From the Ashes

[LKWayvern]

Just to let you guys know in advance, this is probably going to be PG-15 ish.
In addition, you may at times see links like this: (RL). It stands for Recommended Listening. It leads to a piece of music that I think suits that particular scene. You don't have to listen if you don't want to, but it enhances the story and sets the tone quite nicely if you do.

Prologue: Ashes

(RL) A lone figure roved across the land. Bodies lay strewn across the earth.
“The purge hit this area harder than I expected…” the figure mused. It continued to scan the area, searching for some sign of life.
Then, it saw it. A twitch. A whimper. A small scrap of black fur, almost hidden in the mud.
The figure swept down towards the scrap, and gently picked it up. The scrap squeaked and pressed itself against the figure’s body. It was trembling.
“Don’t worry,” the figure told the scrap. “It will be alright. My plan will remain on course, my little Nekra…”

[LKWayvern]

Part One: Ember

Chapter 1
19 Years Later…

Two Scyther sat side by side, under a sky covered by dark clouds, eclipsing the light of the moon and endless stars.
“Look’s like a storm’s coming,” one said to the other.
The other stared at the restless clouds, and grunted. “Doesn’t make guard duty any more interesting.”
The first one sighed, and fell against the grass. “Eric, you can really be a bore sometimes.”
Eric ignored his companion. “I want to make the Clan better, Arkon.” he admitted. “I don’t see how guard duty will improve anything.”
“Guard duty improves the length of everyone in the Rahzyne Clan’s lives,” Arkon suggested. “You can make life better and safer for everyone in the Clan that way.”
Eric gave Arkon an ‘are you serious’ kind of look. Arkon met Eric’s gaze dead on. Several seconds of silence passed.
“Look, if you work hard where you are now, maybe eventually you’ll get higher up in the Clan, and be in a position to make the changes you want,” Arkon said matter-of-factly.
“Eventually,” Eric pointed out. “Eventually.”
Arkon shrugged. “Nothing good comes to those with their head in the clouds daydreaming. You can only get something if you do something.”
“I am doing something. I’m thinking. I’m thinking of moves and strategies and tactics and--”
“But that’s it!” Arkon interjected. “The Rahzyne Clan is about action and reaction. Think too long and life passes by, Eric!”
“And if you don’t think--”
“Shoosh!”
“Arkon, just--”
“Shoosh!”
And then Eric heard it. Rustling in the grass.
And then something glinted.
(RL) Without hesitation Arkon rushed at the Pokemon in the grass, scythes shining green as he readied an X-Scissor.
He sliced through the grass blades effortlessly, but didn’t even faze the mysterious Pokemon.
It looked… odd. It was bulky, and had almost rocklike armor. It kind of resembled a Scyther with its build. It had similar scythes, that was for certain. But instead of growing along the arm, they jutted awkwardly to the ground.
Arkon didn’t hesitate to hit is with another X-Scissor.
The Pokemon regarded Arkon with almost a bemused expression, before it raised it’s arms. From out of the ground erupted rocks, seemingly endless rocks. Jagged, rough, huge, small. Then the last of them exited the ground. For a brief moment Arkon stood, marveling at the massive amount of boulders hanging suspended above his head. Then in a deadly Rockslide attack they all fell directly on top of the young Scyther.
Eric stared in shock and awe at the pile of large brown stones. They almost looked like the Pokemon that had pulled them out of the very bowels of the earth.
Then, one by one, they seemed to be drawn back down to the dirt where they came from, until all that remained were a few heavy stones pinning the now unconscious Arkon down.
Eric stepped backwards as the mysterious Pokemon advanced upon him.
He heard more rustling. He turned around to see four other Pokemon emerging behind him. One had a massive rectangular steel faceplate, one looked like a fluffy yellow bird, one was huge and grey with purple wings and jagged teeth, and the final one was just like the one that had just defeated Arkon.
Eric knew the only way he could survive was to flee, but there was no way out. He was going to have to stay and fight, despite it being a losing battle.
Eric turned back to the first Pokemon. He looked like a Rock type, and he had used Rock Slide.
Eric lashed out his wings violently towards the Pokemon, and a Vacuum Wave shot out towards it. The Pokemon dodged nimbly aside, and bolted towards me.
When suddenly a loud bang split the air and the Pokemon fell to the ground, blood dotting its back.
More bangs followed, and Eric felt wind blast past his face as the Pokemon behind him scattered.
The bird one launched itself at him, and all he could do was dodge frantically. The shield one started charging up the hill, little pellets of something pinging off its’ faceplate. The others started dragging the scythe-Pokemon and Arkon away.
Eric ran swiftly and silently towards the shield Pokemon, hurling another Vacuum Wave at its’ soft, unprotected backside.
The Pokemon screeched, and then a small, lithe shape leaped out from the peak of the hill. The Roserade lifted her deadly roses to her mouth, and blew. Eric felt his eyelids droop, before he fell to the ground, exhausted.

[LKWayvern]

Chapter 2

Eric’s eyes slid open and the Scyther took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in a hut made of elaborately woven grasses. They seemed so fresh that roses still remained in them, adding color to the room.
A figure approached Eric. He turned towards it, vaguely wondering if it was Yveltal.
It was the Roserade.
“Who are you?” Eric asked, pushing himself into a sitting position.
“This is my house,” the Roserade said, simply. “Several of my friends helped me grow it to be like this.”
“But what is your name?” Eric asked.
“You may call me Raider,” Raider replied. “I’m sorry for hitting you with my Grass Whistle. I meant to make the remaining Fossil Pokemon fall asleep long enough to flee with whatever members of Rahzyne Clan I could.”
Eric stared at Raider for a few moments. “When I fell asleep… What happened?”
Raider sighed. “I tried to wake up the rest of your Clan, to warn them. However, very few listened to me. They dragged you away, but soon more Fossil Pokemon arrived, and I was overwhelmed and forced to retreat. Most of the Rahvyne Clan was taken by them. I believe this includes your leader.”
Eric nodded slowly. “These ‘Fossil Pokemon’... They were the Rock types that knocked out Arkon?”
“Your Scyther friend? Yes,” Raider said. “They are… Your clan is gone.”
Eric stared at Raider for a few more moments. Then the realization suddenly hit him.
My Clan is gone.
(RL) He doubled over, pain stabbing through his abdomen like his own scythes. Hot tears oozed out from his eyes. Raider watched impassively.
“You…” He choked out. “How… Who… How…?”
He roughly shook the tears away. “Who did this? How did they accomplish it?”
“They only used Fossil Pokemon in their attack,” Raider said. “Fossil Pokemon all are Rock types… And Rock types have a vast advantage over Scyther. Especially since your kind is so set on never evolving.”
Eric gave Raider an ‘I-know-right’ sort of look. “Who did this?” he asked again.
Raider sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back. “I do not know for sure, but I have my suspicions. Right now you are addled by sorrow… We’ll discuss this later.”

It was a restless night for Eric. He tossed and turned, and his nightmares were filled with strange rock-like demons, wielding scythes that were twisted variants of his own.
When he awoke again, sunlight was streaming through the spaces between the blades of grass that made up the walls.
Blades.
Feeling nauseous, Eric made his way out of the grass house, to find himself in a beautiful garden.
(RL) The sunlight blinded him at first, but then as his eyes adjusted he saw the garden in all its’ glory.
Trees of all variety grown into various shapes perfectly, climbing vines adorning their trunks. Spiraling out around the trees were a myriad rainbow of flowers. Roses, violets, daisies, sunflowers, dandelions, lilacs, lavenders, and practically every other kind of flower that Eric could name. It didn’t seem possible that a garden like this could exist, but it somehow did.
In the center of the garden sat three Pokemon. Raider, a female Lopunny, and a Pokemon Eric had never seen before. It looked a lot like a small white hedgehog with bushy green fur like overgrown grass covering its’ back, and dainty pink ears shaped similarly to five-petalled flowers.
Unable to speak, Eric made his way over to the three. The Lopunny looked up, and smiled at him.
He dug the tips of his scythes into the soil so none of the Pokemon would know his legs had just dissolved to water.
“Hello!” the Lopunny said. “You must be Eric, right? I’m Kai. You’ve already met Raider, and the hedgehog is Shaymin.”
Kai was wearing a pair of earrings that looked like a brass chain crawling up each of her ears and connecting a small tiara. At the end of one chain was a Lopunnite, and the other ended with a Keystone. Kai also had a light cream jacket on, which accented the fluff on her arms, legs, and ears.
Raider, meanwhile, was now wearing boots. They seemed to be made of very tough looking cloth, were pale yellow in color, and the edges were spiked with thorns. Around her torso Raider sported a bright red scarf with a pocket in the side. The pocket seemed to be stained dark purple.
“What’s in that pocket?” was the first question that came out of Eric’s mouth.
“Black Sludge,” Raider replied. “For Poison types like me it restores health when I’m touching some, but if it contacts the skin of a different type of Pokemon… Well, it’s not pretty.”
Eric’s mind went blank for several moments.
“Where is this?” he finally asked.
“You’re in Vibrant Meadow,” Shaymin answered. “I created it as a safe haven for Grass type Pokemon. Although lately it seems all kinds of Pokemon are taking refuge here.” Shaymin looked pointedly at Raider. “I took Raider in when she was a lost little Budew. Taught her everything I knew about battling.”
“She’s quite good,” the Scyther complemented.
“Shaymin’s like a mother to Raider,” Kai chimed in. “I only just came here, myself. My trainer got old, and they sent him to a retirement home where Pokemon weren’t allowed. So all his Pokemon got released.” She fingered her tiara. “This was my Mom’s. She was really good at contests a long time ago. My trainer bought it with the prize money from some of their first contests.” Kai bit her lip. “She died when she was released.”
Eric wanted to comfort Kai. He didn’t want to see a Pokemon that pretty crying. But he knew that if he tried to put his arm around her shoulder he would probably decapitate her, and that would be very messy, so he refrained from doing anything.
“I assume you’re doing better than you were last night?” Raider asked. “This place… Simply seeing it calms the soul greatly. Do you want to talk about the events of last night now?”
Eric nodded. “Yes. Who did those… Fossil Pokemon, you called them? Who did they belong to?”
“I believe they are part of a group called Team Reva,” Raider explained.
“I’ve done some spying missions,” Shaymin added. “They have multiple leaders. The big one is a Shiny Delphox, named Nekra. She seems to know black magic, particularly necromancy. The other leaders I’m not so sure the identities of. But there are rumors that one of them is a Latias or Latios…”
“It’s also unknown what the intentions of Team Reva are,” Raider concluded. “I personally think Nekra is trying to bring something very powerful, or a large group of Pokemon, back to life, and requires Pokemon sacrifice to do it…”
“What!?” Eric yelled, panicked. “My clan… The entire Rahzyne Clan is going to get sacrificed for some… Some… Dark arts ritual?”
“We don’t know for sure,” Shaymin admitted. “But we’re highly suspicious.”
Eric stared at the three Pokemon. “I… I’m going to get my clan back. They may shoot Razor Winds first and ask questions later… But all my friends and family are in there. I can’t be left disconnected like that. I simply can’t. I would go insane.”

[LKWayvern]

Chapter 3

Eric looked at the other three Pokemon in Vibrant Garden with him.
“...So, how do we proceed?” the Scyther asked. “How many members do we have?”
Shaymin sighed, closing her eyes. “Let’s see… There’s Raider and Kai, of course… And you just joined… So that’s…” Shaymin opened her eyes again. “Five, including myself.”
“Five?” Eric asked, confused. “Then… who’s the fifth member?”
“Rosie. She’s a Cubone, on an away mission.”
“That doesn’t seem like very many Pokemon to fight a large amount like Team Reva seems to be…,” Eric mumbled.
“Well, Team Reva has only become hostile recently,” Shaymin explained. “Before they were very quiet. Most of the Pokemon in the Utopia region either don’t know of Team Reva, don’t feel threatened by them, or are waiting for someone else to deal with them because they are either too scared, or too lazy. We are the only Pokemon powerful and brave enough who are aware of Team Reva. Hence, why there are so few of us.”
“We all take turns on special missions to raise awareness of Team Reva and try to get more members for the Phoenix League,” Kai jumped in. “It’s Rosie’s turn right now, that’s why she isn’t here.”
Raider was looking Eric up and down. “Hmmm… Shaymin, don’t you think he’ll need some clothes?” the Roserade asked.
Eric frowned. Clothes? Pokemon almost never wore those. They were seen as only for humans. However, it was true that Kai and Raider were both wearing a few articles of clothing.
Reading his puzzled expression, Raider explained “Clothes can be useful, Eric. They can free up our hands while still providing the benefit of an item, they can be items themselves, they can even be armor, or a bag of some sort.”
Kai grabbed Eric’s hand, and Eric felt multiple Butterfree start swelling through his stomach. He tried to say something, but failed utterly as the Lopunny dragged him off.
“Come on, we’re going to get you a new look,” Kai told him, smiling. And to Eric, everything just seemed… right.
“...You can tell he has never encountered a Pokemon with the Cute Charm ability before,” Shaymin commented as Eric was dragged off. “Raider, why didn’t we find an item to counter Cute Charm’s effects before we let a male on the team?”
“Because we’re desperate for items, and I don’t think an item like that exists,” Raider replied. “Besides, it’s actually amusing to watch. And the future looks dark, so we need all the laughter we can find…”

After around thirty minutes, Eric emerged with a rather odd outfit.
First of all, wrapped around the soft part of his abdomen was an Expert Belt. In addition, he now had leather sheathes tied around his scythes, so that he would not accidentally injure one of his allies. The sheathes were tied onto his arms firmly, but in such a way that Eric could untie them quickly if he needed to suddenly fight.
Kai seemed rather disappointed by Eric’s choice in clothes. However, when Raider saw it she informed Eric of her approval.
Shaymin, however, looked rather serious. A Pidove was fidgeting near her. Upon noticing Eric, Shaymin looked his way.
“Eric, come here,” the Legendary Pokemon commanded.
The Scyther obeyed. Kai and Raider looked on curiously, as the Pidove continued fidgeting.
“Eric, it seems that Rosie has actually succeeded,” Shaymin stated. “She has found two young Eeveeloutions who are eager to join our team.”
“That’s great!” Kai said, happily.
“Unfortunately, they seem a bit… revenge-driven,” Shaymin sighed. “They’re joining us because they, too, are the only survivors of their entire Clan being kidnapped. However, they seem rather reluctant to leave their old home, and aren’t quite used to their powers right now, being newly evolved… She has requested assistance in getting both of them back to Vibrant Meadow. And I’ve decided that this mission will test quite nicely how you can manage things out in the field.” The Grass type turned to the Pidove. “Ren here will be your guide to Rosie’s current location. As for getting back, Rosie can guide you herself just fine. Now get together anything you wish to bring, and go.”

EricxKai will never happen. Eric was infatuated by Kai's Cute Charm the entire time. I am evil to my shippers.
I feel like FtA isn't as good writing as I used to do... If anyone wants to comment and give me some constructive criticism, I'd really like that...

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

Plot and Characterization Focused

Chapter One
Right from the start, we have a nice bit of conflict between the two Scyther posted on guard duty for their clan. What is this clan? Who are these Scyther? Where are they? What kind of world is this? Right away you have all sorts of questions being raised to go with those raised by the prologue which is good. I love a story that makes me wonder things right out of the gate, so you've definitely captured my interest. Before we can get any world building though, there is an eruption of violence, Arkon is felled by what I assume to be a Kabutops and things don't look good for Eric when more hostile Pokemon appear. Just when things look bad, these Pokemon, (consisting of what I assume to be a Bastiodon, two Kabutops, an Aerodactyl, and maybe an Archeops?) flee under the assault of a mysterious attacker. The conflict seems to have resolved quickly enough, although the question remains, who were these Pokemon? Why were they attacking? Are they wild, animalistic minds, or something more cunning? The mysteries don't stop as a mysterious Roserade on a ledge knocks out our hero Eric with some kind of sleep powder, clouding her identity as friend or foe.

There are a lot of questions here, as I've already mentioned, and I like that, but there seems to be kind of a rush to get into the action. I assume that the answers to these questions will be revealed as the story continues, but for now, the immediate questions of who, when, where, and why are left up in the air in favor of some what. Starting off with a bang is a good way to seize the reader by the shoulders and pull them into your world, but it helps to have an idea of what that world is. Many stories use a character who's an outsider to help explore the world of the story, think Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter, but from this first chapter, especially the conversation between Arkon and Eric, it looks like our nominal hero is already cemented in his world and so he may be unlikely to provide much illumination on the subject of his Clan and the overall world that he lives in.

Chapter Two
Alright, so we're getting introduced to a lot of new characters with Kai the Lopunny, Raider the Roserade from earlier, and Shaymin. For some reason Kai knew Eric's name, which struck me as odd, but the whole group seemed very familiar with the Scyther, as if they were waiting for him or something along those lines.

With this chapter, the stakes are already getting raised immensely. Not only do we have some kind of necromancer Pokemon resurrecting Fossil Pokemon and plotting some evil ritual, but also Eric's entire clan has been decimated. I couldn't say it hit me that hard since I knew little about them, but your description of the Scyther's reaction to this news was enough to tug at my heartstrings. It seems like this story is rushing toward the action, but I would encourage you to slow down and smell the roses...and the lilacs, and the violets, and all of those other flowers. It seems like you've given a lot of thought to this plot, and its certainly shaping up to be an excellent one. But I feel like it detracts a bit from this grand story if the news that not only Kai had a trainer, but that there are trainers at all comes as a huge plot twist to me. Please, let us readers in on the whole world you've created. Without a good background, the news of a Clan being destroyed or a mysterious plot to do evil are vague ideas without concrete form. First comes understanding and knowledge, then comes the emotional connection to the characters that will make this story even more engaging.

Chapter Three
So, we finally get a name to our heroic group: the Phoenix League. Apt imagery for Pokemon who recruit their members from among the victims of Team Reva. Their small numbers do a wonderful job of conveying a true underdog status and I enjoyed the fact that the fact that these Pokemon wear articles of clothing is weird to Eric. It looks like I might be getting my wish for an outside character after all. Don't be afraid to have some exposition-laced dialogue. My favorite passages of your story so far have been the description of Nekra's plot and the brief discussion explaining the Phoenix League's use of clothing to Eric. I think you have a talent for taking what other authors might see as info dumps and portray them in a way that stays true to the character of the speakers and fills in some of the knowledge gaps I find myself suffering from.

As is necessary, it isn't enough for Eric to just join the underdog group, he has to go on a mission to prove himself first. I like the idea of revenge-obsessed Eevee evolutions and am really looking forward to experiencing them. My big question for this chapter is what is the status of human-Pokemon relations in this Utopia region? There appears to be humans and Eric is familiar with them despite being a wild Scyther living with a clan, but there seems to be no mention of any humans being aware of an evil Delphox using reanimated fossil Pokemon to destroy other Pokemon, or even any mention of the humans being unaware of such a threat. Are there just not enough humans in Utopia for them to matter? But how does Eric know about them then?

Spelling and Grammar Focused
I normally only nitpick when asked, so this is a little light as I was reading mostly for the story and had three chapters that I wanted to get through.

Chapter One

Spoiler:

“Look’s like a storm’s coming,” one said to the other.

"Look's" should be "Looks" here.

Arkon didn’t hesitate to hit is with another X-Scissor.

I assume "hit is" should be "hit it".

The Pokemon regarded Arkon with almost a bemused expression, before it raised it’s arms.

"raised it's arms" should be "raised its arms".

Then in a deadly Rockslide attack they all fell directly on top of the young Scyther.

If you're referring to the Pokemon move, as with X-Scissor, "Rockslide" should be "Rock Slide".

Eric lashed out his wings violently towards the Pokemon, and a Vacuum Wave shot out towards it. The Pokemon dodged nimbly aside, and bolted towards me.

I think that "me" should be something a little less first-person.

The shield one started charging up the hill, little pellets of something pinging off its’ faceplate.

"its'" doesn't need the apostrophe.

The others started dragging the scythe-Pokemon and Arkon away.

Since you use "shield Pokemon" in the next sentence, I think that "scythe-Pokemon" should be written as "scythe-Pokemon".

Eric ran swiftly and silently towards the shield Pokemon, hurling another Vacuum Wave at its’ soft, unprotected backside.

Again, "its'" shouldn't have an apostrophe.

Chapter Two

Spoiler:

The sunlight blinded him at first, but then as his eyes adjusted he saw the garden in all its’ glory.

Again, "its'" should be written without the apostrophe.

It looked a lot like a small white hedgehog with bushy green fur like overgrown grass covering its’ back, and dainty pink ears shaped similarly to five-petalled flowers.[/QUOTE]
"Its'" should lose the apostrophe again, and "petalled" should have only one "l".

[LKWayvern]

Thanks for the review, Phantasm!
Sorry if the action seems a bit rushed, after chapter four I plan for there to be some filler. I just wanted to get the Phoenix League all together as soon as possible.
As for humans... Well, there are humans in the Pokemon world. They occasionally come into the Utopia region for a purpose that
will be revealed later, but for the most part despite no humans actually living in Utopia, they have a very big impact on the story.
Eric is, simultaneously, an insider and an outsider. All the Clans have very different ways of life. Some are aggressive, some are peaceful, some are advanced, some are primitive, some are racist, some are tolerant. Eric's tribe has always been rather aggressive and primitive, since scythes aren't very good for building things, and are better weapons of war.
And yes, they were two Kabutops, Bastiodon, Archaeops, and Aerodactyl.
Also, Raider was trying to knock out the Fossils with GrassWhistle, but they got away and she accidentally got Eric instead.
And I made the Phoenix League that familiar with Eric because I figured that since not all of his Clan got kidnapped, one of them might've identified him for them.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the story, I promise it'll slow down a bit after Chapter 4, where we meet the last three members of the Phoenix League for quite a while!

[LKWayvern]

Chapter 4

(RL) Thanks to the speed of Eric and Ren’s wings, they managed to make it to where Rosie supposedly was within a day. Ren immediately left for his home and family, after a brief goodbye.
Eric walked through the dark forest, glancing about for signs of danger. After a brief bit of consideration, he undid the ties from his sheathes, and tucked them into his Expert Belt. Better safe than sorry, and the sharp blades might ward off wild Pokemon.
After roughly a half hour of walking, Eric came across what looked like an abandoned Clan’s home. A mish-mash of different kinds of dens, from squarish, squat ice-houses to leafy huts similar to Raider’s, stony caverns converted into sleeping areas, and even simple shallow dips in the ground used as a nest for sleeping under the stars, ash pits and small ponds, so much diversity that Eric had never experienced before. In the Rahzyne Clan, since the only Pokemon there were Scyther, all the dens had been carved out of fallen trees. Although useful in battle, scythes were not built for construction.
Eric realized that this must have been the Clan that the two Eeveeloutions had lived in. It seemed as if there had been no battle, no bloodshed. Almost as if all the inhabitants had, of their own free will, simply gotten up and left.
Eric frowned. He wondered how long it had taken Rosie to find the two young Eeveeloutions huddled in their ghost town of a home, and how they had managed to remain there.
He began trekking through the deserted Clan, observing where Eevee and their evolutions had previously slept, worked, and played. He noted with curiosity how a large amount of pawprints tramped through and out the town, each one similar to the others but not quite the same.
He had just noticed three sets of pawprints heading away from the others, when he heard something whistling through the air behind him. By then, however, it was too late to dodge as a massive thwunk!! rattled his skull and knocked him unconscious…

The high-pitched voices of children drifted into Eric’s ears as he slowly became conscious again.
“Hey, Gadzooks, it’s working! He’s breathing!”
“I told you I knew how to do it, Koray!”
“Let’s ask him why he’s after us, she’ll be so proud of us if we find out!”
“What if he’s with Team Reva? What if he knows where Mama and Papa are?”
Eric straightened up when he heard them mention Team Reva. “I’m not…” he muttered before the back of his head began throbbing again. He slouched down again. “I’m not…” he groaned, softer than before. “One… Of…”
“Look! He’s talking!” One of the voices said, excitedly.
Eric slowly opened his eyes. Fuzzy lights spiraled and spun for a moment, before aligning into an Umbreon and… A shiny Sylveon?
They both looked male. The Umbreon was wearing a blue scarf with a pocket sewn into the side of it, similar to Raider’s. The Sylveon, on the other hand, was wearing what appeared to be a beret, and a comically oversized bag on his back secured to his body with multiple straps.
Eric looked down. His scythes were back in their sheathes, but the ties on the sheathes were poorly done. He seemed to be tied up with hopeless, seemingly neverending piles of… yarn? This was a rather odd day for him.
Ignoring the two children staring at him quizzically, Eric bent down towards his sheathes. The yarn was mostly around his legs, wings, and upper arms, so it didn’t bother him too much. He used his teeth to pull apart the ties, before shaking the sheathes off his scythes. He brandished the blades briefly before quickly cutting the yarn off himself.
“Oh, no you don’t get away from me that easily, Scyther…” a female voice suddenly rang out. Eric stopped, and sighed.
“Aunty Rosie!” both Eon children yelled gleefully.
In the door stood a rather odd looking Cubone. She clutched in her hands two bone knitting needles. Instead of a skull mask, she had a mask woven from black yarn, with a single red thread going from the tip of her snout to the base of her neck. There were holes for her eyes, which were squinting with anger, and a zipper for her mouth, giving Eric the impression that she was some sort of psychopathic Banette. Secured to her back was a small bag, from which more yarn spilled out.
Eric sighed, exasperated, upon hearing her words. “You’re Rosie, that member of the Phoenix League?” he asked.
The Cubone nodded, brandishing her needles. “Yes. And you are not taking these children, Reva scum!”
“This is just a misunderstanding,” Eric replied right away. “I’m a newly recruited member of the Phoenix League, my name is Eric, I was sent here to give you a hand with escorting the chil--”
(RL) Gadzooks suddenly shot out his ribbons towards Eric, wrapping them around the Scyther. Koray jumped backwards, multiple lights pulsing different colors randomly formed in front of him. Rosie looped some yarn around each of her needles and got into a battle stance.
Eric froze. He didn’t want to hurt the kids, or his team member. But they seemed more than willing to hurt him.
His wings buzzed to life, and he shot upwards. His leg was yanked out from Gadzooks’ ribbons, and Koray’s Confuse Ray missed him.
Eric figured that he would have some breathing room up near the ceiling, with him being far out of the other Pokemon’s grasp.
Let’s see… I really don’t want to hurt them. I wonder if I could just talk to them, while hovering up here? No, I don’t think that would work. They don’t seem to be in the mood for tal--
Suddenly a bone needle that Rosie had thrown nailed Eric right between the eyes.
The little Cubone waved cheerfully. “Hey! You may be a Flying type, but that doesn’t mean I can’t mortally injure you, doofus!”
Eric fell to the ground. Koray gleefully hit him with another Confuse Ray.
Eric screamed. His vision filled with painful strobing lights flashing unpredictably on and off, switching colors and intensity at whim. His head was throbbing both from the repeated whacks to it, and the painful pulsing strobe lights. He closed his eyes as tightly as possible, and put his scythes on his head trying to block out the lights. Which was stupid of him, seeing that that was also rather painful.
“Hai-yah!” Gadzooks yelled, using Disarming Voice. Eric slightly opened one eye. A light pink mist was around the Sylveon’s mouth, but that might’ve been an afterimage from the painful effects of Confuse Ray.
“Bet you didn’t expect us to be so strong, did ya, Reva scum?” Gadzooks asked, still taunting the Scyther while using Disarming Voice. “You didn’t expect anything from two newly evolved Eevee hatchlings. Well, this is what you get for taking away our entire Clan, and then coming back like nothing ever happened!”
Eric growled in response the pain. Rosie hurled another bone needle at him, and Koray hit him hard with a Toxic attack. He felt sick to his stomach, like he wanted to vomit. He wanted to tear out his eyes to make the terrible throbbing stop.
“I’m not from Reva…” he growled, sinking his scythes into the dirt floor. Koray kicked out the blades from under him, his paws coated in dark energy as he used Foul Play. Eric crumpled into a small green heap of scythes and wings.
Rosie chuckled, descending on Eric as she returned his scythes to their sheathes, and began tying him up again with something that felt much sturdier, like metal. As Eric’s vision faded to black, he thought he saw the Eeveeloution brothers high-fiving each other…

[LKWayvern]

Chapter 4

(RL) Thanks to the speed of Eric and Ren’s wings, they managed to make it to where Rosie supposedly was within a day. Ren immediately left for his home and family, after a brief goodbye.
Eric walked through the dark forest, glancing about for signs of danger. After a brief bit of consideration, he undid the ties from his sheathes, and tucked them into his Expert Belt. Better safe than sorry, and the sharp blades might ward off wild Pokemon.
After roughly a half hour of walking, Eric came across what looked like an abandoned Clan’s home. A mish-mash of different kinds of dens, from squarish, squat ice-houses to leafy huts similar to Raider’s, stony caverns converted into sleeping areas, and even simple shallow dips in the ground used as a nest for sleeping under the stars, ash pits and small ponds, so much diversity that Eric had never experienced before. In the Rahzyne Clan, since the only Pokemon there were Scyther, all the dens had been carved out of fallen trees. Although useful in battle, scythes were not built for construction.
Eric realized that this must have been the Clan that the two Eeveeloutions had lived in. It seemed as if there had been no battle, no bloodshed. Almost as if all the inhabitants had, of their own free will, simply gotten up and left.
Eric frowned. He wondered how long it had taken Rosie to find the two young Eeveeloutions huddled in their ghost town of a home, and how they had managed to remain there.
He began trekking through the deserted Clan, observing where Eevee and their evolutions had previously slept, worked, and played. He noted with curiosity how a large amount of pawprints tramped through and out the town, each one similar to the others but not quite the same.
He had just noticed three sets of pawprints heading away from the others, when he heard something whistling through the air behind him. By then, however, it was too late to dodge as a massive thwunk!! rattled his skull and knocked him unconscious…

The high-pitched voices of children drifted into Eric’s ears as he slowly became conscious again.
“Hey, Gadzooks, it’s working! He’s breathing!”
“I told you I knew how to do it, Koray!”
“Let’s ask him why he’s after us, she’ll be so proud of us if we find out!”
“What if he’s with Team Reva? What if he knows where Mama and Papa are?”
Eric straightened up when he heard them mention Team Reva. “I’m not…” he muttered before the back of his head began throbbing again. He slouched down again. “I’m not…” he groaned, softer than before. “One… Of…”
“Look! He’s talking!” One of the voices said, excitedly.
Eric slowly opened his eyes. Fuzzy lights spiraled and spun for a moment, before aligning into an Umbreon and… A shiny Sylveon?
They both looked male. The Umbreon was wearing a blue scarf with a pocket sewn into the side of it, similar to Raider’s. The Sylveon, on the other hand, was wearing what appeared to be a beret, and a comically oversized bag on his back secured to his body with multiple straps.
Eric looked down. His scythes were back in their sheathes, but the ties on the sheathes were poorly done. He seemed to be tied up with hopeless, seemingly neverending piles of… yarn? This was a rather odd day for him.
Ignoring the two children staring at him quizzically, Eric bent down towards his sheathes. The yarn was mostly around his legs, wings, and upper arms, so it didn’t bother him too much. He used his teeth to pull apart the ties, before shaking the sheathes off his scythes. He brandished the blades briefly before quickly cutting the yarn off himself.
“Oh, no you don’t get away from me that easily, Scyther…” a female voice suddenly rang out. Eric stopped, and sighed.
“Aunty Rosie!” both Eon children yelled gleefully.
In the door stood a rather odd looking Cubone. She clutched in her hands two bone knitting needles. Instead of a skull mask, she had a mask woven from black yarn, with a single red thread going from the tip of her snout to the base of her neck. There were holes for her eyes, which were squinting with anger, and a zipper for her mouth, giving Eric the impression that she was some sort of psychopathic Banette. Secured to her back was a small bag, from which more yarn spilled out.
Eric sighed, exasperated, upon hearing her words. “You’re Rosie, that member of the Phoenix League?” he asked.
The Cubone nodded, brandishing her needles. “Yes. And you are not taking these children, Reva scum!”
“This is just a misunderstanding,” Eric replied right away. “I’m a newly recruited member of the Phoenix League, my name is Eric, I was sent here to give you a hand with escorting the chil--”
(RL) Gadzooks suddenly shot out his ribbons towards Eric, wrapping them around the Scyther. Koray jumped backwards, multiple lights pulsing different colors randomly formed in front of him. Rosie looped some yarn around each of her needles and got into a battle stance.
Eric froze. He didn’t want to hurt the kids, or his team member. But they seemed more than willing to hurt him.
His wings buzzed to life, and he shot upwards. His leg was yanked out from Gadzooks’ ribbons, and Koray’s Confuse Ray missed him.
Eric figured that he would have some breathing room up near the ceiling, with him being far out of the other Pokemon’s grasp.
Let’s see… I really don’t want to hurt them. I wonder if I could just talk to them, while hovering up here? No, I don’t think that would work. They don’t seem to be in the mood for tal--
Suddenly a bone needle that Rosie had thrown nailed Eric right between the eyes.
The little Cubone waved cheerfully. “Hey! You may be a Flying type, but that doesn’t mean I can’t mortally injure you, doofus!”
Eric fell to the ground. Koray gleefully hit him with another Confuse Ray.
Eric screamed. His vision filled with painful strobing lights flashing unpredictably on and off, switching colors and intensity at whim. His head was throbbing both from the repeated whacks to it, and the painful pulsing strobe lights. He closed his eyes as tightly as possible, and put his scythes on his head trying to block out the lights. Which was stupid of him, seeing that that was also rather painful.
“Hai-yah!” Gadzooks yelled, using Disarming Voice. Eric slightly opened one eye. A light pink mist was around the Sylveon’s mouth, but that might’ve been an afterimage from the painful effects of Confuse Ray.
“Bet you didn’t expect us to be so strong, did ya, Reva scum?” Gadzooks asked, still taunting the Scyther while using Disarming Voice. “You didn’t expect anything from two newly evolved Eevee hatchlings. Well, this is what you get for taking away our entire Clan, and then coming back like nothing ever happened!”
Eric growled in response the pain. Rosie hurled another bone needle at him, and Koray hit him hard with a Toxic attack. He felt sick to his stomach, like he wanted to vomit. He wanted to tear out his eyes to make the terrible throbbing stop.
“I’m not from Reva…” he growled, sinking his scythes into the dirt floor. Koray kicked out the blades from under him, his paws coated in dark energy as he used Foul Play. Eric crumpled into a small green heap of scythes and wings.
Rosie chuckled, descending on Eric as she returned his scythes to their sheathes, and began tying him up again with something that felt much sturdier, like metal. As Eric’s vision faded to black, he thought he saw the Eeveeloution brothers high-fiving each other…

[LKWayvern]

Chapter 6

The Sparring Glade turned out to be a small hollow ringed by Oran trees. The moss inside it was soft, like a carpet, and would certainly cushion Eric’s fall if he hit the ground.
As the Scyther stood facing Raider, his feet sunk into the cool mossy pillow on the ground.
“First, let’s start by seeing just how good at battling you three are,” Raider said. “If you hit me once, I faint. If I hit you once, you faint. Moves are encouraged, but don’t go all out. Now, Gadzooks, hit me with whatever you--”
(RL) Before Raider had even finished speaking, Gadzooks raced recklessly towards Raider, his ribbons enlarging and hurling themselves around her, intending to grab and restrain her.
Raider leaped backwards, and the ribbons only grabbed themselves, getting tangled up. Gadzooks changed tactics and leaped towards Raider, baring his fangs. Raider didn’t even try to dodge, instead holding out her roses, and letting out a single round of Bullet Seed with a loud bang!
Gadzooks screeched and tried to dodge. His momentum made him hit the grass awkwardly, however, he had been too late. The Bullet Seed had grazed his tail.
“Now, Koray, attack,” Raider commanded.
The Umbreon crouched down in the moss, sizing the Roserade up. He readied a Confuse Ray in front of himself, and launched the orb out at Raider.
Raider closed her eyes, allowing the Confuse Ray to hit her. She then let aimed her roses in front of her, and stopped.
Koray froze, unsure of what to expect. He hesitantly formed a sphere of Toxic in front of him, and hurled the deadly venom at Raider. She didn’t even flinch, instead she calmly fired two Pin Missiles at Koray.
The Umbreon shrieked, and white energy sparked off his fur as he used Quick Attack to get away. He stared at Raider from his new position for several moments, unsure of what to do.
Raider opened her eyes again, having successfully waited out the confusion. She scanned the Glade for Koray, and then finding him, fired another Pin Missile right beside him.
Before it hit the Dark type, he was off like a rocket with his Quick Attack. Raider noted how he didn’t seem to be very good at steering and was going too fast to stop, and so fired a Pin Missile at the area right in front of him. Koray yelled as the Missile hit his paw, more out of surprise than pain.
Raider gave a gesture to Eric. Eric got into a battle stance, taking off his sheathes and raising his scythes before him.
Eric paused for a moment, wondering what would be the best way to proceed. He decided to test Raider with a U-Turn attack.
As Eric charged down the Roserade, his body dissolved into brilliant green energy. Raider quickly put up a Protect attack. The energy rebounded off of the barrier, and regrouped back into a Scyther on the other side of the Glade. Raider ran towards Eric right away, knowing the Scyther had to recover from the experience of being transformed into energy and back.
Eric readied an Aerial Ace, and shot towards Raider, moving slightly slower than she. While he ran he tried to identify what move she was going to use. His best guess was something with her roses, but that didn’t narrow it down very much.
Right when Eric was just about to hit Raider hard with his Aerial Ace, Raider let loose a massive cloud of yellow spores directly in front of Eric’s face. Before he realized what was happening, Eric inhaled the Stun Spore, and felt its numbing effects grip his limbs immediately.
Raider tapped Eric’s nose. “There. I defeated you all. Now, Aromatherapy.” Once the healing move had worked its’ magic, the three young Pokemon gathered in a line once more.
Raider first turned her attention to Gadzooks. “Where to begin. First of all, you charged me before you had even fully conceived a strategy. You didn’t even use any actual moves, you simply flailed about with your ribbons, and tried to tackle me into submission. Without moves, a Pokemon is just helpless, just like a trainer without their Pokemon. If you had tried to get me with one of your ranged attacks, like Fairy Wind, you could’ve hit me.”
Gadzooks looked down at his paws.
Raider turned towards her next victim. “Koray. You used Confuse Ray on me to keep me from hurting you, but you knew I was clever enough not to do damage to myself. You also used Toxic on me, when you know perfectly well that Toxic won’t hurt a Poison type like me. You also did not use your Quick Attack to hit me, but instead you used it to dodge my moves.” Raider paused a moment. “You’re clever. You know how to use your moves, and you’re loyal. Too loyal, in fact. You’d have no problem attacking a Team Reva member, I assume, but I believe that you don’t have full control over the strength of your more powerful moves, so you try to restrain yourself to just status moves while sparring. This won’t help your problem at all. You may hurt your allies if you hit them with a move, but you will also gain greater control with that move. If you gain greater control, you can avoid injuring your allies, and do more damage to your foes.”
Koray smiled up at Raider. He seemed quite pleased with her appraisal of his skills.
Raider shifted her attention to Eric. “Now, Eric… The first time we met, you were stuck in your head trying to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of a new enemy. Even if you had been evenly matched with the fossils, you knew too little about how to fight them, and would have been defeated because of that. You saw Gadzooks and Koray attack me, and yet you still took some time pondering what to do. Your U-Turn attack was to drop you far enough away to give you more time to think. You only attacked when pressed, and you spent far too much time wondering what I was doing to realize I was using Stun Spore. You need to rely on your thoughts less and your instincts more, or else a particularly bloodthirsty or fast opponent may hit you much harder than I did.”
Raider sighed. “Good work, everyone. Tomorrow I shall begin working with each of you individually. Koray, you need the least work, so you will go first. When I believe that you are ready, I will move on to Eric, and then to Gadzooks. When I believe you are each strong enough, we will try this exercise again. Now, it is getting late. Go find some food to eat.”

[LKWayvern]

Chapter 7

After dinner Eric, Koray, and Gadzooks were taken to their sleeping quarters. Apparently, the male members slept in one room while the female members slept in another. There were roughly fifteen hammocks in the room, and yet Eric, Koray, and Gadzooks had it all to themselves.
(RL) The three Pokemon lay on their hammocks, staring up at the grassy ceiling. There was light in the room, from the softly glowing mushrooms in all the corners shining just brightly enough to see but not bright enough to make it difficult to fall asleep. It was like a mushroom nightlight.
There were a few moments of silence. Then Eric heard Gadzooks ask “Tell us a bedtime story, Eric.”
Eric blinked slowly. “I don’t know any bedtime stories. The Rahzyne Clan… They told us old legends of war heroes, hoping that someday we would become as honored as they.”
“Then tell us one of those,” Gadzooks pleaded.
Eric closed his eyes, casting his memory back. “It used to be that Pokemon and humans lived on multiple different regions together,” he recited. “Humans became trainers and roamed the land with their chosen teams of Pokemon. However, certain Pokemon were forced to be with cruel trainers, or unwillingly torn away from their families. Many Pokemon disliked this, and demanded that the humans give them their own region to be free on, and forget humans.”
Eric inhaled for a moment, trying to remember what happened next in the tale. “The humans gave the Pokemon the region of Utopia, and promised they would never set foot there. The Pokemon split into their respective clans, and lived in a golden age for many years. But then the humans broke their promise and returned. They started by capturing a few Pokemon that wandered off, but then one group found the Grafiz Clan, which was made up of Linoone and Zigzagoon. The Clan was destroyed. Adults were captured and sold to rich and powerful trainers, children were given out to young children and elderly adults as pets, and eggs were given to beginning trainers so that the young Zigzagoon would imprint on the trainer, and obey their commands faithfully, no matter what it was. The humans attacked several other Clans, before they found the Rahzyne Clan. The fearless Scyther of the Rahzyne Clan, led by their leader Katsuko, massacred the humans, and ever since that day they honored their promise and never again set foot in the Utopia Region.”
“Our Mama told us that story,” Koray spoke up. “But she said that an elderly Espeon telepathically conveyed her feelings of sorrow and betrayal to the humans, and the humans, feeling guilty, then left and never came back.”
Eric nodded. “What was your clan like?” he asked.
Koray bit his lip. “Our Clan was called the Muli Clan. You saw our village, right? Auntie Rosie said she found you near the buildings area. You saw how diverse it was. How many different homes and dens, each created specially for a specific Eeveeloution. There were also the most abundant farms, and these beautiful gardens that I swear rival Vibrant Meadow’s… And the Muli Clan, we were one of the better ones. We had many allies among other Clans, and often traded with them. We were intelligent, and no one in our living memory had ever went to war with another Clan…”
“The Rahzyne Clan was very different,” Eric admitted. “Our scythes weren’t very good tools for building, so we were a rather primitive clan. What we couldn’t create we attacked other clans and stole from them. We were not well liked among the Clans… My allies, they attacked before they fully thought out their actions. I hated that way of thinking, I wanted to change it… But the only way I could was by becoming leader…”
“Maybe if you rescue your clanmates, they’ll promote you to leader,” Koray suggested.
It took him several long moments for him to realize that both his brother and his ally had fallen fast asleep, their dreams filled with humans and bloody scythes and ashes.
Ashes.
Ashes…