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.