Chapter 8- Heated: Command
Kiba Makuro
Junior Trainer
- Pronouns
- He/Him, They/Them
Posted January 29th, 2025
Chapter Summary
T'nuri, Team Kirigiri, and Elder have found themselves in quite the situation on the bladed gravesite mountain as it's time to put their battling and investigation skills together to clear out the Ruinous Fog on Kuanalio for once and for all. No one knows what awaits them, especially since they come across even more. Will they make it out unscathed?
Chapter Summary
T'nuri, Team Kirigiri, and Elder have found themselves in quite the situation on the bladed gravesite mountain as it's time to put their battling and investigation skills together to clear out the Ruinous Fog on Kuanalio for once and for all. No one knows what awaits them, especially since they come across even more. Will they make it out unscathed?
On the summit of the bladed mountain, far above Aenivland Village, T'nuri, Alejandrien, Kaliente, Emile and Elder Rapidash stood in awe. Decorated swords, lances, and axes were lodged tight into the stone. Bits of rust and dirt caked on them shone as the sun set. The land below them crackled, as a tremor ran amok, jumbling the soil into the fog above. Faint red, and orange speckled vapor encircled the five Pokémon as the twilight sky darkened further.
“Cerooo!” the two vapor-like beings called.
As the earth shook, memories of early this morning rang through T'nuri's skull-helmet.
Words chanted in the sea of white clouds where Pa'a Lepo normally had a teal ocean. Cries from otherworldly voices while the Cubone, and all of Team Kirigiri, fled the troubled waters with Team Zháo.
But still, the voices, ones from within the sea back then did not leave without a parting gift.
“Cero Iglesia most high.”
The Cubone's thoughts spun. If that was the case, then what was low?
Another wall of Ruinous Fog emerged, caging Team Kirigiri away from Elder Rapidash. Black, orange and red hues blocked the left, while dark grey ones walled right, neither moving a centri.
But still, they weren't alone.
“Cero!”
That terribly frightening roar ushered in a tidal wave of broiling heated fog. At the center, two forms emerged, pitch blackness with purple droplets cloaking their bodies from top to bottom. Their cries might as well have been a command. Surrender or die. Slowly but surely, the figures lost the mist obfuscating them. From the haze emerged two Pokémon? One small and light blue, the other large and white. The former was quite familiar to the Fogcutters and the Elder. A haunting reminder of the previous tragedy, flickering embers, and dancing fire, all across their body. Whilst the other flooded with corruption, a reminder of the perlious journey.
“Cerooo!” the larger one cried, stamping its hooves on the broken ground, fire whipping in its wake.
Just afterwards, a flood of water soaked the earth, the waves jostling Team Kirigiri as it came up to their bellies. “Ceroo!” the smaller one called back in reply.
“What in Lunala's seas is going on!?” T'nuri screamed, holding her bone-club high above her head, arms trembling.
“Lunala's seas?” Alejandrien asked. “What?”
The Cubone groaned. “Nevermind that now!” Shoot. She thought. I forgot not to mention that! they'll ask about the flooded kingdom nonstop!
“Look alive mates!” Kaliente yelled, barely managing his footing with Emile.
“Tu ayudes? Do you need help?” the Grookey dug her paws into the ground, tiny roots burying into the soil.
“Nah, I'm good.”
Fast fast fast! “Woah!” the Cubone yelped.
The Jangmo-o beside her grabbed her shoulder.“Hang on, partner!”
Emile strained forward, but the broken earth in between kept the two just out of reach. “Stay strong!” she urged.
“I'll try!” T'nuri cried.
Water rushed all around to the wall of Ruinous Fog around them, alongside hotter, larger flames. Like earlier, fire bathed on the left while flooding cooked the right, neatly divided in chaos. After a few moments the onslaught subsided. Unfortunately, T'nuri and Alejandrien fell, doubled over, chins, and upper bodies drenched in the toxic fluid. Great, T'nuri thought. Just what I sparking needed.
“Ooh,” Emile winced, her tail lowering in sympathy.
Kaliente patted down his own scales.“Are ya two okay?”
“A lil, partner,” Alejandrien grunted as they shook off the muck.
“Ugh, yeah, this is worse than the poison, but I'm good,” the Cubone grumbled, before she gagged and spat out a dark liquid. Snuffing awful taste, so awful.
But the Fogcutters couldn't get too comfortable, for a wind picked up behind two figures in the center of the gravesite battleground.
“Ceroo!” the two hidden forms cried.
As quickly as they could, T'nuri and Alejandrien scrambled behind the largest tombstone. Moments later the final layer of mist on their unknown foes cleared.
“What are those mockeries!” Elder Rapidash gasped from behind the wall of fog blocking the gravesite, her eyes wide in terror. “That beast has mine form, but t’was spawned by flames!”
Hidden behind the gravestone, Team Kirigiri caught their breath.
“And what in bloody waters is that!?” Kaliente screamed.
Emile ducked down as she shifted behind him. “Why is it blue?”
“That Wooper’s all watery, like the very sea drowned out all the poison!”
Its horizontal horns would herald a torrential downpour! “It's gonna kill us!” T'nuri cried, trembling behind Alejandrien who sighed.
“Please y’all,” the Jangmo-o stepped in front of their three teammates. “Don't worry about their appearance.”
“Really?” the four other Pokémon asked, Elder Rapidash behind the wall included.
“It's just Pokémon I've seen before from the Sand Continent, A Rapidash and Wooper,” Alejandrien explained.
Partially cloaked in a nimbus of grey and sunset hues, the fiery Rapidash and the watery Wooper stuck out like a sore thumb. And so did their attacks, a thin Flamethrower and a burst of pressurized Water Gun, each cloaked in wisps of fog.
T'nuri glanced back over at Elder. “Those two are Rapidash and Wooper?” All Wooper I've seen in the Archipelago are brown and full of poison.”
“I've never heard of any, on any island throughout the history of our waters,” Kaliente said as he quickly flipped through one of his pocket textbooks. He closed the books and pushed them back into his bag with a groan. “Why do they have bloody fog on them?”
“Elder, and Patrick Ronald are fairy Rapidash, not fire!” Emile yelled. “That can't be right.”
“Grandfather Adawolt did not speak of them, nor did mine ancestors or kin,” Elder added, whipping her tail.
“I can’t imagine why they’d be here easy,” Alejandrien groaned, “Especially made of fog.”
“How is there a water Wooper?” the Grookey questioned.
“No,” Kaliente called. “That doesn't make any sense, aren't they made of poison?”
“Didn’t that Clodsire Apothecary lose one of her Wooper sons in a sailing incident?” Emile questioned, her mouth a snarl. “Poison rain, just like him? How sparking rude!”
“Also we just saw Rapidash right now and there's a-” Kaliente’s words faded as he clenched his claws.“That's a focking twisted joke if I've ever seen one!”
“Elder Rapidash got nearly burnt and this is what we are faced with?”
The Fuecoco spit out smoke before he yelled. “Unbelievable!”
Fierce as the sun, a foggy Flamethrower scorched through a row of gravestones, scarring the tops in a red hue that quickly burnt black.
“They just shot out Ruinous Fog!?” T'nuri yelped as she rolled out of reach of another wave.
“Could y'all not?” Alejandrien shouted toward the watery Wooper and the fiery Rapidash.
Furious, the two shook their heads before they roared. “Cececero!”
“I had to try,” the Jangmo-o lamented. “Sahra Town courtesy and all.”
The two responded to Isla Linga but didn’t reply back in it?“Even though they just tried to kill us?” the Cubone asked.
“Yep!”
“Good effort I suppose!” T'nuri laughed.
“These Pokémon aren't possible! Like a twisted version of what we have in our waters,” Kaliente cried.
Emile hummed.“Twisted like Ruinous Fog, one Rawst, two Lum… Perhaps physical manifestations?”
T'nuri turned her head. Why's she counting berries now?!
“If these two aren't the source of it on Kuanalio Island, then what are they?” Alejandrien pondered aloud.
“Forsaking mine ancestors!” Elder gasped, eyes wide. “Their resting place is sacred!”
“We'll try to keep the tombstones safe, but no promises mate!” the Fuecoco urged.
“That's the main problem!” the Jangmo-o nervously laughed.
“What should we call these two Pokemon?” T'nuri questioned.
The Grookey across from her waved her stick.“Well, they are made of fog, and they produce fog.”
“Fogbeasts?” Alejandrien offered.
“Ya can't just say beast mate!” Kaliente snapped.
“But we can't understand a lick of what they say or want!”
“Still, that's not how we do things in the Archipelago!” Emile growled, her ears flat.
“Yeah, no, just because they attack us and only say ‘cero’ doesn't mean they are beasts,” T'nuri explained, fiddling with her bone-club. “We'd never treat wilderners or any Pokémon like that.”
The Jangmo-o held their head down. “Wha’? My apologies y'all. I'm still learning about yur waters culture, and reconnect with what once was my grandparents home.”
“Is an honest mistake,” the Fuecoco sighed out a tiny flame.
“Thanks, anyway.” Emile also sighed.
With a blushing maw, Alejandrien offered another suggestion.“Let’s call them Fogmakers.”
“Nah, sounds lame.” T’nuri replied.
“That fire that nearly burnt us again is anything but lame!” the Jangmo-o yelled.
“Mine kin needeth aim their wrath at these two, they brought about the calamity!” Elder added.
“Brought, bringing-” Emile repeated.
“Ya have an idea?” Kaliente questioned.
I've got one! “Let’s call them Fogbringers!” T’nuri said, holding her bone-club up.
The Fuecoco smirked. “Fogbringers eh?”
“Nice one T'nuri!” Alejandrien cheered.
T'nuri took a couple steps back as she rubbed her chin.“What should we do about them?”
A blast of flames shot just above her skull-helmet, while a splash of water nearly tagged Kaliente's back.
“Get down!” the Grookey ordered. “They’re firing moves again!”
Eyes wide, Kaliente rubbed his shoulders. “Let's try to block the oncoming wave!”
“You got it!” Emile cracked her knuckles as she readied her stick.
The watery Wooper and fiery Rapidash stopped their attacks for a moment, changing their positions as they stared the four down.
“Ceroro!” the two Fogbringers barked.
“Now!” T’nuri ordered, racing ahead. “Let’s cause a distraction!”
“Come on y’all!” Alejandrien yelled as they followed. The two hopped from side to side, waving their limbs, all the while dodging swaths of flaming fog in their path.
Kaliente hobbled around the ground before he shouted out a Disarming Voice at the fire Rapidash.
Just behind him, Emile threw her Razor Leaves toward the water Wooper. When the fairy and grass attacks combined they did not block anything. Heavy black and red Ruinous Fog whirling around, the Fogbringers simply stumbled forward for a second before they rushed past the Fuecoco and Grookey.
“Like it or not here we go!” T'nuri yelled as she tossed out her Bonemerang.
Right behind her, Alejandrien followed, but turned around quickly. They pivoted on their fore-legs and kicked firm, their Low Kick connecting right on time with the Cubone's yellow, brown blur.
But the combined earth and fighting-type moves weren't enough, the Ruinous Fog of the Fogbringers wasn't cut. With a thunderous crash, the already broken ground splintered like wood, shattering into pieces, tombstone and blade alike destroyed.
The Cubone and Jangmo-o tumbled backward, their bodies pummeling the mountainside with a thud.
“Damn, what gives!?” T'nuri stamped the ground.
Alejandrien snarled as their scales slightly flickered purple and green. “We're protecting Elder and the villagers, aren't we?”
Fours sections along the water Wooper and fire Rapidash's black miasma lit up red and orange, the colors inside briefly flashing, light-brown, teal, orange, and dark-green. The Fogbringers roared before they shot out a plume of ash and foam. In an instant the thin black soot and purple-white bubbles consumed almost the entirety of the gravesite, the wind howling with the wall of fog.
From beyond the boundary Elder thrashed. “Stand firm detectives!” she cried. “I believeth thine efforts to be worthy!”
“What's this!?” Emile gasped, hopping atop a tombstone as the new danger swept through the area. Though she was quick on her paws, the encroaching wave of Ruinous Fog caught the Grookey and her teammates. The ash sapped their energy, while the foam assaulted their strides, bogging the four in stinging goop. “It hurts!” she screamed.
Patches of burn marks slowly dottled Team Kirigiri’s bodies, as their feet stuck to the ground, aching through searing hot bubbles along the ground.
“Fer quaza’s clouds, this's damned awful!” Alejandrien yelped.
Kaliente collapsed onto the ground as the water Wooper and fire Rapidash's attacks overwhelmed him, his body covered head to claw in their filthy mist. “Shite, Miraidon's sparks, what're we gonna do?”
“No se. I don't know, I really don’t,” T'nuri coughed as she dropped into an exposed bit of sand. She kicked it and something unexpected happened. It wasn't unfound, as the Cubone had done it the previous day.
T'nuri cleared a bit of the fog.
Some of the mist parted as the sand scattered through it like buckshot.
“W-what was that!?” Alejandrien yelped, scrambling upright with a limp.
The Cubone gasped as she stood up. “Giritina’s wings!?” T'nuri looked back and forth, watching the parting vapors dissolve to the wind. A glimpse of true Fogcutting once again. I did that? Incredible!
“Our moves did work!” the Fuecoco clapped.
“Thanks fer that!” the Jangmo-o called.
“Again!” the Grookey urged, pointing at the water Wooper and fire Rapidash.
Kaliente and Emile dashed through the foam, hobbling past overturned buried weapons and broken tombstones alike toward the Fogbringers. Those same Fogbringers who doused more of the mountain’s surface in toxic gas by the second, their bodies cloaked in dark vapors. The Grookey and Fuecoco weaved through rows of graves, right up to the water Wooper and fire Rapidash.
With fire and fumes choking her every breath, Emile got right up to the watery Wooper. They shrank away just before the Grookey swung her Branch Poke, the stick turning to a sword.
On the other hand, Kaliente did a plain old full body Tackle at the fiery Rapidash in his reach. Grass energy and normal energy smashed into the surrounding fog at the same time. The mists took the brunt of the attacks, and the two were open, being so up close and personal with the Fogbringers.
T’nuri took in a deep breath before she hurried into the cloud of flames and stinging rain. The Cubone ran past the same obstacles the others did, but couldn't dodge the torrents of foam that collided against her. “S-sparks!” Drenched, T'nuri scampered on unsteady claws toward the fiery Rapidash, Bone-Club at the ready.
Right beside her, the Jangmo-o opted for something different. They barreled up to the Cubone and at the same time slammed into the fiery Rapidash, three swipes of their sharp Scales shooting out in the process. But the Fogbringers only shifted slightly as fog rose around them, this time dark slate grey.
T'nuri pulled her bone-club back as she hurried out of reach. “What's that!?” she questioned, eyes wide.
“No good!” the Jangmo-o shouted, just before she hopped away.
None of the Fogcutters reached the cover of the larger tombstones, but that didn't matter. After the energy redistributed along the mists, the fire Rapidash, and water Wooper shot out more Ruinous Fog.
Like a flash of lightning, a cloud of black fog barreled through the area. It swept into each member of Team Kirigiri, the blowback threw Kaliente and Emile into a pool of poison, while Alejandrien crashed against a flaming piece of the mountain.
Shit, shit, shit! T’nuri’s thoughts flew as she careened through the air and crashed into a tombstone.Darkness filled her mind. The Cubone’s eyes shut as exhaustion ran through her body. Blood trickled down from the top of her head as fire ate at her scales. Can we even stop them? T’nuri strained to lift her head but collapsed.The Fuecoco, Grookey, and Jangmo-o didn’t fare any better, Ruinous Fog lapping away at their tired and bruised bodies while the sky grew darker.If I can’t clear this, how can I save Pa’a Lepo? As the Cubone's eyes closed she nearly lost grip of her bone-club.
“Detectives!” Elder Rapidash's shout echoed through the mountainside. “Thine efforts shant be in vain!”
The bone-club rattled in T'nuri's claw. “Huh?” she mumbled.
Beyond the wall, Elder continued.“The Fogbringers hath faltered!”
“They have?” T'nuri's brown eyes shot open.
“Take sight!”
In the cover of the Ruinous Fog the Fogbringers were strewn about, whimpering and sputtering as they recovered. Though they were vapor-like, pain still etched across their features. The two were Pokémon after all.
That wave was a front! The Cubone staggered off the ground, only slightly reinvigorated. “What!?” she yelped, her stubby tail perked.
Along the mists across the watery Wooper and fiery Rapidash four lights flashed. Each hue matched the moves that Team Kirigiri used against them, but something was missing. The colors didn't flash at the same time. But still, the Fogbringers fell to the ground, their attacks dwindling.The Ruinous Fog the two Pokémon had brought out persisted, however.
“Guys!” the Cubone yelled, hurrying over to Alejandrien, Kaliente, and Emile.
The Jangmo-o groaned as she waded through the sludge. “Wha’ is it pardner?”
“Our moves worked this time!” T'nuri grabbed their shoulders and pulled them out the pool of poison rain and foam, meshed with the shattered earth.
“They did?” Emile gasped, rolling over.
Kaliente held onto his knee as he got up, a grimace on his maw. “It ain't over, innit mates?”
Alejandrien shivered. “How'd ya know that part? We've gotta be specific with evidence with this Ruinous Fog.”
“Guessing really, detective,” T'nuri spat. “The lights on the Fogbringers aren't linked.”
“Simmer down now,” Alejandrien growled.
“Sorry. Anyway is it-”
“Because we went first?” the Grookey questioned.
The Jangmo-o hummed.“This water Wooper and fire Rapidash aren't like the Ruinous Fog, where we could block then cut them.”
“Mierda, shit,” Emile grumbled as her ears folded.
The Fuecoco beside her crossed his arms.“Does that mean we can't do damn jack?”
With a shake of their head, Alejandrien leaned toward the two. “Ya and Emile are still Fogcutters too,” they reminded.
“Two Fogcutting blockers,” Emile answered, standing up taller.
Kaliente clapped his claws.“And ya two are Fogcutting through-ers. Eh, it doesn't ring.”
“It doesn't matter.”
T'nuri rubbed her chin for a moment. “Lead Esperanza said that there being this many Fogcutters in an Investigation Team had a purpose, we just had to find it!”
“That's right!” the Grookey brightened, lifting her stick.
“But how're we gonna bloody do anything together?” Kaliente huffed.
Lifting their claw, the Jangmo-o's golden eyes lit up. “Let's try a chained attack or something!”
“What would that be?” the Fuecoco questioned, stretching his claws.
T'nuri pumped her fist before she spoke.“It would be all four of us hitting these mudders at the same time!”
“We need to use the same moves we did before!” Emile realized.
“Ceroro!” the fiery Rapidash neighed, flailing their hooves.
Just below them, the watery Wooper splashed, foam slowly building around them. “Rerecero!”
“The Fogbringers are getting up!” Tnuri yelled.
“I don't know about you, but I can't handle anymore of this snuff!” Kaliente puffed out a plume of steam.
“Our last chance!” the Cubone held her bone-club high as she stared down her adversaries.
The watery Wooper and fiery Rapidash were far ahead, all of the tombs along with dozens upon dozens of forgotten weapons in Team Kirigiri’s path. The earthquake had torn the grey speckled mountain and littered it with juts and dips, all the while twilight edged closer to night.
Time didn’t stand still while Team Kirigiri was trapped in the little wall. Thankfully just outside was a safe haven, as Elder Rapidash had been spared. Not free from imminent danger, if the Fogcutters fell and succumbed to the flames all would be lost.
“Alright!” Emile hurried ahead, hopping from gravestone to gravestone.
“This ends here mate!” Kaliente yelled, patting his chest as he glanced left and right.
The watery Wooper's eyes went wide and the fiery Rapidash's tail whipped wildly, it was plain to see: they've been had.
“You're not invincible!” the Cubone screamed, running head first into the tidal wave of fire and fog. A Flamethrower scorched through the scales on her left side as she rolled to the side past a battleaxe. “How fitting! Like an ax straight true!”
“It's my time ta shine!” Just like before, with Alejandrien just across to the left, Scale Shot after scale shot flying her way, the Cubone knew what to do: showoff.
Quick as a kite, the first Scale Shot darted past the water Wooper and right toward T'nuri.
“Do it now!” Kaliente yelled. At that moment, he was enveloped in bright white light and crashed toward his enemy with another Tackle. The Fuecoco's body hit the water Wooper when Emile’s Branch Poke blade did. At that same time T'nuri hit Alejandrien's Scale Shot with her Bone-Club, straight into the fire Rapidash.
“Cececro?” the Fogbringers cried, cowering just before each move combined.
Scared now, huh fucking mudders?! T’nuri roared, both claws slashing her Bone-Club through the Ruinous Fog of the watery Wooper and fiery Rapidash, her whole skull-helmet pitch-black. The Cubone’s eyes narrowed. “Oh now you want out!? You didn’t have to do this!”
Alejandrien's eyes widened as they fired their last effort.“It's over now!” they urged. “Hold yur Horseas, T'nuri!”
Four more Scale Shots joined T’nuri and there were no more negotiations for the Fogbringers. One last otherworldly call echoed through the night. “CERO!”
In a flash of black, purple, red and green, all of the Ruinous Fog on Kuanalio Island was seized. Orange and dark green, chains of fire and vines first spiraled all across the vapors, pulling all of them tightly, slowly the chains doubled and tripled, more energy collapsing the Ruinous Fog into a spherical shape. It grew in size as it rose into the twilight sky. High above the bladed mountain, even breaching far above the volcano. Finally, the destructive force that nearly claimed life over and over again: the fires and poison rain causing fog, Ruinous Fog was gone.
Just as fast, the fiery Rapidash and the watery Wooper vanished, leaving nothing in their place besides the aftermath of their attacks, a Fogcutter vs Fogbringer battle, the circular wall shattering. Not a puddle or ember remained in their wake.
“Wait, what happened?” the Cubone gasped.
Alejandrien nearly collapsed as she glanced around.“Hmm wha? Where'd their bodies go?”
“Did they not faint?” T’nuri asked.Did they get really hurt? Worse than fainting?
“Is that why they were so scared?” Kaliente offered.
Emile stretched her back with a groan.“That doesn't make any sense.”
The Cubone beside her shivered for a moment.“Nothing about this made any sense, but I don't understand why we can't see them. Then we could lock them up for their crimes against the island.” I hope they didn’t die or something.
Kaliente yawned. “They came from the ground in an odd way, so perhaps they left in an odd fashion.”
The two are probably fine.“Just like Haku and Nupa,” T’nuri realized aloud, her arms dropping. “That Drillbur and that Sandshrew, the odd wilderners who knew about Ruinous Fog before it came in full.”
“I don't know,” Emile hummed as she kicked at a pebble. Her tail curled in the wind as she paced a tight circle. “I can't calculate how they vanished this time, it was over two-hundred kilometers per hour.”
“Ridiculous,” Alejandrien sighed. “I didn't even get any compound samples of their attacks.”
“I’ll record it down, we have ta move on. We can't spend all day on that,” the Fuecoco urged, after stifling another yawn.
T’nuri sighed. “All we know is that it's over.”
The Jangmo-o nodded.“Well we ain’t sure if it's over completely but from the looks of it on this side of the island it's over.”
“Later,” Emile lamented, "Vamos ahora, we go now.”
As they righted each gravestone, dusting off soot, and sod alike, Investigation Team Kirigiri once again caught their breath.
“I wonder why you flashed those colors?” the Grookey questioned, before keeling over.
T’nuri softly whistled. Each day ‘Adrian and I flashed either purple, green, and black. Though their eyes flashed black once, while my skull has been doing it every day. I wonder why?
“That is rather interesting; perhaps it has to do with the control or strength of the Fogcutting power,” the Fuecoco listed.
T'nuri ran a claw across her still black skull-helmet. “Well, you two didn't flash any colors.”
“We didn't?” Kaliente hummed. “That's interestin’, might have been what Head Hector 'twas talkin’ about.”
“What’cha mean pardner?” the Jangmo-o tilted her head.
“Yo se, I think I got it. The Fogcutting powers may affect your mood,” Emile explained, gently placing a broken stone atop a shattered grave.
The Fuecoco nodded. “As when yew mates got agitated, your control of yer Fogcutting powers slipped, thus your body loosened its control over yer mood instead of lettin’ out your Fogcutting.”
“Letting it out?” Alejandrien questioned.
Kaliente wasn't done with his lesson just yet as he continued. “But it's not like ta Fogcutting can harm anythin’ that's not Ruinous Fog,” he stated, then yawned again. “Though to activate, we have ta use a move that can.”
With a grin, Emile tapped her paws together. “I wonder why T'nuri’s skull turned black, and why the both of you had purple and green.”
“Why's T'nuri getting all the attention?” Kaliente laughed, before he stopped in his tracks. “Why's the laddie's skull-helmet still black?”
That's a great question! I have no sparking clue! The Cubone hobbled against a tombstone, back down toward the exit. Her skull slowly faded birch white. “W-well let's get out of here.”
Eyes narrow, the Fuecoco reached out to stop her. “Did'nea think I was-”
“Well done detectives!” Elder cheered, rushing over to the four.
Kaliente crossed his arms with a pout. “Yes, quite well.”
“As well as we promised Elder Rapidash,” Alejandrien said, sauntering over to her side before wheezing a tad.
To say Team Kirigiri was battered and bruised was an understatement, as burn marks and tiny cuts adorned their bodies, dried blood amidst their scars of triumph.
Ears folding, Elder gestured a hoof downhill.“Come rest for a little bit, I shall summon your companions.”
“T-thank yee kindly,” the Jangmo-o replied.
And so Team Kirigiri headed all the way back to Aenivland Village. They plopped down into the Soak-style church while Elder Rapidash fetched some supplies. But it wasn't like everything went smoothly in their absence. A few buildings nearby the side entrance burned to the ground. Not even the effigies of Patrick Ronald were safe, one of them charred to a crisp. The unfortunate circumstances of mainly building with wood, when stone was plenty.
Other buildings, ones made of more seashell and clay alongside wood partially crumbled as embers and ash slowly pulled into the sky. The Ruinous Fog had done as feared: destroyed livelihoods.
Though the fire was gone, the scent of ash and soot was still heavy in the air, thick even as the nightly gales blew around the northern island. Almost tauntingly, the ground was slick with poisonous residue, from the toxic drizzle that came before. None could say how the few other Pokémon of the land faced, warnings heeded or not.
“Team Kirigiri!” a deeper familiar voice echoed out from beyond the doors. The hinges flew open and in hobbled in Luciano. Right beside the Heliolisk was Bao.
Both of the Navigators were worse for wear, covered in little nicks and dusted over in smoke. Thankfully no burns or cuts. “We got every Aenivlander inside Southwest Forest, North Beach Mountain, East Hill, and West Grove Beach to safety!” the Clawitzer reported, floating along the floor.
“So those are the other Mystery Dungeons on Kuanalio,” T'nuri said before she took a bite of mixed Rawst and Oran slices.
“Yawen, Vicenta!” the Heliolisk barked into his scarf badge. Two voices chimed back on the Navigators scarves. Then Luciano continued. “Please! We need you and the crew to collect the Aenivland villagers while we patch up.”
Elder Rapidash followed in after Bao and Luciano, a large basket of berries in her mouth. She held it out and Luciano grabbed the basket, peering inside. Berries, seeds, and a few medical kits sat atop a small brown quilt.Everyone retrieved what they needed and the fairy-Rapidash exited the church.
“So how'd it go?” Alejandrien asked, chomping into an Oran berry.
“Thankfully no fatalities in the fire but many of the villagers sustained some major injuries,” Bao sighed, twitching her antennae.
“That's our Head Navigator for ya, innit!” Kaliente cheered, his emerald green eyes bright.
T'nuri held onto her scarred forearms and sighed. “Thank you Captain Bao, Luciano,” her voice dropped down to a whisper. “We couldn't have done that without you.”
Luciano wrapped a bandage on the Clawitzer's abdomen as his tail waved. “De nada mi amors, no problem my loves, err, if you are okay with me saying that.”
“It's fine,” the Cubone replied.
“Good,” the Heliolisk smiled. “Sorry it's just the Alma Blanca way of life ‘love for fellow mon’.”
“I get you, Hau Beach is ‘don't worry, just follow the waves’.”
Bao leaned back as she picked up a Sitrus berry. “Remember, you want to relax to the fullest,” she reminded.
“Yes?” T'nuri glanced back at her.
“You are still in Clearance Three T’nuri. You should write a report on the Ruinous Fog so you can have it when we land in Iaijutsukage, unless you can remember that tomorrow morning.”
I want to go to Clearance Four, even if I want to go back to my woodshop. “Definitely not,” the Cubone groaned before she got up. “Kaliente, could I borrow one of your notebooks?” The Fuecoco handed one to her and T’nuri flipped to the end, pencil in claw. Now let's see. The two teams rested for a bit as the Aenivlanders returned to their village, shaken, but not defeated. Gently, the doors of the church opened.
“Our saviours areth here?” an unfamiliar voice questioned, before a more familiar one spoke.
“Thine truly solved the calamity that beset mine village, Aenivland, departed on high by mine ancestor Patrick Ronald,” Elder Rapidash’s aged voice rang clear, a few younger Rapidash and Ponyta by her side.
“It was our pleasure.” Alejandrien replied.
“The Fogcutter’s Detective Agency never backs away from a mystery,” Kaliente explained, adjusting his scarf.
Emile stood up right beside him. “No matter how many times it takes to cleave through it all.”
One of the younger fairy Rapidash stepped forward, a scroll in his maw. Luciano reached forward and grabbed it. “We haveth a gratuity statement for thine superiors, oh great benefactors,” the younger Rapidash said, his eyes beaming with pride. “Thine rescued my kin and village.”
“And our island!” one of the Ponyta cheered, trotting around for a moment.
Elder reached up behind the pulpit, and into the cabinet. Row and row of shining black artifacts waiting, the shimmer of their splendor reflecting off the candle light. “Forth thine valiant effort I shall offer an obsidian hourglass.”
“Y-ya will?!” Kaliente gasped and secured it into his bag.
Bao clacked her claws as she chuckled. “I pulled some strings for you kids.”
“Really?!” Emile nearly fell over, her tail wagging.
“Only for thine superiors to analyze young detectives,” Elder clarified. “Navigators do watch over them, lest they forsake mine goodwill.”
“Yes Elder, we’ll keep ‘em in line,” Luciano patted Alejandrien on the head before opening the door. “Vamos aqui, let's go here.”
“Do take care, outwaters,” the younger Rapidash gently neighed.
Elder Rapidash held a hoof over the smaller Pokemon, as she closed her eyes in prayer. “May the holy grains of Koraidon's and Miraidon's sands embrace thee and keep thee.”
“Farewell!” Kaliente called. Emile bowed her head while Alejandrien and T’nuri glanced away for a moment.Team Kirigiri and Team Zháo waved goodbye as they left Aenviland Village of Patrick Donald, Ruinous Fog cleared and obsidian hourglass in tow.
“Let's do a quick search of Kuanalio to assess the damages of the Ruinous Fog,” Bao said, slowly jetting into the air.
“We'll do a perimeter search,” Alejandrien explained.
“Report back by Aenivland Village in an hour, and we'll take you back to the dock.”
Emile nodded. “Understood.”
Heading to the east, Team Kirigiri got closer and closer toward the islet where it all began, the thinning, dead foliage and greater presence of rocks growing closer and closer.
A brisk wind blew off from the ocean's waves far below, fried sea grasses growing once again. The soil in this section of the island, stone and tough grit made up the majority of the ground, only a few mangroves, shrubs, and even fewer palm trees dottled the lonesome island.
This feels kinda familiar. T'nuri pondered, her nose filled with the scent of salty brine and sand, all the while the sky darkened, stars sparkling through the inky blackness, grey wispy clouds below.
“What's that?” Emile pointed her stick at an odd jut in the sand.
Kaliente's head crest perked up.“Buried over there!”
“Is it treasure?!” Alejandrien questioned, dropping their snout to the ground.
Emile's ruby eyes narrowed for a moment. “No, judging by the circumference its-”
“My carving!” T'nuri shouted. Don’t cry. She dug out the soaked orange block, her claws tearing the sand as if it were thin air. I can't believe it!
Glossy wood delicately carved in the shape of an open book. Various shades of brown, orange, yellow, even red made up the sculptured piece, a book ten pages thick, even finer chiseling along the words on the bottom left. ‘T'nuri Cubone of Hau Beach 592.’
C’mon don’t cry. The teary-eyed Cubone held her craft up even higher. “One day I can't wait to make something even bigger, a multi wood complex mockup of a Marowak skull-helmet!”
“A nice goal,” the Fuecoco said.
“Ooh,” Alejandrien said. “A book was the carving you had on you. Can ya name one ya liked tha most?”
“Refutation Killer was the one I was really into back then,” T'nuri chuckled.
“It definitely is yours.” The Grookey grinned.
Kaliente ran a claw along the book carving. “The grit’s rough enough that yew couldn't’ve just done it.”
The Jangmo-o licked their chops.“I can smell the bond of the primer pardner.”
“I told you I was a woodworker,” the Cubone sniffled, holding the piece into the night sky. “This took weeks to carve, especially with all these different types of wood.”
“Ah yeah, I see. All those different colors and grains,” the Fuecoco added, a wide grin on his jaws. “Well done, mate.”
Team Kirigiri spread out around the area collecting some final samples, more tiny scraps of plastic and wood close by, but no sign of La Llovinzna. It didn't help that it was nearly pitch dark.
As she turned toward the distant sea T'nuri's brown eyes wavered. “Yep, the different-” A roaring beast of Pokémon visage lit up in her mind. Teal, black, red, and yellow, something like a Mega Salmance but fiercer. Just like the dream the Cubone had earlier.
“You see something in the waves?” Alejandrien questioned, waving a claw in front of the Cubone's face.
“T-the waves?” T'nuri gasped, nearly stumbling over. The second her eyes glanced at the ocean she really did fall over. “Woah!” Deep within her gut was a strong pull, straight toward the sand at her feet. It's like Fogcutters pull? But where?
Once she got up, staring straight into the foamy depths she recoiled.
A familiar sight entered her mind. An odd one, but one that was in the trenches of her memory, from her dream. A fiery and ghastly Cubone, with teal flames, black scales, and a purple skull, a disgusting mockery of her fate, if she hadn’t clearedthe Ruinous Fog. Or something more, an intuition of sorts. It kinda looked like a Sachalla for a second? T’nuri thought. Lill bro? No that can't be right, he's not a Cubone, he's a Cyndaquil. Or maybe that ‘perfect’ green jerk
But there was no time to dwell on that, T'nuri's team just saw her stumble. “Watch your step laddie,” Kaliente said as he held her shoulder.
“We aughta get back ta the Zháo Launcher,” Alejandrien sighed, stretching for a moment. “It's gettin’ late.”
What was that? The Cubone groaned as her mind raced. Why am I seeing those Pokémon? Are they even Pokémon?
Team Kirigiri dusted the area for any signs of life before they headed back toward Aenivland. Burned homes and buildings still awaited them, scarred black by mystical flames, the grasses and fauna beneath sparred miraculously.
Still, ruin had plagued the village, devouring the rich history and isolated livelihoods of the Pokémon of Kuanalio Island in whole. A settlement uninhabitable, stripped of valor.
“Fuck, mon,” T'nuri gasped, watching as Sewaddle, and Archen dug through the burnt remains of one house, only the sturdier chimney upright.
Kaliente held his head down as the group walked toward the southern exit, away from the Soak-style church with the stained glass. “T’is a bloody shame.”
“I'm glad we at least kept the villagers safe.” The Cubone gripped her bone-club tight.
Smoke hung in the brazier and torch lit village streets, as Aenivland prepared for the brisk coming night, home or homeless. Large tents pitched just out of the rubble’s reach, but never out of the path of previous destruction. Anguished sobs were broken by solemn hymns, faith in a new future.
The four remained relatively silent as they headed through the rest of Aenivland, exiting the back gate, which was armed by an Octillery and a Leavanny.
“Snuffing glad they could start the rebuilding effort so quickly,” the Fuecoco sighed.
Emile nodded.“Indeed, by the way, where is the dock?”
“Ya ain't gotta look so hard,” Alejandrien chuckled.
“Huh?”
High atop the mountainside behind Aenivland was a familiar multi-headed Pokémon. The draconic-Exeggutor, Vicenta. Just below her, the massive galleon Zháo Mega Launcher rocked in the pitch-black sea, anchored right on the dock, bathed in the gentle orange hue of the deck lanterns.
“Chicos!” Luciano and Bao rushed over from the Zháo Launcher, and crashed into T'nuri, Alejandrien, Kaliente, and Emile. The Heliolisk and Clawitzer hugged them tight, whispering praises, and affirmations before a tap on their shoulders pried them away.
An Indeedee, their horns curved upwards in the star-lit sky cleared their throat. “I'm glad the past sands of time granted us this moment,” Yawen said as he ran a hoof over his scarf. “I'm glad to see you, Investigation Team Kirigiri.”
“Hola!” an airy voice from above called. Vicenta, who had been sitting on the other side of the galleon, made her way over.
“It's easier to search for any potential Ruinous Fog traces from on board,” Bao explained before she floated back to the rudder of the massive ship.
Of course we're not done. T'nuri sighed.
The Indeedee on shore nodded. “Why don't you four head up?” Yawen offered, his tail low. “Try to take it easy.”
Team Kirigiri headed up the ramp on the port side of the Zháo Launcher and settled : they'd have about a six hour route back to Iaijutsukage, if the winds were generous. Unfortunately that wasn't the case.
A thunderstorm rained in from the night sky, bringing pelting rain and ear-shattering thunder, not to mention terrible gusts of wind, which whipped up the ocean below.
Static of the loudspeaker crackled before Bao gave one startling command. “All mon on deck!”
With a mighty crash, the galleon lurched in the North Celestial Shadow Sea. Frigid water splashed aboard the ship, and tossed the Pokémon toward the starboard side. Breezes straight off the sea battered against the sails, nearly throwing Zháo Launcher off course and into the depths below.
“HANG ON!” the Clawitzer yelled, watching as a colossal wave rocketed toward them.
Yawen and Luciano manned the sails, with Bao's swing of the rudder, their combined effort pulling the Zháo Launcher upright just as a flash of lightning brightened the night sky.
“Everyone alright?” Vicenta questioned. The whole time she stood perfectly still in the center of the ship, slowly emanating a Grassy Terrain, the green glow illuminating the entire ship. The thick roots bolted everything onboard to the Zháo Launcher, even after the sky slowly cleared.
Dizzy, T'nuri opened eyes she didn't even realize she had shut. “Team Kirigiri is here!” the Cubone shouted, her three teammates huddled right beside her.
“Clearance Zero is here too!” a Panpour cried, holding up a spool of rope.
“Great, now in this little storm we did bump into something so let's stop and turn on the high beams,” Bao explained, glancing at her Wonder Map. Slowly the anchor dropped into the depths, Yawen and some Clearance Zero mon pushing the chain's rudder.
“Got it!” Luciano headed down to the bow of Zháo Launcher and blasted out a yellow current, and Electric Terrain soon took over the grass, and in turn all the lamps and lanterns aboard lit up even brighter, almost like daybreak.
A large white fragment bobbed in the waves, a piece of something. Not a fragment, but wreckage. Wreckage of a rather large white, light teal, grey and yellow vessel, half of the plastic, wood, and metal pieces adrift in the ocean, half sunken in the bubbling depths. Still partially under the dark wastes were a few upside down lifeboats. Just next to them, luggage, crates, and lifeforms.
Luciano aimed a pair of the beams in a slow line and T’nuri’s heart dropped.It can’t be. “Can you lower the ramp?” she questioned.
“Of course.” The Heliolisk nodded.
Slowly the Cubone made her way to the water’s edge. She placed her claw in the icy depths, just barely grazing the white plastic. “It’s La Llovinzna,” she gasped. “Completely destroyed.”
A few dead bodies floated in the midnight lit waters, some hidden beneath the broken cruise ship, others deep into the charcoal black darkness.
“No normal typhoon could have done this,” Alejandrien said.
T’nuri sank onto the brink of the ramp. “I was onboard just a few days ago!”
Kaliente placed a claw on her shoulder and held her back. “Steady sands laddie.”
“I- I would've been dead!”
Everyone aboard the Zhao Launcher gazed upon the floating pieces and then at one another, confusion heavy in the air. Still sharp, even in the dim light of the moon, Emile pointed into the inky depths. “Look!” she called, and the lights moved over to where her wooden stick pointed. Not exactly where, as it was part of the cruise, but what.
One piece of La Llovizna glittered in the lanterns. A piece of solid steel with three odd markings. Claw marks. Three cuts, massive long claws torn through the metal side of the hull, their impact left jagged streaks in the ship. And not just the hull but numerous pieces of the debris, all scarred in the now evident attack. Not an accident, but an act of violence.
“A Pokemon did this!” the Cubone yelled, slamming her bone-club on the ramp. “Who? Who could have done this!?”
Vicenta shook her leaves from her high-neck view. “A terribly strong Pokemon, like one mentioned in the legends.”
“Or one who gained awful power,” Luciano said, clenching his fists.
The Jangmo-o beside her also placed a claw down, rattling their scales as they snarled. “None with respect for life.”
Lapping waves filled the silence. A sigh rang out as a few supplies shifted around in the Zhao Launcher, eventually Bao floated out toward the water.
“What are you doing?” T’nuri questioned, her eyes wide.
The Clawtizer held a large orange orb in her claw, the bright light spilling over the small area. “This is a tracker, so a crew can pick up the bodies and any remaining mementos.”
Lost in the endless, ever continuing waves were a multitude of In the water lay a pair of Magby, their limbs entangled. Rather they were, as now their arms and legs dangled in the ocean's cold waves. As the Cubone stared further, she cried. A soft, heartbreaking sob as her tough facade crumbled.
“T'nuri?” the Jangmo-o beside her asked, pulling her higher up the ramp.
“I had begged Sachalla, my younger Cyndaquil brother, to come with me, but he had a request ,” T'nuri paused, shuddering. “It could have been him, dead in those damn waters.”
Kaliente and Emile stood behind her, misty eyed in the swaying current, another run-in with destruction, this time death fresh in their minds.
“I'm sorry. La Llovinzna didn't face a regular attack,” Yawen added, his eyes narrow. “We must report this immediately. Further investigation by professionals is required, with forensics and autopsies of all these poor souls. Grains grant them rest.”
With a trembling breath, the Cubone wiped away her tears. “I'll fight even harder.”
Bao gestured with her huge claw and everyone settled back aboard. “T'nuri?” she questioned, slowly jetting back to her rudder. “You will?”
Alejandrien sighed as they raised a claw.“Awful as this may be connected to ya but it ain’t in our jurisdiction.”
“I have a feeling we could run into whoever did this,” Emile noted. “It was a mere six point three kilometers off the shore from Kuanalio.”
“True, but I just wanted ta bring that up.”T'nuri placed her bone-club on the railing, toward the wreckage, eyes blazing.“All these Pokémon didn't survive, the passengers and crew need me to,” she declared. “Each of those lives, innocent or otherwise, I'll avenge them, no matter who or what I'll face.”
“Fuckin’ well met, laddie!” Kaliente stamped the ground.
Slowly but surely the crew of the Zhao Launcher documented everything they could in the darkness of nightfall, and once again prepared to head back out into sea. It was time to go. With a thunderous whirl, the anchor rose back into the galleon, with the weight rebalanced, the ever present wind pushing it along.
Deep into the late night Team Kirigiri and Team Zháo made it closer and closer to its destination. Warm beds in the barracks of the Fogcutter’s Detective Agency awaited everyone onboard.The first flickers of bright searing beam of the lighthouse illuminated the shore of Iaijustukage Island’s western dock, still quite a distance away.
A slightly salty, while regular late night mist rolled off the ocean. In it, a glittering, shiny hue pink energy sparking as the waves shifted. Though there was a clear path around the mountainous islands with no coastal plains or islets, the galleon ever so slightly bumped into something.
Below the Zháo Launcher was a particular disturbance of the seas. One that parted through the ebb and flow all around, like it drained water from a tub. A piece of land. Not a tiny sea-lapped island, but a red, dusty valley, barren and dry as those same off pink sparkling fog shimmered amidst the waves. Sparkling fog and a valley, all at sea right beside Iaijutsukage Island.
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