Pokémon Odyssey: A New Beginning [T] [Best Veteran 4Q '12]

The Gold Tribe and the Alpha alliance had finally arrived... Snype stood among the ancients, ready for the fight of his life. Course, that wasn't his plan. The they were bound to be aiming for the torture house... Snype would just have to keep them on course. Still... he could always kill a couple stray troops while he was at it! Time to make his presence known among the enemy!

Snype focused on what he was best at. Stealth. Attacking the target before they knew what hit them. He'd sneak among the ancients with Shadow Sneak and strike at various Alpha Alliance troops with Toxic to make them panic and scatter. The small frys were one thing but he had bigger fish to go after assuming they'd spot him. He was one of a the few sentinels left, but he'd be sure to put on a good fight!

The higher ups were the big problem though. He'd have to pick them out one by one unless he wanted to get himself killed... So he'd leave it to them if they wanted to go after a sentinel wjp was simply assassinating whoever he could. "Kehehe...comon you hunk of bones! Put some more omph to it!" He told the ancients.

Allora
Silver City

After her dramatic scene in the Stoneguard, Allora was taken away by a medical team to be examined. However, upon inspection, they found nothing wrong with her physically. Allora woke up soon after, her memory still a blur, but the general idea of her situation making its way through. There was only one thing she could do now. It would not be easy; in fact, it might be the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. But if she did not, countless lives would be lost.

She had to kill Paladin – or whatever it was he had become.

So, Allora chose to join the group of Pokemon who would go lakeside to attack the torturehouse. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that was where she would find Paladin.

Allora had no need for fighting. She simply used her subtle technique to slip her way past all the fighting, and soon found herself in Gold – or rather, Silver – city. Listening to the battle cries outside, she shifted through the shadows, working her way towards the large, blatantly visible torturehouse in the distance. Finally, she stood before it. The thing was a dark beacon of dread and despair, and the echoing screams coming from within made her stomach feel queasy.

As Allora approached it, trying to keep herself level-headed, a tear escaped from her eye and rolled gently down her cheek. She thought of Paladin and all the things they had done together – the good and the bad. Although she had only known him for a few days, she saw him as her best friend in all this.

"Paladin… I'm so sorry."

Blackguard
Silver City

"Oh! Oh yes!" Blackguard exclaimed, moving his new fingers and arms. "I do like this body. Especially in this lovely Chaos Form!"

He stepped forward, and it caused the very foundations of the torturehouse to shake.

"An excellent tool of destruction."

He moved his small head left and right, his glaring red eyes taking a good long look at his surroundings. Using his hands, he felt at his new chest, noticing a broken Golurk seal.

"This body is about to reach its maximum. This is exactly why it's so wonderful!"

Faster than such a giant should've been able to, he lifted his overgrown arm into the air, and then brought it down in a devastating Hammer Arm attack at the ground. Rubble and stone blasted everywhere, but when the dust cleared, all that was visible was a large crater in the floor of the building.

"Excellent!"

With that, Blackguard retracted his hands and legs to get into flying mode. When he ignited the flames in his body, they came out as green wisps of smoke, which somehow managed to propel him upwards into the air.

"Let's make some CHAOOOOS!" He shouted as he rose further up, and crashed right through the roof of the torturehouse, making his way into the sky. There, he saw what might have been hundreds of airborne Ancients ready to strike the flying Alpha Alliance soldiers. Among the soldiers were some Gold Tribe members, and one caught his eye in particular: a rather ferocious-looking Salamence that was simply slashing his way through the Ancient ranks. Blackguard couldn't help but chuckle a bit. As much as he wanted to fight this Pokemon, he decided against it.

"He'll cause more chaos alive than he will dead," Blackguard muttered to himself, grinning. With that, he swooped back down, splicing air as he did so.

Such speed should have been unattainable for such a giant creature, as the people below noticed as they saw Blackguard rocketing through the air. Flying just above ground, he scanned Silver City and its surroundings. On the plains, a large, bloody battle pitting Ancient against soldier was being fought, with Pokemon of all shapes and sizes destroying each other. How boring.

"Let's liven this up a little, shall we?" Blackguard laughed.

Very Near to the walls of Silver City stood a magnificently tall skyscraper; its height far exceeded that of the walls, and almost exceeded that of the torturehouse. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the landscape of the city, alongside other skyscrapers.

Blackguard flew at the scraper's midsection at full speed, with no intention of stopping. The impact was devastating, as Blackguard shattered glass, obliterated brick, and destroyed metal as he crashed into it. Nothing would get in his way. He exited at the other end of the building, and turned to ram into it once more. He did this a total of five times, before the building began to swerve. One final push and the midsection would become detached from the bottom.

BOOM! One last Hammer Arm did the trick, sending the scraper tumbling to its doom. Only, the building fell in the direction of the city walls. It was tall enough so that it fell over the wall, crashing into some of the ranks of Ancients and soldiers below. Screams of terror could be heard as the fighting Pokemon turned their eyes skyward, seeing the falling scraper coming at them like a giant slap in the face from Arceus himself.

"And that was just a warm-up."

Plains of Valkaria - Silver City Torturehouse Area

In a matter of minutes, the battlefield had erupted into mayhem as it has in battles prior leading up to this one. To anyone watching, it didn't physically appear any different. But in their minds, and in their hearts, the Pokemon who fought knew the stakes. This one meant a bit more. Their claws were a bit sharper. Their blasts fired a bit straight, their abilities were all a bit more focused. For this battle, they had to be. The Gold Tribe was no different.

They knew their impact would be greater if they would spread out, so the tribesmen dispersed among the soldiers to help wherever they could. Gallant leaped toward the direction of the torturehouse, immediately meeting resistance from Ancients. He was instantly surrounded by a pair of Carracosta, A Bastiodon, and up above by an Archeops. The ground encircled the Sawk, and at once, closed in on him. The veteran Gold Tribe member reacted quickly, aiming for the Archeops first, knowing it would have reached him first with its speed. The Ancient opened its claws and prepared to strike at the Gold Tribe member. But even in his advanced age, Gallant pushed away the talons with his fists, and as the bird passed over him, he grabbed it by the tail. The Archeops tried to loosen itself and fly away, but Gallant held his grip firmly. He began to spin the Ancient in a circle, and released just as the Bastiodon was right in front of him. The flying Ancient crashed into the Bastiodon, the two Pokemon knocking heads, and from the Sawk's superior strength, they were knocked out. The two Carracosta were fast enough to land behind him and spray him with a combo water gun. Gallant heard the water rifles warming up in their mouths, but only managed to turn quick enough to put up his arms in defense. The water sprayed on him fully, blasting him with high-pressured water. The combo was deadly to most other Pokemon, but to this Gold Tribe member, who had plenty to endure over his lifespan, he shrugged off the water off of his rough skin and charged forward at the two, nailing the two with a Double Kick, hitting one Carracosta in he stomach with the first one, which caused it to propel backwards and crash into another Kabutops, toppling both Pokemon. The second kick was aimed for the other Carracosta's face, with Gallant hearing a comforting snap of the neck, and causing the Pokemon to fall over to the ground. He was just getting started, but it was a damn good start. Gallant continued running through the plains, catching site of Zane a bit further ahead to his right, engaging with a team of Bastiodon.

Zane looked ahead, noticing a group of four or five Bastiodon charge forward, in a straight line aiming for his direction. He had gotten used to being picked as a target since he was so often easily pointed out of the crowd, so he obliged their challenge, bending his knees, and charging forward himself at the group. The two sides collided, but the Bastiodon right in front would find that the Iron Head of the gold Bisharp was more deadly than even a team of rampant Ancient. The head Bastiodon was bashed back into a group of Omanytes fighting Alpha Alliance soldiers, while the remaining standing Bastiodon's looked back at the Bisharp, with a slight bit of fear.

Zane didn't give them a chance to react. He went after each one individual with a set of Aerial Aces, dispatching each Ancient as quickly as he could. By the time they were realizing what was happening, each one fell to the swiftness of the unguardable Aerial Ace, and one by one they fell to the ground from their injuries. He counted each one on the ground, but noticed one was missing, and heard it roar from behind him. A Bastiodon was about to charge right into him from behind. Zane didn't have enough time to react, but swiftly in front, Guardia leaped over both of them, and as her claws passed over the Ancient, she dealt a deadly slash across his back, effectively stopping his charge, and allowing Zane a chance to move out of the way of the carcass. Guardia continued running forward, not stopping except to yell back at her friend. "Eyes open, leader!" She shouted with a grin, and continued ahead.

Guardia's style of fighting was a lot more reckless than most other Gold Tribe members. She knew of her superior strength to most, so she ended up deliver only a few attacks to each Ancient at a time, before moving on to the next one. On occasions, she only dealt a single Crush Claw or Slash to her opponent, and let them be taken by the injuries. She would then charge forward and slice at anyone who got in her way. She found herself going deep into the Ancient's territory of the battle, but she didn't stop much, constantly heading toward her target: the torturehouse. As soon as she found herself surrounded enough, she stopped, seeing the vast amount of Ancient around her. She began delivering blow after blow to each, slash after slash as the area was soon beginning to stack up with Ancients around her. A trio of Omanyte fired up her with a water blast, and she swiftly defended with the signature attack of the Reed family, a Thunder, cast in front of an oncoming blast to be used as a defense. The Thunder-defense successfully blocked the high-impact water and the burning lightning caused them to dissolve into the air. In second, Guardia closed the distance between the three and herself while they launched additional attacks at her. She pounced on top of the first Omanyte, digging her claws easily into its shell and piercing right through. The Omanyte died from its injuries, bleeding out from its holes and mouth, but Guardia still had it attached to her claws, and threw the carcass at the second Omanyte as it prepared to fire. He was knocked by the body of his comrade, and fell to the ground. The third Omanyte already began to fire at her, and she only narrowly avoided another water gun, the blast managing to nick her on the shoulder, but the Zangoose still managed to strike at the Omanyte, slashing its front from end to end. It shrill in pain, then collapsed.

Without hesitation, Guardia moved on to the next set of Ancients. She battled as fiercely as she could. She knew the stakes. Yet from her vision, she caught something unexpected. Most Pokemon around were Ancients, so she knew what to expect from them. Yet when another Pokemon was seen that wasn't apart of their group, she knew this would be different. A Jolteon was a few paces in front of her. If the Pokemon wasn't an Ancient, and fought with the Silver Tribe, then that only left one other possibility on what she was.

"Sentinel..." She muttered under her breath. She sharpened her claws, positioning herself as he rose her strength with a Swords Dance, the beam of energy surrounding her and filling her, giving her strength necessary to fight this next opponent.

Levina

Levina was set for battle. With her quick speed, he could strike her foes before they could even see her. Thunderbolt left and right toward her targets. She'd be one of the leading powerhouses in the fight. She quickly noticed a real sight for sore eyes not to far though. A Zangoose, cutting through the Ancients. She had a reckless fighting style, charging in without a care in the world. The Zangoose had the ability to use Thunder as well. Getting hit by one of those would work wonderfully for her. But he figured she'd be smarter then to hit an electric Pokemon with an electric attack... unless she could force her too.

"All of you! With me!" Levina called out to a few Omanyte. If they were to get struck by lightning, Levina would take the hit to heal herself. It was perfect! With that, Levina quickly charged toward the Zangoose with a ThunderBolt. "Comere tubby!" She taunted.

Snype the Sableye

Meanwhile, Snype was making his usual course, keeping hidden throughout the fight, dissapearing where he could with Shadow Sneak to slowly take out soldiers or distract them one by one. These small fry weren't woth his time. The Anicents would take them out eventually anyways! Snype had to go for bigger targets... Levina seemed to have that Zangoose handled but he'd keep an eye on that one... Foul Play would really lay a dent on that Zangoose. He turned his head to another Pokemon in the distance. A Bisharp. Ahh... the big cheese himself... Well why not? Take out the leader and anything could happen! He could at least lay a few hits on him...He couldn't poison him so he wouldn't spend to long on him. After all, his job was to lure them. Starting with the one in charge.

Snype snuck around with Shadow Sneak once again, his eyes on Zane. Once he got close enough, he attack Zane using his signature move, Foul Play. It was a weird move, using the enemies power against them. Basically, making the enemy hit their self, much like confusion except more forced.

A small after image of Zane appeared behind Snype, using his opponents full force against Zane. Snype went forward to attack Zane. It'd feel as if Zane had hit himself with one of his own attacks. One of Snype's favorite moves to use on his enemies.

Plains of Valkaria - Silver City Torturehouse Area

Guardia saw the Jolteon call out to the other Ancients in the area, particularly to a group of Omanyte close by. "Heh...you wanna play like that, huh?" She said. She expected to have a chance to fight the Jolteon one on one, but she figured they weren't always the type to fight fair, especially the non-Gold Tribe Sentinels. It was fine by her. Omanyte happened to be weak against lightning, so she would use it to her advantage.

Though Guardia generally used her own personal Thunder in the way her father taught her, as a defense, she decided to give its offensive capabilities a test this time. She decided to aim for the other Ancients first, clearing them out of the way so that the Sentinel would be easier to fight on her own. She charged up her attack, calling for as much energy as she could, and fired a Thunder all across at the Omanyte who prepared to fire on her with their own attacks. The lightning interrupted their attacks and effectively prevented them from firing. She smirked, then ran for the Sentinel, blazing in with a Crush Claw.


Zane recovered from the ground, the Bastiodon that he had taken out all laying at his feet now. He had to quickly move on ahead though, knowing he had no time for rest in this battlefield. A Kabutops stood in his way, and struck at him with a Slash, to which Zane quickly collided with a Night Slash. The two attacks collided, but Zane's attacked appeared to have the advantage, and after several moments of collision, the Kabutops' claws snapped in half, and it yelled in pain. Zane ran over its body, Hitting him with an Aerial Ace from above, then stepping over his body and continuing forward.

However, just as he had finished off his opponent, he looked up in surprise as saw what appeared to be an image of himself firing an Aerial Ace at himself. The blow struck Zane directly across the chest, cutting himself and knocking him down on the ground. He groaned on the grassy plains for a few moments, feeling his chest and checking his hand to see that the blow had drawn some blood, but thankfully wasn't deep enough to have done tremendous damage. He brought himself to his feet, and saw the image that attacked him, and where it came from, seeing the Sableye very briefly among all of the chaos.

Before he had a chance to sneak away, Zane fired a Thunder Wave from his arms toward his direction, hoping the hit would paralyze him so he wouldn't be able to sneak around as much. The wave of lightning struck across a few Ancients, hitting some and bouncing off others as it made its way toward the Sableye.

Levina

Levina took advantage of the Thunder to intercept a couple of the attacks and abosorb all of the electricity to heal herself. She felt fully recovered, however the Zangoose went right for her with Crush Claw. The Jolteon got cut from the attack and backed up a bit. The other Ancients took a heavy hit. It gave the Jolteon a nice scratch on her cheek. She sneered at her new opponent, ready to destroy whoever got in her way.

"Grrr...." She grumbled. The Jolteon ran around the Zangoose, using Double Team to give off the illusion that there were several Jolteon. She wasn't called the mirage for nothing! The Jolteon kept silent as she waited for the perfect moment to strike.

Snype

Snype was hit directly by the Thunder Wave, feeling his body go a bit numb and his movement much slower. Still... he could get around with Shadow Sneak. He'd always get the hit first nonetheless. Still... Snype was far from finished. He has some supplies to help the condition but he wouldn't get away with doing that easily. He had to cripple him slowly...

"Kehehe... well played... an eye for an eye though." Snype said as he began to use Will-o-wisp on Zane. It'd make Foul Play less effective sure, but it wouldn't make Zane's life any easier. It'd severely cripple him. Snype could use that chance to escape and hit his next target. Snype won't do well paralyzed and there were other fish to fry. Besides, he had a great escape tool handy on him incase he got in trouble like this. He also had Detect if he needed to use it.

Penance 'Madman' Malum​

Finally both armies had stopped and for a moment there was a stare down. Penance patted the Abra on top of his head and grinned all the while. There were some shows of intimidation here and there. When it finally happened he couldn't help but grin. As the soldiers ran out so did the Affiliates. The drums began to beat from the muscians to keep up the fighting spirit as both sides clashed. Penance himself observed for a bit. The soldiers and Affiliates could keep up the battle without their support, but the most important tactic now was to find the Sentinels and finish them off quickly.

As his eyes scanned over the crowd he finally found the very Sentinel he had a interest in. The others were already up and about with their fights and he saw how interested they all were. How very very sad....

He sighed helplessly, "Goldies never learn do they? Oh well. Let's get that purple one! He'll be lots of fun!"

Malphus gripped his bone in one hand, "Aye, doesn't seem that bad." At that moment they saw a certain gold Bisharp through the crowed.

"He seems like a perfect match for us!" Surge said with a giggle.

Penance shrugged, "That much is true. Alright you two make a tunnel for me. Try not to get separated, would be a bad time if any of you got killed." He hummed as he headed into the fray, trying to stay as small a target as possible. Ancients and soldiers clased around him, but that didn't bother him. Those weren't his battle. His would be much bigger because.... eh no reason really.

Finally he made it out of the fray and saw that the Sableye was trying to sneak away. "What a pity, trying to leave before the party strated!" Penance shouted out as he threw a Water Pulse at the Sentinel. "And here I thought you liked the red cake I picked out!"

Malphus cried out as he threw out his bone with a Bonemerang attack. Meanwhile Lashire tensed up and then sent out a Metal Sound that sounded pretty much like nails along a chalkboard right at the Sableye. Surge just kept on sleeping on his head.

Penance spread his arms a bit, "Well... here we have a Sentinel that doesn't play by the rules and a madman that screws over honor. I say three on one is fair... don't you?" He asked a grin forming along his bill.

Hanso SharpEye
Plains outside the torturehouse of Silver City

Hanso had already fired off a Future Sight attack by the time Hazone let him off on the ground. There were so many Ancients that he only need imagine a group being hit. The Gallade's arm-blades were sheathed in light-blue energy as he met the enemy. Two Kabutops charged at him, one with a Slash following the other's Aqua Jet, and an Armaldo came from the left with a silver ball of energy, AncientPower. Hanso sidestepped and grabbed a scythe of the first Kabutops, using its momentum to swing it around in a circle and block the AncientPower before throwing the Ancient back at its buddy. The Armaldo came through with two Slashes, both of which Hanso deflected with Psycho Cuts before striking the Ancient's arm, chest, up into the chin.

Hanso teleported to one side so an Omastar's Spike Cannon struck the Armaldo instead, pushing it back to the ground. The Gallade was already firing a spear of Dark energy at the Omastar, stabbing through its gullet as Hanso moved on. As he continued fighting, he spared some attention for reaching out with his mind to locate the Gold Tribe and other important figures. It was gradual, considering Hanso had to keep fighting.

~~~~~

On the other hand, Genevieve didn't immediately rush into battle with the rest of the Gold Tribe. Really, why did they constantly rush in with little thought to strategy? It looked like the Golduck had a similar thought. Genevieve had already marked the Gold Tribe, General Belas, and the other elites, along with marking the landmarks of the battlefield. She didn't really understand yet who they were fighting, but the sight of the enemy lined up for battle sparked something in her mind...

Ancients. There was something about them coming from another place, but it wouldn't come, nor would the reason why they were here in the first place. Genevieve put the thought aside for review and finally headed for the fray. The Ancients were weak of mind, that much had come back. As one clash between several Ancients and soldiers drew near, she mentally reached out for the Ancients. There was little resistance on the monsters' own part, but their primitive minds felt connected to something else.

In moments, the small group of Ancients had stopped fighting and stood to attention; a few fell to the soldiers they faced before the Pokemon stopped in confusion. "Move along," Genevieve said simply, firing a wave of Psychic energy in another direction to fend off a few other Ancients. About a minute later, the Gardevoir had herself surrounded with mind-controlled Ancients who kept others of their kind away.

Well, it wasn't something she could dismiss easily; as Genevieve moved toward a slight rise in the plains, she had to replace those Ancients who fell while fighting other Ancients along the way. Once she reached the small hill, Genevieve began looking for...someone. Whoever it was that was in charge of the Ancients' army-- Sentinels. Right.

A collapsed skyscraper drew Genevieve's attention. There was a particularly dark mind in the vicinity. "Ladies and gents," she relayed to the other elites, "the skyscraper collapse is due to a Sentinel who can fly. Keep an eye out." For that matter, if the Sentinels were particularly powerful, Genevieve would need to direct the other elites in that regard.

Plains of Valkaria - Silver City Torturehouse Area

Guardia was surprised to see the Jolteon use the Thunder against her. She had forgotten to take that into consideration when fighting her. Now, it seems the Jolteon was rejuvenated. She made a note to herself to no longer use the attack as an offensive weapon, but to instead stick with using it as a defensive mechanism as was taught to her by her father and to all of the Reed family.

Guardia posed in a fighting stance once the Jolteon began to run at her, prepared for an attack, but she only found that the Pokemon began running around her instead, using Double Team to cast multiple images of herself. Guardia looked around the circle, twirling her body quickly to try to not give an opening from when to attack from. However, the image of the Jolteon were flashing all across, not giving her a chance to view all of them in a single twirl. Getting irritated and impatient, Guardia decided to aim for one of them, charging forward to the one directly in front of her and targeting it with a Slash.


Zane grinned to himself as he saw the Sableye effectively hit by his Thunder Wave. He knew that would make him easier to hit as he pressed forward with the fight against the Sentinel. As the Sableye momentarily wallowed in the pain of the fast currents of electricity coursing through him, Zane noticed him prepare for his own next attack. Seemingly wishing to inflict a similar type of attack upon the Bisharp, Zane saw the Ghost Pokemon fire a Will-O-Wisp upon him. He tried to duck out of the way, hoping to dodge the move, but the attack came at him as quickly as he would have let out his Thunder Wave, and the result was a hit from the burning attack straight to his midsection. The fire burned brightly and strongly, covering across his body and leaving a lasting hit upon him. He gritted his teeth in pain as constant pain began to flow through him. Luckily, Gold Tribe members were taught to use adrenaline to fight through pain if necessary, but in the back of his mind, he could still feel the damage.

Still, when Zane looked up again to try to located him, he found that the Sableye was now gone, and only Ancient were around to fight him. Unable to locate his opponent, Zane elected to abandon him for now and fight the more imminent threat of the Ancients around.


Through the battlefield, a blur of red moved with hardly any attention being given to it, as few were in fact able to spot it through their own distractions. But the Pokemon who moved freely watched the action around, at the moment only an observer, until he believed his intervention was necessary into the fray. So much was already playing out, and even with his inclusion, not much of the balance would be shifted. At least, not with the Scizor fighting these regular Alpha Alliance soldiers. The true dangers of the battle revolved around the hierarchy of power, whether they came from leadership, strength, or tactics. The Alpha Alliance, as he had found out now, had all three of these with the Generals, the Gold Tribe, and the Affiliates. These would be his primary targets. And with so much happening all at once across the battlefield, none would know what hit them.

He rushed passed a group of Alpha Alliance soldiers, appeared only to brush through them, but as soon as they saw the blood across their bodies, they knew they were damaged. Even before they hit the ground, they were already dead from their injuries. This continued, a whirlwind of strike falling upon the unfortunate prey of whomever got in the Scizor's way. That is, until the Scizor came to an abrupt halt, and for the first time revealed himself to the Pokemon around as more than just a swift-moving anomaly. In his eyesight, one target was found. It was one of the two remaining Generals of the Alpha Alliance, Belas, the Metagross.

He commanded surrounding forces onwards, relying on his booming voice to carry across the plains and endow his soldiers with the energy they can to fight harder. The Scizor opened his wings and glided across the plains. He felt the move of the wind, and moved along with it, picking up speed until once again he was a blur across the battlefield. In merely a few seconds, the scout of the Silver Tribe and the Sentinels closed the distance between he and the General, and a moment later, landed a deadly blow against the General of the Alpha Alliance. The Sentinel's claw pierced right into the hard armor of the Metagross. He stopped his shouting midsentence, seeing the red claw of the Scizor inside of him as it matched the color of his blood.

Belas staggered over, and fell to the ground. Yet the Scizor was careful and efficient. He wanted to ensure a kill before he would move onto the next one. He walked over to the Metagross, lifting the General by the neck with surprising strength, and raised his second claw as he prepared to strike a killing blow. "End of the line, General," Sentry whispered.


"Belas!" Gallant shouted, noticing the state of the General as he was suddenly and swiftly attacked by Sentry. He rushed forward to try to assist, but as he passed forward, his path was suddenly blocked by the large form of the Aerodactyl known as Rector. Gallant double back, narrowly avoiding falling over from Rector's impact into the ground, which caused it to shake. His momentary lapse in balance, however, would prove to be just what Rector needed, firing from the impact he created rocks onto the Sawk, the set across him forming into a powerful AncientPower.

The Rocks impacted Gallant one after another, and although the Sawk was sturdy, the blows were deadly, and he could tell, as he remembered, that this Rector was by no means a pushoever. Rock upon rock fell onto the Sawk, each blow seeming to be stronger than the last. Gallant knew at this point, he wouldn't be able to help his friend Belas. He didn't even know if he'd be able to help himself.

Blackguard
Silver City

It seemed to Blackguard as if the Alpha Alliance soldiers were pushing on rather well. Good for them, he thought, but he would not have it. The Alpha Alliance, pathetic worms they were, strove for order, justice, and peace: the very things Blackguard lived to eradicate. This was why he'd decided to side with the Silver Tribe in the first place; although they did not know it, their efforts at gaining control over Valkaria would only bring the land closer to chaos if it continued. If the Alliance had its way, things would go back to how they were before.

How boring!

Near to the gates of Silver City, on the plains, a group of Ancients - maybe a dozen or so - fended off a bunch of rather menacing soldiers, who appeared to have the upper hand in this particular instance. That was, of course, before a black behemoth dropped from the sky, his landing instantly squishing two soldiers. The others stepped back in fear of Blackguard as the Ancients were given some time to recover. With a swipe of his overgrown fist, Blackguard sent five more soldiers flying off into the distance. The rest of them recollected themselves, and began pointlessly attacking the monster. Claws, metal, fire, and water bounced harmlessly off of Blackguard's body as he swooped in with another Shadow Punch, smashing two more soldiers into the ground. Then, he did something rather unorthodox. He turned around, picked up a Bastiodon, and threw it at a charging Donphan. The two Pokemon collided intensely, and both tumbled along the ground, taking several Ancients and soldiers down with them, before they came to a halt, most likely dead.

"Anybody else?!" Blackguard shouted.

The soldiers ran for their puny little lives, as expected. With that, Blackguard shifted to flying mode and rocketed back into the air, leaving a misty green fire in his wake.

Snype

Snype managed to get away from Zane and hopefully hit him hard enough. That burn was going to severely cripple him. Snype took this chance to reach into his little satchel and eat a Lum Berry to get his Paralysis out of the way. He hung on to a couple of the berries that Deceiver supplied him so it'd hopefully last him awhile... As soon as he finished it up though, another Pokemon approached him. The Madman himself... Snype heard about him. All sorts of stories. He was still an enemy though and similar to him, this Golduck wouldn't fight fair. Obviously because his psychic abilities wouldn't do jack to him. A Water Pulse, Metal Sound, and Bonemerang. He tried to hold his arms up and brae himself for the oncoming onslaught. It left quite a dent on him. Mark winced in pain from the three attacks.

"Keh... alright then... if that's how you wanna play..." Snype said with a smirk. He used Flash to blind the crowd around him so he could focus on the Golduck. To mix it up he used Shadow Sneak right after to hit the Golduck from behind since it was his quickest attack.

Levina

As Levina ran around Guardia at extreme speed, She finally struck one of Her after images. Perfect opportunity! The Jolteon charged right for Guardia with Wild Charge! The Jolteon surrounded herself with electricity and rammed right into the unsuspecting Pokemon. The force hit the Jolteon a little but she could take it! As long as she beat up this Zangoose!

Plains of Valkaria - Silver City Torturehouse Area

"SENTRY!" a voice yelled after the Sentinel, just as he was about to finish off the General he held by the throat. Sentry stopped his attack just before it hit, and began looking around the area to find the source of the shouting. It took him a moment, but he soon saw the Gold Tribe Scizor known as the Swift on fast approach toward him.

"Swift..." He muttered to himself. Knowing the Gold Tribe member's own reputation for speed, Sentry dropped the Metagross on the ground and turned to face his new opponent, who rained down from the sky like a bullet.

As the Swift propelled himself at his opponent, the Swift was already making his counter. A Metal Claw came right for the Sentinel, but his superior reflexes kicked in, and Sentry narrowly avoided the fast Scizor with a sidestep. "You yell too much," He said softly, then took a few steps away, which with his speed ending up being quite a bit of distance. Then, all at once, he gathered his agility into a bullet hardening in his front, and struck at his opponent with a Quick Attack, the Sentinel racing across with tremendous quickness.


Gallant, who was still dealing with Rector, could only watch as rocks plummeted him and Sentry still prepared an attack on Belas. Luckily, his luck turned when a fellow Gold Tribe member, Bloodthirster, swooped in and knocked the Aerodactyl away from Gallant, therefore preventing his attack. He immediately called for the Sawk to assist Belas, and Gallant didn't need to be told twice before he responded and went over.

Yet luck apparently graced him with a second blessing, as the Swift decided to make his own move on Sentry and prevent Belas any further harm. While the Swift and Sentry began to move at blinding speeds Gallant could barely keep up with, Gallant went over to Belas and secured his body, making sure no other Ancients would try to harm the General.


Rector recovered from the blow dealt by the dragon, and now sought his vengeance for what he viewed as a lucky shot. The two stared down each other on the grass plains, but Rector then interrupted it with a mighty roared. He pushed his wings down onto the grass, causing them to whirl and whistle and toss up. Then, he too rose up into the air, balancing himself a few meters off of the ground. Next, he forces his wings back with all his might, and shot forward. The giant Aerodactyl's eyes were red with anticipation, locking on to his prey with nothing else permeating his vision. His wings seems to roar with ever stroke, and as he approached the Salamence, the Aerodactyl came at him with all the might of his solid body with a tremendous Take Down.


Just as Guardia should have expected, the image soon vanished as the Zangoose brushed her claws upon it. The other images seemed to converge on a certain point, and from that point, the Jolteon was able to strike at her with a powerful Wild Charge on her side. Guardia fell back from the impact, the combination of the force of the blow and the pain of the static flowing through her causing her to slide on the ground before stopping. She took a moment to lay on the ground and accept the pain that flowed through her, but she quickly shot back up, being determined to deal as much damage as she took.

As she stood up, the side of her body where she was impacted felt weak, as if it was numb, but also stinging at the same time. Guardia tried to ignore it, charging forward to the opponent who now revealed her location, and struck her with her right claw, putting all her might behind the Crush Claw.


"Hehehehehe..." A voice laughed across the battlefield, as a pair of large eyes and a grin stalked a particular Gallade with two different eyes. Because of the enormous amount of chaos which occurred across the battlefield, the laughter would have felt like it might have been coming from some far away distance, yet it would have been surprising to learn that the source was much closer than one would expect. The voice cackled again, shouting to the Gallade Gold Tribe member. "Here's an interesting one, methinks! Heeheeehee! I think I'll have my fun with you! Hahahaha!"

The cackling seemed to grow louder on the battlefield, before the source showed itself in a materialization in the form of a Gengar, starting with the large eyes and wide grin. "Hehehe!" He cackled again. "So much confusion going on around the battle. It must be putting you off! How about we clear up some of the confusion? Maybe center it to a more singular source? Heeheehee!" He laughed, and as he did, rays of dark energy emanated from his body and began to be sent at TrueStriker. The rays became larger and clear, before forcing itself in a beam-like manner upon the Gallade in the full-powered Confuse Ray.

Blackguard and Allora
Silver City

Allora could only watch the destruction this monster wrought upon what was once a great city. It was clear that he now only cared about one thing, and that was chaos, just as he had claimed to. Even after the battle, if this monster was let loose, he would destroy the entire city before moving on to the next. Allora wouldn't let that happen. She knew that the only thing worse than killing her former friend would be leaving him alive, and so, The Shadow Protector set out to destroy what she had once held dear.

Meet me at the skyscraper.

The words echoed in Blackgaurd's mind, and he recognized the voice that spoke them. These words belonged to a friend of the former inhabitant of this body: Allora, the very Ninetales who had greatly assisted Blackguard in gaining control of the body in the first place. It seemed she wanted to undo her mistake. To that, Blackguard had only one thing to say: Let her try.

It didn't take him long to find the collapsed skyscraper, a result of his handiwork. Beside it, on the ground, he saw a white, quadruped figure who he only assumed could be his next opponent. A member of the Gold Tribe was not to be taken lightly, but then, neither was Blackguard.

Allora knew that this was a real fight. There would be no regeneration of mystical powers involved this time, which meant she had only one chance. Only one Pokemon was coming out of this alive, and as the dark figure approached, her resolve began to weaken.

Blackguard landed right before Allora, causing her to flinch slightly. His green flames created an eerie mist around them, through which only glaring red, malformed eyes were visible. When the smoke cleared, a dark Golurk loomed over her, his gaze seemingly staring into her soul. For a few moments, the two only stared at each other, recognizing that this was to be the last time they met. Allora was overcome by sadness, looking at what had once been Paladin, a great and just Gold Tribe warrior, but was now simply an instrument of chaos.

Finally, she mustered a phrase. "So, here we are."

He did not reply in his usual smug way. Instead, he only kept staring, stern as he once might have been.

"Indeed," he said. "I'm sorry, Allora."

A glimmer of hope arose in her mind. The creature wouldn't say that. Only Paladin would. "Paladin?" She whispered.

Then, out of the blue, an overgrown fist came swinging at Allora. Seeing it just in time in her peripheral vision, she avoided the attack nimbly.

"Shut up!" Blackguard grasped his head with his hands, trying to blot out that nuisance Paladin.

"I am Blackguard! I am BLACKGUARD! NOT YOU!"

Blackguard sensed Paladin disappearing once again, leaving only him and Allora.

"Paladin is with me now," he said more calmly. "And soon, Allora, you will be too."

Allora couldn't believe it. Paladin was still in there. "No! Paladin! Listen to me!"

"Honestly, don't embarrass yourself," Blackguard mocked. "He's gone, and even if he was still here, he couldn't help you now."

Although the fact that her friend was still alive should have detered Allora, it only strengthened her resolve. Paladin would want this. He would want this to end, she kept telling herself. If their positions were switched, this was what he would do. And so, it would also be what she would do.

Allora took up a battle stance, baring her fangs.

"In that case," Blackguard boomed, "let's end this."

Penance and Snype​

Penance just smirked as their combined attacks hit hard against the Sableye. As could be expected Snype was going to try and take them all on. As the Flash shot out at them Penance was affected, but there was one that wasn't. When the Sableye attempted his Shadow Sneak Bonebreaker positioned himself in front of the attack, grunting as he was hit, but being former Gold Tribe he took the hit well. The Marowak in turn threw his bone once more at the ghost. Lashire stepped back as he channeled an attack for later.

"That all you have? I know all of your moves, question though is... what moves do my associates and I know?" The Golduck asked with a wide smirk.

Snype was knocked back by the Marowak as he intercepted his Shadow Sneak. What the... Did they expect that? How? Snype would have caught eye of anybody trying to watch him fight... "...Hrmph. I know one of them likes to swing his bone around like a mad man. Guess that'd make two. Kehe." He joked. Snype prepared to use Toxic on Penance but caught glipse at Lashire channeling an attack. He smirked, quickly changed his target and used Toxic.

"Toxic eh?" Penance chuckled as the attack hit the Pawinard. "Hey Lash!" Penance bent over as the Abra on his back tossed over a Pecha berry that the small mon caught. Lashire wasted no time in swallowing it down and healing his ailment.

"Let's see... you know a wide variety of moves, but those two assailants I sent after you slunk off in the night, not only that but my watchouts with binoculars caught the sight as well, and also those guys I sent after you three at the church also provided a wealth of info." Penance smirked, "So... how to kill you best? And how many times will you desperately throw Toxic around?"

"Heh, looks like he'll be in a pickle soon enough." The Mawowak replied.

Lashire nodded and his Metal Defense cast over his body. "And he is unable to leave. Our ground type allies have already weakened the ground in a circle around us, any Ancients that try to interfere will fall, and so will you if you try and run."

Penance crackled with laughter, "So... how many limbs can a ghost lose before he dies a second time?"

Snype backed up, trying to keep his composure. He was trapped... targeted by a good four Pokemon. Here he was worrying that Levina would get herself killed but here Snype was in the worst spot possible. Snype stood firm and prepared Detect. He had to figure out what these Pokemon could do. He'd unleash the big guns later. That Marowak would be a good first target.

"Kehehe... I really don't care how many of my moves you know, they're still going to mess up that stupid face of yours. And anyone else involved here. I think I'll take my chances. Lets see which one of us is more Mad hm?" Snype said. He backed up a little, staring his opponents down.

Behind the Sableye a Sandslash dug out from the ground and gave a quick nod to Penance as he ran in to attack the Ancients. Penance snorted, "Please, you ain't mad! You're just stupid." He chuckled and put his hands on his hips.

Malphus meanwhile dashed in along with Lashire. The Marowak moved to swipe his bone at the ghost while Lashire lowered his head as it shined brightly to hit into him with an Iron Head.

Snype smirked and made use of Detect to avoid the two moves. Another Bone Swipe and Iron Head. Got it. Snype could at the very least try to make use of the ground around him. If he was going to fall going out of bounds, so would they. He could trick these two. Penance might be smarter then that. Snype sidestepped from the two attacks and used this as his chance to attack.

Snype developed an after image of the Marowak and approached to strike him with its own strength!

Malphus was taken off guard and cried out as he felt his own bone slam into his head. So... they hadn't seen that last move. Oh well! Lashire meanwhile cast another Iron Defense over his body. Penance bounced on his feet as the Sableye finished his move he ran forward and shot a Water Pulse at him. "Hehe, quite fun is it not!" He said gleefully.

Snype turned back to Penance while getting knocked back from the Water Pulse. Lashire kept boosting his defences... not good. That Abra would probobly heal him if he tried poisoning or burning... hm...

"Keh, you sure know how to throw a fight!" Snype said with a smirk. He continued picking Pokemon appart one at a time and already that Marowak was caught off guard. Maybe Snype could take some pressure off of him. Snype gave a devilish grin and pounced the Marowak, Clinging onto his face!

"Kehe, Comon you guys! Hit me!" Snype said, covering the Marowak's eys. He prepared Will-O-wisp for him in the mean time.

Malphus cried out as the ghost clung to him, but the others didn't bother to help. Instead Lashire peformed yet another Iron Defense and Penance stepped back. The Golduck held up his hands to one eye... almost as if he was aiming for something... All the while Malphus tried to get Snype all, grabbing at the ghost with a hand while his bone was hit against his back.

Snype continued clinging on and used Foul Play to try and punch through the Marowak's skull helmet. He'd force that thing off if he had to! He knew they never took those things off. Getting rid of its protection would work would for him. Snype tried leading the Marowak off the edge. Maybe he'd survive, maybe he wouldn't. Either way, he'd be out of the way if he could fall. He whispered in his ear. "Aww... your friends aren't helping you. Kehe..." He said. He kept an eye on Penance though. What was he up to...

The Marowak let out a soft chuckle as he stopped fighting back. His skull was sturdy through as it survived more attacks. "What made you think I needed help?" As The Sableye looked at Penance he would notice something odd, the Abra on his back was now gone. He wold soon feel something grabbing hold onto his back.

"Heya!" He heard.

The Marowak smirked, "Got ya." In that moment all three disappeared in a flash of light... and appeared high up in the sky, somewhere near the clouds. The Abra ported off the Sableye's back as both of them fell down at a quick rate.

"Wha-" Snype was interupted as he was suddenly teleported up to the sky. Gah! Snype was really boned now. Not as much as that Marowak though! He'd kill him before he hit the ground! "Gyahh!" Shouted as he fell. He took this chance to hit the Marowak with Toxic. Snype wasn't going down alone. He kept scratching at the Marowak to get on top of him. No way he was dieing before him!

Snype looked down at the ground as he fell. He kept his composure... he wasn't going to be scared of a fall... that would possibly kill him... Snype gritted his teeth.

The very second before they would hit the ground Snype would feel another presence on his body and this time they were back in the Arena before Penance, "Hm... a minute! Not bad!" He said happily.

"Malphus, you dead yet?"

The Marowak grunted, "No... wish I had though. This little bugger kept scratching me."

The Abra once more appeared on Penance's back, "Hehe, that he does." Penance cocked his head, "You know... I like ya Snype. Too much to kill ya. You're a great guy.. but how would you feel NOT dying today, hm?" He smirked, "You see... Affilaites are from all walks of life and I have a feeling you would be a good one. Or... you could get your brain suckered in, your choice."

Snype was suddenly back in the fight with Penance... Was he just doing that to scare him?! Snype heart pounded a bit... he gave Penance a glare, especially at his offer... Snype wasn't finished yet... he didn't want to go down like a punk.

"Keh...Affiliates? What...like your lacky basically? Kehehe..." Snype had to ask, panting heavily.

Penance cocked his head, "What's a lacky? Affilates just do whatever they want! They have initative!" He crackled with laughter, "Look at Surge here." He pointed at the Abra, "Without my word he ported you two away, BUT he knew not to kill you, pretty much everyone has a say, and suffice to say." He looked around, "I have good info that Auron will take control of you. You know that silver cyrstal he wears? It holds some ancient deity that is corrupting the others. It takes over their mind and brainwashes them."

He grins wider, "In fact... if you stay there it will take complete control of your mind and you'll be a puppet. It's why the others don't question Auron's will, because they are puppets on strings. Do you want to be a puppet?" He asked cooly.

Snype blinked as Penance talked. He'd have called it a bluff and be cliche about it but Penance had a point. Deciever acted strangely around him... and even gained some powers himself. He had some kind of weird psychic connection with Auron as well. It weirded Snype out. Being Freelance, Snype could probobly get away with this... but he'd have to sacrifice his pride for that.

"...Silver Crystal? Was never told of any Silver Crystal. Sounds tasty. Kehe." He joked. There had to be a way out of this... but he had been thinking of the Silver Tribe for some time now. The whole deal with Auron, the SIlver Tribe behavior... Snype didn't want to be a puppet. He was a free roaming soul! He didn't have good intentions by any means and he'd still like a kick at the Gold Tribe... this was all for his personal enjoyment. Heck, Penance was probobly reading his mind right now. He knew how these psychics worked.

"...I still got a bit of grudge against the Gold Tribe... Keheh. And as far as I'm concerned, I know you do as well. So what's the deal then? Why are you helping them? My only Job is to fight the Gold Tribe and make life miserable for them. Kehe." Snype asked.


Penance frowned a bit, "You don't know... do you?" He leaned in, "What if I was to tell you that whatever was in that crystal... if it was released could incite Areceus himself to swoop on down and destroy this entire planet? That what is in the crystal will spare those who do not serve it?" He sighed, "My psychics helped me put clues together ghost... If we don't stop Auron, consider your life done, forever. Consider any friends you have dead from that point on." He turned back to him, "Know this, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If the Gold Tribe can't stop what is going to happen... then no one can."

He glanced over at the Sableye, "So either you fight to stop this from happening and either dying or becoming a puppet, or you aid my side and afterwards we'll kick the goldies in the nads." He winked, "Just because there is a war doesn't mean we can't step around, does it? But that Jolteon friend of yours would join, no? Where is she?"

Snype thought for a moment. He had an awful lot of thinking to do. He'd have to talk to Levina about the whole thing for sure but... he didn't have time what with the war and all. Auron wouldn't know. He was freelance. He had no connection...yet anyways. Snype hated being told what to do. He just wanted to get at the Gold Tribe because his thieves were a bunch of pansies and wouldn't do it theirselves. They were such pansies that they joined the Gold Tribe even.

Still... joining Penance only to later beat up on the Gold Tribe afterwards would benefit Snype. That was what he wanted to do anyways. And frankly, a destroyed world, meant no pleasure for good ol Snype.

"...Doing this isn't going to be easy you know. I can't just switch sides and walk up to a Sentinel and say, "Hey! I'm switching sides!" They'd destroy me. Auron would crush me. The Gold Tribe can't know either or they'll go soft. Keheh. But I don't want to be a puppet either..." He said. Snype was having trouble thinking of what to do... He didn't want to think of this as betrayal, just benefiting his own needs which he had been doing since the beginning.

Penance chuckled with laughter, "You know if they think you're soft that doubles the pain from a knife in the back. The Sentinels are dead brain at this point and are dying around us you know. They will all be killed quite easily. There's... a Gengar... Sentry... eh... that's about it. Oh, and a Golurk. We outnumber them easily and are all battle trained."

"Or... if you want to be killed by us...." Penance let his sentence hang at that, "Anyways it's your choice."

Snype sighed. This would be a great means to get out and really think about it. For now... he'd have to take the offer... but he had to be smart about it. He can't just start attacking Ancients. He'd get swarmed and they'd easily find out.

"...I have to remain under the impression that I'm under Auron. Meaning I'm still going to have to take some whacks at the Gold Tribe. They're going to have to face whatever is in that city if they truely want to win. The Gold Tribe can't know, and the Silver Tribe can't know. Freelance till the end. Kehe. I knew we were losing after that pathetic fight in Cape City. And frankly, I got alot of things I still gotta do with the life I have...keheh." Snype said with a smirk. The idea of the Silver crystal was interesting though... he'd love to learn more about it himself, although, he'd prefer not losing the planet... maybe. Kehe.

Penance nodded, "Go fight some soldiers actually. If you want... make it look like a power move. You can... oh, I don't know, come upon us fighting Sentry or something, throw a Shadow Ball at his back and decree that you figure your chances are better with the other side and you show just how devious you can be, in a way think traitorous." He grinned wider, "If that is the case, here." He turned about and the Abra reached out with an Oran berry. "Be merry and all that stuff."

Snype snickered and munched the Oran Berry. He wasn't so sure about going against a sentinel and backstabbing him... after all, he still knew the plan for the Gold Tribe. But again, they'd have to fight that little problem themselves. It was none of Snype's business~ This just gave him free time to really consider if he wanted to switch to Penance's side. He was taking it pretty rough anyways. A couple stabs at the Gold Tribe and he could proceed.

Penance smirked, "Try and stay away from the Goldies though... I can try and help, but that would require telling them that you switched." He cocked his head, "Although, when we storm the stronghold, meet us there. We'll definitely need your help there. While up there though I'm not sure if I'll have time to tell you this... so here it goes. The crystal is something more, you'll find out soon enough, but it's giving powers to the Sentinels, draining them as well as gifting powers. That fog I saw from the Gengar, that is such a power. If we battle Auron... it is possible with his time with the crystal he'll be able to use the crystal to simply take control of those who get close to him. You don't want to be a puppet right? Don't get touched by him then. Also expect him to have powers you can't fight against. If... if you have to leave to survive, do so."

Penance frowned, "Head to Cape City in such a case and find the Affiliates, I have some procedures in place in case the worst of the worst happens. Got it?"

Snype nodded. "Right... if the crystal does end up really getting to me and I lose any sense of freedom that I have, kehe. Then I'll see you on the battlefield, hm?" Snype said with a smirk. So it was the Silver Crystal influencing that Gengar... he could only wonder what would happen if he were influenced. He didn't sign up for this. As mentally unstable as he was, he wasn't going to let himself be controlled like that.

"Kehe, just promise me a fancy room when this is all done! Kehe. I'll keep my act for awhile and keep fighting. Appologies in advance if theres any casualties if any goldies attack me first... heheh." He said with a snicker. He had to get Levena out and explain everything to her... but how would he get the time to do that? He was in the middle of the war and Goldies could attack them anytime. Needless to say, he'd defend himself.

Penance headed out.. but stopped and turned around quickly, "OH! I forgot!" He shouted to Snype. "Don't go into the torture house! The citizens that were led in earlier are probably under the silver crystal's control! That's a theory!" With that he turned back and ran off with his three companions into the fray.

Snype nodded. He never did mention what was going down in the Torture house... Deciever explained a bit of it to him... though... Penance never gave him info either. Like Snype said, the Gold Tribe would have to face whatever was in there. Unfortunately, Snype knew what was coming, and he couldn't say a word. Was only fair after all. Heheh. If they couldn't get past what was coming, what chance do they have against Auron? Snype quickly headed off to assist Levina.

Levina was hit by the oncoming Crush Claw and was pushed back quite a bit. There was an deep scratch across her face and a bit of blood was drawn from it. The claw dug in pretty darn deep that time... She had to remain strong though! Levina panted and stared Guardia down. "Hah...hah... is that all you got...? Psh..." She panted. Levina stood firm and retaliated with Thunder. Meanwhile, Snype caught sight of the thunder strike. How the heck was Snype going to explain this to her... he was a bit weary thinking about all of this as well. He saw what happened with Deciever... next thing he knew, they'd both be spewing out black smoke and act like lifeless puppets.

Levina probably would be able to survive... Snype had to get there before things got worse though. He was a bit of a way off though. Levina would have to hold on a little while longer.