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

Even though they had gained the advantage at the start the ancients were now pushing back with their full force. No matter where Penance looked he saw only ancients and soldiers. He was cut off from his Gold Tribe brothers, but the good news was that there didn't seem to be any Silver Tribe members in the fray yet, or perhaps he just hadn't seen them yet. Penance's internal monolgue almost cost him an arm as he barely dodged a swipe from a Kabutop's arm blade. Penance formed a water pulse in his hands and shot it at his attacker's face. The ancient staggered back and Penance was about to shoot off another water pulse when he cried out in pain. An Omastar on his left side had shot out an Ice Beam at his leg and while the beam itself was pretty weak against Penance it did have the after effect of forming ice from his foot all the way up to his knee, effectively glueing his foot in place.

It took Penance a moment to realize what had happened and he tugged at his thigh trying to free his leg from the ice. The Omastar began to run, jumping up to land on his shell and in effect rolling straigt at Penance with a rollout attack. The ancient slammed into Penance's back and ricotched off his back to land back on the ground and pick up more speed. The Kabutops had recovered as well and was running straight at the Golduck. As the Omastar closed in Penance closed his eyes, listening to the shell sound become louder and louder. Suddenly Penance ducked down just as the Omastar had aimed for his back. The Omastar continued flying forward, hitting the Kabutops and knocking it down, and continued going until it hit the ground again. The ancient spun around and once again aimed for Penace, but the golduck had an idea.

He pointed a finger at the rolling Omastar and grabbed hold of its body with his confusion attack. Using his finger to move the Omastar he forced it to aim right as his iced up leg, shattering the ice. While it did injury Penance the Golduck still held his concentration and moved the Omastar through the crowd of pokemon and forced it to slam into the other ancients. Since the rollout had been going on for some time it was taking one hit to KO some of the ancients, and those that were still upright were quickly taken down by the soldiers. Unable to keep on the confusion attack for much longer Penance lifted the Omastar up and slammed it down on the ground. Panting from the effort Penance was about to head toward another area when he noticed some soldiers being thrown about. Penance ran to the source of the chaos and noticed a rather large Aggron unleashing hell upon the soldiers.

Recalling what he had heard from the others the Aggron had to be the one called Beserker. He had to help the soldiers! Penance formed a water pulse and threw at the Aggron's back, "Hey! You want a challenging fight!? Then fight me!" Penance formed another water pulse in his hands and went into a posture that reflected the sun's light off of his Gold Tribe Emblem. If he could hold off Beserker long enough the soldiers could get out of here and if he made a large enough racket than his brothers would find him easily because, truth be told, Penance didn't think he could survive against a sentinel all by himself even if he had all the luck in the world.

Kivir watched the battlefield for a second and took several notes in his head about the battle. From his vantage point he could see a good portion of the city they were in and the chaos below. The Alpha Alliance was winning for the most part, but they were vastly outnumbered. If the Alpha Alliance's military did not regain its composure they would likely be destroyed. Looking around he saw the distinct Bisharp that was the current leader of the Gold Tribe. Jumping off the roof onto a balcony, and from there to the ground Kivir quickly got to the ground with minimal pain and time.

He forced his way through the fighting pokemon to Vigil, who he walked up to and quickly addressed while motioning off into the distance where a thick black smoke could be seen rising into the sky, "Sir, the rebels are in that direction, you can see the smoke rising above the roof tops. The enemy is sending more forces there to destroy the rebels as we speak. You might want to consider sending some troops to break through the enemy lines to allow the rebels to join us before they are over run. Also from what I could see, the enemy vastly outnumbers our forces and if our army continues to fall into complete disarray they will be able to easily destroy us in a battle of attrition. I recommend we take control of our forces and keep them organized. Perhaps one way we could do this is to assign psychic Pokemon to each Gold Tribe member and several to the leading officers. Have the psychics relay information to their unit and to the commanders via telepathic links so the enemy cannot intercept our communications and allow us to stay unified. Also if we have any psychic flying Pokemon we should send them with some escorts high into the air to provide us with a bird's eye view of the battlefield. This will allow us to observe the battlefield all at once and provide quicker reaction times for our forces to whatever the enemy is doing. Forgive me for not thinking up this plan earlier before the battle and I understand it might be too late to implement such a plan." Kivir's tone was level, calm, and clear the entire time so he could easily be understood by Vigil.

The battle for Eternity City continued. The Ancients poured down on the Alpha Alliance and the Gold Tribe members unrelentlessly. Gladius felt they were winning this section of the city, but if they could not manage to win these zone, the Sentinels would arrive soon, and all will be lost. As he moved around the battlezone, he could glimpse action from other Gold Tribe members. They were doing pretty good, but not good enough to actually push the Ancients deeper into the zone. They were just a tad too many. However...

"Hey! You want a challenging fight!? Then fight me!" Gladius turned and saw Berserker. The Aggron was facing Defender, with that foolish smirk of his on his face. Oh no. They have arrived. Gladius knew that with the Sentinel's arrival, their plan to conquer the city suddenly became a whole lot harder. He saw Defender assume a striking pose, but he was not sure whether the Golduck is able to fight the Aggron alone.

"Defender! I am coming with you!" Gladius lumbered towards him. Many Ancients tried to block his way, but they were all tossed aside like rag dolls. They were merely grunts, built only to tire the Gold Tribe members out, and let the Sentinel's deal the killing strike. Finally he reached Defender.

"I am here, brother," Gladius said, his eyes locked on Berserker.

Eternity City

Beserker stopped dead in his tracks when a Water Pulse hit his back. It was stronger than most normal attacks that hit him, but not enough to cause resolute damage. Beserker stumbled for a moment, then turned, witnessing the Pokemon who had the nerve to strike at him.

Hey! You want a challenging fight!? Then fight me!" The Golduck said. The first thing Beserker noticed was the shining emblem of gold he wore.

Gold Tribe.

Beserker smiled. "Ah, I was waiting for some of you to show up!" He yelled, and proceeded towards him. "I'm going to enjoy this."

No sooner had one Gold Tribe member appeared than another took his place next to him. This one Beserker recognized. He was at the torturehouse days earlier.

"You...!" He said, pointing to Sword and Shield. "I remember you! You won't get away this time.!" The giant Aggron ran towards both Gold Tribe members, a smirk of confidence and pleasure on his face. He leapt into the air, and slammed straight into the ground, causing an Earthquake attack to form and launch at the two Gold Tribe members. The ground in every direction began to crack and collapse from his impact. Still looking to deal more damage, Beserker prepared an attack from his mouth, and fired a Flash Cannon directly at the two.

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Zane had just dodged an attack from an incoming Omastar. He leapt into the air, and landed just behind him, and slashed his back. The attack of the Night Slash caused the Ancient to yell in pain, and collapse. Just as the Pokemon fell, the Breloom Kivir from before went up to Zane.

He spoke to him about the rebels and their area, motioning to smoke in the distance as he spoke. He was respectful, but it seemed his good intentions were a bit misplaced. He appeared to be an Alpha Alliance soldier, so he should be relaying the information to one of the two Generals. Zane, after all, did not command the Alpha Alliance. He couldn't even claim to be truly in charge of the Gold Tribe either. Zane placed a hand on the Breloom's shoulder.

"I'm not your commander, Breloom. Nor do I command the Alpha Alliance. It's a good plan, but perhaps a tad too late. But thanks for the information about the rebels. I'll go try to get to the rebels and help them reunite with the rest of the army. You can come as well if you like."

Zane observed to see if he could spot any of the Gold Tribe around. TrueStriker, Sword and Shield, and Defender were all out of sight, but Zane saw Speculum nearby.

"Speculum!" Zane shouted. The Ditto, who was currently in the form of a Grovyle, looked up to see Zane. He ran to him, knocking down a Rampardos along the way.

"We're going to make a push to get to Calamity and the rebels before they're surrounded. I may need your help."

"I'm with ya, Vigil!" Speculum said cheerfully. Hazone came flying in a second later.

"Vigil! Beserker, Ignitus and Frost were spotted on the battlefield!"

Damn, Zane though. "Do you know where?"

"I overheard Beserker heading towards the rebels."

"Good, we're heading there now, before they're surrounded!"

Hazone nodded. "I'll send some men to help you break through." He shouted to nearby troops to muster behind the two Gold Tribe members. "Let's move!"

"Hazone, if you find any other Gold Tribe members, see if you can get some Psychic Pokemon with them, so we can communicate to each other."

Hazone looked at him puzzled for a moment, the nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Good luck."

Zane nodded, and proceeded towards the area where the smoke rose from. He saw Hazone immediately engage with another Kabutops as they departed. Speculum and a detachment of Alpha Alliance troops followed him as they charged through to assist the rebels, who were in the area where smoke rose from, according to the Breloom Kivir. Ancients were all across now, and Zane and the others struck down as much as they could as they tried to keep moving. With three Sentinels now on the battlefield, Zane only hoped they weren't too late.

"Ah, I was waiting for some of you to show up!" The Aggron began to approach and Penance couldn't help but feel his face pale as he looked upon his foe, "I'm going to enjoy this." Penance gulped but still held his ground and tried to not show his fear.

"I am here, brother." Penance looked to his side to see Sword and Shield! Penance's fear quickly died down. At least he was not going into this battle alone. Between the two of them they could hold off Beserker until their brothers arrived. Beserker was huge and while he had a strong defense he would be slower than Penance. All they had to do was keep circling him and dodge a majority of his attacks. They could tire him to the point where he would start making mistakes and then they could strike!

"Sword and Shield I have a..." Penance didn't have time to finish his sentence when Beserker lept up and slammed down on the ground. The Earthquake attack hit Penance hard and caused him to fall down on his stomach with a loud thump. Penance groaned and weakly got onto his knees. Looking up the Golduck's eyes widened as a Flash Cannon slammed right into him. Penance cried out and flew backwards from the force that struck him causing him to roll along the ground and slam into a building.

Penance slowly got up and clutched the wall. As he looked around he noticed he had a bad case of double vision. He shook his head, clearing his vision, and looked around until he spotted Beserker. Gritting his teeth Penance raised both hands and cried out in pain. He clutched his right arm in agony. The Flash Cannon had broken at least one bone in his arm. Great, just great, Penance thought. He only had one good arm now but that still didn't stop him from forming a Water Pulse and throwing it at the Sentinel. He threw out another one before he spotted a piece of rubble from one of the buildings and grabbed it with his Confusion attack and sent it hurtling at Beserker.

Gladius Clipeum​

"You...!" Berserker shouted, his eyes suddenly firing up with internal anger. He probably remembered Gladius from the torturehouse fiasco, and the embarrassment he and Vigil caused him. "I remember you! You won't get away this time.!" Berserker rushed towards them. Gladius noted that the Aggron seemingly had higher speed, than before.

"Sword and Shield I have a..." Defender started to say, however, Gladius saw Berserker jumped and landed with such impact that the ground beside him cracked. Gladius staggered on his place, while Defender was pushed to the ground. This Earthquake is stronger than mine.

"Defender, are you alright?" Gladius shouted. He had no opportunity to look at Defender because Berserker fired off a Flash Cannon. Gladius knew how to dodge it, he saw how Vigil did it. He jumped from the side. However, like the instance in outside the torturehouse, Defender was hit, full-blast. He saw Defender pushed back into the wall, with a sickening crunch. "Defender!" Defender stood up and winced in pain. Something is wrong. Defender shot the Water Pulse, but using only hand.

"Now, you anger me," Gladius said. He charged up his Wild Charge. He rushed through Berserker, roaring in anger.

Eternity City

Beserker was impressed with the damage he had caused in the area with his last attack. Smoke filled the air, and no Pokemon stood within a few feet of him, either dead or knocked back by his immense strength. However, as he grinned, a Water Pulse hit him square in the back, making him stumble for a moment. The Aggron turned to see who shot the attack, and saw the Golduck Gold Tribe member still up. He growled, and ran at him, only to be hit by another Water Pulse attack. Beserker faltered briefly once more. Very few Pokemon were able to hold him off this successfully. He confirmed in his mind that the Gold Tribe's reputation preceded them.

"You'll regret that." Beserker said, charging for the Golduck, only to be his once more, this time with a large piece of rubble summoned by a Confusion. The piece of rubble landed right on his head, causing him to trip forward, and land on his face. It was momentary, though, and the Sentinel stood back up on his feet, and charged, fuming.

"Now, you anger me," He heard the Snorlax Gold Tribe member, who stood close to the Golduck say. Roaring, the Snorlax charged forward to meet the Aggron, who used his own Giga Impact to meet with the Snorlax's Wild Charge. The two collided for a moment, but the Sentinel's strength could not be denied, and after much grit, Beserker roared himself, and attempted to send the Snorlax back. Without seeing if the desired result had occurred, Beserker positioned himself at the Golduck now, and attempted to ram right into him with another Giga Impact.

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Zane used an Iron Head to ram straight through a group of incoming Ancients in the path to the rebel group. He didn't bother delivering the finishing blows to them, and left them for other Alpha Alliance soldiers to finish them off. An Aerodactyl swooped in from above, and targeted Zane, who didn't realize until Speculum shouted from behind.

"Vigil! Above you!" he shouted. Zane looked up quickly, and managed to narrowly avoid a deadly Fly attack from the Pokemon. The attack, however, still hit its mark, and Zane was sent back a few feet. Thankfully, because he prepared ahead of time, the blow was cushioned. Seeing the Aerodactyl come in for a second time, Zane prepared for the opportune moment, and jumped right on his back when he was close enough. He slashed at his exposed neck, and guided the Pokemon crashing into the ground below. Zane landed rigidly on one knee, and proceeded once more to the rebel location, following the trail of smoke to get there.

Gladius Clipeum​

Berserker met Gladius with a Giga Impact. Their collision was so intense, the ground beside them cracked. Berserker was, no doubt, a real brute. But, so is Gadius. For a second, both behemoths were locked in a stalemate, none of them could make the final push. Berserker gritted his teeth now, his hands on the palms of Snorlax. The Wild Charge and Giga Impact have died down, and both were simply relying on their raw force. Berserker roared and, gathering his strength, pushed Gladius backed, freeing himself. A Kabutops held Snorlax by the neck. It tried to slice through the Gold Tribe's members throat, but was immediately thrown back when Gladius elbowed him. Gladius then relased a flurry of strong punches, knocking the Kabutops down. Gladius glanced at Berserker again, seeing how he rushed to the injured Defender with another Giga Impact. If we were on the same side, I would have been impressed. A Giga Impact after another.

"No!" Gladius ran towards the Berserker, but he knew he would not reach him in time. Not enough speed. Gladius gritted his teeth, and prepared a Smack Down, hoping he would reach the Berserker in time. "Defender! Live up to your name and defend yourself!"

Right after he had sent the rubble at Beserker Penance felt considerably tired. He hunched over breathing heavily and took the time to rub his bracelet, "Come on. I need some help right now." Looking up Penance saw that Sword and Shield was face to face with Beserker and both were attempting to push back the other.

Sweat dripped down the Golduck's face as he placed his hand to his head and began to concentrate. Penance was a pokmon of honor and so when he sought out Vigil's mind with his psychic powers he didn't attempt to push inside. Back in the academy Penance had learned the unique art of communicating with his psychic powers. He wasn't a pure psychic so he couldn't perform the act over great distances but with all the fighting still on the first level of the city Penance hoped that Vigil was in range of his powers, and he was right. He layed just a simple message, "Vigil! Sword and Shield and I are fighting Beserker. Need help! Will signal you somehow!"

Just sending those few words alone caused the Golduck's head to reel and for a bried moment as he thought he was going to throw up. Instead he looked up and saw Beserker starting to charge at him with a Giga Impact. Penance had never fought someone so strong before. He had fought Ignitus back at the prison but he had a major type advantage over her attacks. Penance had no such luxury against Beserker. As he watched the Sentinel come at him Penance felt his body freeze. This was it. If this attack hit him he would be out of the battle, it may even well kill him.

"Defender! Live up to your name and defend yourself!" Defender heard Sword and Shield's voice loud and clear and it snapped him out of his daze. Beserker was about to slam into Penance when the Golduck used all of his strength to leap out of the way. Penance rolled along the ground and came to a stop lying on his back. Pain flared up in his injured arm but the Golduck still managed to get up. Looking around Penance spotted some rubble. Stretching out his hand he grabbed it with a Confusion and flung it up into the air as high as he could and began to spin it in mid-air. Come on Vigil, see the signal, Penance thought desperately. I can only hold it up for so long.

Ever since the Silver Tribe had risen to power, she had searched high and low for others of the Gold Tribe with no results. When she'd been tipped off that there were rebels in Eternity City she had hurried to join them in the hopes that someone from the Gold tribe would be there, but with no such luck. Instead, she had remained with them, thinking it to be the best way to look for them. Sure enough, they requested the help of the small group of rebels to cause a distraction so the Alpha Alliance could attack Eternity City.

Now, here she was, Daricka "Wildfire" Cambar of the Gold Tribe, fighting alongside the rebels, struggling to hold back the onslaught of Ancients that was slowly closing in on them. The Infernape barraged a Kabutops with well placed kicks, punches, and lashes of the tail. When the water-and-rock-type made the mistake of lashing out at Daricka with one its razor sharp scythes - and thereby letting its guard down - she leaped over its head, her tail wrapping around its neck. When Daricka hit the ground behind the Kabutops, she wrapped her tail tighter in a crushing grip that choked the life out of the Ancient. She then flung her cargo into an incoming Aerodactyl, causing it to to lose balance and tumble out of control before crashing into the ground close-by. Not giving the Ancient dragon time to recover, she quickly grabbed its head and bent it backwards, twisting it to the right at the same time. There was a satisfying crack as the beast's neck snapped.

Daricka stood atop its head, breathing hard from her exertion. Moving speedily may get the job done, but to much quick work could wear one out. I must remember to pace myself better," she thought as she dove back down to ground to avoid being hit by a Water Pulse. Backing up until she was under the shelter of her recently fallen foe's wing, she cast a careful glance around in case her attempt at hiding had been noticed. For the moment, it seemed it had not. Ducking quickly back, out of view of enemy eyes, she say cross legged in the cramped space. She closed her eyes and took on a meditative stance. Her body glowed brightly as she used Calm Mind, elongating the moves time period to make up for lost energy. Deciding that anymore delay could get her discovered, she opened her eyes, the glow fading from her body as she crawled back out. Maybe Calm Mind wouldn't heal her bodily injuries, but it never failed to revitalize and sooth her.

She went instantly back into the fray, trying to use Close Combat and Flare Blitz as little as possible in an attempt to conserve her regained energy. A ball of glowing white energy hit her square in the back, causing her to stumble into the X-Scissor of an Armaldo, most of the damage coming from it's sharp claws rather than the bug-type move. Daricka grabbed onto the giant bug's arm behind its claws before it could retract them and hefted the Pokemon into the the Kabutops that had fired the Ancient Power at her, following it up with a Focus Blast before going on to her next opponent. Hopefully help would arrive soon... She doubted either she or the rebels would be able to keep this up for much longer.

Eternity City

Zane headed towards the rebel location. Time was of the essence. If they didn't get to them soon, they would be cut off from the army, and there would be no way of breaking through later on. Just then, a voice flooded his mind. He recognized it as the voice of Defender.

"Vigil! Sword and Shield and I are fighting Beserker. Need help! Will signal you somehow!"

Zane stopped running as he heard the message. A moment later, he saw a piece of rubble in the distance, spinning in middair. Speculum stopped as well, and spoke to Zane.

"What's wrong, Vigil?" He asked.

"Defender is fighting Beserker. Over there." He said, pointing to the area where the piece of rubble went into the air.

"Damn! Ah...alright! I'll go help Calamity and the rebels, you go help Defender fight off Beserker!"

Zane nodded, and headed towards the direction of the rubble.

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Beserker watched as the Golduck of the Gold Tribe managed to move out of the way in the last minute. However, Beserker could not stop himself, and the Aggron crashed into the wall, partially injuring himself in the process, while also destroying the wall there.

Beserker turned to the direction of the Golduck, and prepared to attack it once more. However, a moment later, he took a blind hit from a Smack Down sent by the Snorlax Gold Tribe member. The resulting hit sent Beserker to the ground once more.

Now he was mad. The Pokemon got up again, upset at the number of times the two Pokemon managed to injure him, but also impressed that they were able to do so.

"I'll admit, you two are the best challenge I've had since that battle in Gold City. It's certainly been a while! But now playtime is over. Get ready for a real fi-"

Beserker never got to finish his sentence, as a second later, Zane came crashing at him with an Iron Head straight to the back, sending him to part of the same wall he had just knocked down with Giga Impact and attack earlier. Zane landed on one knee, and pointed to the Aggron now lying on the ground as he spoke.

"You'd better get comfortable there on the ground, Beserker, because you're going to be spending the whole day there!"

Zane backed up next to Defender and Sword and Shield as Beserker began to get up and approach the three Gold Tribe members. Zane began speaking to them as the brute was en route.

"This Sentinel is too powerful for any one of us, but if we unite, and combine our strengths together, we can overcome him. Prepare yourselves, brothers!"

Zane got into a stance, and prepared for the oncoming battle as he initiated a Swords Dance. It was all or nothing against the Sentinel Beserker.

Beserker chooses to strike first running at the three, before stopping and jumping into the air, initiating another powerful Earthquake.

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Speculum led the way through the Ancients from behind. Luckily, many still were unsuspecting of the major battle erupted behind them, and were often caught off guard as the battalion of Pokemon made a push to get to the rebels. The Ditto Gold Tribe member, who chose to fight as a Grovyle, used a Leaf Blade as he took down an unsuspecting Kabuto. Ancients began to turn to face them from behind, but it was too little, too late, especially with a Gold Tribe member in the lead. This was, after all, what a Gold Tribe member lived for, the front lines of a battlefield was like a second home to them.

After making a direct push through a group of Omanytes, Speculum found himself close to where other Pokemon were fighting. They were entrenched, and soon to be completely surrounded if they didn't get moving. He spotted Calamity fighting among the rebels, his Gold Tribe insignia shining brightly in the sun. Speculum also saw an Infernape. Strangely, it seemed to have a Gold Tribe emblem as well. Another survivor of the Gold Tribe? Speculum could hope, but wasn't sure just yet. He'll find out later.

Then Speculum saw another Pokemon battling close by the rebels. By his stature and body proportion, it appeared to be a Zangoose, but he wasn't sure, as the Pokemon was hooded and cloaked in black. However, on the Pokemon's belt was displayed a gold emblem of the Gold Tribe. Only Adam "Rey" Reed wore it there. Could this "Rey" really be their fallen leader? He would soon find out. Speculum and the Alpha Alliance forces approached the rebels after clearing the immediate area of Ancients, but more were soon to be on the way.

"Hey rebels! We cleared the area, but if we don't get out of here soon and join the rest of the army, we're going to get cut off! Come on, we've cleared a way for now!"

He spoke with impatience, as he always was a bit impatient, but the situation merited such behavior. The rebel leader "Rey" looked at the other rebels and nodded to the Ditto.

Speculum managed to get a few words with Calamity as they began running back into the action and out of the entrenched space.

"Hey Calamity, good to see you alright. Say, is the Infernape..."

"Gold Tribe." Calamity responded with a smile. Speculum returned a grin, staring back at the Infernape for a moment and giving her a quick nod. He then asked something else pressing of the Absol.

"...And this Rey, is he Adam 'Rey' Reed?" Speculum asked. However, before he could get a reply, Ancients began coming after the rebel's position, and attempted to surround and defeat them.

"We'll talk later!" Calamity said. "Make a path! Take out the Ancients!" He yelled, as he went in for a Night Slash on a Bastiodon. Speculum engaged the Ancients as well, as did the rest of the rebels. He saw 'Rey' begin fighting off a Rampardos with relative ease from the corner of his eye.

He moved like the Gold Tribe leader. He fought like the Gold Tribe leader. Was it really Adam 'Rey' Reed?

Penance was gasping as he held his signal up. With all the damage he had taken from Beserker just holding up a rock was proving a challenge. He managed it hold it for a few more seconds before his strength gave out and the rock fell. The Golduck groaned and forced his body to turn and face Beserker. Beserker had just been smacked by Sword and Shield and as the Aggron got up Penance could see pure rage on the Sentinel's face.

"I'll admit, you two are the best challenge I've had since that battle in Gold City. It's certainly been a while! But now playtime is over. Get ready for a real fi-" Beserker was cut off when Vigil appeared and hit him dead on with and Iron Head. The Aggron fell backwards as Vigil landed on one knee, "You'd better get comfortable there on the ground, Beserker, because you're going to be spending the whole day there!"

Penance would have chuckled if his chest wasn't on fire. Beserker got back up as Vigil gathered with them, "This Sentinel is too powerful for any one of us, but if we unite, and combine our strengths together, we can overcome him. Prepare yourselves, brothers!" It was a few moments later when the Earthquake shook the ground. Penance cried out in pain as his chest hit the floor yet again. For a brief second total blackness engulfed Penance's vision. He blinked furiously as his vision cleared. Slowly the Golduck lifted himself up. His arm suddenly felt numb, in fact all of his wounds seemed to be numbed. He felt the last of his power gather up and he realized his adrenaline was in overdrive. It was now or never.

Penance held out his good hand and forced out a water pulse. He then fired another one, and another. He fired out a total of seven before he formed his last one and began to infuse his psychic powers into it. Sweat dripped down his face and he felt his knees shaking. His stomach boiled and he felt like throwing up but he persisted until the water pulse was three times its normal size. Panting heavily he aimed right at the Sentinel, "My final stand," he whispered and threw his attack at Beserker, except it wouldn't be right to call it a water pulse. "WATER BOMB!", shouted the Golduck as he threw it right at the Sentinel. With all his spare psychic energy infused into it if it hit into Beserker it would explode not only with the energy from the water but also hit him with a good dose of psychic energy.

The Golduck groaned as he suddenly felt very tired, "Kick his a**..." he muttered before he fell with a loud thud onto the ground as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Ignitus heard someone yell, above the din of the battle, and then a flash of purple light sruck her in the side as she was running and spun her 90 degrees, which convieniently put her adversary in view. It had been a psyco cut, and particulary powerful as well. Only a memeber of Gold Tribe could be so strong. Not that the attack hurt too much, Ignitus was able to take immense amounts of pain and damage without it hindering her ability to fight. Although, the faster she got this battle over with the better. She wanted to save her strength, this would not be the last battle.

She took a moment to study her opponent. He was a Gallade, slightly shorter it seemed. Various scars laced his body, which was not unusual for any who made their life in battles. What was interesting though was his eyes, one red, the other gray. He also carried a bracer on his arm, armed with a large claw attatched to it. No doubt the claw would be used against Ignitus, she would have to figure out a way around it.

As she was studying her opponent, her eyes locked with his, an Ancient started to charge at the Gallade. Ignitus immediately broke eye contact with the Gallade and snapped at the pokemon, "STOP! He is mine!" The Ancient backed off, obviously not eager to upset a Sentienl. Ignitus looked back at the Gallade, then started to attack.

Her strategy was quite simple, get inside his guard. The bracer on his arm was unwieldly, and would slow him down, especially on that arm. If she got closer to the Gallade, it would become more awkward for his to try to counter with the bracer. She would have to unbalance him before going in for any close range attacks first though, get him off his guard and stun him for a moment.

Ignitus quickly used a flamethrower, expecting that the Gallade would block it with his bracer, or dodge out of the way. If anything, the flamethrower was more to blind the pokemon, and keep him from seeing properly for a moment. After a moment she ended the flamethrower and searched for the figure of the Gallade in the quickly clearing smoke of the last attack. She found the figure, and launched four shadow balls at it, then used flame charge to attack the Gallade physically. Right before she struck, she also used superpower in addition to the flame charge, hoping to do as much damage as possible and end the battle quickly.

Kivir was disappointed in his failure in thinking up the command structure plan before the battle, but he needed to get his mind off the past and focused on the present. Looking around he watched the Alpha Alliance troops pushing back the ancients in this area. They were winning this skirmish but would they win the battle? The rest of the ancients still had several defenses to penetrate and they outnumbered the Alpha Alliance and Gold Tribe members. Thinking for a moment Kivir came up with a plan. Looking around he found a familiar face in the form of a Dragonite.

"General, I have a plan that requires several brave Alpha Alliance soldiers. I need two psychic types, two Zoruas or Zoroarks, some of your best diggers, and two Pokemon with earthquake. The plan is to split these groups up into two strike teams. We will take advantage of the chaos and the fact the enemy's focus is on the main force. With the Zorua or Zoroarks covering us with illusions the small groups should be able to go fairly unnoticed to the inner wall since the main army and the Gold Tribe will keep their main attention here. There the diggers will dig under the inner wall. Each team will dig under a different section, then we earthquake the sections with weakened foundations. The desired result is to make these sections collapse since their foundations will be dug out. Hopefully this will negate their defensive advantage, so when we reach the inner walls we already have an opening to charge through and not be forced to fight their forces while trying to break through the wall," said Kivir in a whisper so only the General could hear. The plan was risky, but he knew the enemy would be more focused on the Gold Tribe and the main force and hopefully the enemy wouldn't expect a small strike team of regular soldiers to try something so bold.

Eternity City

The power of the Earthquake was undeniable. The ground rupture and shook as the three Gold Tribe members prepared to meet the attack. Zane lost his balance, and collapsed for a moment. He felt pain rush to his side, and looked over there to notice small amounts of blood present. Zane could hear his ears ringing, and tried to get up, but struggled for a moment. He suddenly saw Beserker approaching them closer now, but was his by a Water Pulse. He stumbled, but approached once more, before being hit again, and stumbling. Then again, and again and again. Zane looked to see the source from Defender. It was beyond impressive to see how many he was able to dish out, as if the will to go on had taken over him and began forcing his hand. Beserker, needless to say, was unable to repel the attacks, and was faltering. Defender was giving it everything he had.

He then formed a completely new attack three times the size. He barely heard Defender whisper something under his breathe, then with a loud shout, uttered, "WATER BOMB!" The enormous pulse of water fired at Beserker, who had neither the maneuverability nor the energy to get out of the way or block. He yelled as the attack impacted him, and a large splash of energy and water could be seen emanating from it.

This was the power of the Gold Tribe.

When the attack subsided, he heard Defender groan. Zane got up and approached him, hearing him say his final words before getting knocked out.

"Kick his a**..."

Zane would oblige. He turned to Beserker to see him panting heavily on the ground, and unable to get up at the moment. Zane yelled at Sword and Shield.

"Brother! Defender has given us an opportunity we should not ignore! Let's end him!" Zane yelled, and prepared a Swords Dance and charged Beserker, hoping Sword and Shield was right next to him, ready to unleash hell on Beserker.

Meanwhile Beserker struggled to move, and began pleading heavily.

"Hey, no need for that! I'm....I'm done! Just let me go, and I'll get out of your way, hey, come on! I'm on the ground here...DAMN IT!"

Zane and Sword and Shield were close, and closing in, about to unleash everything they had left on the Sentinel.

****************************************************************

Hazone spotted a Breloom approached him, and began speaking of a plan to enter the inner wall more effectively. Hazone nodded.

"Risky but sound. Zane mentioned you before about wanted some Psychic Pokemon, so I have gathered, but come with me, and we'll find the rest you need for the plan." Hazone said.

Together, Hazone order the gathering of the required Pokemon. Two Psychic Pokemon, a Kadabra and a Kirlia, as well as a Zorua and a Zoroark were present. There was also a three Dugtrio, a Golem, a Rampardos and an Excadrill. Hazone looked them over as they were gathered, and before issuing the order, he looked at the Breloom, and smile.

"Kivir, was it? This is your plan. You should take charge of them. I'm promoting you to Chief of the Alpha Alliance. I'll alert General Belas and the others of your plan. You have to lead these groups through the inner wall, and execute the plan. Good luck, and show no fear."

Hazone took off hoping the Breloom would be successful in his risky plan.

Relief washed over Daricka when Alpha Alliance soldiers came at the Ancients from behind, though it didn't show in her expression. Fending off a Kabutops' Hydro Pump with a Focus Blast, her eyes scoured the incoming forces for any Gold Tribe members. Satisfaction showed on her face when she caught sight of one, not counting the Absol that was already fighting alongside the rebels.

A shout to clear out barely reached Daricka's ears from the newly arrived Gold Tribe member. She slammed her fist into the face of a Rampardos as it charged her before back-flipping out of the way - so as to keep it in view in case it charged her. Sure enough, it came at her with a Head Smash, which she effectively dodged by jumping up, boosting herself up and over the Ancient by pushing off of it's head. It skidded to a stop and turned, but it wasn't fast enough to dodge Daricka's Focus Blast. It was thrown back, recovering only to find that the Infernape had left to join its comrades.

Daricka jogged steadily through the crowd of rebels, getting as close to the front as she could. She caught the Grovyle - though she doubted that was its real form - nodding at her and nodded back in recognition.

A small pinprick of happiness surfaced. Finally she would be able to fight side-by-side her brothers and sisters of the Gold Tribe once again. She pushed through the crowd of quickly moving Pokemon until she was right on the front lines. Though her muscles ached, she felt somehow renewed in knowing that she wasn't alone anymore.

Gladius Clipeum​

Defender was knocked out, the barrage of attacks of Berserker took the greatest toll on him.

"Kick his a**..." Defender managed to mutter before passing out. Gladius shuddered at the thought of his fallen friend. Losing one Gold Tribe member is a bog thing, and it may suddenly turn the tides against their favor. With the Sentinels also on the field, it would be hard to win in the first place. And with Defender fainted on the ground, the difficulty just increased tenfold.


"Brother! Defender has given us an opportunity we should not ignore! Let's end him!" Zane shouted at Gladius. He saw him rush to Berserker who, at one point, was knocked down to the ground. He saw Zane prepared a Swords Dance, twisting in mid-air, his swords glinting in the sunlight. Gladius, however, dragged Defender behind a huge rock.

"I will come back for you brother. Just rest there, and be safe," Gladius said. Defender groaned in his unconscious state. He then followed Defender's lead. Gladius roared (he found it nerve-relaxing now) and prepared a Return, his hands balled into a fist, ready to pound Berserker. He heard him plead.

"Hey, no need for that! I'm....I'm done! Just let me go, and I'll get out of your way, hey, come on! I'm on the ground here...DAMN IT!"

"No! You will pay for your atrocious behavior! Tell that to your leader!" His fists landed on the Aggron's steel armor. Gladius managed to put a dent on the armor, a mighty feat, considering how sturdy an Aggron's armor is known. "That is for Liberty Town! And this..." His hands balled again.

"This is for you abandoning the tribe!"

Eternity City

Zane was on fast approach to Beserker, who at this point pleaded with his life. Zane was in no mood to oblige. Neither was Gladius.

"No! You will pay for your atrocious behavior! Tell that to your leader!" Gladius said, landing fists on Beserker. "That is for Liberty Town! And this..." He landed another one.

"This is for you abandoning the tribe!" He impacted the Aggron once more. Beserker screamed in pain. Now it was Zane's turn. He impacted him heavily with a Sword Dance-infused Iron Head. Zane's head landed right on the chest of the downed Pokemon, causing a cave-in of his armor, and cough up blood.

Zane back away from Beserker, and prepared to launch another Night Slash. To his surprise, though, Beserker began to laugh.

"Ha......hahahahaha....." He began, with obvious difficulty as blood flowed from wounds delivered by the three Gold Tribe members.

"You think this is over? Ha....You think any of this will help? Even....ugh....even if you defeat me, and take Eternity....even if you somehow defeat the other Sentinels, and make it all the way to Silver City....hahaha...there is still...Auron, and none of you...ugh ahaha....none of you can defeat him. He cannot be stopped, he cannot be fought...hahahahahahahaha....ugh....HAHAHAHAHAHA-"

Beserker was cut off as Zane delivered a Guillotine attack upon him. Beserker struggled with the wound for a few seconds, then stopped moving, silent forevermore. Zane leaned into the Aggron's body, and placed an arm on his body as he muttered words to him.

"So you pass, Alex Ares, "Armoid", from this world. May your spirit find peace in the halls of immortality..."

Zane got up, and turned to Gladius and spoke.

"Come on, brother. This battle isn't over yet." He said, as he prepared to move on. Zane shot a look at Defender, whose body was already beginning to be tended to by a Chansey. "Defender is tough. He'll be back, once he's healed, he'll catch up to us. We have to go see if the rebels are alright."

Zane ran through back into the heart of the battle. The city had now been erupted into chaos, as fighting occurred everywhere, but Zane knew they would be able to keep this up forever. They had to proceed to take the city before the Ancients overrun. Zane charged with an Iron Head on an unsuspecting Rampardos as he fought once more. He noticed his energy was greatly exhausted because of his fight with Beserker, but he persisted nonetheless. A Kabuto and three Omanyte enclosed around Zane as they prepared to attempt to overwhelm him. Zane did his best to avoid their attacks, and countered. He launched an Aerial Ace on the Kabuto, sending him backwards, before turning his attention to the other three. Getting hit on the back with a water gun from the Omanyte, Zane grunted, but turned and hit him with a Night Slash. As the other two attempted to subdue him, Zane knocked them back with an Iron Head. He panted, observing the fallen Pokemon before him. When he was sure they were fallen, he moved on.

*****************************************************************

Calamity and Speculum wearily fought, but they had finally successfully made a path out of the surrounded area, back to the heart of the battlefield. Calamity looked around.

"We should find Vigil and the others!" Speculum yelled, as an Aerodactyl swooped in and tried to lift the Grovyle-Ditto off his feet. Calamity and Speculum double-teamed the Aerodactyl with a Thunder/Razor Leaf Combo. The Ancient was out of the sky in seconds.

"Any sign of the others beforehand?" Calamity said back to Speculum. The two narrowly avoided a Slash from a Kabutops. Calamity hopped to the side as Speculum jumped into the air. Calamity used a Night Slash, as Speculum finished it off with a Leaf Blade.

"Vigil was with Defender, last I saw! I haven't seen TrueStrike, Sword and Shield or Hoodhide for a while now!"

Suddenly, the two spotted a blast of fire erupted from the side of the battlefield, quite a distance away. Calamity squinted his eyes, wondering who it could be. No one could release such powerful fire attacks unless it was a Gold Tribe member or...

"Ignitus." Calamity said. He squinted more, and saw a Gallade engaged with her. "TrueStriker's with her! I'll go help him out, you guys go find the others!"

Calamity took off. Speculum turned to "Wildfire".

"Come on, sister. Let's find our brothers!" Speculum shot a glance at "Rey" as well, whose face was still hidden. The Pokemon nodded silently at the Ditto-Grovyle.

Before the rebels could move any longer, however, a rather large group of different Ancients surrounded the rebels.

"Dang." Speculum said. Without another thought, Speculum charged forward.