The Path of Destiny

[Scytherwolf]

The Path of Destiny
Chapter 73 – The Forbidden Attacks

Snowcrystal sat in a clearing, Blazefang and Wildflame by her side as they rested at the base of a tree. Though the storm had passed, the air remained cool, and Snowcrystal was reminded that it would be evening soon. They needed to get going if they wanted to find the pokémon who would lead them to the legendary before nightfall.

Scytheclaw had gone back to the rest of their group in order to tell them about the change in plans. Snowcrystal hoped the others weren’t going to argue with him; Yenn might refuse to come if the trainers insisted on going with them. She knew Damian would listen, but she wasn’t sure about Justin or Katie.

Yenn was resting on a tree branch, appearing exhausted even after the short distance they’d traveled. Snowcrystal felt bad for making him travel in that state, though she did see Scytheclaw’s point in that waiting another day might not be wise.

As she thought this, the yanmega stirred, lifting his head as he asked the group of fire types, “That scizor…is he your leader when the…humans…are not around?”

Wildflame threw back her head and laughed. “Our leader? In his dreams!”

“We don’t have a leader,” Snowcrystal explained. “We try to work things out together. I guess some of us take turns being in charge, but it depends…” She paused, realizing that something was still troubling her. “I guess Cyclone was always in charge of that army of his. How many pokémon do you think are on his side?”

“Hundreds,” Yenn replied, flying down from the branch to land on the forest floor. He didn’t land too close to the fire types, and Snowcrystal wondered if he was still wary of them. It seemed almost silly, considering Yenn had a Forbidden Attack.

Snowcrystal walked up to the yanmega, Wildflame watching her carefully. “And…he is after pokémon with Forbidden Attacks…has he found any?” the growlithe asked.

Yenn gave a sad sigh. “There are two others who have one, apart from Cyclone himself,” he answered.

“Wait…what?” Wildflame sputtered in disbelief, leaping to her feet.

“You’re…you’re kidding, right?” Blazefang cried, aghast.

Snowcrystal froze, the immensity of what Yenn had just said feeling like a weight dropped on her. “Cyclone…has a Forbidden Attack?”

“Yes…you didn’t know?” Yenn replied. “I…I assumed you knew about Cyclone, based on what you said to me earlier.”

“We didn’t know he had a Forbidden Attack!” Wildflame cried. “When was this? When did he get it?”

“I don’t know,” Yenn answered. “He already had it by the time I joined the army. It’s called Acidstorm. But…I really don’t want to talk about this right now. At least now you know.”

As Blazefang and Wildflame began worriedly whispering to each other, Snowcrystal stepped toward the yanmega, lost in thought. Her group hadn’t heard anything about Cyclone’s army in the time that had passed since they almost ran into them at the canyon; she assumed it was partly because they had stayed so close to a human city. Now she knew that the threat of the Forbidden Attacks was bigger than she had imagined. They needed to find the legendary of the forest, find help as soon as possible. “This…this is bad,” she whispered. “And he has two others with him? Yenn, what do you think he’s going to-”

“I really don’t know,” the yanmega sighed, exhausted. “He…wasn’t exactly honest with me about what he was planning to do. I’d rather…not think about it right now.”

Snowcrystal realized that this wasn’t a good time to drill Yenn with questions, and she figured that if there was anything they really needed to know, he could tell them later, when he had rested, or he could tell the legendary. “Just one more thing,” she said, aware that she was probably only going to irritate him, but wanting to try anyway. “Cyclone was lying to you about the humans. I promise you he was.”

To her surprise, Yenn didn’t get angry. He paused, lowering himself to the ground as if his legs were already having trouble supporting him. “I’m sure Cyclone lied about a lot of things,” he said, sounding defeated. “That’s one thing I notice when I look back. He never lied by telling the opposite of the truth. He would lie by leaving out details, twisting his messages so that the meaning was very different. He was clever in the way he lied. I’m sure he tried to convince everyone that he wasn’t actually lying.” He stopped for a moment, seeming lost in thought. “But I believed him. Like an idiot.”

Snowcrystal wasn’t sure what had prompted him to say those things, but she was glad he had. She briefly wondered what had finally caused him to see the error in Cyclone’s ways, what had made him turn his back on the vaporeon and his army. However, she didn’t think it was her place to ask. She barely knew him, and whatever he had gone through, it certainly wasn’t anything pleasant. “One of the trainers – Damian – knows some things about healing,” she began. “The human medicines help a lot more than the ones wild pokémon use. If you need help, I’m sure they’ll be willing to…I mean, they wouldn’t hurt you-”

“I said Cyclone lied,” Yenn responded, the harsh edge to his voice returning. “I never said I trusted humans.”

The bushes rustled and Scytheclaw’s bright red body came into view. The scizor looked over the group with a weary expression, but Snowcrystal knew he would snap at her if she suggested they rest longer. “I told them,” he explained. “We’ll come to the river further upstream from the group, so we don’t run into those big, bad, scary humans.” He shot Yenn a glare, but the yanmega did not respond. “Then,” Scytheclaw continued, “we’ll head to the lake and find this legendary’s ‘messenger.’”

“All right, Scytheclaw,” Wildflame sighed, standing up and walking toward him. “But first…boy, is there something we need to tell you.”

-ooo-

Snowcrystal listened to the roaring of the river as they reached the top of a small hill overlooking the rushing water. The river was wider here than back where the rest of the group was resting, so more light shone down from the gaps in the trees, catching on leaves and ferns and painting the whole area a shimmering green. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

“We should rest here for a bit,” Snowcrystal said, no longer caring if Scytheclaw got angry at her for it or not. She could tell that the whole way there, Yenn had had trouble keeping up. From what she had seen of yanma during a few of her excursions to Stonedust City, she knew that Yenn’s lethargic behavior was extremely abnormal for his species. They needed to stop for a while.

Scytheclaw, luckily, didn’t object. Nor did Wildflame, who flopped down on her side. Yenn landed on the bank of the river, lowering his head to drink. Blazefang glanced at the others, then looked worriedly at the sky. “It’s getting really close to evening. And we still have a fair bit of ground to cover.”

“We won’t stop for too long,” Scytheclaw replied. The scizor didn’t even look at him as he spoke; he seemed deep in thought, likely pondering over the news he had been given about Cyclone’s Forbidden Attack.

Yenn backed away from the river, lying down on the bank. Wildflame glanced at him and then turned back toward the trees. “I’ll be back,” she told the others before bounding off.

Scytheclaw just shrugged, sitting down on the top of the hill overlooking the river. His eyes weren’t focused on any one thing.

They couldn’t have been resting for long when Wildflame returned, a dead bunnelby in her mouth. She set it down, calling to Scytheclaw, “Go tell Yenn I brought him something.”

When the scizor didn’t respond, Snowcrystal got up instead and padded to the edge of the river. Yenn made no movement at all as she approached him. Instead he was lying still, his breathing calm and steady. She thought he was asleep, but it was hard to tell, as his enormous eyes lacked eyelids. She reached out with her paw and nudged him a few times, and the yanmega suddenly jolted awake, looking alarmed. He relaxed once he realized it was only her, and she pointed with her muzzle toward Wildflame, who had picked up the prey again and was walking toward them.

Yenn watched warily as the houndoom set her catch down in front of him. He hesitated, as if waiting for Wildflame to do something else, but she merely smiled at him.

“I caught this for you,” she said. “I thought you might be hungry.”

“Oh…” Yenn replied, sounding surprised. “Thank you.” He paused. “This isn’t part of some bargain…?”

Wildflame shook her head.

“Oh…sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought that…” Yenn trailed off. “Never mind.”

“Well, I wasn’t sure you were strong enough to hunt on your own,” Wildflame explained. “And we have a ways to go until we get to the lake.”

“Well, that’s very kind of you,” Yenn replied.

Snowcrystal looked to him curiously as he began eating the bunnelby. His actions had surprised her. She supposed that she had expected a tough-looking pokémon like him to be annoyed by another pokémon pointing out his weakness, or maybe embarrassed at needing to be brought food. But Yenn was neither of those things. He only seemed grateful. The growlithe suddenly found the whole situation incredibly odd; this yanmega didn’t seem like the type of pokémon who would work for Cyclone. Not only was he polite about Wildflame’s gift, but he had been straightforward and honest with them about having joined Cyclone and even about some details of the army itself. She couldn’t help but wonder what on earth he had been doing there.

Yenn looked up from his meal, watching the other pokémon up on the hill. “Those three are all injured,” he began, addressing Snowcrystal. “Not just Blazefang. What happened to them?”

He had obviously noticed the scratches on Wildflame’s face in addition to Scytheclaw’s wounds. Snowcrystal knew that if her own injuries had been more severe, and her fur less thick, he would have noticed them too. “Wildflame – that’s the female houndoom – got hurt when we ran into some trouble with Solus’s group. The others were attacked by pokémon controlled by some bad…” She stopped herself before she said ‘humans,’ but she was sure Yenn had already guessed what she was going to say. “We were in a bad situation,” she continued, “and some pokémon attacked us.” To her relief, he said nothing in reply.

Once Yenn had finished eating, Scytheclaw announced that they were heading out again. No one objected, and they headed upriver, staying close to the edge of the water. A few hours passed as they trekked onward. Snowcrystal and the two houndoom occasionally exchanged words with each other, but Scytheclaw and Yenn were mostly silent. When they finally stood on the edge of a slope leading down to the shore of a lake, the river flowing steadily beneath them, the sky was starting to grow dark.

Snowcrystal stared down at the dark expanse of water through the trees, feeling a strange sense of wonder as she looked at the lake, like something was drawing her to it. Or maybe not to it, specifically, but whatever lay beyond it. Some deep inner instinct was telling her that there was something there, something old and mysterious, and she longed to find out what it was.

“You think we should stop for the night?” Blazefang asked. “We could find this ‘messenger’ tomorrow.”

“I can keep going,” Snowcrystal said. “Maybe we should look for the messenger now, and see what he says. If he thinks we should wait for morning, we can wait.”

“Okay, good idea,” Blazefang said after a moment.

Scytheclaw gave Snowcrystal a look she couldn’t read before turning to face Wildflame and Yenn. “What do you two think?”

“I agree with Snowcrystal,” Wildflame said. “Let’s at least see if we can find this messenger and make a plan from there.”

“That sounds fair enough,” Yenn added.

The small group headed down the slope toward the lake’s edge. With the coming darkness, even the middle of the lake was shrouded in shadow, the remnants of storm clouds still drifting overhead. They paused at the foot of the slope, seeing that much of the ground around them was covered in ferns. They could hear pokémon nearby, rustling in the undergrowth.

“Anyone hungry?” Wildflame asked.

To Snowcrystal’s surprise, the others all shook their heads, even Yenn, who had needed to be brought prey several times during their journey upriver.

“I guess we’ll just keep going then-” the houndoom responded, then froze, for as she had stepped into the ferns, she noticed a large shape zip by and then swerve toward the edge of the water.

Snowcrystal bounded over toward Wildflame, having to sit up on her haunches to see over the tops of the ferns. She realized that the large shape was another yanmega. Comparing it to Yenn, it looked far healthier, stronger, and what she was sure yanmega were normally supposed to look like. It was flitting about along the edge of the lake as if looking for something.

“Yenn,” Blazefang growled, “tell that one to steer clear of us.”

“Why?” Yenn asked, as if he found the request incredibly odd.

“Because we don’t want trouble, that’s why. It would probably listen to you.”

“Wildflame said that yanmega don’t usually hunt prey off the ground,” Snowcrystal told him.

“Well, I don’t want to take our chances,” Blazefang muttered, still watching the yanmega zip from one spot to another.

“It’s a big forest, Blazefang,” Scytheclaw muttered. “So there’s gonna be yanmega in it. And don’t tell me you’re also afraid of the scyther, or the ursaring, or the…”

“Well, we didn’t have any of those back at the mountain,” Blazefang hissed.

“Right. You were used to houndour being the biggest predators around,” Scytheclaw said with a roll of his eyes. “Things are different in forests.”

“I don’t think I’m being unreasonable by saying Yenn should talk to-”

“She won’t bother you,” Yenn interrupted. The others turned their heads toward him, wondering why he sounded so sure. “Don’t you see the way she’s acting?” he told them. “She’s looking for a place to lay her eggs. That’s probably her mate.” He nodded toward something, and the others peered across the lake, spotting the distant form of another yanmega up on a branch overlooking the water.

Snowcrystal jumped a bit in surprise; she hadn’t even noticed the second yanmega. It seemed that the longer she looked across the lake, the more pokémon she would see.

“You sure?” Blazefang asked Yenn skeptically.

“Yes,” Yenn replied with an irritated edge to his voice. “They don’t care about you. Trust me on this.”

“So let’s get looking for the messenger,” Scytheclaw announced, striding forward through the ferns, his body standing out strikingly from all the green. Wildflame bounded after him, followed by a more hesitant Blazefang.

“That yanmega’s going to lay her eggs by the water?” Snowcrystal asked curiously as Yenn hovered beside her.

“Yes,” he replied. “When yanma are small, they eat insects, and this is the perfect place to find them.” He flew after Scytheclaw, but not far enough that Snowcrystal felt she was being left behind. “Summer’s started. There will be yanma hatching soon.” He paused, watching the other two yanmega. “After we find this legendary, I’ll come back and find them. Join their swarm.”

An uneasy feeling settled over Snowcrystal at those words. If Yenn planned to do that, she could only hope that the legendary they were seeking could do something about the Forbidden Attacks, or at least tell them more.

“Hurry up!” Scytheclaw’s voice called from up ahead, and Snowcrystal bounded after the others.

Navigating through the thick ferns was easier once they got closer to the lake shore, where the ferns thinned out. To Snowcrystal’s left side, the water shimmered under a patch of moonlight, and she wondered if the lake itself was the legendary’s home, and only the guardian could summon it from the depths.

“So which one of these pokémon is the messenger?” Scytheclaw muttered to himself as he peered around.

There were plenty of pokémon out and about, including a group of volbeat and illumise who were flying over the lake, their bright lights reflected in the water. The silhouettes of stantler lined the spaces between the trees across the lake before they vanished into the forest and were replaced by a large ursaring that bent down to drink from the water. The distant cries of bird pokémon and bug types filled the air.

“Maybe the messenger’s already asleep,” Wildflame responded. “I don’t see anyone here who looks like they’d be in charge of leading pokémon to a legendary.”

She turned around and trotted along the lake shore, Scytheclaw heaving a sigh and following. Blazefang yawned and shook his head before trailing after them. Snowcrystal was about to run to catch up with them when she noticed that Yenn had stopped, and was turned in the direction of the thick growth of ferns, facing away from the lake.

“Yenn, what-” Snowcrystal tried to follow his gaze and paused.

There was a pokémon watching them from the ferns. It sat on its haunches, still as a statue, its long body poised above the undergrowth as it stared back at them. Snowcrystal recognized the species. It was a furret, and one that seemed to be aging. It was so still that she hadn’t even noticed it at first, and when she turned to look at the creature, it didn’t move aside from a small nod of its head.

Scytheclaw and the houndoom had noticed too, because they stopped. “Who are you?” Scytheclaw demanded as he took a few steps toward the furret. “Can you take us to see the…Guardian?”

The furret ducked down and disappeared into the ferns, only to pop up again a shorter distance from the traveling group. He did this a few times before he emerged and stood in front of them, seeming completely unafraid of the newcomers.

“What is your business with the Guardian?” the furret asked, his voice sounding rough and worn.

Snowcrystal hadn’t known what to expect from the messenger, but it certainly wasn’t this. He was frail looking, and now that she could see him up close, he acted like he couldn’t see well, squinting as he looked the ragtag group up and down.

“We need to find out something important,” Snowcrystal began. “Are you the pokémon who can lead others to the Guardian?”

The furret nodded. “I am.”

Scytheclaw glanced down at Snowcrystal, giving her a small nod which took her by surprise. “It’s about the Forbidden Attacks,” the growlithe said.

Immediately the furret became more alert, his ears standing on end and his eyes widening. “You came from outside the forest,” he began, assessing each of the five travelers. “How did you get here?”

“We…” Snowcrystal paused, wondering how much of the story she should tell the old furret. She figured that most of it wasn’t important, and decided to skip to the main details. “We went through the portal. We’ve been looking for a legendary who might be able to help us, because Articuno couldn’t, and-”

“What?” Yenn interrupted, sounding shocked. “Articuno?”

“We’ll explain later,” Scytheclaw muttered, cutting the yanmega off before he could say more.

“Three of these pokémon have Forbidden Attacks,” Snowcrystal explained. She turned and pointed with her snout to Blazefang, then to Scytheclaw, then to Yenn. “And if this legendary knows anything…anything that could help us, we-”

“Come with me,” the furret said urgently, bounding ahead through the ferns. He stopped a few paces ahead, turning back to look at the group. They had paused, not expecting such a sudden reaction.

“You mean that this…Guardian…can really help us?” Blazefang asked, sounding suddenly skeptical.

“Maybe,” was the furret’s reply. Then he bounded off again.

The others followed, Blazefang struggling to keep up. “Maybe we should rest until morning!” he called. “Are you sure this isn’t…I mean-”

“The Guardian must see you now,” the furret cried over his shoulder. “He will not harm you, I swear it.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Blazefang growled through his teeth as he hopped over the root of one of the smaller trees. “I just…” He stopped, and suddenly the look in his eyes was one of fear. “What if it’s all for nothing? What then?”

Up ahead, the rest of the pokémon stopped, turning their heads toward the commotion. “We don’t have time for this,” Scytheclaw muttered. “Do you want answers or not?”

Wildflame ignored him as she approached Blazefang. “Then we’ll find someone who can help us. We did it this once; we can find another-”

“If you have Forbidden Attacks,” the furret interjected, “as I believe you do, seeing as your group was able to get through the portal, the Guardian will want to see you. It is incredibly important.”

Wildflame and Blazefang quieted, and the others stared back at the furret.

“Does that reassure you?” Scytheclaw asked Blazefang. “Clearly this… ‘Guardian’ knows a thing or two about the Forbidden Attacks, so let’s go.”

Wordlessly the group followed the furret through the dense ferns and away from the lakeshore. Snowcrystal turned her head to see the water’s sparkling surface swallowed up by the trees. She had assumed the legendary would be at the lake itself, but wherever they were going, it was further than she had imagined.

Without the opening in the canopy the lake provided, the forest was even darker, and night had not yet completely fallen. Snowcrystal wasn’t used to being in such an enclosed, dark space, and a few times she nearly tripped over rocks or her own paws as she followed the moving forms of her friends. Even Blazefang was keeping up now, excitement glimmering in his eyes. Unlike the others, Blazefang and Wildflame felt right at home in the darkness.

As they carried on, the canopy seemed to get thicker, the trees even more massive than the ones they had seen earlier. Soon Snowcrystal was relying more on the scent of the pokémon running ahead of her and the sound of Yenn’s wings than on her sight. She could barely see the furret’s tail as he charged ahead, navigating the forest expertly as if he’d made the journey a thousand times.

After a while, they came to a place where the ground sloped downward, leading to a part of the forest that looked more ancient and wild than any of the places they had been to before. Snowcrystal paused at the top of the slope, realizing that even through the thick canopy, the moonlight illuminated enough to show her that down below, not only were the trees taller, but the plants that formed the undergrowth were massive in places too. She could see ferns that looked like they would tower over a pokémon several times the height of Katie’s scolipede.

The others followed the furret down the slope, but Yenn paused, hovering near Snowcrystal. “Is something wrong?” the yanmega asked.

“No, I just…didn’t expect to see something like this. Even here,” Snowcrystal replied breathlessly.

“Come on!” Wildflame called up to them.

Snowcrystal charged down the slope after the others, Yenn flying overhead but keeping close to her until she caught up. Once with the rest of the group, she slowed down, not wanting to stumble while there was quite a steep slope in front of her.

“How far is it?” Wildflame asked the furret.

“Not far,” the messenger replied.

The group followed the furret to the base of the slope. Snowcrystal immediately noticed that it was a bit colder, and it suddenly made sense why there was now enough light to see by. The spaces between the trees were wider, allowing smaller trees and other plants to flourish. Moonlight was already filtering down through the gaps between branches, turning the earth beneath her paws silver.

“This way,” the messenger whispered almost reverently, leading them toward a hulking gray shape sitting in the middle of a moonlit area surrounded by massive ferns.

As they got closer, Snowcrystal could see that it was a huge slab of rock, worn by time and weather. She had a strange feeling as she looked at it, realizing that it was the first thing she’d seen in a long time that reminded her of her mountain home. There were carvings on it, crude carvings that looked as if they had been made by something with large claws. Even under the moonlight, it was hard for Snowcrystal to make out some of them. She could see one that looked like a flame, another that looked like a root or vine, and others she didn’t fully understand. However, it was clear to her what the symbols were meant to mean.

“The Forbidden Attacks,” she whispered.

“There is something you must know,” the furret said, placing his paw on the stone as he turned to face them. “Our Guardian, the legendary of this forest, was one of the pokémon who created what became known as the Forbidden Attacks, long ago.”

A stunned silence fell over the traveling group. Blazefang’s mouth dropped open in disbelief, and Wildflame glanced to the furret with a shocked expression. Scytheclaw tensed as he watched the older pokémon, his eyes alight with excitement. Yenn, hovering at the back of the group, looked both surprised and confused.

Snowcrystal herself was unsure what to think. Even Articuno had not known who had created the Forbidden Attacks. And here they were, about to meet one of the very pokémon responsible, if what the furret said was true.

“Wait a minute…” Wildflame said. “Spark said that there weren’t legendaries involved in the creation of the Forbidden Attacks. He said they just appeared and-”

“Don’t you remember?” Blazefang asked her. “The stories are all mixed up on the subject of where the attacks came from. No one knew the right answer.”

“I don’t know what the stories say,” the furret interjected. “But if you don’t believe me, you can ask the Guardian yourself.”

“Wait,” Snowcrystal began, “if this legendary really helped create the Forbidden Attacks, he can take them away, can’t he? Articuno said the ones who brought them into existence could do that.”

To her dismay, the furret’s expression was grim. “I think you should talk to him yourself,” he said. He gave her a small smile when he noticed her downcast expression. “But I believe that he can help you, one way or another.”

Snowcrystal wasn’t sure what to make of the comment. Something wasn’t right if a supposed creator of the Forbidden Attacks could not destroy them. She tried to push the thought out of her mind, telling herself that they would hear what the Guardian had to say before they tried to figure anything out.

“Why hasn’t anyone heard of this before?” Wildflame asked. “Why does no one know who the attacks’ creators are?”

The furret turned to look at the stone, speaking without looking at the houndoom. “It is said that after they realized what they had done, they hid their faces from the rest of the world, taking up homes in remote places such as this forest. But in dire times such as this, some of them have decided to make themselves known to wandering pokémon. You won’t be the last travelers to meet the Guardian.”

Beside Snowcrystal, Scytheclaw snapped one of his pincers to get the furret’s attention. “Well, take us to him then,” he said impatiently.

“This is as far as I’ll go tonight,” the messenger responded with a wave of his tail. “Head in that direction.” He pointed to the cluster of trees, moonlight making the path clear. “You will find him. I must return to my nest. If you need a guide to lead you back the way we came, you can wait at this rock until morning.”

“Thanks,” Scytheclaw replied, “but I don’t think we’ll be needing a guide.”

“All right,” the furret replied calmly, and he turned to leave.

“Wait!” Snowcrystal replied, and the brown and tan pokémon stopped. “Thank you. For helping us find this pokémon.”

The furret turned around, giving her a small smile. “You’re very welcome.” Then he bounded off and was gone.

For a moment, no one moved. Then Blazefang quietly said, “What if…what if this is a trap?”

“What reason would that furret have to trap us?” Scytheclaw growled.

“Well, we’re strangers to this forest, and-”

“I don’t know,” Snowcrystal told him. “I didn’t get any sort of bad feeling from him. I think…I think he really wanted to help us.”

Blazefang hesitated.

“We can’t pass up this chance now. And if it is some sort of trick, how were those butterfree we met earlier in on it too? They mentioned the Guardian as well.”

“Well, you two can keep talking about it,” grumbled Scytheclaw. “I’m going to find this legendary. Anyone who wants to can follow me.”

The other pokémon quieted as they watched the scizor stride into the darkness of the trees. Snowcrystal saw Yenn, who had remained quiet during the whole exchange, turn and follow him. Blazefang and Wildflame glanced at each other before Wildflame gestured after Scytheclaw and led Blazefang towards him. Snowcrystal gave the crude carvings on the stone one more glance before she ran to catch up with the others.

Scytheclaw strode at the head of the group, pushing aside any tall patch of undergrowth with his claws. He could hear the others following behind him, but he didn’t turn to look at them. He found it a bit odd that even the yanmega stayed behind him, hovering near Snowcrystal and the two houndoom.

“Guardian?” the scizor called into the fading light. His voice bounced back at him from the trees, but there was no answer. Scytheclaw walked faster.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find. He ran through a list of legendaries in his head, thinking briefly about what he’d heard of each one as he did so. In the end, he was clueless as to what legendary had made its home in such a remote and wild place.

“Scytheclaw, wait,” a voice whispered from behind him. It was Snowcrystal.

He paused, briefly giving thought to how quiet and still the forest was, silent enough that he could hear the growlithe’s whispers. “What?” he asked, not quite sure why he was listening to her.

“Something feels different here,” she responded.

As Scytheclaw turned around to look at the others, he realized that they were all acting strangely. Blazefang was shifting his weight from paw to paw, looking around at the darkening forest. Yenn and Wildflame seemed more alert, their eyes scanning the darkness. Snowcrystal was looking straight at him.

Scytheclaw turned away from them and looked around the area he had so frantically charged into. They were in what seemed like a clearing of sorts, a place that was brighter than the rest of the forest. Up ahead, immense ferns blocked the way from view, and the areas between the trees further on looked even darker by comparison.

Then, as if some instinct of his was kicking in, he began to feel as if there was something nearby, something he should listen to. He froze, not hearing anything.

Then again, maybe it was just the forest itself.

Then he heard footsteps.

The scizor tensed, but remained at the front of the group. Something was coming towards them through the ferns, and by the sound of it, something big. Scytheclaw narrowed his eyes. He’d assumed the legendary was going to be a grass type, and he quickly ran the list through his head again. ‘Sounds like we’re meeting Virizion,’ he thought to himself.

Yet as the footsteps got closer, it sounded like something bigger. Scytheclaw watched the ferns directly in front of him, but none of them moved. Suddenly the footsteps stopped, leaving eerie silence once more.

“Well?” Scytheclaw cried out. “Are you this forest’s ‘Guardian’ or not?” When there was no answer, he spun around, addressing another group of ferns. “Come into the light where we can see you!”

He wasn’t sure whether he expected the source of the footsteps to shout back at him, or to simply ignore him. What he saw, however, was that the other members of his group had suddenly gone stock-still, their eyes widening in disbelief. Then Scytheclaw heard a deep voice behind him.

“I am what they call the Guardian, yes.”

The tone of the voice sent shivers down his back, and suddenly he regretted yelling into the forest the way he had. Unsure what he would see, he slowly turned around.

The creature he saw looked to be around three times his height, even on all fours. Though most of its body was shrouded in shadow from the ferns surrounding it, he could make out a dark green, bony plate covering its head and upper jaw, leaving small spaces for its eyes. Wide, clawed feet lifted from the ground as it stepped forward. Scytheclaw stared in shock.

“What…is that?”

Suddenly losing his nerve, he darted back beside Snowcrystal and the others, realizing that he was looking at a creature that matched no description of any legendary he knew of. Having spent a long time around humans, the thought was jarring, alien to him. Everything he had been told had taught him that humans were at least aware of each type of legendary that existed, even if most of them never saw one. To see one that humans had no depictions of, as far as he knew, didn’t add up in his mind. He stared at the beast, unsure if what he was looking at was really real or not.

As the five stunned pokémon watched, the strange being stepped into the light. It resembled an ursaring walking on all fours in shape, but its fur was a dark green, looking nearly black in the moonlight. Around its neck was a ring of thick leaves, a vine in between each of them. And unlike an ursaring, it had two sets of forelimbs, each ending in thick claws. A row of leaf-like spines ran down its back.

What struck Scytheclaw the most was the plate making up part of the creature’s head, which was marked with strange patterns. It looked to him like…a mask. Suddenly, the furret’s words came back to him, reminding him that this was one of the pokémon responsible for the Forbidden Attacks. ‘It is said that after they realized what they had done, they hid their faces…’ The thought sent chills down his spine.

“Who are you?” It was Snowcrystal who spoke.

“I am called Sequoiarc,” the beast replied, coming to a halt and standing sturdily on its six limbs. The light that flickered down from above outlined the creature’s form, making it stand out from the foliage it had emerged from.

Scytheclaw stood still, watching his companions out of the corner of his eye. Blazefang and Wildflame were standing still, tensed as if ready to run. He could not read Yenn’s expression.

“Se-Sequoiarc, three of these pokémon have Forbidden Attacks,” the growlithe explained. She pointed her snout to Blazefang, Yenn, and Scytheclaw in turn. “We’re looking to find a way to stop them. Can you help us?”

The great legendary leaned back, moving to a sitting position and crossing his front pair of forelegs. Sitting upright, he only looked more massive. If he was surprised at Snowcrystal’s statement, he did not show it, nor did he seem to doubt her words. “I believe that I might,” he said, his voice sounding surprisingly gentle. “First of all, how did you get to this forest?”

“We were in a desert, and we found a portal,” Snowcrystal answered. “It…let us in here somehow.”

“That would explain what the scizor was doing here,” Sequoiarc replied, causing Scytheclaw to step back. “And you said he is one of the ones with a Forbidden Attack?”

“Yes…or, at least we think so,” said Snowcrystal. “But…what was that portal? Was it something you put there?”

“The portals were placed here, and in different parts of the region by another legendary long ago,” Sequoiarc answered. “If certain species in the forest begin to dwindle in numbers, members of those species may be allowed in through a portal, should they happen to find one.”

“The humans aren’t unaware,” Snowcrystal told him, worry in her voice. “They know pokémon have vanished, and-”

“So I am told,” the legendary replied, but did not elaborate.

“Snowcrystal, this isn’t what we came here for,” Scytheclaw hissed in a whisper toward the growlithe. Beside him, the two houndoom glanced at each other, but neither of them spoke.

“I’m willing to answer your questions,” Sequoiarc explained, not seeming bothered by Scytheclaw’s comment at all. “The one who created the portals allowed me to alter them if needed, or close them off. They now open for pokémon with Forbidden Attacks, as long as they still regain a good measure of control.”

Snowcrystal thought back to the incident in the desert. Yenn had gone through the portal seemingly without doing anything, yet every other time it had been inactive, until they all went to it at once…

With Blazefang. Damian had been holding Blazefang while he was on Fernwing’s back. Suddenly, it all made sense. Solus and his pokémon couldn’t have gotten through, because none of them had a Forbidden Attack. She suddenly wondered if it would have activated for Scytheclaw if the scizor hadn’t been in his poké ball at the time.

“Well, I have the next question,” Wildflame said, stepping forward boldly. “Did you really create the Forbidden Attacks? And if so, what happened? Why are they being found now?”

Sequoiarc looked, if anything, sad as he comprehended the houndoom’s words, though it was hard to read his expression behind the mask-like armor on his face. “If three of your group have Forbidden Attacks, then you of all pokémon deserve to know the truth,” he began, and instead of intimidating, his voice sounded almost old and weak. “I was one of the legendaries responsible for creating what you now call the Forbidden Attacks. There was one of us for every type, set to guard over this region. Perhaps there were so many of us because this land was so massive, but we were lesser legendaries, not given the sort of power others like Dialga were. But in the end, we still had more power than we should have.”

“There’s a legendary…like you…for every type?” Snowcrystal said, astonished. “And humans don’t even know? How long ago were you sent here to guard the region? Why are you hiding?”

The other pokémon stood in silence, trying to take in what the legendary was saying. They looked to Sequoiarc expectantly.

“Because the Forbidden Attacks all but destroyed this region,” Sequoiarc growled, but his anger was not directed at the five pokémon below. "Many other regions have specific pokémon that are native to them. Ever wonder why a region this large has no species that are exclusively native to here? Well, there used to be many, but they perished in the destruction the Forbidden Attacks caused."

“…What?” Snowcrystal gasped.

“That was long before humans ever settled here. Surely they’ve found signs of past disasters, but none of them have known for sure what caused it. Other pokémon had come to the land and settled in it long before the humans ever did, and in time they and their environments had flourished again. And it was only because we were able to stop the madness.” Sequoiarc suddenly slammed one of his six paws into the ground, causing a tremor to run beneath the feet of the watching pokémon.

Snowcrystal and the others stared in silence.

“You see,” the mighty grass type continued, “something went very wrong when we created the Forbidden Attacks. I believe it was partly because it was something we were never meant to do. When we gave them to other pokémon, it warped their minds, twisted the attacks into something far worse than they were meant to be. Though we did not know it at first, creating the attacks drained us of our powers, and as they grew stronger within the pokémon that used them, that effect only seemed to grow worse. Even after we managed to remove the attacks from the pokémon using them, the strength of our power did not return. Even still, though it is at a much slower pace, our power continues to wane, and years and years of it have unfortunately taken a toll.”

The legendary straightened up, pointing his muzzle to the sky. “However, regardless of our waning abilities, we were still able to seal them away long ago, and keep them safe from other pokémon. This forest was created not long after that, by a legendary that wanted to help this region grow. It was one of the safe spaces made for pokémon after the disaster our attacks had caused. There are still a few of these safe havens kept hidden in Inari…that is what you call this land, isn’t it?”

None of the pokémon spoke; Snowcrystal only nodded slowly.

“Pokémon could come to the safe haven through portals. One was guarded by a harsh desert, put there to further protect the entrance. From what I have been told, it was much bigger in the past, until other lands gradually took over, leaving only the area it originally occupied. That is the desert you must have crossed. The other portals were put in places not easily accessed, though those weren’t quite as guarded and served other purposes.”

“And what about the other legendaries?” Yenn asked. “Where are they?”

The sad look returned to Sequoiarc’s eyes. “We were once tasked with protecting this region, but after we nearly destroyed it, we hid, even from each other, and let other legendaries settle here in our place. We no longer felt that we had the right to guide this land. We have been separated a long time, having only messengers to carry news between us from across different lands. This was mostly out of choice, but now, things are different.”

Snowcrystal felt a chill run up her spine. She was beginning to feel the enormity of the situation weighing down her chest.

“Most of the others do not want their presence to be known to the outside world,” Sequoiarc continued. “But I think that is wrong. So I let pokémon into my domain, even pokémon with Forbidden Attacks, providing they still have a good degree of control over it. I let pokémon speak with me. I tell them the truth, rather than have other pokémon muddle up part of the story as some of the others do.”

Snowcrystal suspected that there was more than just intentional meddling of the story; a story would change a lot when passed from pokémon to pokémon to human stories, though somehow, accurate details and the names of some of the attacks had gotten through. Perhaps in some way, these legendaries had a hand in preserving those details for future generations of pokémon.

“If all this happened so long ago,” Wildflame asked, “why are Forbidden Attacks just being found now? Some of them haven’t even been released from their stones. They’re still being guarded.”



The leaves along Sequoiarc’s spine seemed to wilt as he lowered his head. “They were…found, and scattered recently. By whom I do not know. We learned about it too late. I am not even sure where the remaining stones are now. By the time we realized what had happened, at least one pokémon had already found one and lost control.”

“The ice type…” Snowcrystal whispered.

“Other legendaries such as Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno learned of what had happened, and decided to guard the Forbidden Attack stones. When we learned of this, we let them. They are stronger than we are now. And in some cases, more willing to help.”

Snowcrystal remembered Articuno telling her that many legendaries had been called upon. As she pondered over that, she then remembered something else. “But…I met with Articuno. He said that the ones who created the Forbidden Attacks could destroy them. If you had to seal them away, does that mean…”

“We cannot destroy them, no,” Sequoiarc replied, reaching a claw to his mask. “Maybe we once would have had that power, when we were at our strongest, but if we did, by the time we realized what we had done, our strength had already begun to leave us. We took the Forbidden Attacks away from pokémon and sealed them inside stones, but after all this time, we lack even the power to do that again. That is why it is important that legendaries guard the other ones.”

“You can’t…you can’t take them away?” Blazefang gasped, looking horrified. “Does that mean…”

“I never said it was hopeless,” Sequoiarc told the houndoom. “Just that we lack the power to do what we did before.”

Blazefang didn’t reply, and it seemed like Sequoiarc had more to say on the subject, but first, Snowcrystal needed to know something else. “Articuno also said that he didn’t know who created the Forbidden Attacks, and that it wasn’t his place to know. Why hide it from him? Why are you letting other legendaries guard the attacks, without even helping them, when they don’t know who you are?”

“It was not my choice,” Sequoiarc sighed. “Because of the humans, it was too dangerous for me to leave this forest. I don’t know why most of the others haven’t contacted the other legendaries, but some of them were adamant that we do not.”

“Surely you don’t have to listen to them,” Snowcrystal called, feeling incredibly bold to be standing up to the huge legendary. “You have messengers of your own; why didn’t you send them to Articuno and the others?”

Beside Snowcrystal, Yenn stiffened.

Sequoiarc spoke again. His words were hollow, full of shame, but the five pokémon could tell he spoke the truth. “Because I knew they believed we could destroy the Forbidden Attacks, and we cannot.”

Snowcrystal paused, not having expected that sort of response. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, perhaps excuses, or attempts at justifications, but there was none of that in Sequoiarc’s words. At least, she thought, it was honest. “But that’s not right,” she said. “They’re defending the Forbidden Attacks for you. They should know what’s going on!”

“Snowcrystal,” Scytheclaw hissed quietly, “drop it.”

“What good would it do to know these legendaries can’t help them?” Blazefang growled.

“No, Snowcrystal’s right,” Wildflame said. “They should know the truth.”

Sequoiarc looked down at the small growlithe, his demeanor softening. “Some of us wanted to,” he began. “Some of us still want to. But we aren’t just leaving them to deal with it on their own. We are trying to come up with a solution.”

Snowcrystal and the others were stunned.

“You think we want our land to be destroyed again? And not even just our land, but others as well. The place you call Inari is a land separate from other regions; the Forbidden Attacks were contained the first time they went out of control. Now, with human means of travel, it might not be so simple. Even if a pokémon with a Forbidden Attack is killed, it will merely get transferred to another of the same type.” Sequoiarc turned his head to Yenn. “Which do you have, yanmega? The bug or the flying type?”

“The…the bug type,” Yenn stammered.

“Your attack isn’t just harmful to pokémon,” Sequoiarc told him. “In its stronger stages, it will drain the life from any living thing. Plant, pokémon, human, it doesn’t matter. It would ravage the lands just as Shadowflare would. You must do all you can to avoid using it. All three of you.” He swept his gaze over the group, pausing briefly when his eyes met Scytheclaw’s and Blazefang’s.

“Wait a minute,” Scytheclaw said, stepping forward. “My Forbidden Attack…doesn’t even seem like one. It doesn’t work like the others and I have no problem controlling it. And what sort of ‘Forbidden Attack’ heals?”

Though it was hard to tell, the watching pokémon thought they saw Sequoiarc’s eyes widen in surprise. The grass type was still for a moment, but when he spoke, his voice sounded calm and collected. “Then yours is not one of the Forbidden Attacks.”

“Is that why it has no name?” Scytheclaw asked. “Why I can control it? What is it, then? Did you create it too?”

“No,” said Sequoiarc. “Not me, specifically. It was created by some of the others, with what little strength they had left, in an effort to combat the effects of the Forbidden Attacks. I was against its creation; I knew by then that we were not meant to try to make other pokémon powerful. But they feared we would be too weak to use it ourselves in the future, so they created that power and gave it to a pokémon.

“The original intent was to make that power able to spread from pokémon to pokémon, so there would be many users. As you can see, it doesn’t actually work that way. We believed it would take a toll on the user, one way or another, so I managed to convince the creators, at least, to ensure that only a very psychically strong pokémon could be its bearer.”

Scytheclaw thought back to the moment when he’d touched the stone that had given him his power. It had been back at the canyon, before he’d lost his leadership. He’d seen something odd in the fangs of an arcanine statue at the bottom of a pool, and asked a zangoose to retrieve it. Nothing had happened to the normal type when he’d grabbed it; it was only when Scytheclaw had touched it that the power was transferred. Scytheclaw realized that, as much as he hated to admit it, having had a trainer in the past – before Damian – had made him stronger, more skilled in using moves, than a good number of wild pokémon. Obviously, he had been a much better candidate than that zangoose. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that information.

“It needed a very tough pokémon, who would be able to handle the strain,” Sequoiarc continued. “But as I’m sure you’ve realized, it is not harmless.”

“It almost killed me once,” Scytheclaw growled, suddenly feeling bolder. “One of the trainers traveling with us said it would kill me the next time.”

“And they are right,” the legendary responded. “When this power was created, it was meant to get stronger, like the Forbidden Attacks but in a good way, gaining more power to heal as time went on, though it did not work out that way. Even the strong pokémon that could carry the power…it took too much from them. Their bodies couldn’t handle it. To heal, it needed to take energy from the user, and we greatly underestimated just what it would take. Not only that, but it took more and more from them each time. They would die, and there would be a new user. Then the cycle repeated. We decided that the good this power did was not worth the loss of life. So it was sealed away when the Forbidden Attacks were.”

“But I don’t understand…I heard a weird voice, the last time I used it,” Scytheclaw said. “It told me it was failing, that I needed to ‘pass it on,’ but the pokémon I was healing did heal; it hadn’t failed at all. Why did that happen? What is that supposed to mean?”

Sequoiarc looked thoughtful as he answered the question. “Like it was meant to spread from pokémon to pokémon, it was also meant to be passed on completely from one pokémon to another easily if the first user could not handle it. It was created to give its user a warning if it posed any threat to them, so they could find another worthy pokémon and transfer the power to them. But it did not work; the healing power had as much of a grip on its user as the Forbidden Attacks did. The only saving grace was that it did not come with a loss of control, did not warp the user’s mind.”

“So I was supposed to be able to get rid of it?” Scytheclaw’s voice was calm, but there was an edge of anger to his words. “Give it to a pokémon who could use it properly? But I can’t?”

“Yes, it was meant to,” Sequoiarc replied. “But like the Forbidden Attacks, it was unstable. It was not meant to do what it did, to bring pain and suffering to the pokémon wielding it, nor to be harder and harder to use each time.”

Snowcrystal watched the scizor as he processed the information. She was beginning to get the idea that the Forbidden Attacks were like viruses that had mutated, becoming something completely different from what their original intent was to be. Sure, they didn’t spread like a virus, but it was the only thing that Snowcrystal could think of to compare it to. Perhaps that meant that the Forbidden Attacks themselves…weren’t originally meant to be forces of mass destruction.

“Sequoiarc,” she asked, stepping closer to the huge grass type, “why did you create the Forbidden Attacks?”

She could not tell what the great legendary was thinking when he turned his head in her direction. “That is not something I choose to share with you,” he said. From his words, Snowcrystal knew that the matter was closed.

“Well, you’ve told us about the Forbidden Attacks,” Blazefang began, “but what do we do now? How do we get rid of them?”

“We’re not the only ones who have Forbidden Attacks either,” Yenn interjected. “A vaporeon named Cyclone has one. He’s building an army and is looking for more. There are…two others that have Forbidden Attacks. But they, at least, know better than to use them. Cyclone is a different story.”

“He’s right,” said Wildflame. “We need answers on how to stop this madness.”

“I do not know the answer,” Sequoiarc replied, “but I do believe something can be done, if you seek out some of the other legendaries of the Inari region.”

“The others?” Wildflame repeated, sounding unsure.

“Most of the others do not live in as remote a place as this,” Sequoiarc said. “A few roam, keeping out of sight – though only the ghost and psychic type are able to do this while still keeping their identities hidden – and others have less elaborate hiding places but still keep away from humans. Those close to human settlements have hidden themselves in deep places like caves. Others live in isolated areas. Not all of them will be willing to listen to you, but I can get you close to one who would. He is a rock type, living deep within a cave.”

“How are we supposed to get there?” Wildflame asked. “We’ve traveled so far already and we have injured pokémon…”

“There is…a shortcut,” Sequoiarc answered. “Within this forest is a portal that will take you near his cave. Though be warned, there is a city very close to it now, and he will not be easy to get to. His cave won’t be made up of large or magnificent caverns, but a series of dark, narrow passages.”

“So these other portals here…” Wildflame began, “they could take us anywhere?”

“No, there are only three of them in this forest. Only one leads to one of my former companions.”

“Are there more of these portals elsewhere? More secret lands?” Snowcrystal asked.

“Not many,” Sequoiarc told her. “But I believe finding Tanzenarc can help you. I have been told that he, as well as some of the others, are coming up with a plan. They have not yet decided enough to have their messengers tell me the details, but Tanzenarc may tell you. His followers are trying to search the region, so you won’t find them so easily. I have no idea when they’ll next visit this forest. You’re better off going to the source. Then you can be of help to him.”

“I don’t understand,” Blazefang said. “If legendaries have a plan, then…why would they need our help?”

“You have Forbidden Attacks,” Sequoiarc answered. “You are invaluable to them.”

Snowcrystal turned to look at the others, who were all reacting differently. Scytheclaw was resolute and determined, Wildflame was filled with wonder, and Blazefang was hopeful. Yenn looked completely uncomfortable with the idea.

“What about the other legendaries?” Scytheclaw asked. “Why can’t they do something?”

“Any legendary that has the power to stop the Forbidden Attacks is one that cannot interfere or leave their position. Enlisting their help would only cause even more terrible problems, were they to stop working to keep the balance of our world in check,” Sequoiarc replied. “But when the plan is in place, I can only hope the lesser legendaries will help. Regardless, we must do all that we can.”

Sequoiarc began to turn back toward the ferns, and Snowcrystal realized that he had told them all he was willing to. As he lumbered back through the leaves, he turned his head briefly and said, “I will have the messenger who brought you here bring you to the portal tomorrow. You mentioned trainers traveling with you; you may discuss with the rest of the group what you want to do.” Then he was gone.

The pokémon stood in silence for at least a few minutes, each with their own thoughts.

“I don’t think there’s any question,” Wildflame said. “We got more answers than we hoped we would. More than Articuno knew. I say we find out what this other legendary knows.”

“Good idea,” said Blazefang. “If they’re coming up with a plan…they must know some way to fight this. Damian will have a lot of explaining to do, but the humans should listen to us. I don’t think we’ll have a problem convincing the other pokémon.”

“I’ve got my answers,” said Scytheclaw, “but I also don’t want to be killed by a Forbidden Attack once Cyclone makes things worse. I’m with them.”

“I am too,” Snowcrystal said. She turned to the yanmega. “Yenn, will you come with us?”

“No,” Yenn said, prompting the others to look at him. “I’d sooner take my chances with the Forbidden Attack than go near a city. And I’m not going to travel with your party.”

“What? You can’t stay here,” Blazefang growled. “Who knows how long it will take Sequoiarc to get more answers? In that time, you could have lost your mind!”

Yenn looked visibly taken aback by the comment, but he did not relent. “I won’t travel with humans.”

“You’re not going to get to another legendary by yourself,” Wildflame told him. “We stand a much better chance together and you can’t risk letting your Forbidden Attack go unchecked for too long. The humans won’t hurt you, I promise.”

Yenn gritted his teeth. “You don’t understand-”

“They’re not all evil!” Scytheclaw cried, exasperated. “Look, I went through a time when I hated humans too. So I know what you’re talking about, but just trust me on this. If legendaries think we can be a valuable help to them, we need you to come along.”

Yenn was reacting to Scytheclaw as if the scizor had lost his mind. “You don’t understand what they can do,” he growled. “You can’t just say they’re harmless when-”

“Listen, I wouldn’t be a scizor if a human didn’t force me into evolution,” Scytheclaw interrupted.

Yenn was taken aback again, and he remained silent as the scizor continued.

“I know humans can be cruel. But so can pokémon, like those nutjobs out in the desert that tried to kill you, right?”

“No…no, you don’t understand,” Yenn said again, taking flight and backing away, but when he tried to elaborate, his words faltered. He shook his head and tucked his legs close to his body, suddenly appearing quite scared.

Scytheclaw was fast losing patience, and Snowcrystal was afraid he would say something that would make Yenn give up on them. “What are you afraid of?” she asked him, keeping her voice much calmer than Scytheclaw’s agitated one.

Yenn, however, didn’t seem to want to answer directly. “Humans have ways that pokémon don’t.”

“These humans won’t try to trap you, or make you do anything you don’t want to,” Snowcrystal explained. “Even with their poké ball technology, a pokémon can learn to come out of a poké ball when they want to.” She didn’t want to mention that some humans, like Mausk, had to have some sort of modification that prevented that. Yenn didn’t need to worry about something that Damian and the others didn’t even have access to. “They won’t catch you, though. I’m just saying that even if they did, you wouldn’t really be trapped. You could leave if you wanted to.”

“I’m not afraid of poké balls,” the yanmega spat back.

“Honestly, I think they’d be more afraid of you than you are of them,” Wildflame stated. “One of them is terrified of large bug types.”

For some reason, that information only made Yenn grow more agitated. He gritted his teeth. “The answer is no.”

“Oh come on, you’ve got a Forbidden Attack and they know it!” Blazefang cried. “They wouldn’t do a thing to you even if they wanted to, for that reason alone.”

Yenn was silent.

“Yenn, what we’re doing is going to help a lot of pokémon,” Wildflame said calmly. “With the Forbidden Attacks being found, there are a lot of pokémon that could be in danger, from Cyclone, and from others…from the Forbidden Attacks still out there. Was there…was there anyone back at the army you cared about? Someone who you’d want to help?”

Yenn gave a sigh. “Fine. I’ll go with you.”

Wildflame smiled at him and Snowcrystal beamed, giving a wag of her tail. Blazefang and Scytheclaw looked relieved.

“But remember this,” Yenn warned. “You may think these humans are ‘friends,’ but if there’s any trouble, I won’t be helping them. Even if they’re about to die and I’m the only one between them and death.”

Scytheclaw’s eyes narrowed at the yanmega, but he said nothing.

“Very well,” said Wildflame. “Welcome to the group.”

To be continued…



Author’s Note:

Sequoiarc is "Sequoia" + "Arc"

Story time!

Years ago, way back in 2010 or so, I told a few people that I wanted to put fakemon in Path of Destiny. The thought was always in the back of my mind, for years, but I didn't get any ideas that really inspired me. Until I got this one. I've been waiting to write this chapter for over a year now (mainly because writing was slow...but I think that will get better!), and now I finally have. I want to say that I am very excited about the direction this is taking the story. I have had so much PoD inspiration lately and it's still going. I have a few things planned for the next several chapters that I am very excited to show you.