Gambit the Togetic's Story

The Ork surprised at the levitation and was soon smashed through multiple walls. Of course the Brute was more angry, very angry at the gall for a pokemon to WAGHHHHH! The Nob soon got back up and roared his own lungs out. "WAGHHHHHHH! You'ze 'fink you'ze can fite me!? I'z show'ze you'ze who 'da weakling i'z! WE'ZE 'DA ORKZ! WE'ZE TOUGHA' 'UN STRONGA' "DEN YOU GITZ! I'Z KRUMP YA!" The ork beat its chest as it readied his knife.

---

For the makeshift walker, the grotz all scurried around as they tried to chop up the pokemon. Unfortanantly for them, they crashed into the Tellyporta Pad and became one with the machine. Made out of parts from the power plant the machine was sparking more than it was on fire...Wait sparking?

The Mekboy suddenly roared. "WAGHHHH! I'z gotz me final plan!" The Boy roared as he used a Tellyporta pack on his back to suddenly appear on the electrocuted Deff Dred. His armor protecting him from being shocked to death. Grabbing a few wires from inside a handy compartment he jammed them into the wrecked walker and jammed his body into the opening ultimately acting as a living conductor as the Tellyporta Pad came back online.

How such a crude machine still worked despite major damage, the orkz believed it was only out of power. And thus all it needed was some juice. The Music returned and the Tellyporta pad was back up. Of course the Nob who wanted to use it to escape was probably going to get killed, but at least the orkz got their music for a final defense.

Of course, with no boss around the entrance, the Nob Squad returned back to the center of the powerplant when they spotted plenty of pokemon to attack. "Krump 'da gitz 'un take 'dere teeth!" A nob roared as they began to fire wildly at the pokemon. Friendly fired ensured...but the remaining Kommandos were busy being killed. So more bullets for the enemy, less for their kind.

It seemed that through sheer tenacity and luck that the Ork Tellyporta was indeed working, though how the ramshackle collection of metal and wild electricity was in any way functioning was a piece of baffling technology to any that was not an Ork. But for the Greenskins it seemed such an impossibility was not only possible but also able to bear grim and terrible fruits that against all odds should never have even been birthed into existence.

The Tellyporta pad began to rattle and shake, loose panels slipping lose from where they hadn't been anywhere near properly affixed to their mountings. Bolts of orange lightning cascaded across the ramshackle contraptions length and body, threatening to fry anything that dared to step near as all of a sudden and seeming of its own accord the pad sprung into life. A roaring, rumbling noise was coming from somewhere within it but if anyone was planning on getting any closer to inspect it they would likely be melted from the inside out as the weird energies spat and spun deadly storms on the metal skin. And as the noise and the rumbling grew the bolts of electricity snapped louder and louder and greater in frequency until they began lashing the centre of the pad itself until suddenly..

There was a massive flash of orange light and the boom of thunder in a summers storm and when the afterimage had faded, there he stood. A colossal Ork. The beast was easily twice if not three times as large as any other Ork that was on the planet and not to mention near twice as wide, even clad in the thick and bulky armour that seemed to adorn their kind. Mounted on his left arm was a Power Klaw that seemed to stretch six feet from claw tip to claw tip and upon his right arm was twin barrelled gun, each muzzle easily being the size of the Orks massive head. Steam seemed to pour from every inch of the creatures exposed skin as stray after-bolts of orange electricity licked across his armour.

"A year!" Came a voice like a rumbling volcano from the massive Ork as he lashed out, grabbing the nearest Kommando to be unlucky enough to be close enough, the ungainly weapon almost consuming the Ork entirely even as he lifted them up. "You gretchin' lovin' nobs left me on dat rok for a zoggin' year, an' you only jus' go' tha' Tellyporta runnin'?!" The Orks ugly face contorted with rage as he squeezed his Klaw, cutting the Kommando into three pieces as easy as scissors through paper.

"I AM GUTGOR!" The Ork bellowed as he stepped forwards off of the pad. "I! AM! DA! BOSS!" He swung his colossal gun in an arc, slamming it into the ground with enough force to crack the concrete under him and shatter it into dust. And then from the enraged beast came a roar that shook metal and picked up loose dust, that shattered teeth and bled ears. A roar of primal rage and primal power.

"WWAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!!!"

Lugia's heart dropped when she heard the massive WAAAGH! coming from the plant. Something big was inside the place and she bristled. She turned her head to Crimson and nodded once before she turned and went back to the holes in the walls. Charging inside as quickly as she legs could carry her until she returned to the field and saw the Ork Warboss before her. She snarled and soon opened her maw. An orb appeared in her open mouth and a shrieking sound erupted from her mouth as a powerful Aeroblast beam pounded hard into the Ork Warboss's body, pushing him as hard as she could with such a titanic blast of energy.

As the beam dissipated, she turned tail and ran hard out of the holes in the wall and transformed into her true form to take flight and waited to see if he would come out. If he didnt, then the Lugia was going to prepare herself to level the entire power plant ontop of him in an attempt to end this threat once and for all. It was a sacrifice...but there was no true stopping this thing.

Crimson's attention also went back to the incredible roar sounding from within the Power Plant...a roar that didn't belong to any of their own. His gaze shifted to the Lugia, who nodded at him and took off in the direction of the looming threat. This would leave Crimson to take on the Commander brute, who held it's knife drawn and ready to strike. The Chimchar held his own defensive stance, feet shoulder width apart, Power Bat poised in front of him. He held out his hand and gestured towards the Commander, a move commonly known as Taunt. No tactics would be used by this "clever" fellow, he decided.

Show me what you've got, he thought as he waited for the first strike.

---

"Gambit!" Siena cried as the Shaymin flew over to the downed Togetic, concern brewing in her eyes, "Are you alright?"

"Nnnngh," came the effort-filled response from Gambit as he fought himself to a standing position, "Could really use a Wish right now..."

"So use one and get back to fighting with us!" Dee shouted over the cry of Orks falling as she utilized another Parabolic Charge to take them out completely. Tag was among them party as well, tearing through an Ork with the power of Razor Leaves being flung hard enough to cut through and take out Steel. Gambit nodded in understanding as he used Wish on himself, watching the fight and waiting as the healing effect took place. Truth be told, he didn't take much damage from the surprise bullets. It had just caught him off guard and threw off his flight pattern. The impact against the concrete beneath them was almost comparable to the amount of pain felt when being shot by one of those things.

"So did I do it?" Gambit asked Siena while Dee and Tag moved on to the Mekboys and the newer arrivals, "Did I take out the Teleporter?"

"More like you got it working again," Siena replied honestly, motioning towards the epic fight between the Lugia and the Warboss, "And summoned that at the same time."

Gambit's eyes fell to the floor, "Oh man..."

"Hey, but it's alright," Siena reassured him, bumping him slightly to lift his spirits, "You're alive and that's all that's important. How were we supposed to know that crashing a Machine-like thing into a Teleporter Pad can get the thing to work again?"

"Seems almost too convenient for me."

"Still, I'm thankful you're alright," the Shaymin smiled at Gambit, who snorted at that.

"You're thankful for everything."

"Well, someone's gotta be," Siena lifted off the ground and began flying towards the action once more, "You get better and hop back in when you're ready."

Gambit nodded and watched them go, feeling his own spirit rise again while his physical state began to return to full capacity.

Siena tagged in for Dee, "Dee, see what you can do about that Teleporter!"

"On it!" Dee shot back to the "immaculate" device and began to examine it from the outside. She wasn't worried about getting shocked, as she was an Electric-Type herself. Of all the current members present, she was likely the most capable to dismantle the Teleporter should more abominations come charging through it.

---

Immediately following the conversation between the two Team Vitality members, the double flank occurred.

As the Orks charged into the fray next to the Teleporter Pad, the right hook would come from behind with the emergence of the other Crimson Guild members, who could finally make their way to the Power Plant and wage war with the other side. They were led by a flame-coated Rapidash with a glint of fury in her eye and two Electric-Type rodents with a spark of energy in theirs. Team Volt would be the first to crash into the Ork's rear and unleash some well-needed havoc on them.

"GET BUTT MUNCHED, BUD!" Skyball the Emolga whooped energetically as he Electro Balled the crap out of an Ork, frying it to a crisp.

"Get butt munched?" Lumi the Pachirisu had to stifle a giggle at the ludicrous taunt her partner made while she flung her own Electro Ball at another slow-moving Ork and provided critical damage.

"That's gonna be my new catch phrase from here on!" Skyball stated proudly over the cries and shouts of the battle emerging around them.

"I think you need a new catch phrase," Rubira answered dryly while flinging her own flames at many Orks and burning them to smolders. This caused Lumi to laugh as she rolled to the side, avoiding the knife of another Ork in the process.

"Hey, it's a good one!" Skyball defended himself while defending himself via a quick dodge to the right from a spray of bullets. "Also, we're destroying these guys. Remind me again why these guys are perceived as a threat?"

"Because humans perceived them as a threat. Because Pert and Meryl perceived them as a threat. Because Crimson perceived them as a threat."

"That question was rhetorical."

"So?"

The left uppercut was provided by the Ground-Types, who'd finally made their way past the valley of traps that was the lower floor and surfaced to join the fray. Not only were these recruits fresh and fit for fighting, they were completely invulnerable to the electric-powered armor some of the Orks wore for protection. Their cries of battle could be heard as they slammed into the Ork's numbers from the right side, causing a gooey green sandwich of destruction for these nimrods to deal with. It was hard to fight a war on two fronts, after all.

The Orkz that remained once they heard the Warboss let out his shout all roared as they now began to fight with much more vigor than ever before. "'Dat 'dere i'z Warboss Gutgor! By Gork We'ze gonna get thumped! But I'z thump you'ze gitz first!" The Kommando readied his knife as he charged Crimson with much more force than ever before.

From the Tellyporta Pad, Reinforcments soon arrived. Boyz began to pour into the Power plant reinforcing the depleted orkz. And from what the pokemon could see, the only thing powering it was the ork mekboy using itself as a makeshift conductor charging the tellyporta.

However boyz were not the only thing popping out of the pad, more crude looking wakers appeared as they marched forward alongside the increasing green horde. When the Warboss was angry, the boyz knew they better make him less mad by not getting killed. And killing more enemies. Then followed by less boyz getting thumped to death by the warboss in question.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall...

It may be an overly cliche phrase that was used by many protagonists dealing with larger, more burly antagonists, but Crimson was no exception to it. In fact, he was absolutely right, coming from multiple fights where he played the small underdog and they were the massive favorite to win. But Crimson came out on top a majority of the time. He knew very well how to deal with such pests.

When the knife came within striking distance, Crimson ducked under the blade, using his arm to keep the hand holding the knife leveraged and poised while he delivered a massive Fire Punch at it's elbow. For a little Chimchar, he could pack a whallop of a punch...so much so that there was the legitimate risk of Commander Nog's arm being broken at the joint. Crimson was accurate enough to hit it in the sweet spot. Oh, and also that flame-coated fist had the potential to blaze across the Ork's skin and slay the Commander that way.

---

"Enemy reinforcements arriving! Brace yourselves!" Dee pinged her message to every Pokemon present before she charged at the portal, aiming for the MechBoy holding the entire thing together. Knowing immediately what had to be done now, the Dedenne leaped into the air and shot forth a Charge Beam aimed directly at the Ork's head. Such a small target traveling at such a high speed...there was no way the MechBoy would see it coming. Especially not when his focus was on keeping the machine powered. The added intensity of the blast would fry the MechBoy from the inside out. And still, there was enough energy in the air to add to Dee's own supply. Now she was a force of brutal reckoning to be dealing with.

But for now, her efforts would be used to fry the machine, which would easily be done by Dee stepping onto the top of the pad and letting loose as much energy as she could muster She gave it some juice and then some...and then some more after that. By the time the Parabolic Charge dissipated from the atmosphere, the device had been overloaded with power, causing the Teleporter Pad to shake and shudder before finally collapsing in a useless, smoldering pile of twisted metal and debris. Breathing in exhaustion, she collapsed into the rubble caused by her own abilities, letting loose a message to the other Pokemon while she rested up and regained her strength.

"Teleporter Pad has been taken down. Repeat, Teleporter Pad has been taken down."

An explosion at the closed gates on the southern end of the Badlands alerted both the Crimson Guild and the invaders that reinforcements had finally arrived.

"Oh no! Lugia's in trouble! If it can't stand up to their firepower, what can we do?"

"Whatever you got left in the tank," Terrance shot back. "This is what real war looks like. You're lucky I had enough charges left to blow the city gate open while the city itself runs on backup power, but not even that bookworm Clemont knows how much time we've got. We gotta go in hard and fast, priority on the fast. Most of their covering fire has been taken out, there's a ton of fighting inside the plant itself. Anything with electric powers, I want you on the generator, you're going to act like live wires to keep power going. Fire types, you're on offense. Burn those green assholes to a crisp. Everyone else, you're on cover fire, defense, or maybe even soaking up bullets...whatever you do best."

Terrance was a natural field general, it seemed. Or maybe he just knew explosions enough to know what to put where. There was too much fighting inside the plant to cause a controlled demolition. But what if they tried turning the abandoned turrets on the orks inside...?

"This is the power of humans and Pokémon working together! There's no limit to what we can accomplish!" The theme of unity was their rallying cry, it seemed, and squads of Ruulans struck out across the wind-swept Badlands together.

The Ork let out a bestial grunt as the small little ape thing punched his arm. However he was no soft target, despite the packing wallop of a punch the Nob was probably a little more bruised for wear...although its arm caught on fire. The ork would spit on the flame with a massive helping of spit and put the flame out before it could spread.

Great, now the Tellyporta pad was down again! However they had other means of getting to the surface. They still had a ship in orbit. And from the ship came plenty of smaller transports and even missile tubes aimed for their location. From crude looking bi-planes to just massive heaps of metal patched together as a makeshift lander. Orks began to head to the planets surface the old fashioned way.

The ork Kommando get out another roar as he grabbed another bomb and tossed it in the ground near the two of them. It was a stun bomb! It would let out a blinding flash and very loud BANG to disorientate his opponent. Of course his ears would ring as well, his special goggles would make good sure he could still see and stab when it went off.

"GAH!" Crimson stumbled backwards, but stayed on his feet as the flash enveloped his surroundings and his vision went white. The ringing in his ears was undeniable and Crimson couldn't help but feel the wave of apprehension rocking through him in one fluid motion. Of course, in another, there was the realization of what this was comparable to.

It may be brighter, but it was definitely a form of Confusion he was dealing with here.

And with that realization came the understanding of what he was to do in this situation. He exhaled smoothly, shutting his eyes even though it did nothing to clear his vision immediately. But it narrowed his concentration. He focused less on seeing things and more on trying to hear over the ringing in his ears. He tried to feel the very air around him. He held his bat diagonally in front of him, his stance stable and secure. And he looked down to the ground as an idea began to form in the back of his mind.

---

"Peggy! Edal!" Sarik called from the ground as he waved to get their attention. "They're flying in from above!"

The two Sunrise Brigade leaders glanced to the sky as they saw small black dots growing bigger and bigger. These crude-looking ships were getting closer and closer to their current position, carrying an untold number of Orks inside. They couldn't be allowed to touch the surface.

"We got this!" Peggy said reassuringly to the Honchkrow before taking the lead in the sky, "SUNRISE BRIGADE! Perform the Hurricane Maneuver!"

The Sunrise Brigade regrouped in such a way, it humored the idea that they never split off when the siege on the Power Plant was made. Wings spread, the many members of the Flying-Type specialty group hovered in a large circle above the desert, high enough so that they would disrupt anything on the ground. Then, they began to unleash their Hurricanes, pushing the attack to the center of the circle they created. Before any of them knew it, they'd all conjured a massive gust of wind criss-crossing in the air around them, so potent and deadly that it could be seen compiling in the air. What was masterful was how contained this ball of wind truly was. A single Pokemon knowing Hurricane has the potential to deal some hefty damage at the price of potentially missing it's opponent. But when twenty or so Flying-Types were directing their cumulative Hurricanes towards one general direction...

It was accurate AND dangerous.

Together, the Sunrise Brigade lifted the ball of air and blasted it towards the sky like a widespread Hyper Beam. The gust of winds that would be launched towards the recon ships were torrential and virtually unavoidable, like a solid wall of wind-based mass hurtling towards them. When it struck the ships, a whipping wind would cut through some of the more crudely designed ships, tearing them apart like paper. For the better designed ships, the damage wouldn't be so massive. But what made this attack worthwhile was the stopping power the wind provided. Even at terminal velocity, there was so much wind being blown at them that it would throw off trajectories and cause many malfunctions in the landing procedures of these ships. Those that weren't destroyed were definitely in danger of a crash landing, likely with explosions and fireballs pluming afterwards. And as for the Orks inside...

Those that were cut open from the weak pods were most likely to die from the fiery inferno of them entering the atmosphere. Those that were in the ships of the tougher pods were most likely to die on impact from the blazing explosions that would transpire from such a crudely built machine, as was the standard for Orks. Maybe one or two ships would get lucky enough to breach through the Hurricane Maneuver and land on the planet safely, but they wouldn't have enough reinforcements to provide any kind of support for their falling comrades. And when the bastion of destruction would come raining down, Sarik, Peggy, Edal, and the rest of the Sunrise Brigade would be thankful for one thing...

Thank Arceus they were doing this in a desert!

There was an ear-splitting crash in the sky as a blur streak broke the sound barrier in a hurry, hurtling through the air towards the battlezone drawn by the chaotic psionic noise that could be heard from a great distance. It was hard for the pokemon to figure out what was going on below as he coasted beneath the mighty hurricane overhead, but he had a pretty good idea of who was responsible and what he could do to intervene.

His speed was redirected in a split second, suddenly arcing down into the back end of the ground forces, while still aiming to be in the thick of it. All the psychic energy that had been built up at Zee's front to shield him from the natural forces of going super sonic speeds were suddenly slammed into the ground into a massive meteorite explosion, energy bursting out in all directions to send Orkz hurtling into the air, a fresh barrier rising up around him a moment later. The blue glow of his eyes pierced the shroud of dust left by the collision, then his body leveled out towards the front line of the Orkz as again he took off, intending to drive a wedge between the army.

Zee had been around guns in the past and knew it was dangerous, if not outright stupid, to remain still. But there was something still lingering in the back of his mind, a certain restraint holding him back. His attack, while devastating to those directly beneath him, would not be nearly as fatal to those around, intending to frighten and dissuade action rather than kill.

Questions could come later.

The sky was soon raining with fallen scrap all across the landscape. Flaming scrap began to rain below and surviving orkz began to pour out in the hundreds. Of course more orks continued to drop from orbit. However those on the ground inside the 'drop pods' that they landed in, Mekboys inside began to rig up Tellyporta Pads inside the landers to get more reinforcements to arrive.

Of course the orks on the surface had scrap raining down from above so as some scrap fell next to them they gleefully stopped their rampant running around to upgrade their kits.

Of course with the arrival of the Psychic Pokémon, the orks understood psychic being. "Its a weirdun'! 'Un its doin' sumfin'!" An ork boy shouted. Of course the Pokémon were not the only ones with psychic beings. Soon an ork with a crude looking staff hobbled his way out of the fiery wreck that was his lander. "'Fings jus' got a 'ole lot weirder..." The Ork spoke as he looked in the sky at the floating Pokémon. The ork raised its staff and launch a ball of psychic WAAAGH! energy at the Mewtwo. He was channeling the power of all the orkz around him so it would indeed be effective against most Pokémon.

The Ork commando even though its ears were ringing could still see. It was time to stikk the hairy ape now. Rasing his knife the Kommando would go in for a kill stab, an overhead swing to bring its knife down on the chimps head. "Time 'ta die you'zze git!"

The ringing in Crimson's ears had faded slightly, his vision remaining bright. As his mind raced, he would be looking down towards the earth beneath them. In the back of his mind, he reached for one of the many presences his body possessed...a sturdy and solid side of himself. There was a twinge of a smile registering across the Chimchar's face as he pulled the essence outward, letting it envelope his whole body. The flame on his rear began to die down. He began to feel the area around him shift as he continued to divulge his attention towards the air and how it moved...

As this was going on, the Ork Commander was readying what he believed to be the final strike. Crimson's hearing problem had faded just barely enough for him to make out the words Nog was saying to him: "Time 'ta die you'zze git!"

And then he felt it. He felt the wind shift around him, pulling back as it got behind the massive Ork's fist to unleash an attack of some sort. And that was all Crimson needed to act.

Before the Ork Commander could even register what had happened, the Chimchar sank into the ground, disappearing from view with nothing but a small plume of soft soil in his place...a spot the knife would easily plunge into due to the heaviness of Nog's downward vertical strike. But the nature and direction the Ork elected to take it's execution would prove to be his downfall.

Above ground, where vision was a must and light was a key component of that, Crimson was blind from the flash bomb. But below ground was a different story. Vision down here was based on sound waves and tremors, the movement of others around him or even above him giving an internal insight as to where things were. Living things, like the Ork standing above ground, or even non-living things, like the weird knife that dug into the earth a few inches above his head, but stopped there. And a glorious opportunity emerged.

Not even thinking about it, Crimson impulsively kicked his feet out above ground and wrapped around the hilt of the knife blade Commander Nog wielded. Using the Earth around him, his own strength and speed, and the surprise that would slowly register on the lower intelligence being, the knife would be yanked from his grasp, disappearing beneath the surface. Even with the advantage in strength, an Ork would never see such a move coming. Shock and confusion would be the primary candidates for reasons why he lost hold of the blade.

And the Crimson emerged, facing the Ork's back. An Ork wouldn't understand what had happened and most Pokemon in the area would barely understand it either, since it was described as an impossible trait for a Chimchar to carry. But as others glancing his direction would see, the flame on his rear was no longer present. His fur had changed color from orange to brown and his eyes were matching, a steady gaze appearing from them that signified he'd regained his eyesight while underground. He was standing on a small pillar of earth formed beneath him to meet eye level with the Ork. In his hands would be a makeshift akimbo he had acquired due to the tactical blunder made on Commander Nog's part: The Power Bat held on his right with the weird atom-shifting knife in his left. Due to the size of Orks, a knife might as well have been a sword in Crimson's grasp as it matched the size of the Power Bat. It was indeed heavier than most weapons he'd held, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

He could switch types after all.

"I'm going to give you one last chance," Crimson said, twirling the Power Bat behind him while holding Nog's knife out in front of him, "If you surrender now, we'll let you leave with the promise that you never come back. If not...I'm not afraid to take the life of those that will destroy our world as we know it."

And for all intensive purposes, the battle between them could've been won there. Crimson knew where the Ork was from underground. He could've easily plunged the knife into him from below, or even tossed the knife into his head when he re-emerged. He was giving them a single chance.

And if the Ork Commander didn't take it...well, let's hope the WarBoss could do business without him.

---

In the overall picture of the fight brewing, the Orks were trying to turn the tide in their favor via numbers. The Sunrise Brigade's strike on the drop ships killed thousands, but left hundreds to land somewhat unsafely and send themselves into the fray. The number was slowly increasing in their favor, a good three Orks for one Pokemon present on the battlefield. Things from an exterior standpoint weren't looking too good for the home team.

And yet...everything seemed to be going their way.

In the spectrum of battle, it was equivalent to bringing lambs to the butcher's house. Ork would charge out to only be mowed down by a barrage of attacks like Air Slash and Ice Shard and Bullet Seed or even the more effective ones like Thunderbolt and Flare Blitz. They could hit 'em with range strikes that could incinerate one to ten Orks at a time while the return fire was vastly inferior. The bullets pinged across Pokemon at random, having a varying effect dependent on which ones they hit. Those that were Ice-Types, Rock-Types, and Fairy-Types had the worst go of it, a few good hits of these bullets taking them down. But even then, they ricocheted off the creatures like they were an inferior technology to behold. And none of these creatures actually died...they simply fell to the ground unconscious. Now the Fire-Types, Water-Types, Electric-Types, and Steel-Types...they might as well have been firing pea shooters at tanks since it did virtually nothing to them. Meanwhile, their own flames casting down upon the large creatures were slaying through them at an accelerated rate. And those that couldn't do much in attacking the Orks were serving as the support. Most of the Grass-Types and Fairy-Types were acting as healers while others were boosting their allies's abilities and lowering their opponents. A tactical advantage was slowly making the Pokemon much, much stronger than the Orks and they just couldn't keep up.

In fact, Sarik, Pert, and Meryl were more nervous about the newer Pokemon arrival breaching the surface than they were about the actual problem at hand.

"Is that...Mewtwo?" Pert's eyes quivered in awe and terror, "I've heard bad things about that one!"

"Again, we're in a different universe," Sarik reminded him, "The Mewtwo we've fought is not the same as the Mewtwo here. So far, he's only taking out the Ork creatures. So maybe he's a good guy."

"I dunno..." Meryl voiced her own opposition, "From what we've seen so far, they may have different personalities, but there's always some sort of element of similarity that applies between the Pokemon we know from Mohka and the Pokemon we've met on Ruula. I'm not so sure he's a good guy with pure intentions."

"Well, it's an ally on our side at the moment," Sarik rationalized, "So we can take that as it is for right now. If worst comes to worst, we can take him. We've beaten Mewtwo before."

Three curt nods followed as they all charged into the fight.

At the sight of the dreaded Mewtwo, most of the civilians who knew the stories started running in fear in the opposite direction. The walls of the city wouldn't save them from that kind of power should it be turned against them, but maybe it would buy them and their precious companions a few extra seconds. Terrance, of course, was completely clueless, but his skater friend advised him one more time.

"It's Mewtwo! I thought it was just a legend! Run for your life, Terran!"

Fuck no. There was a battle to be won, even if he had to do it all by himself. Well, not really, given all the wildlings that seemed to be pitching in and coordinating remarkably well. And so he trekked out across the badlands towards the Power Plant, combat knife and tactical flashlight in his hands as he approached the objective deliberately. Without his ANDEE suit, he was just another piece of meat out here. One wrong move could be his last. He was NOT getting repatriated in a casket, damn it.

Skulking up to the blasted entrance to the plant, Terrance frowned at the straightaway. If there were any guards, that corridor was a kill zone. However, the sounds of battle emboldened him to continue, trying to move quietly and only flashing the beam around when he had to.

One final bottleneck after what felt like a few miles of hallway...the counter at the entrance. This he could use for some quick cover as the dakka of Ork machine guns mixed with roaring fires and shrill cries of effort and anguish from both sides. Tch. This dinky little piece of metal wouldn't do any good against armor like that...not even his few boomers from home would do much. They were just bigger, faster, stronger and tougher than he was right now.

He had to do something to help in order to get his ass back to Terra. But what could he do?

Belana had had enough of the defensive. Her wings flapped harder, sending the hurricane into a full on gale as she ducked, arced and weaved through the Warboss's rapid fire shells. She moved herself into such a position that she could be set up for a direct charge. Focusing all of her remaining might into a frontal psychic barrier she rushed forward towards the warboss as his rounds pinged off of her shield. It held but just long enough that she got her jaws around the Ork's head and upper torso. With him secured, she flew straight up right for all of the boyz to see down below and began to crunch the Ork's body in her grasp.

Higher and higher she soared into the sky while tossing the ork high into the air and simply let him go down to the ground. With a massive roar and shriek of power she gathered up what strength she could muster and unleashed the most powerful Aeroblast she could manage with her remaining strength. The blast nailed the ork square in the back and immediately rocketed his acceleration towards the ground. Now at terminal velocity, Belana charged after him. Upon his landing, which subsequently caused a crater, she added injury by landing on him and forcing him deep under the ground, effectively knocking him out of the fight.

Another massive shriek of power as she let out a sign of her indomitable might and took to the skies once more. With the Warboss down, she summoned up a few hydro pumps to cut down the drop pods and destroyed the Tellyportas inside. But this...was all she could muster. Her eyes drooped and her wing beats grew erratic in their beating and soon, the massive Legendary pokemon plummeted to the ground near the defenders, landing hard on the earth and simply remained there. She was too tired to move, too weak to stand or even flap her wings. Now she had to try and rest. She was exposed but hopefully the defenders would have enough power to hold them back long enough for her to fully recover.

Her body glowed as she began to draw power from the rain above her and the earth below her. She had begun regenerating.

With the death of the warboss, along with their means of escape. One ork, one Nob in particular took it upon itself to do what orkz did best. The Ork laughed as he was disarmed. "I'z still don't undeestand you'ze stupid git! But if you'ze 'fink we'ze gonna be done 'fer 'fink again!" The ork roared as he removed his armor to reveal what was under all that heavy armor...His body was a massive bomb.

"I'z rigged 'da plant 'ta go boom! Along with all 'da scrap that has fallen all around 'da place! We'ze orks 'ave 'nuff juice 'ta blow the 'ole place and everywhere around 'dis place to 'da ground! 'DA BOSS MAY 'AVE GOT KRUMPED! BUT I'Z MAKE SURE YOU'ZE GITZ ALL DIE! WAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" The ork gave one last roar as he prepared to blow himself and the whole place up with him.

Every other ork, that still managed to survive inside their drop pods already landed, or the scrap rigged up every little thing to make sure it exploded in a very large area. The Ork ship in orbit began to actualy aim itself to the city below. "I'Z GUNNA PRESS 'DA RED BUTTON! WAGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The Ork pilot pressed a button as the massive ship a few kilometers in length armed with heavy shields and armor began to rush to the surface of the planet in a final kamizaze move. Guns firing wildy at the surface.

The Orks on the ground also prepared to go out in an explosive end. The Ork Kommando laughing at Crimson. "WE 'DA ORKZ! WE'ZE GONNA KRUMP YOU'ZE GITZ!"

Crimson's eyes widened as the Commander made his big reveal...the huge hulking bomb that was somehow hidden underneath the armor already protecting him. In the back of his mind, it made him wonder exactly what would've happened had he done enough to drill through the armor in the first place. But his mind snapped back to reality as he took in the scope of the situation. The power plant was rigged to blow. And he was rigged to blow. And that kamikaze spaceship was flying towards the city at an incredibly fast rate...and probably rigged to blow.

What could he do?

The Ground-Type Chimchar's mind raced as he glanced around, getting ideas and formulating a plan. Luckily, the stupid Ork had given him enough time in his monologue to effectively do so. His glance shot to the Power Plant first, noticing the lack of Orks (since they either left or were slain). Luckily, there weren't many Pokemon there either, but he could think of a couple that would be in there. Team Vitality mainly.

To the left of them was a very exhausted Lugia, having defeated her opponent in impeccable fashion. Kind of anticlimactic for who was supposedly the biggest and baddest of the Orks in the first place. All he saw him do was rain useless bullets on them. In fact, it made him feel much better about the lack of strength this Commander had demonstrated so far. But as for the Lugia, she was out of commission for what would likely be the rest of this fight if Crimson played his cards right.

To the right was the main battle raging, a fight the Pokemon were clearly winning. The number of Orks were once again downgraded to double digits, so it was really a last ditch effort for them. But only now was Crimson noticing the approach the Orks were taking, surprisingly being sneaky at their approach to lace bombs in the debris around them. Not only would the power plant go out in fire, but likely many parts of this desert, causing craters abound. Nothing permanent in damage, but it still was a risk for the combatants on their side as they could have a number of fainting Pokemon resulting from this...a number that could shift the tide of the battle in the Ork's favor if it was large enough. What was worse, the reconnaissance they got from that mysterious Pokemon (who was clearly Mewtwo) hadn't taken much action other than the initial impact.

And behind his main opponent...the massive ship that seemed destined to collide with Lumiose City. That was the biggest problem to deal with. If they didn't redirect the course of that hulking hunk of metal...well, a lot of people were going to be killed, simple as that. He couldn't allow such devastation to occur. These people didn't deserve that.

And that was what he did know. He didn't know if all the bombs were going to trigger on the command of the numnutz gloating in front of him or on the individual command of the many Orks around him. He didn't know whether Tag, Pert, or Meryl were or if Sarik had arrived yet. He had to work with the pieces he knew about. But he did have an idea on how to reach the pieces he didn't. He sent a mental message to the only individual he knew would receive it and transmit it to the rest of the Guild. And finally...

He stared at Commander Nog with fiery confidence as the Ork spat it's premature celebration. His gaze rested to resolution as he took action.

"You're so stupid," Crimson said as he tossed the Ork's knife in the air and snapped his fingers.

Almost immediately, the ground beneath Nog exploded outward. Had this been a regular Pokemon with standard strength, the blast of Earth Power would probably be enough to propel the big, fat Ork a couple yards in the air. But Crimson was slightly more powerful than the standard. Slightly being that the Ork would be practically launched out of a cannon from the force of the strike. As Commander Nog was sent into the air a thousand feet or so, Crimson used his leveraged advantage to launch himself into the air and meet him halfway, catching the knife he'd let go so that he could use Earth Power on the way. Their gazes met a good fifty feet from one another in mid-air.

"Bye!"

There was charisma still in the slight twinkle in his eyes and the slight wave with his left hand, despite holding the Power Bat in it. The left hand had already launched it's projectile towards the Commander, the very knife he had wielded against the Chimchar previously, aimed straight and true towards the neck of the brute. If Crimson could recall from the previous bits of fighting, these Orks weren't exactly known for their reflexes, especially after being disoriented from having the ground blow up beneath it and sent spiraling in the air. Nor were they the most agile creatures, especially being in the air with their blubbery build. Crimson had thrown objects much cruder with as much accuracy as he had in this toss and there was nowhere for Commander Nog to maneuver in the air except for down towards his fate. It wasn't a matter of battling strengths to Crimson...it was a matter of exploiting weaknesses.

And all he would possibly have time to do before the knife sliced through his neck, separating atoms in the process, and ended his life, would be to push that button.

---

And even if Commander Nog had the mental willpower (which all Orks had) and the durability to maintain possession of that massive red button he needed to blow up the Power Plant and possibly all the scraps of metal set to make craters out of the desert, the Crimson Guild would be prepped for it.

It all began with a Dedenne named Dee, who had just revitalized her body with a couple Leppa Berries when her whiskers vibrated and she heard the voice of her leader in her head.

"Dee, I need your help. The Power Plant is gonna blow up, the Orks are about to see the other Members off with a bang, and there's a massive ship on course for colliding with the city. Think you can do a thing or two about that?"

Dee almost snorted at the calmness of tone Crimson had used to send her an update. She would have if it weren't for the gravity of the situation, literally in one case.

"On it!" she shot him a reply before upping her output range to that of everyone in the Crimson Guild, to include the Mewtwo, the Lugia, and even Terrance. "To anyone that can hear me, Crimson needs out help! We need to evacuate everybody from the Power Plant before the Orks blow it up. Team Vitality is already on the move out of there, but this is a warning for those still inside. Make your exit any way you can!"

"Anyone still fighting the Orks in the desert, brace yourselves for an explosion of your own! He said there were bombs scattered across the battlefield. Protect yourselves in any way you can, but don't give up the fighting! You guys can still take them down!"

"Sunrise Brigade, it'll be up to you guys to divert the course of the ship descending on the city. If you have another one of those massive hurricane attacks prepped, use it! We're counting on you!"

The commands were issued. Orders were being directed. Dee hopped on the back of Siena and a fully recovered Gambit zoomed out of the Power Plant and beelined for the crashing Ork vessel. Team Vitality fled the Power Plant with ease.

"Ooooooh, fuck," Skyball let a curse slip out as he took to the back of Rubira, accompanying Lumi, "RIDE, RUBIRA! RIDE!"

"I'm bucking you off of me the moment we're clear," Rubira snapped back as she galloped out one of the many gaping holes in the Power Plant. Team Volt were safe from many massive explosions.

The only ones that were left in the ticking time bomb were the Ground-Types, who made their escape in the only way they knew how...underground. They all knew Dig, so they were safe from the destruction that could potentially rain down on the ground above their heads. One by one, each Ground-Type submerged into the dirt they were more familiar with, spreading outward from the initial location of the Power Plant.

Meanwhile, the fighters in the main battle heeded the warning of the Dedenne and went on with it. Any that knew Protect or Reflect used them respectively and would be completely unscathed from the explosions that could happen around them. Those that flew went straight up to avoid any potential bombs. Fire/Flying-Types were at a supreme advantage here, since they could avoid the bombs and attack the Orks without a hitch. Those that couldn't escape by a defensive means went all out offensively, unleashing the strongest effective moves they had to take care of as many Orks as they could before the bombs struck. And fortunately, they also had healers and boosters scattered among their ranks, buffing up those that chose to continue attacking with health and defensive build to better cope with the destruction.

"I'm going in!" Sarik called out to Pert and Meryl, who were quickly right behind him.

"We got your back!" Pert informed from behind, taking his left flank while Meryl took his right.

It started with Sarik boosting his defenses with Iron Defense while Pert unleashed a Thunder Wave across the battlefield, placing every Ork in Paralysis. The already slow Orks would become much slower as Meryl began unleashing her Sparks across their ranks, the added electricity fueling to her own power as she charred Orks from the inside out. Sarik would follow up with a Hydro Pump to tear through the many ranks with highly pressurized water while Pert accompanied his own efforts with a Discharge that spanned across the other side. Common knowledge: Water and Electricity didn't mix. As such, their combo made a rather deadly spread effect that would decimate through the Orks like cardboard.

And as for the ship...the Sunrise Brigade were already on the scene, unleashing their directional torrent of wind that was the Hurricane Maneuver again. This time, they aimed on the left side of the hull of the ship, trying to force the ship to their immediate right. The force of the incredible gales were enough to shift the shift's direction slightly, but it wouldn't be enough. Peggy and Edal needed some extra power to have it miss the boundaries of the city. They realized this and watched with dismay as the ship began to plummet closer and closer.

"It's not enough!" Peggy was shouting, "Ready another Hurricane Maneuver!"

But a shape zoomed into view, a singular Pokemon ramming towards the falling ship at full speed. Peggy, Edal, and the rest of the Sunrise Brigade looked up as they saw the form of a Togetic approaching.

"I GOOOOOOT THIIIIIIIIS!" came the almost warlike cry from Gambit as his body flashed white at a measured pace...the familiar signs of Metronome. No Pokemon used Metronome as much as Gambit did, but that was because few Pokemon could get lucky as much as Gambit could. He called to the ether of knowledge and pulled a random strike from it's expansive library. And out of all the moves the Togetic could've used against the massive hull of the Ork ship...

He used Heavy Slam.

The trade-off wasn't great. A Togetic wasn't nearly as heavy as a massive ship a few kilometers wide...not even by a long shot. But the force behind a Heavy Slam was enough to do exactly what it needed to...shift the trajectory. The final push was enough to send the hunk of metal away from the capital of the Kalos Region and careening to it's right. It would crash into a grassy plain, completely uninhabited by humans and clear of Pokemon. Aftereffects could be calculated later as it would likely cause incredible damage to the area it landed in as well as some heavy earthquakes in the city. But those were much better than being completely decimated by the hunk of metal.

When opposition had presented itself in the form of a singular psionically charged Ork, Zee had not remained to engage. Getting bogged down in a fight like that, staying still or even in the one area would leave him vulnerable to bullets, explosions and knives. Not to mention the Ork ranks were on the receiving end of a growing amount of firepower from the perceived locals, and standing in the center of that was far from appealing.

His sudden acceleration would have left a gust of air trailing behind him from the force. The barrier of energy that wrapped around him from all sides would bash those he flew near aside, tumbling dozens in a zig-zagging path to cause as much disruption as possible, but then he noticed that something had changed. Metal was raining from the sky. His head craned upwards even on his flight path to see the hulking ship still moving.

They didn't. They wouldn't. They-

No, there was no time for that. It must have just been damaged in the battle and was now on a crash course. Something that large hitting the ground would be absolutely devastating, and Zee couldn't get a safe grounding to try and stop it. There was no time for thinking clearly now, just action. The sooner he intervened the more lives could be potentially saved, and maybe once he was up there he could risk standing still.

Around ground zero, that being the place Zee was at that very moment, would have the unpleasant experience of being turned to paste as a massive psionic force propelled the armoured Mewtwo skyward, cracking the sound barrier to boot. Zee would have plenty of seconds to think about what he was doing as he hurtled upwards into the atmosphere. His barrier switched from all-encompassing to purely frontal, and it charged from a sphere to a sharpened point.

He was a psionic blade, flat and wide to cause as massive a split and penetration as he could muster, only expanding with each second. He passed under the Flying types in the air in moments and continued higher into the air, cutting edge extending hundreds of meters to either side of him. And then, impact.

The battering on his mind was unbearable. Almost immediately the solid, sharp blade he had constructed psionically felt like a blunt knife cutting at wood. Zee could not comprehend all that he experienced in those seconds of him passing through the ship. All around him there was horrendous screeching of metal being ripped and torn. Explosions rocked around him leaving a burning trail in his wake. If not for the armour he wore, hooked into his helmet that helped control the extent of his powers, he probably would have killed himself. It went on for what felt like minutes, but couldn't have been more than a dozen seconds.

Then all resistance stopped and he was met with the wonder of the world beyond, an empty space devoid of anything but blackness and stars. Everything came to a standstill to appreciate the wonder of what lied around. It was peaceful up here. There was no sound, no violence, just nothing. A reluctant sigh came from within the pokemons helmet as he forced his back to it so he could face the destruction he wrought on the ship.

Now in the freedom of space, far from the gunfire and danger from below, he reached out with both hands to force psionic energy into the hole he had left in the ship, pushing outwards to try and split it in two. Technically he was just trying to minimize the total damage it was causing, but by some luck he was working towards the same goal as those on the ground; divert the ship. However he was operating on a slight different scale to them. Once the ship was sufficiently split he took hold, digits curling inwards to grasp one half of the ship, and started to pull. Blood trickled down from his nostrils as psionic powers wrestled against the sheer momentum of something so large, trying to force it to come to a complete halt in space. He had never tried such a blunt and direct action with his powers before and it was rapidly taking its toll. For a second time, it was only the restraints his armour put on him that stopped him from killing himself, but it also stopped him from totally succeeding. Even with the great extent of his power, with all the exertion he spent punching through the ship he was struggling to have a big impact.

But he didn't stop.

He wouldn't.

The Ork Kommando Gobfang, another of the many orks that would perish on the world of Ruula. As the knife drove in the Kommando's neck he would then be flown into the air roaring wildly in mostly anger and less pain. However his end was met by his own knife separating the orkz head from his own body. Not moments afterwards the massive bomb on the brutes chest was ticking. It was not a normal explosive, it was a timed explosive like the ones back in the power plant. The Kommando Nob exploded in a massive ball of fire leaving not even gibs behind, upon his own destruction the rest of the bombs followed suite by detonating all across the power plant as one last gift for anyone still stuck inside the plant. However the destruction was the least of everyone's worries...

The shoddy ork contraption...the ship was on a ramming course to the planet. Everyone knew what would happen if it impacted, it would be a world wide extermination. The air would be ash, the grounds would be lava, the seas would boil away, and life would be at its brink. Knowing this the many Pokémon did their best to slow it down no matter how meager it was. Ramming it, slicing it in half, the ship began to glow hot red as it began to arrive past the atmosphere where all could see the massive flaming wreck about to cause everyone's destruction...

The skeis grew crimson from the heat, the sound of the ship encroaching the planet ready to bring down destruction. Fear...panic...despair...One being could feel it all.

"How irritating...These greenskins surly know how to annoy...As much as this planets destruction would be a nice sight to see...There is an artifact that would allow me to gather much more souls than one single planets death can provide...It can't be helped, I have to save these so called...'pokemon'..." The man who was once inside the Catacombs suddenly appeared from a small chaotic sigil that branded itself on the land as he appeared.

He looked up at the marvelous sight of the crude ship prepared to wipe out nearly all life on the planet. The Pokémon of this world was adorably trying to stop it in such a futile manner. It was funny for him, to watch the weak struggle against destruction. However he was not going to let such a valued prize be destroyed needlessly before he could find it. So he had to regretabbly save this planet for his own goals.

Raising his hand into the air, the unholy powers of Chaos flowed through his body as he began to bend and tear at the fabric's of reality. In front of the ship something was going on, reality was torn asunder as a massive hole opened up as the sorcerer ripped a portal directly to the Warp and watched the fruits of his labor.

The massive and crude ork vessel was being swallowed by the massive tear as it no longer was on an impact course for the surface. It was being dragged into the maws of the Warp slowly but surely. All the beings on the planet who could see this spectacle watched as such unholy power was used to save them.

Soon enough the ship was swallowed hole, of course the thousands of orkz still swarming the planet began to hoof it on mechanical walkers or on foot and they ran as fast as they could go to safety. The Sorcerer darkly laughed to himself as he simply eliminated the threat. "That should do it...Let the rabble deal with the survivors...Rejoice you ignorant masses for your deaths have been averted for now...Now I have an artifact to find..." The man laughed to himself as he vanished in warpfire to return to the Catacombs to continue his search uninterrupted.

At hearing the biggest and strongest Ork shout these dire warnings, Terrance damn near crapped himself.

"FULL RETREAT! THIS PLACE IS GONNA BLOW HARDER THAN MY EX-GIRLFRIEND! GO GO GOOOOOOO!"

There was a gait called the "roadie run" for when soldiers were running to another point of cover. What Terrance was doing was more akin to a terror-fueled sprint, like a certain archaeologist and a rolling boulder he saw in a movie once. A series of terrific explosions started to go off. "I thought I fucking disarmed those things!" cursed the Terran as he continued to run for his life.

The plant was lost...there was no saving it now. But as he promised the random civilian back in the city, if he could save one life today, he was gonna do it. Even if it turned out to be his own. But even that wasn't enough. As he hit the stairs to light and freedom, the loss of horizontal velocity caused a blast of shrapnel to tear into his back. If he had his ANDEE suit, none of this would have been an issue, but such stuff was only allowed to him when he was on duty...which he most definitely wasn't.

With a loud cry of agony, the foreigner bit the dust, just three momentum-fueled steps outside of the smoking field of ruins, lying alongside Belana in pain and exhaustion. He then groaned and spat it out. "Fuck...all the lights in the city are out...everything hurts...I guess that means I'm still alive..."

Crimson felt an inner tension relax as he watched the knife plunge into the neck of Nog and through it before the Ork was literally coated in flames from the bomb strapped to him. He'd played that perfectly, not even allowing a crater in the ground on the Commander's part. In the air was the perfect place to detonate since it was away from just about everyone. And the Chimchar felt satisfied by the results.

As gravity took hold of his momentum and he began falling, he felt the winds of the explosion rushing past him, not even giblets accompanying it. The bomb's strength had been enough to literally obliterate the Commander after he'd been slain. The ground steadily approached, but Crimson was feeling too much relief in one moment to do anything but morph back into his Fire-Type form. He looked like any ordinary Chimchar hitting the ground beneath him at a heightened velocity. But he didn't even care about that. He didn't even care that he nearly blacked out from the impact.

He was just relieved.

---

The battle was basically over. Without the looming threat of the massive ship causing planetary extinction and thousands of Orks disappearing from sight due to a mysterious cause, it was a cake walk. The Orks would try to escape, but most would get cornered and slain by the numerous Pokemon swarming the area. Thousands turned to hundreds, and hundreds to tens. That being said, there were simply too many of them to take them all out. It was easy dealing with the majority that were paralyzed from Pert's Thunder Wave. The ones that ran for the forest were given chase by many of the faster Pokemon akin to rabbits being swarmed by wolves. And even the mechanical walkers were no match to those that had an advantage over it, like a Fighting-Type or a Rock-Type. But there were some that slipped through the cracks undetected. A couple were fortunate enough to be behind a tree at the right time and were skimmed over. A few more fled in a direction few would think to travel and got away without notice. One even had the gall to book it towards the city, where no one would dare think an Ork to go. Despite their heavy toll of life (even for Ork standards), there were still survivors.

But the invaders knew what they were dealing with now. They wouldn't understand the complexities behind it, but they knew the wildlife on this planet were strong...strong enough to take their forces head to head if it came to it. Sturdy enough to withstand many a spray and pray from a rapid fire gun. Capable enough to deal damage back tenfold. Their only advantage was numbers and they no longer had that. They would have to play defensive...or else they were doomed to be a once talked about species.

Their destruction could not be denied, however. Lumiose City may not have fallen to pieces, but it was definitely in a state of disrepair. Fortunately, no major structures or buildings were sent toppling to the ground and it would be minimum a week to fix everything within the walls. On the other hand, the Power Plant that did provide light to the city was in shambles with nothing but a pile of metal remaining. It would be a long time before light would return to the infamous Kalos city once more, an issue that could prove to be disastrous if no back-up solution was found. As for the desert, it was left with a few holes from where bombs went off…nothing nature couldn’t solve.

In said desert, the Crimson Guild was reconvening, gathering fallen allies to revitalize and telling their tales and experiences. Not a single Crimson Guild member was killed in the Ork attack, they quickly discovered. A few had fainted and most were exhausted, but there wasn’t a single casualty on their side of the battle. And for them, that was a victory.

It would be Tag who would find Crimson lying in the sand, eyes closed. A wave of panic set into the Turtwig as he bolted over to the Chimchar.

“Crimson!” he cried, “C’mon, not like this!”

Crimson kept his eyes closed, but chuckled wholeheartedly, “Dude, I’m not hurt. I’m just…relaxing for a change.”

“Oh,” was all Tag said in response as he sat down next to his buddy, “I thought that Ork got to you somehow.”

“Eh…” Crimson recalled the fight he’d undergone, “I think I had it just about handled. Though really I think today was his day to die regardless of what I did. He blew himself up.” He peeked his eyes open, looking up at the late afternoon sun still kind of high in the sky, “They were seeking as much destruction as possible.”

“Well…” Tag surveyed the area around them, “I can’t say they didn’t do that. The Power Plant’s trashed.”

A small frown appeared on the Chimchar’s face as he went into thought about that, “Hmm…that’s not good. We should find a way to bring some temporary power to Lumiose City. Maybe the Electric-Types can do something.”

“Well, you can’t tell them to do anything when you’re napping like this.”

That caused Crimson to chortle, “You’re right. Help me up.”

Tag held out a paw, which Crimson took and pulled against to hoist himself to his feet. Together, they began walking towards the massive crowd of Pokemon that was gathering just outside the pile of metal that was once the Power Plant. Along the way, he took in the environment with his own eyes, noting the bunch of holes, the dozen or so Ork bodies that hadn’t found their way to being burnt to a crisp or electrocuted, but were slain by other means. A small plume of smoke was drifting up over Lumiose City, recalling the initial impact points made by the Orks. They probably had some destruction over there too, Crimson realized as he began planning out what he was going to do.

When the two of them arrived onto the scene, everyone was chattering rapidly and excitedly, talking about the battle they’d just fought.

“It was insane!” a Cubone was telling his Ground-Type buddies, “Friggin’ Butcher over there wanted to plunge headfirst into the Power Plant and he didn’t even notice all the bombs strewn about everywhere. I was like ‘Dude! Pay attention!’”

“I still cannot believe I cracked that ship in half!” Gambit said excitedly to Dee and Siena, “I Heavy Slammed that ship into two pieces…TWO…PIECES!”

“Right, but where did it go?” Dee crossed her arms and twitched her whiskers, skeptical as ever.

Gambit shrugged, “I dunno, but I broke it!”

Siena smirked, trying to hide her laughter.

“What?” Gambit glanced over to the Shaymin, “You know something I don’t?”

Siena said nothing.

A lot of the conversations Crimson was overhearing was about what had happened with the ship on collision course to Ruula. Whether they believed Gambit’s side of the story or whether they watched Mewtwo tear through the ship, it still didn’t explain why it had disappeared all of a sudden. No one could really provide a one hundred percent confident answer to the conundrum. One individual did suggest that maybe Palkia was watching them and stepped in, tearing a hole through space to intercept it. Most people agreed with that theory, but Crimson didn’t entirely buy into it. If that was the case, where was the Legendary now?

Questions could be answered later, he finally thought in resolution. Right now, they had to fix everything.

Crimson held his fist in the air, signifying that he wanted to say something. The ones who did see the small fist quickly shushed the others around them, the murmur that Crimson was about to speak ripping through the crowd of Pokemon before falling silent. He had long garnered the respect from this group he led and that was clear in this moment. He made a quick glance around for Mewtwo and Lugia, but didn’t find them. Tag was by his side. Sarik, Pert, and Meryl had all gathered behind him. He had everyone’s attention.

“Guys…I want to say thank you,” he began, looking around at the Pokemon in the crowd surrounding him, “Thank you for sticking by me and our quest to defend Ruula from those that wish to harm it. Thank you for signing to my cause over the year. And thank you for standing by me today. We all knew what could’ve been at stake and we were willing to risk everything, including our own lives, to preserve our way of life for as long as possible. So thank you.”

The roar of approval that followed those opening words made Crimson smile as he knew how much it meant to them. How much he meant to them. In many ways, he was an invader who brought his problems along for the world of Ruula to deal with. He was grateful for how accepted he truly was among them.

Despite this, he had to harden his words, “But we’re not done yet. Far from it, in fact. There’s still the aftermath to deal with. The Power Plant is in ruins. Lumiose City is in darkness. And even though we took care of as many of those brutes as we could, I get the feeling there might be more out there. So we need to prepare. And we need to prevent anything like this from happening again.”

“We must start with the humans of Lumiose City. They didn’t deserve what happened to them. They were victims to this crime. And we have to help them out in any way we can until they can help themselves. Help bring their city and its way of life to being as normal as possible. There’s a lot that needs power to work there and we have some of the power necessary to charge it.”

He turned to Lumi, Skyball, and Rubira, “Team Volt, you guys will have to lead this charge. You’re some of the best Electric-Type users I know. And speaking of…” he looked over his shoulder towards Pert and Meryl, “You two should also help out.”

“Piece of cake!” Pert flashed Crimson a smile and a voice of confidence, “We’ll do what we can.”

“Sure,” Meryl’s softer reply came after, “But only because of that pun you just made.”

Crimson’s brow raised, “What pun?”

“Having Team Volt lead the chaaarrrge?”

This brought slight bits of laughter from the rest of the Crimson Guild and much louder, squeakier laughs from Lumi and Skyball in particular. Crimson looked towards the ground, failing to keep a smile from crossing his face as he realized he missed that wordplay.

“Y’know…” he said, glancing back up at Meryl with a twinkle in his eye, “I think I know what festival will make you happiest.”

“And what’s that?” Meryl smirked as she shifted her legs to make herself more comfortable.

“A Pun Festival.”

“Oh Arceus no!” Meryl’s genuinely panicked reaction caused a greater stir of laughter from the crowd of Crimson Guild members.

And so the planning continued. The Crimson Guild would provide aid to the Kalos Capital by utilizing half of their able bodies to help clean up the area. Among that half were Pert, Meryl, Lumi, Skyball, and Dee leading the Electric Patrol, the troop of Electric-Types who would go around supplying as much power as they could to the population within the walls. They would be around until the humans could provide power and other support to the people. The others would help clean up the rubble and rebuild the buildings that were damaged in the fight, helping the UPL in those efforts until the city was shiny and new once again. A very small team of Fire-Types, led by Rubira, would take care of the fallen Ork bodies by burning them to ash and scattering their remains to the winds. The Sunrise Brigade would begin searching for any of the surviving Orks and swiftly taking them down so that they could no longer bother the planet or its inhabitants. Crimson, Tag, and Sarik would lend whatever help they would need towards their efforts.

As for the rest of them, it was business as usual. Try to find the Psychic Rebellion and thwart their plans by any means necessary. Help other Pokemon along the way. Find new places to explore and new adventures to go on. To Help, To Explore, To Protect…that was the Crimson Guild motto…that was the Crimson Guild way.

For now, they were fine. They had problems to contend with, but it could’ve been much worse.