank you for saving me and my team. Our lives are in your debt. And I have a score to settle with those bugs. I don’t care what you’ve gotta do to get me on that battlefield, but I want in.”

“Such tenacity. You sure you can stand up to it? Those wounds look deep, and fresh.”

“Oh, these are nothing. You should have seen the ones I got from that one drunk Buffalo nomad,” Anteater laughed. “So, we going?”

“Indeed. Everyone, MOVE OUT!”

"WAIT!"

All heads turned to face the speaker, a rapidly moving X with Nell riding him, approached. To Naruto and Azisa's surprise, a large hammer was tied to his cloak. The hammer was as tall as its owner, and its tan and green color reflected the owners color scheme as well. A spike was on each side and the top, thankfully not very sharp when compared to other spikes of the same size. he skid to a stop as Nell lept off of her mount. "Got room for two more?"

"X!" Azisa raced to her trainer, hugging him. "Where were you!?"

"I was having an existential crisis," X replied. "I need to talk to you guys... especially to Naruto."

Naruto scoffed. "In case you haven't noticed Jacob, we're about to march to our battleground. Being on time is something we plan on achieving."

At that, Azisa gasped rather loudly. That earned her a sceptical look from Silver Heart. "... Really? A gasp that loud?"

"But Naruto called X Jacob!" Azisa was amazed at what she just said and heard. "He never calls X Jacob. None of us call X Jacob. It's just something we don't do."

"... Okay..." Silver just shrugged, deciding to just roll with it.

Carapace marched to Naruto's side, and spoke. "Naruto is correct. We do not have time to chat. So whatever you have to say, say it quickly. Too much is to be lost if we fail, and I will not have the reasoning be 'I was talking to a hedgehog.'"

X took a deep breath before continuing "I'm sorry...for being...."

"Afraid? Cowardly? Spineless?" Naruto spat out.

X replied with a blunt "Yes." This caught Naruto a little by surprise, allowing X the opportunity to continue. "You're right. I am afraid of them. I'm afraid of the Durant that almost killed me. I'm afraid that the Changelings are going to lose their homes because the very same Durant are too proud to simply ask for help and would rather steal it. And I'm afraid of what would happen if I wasn't here to support my family.

"I'm not gonna lie. Iron Shell came to talk to me yesterday."

Carapace was expecting everything but that. "What?"

"And you were planning on telling me that when exactly?" Naruto demanded.

"... not at all actually. But it needs to be said." Naruto simply stared as X continued. "Iron Shell told me something. She told me that in order to test the student, you must test the master. And to prove it, she kicked my ass in a quick fight we had.

"Because of that… I was afraid that you weren't strong enough to fight them because for a second… I thought I was holding you back. Because I didn't train you to fight. I let that fear control me.

"But then I thought on it after Nell risked her life for a pride of Pyroar." The Pyroar that joined them purred in response to being mentioned. "And she helped me realize something..."

"Naruto, didn't you try to calm that Blastoise down, and even when it refused to talk you fought back, knowing that it was stronger than you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes, but how is that..."

"And didn't you tell me that the Silver Heart guy fought him as well, not knowing who or what he was but still doing it anyway?" Silver beamed at that. "Or how Nell, Apocalypse, and Azisa rushed to the aid of those guards when the Durant said hi? Or when Inti rescued Nell's brothers? How about the time you guys tried to spring me out of jail due to that misunderstanding while risking arrest yourself?"

Naruto was reaching his limit. "Your point?"

"My point is this: I didn't teach you, or Nell, or anyone you or I met how to fight." X gripped his hammer tightly at that. "I taught you how to be brave. And if you can test the student by testing the master, when where did you guys learn how to be brave if I was your master?"

"Good point..."

"I forgot what I taught you guys, of every peril I leap in the middle of to lend a hand. Of every problem that isn't mine but I make mine anyway. I let the fear of these Durant blind me.

"I'm afraid that they are going to hurt you. I am afraid that they are going to hurt the Changelings. I am afraid that the Changelings are going to lose their homes, their land that is rightfully theirs because of the Durant. Afraid that… I was the one who was holding you back because I didn't want to fight… when I needed to. Something you guys clearly know better than me.

"But now? Now... I am not afraid of standing up for what I believe in, not anymore. And what I believe is that those Durant do not scare me so much that I will abandon everything I believe in for one day of false peace.

"Iron Shell and her colony can do whatever they want to me. They can hurt me, burn me, even kill me. But as long as it’s me, then I don't care what anyone does to me. You and the others have always shed blood for me. Now, let me shed blood for you. And this time, I need to be the leader, the warrior I need to be."

A tense moment arose, Naruto simply looking as X. It was hard to tell what any of them were thinking as their faces and bodies tense yet showing no emotion. The emotions that could be felt mixed with so many other emotions it was to hone in on any one emotion.

X raised a hand, hoping that Naruto would take it. "So… can you forgive me? Forgive me for just… forgetting what was important?"

Naruto said nothing as he looked at X's hand in the air, inviting the Dark type to take it. Time inched to a crawl as the two just looked at each other, Azisa's eye darting between looking at X's hand and Naruto's expression. She wasn't sure what either one would do.

The moment then happened: Naruto raised his arm, the limb hovering in the air mirroring X's arm.

"Where the hell have you been X?"

X smiled as both Chesnaught and Zoroark clinched their hands into fists and lightly bumped them. "I was off to find myself," X replied. "Looks like it was a success."

Naruto could honestly feel a mix of anger and happiness at that. "I'm still mad at you. But at the same time… I'm glad to see you."

"Let's save the day first, then mend fences later. Considering our day job, not as hard as it seems."

Nell smiled as the web of emotions around them unravel, revealing the core the invisible strings were constricting: Love towards one-another that was stronger than steel.

A good snack before the battle ahead.

Azisa walked to the two, putting a hand around Naruto's shoulder and addressed the two.

"Friends, while I am glad you two are talking things out..." her sentence dangled unfinished as she pointed around her.

Everyling was moving, and had been moving towards the Staging Grounds, wanting to get there in time so the Durant could not pull a 'you are late therefore we win' routine. Apparently the drama was not a concern for the crowd. "But I think that the crowd’s attention is somewhere else."

X and Naruto shared a laugh, the fact that they were ignored somewhat soothing. "Guess we're not that entertaining."

"Guess not," Naruto smiled back. The two then got moving, Azisa and Nell close behind. "So, where did you get the hammer?"

"Well… after I escaped from the hospital Nell took me to a family friend of hers."

“I think I have just the thing for a big guy that him.” At that, Firequake left the two, delving into his home and business. In the few moments we was gone, he returned, straining under the magical exertion of moving a heavy object.

The heavy object in question was a large hammer, almost as long as X was tall. It bore a massive head, with a single spike on each side. “Ain’t she a wonder?”

“Wow…” was Nell’s reply.

“Yep. See a few weeks ago a merchant friend, not your father but another one of my merchant friends, came by. He spent a while in Minos, one of the Minotaur cities far from here. And one of his minotaur friends had gotten this warhammer from a noble up there. Noble complained and didn't want it, something about not feeling like it belonged to him.”

X raised an eyebrow, and before he could ask Firequake continued, reading his mind. “Minotaurs are warriors at heart. They’re practically born with a weapon in hand, and they have a strange connection to them. Like they can feel if a weapon or piece of armor isn’t right for them. To them, going into battle and using a weapon that wasn’t made for you to wield it is worse than going into battle without one.”

Hesitantly, X grasped the weapon in his hands, gripping it tightly. Then with a yell, he swung the hammer down, crushing the nearby rock he smashed the hammer on into rubble.

He smiled. “This feels right. I’ll take it. So… how much?”

“You can take for free.”

X shook his head. “No, I insist.”

“How bout this. You can give the hammer back if you and the others lose our homes to those grimy ants. But if we win and keep our land, consider that hammer your reward.”

“You sure?”

“I’m never going to sell it. No market for a weapon like that here. No, I feel that hammer belongs to you,” Firequake explained. “Now, one last thing before I let you walk away with that fine piece of steel.”

“Yes?”

“It needs a name. All weapons need a name.”

X nodded before taking one long hard look at the hammer. WIth it, X felt strong, empowered, like the fear he fell victim to was in turn afraid of the hammer he now held.

“Dreadnaught. Because with this hammer, I dread nothing.”

"I would have paid him, but I'm not sure what they use for cash here. We are unfortunately bankrupt due to a rather unexpected moving day."

The wounds were healing, and that was all needed.

The Staging Grounds.

It was simple elegance to put it simply. The entire training ground was surrounded by a massive wooden wall, the ends of each log sharpened to a point. Inside the training grounds were all sorts of training devices and structures: slopes, weights, bows and arrows, obstacle courses...

Quite simply, it was the pinnacle of military training facilities.

And in the middle of the staging grounds was an arena, affectionately called ‘the Pit,’ dug ten feet into the ground and easily a hundred and fifty feet at the least in diameter. Wooden logs served as a wall reo reinforced the sides of the pit, and above it were hastily build stands encroaching the edges of the Pit for the audience to watch.

And on one side of the circle was the Colony.

Durant were the most populous of the Colony’s Pokemon, with Chespin, Quillaldin, Whirlipede, Venipede, and a few other pokemon staring at the pits other side, sneering at the Changelings and wishing doom upon them.

Carapace was not intimidated in the least.

Silver Heart and Rizen however were. "You think they're going to go for it?" asked Silver Heart.

"Only one way to find out."

And with that, Carapace marched into the arena with Silver Heart and Rizen behind their emperor. In turn, The Leader and Iron Shell mirrored the Changelings, confidence oozing from their strides.

The two sides meet in the middle, and all of the idle chatter that filled the air suddenly died, eager to let the two leaders speak in peace.

"I will be the first to say that I did not expect you to arrive this morning," spoke the Leader. "I am glad that to say that I enjoyed being wrong this time."

"I'm honestly not sure how to respond to that," Carapace sneered. "I do not take kindly to anyone taking anything I own. My garden, my respect, and especially the lands of my empire. No one in the last seven hundred years has had the nerve to try and take my land from my people and my self. And no one in that same period of time has actually succeeded."

"Then it will please me to be the first!" the Leader taunted. "So, are you ready to yield victory this day?"

"Yes, about that. I would like to propose a change to our previously agreed upon rules."

"... I'm listening."

Carapace sighed. At least he was willing to listen. Always a plus, though it did not always guarantee success. "I was thinking that instead of having one giant fifteen on fifteen battle, instead we could have fifteen one on one battles? A last man standing tournament variation so to speak. You see, I propose this: We each send one combatant to battle the other, and they battle until the other is unable to battle. Doing so gives your team a point.

"However, neither side can retreat unless they are declared unable to battle unless they wish to yield the point to the other side. And this continues until eleven points are scored. Does that seem fair?"

Iron Shell leaned down to her father, and whispered. "Father, I smell trickery. They are afraid of all of us at once, and are trying to gain the advantage by removing ours."

"It is as you say, but I heard tale of just two of those Bugs defeating an entire group of Durant with speed unlike that of lightning," The Leader countered. "What if they all have that power? We would be setting ourselves up to fall."

"A valid point Father. But I still must make my point clear."

"Do you doubt me, my daughter?"

"Ever since the day you saved me, the one thing you can never give me is doubt." Iron Shell smiled with warmth towards her adopted father. "I just wished for you to hear my thoughts."

The Leader turned to face the Emperor of all Changelings. "Very well. We accept these terms. But let me remind you that when you lose..."

"If."

"When you lose, your city is ours to do with what we wish."

“Such confidence. I haven't seen that before,” duly replied the ancient Emperor. “I wish you the best of luck.”

“And to you I say this: do not disappoint us. We wish for battle, one that will be remembered for all time. I hope you are able to give us that.”

A worried Rizen whispered to Carapace as his Emperor began to leave the Pit. “Bloodthirsty, aren’t they?”

“Yes. But if a good fight is what they want, let’s give them one. Lets show them that we are not the weaklings they think we are.”

“Hold Emperor.”

Carapace did so, noticing he and his daughter did not move at all. “DId I forget something?”

“You did.” The Leader answered. “Who shall oversee our battle?”

“... You mean you want a referee?” Carapace asked. “I thought you were hardened warriors?”

“Of course we are, but even we follow the rules in organized battles,” Iron Shell scoffed, almost insulted. “You thought were were mere beasts, bloodthirsty like rebels without causes, didn’t you? That we simply fought and fought and fought because we could.”

“I’ll be honest, the thought did occur to me at first,” admitted the Emperor. “You did a good job of fooling me.”

“Without rules, training has no real meaning,” Iron Shell counted. “We are warriors, not monsters.”

“Pardon me for a moment.” Carapace faced his trusted warriors and Silver Heart. “Any ideas?”

“I got nothing.”

“We could ask one of those pokemon,” Rizen replied. “One of them, a yellow fox one holding spoons, said she was a… Gym Leader I think? That sounded important. Maybe she could help out?”

“A Gym Leader? A good choice. They are few of the humans we respect without question.” The Leader explained. “That will do. Now go. Prepare your forces. I expect nothing but unyielding power for your kind.”

“I assure you, you have not seen all of what my kind, and our allies are capable of.”

“So, who’s going first?” shouted the Emperor. The Leader grinned as he turned to face a Durant under his command. The Durant said nothing as crawled down the walls of the Pit, eager for battle.

It didn’t take long for a challenger to reveal himself from the changelings’ side. “I got this,” Anteater gruffly replied. He menacingly revealed his weapon of choice: an obsidian axe that shined in the morning light. The axe’s handle was oddly shaped, as if it was decines to be held in hooves rather than hands. “I got this.”

“You sure about this?” Carapace eyed the changeling mercenary, wounds from two days ago still evident on the warrior. “You don’t seem to have fully recovered.“

“Nonsense, Lord Emperor,” he grinned. “I gotta show these bugs exactly why my name is Anteater.”

“Then good luck.”

Anteater said nothing as he marched towards the center of the Pit, axe held tightly in his mouth.

Nell was the one who stared at the warrior with the most intense gaze among all the changelings.

The two wasted no time in clashing, Anteater screaming louder than the roar of the wind. The mighty axe of Anteater clashed with the mandibles of the Durant, neither weapon yielding to the other. Again and again the two steel weapons clashed, the clanging of steel striking steel ringing throughout the staging grounds.

Just as Anteater was about to strike, the Durant buried into the ground, the axe swinging over it’s head. Just as Anteater was about question where his opponent had gone, the Durant shot out the ground underneath him, landing a decisive blow against the warrior. The force launched him into the air, the pain searing through his bones. Thinking fast, his wings buzzed to life and he took to the air.

To his dismay he had dropped the axe, a treasure the Durant was intent on taking with him underground. Anteater’s wings buzzed louder and he rushed towards the ground, blazing as fast as he could to rescue his weapon.

It was a task that he completed, barely snatching the axe from the jaws of the Durant. The Durant snarled in anger before getting slashed by the axe. To the durants surprise the axe was rather sharp, leaving a sizable scar on the back of the Durant.

The Durant hissed as his mandibles covered themselves in eldritch energy.

“I had no idea Durant could even learn that move,” mused Azisa as the Durant charged Anteater, the changeling shifting his axe into a more guarded position. The shadowy mandibles smashed into the guarding warrior, pushing him back. The changelings around her face her in confusion, not knowing a thing about what she just said.

“And what move is that?” asked Rizen. “That kind of magic simply seems… not of this or any world.”

“That is Shadow Claw,” the tree spirit replied. “It calls on the energy of shadow, energy akin to that of my ghostly brethren.”

“You mean like… necromantic magic?” Rizen gasped.

“Similar, but not quite,” Azisa replied. Rizen shrugged, turning his focus back onto the battle, which had returned to the two warriors trading blows, steel and shadow dancing the waltz of battle.

Anteater screamed another battle cry, raising his axe above his head as he reared on the back of his legs. The Durant had just enough time to leap out of the way of the falling axe, dust billowing from the impact site.

Anteater had just enough time to counter the next Shadow Claw with his hooves. The warrior hissed as he held strong against the encroaching force. The energy of the shadows was slowly but surely damaging him, like the attack was made of several tiny yet very shape blades that made touching it a fools errand.

With a mighty thrust upwards, Anteater valiantly forced the attacker to back off, the Shadow Claw dissipating as that happened, and took off to the air. The colony started to boo, the act of Anteater taking to the air seen as cowardly to them.

To Anteater however, it was an act of strategy, for he was in the one place the Durant could not reach. The sky was the domain of his kind, at least during this battle against the ground bound ants.

”Okay, I’m up here, and he’s down there. Good time for me to think something through. My axe definitely can scratch that thing up pretty good, but it’s just as good blocking my attacks. I could transform into something just a bit bigger than I am right now, but...then I might not be able to properly use my axe.

“Call me old fashioned by I prefer my axe when I’m a changeling and natural weapons when I’m not. Not like that fancy new style where a weapon can be used in any form. Still doesn’t… what’s it doing now?”

Glaring at his cowardly foe, the Durant banged it’s mandibles together, the Shadow Claw forming around it again.

To the surprise of the changelings (and horror of Anteater) the Shadow Claw extended into the airspace Anteater was occupying. The warrior juked out of the strikes path but just barely: the edge of the shadow just missed his leg.

“It can do that!?”

Another Shadow Claw shot out of the Durant’s mandibles, answering the rhetorical question. Anteater dodged again, but the attack was faster than expected; the Shadow Claw had hit, but just barely, leaving a cut on his leg, the pain jolting like a sudden bolt of lighting. Unnerved by the strike, the warrior lost his grip on the axe, and it tumbled downward, landing on the ground in a clatter.

Anteater took no time at all racing towards his axe, only to be suddenly struck by another Shadow Claw extending farther than any attack of that manner should. The warrior was undaunted, escaping from the attack with a quick juke out of the grabble (Anteater was thankful the Claw wasn’t actively attempting to grab him, if so he would have likely been unable to escape). To the warriors displeasure, the Durant had reached his axe, and threw it into the hole before he, at least Anteater assumed the Durant was male, it was hard to tell, before burrowing a new hole.

Landing near the center of the Pit, Anteater surveyed the battlefield. Aside from two or three visible holes, the battlefield was remarkably calm and currently devoid of his foe.

The wind blowed gently, the warrior eyeing every inch of the battlefield, hoping to find anything that could remotely be classified as his enemy’s movement. Focusing, Anteater’s horn glowed yellow and his hooves crackled with an electric aura.

Just as he thought that the Durant burst out the ground, cleaning it’s mandibles as if it was taunting the changeling. Anteater howled as he threw a hoof to punch the taunting ant in the face. Just as the changeling swung the Durant ducked down into the earth, the attack hitting nothing but air.

The Durant then burst from the ground again, only this time behind Anteater. Spinning around quickly Anteater swung again, but like the previous swing the Durant ducked below, letting the attack miss yet again.

To Anteater’s annoyance, the Durant popped up and down from all places around the electrically charged warrior, like they were playing a one sided game of whack a mole.

”It’s just playing with me! By the time I actually do land a hit i’m gonna be too tired for a follow up and then it’s goodnight Anteater.

Jolting pain in his hindlegs alerted the warrior to the sudden Crunch the Durant had landed. That Durant was rewarded with a quick kick to face, the Durant disappearing within the darkness of it’s tunnels, ready to resume it’s taunting game.

”Wait a minute… it’s digging tunnels… I hope by the hive this stupid idea I just thought up of works.” Buzzing his wings, Anteater took to the sky yet again amongst a new chorus of hisses and boos from the collective of unfriendly ants.

He didn’t say in the air for long. Hovering above the pit just long enough to spot his target, he dove downwards, the glow of his horn leaving a yellow trail of light that chased it’s master. As he dove, Anteater stated to spin like an equine shaped drill, lightning coating the stallion as he flew toward the ground.

Before anyone could utter a single sound, Anteater dove into his target: a hole.

Moments passed, and with a pained shout the Durant was shot out of one the openings like a living cannonball out of its cannon, the flashing lighting aura of Anteater impaling the ant on the electric aura. WIthout warning the spell dissipated, and the Durant impacted the ground with a heavy thud.

With a pained wheeze the Durant struggled to get up, to roll off of it’s back and get back into the fight, but it could not. The Durant finally stopped moving, unable to move, and silently admitting defeat. As soon as his opponent fell, Anteater heaved labored breaths, finally allowing himself a chance to rest.

“And that is how we changelings fight!” he shouted.

All who watched were silent, some amazed at Anteater’s victory. Yet no changeling spoke, all of them were simply in awe of what they had witnessed. Rizen groaned, then climbed onto X before facing the crowd. “Oh for the love of the Hive, can we some noise here?”

The noise was brought.

“Father, that changeling is quite powerful,” Iron Shell observed. Said changeling was currently searching the tunnels for his weapon while a Nurse Joy and her Audino carried the K.O.-ed Durant out of the Pit. The changelings observing were still cheering in the name of Anteater’s victory, and this concerned the Daughter of Durant.

“Power? What he faced was a child,” the Leader replied. “Anyone can beat a child. But can they beat a titan?”

“.... You wish to bring out our mightiest now?” Iron Shell asked her father. The Leader grinned as the Shiny faced his loyal colony, each one champing at the bit for the opportunity to battle. All they needed was the word.

“Daughter, we did not come here to fight them. We came here to crush them. And as warriors we must respect our opponent by sending our strongest warriors to face their strongest warriors, by forcing them to ‘step their game up’ if the term is correct. Besides… you know victory is hollow if it is given rather than earned. I only wish for them to provide us that simple truth.”

Iron Shell said nothing, smiling as the Leader snapped his mandibles. The sound resonated, and the colony made a path for their next champion to enter the Pit.

Dust billowed as Anteater climbed out of the hastily made tunnels below, dragging his axe from underneath. He dusted it off, and gripped it as he was readying himself for battle. He saw a flash of dark magenta out of the corner of his eye, and he turned to face it. Anteater tried to resist the urge to laugh, and failed miserably, as his next opponent looked like a giant pill bug without the shell.

“Wow. That is one seriously goofy looking bug,” he jested.

Without warning the “pill bug” unrolled itself, and Anteater suddenly stopped laughing.

The “pill bug” was in reality a eight foot-tall centipede with two magenta horns that slightly resembled blades. Purple circles marked each section of the magenta, and the creature bore a gray underbelly.

The Pokemon glared at Anteater, whom was briskly backing away from the Pokemon, a task Anteater was failing to complete as the Pokemon was moving closer with every step Anteater took back. “You’re big for a bug!” Anteater shouted.

“And you’re small for one as well!” the Pokemon taunted back. “I am Scolipede. And I will show you the price of arrogance.”

Anteater was the first to attack. He raised his axe and sliced his foe, the taller Bug roaring in pain from the axe’s freshly inflicted wound. Anteater had no time to celebrate or even follow up as Scolipede quickly body checked in anger, launching the warrior Changeling a few feet away. Quicky, Anteater got back up on his hooves, and charged again, leaping when he got close and swinging his axe again, hoping to turn the scar he left into a mark.

This time Scolipede was ready, changing his stance into a more sturdy position. “Iron Defence!”

Anteater was mildly surprised when Scolipede coated itself in a metalif aura, but he paid it no mind as he continued his swing. The axe slashed across the underbelly of the titanic insect, but to Anteater’s horror the axe swing did no visible damage. “What the-?”

“Iron Defense, little bug. What do you think it means?” Scolipede then reared up, towering over Anteater as sickly purple goop bubbled out of it’s mouth. “Sludge Bomb!”

Anteater quickly discovered that being covered in sludge was not fun, enjoyable, or recommendable in any convertible way, shape, or form. He screamed as the poisonous attack seared his skin, and before he could mount any resistant Scolipede body checked him again, sending the changeling flying.

With much strain, Anteater willed himself to stand, almost buckling from under the weight of his own fatigue. He heaved heavy breaths as Scolipede simply stood and waited. Anteater pointed his axe at the Poison Bug, narrowing his eyes as he shouted. “It’s going to take a lot more than gunk to stop me!”

“Maybe, what about your little toy little bug?”

Anteater soon discovered what the Bug meant: the Sludge Bomb had corroded the axe just enough to render it dull, and thus worthless for battle. With a sneer, Anteater threw his weapon away as magical covered him like a cocoon.

The magic quickly shattered as Anteater revealed his new form: A minotaur bearing blue fur covering his upper body and black fur covering his legs complete with rippling muscles and short curved horns.

Scolipede simply gave Anteater a look of confusion, unsure of what he was seeing. “... What the hell?”

“DODGE!”

Scolipede had a fraction of a second to think it over before Anteater charged at Scolipede and punched him. Scolipede staggered before getting punched again by the mercenary, who promptly grabbed him by the throat and started pummeling. However, Scolipede quickly got his wits back, and spat a glob right into Anteater’s face, forcing him to let go.

“HA! Take that you… horny… thing?”

“... You need to work on your insults, cause that just came out wrong,” Anteater deadpanned despite the situation. “And besides, whatever you did to me was just as pathetic.”

“Oh so you don’t feel the toxins infest you?”

“Toxins?” Anteater asked. Suddenly his eyes blurred for a moment, the urge to cough rising. His body suddenly felt invaded by a foreign substance. A familiar substance. It almost felt like… ”you poisoned me.”

“Exactly,” Scolipede taunted. “What self respecting Poison Type would I be if I lacked our Type’s mighty Toxic? Poisoning our foes is a Poison-type’s trump card, but we also wield a higher potent version of it in the form of Toxic. You'd better finish me before my toxins do the same to you."

“I intend to!” Anteater then charged, ready to slam his first into the cocky disgusting bug with enough force to crack his plating. Just as he threw the punch….

“PROTECT!”

A wall of energy, what kind Anteater did not know nor care, flashed into existence and intercepted the punch. The force of the blow created a shockwave, and to the horror of the transformed merc Scolipede did not budge. The Poison Bug sneered as Anteater in rage punched again and again hoping to bring it down.

“Silly horny thing. You cannot hope to bring down Protect. Only a few attacks can do that, and I highly doubt you know them,” taunted the titanic insect.

”Hate to admit it but tall, dark, and ugly has a point.” The thoughts in Anteater’s mind became to feel sluggish somehow. Sweat began to flow from this brow, the tiny beads traveling down his face, irritating him as he desperately searched for an answer. ”Damn… that poison works quick. If I could only break this shield… but I punched it a lot but it doesn’t even look cracked… Plan B it is.”

Backing off for just a moment, Anteater quickly buckled, and jumped into the air amid a chorus of gasps from those watching. His hands gripped the edges of the Protect, the edge surprisingly sharp and dull at the same time. Before Scolipede could realize what was happening Anteater lifted himself up, the strength of Anteaters form granting him the strength to do so despite the powerful poisons coursing through Anteater’s veins.

Scolipede looked up and was greeted with a knee burrowing into his face.

“DODGE!”

The Protect faded as Scolipede crumpled underneath the weight of Anteater, who began to wail on the helpless bug, wailing on him as Scolipede struggled to regain control of the battle. As the beatdown continued, the blows came less and less frequently, each punch striking the fallen bug feeling less and less harmful. Scolipede managed to turn it’s head enough to look at Anteater.

He was heaving heavily, every breath labored as the beads of sweat became more noticeable. The strikes had ceased, Anteater struggling to stay conscious.

Scolipede grinned as purple venom foamed at his mouth. “Venoshock!”

Venoshock, by Poison Type standards, is an odd move. The attack, like most if not all poison type moves, involved the manipulation of toxins in the target’s body. The toxins within Venoshock was not poisonous when compared to the other posions at a Poison type’s disposal. Instead, these toxics manipulated other toxics, like the toxins within Toxic, and the merging of the two toxins causes existing poisons to violently react once the two combine into one.

Streams of purple poison fired from Scolipede’s mouth and dove into Anteater. Anteater could do nothing but scream as his body burned from the unbearable pain, recoiling in pain as he stumbled off of the Scolipede. The pain was unlike any he ever felt before, like the blood inside of him was turned into a never ending bonfire.

Soon, all Anteater knew was pain; pain so intense that all other sensations ceased to exist.

That included the twin horns of Scolipede striking him down, and sending Anteater into pained slumber.

Nurse Joy and her assistants wasted no time rushing to Anteater’s aid, the mercenary shifting back to his true form as he crashed into the ground. Scolipede surprisingly was lending a horn, the hostility he showed now gone in favor or kindness towards the one he defeated.

On the sidelines however X felt a chill go down his spine. He gulped, reality setting in. “Anyone else realizing the shit just hit the fan?”

“You and the rest of my empire,” Carapace glared at the Scolipede, the titanic insect that was a surprise in all ways. “... something tells me that he is not going to be an easy victory.”

Author's Note

Well folks, here we are: The final stretch. The big battle is finally upon us and soon we shall see if our heroes and the Changelings are strong enough to keep their homes.

Stay tuned and stay golden everyone!

Interlude 2 - Scary Face

Interlude 2
Scary Face

Day 3
The light of dawn breaking danced through the cracks of the tight-nit trees, peace and quiet reigned through the area. Truly it was tranquil, a tranquility that could not be disturbed in any way.

At least, it was that way until they came.

The Durant marched towards their destination like a metal tide, the morning light reflecting off of their metal skin as they marched in silence. Among their numbers were some Pokemon of the Poison and Grass types, brothers in arms with their metal kin.

Unknown to the marching tide, six eyes glared from the foliage in silence and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Then struck.

The attack went off without a hitch. The Durant and their comrades were caught unawares, ambushed by the blur of muscle with cloven hooves bared breaking their formation like it was a wall of Legos. Undaunted, the creatures shouted in panic and started their counter-attack towards the assaulter.

“This is the last time you get to choose what we hunt Draze,” Gorz, the goat head of the chimera moaned. “Their skin looks like it’s metal.”
Five of the metal ants attempted to strike the beast from behind. It failed horrifically as the chimera quickly swung around and swept them away and shoot them into the trees like darts flying towards a target with resounding metal clangs.

“Uh, I think they’re actually made of metal,” the tiger head Tize replied.

“I think my point is proven explicitly.”

“Hey, my turn to choose the meal. No complaining!” Draze, the dragon head roared as a stream of lightning struck over a dozen targets.

“But they’re made of metal,” Tize pointed out. “That’s not exactly tasty.”

“Maybe they’re squishy on the inside?”

Groz just shuddered. “Let’s just get this done with.”

In a solid minute, the intimidating wave of Durant and their comrades had been reduced to several Pokemon on the ground in pain from the ambush. “Wow… that was easy,” admitted Gorz. “Not like that green thingy.”

Draze however was gazing at a trio of Durant with a drooling mouth. “Don't care. Hungry.” Draze was about to see if a Durant was indeed squishy on the inside before a tree was thrown into his head. All three of them turned in anger and were about to shout in anger until they got a good look at whom threw the trees.

It was a creature holding a rather large fallen tree in each hand whom looked just like the hedgehog creature that had pierced their wing, with the major difference between this one and that one being the color: This creature was dominated by greens and browns rather than whites and greens.

“I do not know what you are, but I know this: You are foolish to harm my colony. Now let me show you why I am the strongest of the colony!”

Six eyes saw flashes of the other hedgehog creature utterly beat down the chimera.

“OH SHIT IT’S ANOTHER ONE!”

“SUDDENLY I’M NOT HUNGRY ANYMORE!”

“RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!”

Without warning the chimera ran into the jungle just as quickly as it emerged, leaving behind a wake of pain and misery.

Iron Shell was rather confused as the beast she encountered just ran away as soon as she revealed herself. A Chespin walked up, and Iron Shell looked down at the young one as she set down her weapons. “...was it something I said?”

The Chespin just shrugged.

“Probably. My foes usually run after I break their jaws, not before.”

Chapter 16 - Dragon Rage

Chapter 16

Dragon Rage

Footsteps.

The sound of footsteps resounded across the jungle as their owner crushed the ground beneath titanic clawed feet. Small craters formed as the creature tore through the trees.

The very same trees only the mightiest of monsters could crush.

As the creature marched, its eyes, yellow irises over black sclera, glared forwards as it marched towards its calling.

Battle.

The creature roared, the sound scaring several birds into the air, fearful of the mere sound of the titan.

As Anteater was taken out of the Pit for medical treatment, Carapace eyed his allies, many of them chomping at the bit to take Scolipede down a few notches. Carapace was about to ask whom wanted a shoot when Azisa started to walk towards the entrance to the battleground.

“Azisa?” X gasped, “What are you doing?”

“Battling of course.”

“Azisa, you sure?”

Azisa nodded, her eye piercing the tension filling the air. “X, those Durant are at this moment the bane of my existence. Not only do they resist most if not all of my moves but at least one of them knows Shadow Claw. And if one of them know it, there is a good chance more than one know it. Against a Scolipede however...”

Carapace was quick to catch on, beating X to the punch, “You’ll have an easier time?”

“Exactly,” Azisa replied. “Now is the time for me to act rather that wait for a better matchup that might not happen.”

“If you’re confident in your power, go,” Carapace commanded. Azisa bowed in respect and continued her march towards the towering Scolipede. As Azisa walked, Carapace eyed Naruto, the Zoroark watching his ally and friend go into battle. “I know nothing of you Pokemon, so I must ask: Is she the right choice?”

“I believe so,” replied the Dark Type. “You see, Azisa might not be able to overpower Scolipede, but she will able to outlast him. After all, she’s called the Vampire of Laverre for a reason.”

“You are my next foe?” Scolipede boasted. He laughed as he stared down at the Trevenant. “They send a Pokemon like you against a Pokemon like me?”

“Aren’t we boastful?” Azisa taunted back. “Didn’t you say something about the price of arrogance to Anteater?”

“That I did. Let us see if you can force my words into my gullet.” Balls of gunk shoot out of Scolipede’s mouth, the bug taking the first move. The bombs impacted the ground as Azisa deftly dodged them, eyeing her foe as she strafed around the mighty centipede.

This only spurred Scolipede into firing more shots, the air now filled with Sludge Bombs. And one was aimed straight for Azisa’s head.

To Scolipede’s horror, Azisa sunk into the ground amidst a purple portal of sorts. He scowled, standing his ground and waited for his foe to return and fight. “Where are you?”

“Phantom Force!”

Bursting from intangibility, Azisa plunged her claw into the Scolipede’s back, the Poison-Bug screaming in pain as the Ghost-type Attack raked across his chitin. Azisa leapt from the Bug just as Scolipede started to attempt bucking off the tree, and rushed at Azisa.

Azisa smirked the best one lacking a mouth could before fading away, dodging the Scolipede’s attack.

“That will not work a second time. IRON DEFENSE!”

Azira appeared again in a burst of ghostly energy, this time in front of the Poison Bug, and just her claw plunged into Scolipede his skin briefly turned metallic again, preventing the claw from even scratching it’s flesh.

Azisa scowled as she dodged another attack from Scolipede, and decided to change her approach. “Leech Seed!”

Tiny seeds shot from Azisa’s hand and hit their mark perfectly, the Scolipede wincing as the Seeds took root, preparing to suck his energy dry.

“So, prepared to wait it out huh?” Scolipede asked. “I can play that game.”

“I doubt it,” laughed the tree. “The seeds will drain you no matter how hard you make your skin.”

The shout of pain Scolipede screamed was proof enough that the Leech Seeds were doing their job. Through the power of the Seeds, Azisa felt the energy flow from Scolipede to her. The Bug wasted no time however and rolled into a ball, the blades sticking out of the curled up insect and pointed at Azisa. “Steamroller!”

Azisa was not as lucky as previous times, as the insect slammed into Azisa, launching her into the wall (the distance was impressive enough to leave an impression on both Azisa and the audience). She got to her feet as quickly as she could and dove out of the way of another Steamroller before fading from sight to dodge a third.

Skidding to a stop, Scolipede unrolled itself, waiting for Azisa to show herself. “Come out little ghost.”

Azisa’ voice echoed from all angles, the voice seemingly coming from everywhere and yet nowhere. “As you said, you’re prepared to play the waiting game against me? I hope you meant it.”

Scolipede grunted through the pain, the Leech Seed doing more damage than the Trevenant. “That I did.”

“Well, I could just stay in this state until you fall. It’s not like you could stop me. True, it is a little lowbrow, but if I need to be underhanded to save these innocents from you and your colony, I can live with it.”

More grunts. “Coward.”

“Says the one trying to steal from people who have not wronged you or your colony.”

“You think a colony is built with just hard work and sweat!?” Scolipede shouted. “The dirt, the deep underground dirt is worthless! Our colony built that second, no third….no sixth rate colony in just under half a day once we arrived here! The tunnels can barely stand up intact!”

“And...how does that justify anything?”

“They have wood in many forms. Logs, planks, trees already liberated from the ground. We need those. And we will take what we need to ensure our colony stands forever tall!”

Azisa took a moment to think over what he just said, sighing after she thought of something. “You could have just asked.”

Now it was Scolipede’s turn to scoff. “You try waking up in an alien land, unsure of what is right and what is wrong. Where there are no rules that you know off, you do not ask for the rules. You make them. The Leader taught my that. I live by that code.”

“... You make a fair point. At least up until the bit about making up of new rules just because you can. I tried that once,” Azisa countered. “It resulted me in finding my trainer after he got me to calm down and think about it. I have never regretted that decision ever.”

“Trainers? I do not care not for trainers. Why need a trainer when you have a colony?” Scolipede grunted. “I don’t need a human to teach me right from wrong.”

“He didn’t. He just reminded me of what I already knew.” Azisa was calm with her reply as the Leech Seed did it’s work amidst the groans of pain. “And what I know is that in our little game of chicken, I seem to winning. Care to surrender now?”

“You think this is winning? I will show you winning!”

Scolipede did nothing.

Meanwhile, amongst the changeling crowd.

“What do you think he’s doing?” Nell asked. X and Naruto narrowed their eyes, hoping the squinting could help them see better.

“I dunno. I seem to miss a few details when it comes to subtlety,” X admitted.

“He just seems to be standing there,” Naruto answered. “Why is what I want to know.”

“Wait… I think I hear something.” Carapace morphed his ears into that of an eagle, the bird’s superior hearing replacing that of his native form. Rizen and Silver did the same, their ears mimicking that of their Emperors’ The three simply stared at the towering Bug, trying to identify what strange tactic he was performing.

“Hear anything Rizen?” Silver asked.

“... I think so. What about you?”

“Yeah, I think so... but I could be wrong.”

“What do you hear, Silver?”

“Well boss, it sound like… snoring.”

The three Changelings blinked, then blinked again as they mulled it over in their minds. “You know… I heard that was well,” Carapace replied, a quizzical expression dominating his face. “How odd.”

“... You think he didn’t get enough sleep last night?” asked Rizen.

“Bad time for a nap in my opinion,” taunted Silver, “Am I right you two?”

X and Naruto took a quick look before speaking as one: “Rest.”

“Gazuntite.”

“Not quite,” Naruto corrected SIlver Heart, who just shrugged in an indignant manner. “Pokemon moves take many forms and have many properties. Rest uses a Pokemon’s latent psychic energy to put them into a healing sleep.”

“In other words, they fall asleep in exchange for extremely quick healing,” X elaborated. “It’s pretty good for Pokemon who can take a hit or like to carry around Cheri Berries. But the move’s biggest weakness is…”

Nell was quick to catch on, replying with “The move makes the user falls asleep and thus they can’t actually stop their opponent from just wailing on them until they wake up.”

“Exactly,” Naruto nodded.

“So… answer me this,” SIlver Heart groaned, “What happens now? The Bug keeps healing all day long until we decide to break for dinner?”

“I don’t think it works like that. Those seeds Azisa called Leech Seed have something to do with it.” Rizen eyed the resting Scolipede, oblivious to all during its oddly restful sleep. “... do they have something to do with what you called Azisa?”

Naruto nodded again before explaining. “You mean the Vampire of Laverre? Indeed. Trevenant like Azisa have several varied options when it comes to healing, and most if not all of them rely on draining it from their foe like some sort of battery. Leech Seed and Horn Leech used in tandem makes a potent combination. The Seeds and Horn Leech will slowly steal Scolipede’s energy…”

“... which Scolipede can simply recover by resting,” Carapace finished. “Scolipede is baiting Azsia out. He knows that he cannot win if Azisa stays intangible. He wants her to fight him on his terms, not her’s.”

“But he’s asleep.”

“Somehow I doubt that bothers Scolipede…”

Azisa glared at the sleeping form of the Scolipede stood oblivious to all. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Scolipede was planning, hoping to bait Azisa out of hiding and back into material form. The Leech Seeds were potent, yes, but they weren’t known for their speed: Scolipede would wake up before they would do him in, and that would just result in Scolipede Resting again. And thanks to Iron Defense, his defence was akin to Iron.

The real question is why.

Only one way to find out.

Bursting into her material form he struck Scolipede as hard as she could. As predicticted her Phantom Force attack was not as strong as it could have been against the hardened armored skin of Scolipede. Narrowing her eye, Azisa’s fists lightly glowed orange for the briefest of moments. “Fine then. Power-Up Punch!”

Azisa’s fists struck Scolipede again and again, each blow dealing just a bit more than the last. “Rethinking your stance on Resting I hope!”

In response Scolipede’s horn glowed green, and Azisa suddenly felt less confident than before. The bladed horns fell down on her, slicing through her ectoplasmic limbs like a hot knife through butter.

Azisa was wise in her decision to scramble away from the wild swings of Scolipede’s head.

“Explain,” was Rizen’s only question.

“Sleep Talk,” replied Pyre, the Pyroar lounging on the ground as she watched Azisa attempt at running from a sleeping Megapede that was walking towards her like a drunk person. “It lets the user attack while sleeping...”

“That seems a little overpowered actually,” interrupted Rizen.

“... but prohibits them from actually choosing which move they actually use,” finished the Pyroar.

“Oh. That sounds a little more balanced,” admitted Rizen. “Hopefully he’ll get a few moves that aren’t that useful.”

X was less hopeful. “Considering our luck, that’s not going to happen.” Everyone turned their heads in disappointment at X. “... What? Someone has to be the realist.”

WIth quick jumps Azisa dodged the sleeping titan’s wild yet somehow accurate attacks with clumsy grace. After two close calls the attacks stopped, Azisa stumbling back to space herself and give her a moment to catch her non-existent breath. ”Lets see what you give me this time.”

Orange white energy surrounded the Scolipede and he charged at her. Azisa resisted the urge to gloat as the attack crashed into her at full force, the Changelings in the audience gasping in horror as their current champion just stood there, allowing the attack to hit.

When the energy faded and the view was unobstructed Azisa just stood there as if nothing happened. “... Wow. Just… wow,” Azisa replied as she readied more Power-Up Punches and pummeled the Scolipede

At that moment Scolipede opened his eyes, finally free from his slumber. He struggled to dodge, to free himself from the pain of the punches and the Leech Seed that was draining his energy.

Yet he could not, drained from the worthless Giga Impact he let loose upon the ghost.

The glaring of the Changelings intensified as X sheepishly grinned. “Okay, okay, I was wrong. We’re not that unlucky.”

“Why does a Scolipede even know Giga Impact?” mused Naruto, ignorant of the pressure piling on X’s metaphorical plate.

Each blow from Azisa felt like it was getting hit by a weight,, only for more weight to be added with each successive blow. Finally, after many tense moment's, Scolipede surprised Azisa with a quick Poison Tail, the force launching Azisa into the ground with a crash.

As Azsia recovered, Scolipede Rested again.

Growling, Azisa charged again, her hands turning into terrifyingly large horn-like protrusions. “Horn Leech!”

The blow struck its mark, and the energy begun to flow from bug to tree. Before she could harvest more energy the sleeping giant Sleep Talked again, this conversation silently speaking a wave of tiny bugs into existence that quickly swarmed Azisa. Azisa struggled, panicked by the surprising appearance of the attack.

To say she was surprised would’ve been something of an understatement. “Infestation!? Oh, damn it all!”

The bugs latched on, gnawing and gnawing in ignorance of Azisa's feverish attempts to get the bugs to leave her alone. And all the while Scolipede stood asleep, as silent and as still as a statue as Azisa struggled below.

Unbeknownst to the panicking tree, Scolipede woke up, and instantly curled into a ball and rolled towards Azisa.

She didn’t see the attack coming.

With a pained shout Azisa was knocked over and pushed into the ground just as the Infestation disappeared. The pain was intense as Scolipede rolled in place on top of Azisa, friction creating unbearable pain as Azsia struggled in vain to escape.

As Azisa was a strange mix of undead and living elements, she did not have all the benefits of being dead. Which meant that for her to become intangible, Phantom Force needed to be used. But when one was currently underneath two hundred kilograms of weight, concentration was something one did not have a complete supply of.

Precious moment's pass before Azisa slammed the ground with her free arm. “I yield! I yield!”

And just like that, Scolipede rolled off of Azisa, unfurling his body with a grin on his face. Before the nurses could make their way to Azisa, Scolipede bent down as far as he could with his large upper body, and offered Azisa his horn.

Azisa was notably concerned. “... what is that for?”

“It is to help you up.”

Azisa gazed at the foe, the now civil gentleman whom just moments ago was a warrior that fought with unnatural vigor. She took the horn the Scolipede was offering and got up on her spindly legs. “Thank you, but why? I am your opponent.”

“Only during a battle. After the fight, I am a friend.”

If Azisa had a mouth, she would have returned the smile. She accepted the horn with a gentle hand and got to her feet, unsteady despite the six legs that usually granted her perfect balance just as the nurses arrived to assist her out of The Pit.

As the Nurses ran to the Pit to provide their medical knowledge to the wounded, Carapace simple eyed the Scolipede with an intense stare. “So, Scolipede just defeated Anteater and Azisa. Something tells me we might need to break out our secret weapon.”

X was the first one to speak. “Well… this is bad.”

“Do not coddle the truth.” The Emperor stomped his hooves in a fury of anger on the ground. His eyes bored towards Scolipede, the titan of the insect kingdom using the wooden logs forming the walls of the PIt as scratching posts, grinding as much of the Leech Seed off of him as he could.

So far he was succeeding.

“Yea, I know, I know. That guy is powerful, no denying that.” X then turned around to face the temporary First Aid station where various nurses and doctors of both Changeling and Pokemon origin hurried to give the very wounded Anteater treatment. The warrior for hire was lying on a blanket, his caretakers doing the best to give him the care they could in the current conditions.

“You’re the Pokemon experts. What do you think we should do?” Silver Heart growled. “That guy took out our guy and your guy back to back. We need to take him out, and we need to do it now. Otherwise he’s going to win this and we’re going to need to annex Eintel to a bunch of ants.”

“It’s obvious what we should do.” Without further words, both Naruto and Pyre took a step forward, ready to face their fate.

X did not approve of this course of action. “Now wait a moment Naruto, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to fight.”

“Not this again.”

“I have a legitimate reason this time,” quickly amended X. “You and Pyre are the only pokemon, or changelings on our side with any fire attacks.”

For some reason Carapace was offended. “Excuse me!?”

“Uh, I mean any good fire attacks.”

“That’s better.”

A sigh of relief from X was given before he continued. “Our main threats are the Durant. You know, the Steel Bugs. Fire is going to wreck Scolipede due to fact that ‘s part Bug, Fire is going to practically one-shot any Durant that gets hit by it. And they know it.”

“Of course they know that,” the miffed Pyroar spat out. “Do you think we are not ignorant?”

“That’s not what I’m trying to say. They’re baiting us out. If we send out our anti-Durant guy now, they’re going to send their anti-fire user out next, and take ours out like that,” X explained. “Trust me.”

“Are you sure they're going to do that?” Nell asked, uncertainty ringing in her words.

“It’s what I would do. I may not be good at battling, but I am good at making plans.”

“It’s not like we can just do nothing,” countered Carapace. “We must defeat this Scolipede. It seems that it has a way to counter anything we use!”

“That’s pretty accurate,” lamented the Zoroark, his arms crossed in tranquil anger. “Iron Defense to resist damage, Rest to recover damage, Protect to prevent attacks from landing, and let’s not forget Megahorn, Steamroller, and Infestation. And Giga Impact. Seriously, why does a Scolipede even need an attack like that in the first place?”

“I’m not sure I want to know…” Nell mused. “He was scary before, now he seems to be invincible.”

“Nothing is invincible,” replied the Emperor. “Trust me, I have seen the invincible fall so many times before. This time is no different.”

“Which means we must sure one of our Fire users, like myself, now!” Naruto practically screamed. “If we wait to use our advantages than what’ the point?”

“Because Scolipede isn’t worth it.” X then kneeled down and picked up his hammer, the weapon that was once laying on the ground now in his hands. “I’ll go.”

Naruto seethed in anger. “Are you insane!? What makes you going in my stead better than me He’s part Poison! Due to his typing, not only are his best attacks, like say that Poison Tail, better against you, but both of your types will do less to him!

“The last time I checked, a hammer is not a type,” X pointed out

“Says the man who doesn’t have as much experience in battle as we do? X, I know you actually want to fight this time around, but I don't think that kind of a matchup is ready for you. Do you even know how to use pokemon attacks?”

X tried to respond, but quickly found he couldn’t. “Well, kinda?”

Eyebrows all around were raised. “Kinda?”

“I know I can pull off Spiky Shield and maybe Rollout?” An awkward smile followed.

“There’s a catch,” Carapace pointed out.

“Yeah, I’m not sure how to do it consistently. After I got my hammer, I practiced for a bit and, well, they sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t”

Somewhere a group of crickets felt the need to create their special kind of music.

“This is our great hero?” Silver Heart snarked.

“Hey, you try getting magically transformed into a different species!”

“We’re changelings. That’s literally what we do.”

“... Fair point.”

“It’s been damn near twenty hours. When are we gonna eat!?” Draze complained. His chimeric brothers in arms groaned as they stalked the jungle, looking for food.

They had three mouths to feed, so when hunting chimeras tended to look for the biggest prey they could to save on hunting time. For now, the beast was having a hard time of it.

“Draze, you’ve been moaning about our food problem for damn near an hour” Tize snapped at his brother. “We get it! We’re hungry too, so give it a freaking break!”

“Hey, who made you the boss! I can moan if I want to, and what I want to do is moan!”

“BOTH OF YOU STOP IT!” Both heads did as Gorz commanded, the goat head angrily bleating “You think you have it tough? I have to listen to both of you bitch about how we haven’t had a good meal. I’m the one trying to find us something to eat!”

“Still say we should have taken at least one of those ants and seen if it was squishy on the inside…” moaned Draze.

“Damnit Draze, we told you to stop mentioning that!” echoed Tize and Gorz in unison.

“Okay smart guys, what do we do for a bite to eat?”

“Simple. We stay here and wait for the first family sized meal to find us,” Gorz explained. The chimera sat down with a light thud, as the creature waited in the morning light to find something to eat.

They didn’t need to wait long as distant rustling alerted them to an approaching meal. “Told you.”

“Fine. You win.”

The steps slowly got louder and louder. To the trios’ surprised, the ground was lightly shaking, as if the mysterious creature was the cause of the shakes.

Before any questions could be asked the source of the mystery burst from the foliage, the crushing charge leveling the trees it charged through in a hurricane of wood and leaves. The chimera sat there wide eyed and slacked jawed (all three sets of them) as the mysterious creature and ran past them and disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

Two of the changelings that lived in the large city were also riding it, alongside a lizard.

What surprised the chimera the most is that the creature was huge, capable of towering over themselves like it was nothing

Tize was the first to speak.

“Guys… just checking here, but… did we just see a giant rock creature just… tear through the jungle like we usually do?”

Gorz and Draze just nodded in silence.

“Good. For a second there I thought reality just took a vacation.”

Silence.

“You know… Marelantis is looking pretty good this time of year.”

“Guys, Lord Emperor, I’m not exactly how to say this, but…” Nell gulped as she tried to summon the words she needed to speak. “... shouldn't we stop fighting amongst ourselves and start fighting against them?”

It was true. While he was waiting for his next foe, Scolipede had rid himself of enough Leech Seeds to render them useless and gotten another Rest in while his colony looked ready to riot.

This was all ignored by the shouts of Pokemon and Emperor alike.

Silver Heart took the opportunity to snark “Honey, they ain’t listening.”

At this point Azisa walked on uneasy legs, a very thick cane used to help her stand straight for the toll of battle was a harsh taskmaster towards Azisa. “Did I miss anything?” Azisa asked.

“Not really, unless this is your thing,” Silver groaned amidst the shouting. “You healed up fast.”

“You flatter me,” Azisa snarked at the snarker. “That Scolipede hit like a truck, no doubt about that.”

“Are you sure you are okay to stand up?” asked the concerned warrior. He raised a hoof to which Asia politely raised hers to decline the offer. “Because you just got rolled on by a giant centipede.

“And it wasn’t pleasant let me tell you that. I ache all over, things are blurry along the edges of my vision, and I think everything smells like spaghetti for some reason.”

“But… you don’t have a nose.”

“That is what worries me.”

Nell just groaned. “This is taking us nowhere. I’m tempted to just walk into the Pit and freeze that guy.”

“And miss this? This is quality entertainment.”

A pained shout echoed Nell’s feelings perfectly. “Guys, do something!”

“We’re trying Nell but someone won’t let me do my job of protecting my family! I’m looking out for them first! I’m going!” X shouted.

Carapace took flight, getting right in X’s face. “And I’m the Emperor of my empire! Your job may be to protect your family, but my job is to protect them first and foremost! Naruto, Pyre, I don’t care who goes in, but one of you go in.”

“Sorry X, but duty calls,” Naruto sighed.

“Emperor, you’re making a grave mistake and I need you to trust me.”

“I do trust you, but I do not have enough faith in your ability to not die.” Carapace narrowed his eyes, entering a staring contest with X. “I need combat results, not hopeful thinking.”

“Hey, I saved Nell and Pyre from some three headed thingy,” X replied. “I’m pretty sure I can fight.”

“I’m not sure that description narrows it down enough,” RIzen mused. “Miss Nell, can you help us? X did just say you were there.”

“Yeah, I was. And X is telling the truth. He fought a chimera.”

Carapace, Rizen, SIlver Heart, and several of the eavesdropping Changelings gasped in unison. SIlver Heart was the first to speak up. “You fought a chimera and lived?”

“Uh… yes,” X replied. “And I got him to run away after punching him a lot.”

Silence resonated in such volume that one could hear a glass break on the other side of the Staging Grounds in perfect clarity. Several of those listening dropped their jaws in amazement. X was mildly confused. “... what did I say?”

“You beat a chimera!?” Silver shouted.

“Apparently?”

“How did you manage to do that?”

“You know… I’m not exactly sure, but it involved punching.”

“Okay, let’s get this conversation back on track,” Carapace shouted. “Naruto or Pyre is going in, and they are going in now.”

“Of all the things we should do, that is the thing we should do later!” shouted X. “I understand that this is your country and thus your rules, but think about it from another point of view! The Durant are trying to make us do stupid things so it’s easier to win! They want us to make hasty decisions that are going to ruin us in the long run! Anger makes you stupid after all!”

“A fact you are proving to be true quite well right now,” Carapace taunted.

“Seriously, stop doing that emotion detection thing! It’s creepy!”

“I don’t need it to know what you are feeling! And it is not creepy!” the Emperor feigned being hurt before resuming. “You are forgetting your place X. This is my city, my jungle, my country, my world! You and your kind are guests, foreigners from beyond our reach. Your advice, your suggestions are just that: Advice and suggestions, not paths I must traverse. So do yourself a favor and sit down and shut up and let me lead!”

“Hey, I’m trying to help you!”

“You are a construction worker! You build buildings yet you try to claim to a thousand year old changeling that you know how to wage war better than me? I have waged more battles against impossible odds such as these than you have had chest colds!“

“Which explains why you’re just standing here on the sidelines?”

“I’m saving myself for The Leader,” Carapace countered. “He must be among the strongest of his colony for a titan like Scolipede to yield to him. He will fight, and when he does I want to teach him a lesson, one he will never forget.

“My land is my land. Not his, or anyone else’s.”

“That doesn't change anything. I got beef against these guys too but I’m not letting Naruto or Pyre get hurt unless there is a damn good reason, and a Scolipede is not that reason! ”

“If you want me to trust you, you need to trust me!”

“BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!”

Both construction worker and Emperor turned to face Nell, currently standing on Azisa’s head with her wings buzzing to give her the balance she needed via semi-flight. “I’ll go.”

Eyebrows were raised in disbelief. “I’m being serious you know.”

“Uh Nell, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Rizen fluttered in front of Nell to be at her eye level before asking “You’re not really a fighter… are you?”

“Uh, no. But I can stand my own! I fought some Durant. I’m pretty sure that I can win,” Nell shouted. Her ears then pressed themselves against her head as she sheepishly added a “Maybe.”

“Nell, I think we can all agree that you’re probably not the best choice,” X replied.

“I can fight!”

“Nell, let’s be real here. You’re not exactly a fighter are you?” Naruto pointed out.

“But I beat a Durant, maybe two!”

“That is true, but when was the first time you actually fought another being in a level such as this?”

Naruto’s question was a good one, piercing through Nell’s bravado. “...when you pokemon appeared.”

“So, just two days? Nell, out of all of us, you must be the one with the least combat experience,” explained the Zoroark, the fox kneeling down and placing a hand on Nell’s shoulder (well, the closest analogue to one, it was hard to tell). “It’s not that we don’t want your help, it’s just that you have already done so much. We don’t want you to risk your safety because you are relying too much on instinct when you take the field of battle.”

“But X wants to fight and he beat up a chimera!” Nell countered. “Why him?”

“Well X doesn’t like to mention this, but back home he did train me and his other pokemon friends,“ Naruto smiled. “It didn’t happen often, but he did lead us into battle every now and again. He may not have actually been in a fight, but he knows what to do if he ever does get in one.”

“Like say beating up a chimera?”

Naruto nodded. “Nell, you and your family have done a lot for us, giving us a place to stay and most importantly wanting to be friends with strangers like us. Now it is our turn to help you. Let us fight in your place.”

Nell was reluctant but accepted Naruto’s line of thought, jumping off of Azisa’s head and landing gently on the ground. “Okay, I think i get what you are saying, but… X should go instead of you.”

“Well Nell the problem is that if X does fight, type wise he will be at a disadvantage due to Scolipede’s Poison and Bug typing resisting any of a Chesnaught’s good attacks.” X pointed at his hammer again with a sour look as Naruto continued to explain. “We really don’t want Scolipede to steamroll through another fight, and we really need the victory now to regain our side’s momentum.”

“But I believe in X,” Nell explained. “I know he’s not really a fighter, but he braved the jungle just to find me and he did. And when he found, me he saved me from a chimera. I don’t know if you know this, but chimera are really hard to hurt, and X hurt that chimera like it was nothing. He even threw a rock through the chimera’s wing. That’s hard to do.”

Several guards whistled with X grinning like an idiot. “I think you underestimate X, Naruto.”

“I do?” Naruto questioned. His gentle tone did not change as he thought on what Nell was suggesting. “I’ve known X for a long time. I think I estimate him quite well.”

“Naruto, just look at X,” Naruto did so, taking a close look at X’s body. It was riddled with scratches and the occasional scar, and now that he looked harder X seemed to be somewhat exhausted, struggling to look like he was fit for duty. Every other breath was deeper and heavier than the average breath, like X was catching his breath due to overworking his newly transformed body. “He looks like he’s ready to fall. But that’s not going to stop him. He’d do anything for you guys. So why not let him?”

It took Naruto a moment to think it over. “Well, I’m going to be honest here. I don’t think X is ready for this. After all I only have you to vouch for him. I don’t feel that X is ready for a fight, having just turned into a completely different species and is probably not used to being a Chesnaught. But you are right: X does seem to be able to pull a surprise from under his sleeve.” Turning to his best friend Naruto gave only a smile, the only confirmation that X needed as the former human readied his hammer.

“X, I seem to recall me giving the orders around here,” Carapace angrily replied. “You lack fire, which does not convince me.”

X shrugged. “But I did beat up a chimera. Isn’t that supposed to be impressive?”

“Beating a chimera is very impressive but that’s not the point.” With a stomp of his hooves all eyes turned to face Carapace. “We need to fight back before we lose the will to fight, and thus lose before we have a chance to even fight! You are not going in because I do not feel that you are ready to fight a foe like Scolipede. Nell is not going in because she has no real experience in a battle such as this. And both of you lack the fire you keep boasting about. I have had enough of this endless arguing, and I will put an end… to… it?” The rant ended prematurely, Carapace staining to hear something only he apparently could hear.

X, along with everyone else, was a little confused and worried. “Uh… Emperor?”

“Does anyone else here that or am I becoming senile?”

“No, but I feel that,” Azisa replied

Naruto perked his ears, trying to hear what was heard. His ears twitched as the sound got louder. “I hear it too. It sounds like… footsteps. Really loud footsteps. And… it sounds like they’re getting closer.”

Without warning, screams of terror resounded, the Changelings in the way of the mysterious terrifying event diving for cover or taking to the air.

X took the first action.

“MOVE!”

X dove out of the way, Nell gripping his cloak for dear life as Naruto followed his trainer with a backflip. Carapace did the same alongside the gathered soldiers, and Pyre the Pyroar dove for cover.

The sounds of footsteps thundered as the creature leapt from the edge of the pit and landed with an echo of thunder striking the ground. Dirt and dust exploded from the ground like a geyser giving the sky a tribute of water, obscuring the creature from the eyes of all. “What the Tartarus just happened!?” Carapace bellowed. “I demand to know!”

“No idea. But whatever it is, it’s huge!” Rizen shouted.

“Huge is appropriate. Look!” Silver bellowed. The Emperor turned to face Silver’s cry of worry, and spied the walls that separated the jungle from the Staging Grounds. The wall had clearly seen better days as whatever just came into the staging ground just ran into it and created a wide gaping hole in the wall. The remains of the log wall that once stood laid on the ground shattered and broken, a trail of giant footprints leaving a path towards the pit.

Carapace’s head tilted just a inch to his left, eyeing Naruto. The expression of the royal told Naruto exactly what Carapace was thinking: “What the hell is that thing? Do you know?”

Naruto had a hard time thinking of an answer. Yet before he could, the creature within the dust curtain let loose a mighty roar, the bellowing sound blowing away the dust that lingered, revealing the creature in all its terrifying glory.

The monster was a Pokemon, and a tall one at that. It stood at a height that rivaled that of Scolipede, its rocky skin a brick red with a grey underbelly. A frill of white feathers encircled his neck, tall and regal like the collar of a king’s cape. The creature crouched in a battle-ready position, clawing into the ground with rocky taloned feet. Its tail waved back and forth, a sign that its owner was eager for battle. Low growls rumbled from the creature's jaws, a rocky protrusion from its bottom suggesting that the creature had a glorious beard.

Scolipede instinctively took steps backwards to distance himself from the new arrival that was glaring at him intently. The orange crest that framed his face and yellow irises over black sclera eyed his foe with an equal amount of tension.

What was most surprising was that the creature was apparently carrying passengers: two changelings with yellow manes, wing, chitin saddles, and tail holding on as tight as a yellow and black lizard creature sat between them. Nell looked at the passengers, the changelings looking familiar. Too familiar. “X… is that who I think it is?”

The lizard turned around, and shouted “Sorry we’re late! We took a wrong turn at Albuquerque!”

“HI NELL!”

“WE’RE ON A DRAGON MADE OF ROCKS! HOW COOL IS THAT?”

“Yep, it’s them,” Nell deadpanned with a smile. The trio made their way off of the Dragon, running and flying out of the pit as fast as they could. “Wonder who that guy is?”

X, Azisa, and Naruto however were paying less attention to the changelings and more attention to the Pokemon. “Friends, I think I see Inti on top of that guy. And if Inti is riding him… then that must mean...”

“There’s no way it can be him. Can it?” X questioned.

“Considering we are now technically classified as aliens whom were all swept away from our own world to live in this one by our collective God, let’s leave reason at the curb for now. It has to be him, as he was the only Tyrunt I know of to be in the city.” Naruto replied.

“Well Let’s be sure.” X replied in turn.

“I’m thinking you have an idea.” Rizen eyed the creature. The mere presence of the creature seemed to be scaring the Durant, especially the Scolipede who was taking more than his fair share of cautious steps backwards.

“Sure do.” X took one step forward, and shouted to the Rock Dragon “HEY! YOU!”

The Dragon swung around, his eyes glaring at the Chesnaught as it it could bore through solid steel. “Yes?”

“DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN THE VOLCARONA INCIDENT!?”

“NO! I, uh… I mean… yessssss I do! Totally know it!” the Dragon replied, grinning as awkwardly as he could. “But you know… You could tell me what you know about it. Cause that way, I would know if you know. It’s double-checking or something like that.“

Confirmation. Oh how sweet the sound.

“IT’S APOCALYPSE!” X shouted, his arms shooting into the air. “HE EVOLVED! YEAH-AH!” Beside him Naruto yelled in joy as Azisa did the happy dance. Several of the Pokemon present celebrated the arrival of the fossil pokemon as well, their prayers having apparently been answered in full and then some.

The changelings present, however, were more confused than joyful. “I’m lost. What’s going on?” Rizen asked the fox.

The Zoroark took no time to explain. “That’s Apocalypse! He evolved and now he’s stronger than ever before!”

Rizen shook his head, the answer not good enough. “No no no no. That can’t be Apocalypse,” he stated. “Apocalypse is only two feet tall.”

“Yeah, when he was a Tyrunt,” X took a break from his joyous yelling and entered the conversation. “But now, he’s grown into his fully evolved form: Tyrantrum!”

Rizen’s eye started to twitch.

Violently.

“No.”

“Beg pardon?”

“No. No. No. No. No. No. No,” Rizen chanted. “What you just told us is flat out impossible. Evolution is slow; it takes several millennia to occur over countless generations of organisms. I saw Apocalypse yesterday and he barely came up to Nell’s barrel. Are you honestly telling me that not only did Apocalypse gain a vast amount of mass in what I assume to be several hours, that feat alone also being impossible, but he somehow accelerated the process of nature and evolved!?”

“Uh… yes,” X answered honestly. “That’s how evolution works.”

“EVOLUTION DOES NOT WORK THAT FAST!!"

“Well of course it doesn't,” Azisa answered. “I was a Phantump for six years before I evolved into what I am now.”

“It took me about seven,” Naruto grinned.

“And Apocalypse is only a year old. Now that I think about it, that is kinda fast,” X commented.

“BUT IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT!! YOU CAN’T JUST DO SOMETHING AND SAY ‘because Science, screw you.’ IT JUST DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT! WHAT, NEXT YOU’RE GOING TO SAY THAT MAGIC STONES CAN CAUSE THE SAME ‘EVOLUTION’ CRAP?!”

“How did you know Inti and some other Pokemon evolve that way?” Azisa asked innocently.

“THAT ONLY RAISES FURTHER QUESTIONS!” Rizen was hysterical, hyperventilating as he paced back and forth trying to comprehend. “THIS IS NOT NORMAL!”

“It, uh… it is to us,” X grinned. This did nothing to calm Rizen.

“‘WHAT THE TARTARUS ARE YOU PEOPLE SMOKING?! HOW IS THAT NORMAL?! HOW IS ANY PART OF WHAT YOU JUST SAID NORMAL?! THAT THING VIOLATED SEVERAL LAWS OF PHYSICS!! THEY ARE LAWS, NOT SUGGESTIONS!! I AM NOT GOING TO STAND FOR-”

Silver Heart slapped Rizen in the face. Hard.

“WHAT THE TARTARUS SILVER?!”

“Sorry. Thought that was your off switch,” Silver taunted. Facing the Pokemon, SIlver sighed as he started to ignore Rizen hyperventilating. “Psychiatrists like him are scared of impossible things being possible and having to simply accept it like that. Like other changelings’ imaginations and taxes.”

“TAXES DO NOT SCARE ME SILVER!! I AM NOT DONE WITH THIS!! I DEMAND TO KNOW THE REAL ANSWER TO YOUR SO-CALLED-”

Rizen never got to finish as he was frozen in a block of ice thanks to twin ice beams from Carapace and Nell. “You’re welcome,” Carapace snarked.

At this time Inti, Nall, and Nalel rushed towards the group, the changelings tackling Nell to the ground as Inti ran to her family. “What up?” the lizard snarked.

“Inti, you had me worried!” Azina glared at the shorter pokemon with a motherly glare.

“Hey, I had to do what I had to do,” Inti shrugged. “I needed to come to terms with what I was, and how that wasn’t who I wanted, or needed to be.”

The rest of ShadowFox just looked at each other. “... I’m guessing there’s a story there,” X’s question bore a rather obvious answer that Inti’s glare answered for him. “Feel like sharing?”

“Later. Fight time now, backstory later! Anyone got any popcorn?”

“Your life is weird isn’t it?” Nall asked. X sighed, the breath he released heavy.

“I try my hardest to at least keep it semi-normal,” replied the former human with a shrug. “It’s not easy.”

“Let us get back to the matter at hoof. We can talk about which of the laws of Physics were broken after Apocalypse teaches that thing a lesson or two.”

“KICK HIS ASS BIG GUY!” Inti shouted.

As this was happening, the Leader and Iron Shell sat on the ground on a flat rock for each of them that the colony found during their trek to the Staging Grounds. The Chesnaught sat cross legged, eying the battles alongside her father, processing what she and her colony beheld. Like the changelings they battled against, the Shinies were surprised at the arrival of Apocalypse.

Unlike the changelings to them the surprise was not pleasant.

“A Dragon?” the Leader mused. “I am honestly surprised that they earned the favor of one.”

“The scouts did report that there was a Tyrunt amongst them,” Iron Shell replied. “Obviously it evolved sometime between the first night and now.”

“... Prepare our contingency plan for Dragons; ancient and powerful they may be, they are still Pokemon, and all Pokemon have a weakness,” the Leader grinned. “Let us see if he is worthy of the power he has.”

Apocalypse roared to announce his charge towards Scolipede. The speed of the Dragon was astounding, greater than Scolipede had anticipated, and Apocalypse was on the warrior bug before he could react. Jaws opened and then quickly Crunched around Scolipede. The jaws bore into him, piercing his heavily armored plating.

Struggling, Scolipede grunted as he tried to escape from the tight grip of the dinosaur. It proved to yield nothing but more pain as Apocalypse shook his head back and forth, shaking the Poison Bug violently, even managing to lift Scolipede just barely off the ground as he was thrashed around.

Apocalypse then opened his jaws and let momentum finish the job: Scolipede was thrown and flew almost to the edge of the pit, a fair distance. He shook his head, the eyesight that had blurred during the rocking back and forth returning, only to reward him with the sight of Apocalypse running towards him again.

“BELLY FLOP!”

Wasting no time, Scolipede put up a Protect just in time. Apocalypse leapt into the air and crashed into the shield, his attempt to belly flop onto his foe ended before it even began. “You’re strong, I admit. I was beginning to wonder if someone to rival the Anteater's power would come and face me.”

“Who’s Anteater?”

“Never mind. Let us enjoy the fight!” Scolipede shouted.

Apocalypse agreed, sliding off the shield before taking one giant step backwards. He pawed the ground before his head became enveloped in a blue white aura. “HEAD SMASH!”

“PROTECT!”

The surprisingly fast Rock Dragon crashed into the Protect, blue white energy spraying from the impact site alongside a boom of sound. The force of the impact was so great Scolipede was forced back, his feet digging a trail through the ground as he struggled to stay standing. Scolipede‘s eyes narrowed as he stared at his foe.

Whom was currently scampering around left and right as he trying to get his eyes to look straight forward. “Hey, no fair using Double Team!”

Scolipede simply blinked. “... I’m not using Double Team.”

“Then why are there five of you?”

“You smashed your head into a Protect. You tell me.”

“... Double team?”

Scolipede shook his head, unamused. “You are not… exactly bright are you?”

“No, and I’m okay with that!” Apocalypse roared. “NOW BRING IT!”

“Then I shall! Steamroller!” Scolipede curled up, and begun his assault on the Rock Dragon. Quicky spinning Scolipede wasted no time approaching the giant of a pokemon. Another roar bellowed from the jaws of the dinosaur as he attempted to ram his head into Scolipede…

… Only to crash it into the ground as Scolipede had quickly made a turn and evaded the attack. Apocalypse barely had enough time to get his head out of the dirt before Scolipede rammed into Apocalypse.

The roar Apocalypse bellowed expressed the horrid pain of being struck by the attack, the Pokemon doing his best to stand up straight, but to no avail: Eventually Apocalypse was forced down, falling down into the ground with a terrible crash as Scolipede simply rolled on top of the fallen pokemon and Steamrollered in place.

Friction is a harsh mistress.

“GET OFF! IT BURNS!!”

“Do you yield then?” scouted Scolipede. His speech was muffled, due to him currently being rolled up into a fast spinning ball.

“WHAT DOES YIELD MEAN?”

“It means to give up!”

‘OF COURSE I DON’T GIVE UP! WHY WOULD I WANNA DO THAT!?”

“Well I am on top of you grinding away at your skin.”

Mustering all the strength the child could, Apocalypse raised his head as high as he could. “THEN GET OFF!” Before Scolipede could respond Apocalypse slammed the side of his head into the ground and somehow contorted in such a way he lifted his body just a scant few inches off the ground.

It was just enough to destabilize the Poison Bug and launch him off of Apocalypse and send him rolling backwards, the insect unfurling into the heap on the ground. Both dinosaur and insect quickly got up and glared at their mutual enemy, seeing no other as Scolipede screamed a battle cry, curling into Steamroller again. Apocalypse gleefully accepted the challenge Scolipede issued, his head and eyes following Scolipede’s movements circling around Apocalypse, both pokemon searching for the right time to strike.

Scolipede found it first, dashing forward his target, his approach similar to his previous approach, yet at the same time, different somehow…

Apocalypse could care less. With tiny open arms he gleefully accepted the strike of the assault and got hit by the Steamroller at full force, and to the Tyrant Pokemon he was surprised the Scolipede was successfully pushing him backwards, his feet carving lines in the dirt this time.

Screams from the changeling side of the audience rose as the citizens of the empire decided that other places looked like a good place to be. They escaped just before Scolipede rammed Apocalypse into the wall of the Pit, an explosion of dirt and logs left in the wake of the strike. Apocalypse lay somewhat embedded into the wall amidst the wreckage, growling at Scolipede, whom was rolling away from Apocalypse before coming to a stop and unfurling. “You are strong, I give you that.”

“Thanks!”

The horns of Scolipede glowed with an ethereal white light vaguely in the shape of swords before he started to dance. “Then I must be stronger.”

“... why is he dancing?” Nall questioned. “I’m always up for a good dance cuz I do enjoy a good dance, but why would he dance in the middle of a fight?”

“That is Swords Dance.” Naruto explained. “It’s a very powerful move. Unlike most moves, this attack does no damage.”

“So… why dance?”

“Because the energies of the dance invigorate the user and grants them a temporary power boost.”

“... that’s bad isn’t it?”

“I would think so. Didn’t he say something about Defense of Iron?” the emperor asked. “I would think because of that, not only will Apocalypse need to hit harder to do any reasonable damage, but Scolipede will hit harder in turn.”

“You’re a quick learner, ain’t ya?” asked Inti.

“It comes with the territory of ruling an entire country. You learn, or your country burns with you.”

With a mighty burst of strength Apocalypse freed himself from his temporary prison and shook his head, a single pebble falling from it. His eyes darted around, yet not for long as he eyed Scolipede’s fervorous dance.

A dance he had just finished performing.

“No dance is gonna stop me!”

“Come and try worthy foe!” Scolipede taunted. Apocalypse accepted the challenge and ran towards the bug with mighty jaws open and waiting.

In response the horns of Scolipede glowed again, this time the glow bright green with the power of bugs. He reared, barely standing taller than Apocalypse and cast his Megahorn sword down on Apocalypse's forehead.

A quick thrust of his head upward attempted to destabilize Scolipede, but his strike missed as Scolipede had quickly pulled his head back. Apocalypse was then quickly slashed across the face with the Megahorn, Apocalypse stumbling back reflexively. A growl preceded Apocalypse lunging at Scolipede with Crunching jaws.

The fight had become a back and forth tug of war of strikes and misses: Apocalypse and Scolipede took turns striking with their respective attacks, fang and horn dancing in the billowing dust of the duo’s mighty stomps created (though most of the dust was Apocalypse’s doing). Yet the advantage was Scolipede’s as the titanic insect stabbed the young Dragon in his vulnerable underbelly.

Apocalypse roared as his head glowed again. Scolipede could not react fast enough to avoid the Head Smash, the powerful strike exploding in a burst of aura sending Scolipede back. Shaking his head Scolipede startle to charge towards Apocalypse, whom started to run away, trying to escape the wrath of Megahorn.

“Think Apocalypse think!” the voice inside Apocalypse berated him . “”You are not dumb. You are smart! And smart Pokemon have smart plans! Now, what can I do to stop Scolipede? The big meanie has swords on his head, which is exactly the same as having swords, or better because they're on your head. I don't have swords on my head. I have a big tail but that's not a sword… Wait. That could work. Maybe. Kinda. Sorta.

First I need him to not hurt me while I do the thing.”

Draconic eyes darted back and forth, eyeing for a perfect place to unleash his plan, and soon he found it: the wreckage he left behind when Scolipede rammed him into the wooden reinforcements of the Pit.

Running faster than the Scolipede could Apocalypse made his way to the giant slopped hole in the wall and somehow clammered up it, the Rock Dragon thankful for the wreckage and climbed up on the edges of the Pit’s wall. The Changelings around that particular part of the Pit decided that however far they were from the bit was apparently into far enough and backed up farther. “HEY SCOLIPEDE! WRESTLING APOCALYPSE SAYS EAT EARTHQUAKE!”

Apocalypse jumped. Head first.

Scolipede attempted to run.

Attempted being the key word.

Five hundred and ninety pounds of rocky dragon leapt into the ground as Apocalypse’s head turned the impact point into a crater, and the ground itself could not hold him up and shattered as if it was glass. Spears of rock erupted from the focal point as Scolipede attempt to flee resulted in him being tripped by the unsteady ground and rolled head over ass and rolled in a rather painful manner amidst a living tide made of the ground seemingly swallowing the bug.

Proud of his work, Apocalypse began to dance, and wisps of dragonic energy emerged around him and danced alongside the Tyrantrum.

“Oh come on, now Apocalypse is swordy dancing too?” Nalel complained. “BOOOOOOO! NO DANCING! GET BACK TO FIGHTING!”

“I would not be so hasty young one,” the elder emperor replied. He eyed the energy surrounding Apocalypse. “That’s draconic magic.”

“....You mean like the magic dragons use?”

“Indeed, but that kind of magic Apocalypse is using is odd. Most draconic magic I have used and experienced involves fire and thunder on the levels between ‘overkill’ and 'extreme overkill.’ There are no exceptions.”

“That ain’t Sword Dance. That’s a Dragon-type move called Dragon Dance,” Inti boasted. “It’s like Swords Dance, but while the attack buff isn’t as large as the Sword Dance, Apocalypse also gets a speed boost to compensate.“

“When did Apocalypse learn that? I don’t recall him ever doing that back home.” Azisa pondered.

Nall huffed. “... it’s dancing.”

Nell in turn chuckled. “She does have a point.”

Azisa silently relented and accepted the changelings argument. At that point, Carapace faced Inti and asked her “By the way Inti, I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Did you evolve?”

“Yep. About a year ago. Do you know how hard is it to find the Sun Stone I needed to evolve? It was hard. Really hard.”

The screaming inside Rizen’s head intensified.

Power flowed within the veins of Apocalypse as he finished his dance, Scolipede finally escaping the rubble, shaking off the dust and dirt. “Clever, but I am not finished yet. My Megahorn has proven to be most effective against you.” His horn glowed brightly again, the weapons formed and were ready to be used.

“I really don’t like that swordy horny thing you’re using! It's sharp and it makes me feel all hurty and stuff,” Apocalypse shouted. “Good thing I have one of those of my own!”

“You don’t have any horns, or swords!” Scolipede shouted.

“Who said it’s a horn or a sword!” Dragonic energy began to form at the base of Apocalypse's tail, and Scolipede instinctively took a giant step backwards. “DRAGON TAIL!”

The energy erupted like an angry volcano, the initial burst of the azure energy exploding in an uncontrollable, the energy rushing out without a distinct form like liquid. Just as quickly as it burst into creation the energy split into streams of flowing energy and swirled like a current around Apocalypse's tail.

All present were amazed, and some shocked to the point of fainting, as he saw the energy Apocalypse called into existence had formed an aura in the shape of a dragons’ head, the energy extending past the actual tip of Apocalypse's tail by a good two feet.

Apocalypse opened his jaws and let loose yet another roar, and the Dragon Tail opened its jaws as well to join in on the roar (whether or not it actually made a sound was up to debate: no one could actually hear anything over Apocalypse). With no further warning, Apocalypse charged at Scolipede, who did the same in turn. Scolipede lowered his glowing horns menacingly and Apocalypse hit the brakes, turning slightly as the massive centipede attempted to strike him with the Megahorn attack.

In a flash, the Dragon Tail blocked the attack, somehow long enough to contort around Apocalypse so he could strike and actually see what he was hitting.

Scolipede was many things, surprised being the big one right now. "... I did not see this coming."

"Yeah, neither did I." Apocalypse grinned. The Dragon Tail was waving back and forth in a taunting manner, the mouth of the aura dragon almost grinning in mock joy. With a roar the two locked blades again, intent to finish the fight.

"... Can he do that?" innocently asked Nell. X was about to answer with a shrug before Nall beat him to it. "Of course he can do that, you wanna know why? He's a dragon with a dragon for a tail, and he's using that dragon to have a sword fight with a giant centipede with swords on his head! How is that not awesome!?

X and the others took one step backwards, Nell shrugging. "... they're sports junkies."

The two titans’ makeshift swords clashed again and again, tail and horn striking against each other over and over again, neither one yielding to the other as their owners continued to put every inch of their power into each attack.

Scolipede was actually impressed at the child's quick wit and use of improvisation.

But praise alone does not determine who wins and who loses.

Apocalypse shot his Dragon Tail out, the draconic aura shooting like a javelin. Scolipede quickly dodge and rewarded Apocalypse with a quick Megahorn to the underbelly. The Tyrant roared in pain as Scolipede's horns slashed him, leaving two noticeable scars across his stomach.

The Dragon Tail aura burned even brighter, echoing the rage Apocalypse felt. A tail flick sent the attack into Scolipede, biting him in the neck. Before Scolipede could react, Apocalypse did a quick spin and threw Scolipede off of him, disorninating Scolipede for just a moment.

One moment was enough.

With mighty speed Apocalypse roared as he charged Scolipede, tackling him with his head and destabilizing him for another moment.

Apocalypse then grinned, and all Scolipede could feel was the cold presence of impending doom.

The Dragon Tail slammed on the ground twice, each slam foretelling Apocalypse's intent. Then with a mighty stomp Apocalypse's foot slammed into the ground to anchor him, and then quickly pivoted him in a circle, seemingly skimming the ground before stopping directly underneath Scolipede.

Scolipede picked a bad time to look down.

A gently flick of the draconic tail caused Scolipede to lose balance and fall onto the tail, the toll of combat finally having an effect of him.

Then with a mighty shout, Apocalypse put all of his strength into his tail and jumped, his back arching as his tail launched Scolipede into the sky. Scolipede’s tiny legs flailed as best they could, struggling to find any solid ground to latch on to.

Moving quickly Apocalypse turned around, crouching with a carnivorous grin on his mighty jaws as blue energy becan to from on and around his crest.

“HEAD SMASH!!!!”

The leaping thrust of Apocalypse collided with the falling Scolipede in a bone shattering crack, the very air itself seemingly vibrating outwardly like a cascade of broken glass. The powerful blow then fired the titanic Megapede pokemon into the sky, Scolipede screaming echoing through the sky, spinning with the greatest of ease.

A low growl in Apocalypse's jaws echoed as he gazed at his work. “... my head hurts.”

Iron Shell and the Leader gazed slack-jawed in awe at the feat of strength they had just witnessed. “... Father.”

“Yes my daughter.”

“That Dragon just headbutted Scolipede into the air.”

“And?”

“I do not know what I should be feeling right about now,” the Chesnaught admitted. “Probably horror.”

“Honestly, I’m feeling relief that it was not me who fought him.” the Leader then shuddered. “Never shall I fly again.”

“Indeed. Curse that Braviary,” shuddered his daughter in turn. “I had nightmares for a week.”

The soft sounds of rapidly approaching screaming began to make itself heard.

“INCOMING!”

The colony started to panic and scatter, screaming in fear of landing underneath the rapidly descending Megapede pokemon. Yet in the panic, one young pokemon, whom was a Chespin, tripped in the panic, scared and refusing to move. With fearful eyes, he gaze up, and was horrified to see that Scolipede was falling straight towards him.

He screamed, unable to escape as fear paralyzed him.

Rescue came soon after in the mighty form of Iron Shell, the Shiny saying not a word as her massive hand gripped the pokemon and rushed out of the targeted area, and not a moment too soon.

A blur of purple fell from the sky like a meteor, the impact into the ground resulting in a pillar of dirt exploding upwards like a geyser, the shockwave sending those lagging in the escape prone to the force of the landing.

As the dust settled, Scolipede lay on the ground dazed, obviously hurt from the landing. He turned his head weakly upwards and looked at Iron Shell and the approaching Leader in the eye, and weakly spoke.

“I regret to inform you that I am unable to battle anymore…”

Azisa was the first to celebrate by pumping her arm into the air and shouting “THAT’S MY BIG DAMN HERO!”

Apocalypse then took the chance to celebrate his victory with a quick victory lap, roaring into the sky as the Changelings cheered louder than before, exuberant in Apocalypse’s victory. On the sidelines of the colony's side, the Durant, Venipede, and assorted other pokemon were in awe and fear of what they had witnessed.

Without warning, one Quiladin kicked a Durant whom was just a little too close to edge, sending him tumbling into The Pit. “Go get him buddy!”

The Durant would have had shouted very choice words if he didn’t have to run away from the quickly approaching Tyrantrum.

Author's Note

Another chapter down, and personally I like how this one turned out. Especially the Apocalypse parts. I took a few cues from Saphroneth's Ashes Of The Past. This hopefully turned out for the best.

And now I pass the ball to my other editor, SerpentKing789. (Hey, it's a gathering of kings! I like!)

"SK789 - Man oh man, this one was long but definitely worth it (I love dinosaurs). Took me a good deal longer for me to fully edit than usual due to a whole mess of IRL stuff involving me FINALLY managing to get some paid employment, but it's all done now (thank Arceus)."

Chapter 17 - Detect

Link for a related blog post.

Chapter 17
Detect

Day 3

“Inti, I got a quick question for you.” X asked. He sat on the edge of The Pit, his legs dangling over the edge as he beheld the spectacle that was supposed to be a battle. Currently Apocalypse's foe, a simple Durant, was running for his life as fast as his tiny legs could carry him as the significantly larger Tyrantrum that was now Apocalypse chased him at a leisurely pace.

Inti, currently resting on Azisa’s head faced her trainer. “What’s up X?”

“Exactly how did Apocalypse evolve?”

“Well, it’s nothing major…”

earlier that day

Nall shouted what everyone was thinking.

“GUYS, THERE'S A EVIL MONSTER THAT SUDDENLY APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE!”’

It was true. An evil monster that looked like a humorously disjointed octopus mixed with a tiger roared as it destroyed lamp posts, plants, and caused general destruction.

Nalel was galloping in circles, panicked and screaming “WE ARE GOING TO DIE!”

“Never fear I am here!” came a cry. Rushing towards the foe was the magnificent, sexy, totally awesome and never wrong Inti, the Storming Thunder Breaker (copyright). With a battle cry Inti launched herself into the air with the intent to cause serious harm to the incredibly strange creature.

To Inti’s surprise the creature smacked her away, launching her into a conveniently placed lamppost.

The lamppost them promptly fell over, having been separated from it’s base at Inti’s point of impact. “Totally meant to do that.”

The monster suddenly sent three of it’s slimy tentacles to slam into Inti, sending her flying into another lamppost.

“OH NO!” Nalel shouted, this time being the one who said what everyone was thinking. “OUR GREAT DEFENDER, INTI THE STORMING THUNDER BREAKER WAS DEFEATED IN BATTLE! WHO WILL SAVE US FROM THE MONSTER!?”

‘“I WILL SAVE YOU!” shouted a voice from above. All heads turned up to gaze in the sky and behold the owner of the voice, their fearful hearts suddenly casting away their fear and replacing it with joy and amazement.

Up in the sky flew a magnificent eagle Pokemon, red feathers with blue underneath with white feathers serving as plumage in the shape of a war bonnet. And in his claws a very familiar Rock Dragon.

Nall and Nalel did a happy dance, speaking in unison “OUR HERO APOCALYPSE IS HERE!”

“That is right! I, Apocalypse the Alien, has come from a far away world to rid this one of evil and fill it with joy and love and all the other stuff that isn’t violent! For fear me, and fear me well for when I am done with you, you are the one who is going to be canceled!”

The Braviary simply rolled his eyes as he flapped his wings, each flap exerting more effort that needed. “Dude, can I let you down now? You weigh like a pregnant ton of bricks.”

“Bricks can get pregnant!?”

“....happy landing.”

And with that Braviary let go and flew over the monster before letting go, giving gravity the go ahead to send Apocalypse directly down. Apocalypse flailed his arms and went “WHEEEEE!” in joy as he fell to the ground like a Draco Meteor and slammed into the Octotiger before the nightmarish creature could dodge.

Wasting no time, Apocalypse got to his feet and started to do a happy dance. It was cut short when the Octotiger exploded into giblets and launched Apocalypse into the air, the child screaming as he somersaulted in the sky before landing head first into the dirt.

As he struggled to get his head out of the dirt, a task that was surprisingly difficult the pieces of the monster suddenly converged on one another and merged into a blob. Slowly the blog grew as more of itself combined. Then as soon as the blob could grow no more it quickly turned back into an octotiger with one major difference.

The octotiger was now much bigger, standing nearly twelve feet tall.

“OH NO!” shouted Nall and Nalel, pointing at the monster in terror. “THE MONSTER IS NOW AN EVEN BIGGER MONSTER!’

“Will you two stop doing that!?”

Apocalypse finally got his head out of the dirt, turning around to face the gigantic Octotiger, ignoring the Braviary’s demand. “Wow. You’re big.” Apocalypse declared.

“YES APOCALYPSE! YES IT IS!” Nalel shouted, causing the Braviary overhead to gag. “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?”

A toothy grin was his answer. “Simple! I’ma evolve now!”

And just like that Apocalypse evolved into Tyrantrum. The octotiger, and every bystander for that matter, was slack jawed in confusion, thus giving Apocalypse the perfect opportunity to give the Octotiger the smack down.

Said smack down taking the form of a Head Charge to the face, a blow that launched the monster away with enough force to lift him off the ground completely.

As it flew away it spontaneously exploded. Again.

“AND THAT IS WHY NO ONE CAN CANCEL ME!”

Everyone eyed the Heliolisk, Inti shrugging in indifference. “What?”

“Really Inti? Really?”

“It’s true!” Inti scoffed. “Don’t you trust me X?”

“Forgive me for being a little….skeptical.” sighed her trainer. “I mean, a random monster just appears out of nowhere? Color me confused.”

“It totally appeared. Trust me.”

“Right, so where is this monster Inti?” Naruto asked. He received another scoff from Inti, as if the question was already answered.

“I told you already. It exploded.”

This time Azisa was the skeptical one. “Inti, forgive me for being that girl, but that seems…. to be extremely unlikely.”

“It’s an evil monster.” Inti countered. “You know how fragile they are. They practically explode once they hit the dirt.”

Groaning, X eyed his Heliolisk with a stern stare, one that caused Inti to twitch by reflex. “Inti, you can’t honestly expect us to believe that something survived it’s own explosion. Twice.”

“Says the guy who went from human to Chesnaught overnight?” Inti taunted. X glared again, prompting Inti to behave. "Don't Geodude explode and survive all the time?"

"Inti..."

"Fine...here’s what really happened.”

What really happened

Inti tried her hardest to resist finding the nearest bar and drinking herself into a coma (which was amazingly easy yet impossible for her to do at the same time, judging by past experience) at what she was watching.“What the hell did I walk into?”

“Uh….science?” Nall grinned.

Said science was an incredibly tall, and rickety tower that surrounded Apocalypse. Spiraling up the tower was a very large something covered with a tarp followed by a collection of mirrors - each one getting larger and larger as they climbed the tower, before ending with one that was roughly the size of four Inti's standing on top of the other. “Sister, I know what science looks like, and this seems more like a funeral.”

“Isn’t that was science is for someones psyche?” The sisters then hoof bumped, ignorant of the sound of gritting teeth behind them.

“Okay, seriously, what are you two doing?”

“Well Apocalypse said that he likes the sunlight, and that he gets stronger from it.” Nalel explained. “So we figured that we’d give him a ton of sunlight at once so he’d get really really powerful!”

“It’s brilliant right!?”

“This is never going to work.”Inti groaned.

“NOW SISTER!” Nalel shouted with much enthusiasm. Nall flew towards the top of the tower, and threw the tarp off revealing a very large lens. As the dawn broke over the jungle, the light filtered into the lens and collated into a single beam, bouncing down the stair of mirrors and gathering power as it...

“Stop. Stop stop stop stop.” X groaned. His hand immediately went to his face and gripped it in response to the coming headache. “Inti, that sounds less believable that that.....what did you call it again?”

“Octotiger?”

“Yea, that.”

“You must admit it is something Apocalypse would try.”

X nodded in agreement “That’s true. How bout trying again, the real story this time?”

“Fine, fine, I’ll talk.” Inti jumped down Azisa as soon as she finished, leaving the Ghost Pokemon’s head and landing on the ground. “But you guys have no idea how hungry I am. I’m gonna find some grub and then I’ll tell ya. I’d look through Azisa, but I already did and she’s not quite ripe yet.”

And that Inti faded into the crowd. “So…” Naruto asked his brother as Apocalypse begun to battle his next opponent in what could only be described as impossibly one sided. “How crazy is the next tale going to be?”

“Honestly, I’m expecting it to include a gang of Gogoats riding motorcycles.” Naruto dully rolled his eyes as he said that. “You think she’s hiding something, don’t you?.”

“Probably.” X answered. “But I don’t want to push it. She’ll tell us when she’s ready. The last few days have been pretty rough for everyone, so she needs her space.”

“Truer words have never been spoken.”

Unnoticed by her new friends, a young changeling mere melded into the crowd.

Inti didn’t get far before turning around to see the changeling tailing her. “Hey Nell.”

“Hi Inti.” Nell replied. “So, about what happened with Apocalypse?”

“It was a time for the ages I’ll tell you that, one that…”

“...probably didn’t happen.”

Inti was a little shocked. “I’m surprised you noticed instead of Naruto. That guy is addicted to information, so he’s not easy to fool.”

“Maybe because I don’t live with you?” offered Nell. “What you said didn’t sound normal to me because I don’t live with you, so I don’t know what’s normal to you.”

Inti laughed as she approached Nell, eyeing her intensely. “You are a smart one.“

“You think so?”

“Yea, and so do they.”

Nell wasn’t sure what she meant by that until Inti pointed behind her. Approaching the lizard and the changeling was Nall and Nalel, the broodsisters darting over the crowd before landing near their sister.

They immediately went into a hug. “Hi dearest sister of ours!”

“Nall, Nalel, may I ask…”

“We’re hungry too.”

Nell’s ears dropped at that, the simple answer suddenly clear to her. “Oh. That.”

“And we wanted to see how Frilly….how Inti was doing.” Nall finished. “Last night was a rough one for all of us.”

“So, Inti, what really did happen?” Nell asked. Inti suddenly got a little tense, alongside her sisters. “I’m a little curious.”

Inti turned around and halted the procession. “Look, I’m gonna be straight here.” she explained. “What happened to cause Apocalypse to evolve involves me being...well me, and your sisters being...well...”

“Cute and adorable?” The two coursed together.

“Yea, lets go with that.” Inti answered. “As I was saying, this...opens a few scars.”

Nell caught on immediately. “Bad blood with something that happened to you before?”

“Not all ghosts are Pokemon.”

It didn’t take long for Nell to put a hoof over Inti’s shoulders. “If you don’t want to, you can always talk about it later.” Nall and Nalel joined the hug, and Nell continued. “I can tell that it’s going to hurt talking about it. But you can’t heal if you never let the scars that caused the pain heal. I’m not you. I’m me. So, maybe talking will work for you, maybe it won’t. But it’s a lot better than just thinking about it, right?”

“You’re optimistic, aren’t you?” Inti smiled. “You don’t even know me and you really do want help even thought I am real bitch.”

“Well, of course I do. Dad did say you’re part of our family. Even if you are a bitch.”

Inti just laughed. “That makes me feel better at least. Okay, the real story this time. Though it doesn't actually start with me. It starts with your sisters…”

What really happened
The Truth

“It’s been hours!”

Nalel rolled her eyes, silently complaining about Nall filling the last fifteen minutes with nothing but whining and moaning. The sounds echoed through the park they walked through, the location of said park on the other end of town far from their home. “I know Nall but we gotta keep looking.”

“I’m hungry!”

“I know Nall.”

“I’m tired!”

“I know Nall.”

“I’m hungry and tired! Can’t we take a break, like only for a min..”

“I FREAKING KNOW NALL!”

Nall took a step back, fearful of her suddenly shouting sister. “Hey, don’t yell at me.”

“NALL, YOU’VE BEEN GRIPING ABOUT BEING HUNGRY AND TIRED AND I’M GETTING SICK OF IT!” seethed Nalel.

“But I’m tired! We’ve been looking hours!”

"I KNOW NALL. I WAS THERE.” the scream countered. Nalel seethed in anger, butting heads “I’M HUNGRY, AND TIRED LIKE YOU, BUT I’M NOT MOANING AND GROANING ABOUT IT BECAUSE IF I DO THAT THEN I DON'T FIND APOCALYPSE!”

“So lets take a break! We can find him in tomorrow morning!”

“IT IS TOMORROW MORNING!”

“I MEANT TOMORROW TOMORROW MORNING!”

“IT WON’T MATTER THEN, BECAUSE WE MIGHT NOT HAVE A HOME TOMORROW TOMORR..”

A rock suddenly flew from out of her line of sight and directly into the head of Nalel. It wasn’t a very big rock, more like a pebble, but it was still a rock no matter how large it was and getting hit by it in any case was mildly annoying. The mare faced the direction of the throw and saw a group of rocks of a dusty brown color sitting near the center of the where the duo stood. Oddly one of smaller rocks

"WHO THREW THAT!" shouted the angry Nalel, flashes of mana flashing bight with anger. She scanned the area devoid of life other than her sister and her self, trying to find who threw the rock.

Her eyes landed on a pile of rocks slate gray in color, save for one that was a brown color. And for some reason had a tail waving gently back and forth...

"WHY DID YOU STOP YELLING AT ME!?"

"BECAUSE SOMEONE THREW A ROCK AT ME!"

"WHY AM I YELLING?

"I REALLY DON'T KNO..."

The brown rock turned, revealing a face gripping a pebble in his mouth. He threw it, spitting it out like a spitball, hitting Nall square in the face. "Can you please keep it down? I wanna pout in silence."

Anger turned to joy as the two changelings raced to hug Apocalypse. "APOCALYPSE! We found you!"

"Yay?" was the sheepish reply. "Can you unfind me though? I wanna be left alone."

The three sat on the rocks, Nall and Nalel not wanting to leave Apocalypse alone.

Apocalypse nodded, the motions slow and dreary, reflecting a sour mood. "Yea. Since I kinda am a rock, I thought that hiding with real rocks would make it hard for Inti to find me."

"You're not wrong about that." Nall laughed, Nalel joining her in her merriment as Apocalypse gave them a look of confusion. "I pretty sure we walked by this very spot a few times before finding you."

"So...did I do good?”

“Course you did!” Nall laughed before giving the dinosaur a playful noogie. “I mean, you look like a rock. Kinda hard to find you when you hide in a place that looks like you right?”

“I….guess it is kinda smart!” He gave the two a happy -thought very toothy - grin before asking. “So did I do good?”

“Yes Apocalypse. You did good.”

“YAY!” The Pokemon shouted before going into a little happy dance. “I did good! I did good!”

As he danced, Nalel leaned to her sister and whispered. “Sounds like he has issues.”

“Oh let him have his fun before we take him back.” countered Nall.

That stopped the happy dance in it’s tracks. “What?”

"Well,” Nall felt a Little uncomfortable addressing her plan, as she suddenly felt a chill up her spine. She ignored it, and continued. “We should take you back to were your family is."

“But..that means I have to so see Inti!”

“That’s a problem?”

"Of course it’s a problem!" pouted Apocalypse. "Inti will be there and Inti hates me."

"Oh come on. Frilly Face isn't that bad, right?" Nalel offered. Apocalypse grunted in disagreement.

"Inti is why I ran off today! Inti kept being mean to me. When we went to train with the nice soldier people she kept making fun of me, and making me do the hard things, and would laugh at me when I would mess up!"

“But she’s always doing that!” Tears welled in his eyes for but a moment before bursting into a river of tears. "Inti's always picking on me! Ever since I hatched Inti was, was, was, always always mean to me and no one will tell me why!

“But...didn’t you tell anyone else?” Apocalypse looked at Nalel, the tears in his eyes rushing down his face. “X and Naruto seem like pretty nice guys. I don’t think that they would ever let her keep doing it.”

“But she did! I would tell X and Naruto and Azisa, but she would keep doing it! And I am sick of it! I don't wanna see her ever ever again ever!" He slammed his butt into the ground, defiantly with the force of a falling tree. “And I don’t know why she keeps doing it because no one will tell me and it makes me sad and angry and even more sad and even more angry! Why is she so mean to me!?”

The two sisters looked at each other, frowning. They were sisters, a bond that could never be undone. But here was Apocalypse, the small dinosaur crying because a member of his own family was able to pick on him and get away with it.

It was a tough pill to swallow, as the emotions that ran hot within Apocalypse poured out of hi and into Nall and Nalel, the two unwittingly feeding. And they truly felt how Apocalypse felt.

Helplessness.

Anger.

Sadness.

Loneliness.

Confusion.

It was combined into a sicking buffet of bottled up emotions that finally caused the damn to break. It opened Nall and Nalel’s eyes. “...Apocalypse...” the two spoke in unison.

“Can...can I go now?”

“Apocalypse, you know people love you right?” Nall shot out like a rocket and hugged the Rock Dragon, ending the tears.

“....no.”

Nalel laughed as she joined the hug. “X loves you, Naruto loves you, hell we love you.” she spoke softly. “Inti...well we’re not sure about here…”

“No kidding.”

“But while Inti may not care, we do. And if Inti tries to do something to you again, then we’ll be there for you.” Nall continued. “And we’ll get her to stop being a big jerk.”

“But, what if it doesn’t work?”

“Then we try again! We keep trying until it works!” Nalel shouted to the heavens. “It doesn’t matter as long as we don’t want her to win! Maybe if we do something, she’ll change her mind and do something nice. “

“And if that doesn't work we can adopt you!” Nall smiled.

Apocalypse smiled. “Thanks. I’m ready to go now.”

--

The new home Shadowfox had found themselves was by Changeling standards a small city. But by the standards of human, Pokemon, pony, and several other species the city was anything but small.

The trip back to the house was uneventful aside from Apocalypse acting like his happy go lucky self, running circle under the currently flying Nall. “So, Apocalypse, we know you’re from another world. What was it like?”

“It was like this one!” Apocalypse grinned. “Only with more humans!” Nall laughed as Apocalypse said that, confusing the pokemon. "...what did I say?"

"You're really adorable, you know that APoclaysep?" she laughed. Apoclaypse blushed, grinning wide in responce to the praise he was being given.

"Aw thanks. It's a lot better than what Inti usually says."

On cue, Inti was walked into view, glaring at Apocalypse. "You're right about that."

With that, Apocalypse's good mood disappeared. "Go away Inti."

“Do you realize,” Inti asked, ignoring Apocalypse's request, “how freaking long it took me to find you?”

“No, and I don’t care.”

“Well I care. And trust me, I am not a happy Inti.”

“Well,” Apocalypse glared at Inti, growling the best he could, trying to look intimidating (it wasn’t working much to his dismay). “I’m not a very happy Apocalypse! I mean, I was but then you showed up."

“What else is new?” She scoffed, looking at Apocalypse with almost a bored expression. Suddenly he lunged at her, trying to bite her.

Repeatedly.

For Inti’s sake it was a good thing she was able to dodge each one. “Stand still!”

“Why do I want to that?” snapped Inti.

“So I can bite you!”

“I don’t want that to happen!

“Yea, but I want it to!”

The frantic struggle between Apocalypse trying (and failing) to bite Inti lasted for a minute, and it was clearly in Init’s favor. With a defiant shout, Apocalypse charged at Inti, trying to take her out in a single bite. Inti in turn crackled with electricity's, and aimed for the gaping maw. “Eat Thunder Apocalypse!”

Apocalypse ate thunder.

Apocalypse then decided that thunder was something no one should ever eat, at it hurt. A lot.

He screamed as the lighting struck the inside of his mouth, and he dropped down in pain. “WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SO MEAN TO ME?!”

“Hey you attacked me first!”

“NA-UH! YOU ATTACKED ME FIRST!”

“Does it even matter?”

“OF COURSE IT MATTERS BECAUSE YOU’RE ALWAYS MEAN TO ME!”

“You’re right. I am mean to you. And you wanna know why?? It’
s because I’m a mean Pokemon! Maybe, just maybe if you stopped acting like brat and maned up then maybe you would stop bitching all the time! Do you have any idea how annoying you are? You drive us all nuts!”

“So….does that mean you don’t like me!”

“ISN’T IT OBVIOUS!?

“FINE!!”

“Fine!”

“FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” And in a huff of anger and tears, Apocalypse ran off into the night.

All Nall and Nalel could do,shocked by the Heliolisk. "That....that...that wasn't very nice!"

"News flash sister: I'M NOT A VERY NICE POKEMON!" Inti shouted. "AND YOU TWO MAKE ME ACT EXTRA NOT NICE BECAUSE YOU'RE A BUNCH OF BRAIN DEAD MORONS! "

Nall’s name flashed red as she grit her teeth, seething in anger. "What is with you!?” she shouted. “Why are such a...a…”

“Go ahead. Say it. I dare you.”

“Okay, fine, I WILL? WHY ARE YOU SUCH A BITCH!?”

"You wanna know? It's because I hate you!" Inti rammed into Nall's face, burrowing as far as the lizard could. "I hate you because you represent everything I despise! You have a nice home and you act like two hipsters who just expect everything to just magically end up all fine and dandy! Well I got a heads up for you, there is a very real chance that me and your heroes are going to loose tomorrow, and this entire city is going to be the Durant's backyard! But you don't seem to get that! You're naive, and short sighted, and you can't even begin to understand what it's like to go through a crisis, because the way you're handling this one is grade A moronic! Trust me on this one because when it's time for the universe to come bite you in the ass and bite you hard, you are going to break and never be able to fix yourselves!"

"O. I get it. We're dumb. So why are you taking it out on Apocalypse."

"Why not?"

"Apocalypse says you're always mean to him,” Nalel glared at Inti, and for the first time since meeting her, Inti could almost say she was being intimidated by the goofy changeling. “So I wonder why he sticks around you if he doesn't like you. I doubt he’s being forced to stay against his will.”

Inti was about to retort, but found she couldn't. The words on her lips turned to ash, and were crushed under the glare. She said not a word before leaving.

And as she left, a single tear ran down her face.

Nalel simply watched Inti race away into the darkness of the streets until she left her sight. She slumped to the ground, exhaustion overwhelming her. “That took a lot out of me.”

Nall however wsa having none of this.“Come on sis! Up up up upppity up!” she chanted, taking toht eair to lift her sister up. “We have a job to do!”

“Forget it….Inti is a jerk and she knows where she lives.” Nalel moaned.

“No, not her, we gotta go after Apocalypse, again!” Nall shouted.

“He probably knows where we live too.”

“Do you honestly think he’s going to come back here when he knows this is where Inti is crashing too?”

Nalel gave a tired sigh, getting up and shaking off the small amount of dirt that was on her. “You’re right. Let’s go!”

--

Reality

Nell glared at Inti. “Really?” she asked. Thankfully, the group was able to find three Changelings, a Excegutor standing next to a large pile of mangos, passing them out to hungry changelings and Pokemon.

“Look, I’m not a very nice Pokemon.” Inti said thorugh bites of mango.

“I uh...kinda figured that out.” Nell answered. “So, what happened next?”

“Well, I went off to do my own thing. I was mad, needed to just get away from everyone. “ Inti explained. “Good thing too. I was looking for silence, but instead found someone who wanted to listen to little ol’ me.”

What really happened

The alleyway Inti had run off into was significantly more ruined when she had come across it. Trash cans, walls, the floor, random tuffs of grass growing out of the ground. Nothing escaped her anger. “Who the hell does she think she is?” growled Inti out loud, despite knowing only she could hear it. “She doesn’t now anything about us Pokemon. She doesn’t know anything about me. Why does she gotta act like she can fix me? No one can fix me.”

“May I ask why?”

Ignoring her, the two Psychics walked towards Inti and sat down next to her, one on each side. “Keeping it inside isn’t healthy you know. Trust me, I understand.”

“Who the hell are you anyway?”

“Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself.” The Alakazam held out her hand, waiting for Inti to take it. “I am Sabrina, Gym Leader of Saffron city. Well, former Gym Leader I suppose. And this is Alakazam.”

“A pleasure.” The other Alakazam nodded, his voice deep and filled with wisdom.

“Charmed. I’m Inti, from the city of piss off.”

“She is a feisty one, isn’t she?” A bolt of lightning shot out form Inti, and would have hit Alakazam had he not blinked out of existence via Teleport. He reappeared just as quickly as he disappeared, as if nothing had occurred. “My case has been made.”

“Seriously go away. Can’t I pout in peace?”

“I’m not sure that is the wisest path to take.” Sabrina pointed out the mess Inti had made. “You’re quite messy. And noisy.”

Inti grinned at that, her mood making a 180, going from pouty to proud. “Well, I am the Storming Thunder Breaker after all.”

“You carry a great weight on your mind.” Sabrina pointed out. It was not a question. It was spoken as one would state a fact. Those words caused Inti to stiffen, eyes flashing with anger.

“You read my mind didn’t you!”

Sabrina in turn shook her head.“No.” she explained. “That would be rude. Everyone is entitled to their secrets. Those with psychic powers need to respect privacy at all times, not just when it is convenient. You secrets are your own and your own. If you wish to reveal them, it is up to you, not me.”

“Suuuuuuure you aren’t.”

“Believe me. Do not believe me. That is your choice, not mine.”

“Physics.” huffed the storming thunder breaker. “You always gotta act so mysterious.”

“Stuff it.”

Sabrina sat down, inching towards Inti, whom in turn inched away from Sabrina to spite her.“Such anger is not good for you.”

“I can handle myself just fine.”

“Are you?” Sabrina eyed her acquaintance, the Pokemon doing her best to look away from the former gym leader. “Are you saying that because you believe it, or because you are trying to sound tough?” Inti said nothing, simply sitting and staring at a spot of grass growing alone in an ocean of dirt. “You remind me of myself actually.”

“Suuuuuure you did.”

“It was years ago. You may not know this, but humans with physic powers are rather rare.”

“Nope.” came the sarcastic reply. “I did not know that incredibly obvious fact.”

“You can probably understand how I felt when I was a young child.“ Sabrina look upwards towards the sky, the moon shining in the star scape. “I had a family that cared for me more than anything, but I pushed them away from me, in favor of training my power. And in my pursuit for control, I isolated myself from more than my family. I had no friends save Alakazam, thought he was the same as me: A physic.

I grew up a product of my constant training: a lonely woman who isolated everything from her for the sake of perfecting her craft.”

“Is there a point to this?” Inti grumbled. “Story time is nice, but usually when people rant about their back stories, there is usually a point to be made.”

“A rude one, isn’t she?”

Inti simply gave a death glare at Alakazam. It was not every effective. Sabrina continued, ignoring the quick glare battle. “My life was empty, and I longed for someone to be my friend. Yet while I longed for that, my mind had become two at that point, and half of me denied me that. And so it went, the status quo unchanging until I met a young trainer, one I had already defeated yet had not learned his lesson, and his friend of his from the nearby haunting grounds. A Haunter.” Inti noticed a sly smile, one that only a trained eye could catch int eh nick of time, and Sabrina “ I won’t bore you with the details, but the trainer brought he Haunter to battle, yet the Haunter chose to instead goof around. And he did the impossible.”

“He made soap operas interesting?”

“He made me laugh.” Inti rolled her eyes in response. “In that single moment, I was able to remember that I needed more in my life than just my control over my physic powers. I am pleased to say that my life got significantly better that day.”

Inti was not convinced. “Yay, a Happy ending. Not every story ends that way.”

“I am aware of that.” Sabrina reassured Inti. “But something told me that….maybe telling you my story would help you make a choice that could very well alter your future. That today is a day where you could either become what you want to be, or what everyone things you will be.”

“...I don’t get it.”

“There are two paths ahead of you Inti.” Sabrina gave Inti a caring gaze, and Inti was surprised to see a gentle fire in her eyes. But despite the gentle nature of that fire, Inti knew that fire was still fire, and the fire in Sabrina's eyes burned in a way that portrayed force of will, a conviction so to speak.

The force behind the fire was akin to being crushed by the entire weight of the ocean.

Immense.

Overbearing.

Unstoppable.

“You can either continue this path, and continue to be scared by the path you choice to walk down, and forever be haunted by the bad choices you made but did not have the courage to remedy, or you can take the road less traveled. The road taken by those who seek to make themselves a better person than they were yesterday, to admit that they hurt more than just themselves.”

“Okay, hold up. I do not have a problem.”

“The fact that we are still having this conversation is evident that there is one.”

“Yea, with you. Not me.”

“Inti, I do not know you, that much is certain, but kindred spirits converge with each other when they are needed to do so.” Sabrina got up, Alakazam doing the same. “You are free to do whatever you want, but time in not unlimited: Either you make the choice, or life will make it for you.”

In darkness, Apocalypse sat. He sighed as he tried not to think about Inti, but try as he might, the only thing he could think about was just that. “Why does she have to be so mean to me? I’m just a kid. Aren’t we supposed to be treated nicely?”

He looked up in the sky, the night aglow in the ancient beauty of the moon that hung int eh sky. Although he didn’t have a lot of time to explore this new world, Apocalypse could not deny how beautiful the sky was. It reminded him of the other sky back int the place that they could not return to.

Home.

“I miss home…” He sighed. His eyes then widened. “Hey wait a minute! Inti called me stupid yesterday! Grrrrrr, why does she always do this!?” His sighed, laying on the ground, all his energy expended. “Ever thing sucks…”

“You have no idea.”

Apocalypse turned around, and standing across from him was a blue maned Changeling. “Hey little guy, what’s the matter?”

“Someone I live with hates me and doesn’t like me.” Apocalypse pouted. “My life sucks…”

The changeling chuckled, and with a stomp of his hooves several more changelings appeared. Before Apocalypse could think of anything, the horde started to encircle him, and suddenly Apocalypse realized that he was not in a god place. “Trust me,” the lead gave an evil toothy grin as Apocalypse took a step backwards into a changeling. “You should save that way of thinking for after we’re done with you.”

Interlude 3 - Focus Energy

Interlude 3
Focus Energy

Day 3

X watched the battle in the Pit, silent as the crowd cheered for the youngest member of ShadowFox. It was hard to blame them for their exuberance: Two losses in a row brought by a seemingly unbeatable foe only for Apocalypse to arrive at the nick of time and turn the tide.

Add in the scene of a Durant running as fast as it's tiny legs could carry it from the significantly larger Tyrantrum was much needed comedy.

But as funny as it was, it wasn't enough to drive away the dark clouds of doubt within his heart and mind.

“X?”

Naruto's words rang clear, X turning to look his most loyal and best friend. “Yea buddy?”

“You are gripping your fancy new hammer quite tightly.”

X's eyes darted downwards, looking at the hand and hammer in question. As Naruto said, his hand was wrapped around Dreadnought tighter than one should. X sighed as he loosened his grip, the hammer sliding slightly as he did. “Still a little tense.”

“About what you are doing?”

X shook his head, a small mote of surprise of Naruto's face. “Nah, it's less about that and more about why. All my life I've never actually been in a fight. I mean, I'm no stranger to a Pokemon battle, but I've always been on the sidelines commanding the fight instead of actually fighting it. But...well...honestly I'm still scared.”

X shook with slight fear, and Naruto put a hand on his arm, the motion calming him. “X...”

“All this time Naruto, being you and the others trainer,” X whisper as a tear began to form, “I saw you and the others fight for me while I stood on the sidelines safe from harm. I never imaged what I would do if I was ever forced to fight on my own. But the other day during that attack, I learned the hard way. I just stood there on the sidelines commanding, and when I got attacked, I choked.

“When push came to shove, I just didn't have it in me.”

“X, you must not dwell on the negative.” reassured Naruto. “From what I heard, you did all you could, and you saved those warriors that needed your help. You carried dozens on your back. That is not the action of a weakling or a coward. And what about that trick you pulled?”

“Uh which one?”

“Azisa," Naruto explained with a grin. “Use Hidden Power – Fire.”

“Yea, that one was a pretty smart move if I say so myself.” X chuckled, remembering his maneuver clear as day. “I was surprised that many bought it.”

“And that is the point I prove. X, not everyone can think of a trick like that on the fly. And you're heart is the biggest of everyone I know. You're stronger than you think you are.”

“That's why I need to do this, why I need to take the fight to them myself.” X huffed as he slammed the end of Dreadnought into the ground, mirroring his resolve. “I need to prove that to myself."

"You don't..."

"Yes Naruto," X replied quite forcefully, surprising Naruto. "I don't want to be someone who only fights when it's easy. That's the old me. I want to fight when I need to." His free hand turned into a fist, X glaring at it as if it was a great weapon of both good and evil. "I was given a gift, a second chance of sorts. Don't get me wrong, I would prefer being a human and if Arceus can turn me back I'll ask him myself. But until that day, I am going to use my new power to defend everyone who believes in me just as much as I believe in them. You guys have bleed for me countless times before. Now, it's my turn to bleed for you. So I'm going in there to fight for these people, because win or lose, if I walk onto that battlefield, I already won the important fight."

Naruto said nothing, looking at his best friend and brother with a mile wide smile before turning back to watch the curbstomp in the Pit. “Stronger than he knows indeed.” Naruto spoke with hushed words, unheard by all others.

Author's Note

OH WOW IT'S BEEN MONTHS. This is just a quickie update on a thought I just had as we get towards the unavoidable battle that X must fight.

I am not going to lie, this is to prove to you that I am not dead, I am working on this, and things are eventually going to get to the final chapter. Honestly we're already in the third act of our story so to speak, so it's a matter of actually getting it written. Just lots of personal things going on, nothing major just distraction and other more important real life tasks.

So the plan is to get everything else written and then upload the rest in one big burst. No idea when that's going to be , but it will happen. Until then enjoy.

Omake 2

Omake 2

X heaved a mighty sigh as he tried to stop the tears in his yes from forming. "So, when Naruto and I talked...he called me Jacob. It hurt. I know why he called me that, wanting me to make the right decision, and asked me why I fight. But....no decision I can make is the correct one."

Rizen moved his hoof and put it atop X's hand, the hoof resting on it as Rizen looked up at the unsure human/Pokemon "You can mend this situation with Naruto. I am sure of it."

"How?" a laugh came from X's mouth, seemingly not believing what Rizen said. "I'm a coward. I'm too afraid to send my team into a fight that I'm not sure they can win. I've done it before so why not now? Why can't I be that brave now?"

"Maybe it's your identity crisis?"

“I dunno…”

“Because you are thinking only for yourself,” came a voice, and suddenly a flash of light descended, revealing what looked like a man in futuristic blue armor with several red crystals on it.

“I know how it feels to not want to fight, and many times in the past I wanted for the fighting to stop,” the man said, before his eyes hardened. “However, if I had run away, then others would have paid the price.”

“.....uh….”

“You know that too, but the reason why you refuse to fight is because as you are now, you are only thinking of yourself. Until you realize and move past that, you won’t be able to do what you need to do,” the man stated.

X’s eyes widened as he realized who he saw standing before him. “oh….my….god….you’re Megaman X!!!!”

Everyone around him sweat dropped at the reaction, even Megaman X. “Are you even listening…?” he deadpanned with a sweat drop.

“Course I’m listening. But honestly, I’m having a hard time paying attention cause you’re Megaman X!” X almost shouted.

Later, back in the Year 21XX

Megaman X sighed as Zero walked up to him. “So...how did it go? The dimension portal work?”

“The portal worked perfectly.” Megaman X sighed. “The pep talk….not so much. It quickly devolved into how ‘awesome’ my video games are.”

“You have video games?” Zero sweat dropped

“Apparently I do over there.”

Author's Note

Big thanks to my editor TDNpony for helping me make this a thing.

Interlude - Omninous Wind

"You should not have returned."

"But Leader, we did as you asked!"

"SILENCE! I SPEAK!"

The Durant cowered in front of their leader. Those whom had assaulted the strange home of the creatures stood in front of the colony's leader. All of the other Pokemon in the colony stood behind them, mostly consisting of Durant with the occasional Venipede alongside another kind of pokemon, a small bipedial mammalian pokemon of green and brown with strange tuffs that looked like elongated ovals.

The moonlight that came from above illuminated the room, but the leader still managed to be cloaked in the shadows of the room. Only the eyes were clearly visible.

That made it more unnerving.

Next to the leader was another figure. The shadows obscured most of the finer details, but the figure was tall, sitting on a throne that was made of rocks stacked upon each other.

"I ordered you to raid the colony that is near this one." The leader bellowed. "I ordered you to take all that was needed. Yet you come back cowering....because of the Human Trained Pokemon!"

"Leader....If I may say something to help our case..." One brave Durant moved to the front of the group to be clearly seen.

"You may not." The voice of the leader bellowed. "The way I see it, if I see it correctly, if that you manage to lose to a Heliolisk when you outnumbered it twice! The very same one that managed to sneak into the colony and escape!"

"But we obtained supplies! Is that not what you wanted?" Another of the Durant asked.

"True....but you still lost. And there must be a punishment. One that makes sure you do not lose again.

"Daughter, what say you?"

The larger figure leaned forward, and glared at the cowering Durant. "They are not wrong Father." The figure, a feminine voice that embodies power resonated through the chamber. "They did as you asked. We have many supplies needed for the good of the Colony. But lose they did. If they want their honor and pride back, it must be earned rather than given.

"I suggest the Chamber."

"An excellent idea Daughter." The Leader replied. The Durant of trial gasped in horror as several of their Comrades surrounded them, dragging them to depths unknown. One managed to avoid the grabby mandibles, and approached the leader, kneeling as best a being without knees could, and pleade. "Please sir, not the chamber. Anything but the chamber!"

"You annoy me. You get double."

The pleading Durant screamed as he was accosted by three Durant, as he joined his comrades. The Leader turned to his daughter, the figure doing the same.

"Father, what do we do next?"

"Send scouts, and prepare another attack. This is our land. Not theirs.

"They just don't know it yet."

Author's Note

A cold wind blows.