Weyloran the Cloyster's Story

Vorpal stayed behind, reasoning that the Treehouse needed a caretaker while they were gone. Radegast had the sneaking suspicion that the Alakazam was even lazier than Suros, as impossible as that seemed.

Radegast and his… entourage, essentially… moved back down the cliff and continued North through the jungle. Given that they had crossed most of the Lush Jungle already, reaching the coast did not take all that long. The sixteen-year-old had produced his bicycle, and everyone else could move faster than a human. Those who couldn’t or didn’t want to hung onto Radegast or a faster Pokemon. Soon enough, they reached the highway that ran along the Northern shore.

Up ahead, Radegast saw the silhouette of a Magneton, and a rather familiar form. Radegast parked the bike close by and approached. “Metronome, eh?” He asked.

The Meloetta turned. “Human boy, it’s good to see you again,” She sized up the human, who had grown since last they met, “I heard from Doc Holiday that Project Siren tried to kill you. I’m sorry I brought that upon you,”

“That was all me,” Radegast shook his head, “I’m just a dumb kid.”

“Dumb, but kind. I see you’ve brought almost an ar-“ She paused as she spotted the Talonflame. “Is that…”

Radegast nodded as Suros rose from her perch, on Radegast’s shoulder. “Weyloran!” The Talonflame cawed as she flared her enormous wings.

The ocean rippled near their position, even moreso than the waves could accomplish. Dull purple spikes breached the surface all around, followed by the shells the spikes were part of. Multiple Cloysters and Shellder showed their faces at the piercing Eagle-like caw from the Talonflame. Most prominent was a rather large Cloyster that rose above the rest, supported on an ice structure being formed by the Cloyster riding it. Weyloran eyed the Talonflame with an uncharacteristic flame of pure hatred.

“Suros,” Weyloran spat. The entire clan followed suit by spitting in the Talonflame’s general direction. “It’s good to see you. Do you know why it’s good to see you?”

“I recall what you told me if you ever saw me again,” Suros replied, “I’ve come to deal with this.”

“I will see you dead, Demonslayer, today, and no later.”

The Clan hummed in agreement, which sounded off not unlike a viking horn across the Northern shores.

“By Arceus…” Radegast’s eyes widened as he sensed the bloodlust from the clan he beheld. How can you teach so much hate?

Lukas's own eyes widened as he watched the scene develop. Following from the jungle to the northern portion of the island. What had started off as suspicions of the blonde teenager and his potential affiliations with Team Skull had turned into something completely different. And this alternative was looking to be much worse. A Pokemon turf war smack dab in the middle of Route 8. That would prove to be disasterous for those walking past. From the looks of the Talonflame's and Cloyster army's perspective, they were going to go all out. That could hurt people.

Lukas clenched his fist and checked his PokeBalls, making sure he had them all. He couldn't let this fight break out. Not here. He'd stopped many dangers from achieving fruition before. Team Skull and their antics. Aether Paradise and Lusamine's lunacy. Even the Ultra Beasts and their chaotic expulsions throughout the region. He'd already accepted his role as a protector of the Alola Region and it's way of life. He was kind of like the Grand Kahuna of Alola in a sense. He smiled at the title he'd just come up with.

Wonder if Kukui would let me change my title of Champion to Grand Kahuna... he thought as he ran from his hiding spot behind the Hostel and stepped in between the two sides, palms outstretched in both directions.

"Stop! Both of you!" he cried, his voice sounding surprisingly small to him. After all, he was still only a twelve year old boy, even if he looked taller than that. He could feel the staring of eyes falling in his direction. He gulped and pushed his own nervousness aside, just like he always did.

"Do not continue this fight," he went on. "Not here. These tourist who walk through here don't deserve to feel either of your guys's wrath. I will fight both of you before I let anything happen to anyone on Akala Island." His eyes twinkled dangerously as he looked at Suros, then at Weyloran, "And I mean that."

The Cloyster seemed to register Radegast’s concerned expresion. “Who is the human?”

“He is a human, and a friend.” Suros replied.

The Cloyster spat once more. “Humans, not a difference between them. They kidnap my kin, now they have filled the void in your heart, you selfish thing. You may have replaced your brothers, but nothing can replace Felwinter.”

“I replaced nothing,” Suros’ body temperature rose, “I’ve moved on, it’s you who’s stuck in the past.”

“On the contrary, I’ve never been so focused on the future.” Weyloran replied, “You see, I’ve been training, just like you and Felwinter did. You will pay for your-”

And then a boy ran out calling for them to stop. “This does not concern you, human!” Weyloran barked coldly.

“Nah dude, he’s got a point,” Radegast noted as he glanced up at Suros. The air rippled around the bird in wave of intense heat waves. The sixteen-year-old noted his shirt sleeve was not getting burned… yet.

Doc Holiday began to speak as he pointed one of his three limbs at Lukas. “Hey wait, that’s-“

“I did not ask for your opinion,” Weyloran growled as the many, many Cloyster in the waters readied themselves to launch a volley of attacks.

A sudden blast of electricity burst forth. The Magneton that had been hanging around planted two magnets into the water and unleashed an enormous Discharge. The electricity flowed through the ocean waters, affecting every Cloyster it came in contact with.

“DO NOT FORGET WE HAVE NORTH TO KEEP YOU AT BAY, WEYLORAN!” Thoth barked as his arms thrust forward in an obscene gesture.

Many of the Cloyster had been knocked out by the savage spread of the Magneton’s attack, but many more remained standing, and very very angry.

“They have gotten sturdier than last time,” North reported robotically.

“We noticed,” Jolder huffed, but hid her nervousness under her usual sultry visage, “Seems we’re gonna have a fight on our-“

Radegast held out an arm, and jerked his head towards the ground, where the rest of his immediate friends were standing. Suros seemed unsure of what was about to happen, but she dropped into a glide off to the side. The sixteen-year-old stepped forward from there.

“Okay, look. I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,” Radegast spoke matter-of-factly and professionally, very unlike himself. “I have come as an ambassador to Absolute, who wants to ally herself with your clan.” He hoped changing the subject would do something. “They’re also friends with the…” Radegast didn’t dare speak the name of the Seven Clans in front of humans, so he flashed three fingers to the side, replicating the general shape of the Dragalge.

“If Absolute considers the likes of that bird worthy of living,” The Cloyster seemed very fond of spitting. She suddenly launched an enormous spike of ice directly at Radegast.

“Lord-Regent!” Elder called. Radegast rose his arms, ready to brace himself, or possibly catch the spike. He didn’t have enough time to dodge. Weyloran had gotten quite strong, and frighteningly fast to boot.

Jakob leaped in front of Radegast, but it appeared he jumped too soon, and wound up face-planting on the ground in front of Radegast. He was essentially unprotected from a savage spike of ice.

Despite that, there was no fleshy impact like most were expecting. Rather, the clang of ice on metal resembled a massive bell, which rang and resonated across the shores. The Reginald Coat of Arms glared at Weyloran with it’s single eye in the hilt.

“You…” Suros’ body temperature spiked. Everyone else on the shore began to steel themselves for combat.

“NO!” Radegast barked. “Damnit NO!”

Reggie, being a more independent spirit among the Reginald family, moved first. With immense speed, the Aegislash closed the distance toward Weyloran’s podium and swung it’s blade. The platform exploded into chunks of ice, sending Cloyster and Shellder flying from a single swing. Radegast shouted wordlessly at the Aegislash, but the Aegislash did not yield. The immense power of the Coat of Arms easily overwhelmed the Cloyster that remained conscious. They hadn’t expected such an immense power to strike at them instead of the relatively lowly power of Suros.

Radegast slapped both hands over his mouth in utter terror. The Coat of Arms- the goddamn family-serving Coat of Arms. Radegast had completely forgotten about Reggie throughout. Now his identity would’ve no-doubt been revealed to anyone who could recognise the Shield of Light. Were there spies around? Would that boy recognize the Reginald Coat of Arms?

Regardless, the savage attack by the Aegislash sent the remaining Cloyster to scatter and dive. Far away, Weyloran’s voice barely reached them. “ANOTHER TIME, MURDERER! NO CHEAP TRI-” She hit the water’s surface and submerged, cutting off her speech from there.

“Ooooh fuck…” Elder mimicked the Lord-Regent, understanding full well just how well this situation had been handled. Doc Holiday and the Gengar exchanged glances before both stared at Radegast. “Oooooh no…”

Radegast shivered as he struggled to sit down on the grass before the shore. He was still in shock. From his perspective, there was no more boy, no more Treehouse, no more main crew. There was the scattered Cloyster and the idiot that scattered them.

“What the fuck, man?!” Radegast shouted as the Aegislash hovered back.

“You are truly naïve if you thought you could negotiate with them,” Reggie hummed in disappointment. “You have better genes than that, boy.”

The Aegislash immediately returned to the old wood-grain pokeball. Radegast grabbed at his dreadlocks in frustration.

The Treehouse Pokemon were stunned at the sheer display of power the Aegislash put on, and kept their distance from the boy that “commanded” such power. Radegast’s closer friends, however, huddled around him.

“SUCH IMPRESSIVE POWER!” Thoth shouted.

“INDEED!” Rage agreed, though his face betrayed concern for the sixteen-year-old.

“Guys…” Doc Holiday continued, finally, “That’s the Alolan Champion right there… I think we’re in some serious trouble.”

“Shit,” Jolder slithered close to Jakob to help him up. North, Doc, and Thoth grouped closer together between Radegast and Lukas. Metronome stepped closer to Radegast and the main crew. The Treehouse did not trust trainers, especially not powerful trainers.

"Hm. Very interesting. Does this match your recent intelligence report?"

"Da, comrade. Alola does indeed have a worthy Champion. It is safe to declare ourselves, as long as we are in the business of doing so," the Bisharp noted. "Should you have to face the Aegislash, the Black Knights stand ready to assist."

"Hopefully that will not be necessary. Now come. It is time." Ten of the Treehouse agents suddenly revealed their true forms...a Zoroark, a Bisharp, and eight Pawniard as their leader dropped the illusion. Oh, what a grand prank this was! They burst out of the Treehouse and onto the sands, admiring the recent show of force. Tungsten, being the one best at the human tongue due to his...unusual heritage, spoke first.

"Hail, Champion of Alola...and whoever you are. It seems that I have found you well." His speech was overly formal, as if he was used to kowtowing to mob bosses...but given what he had just seen, it fit. "Congratulations on your temporary victory. My men have been observing you from afar...it seems you have a talent for attracting strong people to you. If I'm not mistaken, this would be the second Champion that you've personally spoken with?" He waited a beat for his words to sink in.

"Ah, but how rude of me to not introduce myself. I am Tungsten, son of the legendary coven leader Ahriman. Maybe you've heard of me from the news on Terra some years back, yes?"

Radegast, Doc Holiday, the Treehouse Pokemon, and the pokemon accompanying the dreadlocked teen would all be staring at the young twelve year old boy whose identity was now known to them. He wasn't facing any of the Pokemon that had gathered around Radegast, but rather stared out into the ocean where Weyloran and her clan had submerged. His expression was hidden to them. The most they had to read was body language, in which the only telling sign of that was when his hand unclenched, hanging loosely by his side. He didn't move, but the slightly rough island wind swept through the area, blowing his brown, unkempt hair to the right. An audible sigh was heard from his breath.

"Woah..." was the noise that escaped Lukas's lips.

Finally, he turned around. There was no anger in his face, nor was there a serious kind of tone in his stance. His eyes were glittering with pure joy and amazement at what he'd just seen. As if he was in awe.

"That was so cool!" Lukas pumped his fist in the air, his eyes finding Radegast, "Your Pokemon just...completely took care of that Cloyster! I think I remember Sina or Dexio telling me about that Pokemon. It's an Aegislash, right? WOW, it looks cooler in person! And a neat ball to match!" After examining the finely crafted wooden PokeBall, his gaze found the band of Pokemon that were a part of either Radegast's party or the Treehouse.

"You guys okay?" he asked genuinely, even though he knew he wouldn't understand the response, "It didn't seem like you were the aggressive ones in this fight, so I'm hoping you're the good guys here. I'm just glad that group of Shellfish and Cloyster didn't hurt anyone. Actually, I'm glad that no one got hurt. As much as I like a new and exciting adventure, I don't like people getting hurt on them."

"Hail, Champion of Alola..."

"Huh?" Lukas voiced questioningly as he whirled his head around to find quite a few new faces to meet. He didn't recognize any of the Pokemon presenting themselves to him. Maybe if he talked to that Oak guy, he could relay some information for him...

Though for his lack of knowledge on this party, they seemed to know a lot about him. More than even he knew. Who was the second Champion he'd run across?

"Tungsten?" Lukas repeated, the name sounding foreign on his tongue, "I don't think I've ever heard that name before. Or Ah...Ahriman? Is that how you pronounce that? I don't know. I don't know a lot of history about Terra or their inhabitants. Sorry." He gave a peaceful shrug. "I am curious about how you know so much about me, though. I don't recall meeting a second Champion. I think I was introduced to some former Champions at the battle tree. Red and Blue were their names. If you're referring to them, then yeah, I guess. But otherwise, I have no idea what you're talking about."

He then turned to everyone else around him, "Regardless, alola to you all! I guess the title slipped out a couple times there, but I should probably introduce myself anyway. I'm Lukas Castiel." He held out a fist for Radegast to bump, "And it's awesome to meet all of you!"

As Weyloran and her clan vanished under the ocean waves, several more wild Pokemon appeared. They appeared to be a team of Pawniard led by a Zoroark and a Bisharp. Radegast stood up once more with his friends around him. The Treehouse mainstays (Jakob, Jolder, and the rest) formed up around the boy like some VIP. Rage's sunken eyes pierced the Pawniards' as well as the Zoroark's.

However, when the twelve-year-old boy seemed ecstatic about what just happened, the group settled down somewhat. Radegast’s anger towards the Aegislash seemed to vanish rather rapidly as he took a deep breath. “Welp… C’est la vie…” Radegast glanced at Elder, who began shoving everyone aside so the sixteen-year-old could actually move.

Radegast stood up and approached the slightly taller boy, who had introduced himself as Lukas. The twelve-year-old seemed very… naïve for a champion. Then again, there was no Pokemon League to speak of last time Radegast was there.

Well, all that mattered was that one existed now, and Lukas Castiel introduced himself as that one. “Dreads, my name is Dreads,” Radegast introduced himself with a false name as he recovered his own laid-back grin, “And these are my friends,” he indicated the twelve that were with him. Elder, Rage, Suros, Chrome, Operative, Crystal, Jakob, Jolder, North, Metronome, Thoth, and Doc Holiday.

The Champion didn’t seem to recognize the Shield of Light, so that was a major blessing. He wasn’t sure about the Zoroark and his posse who had emerged from the Jungle as well. Due to a couple of run-ins with another Zoroark who could speak Ruulan Common, the sixteen-year-old had reluctance talking with said Zoroark. The others in Radegast’s crew seemed to feel similarly regarding the Zoroark named Tungsten.

However, when asked if he had heard of Tungsten, Radegast could only shrug. “Sorry man, dunno what you’re talking about.” Perhaps Reggie’s presence hadn’t betrayed his identity. If he held onto the name “Dreads”, he could still salvage this, hopefully.

The Zoroark mentioned spies… The last thing Radegast needed was even more spies tailing him. All he could do was bullshit and hope. He was supposed to have vanished entirely after Mistralton, for Arceus’ sakes… Maybe it would help a lot if he went back to Po Town. It would be cool to see some of the Skulls again.

Radegast had no idea that OG Lee was only one of the few who had remained at Po Town, turning a new leaf by renovating the town and cleaning up the graffiti.

"So, the humans don't seem interested. I don't blame them. I wouldn't trust me right away, either," Tungsten mused, before turning to the Treehouse residents. "You guys...I could use more soldiers. Eyes and ears all around. People ready to fight. Plus there's something going around Unova that could threaten all of Ruula. I offer a network of safe houses that my dad used as compensation for your cooperation...the only caveat is that not even I know all the secrets he's hidden away in them. You see anything suspicious, don't poke it. You call me. As for why I can speak the human tongue, that's a story for another time."

"Chigorin, two steps forward." One of the central Pawniard obeyed, and Bisharp stepped through the breach. "My men have obtained intelligence regarding the existence of a certain Psychic Rebellion. A group of Pokémon that seek to assert themselves over humans as Ahriman's coven once did," he said in a steel-accented Pokespeak. "Supposedly they are led by a Zoroark as well...it is unknown if this one is related to my client, but we must assume that he is and prepare accordingly. We will need whatever you can provide if we are to stand a chance." Tungsten simply extended his claws and dropped into a battle-ready stance, his mind awash with Nasty Plots as he relived those awful memories in the detail only a Dark-type could manage. "Tungsten is powerful, but no one, no matter how strong, can hope to defeat them alone. A well-executed strategy followed by a decisive attack using a variety of forces is what is required for success. The only question left is...what do we have to work with?"

The Treehouse mainstays Jakob, Jolder, and the others had sided with Radegast on the matter. They had their own safehouse, they didn’t need one that wasn’t built by someone they trust, especially since they have the terrible power of the Shield of Light, that which sent their powerful enemy Weyloran flying. “I dunno, dude,” Radegast replied to Tungsten’s question about who they had to work with, “Why don’t you go to Unova and ask around there? I mean, that’s where you said it was. I forked over a load of cash to get a boat from Ula'ula to here. I'm not about to do the same to another continent.”

However, Lukas seemed hell-bent on getting to know “Dreads the Human”, also known as “Judge Dreads” sometimes by his old Skull friends.

“Sup, man?” Radegast’s calm, almost stoner-like demeanour was back in full force, though he was definitely trying to get the hell out of the proverbial Dodge.

“Lord-Rege-“ Jakob paused part-way through. He wasn’t sure if this Champion knew Pokespeak. “*erherm* Master Dreads, we really should get back home before Weyloran recovers.”

Radegast nodded, but if what that Zoroark said earlier was true, this Lukas was the standing Champion of Alola. He’d have to utilize his wit in order to get such an influential entity off his back.

“What the hell happened? First that Magneton hit us with Discharge again… but we had gotten tougher so we could tank a hit like that…”

“It was an Aegislash. A powerful one at that. I’ve never seen such power, not even from the Slayer.”

“Did the Slayer befriend this Aegislash?”

“He befriended the human, who owned the Aegislash.”

“Cowardly bird…”

“I dunno, the human seemed very against the Aegislash attacking us.”

“Of course he didn’t. He wanted to get us to consider an alliance with that Articuno.”

“What is Absolute’s history with the Slayer? We shall have to ask her.”

“She tolerated the Slayer’s existence. What more needs to be asked?”

“Who the human is. It’s clear that human is an entity not to be underestimated. We need intel.”

Soon after, a single Cloyster scout slowly emerged from the waters. The Cloyster saw that the Slayer's human was still around, currently guarded by those... heretic "Treehouse" punks... "caretakers" of a gravesite they have no business to be near. It made the Cloyster's blood boil.

The Cloyster took note of a Zoroark and a squad of creatures. They appear to have been left to their own devices by the Slayer's human and that other boy.

"Psst," the Cloyster whispered loud enough for the Zoroark to possibly hear, "Who is the human?

—

“So why the bike?” Lukas asked.

“It’s good exercise,” Radegast replied quite naturally, “Imported from Kanto. A buddy had two coupons and gave one to me.”

Good fib. Radegast was getting better at them. If Doc Holiday could grin, he would’ve had to try very hard not to. The Porygon Z took to turning his head slightly away from Lukas, and winking the eye that the Champion boy couldn’t see.

“Plus it wouldn’t feel cool to ride a Tauros regardless if it inconveniences ‘em in any way,” Elder added.

“That too, whatever you said,” Radegast chimed as he kicked up the kickstand.

Tungsten held up a massive, blood-stained claw. Or maybe his claws were naturally red. Probably both. "What you hate is just one Pokémon. What you fail to realize is that if you're going to get Suros, you'll have to get through Reginald there first. And I don't see that happening anytime soon. So how about you go pick a fight you have a chance of winning, against this other Zoroark and his crew? What he can unleash is far worse than anything one Dragonite could possibly dish out. You help me beat this guy, and suddenly you're big time. I've seen whole communities forced into exile from a single blast. Even the humans are threatened by the fearsome power of this device...and there's no telling where or when it will strike next. Hate on Suros for letting your friend die all you want, but we have bigger problems. Are you with me or not?!"

"Kanto..." Lukas repeated as they began to trot besides Radegast while he pedaled, "I used to live there, y'know? Right before I turned ten, me and my mom moved down here to the Alola Region. Never had a chance to ride a bike...but yours looks really cool."

He examined the durable Acro Bike Radegast was riding upon. A shiny purple that matched the leather jacket tied around his waist, it was not only as fast as a standard bike but lighter as well, giving the dreadlocked teen the immeasurable opportunity to perform some tricks as they began to travel down Route 8. There were plenty of nature made ramps to ride off here. Lukas frowned slightly, but said nothing further about it.

"Well, I'll be honest," the Champion and the Tauros trotted off to the side as they progressed, "I know you recognize me from earlier, when we bumped into each other in Heahea City. You have to know that I followed you down here. I owe you a reason why. A few seconds before, I saw you talking to that Team Skull member...and he was more than friendly towards you. That's a bit weird considering they're a bit rough towards most locals. But if I know anything about them, it's that they protect their own to some extent and they respect each other. You're not in trouble or anything if you are, but I get the impression you are a member of Team Skull? Am I right?"

Weyloran, the Cloyster that had emerged to scout, regarded the Zoroark with something resembling interest as said Zoroark approached and began conversation. She listened as the creature spoke, and as it spoke, she only grew more and more puzzled.

“What in the name of Arceus are you babbling about?” Weyloran asked when the Zoroark asked his question regarding whether she was with him or not. “You seem to assume I know who you are, which is a mistake. You also seem to assume to know what I want, which is also a mistake.”

Weyloran glowered at the human that Suros replaced Omolon and Häkke with. Her eyes met the human’s, only for a moment. At that distance, she saw warmth and… sadness. She couldn’t tell exactly from the distance, but the boy, a hundred yards away, seemed aware of her presence.

Perhaps I should meet with this Absolute, she found herself thinking, Articuno are prideful by nature, and so was Suros, but that human… I’ll think on this later…

Her gaze returned to Tungsten, and she emitted a sound not unlike a human clearing their throat. The Cloyster then spoke with a newfound icy patience. “Consider this, boy,” She was, despite her strength and borderline zealous fervour, a very old Cloyster. The darkness of her inner body made it nearly impossible for one to see the wrinkles. The beautiful dull purple shell was thick and hard, but not brittle. “When it comes to unifying factions, there is a certain degree of etiquette one must adopt if they desire healthy relations between factions. The first is to never assume what the other wants, even with very good evidence. The second is a proper introduction goes a long way.” She opted not to name off the other aspects of the “Code”, but she continued.

“I will ignore your rudeness, considering you seem interested in aiding my and my clan. I will allow a second attempt to conduct business in a proper manner. I am Weyloran of the North, Resister of Regicide, and sister of the late Felwinter, the Robbed Hero.”

—

“Kanto, eh?” Just like me. Home is where the heart is, though.

Radegast’s eyes caught sight of a Cloyster a hundred metres away. Their gazes matched, and Radegast couldn’t help but feel sorrow for such broiling hatred. His body didn’t show it, but his eyes went cold… only for a moment. The Cloyster had turned back to the Zoroark. Radegast could not hear their conversation, but he wasn’t about to intrude on their conversation on suspicion. He just wasn’t that kind of guy, ambassador or not.

Regardless, Radegast loosened his shoulders and began to ride down the road, known as Route 8. Jakob, Jolder, and the others headed into the woods. Metronome, however, stayed behind to float alongside Elder and Radegast.

The boy, Lukas, began to get to brass tacks. He had seen Radegast with Langley. He shook his head when asked if he was, in fact, a member of Team Skull. “Nah, I don’t wear the colours. I just haven’t even seen them in years. OG Lee’s a good guy, just misunderstood.” He remembered that only he was allowed to call him by his real name.

Tungsten scowled and started coming up with various Nasty Plots to overthrow Weyloran by force. That's when the more measured and experienced tones of Karpov came in to save the position. "Apologies, venerable Cloyster. Tungsten is still fresh out of the mill, still being hammered into the mold left by his late father. No offense was meant, he merely has some purifying to do." He made sure to talk in the steel type dialect of PokeSpeak to avoid catching a Flamethrower right away.

"You wanna get roasted?" came the furious response.

"Ah, bozhe moi. I forgot he knows Steel-type due to who his human mother happens to be, great Weyloran of the seas," Karpov added, visibly nervous. "What I believe he means to say is, time is of the utmost importance. He must know quickly whom he can rely on for an assault on this Master Blaster. My informants tell me that it is so powerful that it can be seen from across the oceans when it fires, and its force is enough to blast away a 100-meter diameter forest clearing. Were its power to be turned to a human community, I fear the Musketeers would be forced to act once again as they did in the past."

The sun was going down, and Weyloran's patience for this sales pitch was clearly wearing thin. "Given the bloody conflicts in Kalos and Unova just a few months ago, we cannot afford to wait for this Psychic Rebellion to choose their next target at leisure. Or think of it this way--that human looked awfully anxious to flee this scene. What if it's because he's got a target on his back? What if we're being locked onto right now after he revealed himself? If your wish is truly to avenge your fallen comrade, you MUST prioritize Zane, the Psychic Rebellion, and his Master Blaster over your grudge. I, Karpov, leader of the Black Knights, mean no offense, I merely present the position of the pieces on the board. It's your move."

The Cloyster seemed unconvinced of the threat the Zoroark posed. Her mannerisms did not falter, nor did she seem to heat up again. Evidently her fury was reserved only for Suros.

“Ah, such good manners,” she noted as she regarded Karpov with respect. She added towards Tungsten, not with disrespect, “Take note, young one, you can learn from the experience.” She listened to the Dark-Steel-type’s more collected explanation regarding the situation.

However, the explanation seemed to translate to a very simple (if less kindly worded) concept to Weyloran. “You are looking for soldiers- nay, mercenaries- to assist you in taking out this “Zane” and his “Master Blaster.”

From what they seemed to imply, that human could be an enemy of this Zane… but then that would make them friends, wouldn’t it? Weyloran, however, did not think that was true. Perhaps Absolute can shed more light onto the situation.

“Very well, However, everyone knows that in business, value begets cost. I will consider this offer and discuss it amongst my clan.” And to see Absolute and hear her opinion about this potential worldly event. “We will come to an agreement. However, not everything freezes instantly.

“I’ll be in touch.” At that, Weyloran submerged into the ocean depths. Absolute’s island was quite a ways away. Weyloran needed to prepare the clan for recovery and movement.

“Land ho!” Called the shrill voice of a Cloyster stationed in the crow’s nest.

The immense vessel of ice, fashioned after old human vessels, carried with it the majority of Weyloran’s clan, with many smaller, similarly constructed vessels carrying the rest. Compared to other tribes of the ocean, Weyloran’s was comparatively smaller. However, they made up for numbers in sheer ability with their water and ice. Among their fellow Cloyster, they were indeed peerless in strength. Their tiny fleet was more formidable than their numbers implied.

Due to a certain Magneton’s prowess, the clan- of course- hated North. They loathed North almost as much as they hated Suros. However, they did not hold type-advantages against people. Make no mistake, they are still quite dangerous compared to other wildlings, and possibly just as powerful as the larger clans.

The ships rapidly melted as the Cloysters and Shellder ceased pumping their inherent cold into maintaining them. In the constant beat of the sun, the ships rapidly split and fell into chunks, splashing against the warm ocean surface and floating away, dwindling into nothingness. The many Cloyster and Shellder did not share the same fate. They had submerged underwater, patiently waiting, as Weyloran hovered out of the water and approached the shores.

All around her, the remains of metallic structures lay scattered about. A large tower loomed over to her right, battered and dented from the sheer force of many a blast of tonnes upon tonnes of water. At it’s base, a broken, utterly ruined twin-pronged cannon lay pathetically, half-buried in sand, and getting more and more submerged as the tides shifted the sands. Weyloran had not scene the like of these structures before, but she could tell they were human-made. Not even Doc Holiday could fabricate things this flawless, dents aside.

In front of Weyloran, sands shifted in a small circle. The Cloyster’s eyes narrowed as it readied itself for a potential attack. However, no attack came. Instead, the circular head of an Alolan Sandshrew popped out from the surface.

“Sup, dude?” The Sandshrew chimed.

“Hello,” Weyloran said.

“Dude, are you Weyloran?” The Sandshrew asked, his eyes began to gleam with exitement.

“Yes.”

“Alright!” The sandshrew threw itself out of the ground. “Tao didn’t think the Lord-Regent would pull through! That Swinub owes me two Oran berries!”

Weyloran regarded the sandshrew with befuddlement. Before she could voice her confusion, the Sandshrew continued, “Absolute’s been busy keeping the island safe from the Regicide Crew. Otherwise she’d have come herself.”

Weyloran glanced at the destroyed tower. “Seems to me your leader has done quite a lot to keep this island safe.”

“Oh, you got the Lord-Regent to thank for that!” The Sandshrew spoke not unlike a child, “Come on, this way!”

Weyloran followed the Sandshrew through the jungles. The Cloyster noticed the trees and foliage had missing leaves, but appeared to be healthier than ever- like an immense flood had burst through, ridding the jungles from the weak and the corrupted. She imagined given a few weeks, the jungle would be huge, bold, and greener than ever before. The ground was immensely damp, with deep puddles and mud wherever there wasn’t grass or bush. The Sandshrew avoided the hazards by bounding and climbing between the many trees, while Weyloran simply hovered on through, careful not to nick any of the trees with her spikes.

They arrived at the land cavern entrance. Far above and around the large rocky outcrop, Weyloran spotted a large hole, no-doubt large enough for two Articuno to fly through side-by-side. With polite, if child-like encouragement, Weyloran followed the Sandshrew through the tunnels.

“Hold,” a Crabominable croaked as the two of them approached a cave entrance deep in the winding tunnels.

“It’s Sandy,” The Sandshrew squeaked. Weyloran tried not to make a face in response to the rather unimaginative name. “This is Weyloran the Cloyster.”

“Ah, come on through,” the Crabominable’s immense fists swept gracefully towards the door as it’s tiny legs moved it aside for them to pass.

Weyloran and Sandy entered the immense underground cave home of Absolute and the other islanders. The huge frozen lake was still smooth as a perfect mirror, with no flaws to speak of, even though many an ice-type skated atop it.

Sandy gestured Weyloran towards the Articuno, who was skating with her fellows. The two of them approached.

“Ah, Sandy, thank you,” Absolute spoke with a chilled, yet unkind voice.

Sandy bounded off away from the two, where he called to a nearby Swinub. “I told you dude! I told you the kid could do it!” The Swinub swore and handed Sandy a couple of Oran berries.

Absolute, however, had drowned out the Swinub’s voice from Weyloran’s perspective. “Has the Lord-Regent told you why I wanted to speak with you?”

“Not exactly,” Weyloran replied, “What do you want?” Weyloran wanted to cut to the chase. It was times like these when she could take her mind away from the pain of her loss. Business was business.

Absolute’s piercing blue eyes rested on Weyloran’s for a moment. “You didn’t kill him, did you?” She asked slowly.

“I wanted his pet bird dead, but no blood was shed, I promise.”

“Pet bird? Oh… Oh, I see.” Her eyes beamed with understanding.

“So what do you want from me and mine?”

Absolute nodded brusquely as she regained her composure. She went on to explain the Regicide Crew, and how they threaten the Ice Cave among other Pokemon communities across the world oceans.

“In short, We would like to join forces.”

“If I were to do this, to have my kin join and possibly die, what sort of compensation would they be expecting?”

“Besides a safe ocean?”

“I mean a dead Slayer.”

Absolute blinked. “We can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“The boy is a friend to us, and the boy is a friend to Suros.”

“What do you owe the boy?”

“This island, our lives.”

“So you’ve been saved by this so-called Lord-Regent. Next, you’ll be saying this human child is a friend to the Seven Clans of the Floor.”

“Funny you mention that…”

—

“What news?” One of the Honour guard called as Weyloran arrived on the shores.

“We return home,” Weyloran replied, “We keep ourselves strong, and we have some new friends.”

“What of the Slayer?”

“Our friends come at the cost of a new goal. After that new goal…” Weyloran grinned as most Cloyster do, “I imagine after this new goal, not even that Aegislash could protect her.”

“And the Gangster?”

Weyloran recalled the offer that one Bisharp communicated for that Zoroark, “When you hate something as much as I do, sometimes the only thing to do is to love and make new friends, friends who won’t stop you, friends who may actually support you. This Lord-Regent has gathered influence; it’s high time we gather some of our own.