• Published 22nd Jun 2014
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A New World - A New Game - V-Oblivion



How will a group of Pokemon Mercenaries react to be in the friendly word of Equestria? Sidestory to Zeusdemigod131 "A New World, a New Way"

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Twenty Eight Move

Twenty Eight Move
Memento Mori IV

Las Pegasus - Canterlot railway
A small waiting hut

“Here is as far you fellas get,” said the Pony in charge of the multicolored transport, and at the shout of “ALL ABOARD!” he and his machine quickly disappeared on the distance.

The group silently watched their transport leaving, not able to say a thing as they couldn’t believe what had happened.

In their wasting frenzy from yesterday, namely getting hammered in the desert, buying food, paying for information and getting into another party, the team found itself in a small pickle: they had no more money.

They managed to reach this point in the middle of nowhere thanks to the amount of bits the group was carrying.

Ignorant to this disadvantage, they all boarded the train with what little extra they have, getting delivered just this far before being gently kicked off.

After more silent staring into the distance, someone decided to finally say something.

“You know, I could have make him think we had paid the full ticked already,” Xavier mentioned.

“And why didn’t you do that?” Weiss asked calmly, still looking at the horizon.

“I thought it would be rude,” replied the Metagross.

“Humm…” replied Weiss.

Another minute of silence passed by.

“NEXT TIME TRY TO ASK US BEFORE BEING SO CONSIDERATE!” the whole group, Daring included, shouted.

“Okay, we better start moving,” said Weiss with a defeated tone as he, and the rest of his team, walked beside the railtrack. “I hope we find some water, the sun is still up.”

“On foot?” asked Valerie with confusion, to the point she forgot she was currently floating, “but that would take us ages!”

“Perhaps,” admitted Daring, “but we don’t have the bits to pay a train ride, and we are too many to hitch one either, so we better hurry up before the sun gets warmer.”

“We have no other choice,” added Gold. “It’s not that bad, this isn’t the sandy part of San Palomino, so getting dehydrated will be a smaller problem.”

With a sigh Valerie began to float behind her rat tag of friends.

“Well, every trainer starts with a journey, I think this can make us remember a few things,” she finally admitted with a bit more optimistic tone.

“That’s the spirit dear,” complimented her husband. “I hope we can find some juicy fruits on the way though.”

And so everyone started on their warm journey, all but one.

“I wonder if any of them will remember that I am a Water-type?” Surskit silently asked to herself as she put herself in motion as well.


Griffienhiem Empire
Nestinghold castle

After much preparation and proper planning, the time had come for the flag ship
to depart with the Griffin Empress and her comitive towards the Kingdom of Equestria.

The vessel was the largest ship in all of the Empire, and was rumored to be the largest battle craft in the whole world, although this was debatable since the Minotaurs of Minos didn’t show off their own war vessels.

Still, the magnificence of the ship wasn’t questionable.

It was covered in orichalcum all over it, yet it was so carefully crafted that it looked more like a gigantic piece of art than a weapon. The reason being mainly because there hadn’t been an actual war for decades, at least on the Griffins’ side.

The port had a whole crowd waving flags and throwing rose petals, all wishing their Empress a save travel. Among said farewell committee were also some Ponies and many Pokemon as well, some of which were responsible for the flower rain, no doubt inspired after Rouge’s number a week ago.

“Such thing would be seen as weird on our world,” commented Shredder as she and Roll walked behind Victoria.

A line of guards flanked each side of the red carpet they walked in in order to aboard the
Holzschiff.

“What would be?” questioned Grizelda beside them. “The whole cheering and farewell?”

“That would be considered extravagant at best,” replied Roll.

“The fact of two races becoming so acquainted with one another so fast despite their circumstances. It is incredible to see how peaceful, welcoming and friendly the inhabitants of this world are.”

“Really?” Grizelda asked again in confusion. “I consider it normal, in fact we are considered to be the second more aggressive nation in the world, beaten only by the Minotaurs. Although I have heard a few nasty things from Zebrica, and there are the Yaks.”

“And yet things have gone so smoothly, if only our world knew about your ways before.”

“It is sad to hear you world was such a dark place, Lady Shredder,” commented Victoria without turning around, as she was currently waving at her people, “but your kind is here now, and we can’t just stay with crossed claws and do nothing. To look for the best for our people is what any leader must do.”

“That IS the point of this trip,” added Grizelda with her usual cocky tone.

A few steps latter and they were before the boarding lane, where Victoria’s advisors and some heads of the army awaited for them.

The Empress left her remplacements some trusting words and wished for them to rule properly in her absence, she then proceeded to face her Empire and bid farewell to her citizens.

Shredder, on her side, did a similar thing with her own troops, who also awaited beside the carpet, each one of them wearing a perfectly fit piece of armor, even Jacky and Gigalith carried a piece made for them. Alberich was the most shining of them all as he proudly stood at the front of the soldiers.

“I leave this land at your care,” Shredder calmly said while firmly taking the young Griffin’s claw.

“I am not the in charge of the army ma’am,” Alberich said back, “but I will do my best.”

With a final inspection over her troops, Shredder proceeded to board the ship, a small detachment of her soldiers following after.

She would show off some of the Griffins’ training if the opportunity ever arrived.

And with the cheer of the Empire daffing most sounds, the
retracted its ropes and slowly but surely left the port. From then on, it would make a direct line towards the capital city of Canterlot and arrive in an approximate time of three days.

The Imperial committee for the World Summit had officially departed.


Somewhere in San Palomino Desert
Along the train rails

The group continued their march with nothing much to liven things up, other than the occasional train passing by or a random Pokemon encounter. Yet besides that, there was nothing but dirt, rocks and the railroad.

Needless to say that the mercenaries and their companions were slowly getting weary.

“I am so bored!” shouted Simon, “I have dug so many holes that there could be a sink hole if I continue!”

“It was worth the try,” replied Weiss as he, and the others, rest under the shade of a rock Chopper had kindly raised for them. “We can’t keep going without water for too long.”

Surskit chuckled.

“And Rouge’s weeds can only give us so much hydration.”

“I still think is amazing I can grow things so easily on this dead land,” admitted the mentioned.

“I am surprised you can grow anything at all!” added Daring, who was one of the few who enjoyed the food, “it’s almost as if you were an Earth Pony, is this a Pokemon thing or something?”

“Actually, no,” replied Xavier, who reluctantly eat his pasture, “some Grass-types can grow fruits and berries on their bodies or control grass with certain moves. Yet with the exception of the Elder Tree Pokemon, none can order nature like this.”

“It’s odd right!” admitted Rouge once more, “but, ever since we got here, I’ve been feeling a stronger connection with the flora around me.”

At this mention, Rouge waved a bouquet near the ground where a new patch of grass began to emerge.

“Almost as if I could communicate with the plants around me. However…”

At this point, the green and healthy grass became brown and dry.

“I can only control it so long before it dies.”

“Maybe is the natural magic on this world?” ventured Valerie above her, “this world does have tons of it.”

“Magic…?” said Rouge, pondering the possibility until she found a little limitation to said theory, “but I am not a Fairy-type, how can I possibly be able to use magic?”

“That may be impossible in your world,” added Daring, “but in this world magic can be used by anyone, as long they have the proper connection with it and some training .”

Again, Rouge remained silent as she thought on the possibility while smaller patches of grass grew near her feet.

A chuckle broke her of her thought once again.

“I guess we need to find you a magic instructor then,” half joked Weiss. “I Wonder if there are any green thumbed magicians in this world?”

“Magic here comes in various forms, I am sure we can find one for you,” assured Daring as she happily munched more of her meal.

Once what little food they grew was consumed, the group resumed their pilgrimage, something Chopper greatly thanked as the rook was becoming a bit heavy at this point.


Flagship Holzschiff
Somewhere above the ocean

The great vessel was more than a gigantic war-dash-transport machine, which it definitely was, but also a well equipped, first class, royal cruiser. Every cabin was elegantly decorated in a modest yet effective way.

The walls had molding adorning each part of it with motifs of ancient battles and legends, other places were covered in elegant wallpaper with exotic designs. There was not much in the way of decoration besides that though, like old armors or ancient coat of arms, this was a war vessel after all and such things would be rather useless if a combat ever erupted. With the only exception being, of course, Victoria’s personal cabin.

A place so filled with furniture and decorations it could easily replace her actual room back on her castle.

The Empress, of course, found all that exaggerated and unneeded.

But ‘Appearances need to be kept’ was the answer she normally had from the ship’s captain.

And as such, Victoria was constantly surrounded by any kind of pampering she could imagine and even more.

This became old quickly.

Being someone used to ruling an Empire, Victoria couldn’t find her current lack of work relaxing on the slightest. She needed to work, to do something, anything that would prove to herself that she was the head of state of her country and not just some pompous V.I.G.

Her boredom reached a point when she had go and give some help to the ship’s kitchen.

The crew didn’t know how to react to this at first, so they let her do as she pleased. For around two hours, before the captain arrived for an inspection and almost had a heart attack once he saw her washing some dishes.

As expected, she was prohibited to repeat such actions as she was sent back to her cabin.

“He does know I am the Empress right?” inquired Victoria, “I could easily demote him from his position if I wanted to.”

“Come on your Highness,” commented Grizelda, “that would be too harsh. I would rather call it ‘rewarding his services by sending him to the Yakyakistan embassy on the Frozen North.’ That wouldn’t raise any commotion.”

Victoria chuckled at the suggestion as she looked out at her window.

As expected of the cabin reserved for the Empress, the view was simply gorgeous. The whole horizon was visible from the elevated position the cabin had.

It was then when Victoria noticed a group of Griffins flying around the ship.

“Right on schedule as always,” Victoria pointed out, “does Miss Shredder know those poor souls may like to enjoy the trip?”

“Either she doesn’t or she doesn’t care,” replied her clawmaiden, “I guess she shares that with you.”

“Well, we can’t let things go on like this can we?” The Empress acknowledged. “Grizelda, will you be so kind to bring Miss Shredder to my cabin please?”

“I am sure your soldiers will be more than thankful with you, your highness,” Grizelda replied with a smile as she leave.

“Finally, something to distract me from this tedious calm,” Victoria said to herself once she was alone.


A couple of minutes latter, Shredder’s troops could be seen catching a breath at the deck, a sign that the mercenary instructor has left her position. Latter, said instructor was before the Empress.

“I’m back!” carefreely said Grizelda on her return, “and I brought her along, she was a bit reluctant though.”

“How can I be of service your Highness?” inquired Shredder as she entered the cabin.

“I was merely looking for a reason to give your Griffins a few minutes of peace,” elegantly yet shamelessly replied the Empress on her couch as she offered the newcomer a seat before her.

Being as ‘no-nonsense’ as she was, Shredder was unable to interpret Victoria’s words.

“My apologies your highness, but what do you mean by that?” She asked as she finally sat down.

“Let me put it like this; what can possibly happen during our travel that requires your troops to continue their training even as we move around on the biggest ship in the Empire?”

The mercenary replied with her regular seriousness right away.

“A ship in the middle of delivering a diplomatic envoy tend to be a valuable target; we could be ambushed by pirates, an enemy country could launch an attack on us, a storm could send us astray and lose our route which would end with our troops rioting against us once the supplies had run low and thus start a fight of the fittest within the vessel.”

Victoria stood silent for a minute and finally asked to Grizelda.

“I-is that how I regularly sound like?”

“Normally, not that exaggerated or confident about bad things to happen, but yeah, sort of.”

“Remind me to program me some self imposed relaxation once this is over.” The Empress then turned back to her ‘employe,’ “I see you like to be prepared for any kind of situation, as impossible as they may sound,”

“Keeping your troops in shape is my job, your Highness.”

“But still, I doubt they can be of much help on any of those events if they are too exhausted to even think, let alone react to said events.”

Shredder thought for a moment and then replied.

“So what you are saying is…?”

“To give them some free time, at least while we are on this ship. The Holzschiff already posses its own troops, and even when they have no Pokemon training, they remain as one of the best troops in the Empire.”

“That is something one of my trainees, Saewine, proclaims as a former member of this ship’s crew. But I can only trust that which I have grown, your Highness.”

“That is wise, to a point,” admitted Victoria. “But even when I haven’t raise them myself, I can admit the sailors on this ship are all trustworthy of my, and everyone’s, lives.”

“My apologies your Highness, I didn’t meant to insult you,” Shredder said politely while adding, “I guess it’s an old family habit.”

“There was no insult,” Victoria reassured her with a gesture of her claw. “But I am curious now. For how you act and what I can tell, you were raised in a strict household, am I wrong?”

At this point, the Empress was resting her shoulders on her couch, looking for a more comfortable position while Grizelda patiently stay close to her.

“So, how come someone as righteous and stern as yourself ended up with a group of mercenaries?”

Shredder’s face kept her serious demeanor as she replied, “I am afraid that is a bit private for you to ask, won’t you agree your Highness?”

Victoria let out a sigh, “perhaps it is…” yet she smiled deviously right after, “maybe we could talk of something else we all know, say, how you and Lady Roll ended up together maybe?”

The mercenary replied with her regular seriousness right away, “I was raised back in Virtus.”


Back on earth
Virtus Region

A long time ago.

Virtus is an island region not far from the Kalos region. As ancient and beautiful as the latter, yet if possible with a past far more covered in blood. Even though is a very peaceful place nowadays, or at least it was…

My apologies, I am getting off topic.

The region was famous for its countless tales of folklore about the great Fabeled King, who brought together the land, and his loyal Knights who keep peace all over his reign.

Because of it, things like honor and duty are highly valued and respected, even by Pokemon.

All over the land were clans ruling over their domains, the Ferrothorn garrisoned in the forests along side the Escavalier, the Lucarios, Gallades and Gardevoirs roamed the human towns and gave them protection, the Aegislash served as loyal guardians of said humans’ governors, the Haxorus constantly looked for worthy foes in the mountains and so on and so forth.

In such a place, every Pokemon who valued itself was sworn to a cause and bound by honor to it, even the likes of my Dark-type kind who ruled over the grasslands with a mighty yet humble strength.

It was there where I was hatched, as I stated once before, from the clan’s Alphas. My mother was a gentle warrior, swift in her strikes and merciful on her kills whether she was on the hunting parties or fending off enemy clans. She was known simply as The Silver Flash for her superb use of a rapier. My father was a stern and direct ruler with a tough ‘lead by example’ principle, he would often show respect to his enemies by giving them a chance to avoid a pointless battle but reaffirmed his sovereignty by slaying those who refused said kindness. He was a formidable user of a dual blade technique, yet he mostly fought using only a dagger, leaving the companion sword for worthy foes.

And between them, was me. A young heir to a vast and noble land with an even larger heritage and pride. Since I was able to stand I was shown how to fight and guide, the basics of swordplay were told to me far before I was fully able to walk and the principles of ruling come before I was fully able to talk. I suppose you could say I had a rough childhood, but having known that from the start, there was nothing for me to fear or regret. In fact I loved every single moment of it as it was the most time I spent with my parents.

By the way, there is something I would like to explain first.


“And what may that be?” inquired Victoria a bit disappointed yet retaining a calm expression.

Grizelda beside her didn’t care to even pretended to take the stop well.

“I am sure you and the other races in this world see swordplay as a common thing to learn.” explained Shredder as she placed her sword from her lap to stand between her legs.

“Soldiers need to learn how to fight after all,” said Grizelda matter-o-factly.

“Indeed,” proceeded the Sword Blade Pokemon, “but back in my world, it was extremely rare to see a Pokemon with a weapon, especially as they are considered to be weapons themselves.”

“Of course there exist a few exceptions, like the Wild Duck or Muscular Pokemon who made use of different objects for combat. However, things are different in Virtus.”


Every clan made use of weapons. The only exception being the prideful Haxorus who preferred armors.

As such, to have things like spears and swords among the ranks of ‘wild’ Pokemon was an unheard thing all over the world yet a daily basis in my home.

Because of it, it was rare for young human trainers to visit our lands in the search of partners as it would have been almost suicidal. One or two foolishly brave did try it from time to time, but we quickly show them the error of their misplaced pride. They always returned unharmed of course, albeit a scratch here or there.

Back on topic.

The reason behind such an unorthodox way of living lied in the legends of the region, which claimed that in the old times, the great fabled King and his Knights wage war with their Pokemon companions close to them, entrusting their lives to one another as if they were of the same flesh and blood. Said legends even mentioned how these Knights gifted their partners with trophies of weapons and lands.

Some humans theorised it was the legends that give the Pokemon the idea of using weapons in the first place. But I can assure you that my clan wasn’t one of those.

As my clan had one of said heirlooms from the time of legends.

The fabled sword Arondight.

We knew it was a present for our services to a human from long, long ago, yet we couldn’t tell from whom. It could have been from any of the twelve Knights or from the fabled King himself as far as we knew.

Yet that wasn’t the point of it, the blade symbolised the longevity of our clan and the honorable history behind it. The importance each and every one of its members had within the region was embodied in that ancient sword.

So you can guess how much pressure was put onto me.

As each head of the clan was responsible of keeping the sword, it was my duty of birth to not only inherit Arondight but also what that meant: to be the righteous leader of the clan.

And so I grew to be the stronger, faster, tougher and smarter than any other member of my generation. Knowing of all techniques of swordplay, educated in the many tactics of battle and diplomacy, even versed in human writing for the occasional signpost we may encounter within our land.

I was resolute in my actions, proud of my strength and confident in my future.

But everything changed in one single day.

It was another regular sunny day, nothing big was meant to happen. At the time I was a small Pawniard, my hunting party and me were returning victorious with our prey when we spotted an unknown scent, someone was inside our territory.

It was the scent of a human and its Pokemon, we thought it was yet another young trainer testing its bravery and luck, we decided to go and give him a fright as always.

We surrounded this human, as always, and waited for our scout to distract them so we could jump in. However, there was something different about this human. The scent was of a human, yet there was something else to it, something I couldn’t figure out at first, yet something I know all too well.

Then we noticed that our scout had taken too long.

We jumped into the clearing the invaders had been using to camp, only for all of my subordinates to be knocked unconscious before they could hit the ground. I would have share the same fate if I had done as much as blink, I avoided a fist sent my way at the very last moment, albeit my body had to move in a way that made my fall a total wreckage.

“So the rumors are true,” commented one of the Pokemon as he turned around to face me, “Pokemon in this region use weapons.”

It was a Nidoking, he seemed to be as big as a mountain to my shocked young self.

“Let’s thank this is not a trend been copied by other regions,” added a Serperior next to him with a royal yet rough tone .

He somehow looked very tired yet ready for action at the same time.

“It has its own charm though,” said yet another Pokemon, a Scizor, as he inspected one of our weapons, “warriors following the ways of old times, it’s almost romantic.”

He was the one who took care of most of us in the blink of an eye.

Then, the human spoke.

“I missed mine.” He said with a cold tone and even colder eyes as he turned to me. He was the one who’s fist I dodged.

He looked to be young, physically at least, not much older than me, and was wearing plain black clothes and nothing more.

It was that moment though when I noticed the one difference this human had from the ones who had come before him: he smelled like blood and death.

“Oh come on kid, don’t be so mean with yourself,” commented a Pokemon I have never seen until that point, a Cloyster, whose carapace was white as snow and his eyes were red as rubies.

He floated near the human as he said this, yet the human didn’t remove his gaze from me.

“I need more practice,” he said to himself, “and I have told you before that I can’t understand you,” his tone didn’t sounded as harsh for a moment.

“Look at you,” Continued the albino one while pointing at us with its horn, “this little guy barely dodged you while the rest are unconscious, you can’t call this a loss.”

The human was still ignorant of what his partner was saying and simply give an annoyed look in response as he was at least able to understand what he meant.

“Fine, wake them up and send them home,” the human said with a sigh.

“See, we can understand each other!” Said the Cloyster as he ‘hugged’ the human.

“For an armored Pokemon, you sure are very soft,” joked the Scizor as he began to wake up the rest of my group.

“All he needs is love.”

We left as soon as all of my Pawniards wake up, not before the human give me a parting word.

“You’d better hurry.”


“This is one long story,” commented Grizelda.

“I am sorry about that, but all good stories need a good setting,” replied Shredder.

“But isn’t this a real story?” inquired Victoria.

“As I was saying…” ignored Shredder.


We left the camping site immediately, luckily our prey was left away from the whole ordeal so the only loss of the day was our pride.

I remember my scouts asking, “my lady, just what in the world were those?”

“They defeat us rather pathetically,” other comrade said.

“Whatever they are, they are not match for our whole might,” I replied, “we have to hurry back so we can return with more warriors. No one mocks our clan and leaves without a proper fight.”

We were almost there when a new scent hit our noses, this wasn’t the smell of a human but of something far worse.

“... Fire!”

We dropped everything that wasn’t a weapon and ran back home as fast as our legs allowed us to, hopping for the smoke to only be near our home. As we got closer and closer, we noticed that the smoke pike was coming directly from within our home, not only that but the smoke and fire was growing.

We increased our pace, getting ready to help our kind against the natural disaster.

Only to find it wasn’t natural fire but a disaster all the same.

As we arrived we found not only fire and smoke, but also many Fire-types blazing all over the place with humans shouting orders behind them.

We didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what to do. And as such, all we did was stay still in shock while our home and our comrades were consumed by the flames.

Yet not all of us were completely impotent at the sight.

Some of our strongest warriors were doing their best to fight off the invaders while giving the rest of our clan time to flee.

Suddenly, a dark blue glimmer shone on the distance, I catch a glimpse of Arondight been waved, my father was still alive and fighting.

Even when it could have been anyone else, another member of my clan using the sword or even a human, the sight of the old blade alone was all I needed to snap out of my stupor.

I turned to my comrades and scream orders to them: help with the evacuation, look for stragglers and stay away from the aggressors.

I looked up to see the sword one more time, it was ‘one more time’ wasted for me as I suddenly hear someone screaming.

“There is another one!” Said some woman, “Magma use Flamethrower!”

As I turned around to look at said voice, a Magmortar had jumped to me, and arm raised as he let out a stream of fire on my way.

I smashed the ground in reflex, sending a volley of Rock Tomb in their direction. The rocks were enough to stop the attack yet not the attacker who simply passed through them and then delivered a Fire Punch right into my then small chest.

Luckily that Magmortar was a rather stupid foe for two reasons, first: his kind isn’t physically strong, and second; my chest is covered in blades.

His hand was a bleeding mess long before he could even acknowledge the pain.

Unfortunately for me, that punch still delivered a considerable amount of damage which I noticed by the distance I was send flying. I rolled on the ground once I landed and could barely remember who I was and what was happening.

The smell of molten metal and the sound of screams brought me back just in time as I noticed a very angry Magmortar with a bleeding hand looking for me.

I wanted to help my kind, to avenge my comrades, to fight alongside my father and mother. But in that right moment all I could do was flee.

It was mortifying.

One of the greatest, strongest and proudest members of my clan and I didn’t know what to do other than flee. The thought alone mortified my immensely, not only was I running from a fight but I was also running from my home in a moment where I was needed the most.

Because of these mental trepidations, I fail to notice a branch on the ground which sent me rolling another couple of feets, only to find myself something I didn’t expected to see, the remnants of the prey my comrades and I had caught not so far ago.

And a few extras.

“Isn’t the world small?” I heard a relatively familiar voice said, “Isn’t this the little one we met a few minutes ago?”

I looked up and noticed it was the Cloister from before as well as his comrades.

“She seems to have come from the fire,” pointed out the Scizor, “what should we do?”

“What could we do?” asked the Nidoking with a surprisingly calm tone, “we aren’t the ones calling the shots here.”

At this point, everyone turned to look at their human, waiting for instructions.

Said human looked at them knowing of what they were thinking.

“Forget it,” he said with the same serious tone of before, “you all know why we are here for.”

“And there is our answer,” said the Serperior calmly as well.

The Cloister seemed to try to convince the human otherwise, yet he didn’t seemed that interested, I on the other hand was going through a rather, I think the term Pancha once used was ‘trippy,’ situation on my head.

My home was under attack for unknown reasons, I didn’t know how many of my family and friends were still alive, I was being chased by some angry Fire-type and there was a bunch of insanely strong individuals about to turn around and leave us all to our own luck.

And so something snapped.

During a single second, I was able to remember a single subject of one of the many I had to study during my life; literature.

My kind didn’t involve itself with humans that often, but it was good to know when to keep some distance from things with their words on them or to calm down the foolish children we beat and sent back.

Thus in that moment, I pulled all of that knowledge from whatever corner it was in my head and run through it again and again and again and again. I went through all of that knowledge, study and re-interpret it.

Then I did something no one, not even a Legendary, could have predicted.

I talked.

“Plase… elp… help us!” Those were the first words I ever spoke in human language, my voice sounded like I was at the verge of a seizure.

The whole group halted on the spot, none being sure of what just had happened.

“Did she just…?” Asked the Nidoking with disbelief as he and the rest looked down on me.

“Hal-help us, plese!” I begged once more.

The Pokemon turned again to look at the human, who was the only one who hadn’t turned around to see me. Yet he did talk.

“Will your kind pay for our services?” He coldly asked.

I struggled to stand back up and was about to reply when a blast of fire fell not far away of me. The Magmortar and his human had caught up to me.

“There it is!” Both said.

“Answer!” The human before me demanded.

“Please help us, we will repay you!” I screamed as I laid in my knees.

“Don’t you dare to take our bonus from us! You filthy merc...” the other human snarled when she noticed the others, only to suddenly fall silent as a knife landed on her forehead.

The Magmortar turned to look at his master, not noticing the Nidoking who had jumped up to him. With one fast motion, the Fire-type’s head land beside his feet.

“So we have a new plan then?” asked the Nidoking, not seeming to mind in the slightest at what he just did.

“Do I have your word?” Said the human as he offered me a hand to stand back up.

I nodded while unconsciously taking his hand, cutting his palm on the process. He didn’t seem to mind.

“Deploy!” He proclaimed.

Then the Nidoking charged directly at the fire while smiling, the Serperior went for the higher ground and the Scizor just vanished as soon the order was given, only the Cloyster remained with us. The human climbed on to him and turned to me one last time.

“Stay here.” He said and then tapped his ‘mount’ on the shell.

With the propulsion of an Hydro Pump, both of them leapt into the air and flew into the fray.

The fire began to die down once they reached the battlefield and I could hear more screams erupting from within the smoke, albeit they were no longer coming from my people.

A moment later, I fell unconscious.


There was a moment of silence, Victoria and Grizelda didn’t know what to say. They had many questions, yet they didn’t know where to start. Shredder on her end had closed her eyes, as if the memory was still a fresh one.

She then opened her eyes and with a calm sigh continued.


I woke up after the whole battle had ended.

The fire was completely under control at that point, thanks to the Cloyster and the Nidoking, and everyone was looking for survivors within the wreckage that was once our home.

I caught a glimpse of a line of bodies being covered in whatever cloth we could find while many mourned them, our losses were significant. But I could also see other bodies been thrown into a pile with less respect, the losses on the aggressor's side were total.

As I processed what I was looking at, I noticed I was no longer outside of my home, but rather back in and right before my parents. I felt glad to see neither of them had lost their lives during the fight, even though my father had half of his face melted.

Of course, his good half didn’t show any concern about it, in fact he looked quite relieved once I was awake.

My mother was completely unscratched yet she looked as if a couple of years had suddenly gone through her.

From what she told me, the intruders arrived with no previous warning other than a sudden rain of fire. They quickly sealed the paths we used to go in and out our encampment before we even knew we were under attack and slowly proceed to immolate whoever they cross paths with. According to some reports, these aggressors came to exchange blows with themselves from time to time.

That gave my parents enough frame to come with countermeasures. My father lead the charge against them while my mother took every non-combatant able out via hidden paths.

The fight stumble into an impasse as our warriors faced the enemies who had troubles organizing themselves. It was around that moment the human I met and his partners arrived. A Rain Dance and a couple of Hydro Pumps from the Cloyster were enough to cripple the Fire-types’ advantage while the Nidoking and Scizor tore the intruders apart with overwhelming might and unrivaled speed respectively.

My mother was unable to tell me what the Serperior did to contribute to the fight, but some scouts mentioned some enemies being taken down by what they could only describe as ‘air.’ I already know how this works by now, but back then when I was ignorant of it, this and the rest of the fight clearly showed how different these Pokemon were in comparison to those who cowardly attacked us.

Once the battle was over, they began helping with the search while its human leader went back for me and delivered me to my parents. He was waiting for me to wake up so I could perform my end of the deal.

“We did as you asked,” he said once I was fully awake, “now do your part.”

My clan didn’t take such arrogant tone to be used against the clan heiress lightly, even when it came from the one who just save everyone’s lives. Most of the warriors looking after my parents and me took an aggressive stance right away, only for my father to calm everyone down with a single gesture of his hand.

“You may have come in our moment of need, fiend,” my father replied with a tone which demanded authority, “but that gives you no right to talk to us as if we were simple beasts.”

The human and everyone remained silent, he then said.

“I can’t understand you,” he then pointed at me, “but I was hopping he would translate.”

My clan was understandingly puzzled at the human.

We knew he couldn’t understand us, but we rarely needed to be understood as our mere presence was enough to convince others. Especially my father’s.

Speaking of which, he didn’t take how the human pointed at me too kindly.

“I will not take your insolence for much longer,” he replied, “so I expect you to explain yourself.” He then looked at me and added, “and you as well.”

I swallowed nervously, if there was something I could tell filled me with fear, it was the glare from either of my parents. The current state of my father’s face didn’t help.

I knew what I needed to do, and I knew it was going to get me into much trouble, but given the circumstances I had not much of a choice. I turned my face away from my father.

I could clearly hear his hand crushing whatever was under his grasp so I quickly talked.

“Me fater want to now…” I said it in a way the human and my father would understand at the same time, so actual pronunciation wasn’t my focus, “what do you mean b-by your woks…? words!”

It was hard, talking as a mere human while all of my clan was looking at me, I felt like, well, like a Pokemon talking as a human.

The human, however, didn’t seemed to mind as he replied.

“This one asked for our help, he…”


“Wait! He?” Inquired Grizelda.

“I-I just happen to have had a rather masculine voice when young…” awkwardly yet sternly replied Shredder, “as I was saying!”


“He said your kind will be able to pay for our services.” He explained.

If looks could pierce metal I would have had a hole in the back of my head as I could clearly tell how my father was looking at me.

“I panicked.” I said to him as I slowly turned around, “Th-there was not much I could do and we met these individuals on our way home… I couldn’t think of anything else!”

“You could have at least discussed their price,” my father replied with a deafening tone, “at the very least. Now you have left us to their demands.”

The rest of my kind began to whisper around us, I couldn’t tell if they were discussing what my father said or judging me for my poor thinking.

“However, I doubt we can deny their involvement in today’s victory, especially now that we can’t play fool,” my father continued while looking at me, he seemed disappointed.

He sighted and then continued to stare at the human and his companions.

“So, what will it be?”

I translated the best I could.

“I would like you and your kind to leave these plains,” the human said right away with his emotionless tone.

Again, my kind erupted in noise yet it wasn’t whispers and murmurs, they were protesting and shouting in disagreement, after all a mere human just ask us to leave the place we had been living for generations.

“That is ridiculous!” I exclaimed, being the only one he could understand, the human looked at me as I continued, “these lands has been ours since the time of fables, there is no power in this world able to take us away! No mather if you saved our clan, what you are asking for is simply too much.”

The human didn’t seemed to mind, on the contrary, he seemed tired.

“If that is what you want then,” he replied while giving a careless shrug, “I won’t force you then.”

Again, we were all confused.

“But you will all die.”

No one took that last part kindly, not even me.

We all knew these foreigners were strong, but even so one should never treat our clan and expect us to take it lightly. In a moment, all of us had our weapons and blades aimed at them.

Then.

“Will you all just listen to our side!” Exclaimed the Nidoking while slamming a feet on the ground, causing it and everyone to tremble. “Jesh, we are trying to save you people!”

It took everyone a moment to calm down and dust themselves off, the human included.

“To demand silence by the act of violence is a rather cowardly cheat!” said my father once he was back on his seat.

“... violence?” The Nidoking asked in confusion.

“You just used an Earthquake you fiend!”

The Nidoking remained silent for a moment and then added.

“Ah… sorry!” He said with a refreshing laugh, “I was just putting my feet down, I didn’t mean to shake everyone here,” and then laughed, loudly, “My bad, my bad, I guess I used too much strength.”

It was our turn to remain silent, yet little by little we began to chuckle as well, we didn’t know what to say back. It was a rather comical turn of events, even when we all couldn’t stop wondering just how strong that Nidoking was.

Once the laugh was over, my father continued with the negotiations.

“I will take your word for now and let it pass, but do not repeat that kind of behavior.” He said to the Nidoking, he then looked at the human, “if you are not threatening us, then why are you foretelling our demise?”

The human looked around and pointed at the pile of bodies.

“You see the human with the green vest and the camera?” He asked and my father nodded, “he was going to publish some article about a wild fire erupting here and explain how wild Pokemon lost their lives to it.”

“And what could he possibly gain for lying? Let alone what does that has to do with any of this!”

“He would have gain the same that the rest on the pile, if not a slight bonus. You see, they were contracted to make all of you disappear and make it look like an accident.”

“And what would they do that for?”

“What else? Money. Each of them would have gotten an extra bonus for each of you they killed.”

“But why would your kind look to exterminate ours in such a cruel and violent way?”

“A shopping mall.”

We knew what a shopping mall was, a large market of sorts where humans went to look for vain things and useless items. Places where they waste hours upon hours of their lives. Places that had to do absolutely nothing with the ancient and honorable ways of our people.

“So you are saying that my clan, my comrades, all the lives lost today were extinguished for a shopping mall?” My father asked with the first show of disbelief in the day and the first show of shock I have ever hear from him.

“Yes,” the human carelessly replied, “you see, you and your clan have made a name for turning away every human coming here. So when some entrepreneurial tycoons found out about that while in the middle of planning their next financial success in this area, they couldn’t risk themselves to have potential customers being scared away by some wild Pokemon.”

“And so they order our destruction?” Inquired my father as he breathed heavily, “I can’t see how are we called ‘wild’ when your kind act more like beasts in a single day than most of us have in centuries!”

My father had to took a moment to take a breath before proclaiming.

“But if war is what they want then war is what they will have!”

“Then whatever chance your clan may have of survival will become zero,” the human replied, “remember the one with the camera of before?”

He pointed at the pile again.

“He was also their ‘Plan B.’ If your kind show to be strong enough to put a fight, then he would have make it look like you were feral Pokemon and thus call the government to take action against you. They may have attacked a town or two to give a bigger sense of threat.”

“What you mean with that is?”

“The rangers, the army and probably even poachers would have been tasked to come and deal with you. In a way, those who contracted us would have prefer it that way, it would have been a free job for them.”

We all notice the little word the human had used in that last sentence.

“Us?” I asked, not that my father took long to do the same. “You mean you were with these fiends!”

Again our weapons were pointing at them, but yet again the human show little concern.

“We were ‘Plan C,’” the human admitted, “if your clan had reacted in time and fight back from the start, thus giving the cameraman no chance to take the pictures needed for Plan B, we would have stepped in and dealt with all of you.”

“And why would you turn against your employers so easily?” Asked my father with an untrusty tone.

“We would only be paid if said event ever were to happen, so we decided to come once the fight was over and kill them off all the same. It’s bad for business to work for free.”

“I don't know what I should have expected from a fiend such as you,” my father replied, “but you haven’t answered my question yet, what made you all change your mind?”

“There was no chance of a peaceful solution, however,” the human then looked at me, “now we may be able to reach an arrangement and avoid more useless bloodshed.”

“And get paid for doing nothing?” Added my father, the human shrugged, “your words seem to imply that we have no chance of winning, right?”

“Even if you say no now, those who want you all gone will not stop here. They will send another group to take your clan down or make you look like frenzied Pokemon. And right now you don't stand a chance against a second assault.”

My father remained silent for a moment. I knew how much he wanted to go down while fighting, however that fool wish would only doom us all. He was unable to decide, for now at least.

“I can’t give you a direct answer right now,” he said with a dry tone, “I will discuss this with the other heads of the clan and reach a conclusion tomorrow. You and your group must wait until then.”

And so the negotiations were placed into a hold.

As everyone leave, I was embraced by my parents who then told me.

“Despite your lack of foresight, it appears we have to thank you for your actions of today,” my mother said with a sad and tired smile, “not to mention your surprising display of human language.”

“I owe you an apology,” added my father, “it appears your decision may have save us all from a bigger threat that we could have foreseen.”

I thanked his words, yet I didn’t show any happiness for it and neither did he, as we knew well what my actions meant.

And that hurt us.


The human and his Pokemon left right away and made a camp near our home where they waited for my father to come with a decision. He and the surviving heads of the clan discussed the topic for the rest of the day and even into the night.

They would do as the human told them.

This choice was made very reluctantly as the human had given no proof other than his words, yet his and the invaders’ actions could serve as enough proof for such regard.

If only we could have reacted on time and our losses hadn’t been as heavy as they were, we could have been able to give a proper fight to those looking to take our land from us.

But we were weakened far too much, there was nothing we could do, and so my parents chose the path which may give the remnants of our clan a chance of survival.

And the next day the news was given to the human, alongside something else.

“So that is your decision?” The human asked.

“Is with a heavy heart that we do as you say,” my father replied once the explanation was over.

“Good,” and on word, he and his partners prepared to leave, “as long you move a dozen or so miles from here and keep a reasonable distance from the humans, the ones responsible for this will have no reason to finish the job. We take our leave now.”

And so the human turned to do as he said, but this time he was stopped by my father.

“Wait,” he commanded, “there is one last thing to discuss.”

The human did as told and awaited for me to translate.

“Your actions were guided by greed and your heart is filled with filth, but still you save us all, included my one and only daughter.”

“... so you are a girl then?” The insolent asked.

I proceeded, “it is by your actions, as shameful as they were, that we owe you our lives, but more importantly her-my life.”

The human and his partners were confused, I continued.

“Our honors dictates that this debt must be paid in kind, you saved a life…” my father stopped, he wasn’t able to finish the sentence as our rules demanded, so I did it for him.

“So do with this life as you please.” I then kneeled before the human, “I am from now on bound to your path as your servant, I am yours to command, master.”

There was a comprehensible silence after I was finished.

The human was most likely thinking over my words while my clan was respectful over the oath of servitude, the only noise one could hear was the tears dripping from my parents.

For this time only, they wanted to ignore the tradition more than anyone else, but then they wouldn’t have been worthy to guide anymore. As such, we all had to endure and obey.

The human then asked, “so you will serve me from now on?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“For how long?”

“As long either of us live or until I am able to return the life I have been granted.”

“You mean as long you can save me back?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?”

“I have seen 10 springs.”

“Are you strong?”

“Yes.”

“You can translate what other Pokemon say?”

“Yes.”

“Can you backstab me?”

“No.”

“Can you disobey me?”

“Depends.”

“Can you train me?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

And without any other question, he picked out a Pokeball out of his coat and put it before me, he wanted me to do the other half myself.

I presume you can’t understand what is like to be inside a Pokeball, those things may be comfortable for some, but for a ‘wild’ Pokemon as myself, that was like letting go of what made me, me.

So imagine being left to perform the act which would forever remove my freedom by myself. It wasn’t a nice experience. Nevertheless, I complied as I should as tears feel to the ground. I knew that once I was swallowed by the device, I will never see my home or family again.

So I pressed my blade on the sphere as soon as possible. I didn’t wanted to stall any longer.

And so the world around me vanished, I was inside the Pokeball, I was no longer free.

I was away of my family and friends from then on, and there was nothing I could do about it, as such I decided to make use of the solitude the Pokeball provided and let my emotions flow with the tears which fell from my eyes.

Then there was a flash of light and I was back outside, right before my parents.

“Make it quick,” the human commanded, “we need to hurry to deliver the news.”

I was confused at first, until I was engulfed in a group hug from my parents for a last time. Then I understand one thing, not what the human was doing, but that deep down, very deep down, he was a good human, a worthy master.


Again, Shredder had her eyes closed as she remembered the last moments she had with her family, she didn’t seem sad, in fact, she had a warm smile on her face.

“We ended up departing past midday, I remember that ‘human’ was a bit pissed off by the time we finally left.”

“I can’t believe what greed is capable of,” Victoria said, “I have seen greed corrupt many beings like Diamond Dogs gone rouge or the raven witches of legends, but they are exceptional cases, to think there is a whole world filled with creatures capable of doing such horrible things only for greed.”

“But there is one thing I don’t understand,” said Grizelda, “if you had such a sad farewell and such a forced introduction with the mercenaries, then why are you one of their highest ranking members? Wouldn’t you have fulfilled your duty long ago? I mean; he was such a jerk while you, look at you! You are so awesome and strong! You should have saved that guy’s rear like a million times already!”

“It is true that, Weiss… was quite different back then. I highly disagreed with many of his ideas over the course of years yet there was a reason I was so resolute about joining his group: I felt weak.”

“During the whole incident I was shocked by fear and despair, thus I was unable to be of any help while they not only changed sides in an instant, Weiss completely came with a whole new plan right on the spot and had the strength and the smarts to see it through. A part of me wanted to know what made such a nimble being look so strong compared to me, so I as much as I wanted to say that my oath was fulfilled I was unable to leave as my curiosity and pride wouldn’t allow me to while I could become stronger in their company.”

“As for why I find such an odd group as my new family, well, do you remember that part I mentioned about how he may have been a good individual?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Asked Grizelda.

“You see, he reported to the ones in charge about the success of their mission and get paid, as expected. But a month later some photographs about how they made my clan move were leaked to the media.”

“In no time, there were rangers from all over the region and even from beyond it investigating the incident. With the truth out to the surface, the ones behind it all were imprisoned and given very long sentences, I even heard some Poke-fan groups asked for a death penalty as our clan was, apparently, widely known as one of the clans who once served the fabled King.”

“In other words, they got what they deserved?” ventured Grizelda.

“Exactly, and all thanks to a certain someone who decided to leak the pictures taken by that one arsonist during the attack,” Shredder replied and then smiled.

“But why would he do that?” Inquire now Grizelda, “wouldn't that be bad for a group of mercenaries?”

Shredder smiled once more as she replied.


“That is what we will do, you understand Shredder?” The human said as we walked away from my home, “Shredder?” and then proceeded to smack me on the back of the head.

I turned to him with surprise, “ow! You fiend! What was that for!?”

“First rule of this group: stay sharp at all times,” he explained. “You understand what we will do then?”

“Y-yeah, but why would you do that? Weren’t you all commissioned for this whole thing to begin with? Why exposing the truth about the ones who buy your services?”

“They were going to pay us only if we were to act, that gives us a loophole,” he replied, “not to mention that I didn't like having a client who asks for mass murder.”

“Professionals have standards,” added the albino Cloyster.

“We aren’t the kind who go and kill just to get paid,” continued the Nidoking.

“Just as your honor compels you to follow this strange human, ours compels us to do things how we see fit,” commented the Scizor.

“We are not heroes nor slaves, we are ourselves,” said the Serperior.

We continued to walk as they explain all of this, which can be summed up as this: being a mercenary doesn’t make you evil, only free to a extent.

At least that is how they saw it.

“Shredder?” The human asked again, “Shredder!?” and again smacked me on the head.

“What is it with you and the smacks!?” I understandably asked back, “and who is this Shredder?”

“Who else?” The human said while pointing at me. “You do need a name after all.”

“Shre… why must I have such a ridiculous name?”

“You are an assembly of knifes and blades, a walking shredder,” he explained with the same emotionless voice.

“Yeah, sometimes I forget it too,” cut in the Nidoking, “despite how soulless and cold he looks, he is still a kid so try to bare with him.”

“It’s what we all do!” Pointed out the Cloyster.

I could only sigh.

“Shredder?”

“What!?”

“Can you tell me what are they saying?” He asked as before, albeit there was different shine on his eyes. He was looking for me to translate.

I let out another sigh, “what other choice do I have? He said…”


“It was on that day that I joined the mercenary guild. Befor I knew it I had spent over a decade with them, and during that time I had my share of discrepancies, lessons, experiences so different and varied I could fill a whole book with them, and so far I don’t regret it in the slightest.

“But what about your family?” Asked Grizelda.

“They continued to lead the clan, according to the last thing I heard, they reclaimed the grasslands a couple of years after my departure. I presume they continued to prosper after that.”

“Then that means you haven’t seen them since then?” Asked now the Empress.

“I couldn’t let myself to return while still been bound to my oath, even when Weiss offered to let me take a vacation multiple times.”

“Don’t you worry about them forgetting about you?” asked the clawmaiden.

“I know my parents well, they will remember me with sorrow, yet would never allow me to return while still tied to someone else. I am sure they will receive me with arms wide open once my job here is done.”

“Your parents sound like very prestigious individuals. I wish I could have met them,” commented Victoria.

“I wish so as well your highness, I wish so as well.”

The talk continued from then on in a less formal manner. Shredder mostly shared stories about her life with her clan and the first years of her mercenary life.

However, she roundly refused to talk about her romantic life.

As the stars shone in through the window of the royal cabin, the three ladies decided it was time for them to rest.

“I didn’t expected to spend this much time here, I am sure Roll will be mad with me about it,” the mercenary pointed out as she made her way outside the room. “If you excuse me.”

“Lady Shredder,” interrupted Victoria, “one last question, do you think your clan made it here?”

“They are here,” replied the Pokemon wholeheartedly, “I know they are here.”

“Then I hope we can find them one of these days, you may not be able to go and see them, but I am sure you would like to at least know of their whereabouts.”

“The day I get to know about them will be a blissful one your Highness.” And with a final bow, she left the cabin.

“I have to tell them about them after all,” she said to herself as she walked to her and Roll’s cabin, “I am sure they will like to know about this crazy team I have for a substitute family.”

Author's Note:

This chapter was hard to write, mostly because Shred has such an elegant voice (in my head at least) I had to be constantly looking for long and nice words for her to say, which made this whole thing a very long wall of text, sorry about that. However, I love the result all the same. After all, Shredder is the other main character I been focusing.

BTW, this is yet another chapter with no edition, however, I for once think is a bit better.
Worry not, it will be edited in due time.

Editors Notes:
Comming soon!

Who is that Pokemon!?

Magmortar

Meet the team!