Chapter 23 – Scalebreaker

Right as they came to flatter ground next to an acacia tree, two Pokémon suddenly stepped out in front of them.

They were a Gabite and a Hakamo-o. Both wore orange scarves and had challenging looks in their eyes.

“Going somewhere, you lot?” the Gabite said. “You Sels don’t get Alba at all, do you?”

“In our country, if you wanna take a reward from a team…” The Hakamo-o brandished his fists. “Then you gotta fight us for it!”

Art by Bograbbit.

“Wait, wait! Hold on!” Arian cried, panicked. “What are you talking about?”

“You stole our reward!” accused the Gabite, pointing a claw his way. “Thieving bastards! No one steals our prize!”

“We didn’t steal anything!” Elvira tried to argue. “We-”

“Then explain yourself.” The Hakamo-o cut her off. “Why was the torc of the Chief’s daughter missing from the fourth floor when we went there?”

“The torc of…?” Yuliya realised what they meant. “We picked up an item of that description in the Dungeon.”

“We did! Here it is.” Elvira searched her bag and found the torc in question.

“Apologies, we were unaware of this,” Yuliya went on. “You can have it, so-”

“Doesn’t matter!” The Gabite’s growl cut her off. “You tried to take our reward from us! There’s a big reward riding on that one, and there’s no way in hell we’re giving it up to some grubby Sels!”

“Sels?” Arian was confused.

“Derogatory Alban slang for Selenians,” Yuliya informed him, throwing a cross expression the land shark’s way. “It’s clear they’re no friends of ours.”

“You’re quite right, ma’am.” The Hakamo-o spoke up. “You’re clearly not aware of who you’ve crossed. Most Albans wouldn’t dare to one-up Enfys and Yannick of Team Scalebreaker!”

“Platinum Rank, certified by our rí himself!” Enfys was smirking. “Quivering yet, Sels?”

Platinum Rank? Oh no…they’re miles ahead of us, Arian thought. On the outside, he tried to not show any fear.

“No.” Yuliya wasn’t intimidated. “We’ve come to Alba on an important mission for our country, to restore it back to its rightful glory. We’re not backing down to anyone or anything!”

“Tough words,” the Hakamo-o observed. “But how well can you back them up? You’d better be able to fight if you’re out there saying things like that!”

“This is stupid!” Arian refuted. “Why do we have to fight? We’re literally offering the torc to you!”

“Tch. What, scared you can’t win?” the Gabite taunted. “Coward!”

“Hey! I’m not a coward!”

“Then fight us! You’re not backing out after you tried to take the torc from us!”

“W-We didn’t- ”

“Arian,” Elvira interrupted. “There’s no use arguing with them. They won’t listen to words. This is Alba, a land of warriors. A land whose inhabitants speak with their fists instead.”

“But this is wrong! They’re- ”

“I’m aware that this whole thing is foolish.” Yuliya spoke next. “But Elvira’s right. And if we’re to save Selenia, then I’ll take going along with the Alban way. That means engaging in combat with them.” She turned to the two dragons. “How about this? If we win, you’ll allow us to travel deeper into Alba. If we lose, we’ll turn around and go back home to Selenia.”

“Those sound like good terms,” the Hakamo-o agreed.

“Finally! One of them gets it!” the Gabite said.

“We’re really doing this?” Reluctance laced Arian’s voice. He still didn’t understand the logic behind why they had to fight.

“Indeed we are.” Elvira was reluctant, too, although she sounded far more resigned to what was about to go down. “I knew Dad said Albans loved fighting, but this is something else…”

“Before we begin.” The Hakamo-o’s voice drew their attention. “Names?”

“Arian.” “Elvira.” “Yuliya.” Each Selenian pronounced their name loud and clear.

“Yannick,” said the Hakamo-o.

“Enfys,” said the Gabite.

“Together, we are Team Scalebreaker.” Yannick slammed his fists together, making the scales on his forearms clang. “Enough talk. Let’s fight!”

Immediately, Enfys dashed forward, intent to draw first blood. She met the trio head on, and slashed at them with Dragon Claw. Yuliya took the hit, wincing as the sharp claws cut her, before retaliating with a series of Fury Swipes.

However, the Gabite didn’t seem that fazed by it. She only looked more raring to fight, if the look in her eyes was anything to go by.

“Hang on, Yuliya!” Elvira called out, before leeching the land shark with Giga Drain. The latter grunted in slight pain as the gecko drained energy from her.

Arian also jumped in, slamming a Force Palm against the Gabite.

“Grragh!” she growled. “Yann!”

“Oh, don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten you, En,” the Hakamo-o assured. “Just preparing myself, that’s all.”

Arian looked over at him, surprised at what he saw. Yannick was suddenly coated in a red aura, and his muscles appeared to have grown in size.

“Bulk Up,” Elvira whispered to him. “Be careful, Arian.”

“Right.” Arian looked up at the Hakamo-o. He was tall, at least twice his size, and the aura made him more imposing. Doesn’t matter, he told himself. I’ve fought tougher opponents before!

He ran forward, a Force Palm at the ready, but Yannick seemed to see him coming.

“Hi-yah!” Arian slammed the Force Palm into him. However, to his shock, the Hakamo-o blocked the attack by crossing his arms, and pushing against him. Adding to his surprise was the strength behind said push. The Riolu found himself thrown backwards, although he managed to right himself as he landed.

“Feisty, eh?” Yannick commented, focusing on Arian. “Come!” He readied a stance. “Let’s duel, Arian!”

He then leapt forward, fists brandished. Arian dashed forward as well, ready to meet him.

And once they did…both dragon and canine punched rapidly at each other. However, it was clear who was the stronger of the two. Yannick slammed a punch into Arian’s gut, throwing him back.

“Oof!” He was staggered, but kept his balance. He felt the pain from that punch, but tried to hide it as he went in again. He charged back towards the Hakamo-o, evaded a punch thrown his way, and slugged his opponent in the stomach.

…However, it seemed to bounce off him. It didn’t faze Yannick at all.

“Cute,” the dragon muttered, and then slashed at the Riolu, Arian feeling Yannick’s claws slicing through his flesh.

“Aaaaaaaargh!” Arian yelled out. It was painful – as if the Bulk Up had sharpened Yannick’s claws to boot. It drew blood as well, and he saw blotches of red on the dry ground below.

“Arian!” Elvira cried. Looking back at Yannick, she saw him coming for her. Quickly, she reached into her bag and threw a blast seed at him.

To her relief, Yannick flinched at that. But even still…it didn’t look to have hurt him as much as she’d hoped. Worse still was the grin that crossed his face.

“…You wanna go that route, eh? Well, two can play at that game!”

It took Elvira a moment to realise what he meant. And by the time she did, a blast seed had been returned her way.

“Aaaagh!” It burned, but Elvira was shocked more than anything. They’re using items too? And they’re already stronger than us…

She barely had time to react before Enfys slashed at her with Dragon Claw. She attempted to dodge, but was sideswiped by the land shark’s claws.

“Argh!” Elvira felt air bite at the wound. Reeling, she barely had time to react to Enfys’ pursuit of her with more Dragon Claws. The Gabite swung…but Yuliya leapt at her and tossed her off-balance.

Diligently, the Furret worked her way back to the front. She held her arms protectively before Arian and Elvira, giving the duo precious extra seconds to revitalise themselves.

With that, they leapt back into the fray. Yannick once again made a beeline for Arian, who readied himself for the clash.

The dragon swung a punch at the canine, expecting a clash of fists like before, but Arian had learned his lesson from before, and feinted to the side. He then dashed forward and slammed a Force Palm into Yannick’s scales.

Even without the Bulk Up, though, his constitution was still in good form. As such, he quickly recovered and sideswiped Arian with a backhand, knocking the Riolu away. He was about to pursue him and continue the onslaught, but the throw and explosion of another blast seed, followed by burning pain, forced him to draw his attention to Elvira. The Treecko ran towards him and was about to Slam into him…

But blue dragonfire burned her side, and she let out a cry of pain. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the fire had come courtesy of Enfys. The land shark was about to pursue Elvira, but a yell from her other opponent drew her away.

“I’m your opponent!” Yuliya shouted, before lunging at the Gabite, claws bared. “Don’t you look away from me!”

“Gh!” Enfys hissed, feeling the pain of the marshal’s attack. “Fine then! Get her, Yann!” she called to her partner, pointing to Elvira.

The Treecko barely had time to react before she sensed the Hakamo-o about to strike. Just in time, she dodged out of the way of an incoming punch, her eyes aglow.

“Detect,” muttered the scaly dragon in annoyance. “Forget about her, then.” He turned his attention back to Arian, who tried to take advantage of his distraction with Elvira. Alas, this was fruitless, as his punch met with Yannick’s own fist. Arian tried again, only to be blocked again.

Then he was kicked squarely in the gut by the dragon, taking the wind out of him and knocking him to the ground.

Arian quickly tried to get back on his feet. But once he did, Yannick was on him again, and he was forced to defend against a right hook from the dragon.

“You’re not a Hitmonchan, you know.” Yannick sounded almost disappointed. “You can do better than that, surely?”

“I’m not weak!” Arian was baring his teeth by now, annoyed that he wasn’t making any progress. The Hakamo-o still had plenty more to give, while he and Elvira were on the back foot. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Enfys and Yuliya duelling on their own terms.

Stop getting distracted. Yuliya can handle herself. This dragon’s our responsibility.

He looked over to see his partner pulling something out of their bag. An idea formed in his mind. If I just keep him distracted long enough…

He let out a cry as he ran in again. Yannick, seeing him, only sighed.

“This is getting boring,” he said. “Don’t tell me you’ve used up all of your tricks already?”

“I haven’t!” Arian charged a Force Palm. But he didn’t leap in this time; he wanted the Hakamo-o to take the bait. And as the dragon began to move towards him, he thought he had him. He saw Elvira throw the blast seed…

…Only for Yannick to jump to the side as the blast seed exploded on the ground, missing him. A thin smoke emanated from the seed, and Arian found himself blinking as some got into his eyes.

A mistake on his part, and exploited well by his opponent. Two slashes of claws met the Riolu, and before he could even cry out in pain, Yannick slugged him with an uppercut.

“Aaaaagh!” The combo knocked Arian onto his back. He was reeling in pain from the attack, and he felt his vision begin to blur. He could taste blood in his mouth, and he felt the air biting at his wounds.

“Arian!” Elvira cried. A look of fear crossed her face as Yannick turned to her.

“Damn. That wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped,” he murmured disappointedly. “This is too easy.”

He leapt towards her, claws bared and ready to give her another slashing like Arian.

“Eek!” Terrified, Elvira dodged to the side before he landed. She tried to invoke Detect again, but the power wouldn’t come to her so soon after she’d just used it. Yannick caught up to her, and slammed a right hook into her chest.

“Yaaaagh!” The Treecko was flung backwards, and hit the trunk of one of the acacias. The hard landing added to the pain of the punch, and her back hurt just as much as her front. Her vision swam, and she found herself struggling to get up. Gazing over at her partner, she could see Arian gripping his chest, his expression a pained one.

Through her blurry vision, she could see the bag had slipped from her grasp. It’s within reach, the Treecko realised. If I could just get to it…!

Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed on that front. Yannick saw her trying to get the bag, and leapt into action, going up and snatching the bag before she could reach it.

“No…!” the gecko gasped.

“Sorry, but I can’t let you do that.” The dragon threw the bag far away from either member of Team Elpis. “You can’t rely on items to get you by. You clearly still have much to learn when it comes to fighting.”

“We’re…not giving up,” Arian breathed. The air stung his wounds, and he ached all over, but he stood his ground. “We can’t give up…! Selenia needs us!”

“Whatever you’re looking for here, you’re not going to get it. Not if you don’t have the strength.” Yannick shook his head. That disappointed look in his eyes remained. Arian couldn’t help but flinch at this – another reminder of his perceived self-inadequacy.

“I can’t…I can’t give up,” he said out loud. “Not here…” He looked down at his paws, and the skirmish at Rusalka came back to him. That blue fire that came when he needed it most, to save his friends…Why won’t it appear now?

But he had no time to dwell on this before he saw Yannick approaching him. The scaly dragon wasn’t greatly harmed, and the attacks of Team Elpis didn’t appear to have grinded him down. That frustrated Arian more than anything else, and he found himself blinking back tears.

“Once more, Arian!” Yannick’s declaration snapped him back to attention. And before the Riolu could react, the dragon had his fists ready, and lunged at him. In his weakened state, Arian could hardly hope to block against the dragon’s attacks, and though he tried, Yannick’s hefty punches, stronger than his, threw him into the dirt and knocked him out.

“S-Stop…” Elvira found herself begging. “D-Don’t hurt him anymore!” Yannick turned to her.

“I won’t. There’s no thrill in beating someone who can’t fight. But that goes for you too.” He pointed at her. “You’re not much better off than he is. You’ve lost. Accept it.”

His words stung, and Elvira couldn’t help but see the truth in them. With no bag and Arian out for the count, there was no hope of them winning against even just Yannick.

However, she looked over at another aspect of the fight that she hadn’t focused on; the current duel between Yuliya and Enfys, which had raged in the background of their fight with Yannick. This gave her a thought, and she voiced it in her reply to the scaly dragon.

“…I’ll submit. But you haven’t won. Not until you defeat Yuliya.”

“…Fair enough,” Yannick accepted. “But she’ll be at quite a disadvantage with you two out of the picture. It’s time I help En out.” He turned away from the Treecko and towards the other fight going on.

The brawl between the Furret and Gabite had been evenly matched, all things considered. Enfys was the more powerful of the two, and made it clear through the force of her attacks. However, Yuliya was much more swift in her form, and used that to her advantage to dodge the land shark’s attacks and land a number of smaller hits. Enfys was quite hotheaded, stopping at nothing to try and get a hit on Yuliya. But with how the former marshal moved, she became irritated very quickly.

“Mangy Sel! Stay put!” she barked, leaping at her. But once again, Yuliya dodged out of the way of the Dragon Claw, and slashed back at her. “Grrr! Fuck you!” She tried to retaliate, but only managed to graze the Selenian.

Yuliya could keep this up. She saw her opponent dashing towards her again, and she watched her movements, getting ready for the next round of hit-and-run tactics.

But if she’d looked to her right, she would have seen a disc-like object being thrown at her. It hit her on her cheek, and caught her off guard.

“Ow! What?”

That distraction was the window Enfys needed, and she took advantage of it. She slashed at Yuliya’s midsection twice, creating two bloody gashes on the Furret.

“Agh!” Yuliya realised her mistake, and leapt backwards before the Gabite could hit her again. Her gaze drifted to the ground, and she saw what had been thrown at her. Is that one of Yannick’s scales?

“About time you showed up,” Enfys said to Yannick as he approached.

“Sorry about that. Those two proved to be a handful,” the Hakamo-o apologised. “But they were too easy. Here’s hoping you’ll be different, Yuliya.” He set his sights on the Furret.

“Hah! It’ll be a cinch with the two of us!” Enfys scoffed. “You’ve no chance, missy!”

Two against one… Yuliya took a breath. The odds weren’t insurmountable; she’d faced far greater challenges as marshal. However, the defeat of Team Elpis at Yannick’s hand was a cause for concern, and she was admittedly worried.

You can do this, Yuliya, she told herself. You have to win. For your prince…and for her.

---

“Ha! Too easy!”

“Well, what’d you expect? She’s a noblewoman! They’re made of soft stuff!”

“Seriously, why the hell is Lord Gerasim putting his daughter through this? It’d be way easier for him and her to just arrange a marriage!”

“You’re plainly not cut out for this, Lady Yuliya. It’s past time you reconsidered your path as a knight.”

These were words Yuliya had heard after a particularly harsh training session. In it, she and her comrades had to face two opponents by themselves individually, with no help from any allies. It was a challenge designed for situations where trainees found themselves outnumbered, and how to cope in such a scenario.

Unfortunately, the Furret hadn’t coped well with the challenge. This had led to mockery from some of her fellow trainees, and furthered the suspicion of the combat instructors that she was not up to the challenge of being a knight.

This was nothing new – she’d heard it before. But in the face of her failures today, she couldn’t help but feel more discouraged than ever.

As she walked out of the barracks, she resigned to taking the combat instructor’s words into consideration.

Is this truly the right path for me? Should I be doing this?

She was aware that training to become a knight of Selenia would be far from easy, especially for someone of her upbringing, and she’d struggled through the gruelling training that all of the trainees had to endure. She would say she managed to deal with it better than some other recruits.

Even so, it had been a tough time, and the discouraging remarks from her peers and overheads were beginning to get to her.

“Oh! Sister! There you are!”

“Hm?” Yuliya knew that voice. She looked up from the ground to see a Mienfoo with something wrapped in cloth. They were all smiles, happy to see her, and the Furret couldn’t help but smile back in return.

“Svetlana. It’s good to see you,” she greeted. She looked at what she was carrying. “Is that for me?”

“It is!” Svetlana peppily replied. “I was in the area, and thought you might’ve needed a little pick-me-up. Here.” She held it out. “It’s some aspear bread from a bakery in town. I’ve had some, and it’s really nice!”

“…Thank you. I could do with some food.” Yuliya took the package from her.

“Is everything alright, Sister?”

The Furret looked back, and saw that familiar look of worry on her face. Despite her Fighting-type heritage, it was almost psychic of the Mienfoo to understand that something was up with her sister.

Normally, the elder sister would claim everything was fine and keep her troubles to herself. But what she needed more than anything right now was advice from another party.

“Can I talk to you in private, Lana?” Yuliya requested, using the nickname she sometimes called her sister.

“Of course, Yuyu,” the Mienfoo returned with her own affectionate epithet. “Shall we talk in the park nearby?”

Luckily, the park Svetlana suggested had few people in it, allowing the two sisters to sit down at a park bench and discuss the matter in question without fear of being overheard.

“What is it that eats at you, Sister?” Svetlana asked, once they were both seated.

Yuliya considered her question as she ate a slice of bread. Once she finished it, she turned to her sister.

“Be honest with me, Lana,” she asked. “Should I be doing this? Should I really be trying to become a knight?”

“Oh no…Are you having doubts, Sister?” The Mienfoo looked over worriedly at her older sibling.

“I guess you could say that.” Yuliya let out a long sigh. “I had a rough day today, and it’s making me rethink all of this.”

“How bad was it?”

“I couldn’t rise to the challenge today. And that led to the instructors questioning if I had what it took. Honestly…I’m beginning to wonder that myself.”

“Are they just saying that?” Svetlana wondered, a slight pout on her face. “If they’re too rough on you, we could always get Father involved.”

“No,” Yuliya rejected. “That would not solve anything. The instructors are merely doing their job. They have to know who’s fit enough to lay their life down for our realm. …Which makes me wonder if I’m up to the task.”

“It’s just one failure, Sister. Just a bad day, that’s all. We all have those.” Svetlana paused to daintily eat a slice of aspear bread.

“Their opinions about me haven’t changed. They thought I was a weak noblewoman when I started out. For the most part, that opinion still stands. Even when I’ve succeeded, they still look upon me with scorn, as if I don’t belong in their ranks. I only suspect the reason they haven’t reprimanded me more strongly is out of fear of what Father would say to them.

“The challenges and training will only get tougher from here. And if I fail now…” Yuliya looked up at the evening sky. “Then how will I succeed later on?”

“Well…” Svetlana considered her sister’s words. “…Maybe I don’t know the nuances of combat. But you’re much stronger than I ever could be! And you shouldn’t give up just because of what some stuffy combat instructors said!”

“Y-You really think so?”

“Don’t give up, Yuyu. I want to see you succeed, and so does Father. Our greatest heroes never gave up, even when all odds were against them. Think about our hero Ruslan resisting the might of the Tyrant King, or Team Hope standing up for our tsardom against the cruelty of the East. You can overcome this, Sister!” the Mienfoo encouraged. “I know you can!”

“Lana…” Yuliya was stunned by the encouragement her sister was showing her. Her sister’s peppy nature was always genuine, and the girl wore her heart on her sleeve. The Furret liked the endless positivity her sister radiated, and her encouragement couldn’t have come at a better time.

“…I won’t give up, Sister. I promise you that much.”

---

Thank you for your guidance when I needed it most, Svetlana, Yuliya thought. If I’d given up then, I never would’ve become marshal to His Majesty and served my tsardom faithfully. And now, in your time of need…it’s high time I return the favour.

She looked across at her dragon opponents. Time to show these Albans just who they’re dealing with.

“Yann! Back me up!” Enfys called to her partner, before dashing forward, claws and fangs bared. Flames danced at her maw, and she lunged, intent on clamping down on the Furret’s flesh.

But she bit only air instead. A second later, a force hit her right on the head as a flash of cream and brown entered her vision.

“Gh!” She swiped at it, but Yuliya dodged out of the way. “Dammit! Stupid furball!”

“Take this!” Yannick threw a stun seed at her. It seemed to work, freezing the Furret in place. He charged forward to seize the opportunity and threw forth a heavy punch.

But to his shock…wood splintered and cracked as the decoy Yuliya fell to smithereens.

“Substitute? Where-”

Yannick’s question was cut off by a barrage of Fury Swipes cutting into his back.

“Gaagh!” he cried out, turning around to see Yuliya retreat from the sneak attack. He went to chase her down.

“Grrr! Got you now!”

“What?”That was Enfys’ yell. Yannick looked over, and saw Enfys chasing Yuliya. He was stunned by the sight. “But how? She was right-”

Then Enfys slashed at Yuliya…only for her to hit nothing.

“Wh-Wha-”

The Furret retaliated with a piercing Shadow Claw along the Gabite’s side, cutting through her scales.

“Aaargh!” Enfys hissed. She saw another image of the Furret. Enraged, she breathed dragonfire at the image…only for that to dissipate into nothing. “Oh, for fuck’s sake! Yann!”

“It’s Double Team!” Yannick cried out in realisation. Looking around them, multiple Furret clones stood around them, all identical to one another.

“Fuck this. I’m tearing all of ’em apart!” Enfys growled. She blasted a gout of dragonfire at one of them, and snarling as the clone dissipated to nothing. Yannick wasn’t any luckier, deftly throwing a punch at a clone and that too vanished.

“That Sel bitch!” Enfys, enraged, leapt towards another clone.

However…this Furret dodged the attack.

“You! You’re the real-”

The Gabite was rewarded with a full-blown attack from the real Yuliya. Claws coated in dark energy slashed relentlessly at the dragon with no let-up.

She only retreated back once Yannick closed in, dodging a left hook from the Hakamo-o.

Enfys fired another gout of Dragon Breath at what she thought was Yuliya. But once again, that turned out to be nothing. And, of course, Yuliya slashed at her with Shadow Claw from where she wasn’t looking.

“Agh! Damn you! Urgh…” The Gabite fell to her knees. “I’m…not losing here!” Her breathing suggested otherwise.

“En!” Yannick looked over at his partner with worry. “Stay back. I’ll handle this.”

“No!” Enfys hissed. “I can’t lose to some nobody Sel! I’m…not a weakling!”

“I’ll claw this back, don’t worry.” The Hakamo-o saw the Furret clones, and as they moved collectively, he readied for a counterattack.

Yuliya knew what to do. Instead of a head-on attack, what he most likely wanted…she went for his feet, dashing forward and knocking him onto his back.

“Agh!” he cried. That was the opening Yuliya needed, and she went all out with her attack. Just like with Enfys, she relentlessly slashed at him with a mix of Shadow Claw and Fury Swipes, never letting up.

Only when Yannick moved to block her swipes and deliver a retaliatory punch was she forced to relent. They stared each other down, the dragon wincing at his wounds.

“You’re good.” He still remained strong despite his condition. “You can’t be anyone ordinary, can you?”

“I am not,” Yuliya proclaimed. “I am Yuliya Gerasimovna Lysagora, former marshal of Selenia. I have come to Alba to find our tsesarevich Prince Leonid, and restore him to his rightful place. And I will not stop until I have achieved that very goal. Even if it means bearing all your country has to offer against me.”

“Everything we have to offer?” Yannick found himself taken aback. “That takes some guts. You sure you can live up to that?”

“In the name of my country and His Majesty, I swear it.” The fire in her eyes told it all.

“…Well, colour me impressed,” the Hakamo-o said. “Pretty strong and determined…You’d put some of our lot to shame. And though they’re still rookies-” He cast an eye at Team Elpis. “They have potential. …Guess you all don’t need to prove anything anymore.”

He bowed his head. “I concede.”

“What?” Yuliya wasn’t expecting that.

“What?!” Enfys was aghast. “Yann! You’re conceding to her?!”

“Yes.”

“But you can still claw back a victory! You have items, for fuck’s sake! Use them!”

“I’d rather not. I only used them during this because Arian and Elvira saw fit to use them as well. But I’d far rather rely on my own strength. That, it seems, was not enough to best Yuliya here.” He bowed his head to her. “I see I still have more to learn in the art of combat.”

“Fucking…” Enfys still couldn’t believe it. “You’re not seriously bowing to a bunch of cowardly Sels, Yann?”

“They’re anything but cowardly, En. Did you not hear Yuliya talking a minute ago?”

“It’s hot air, and you know it!” The Gabite was still no closer to believing him.

“I don’t think so. I’m certain she’s telling the truth. That said…I would like to hear the full story about it all.” Yannick turned back to Yuliya. “We’ve only heard the odd story out of Selenia in the past five years. En and I don’t tend to interact with the southern regions that much. Today was a bit of an exception.”

“I would be all too glad to tell you,” Yuliya said. “But first, we must recuperate.” She gestured to Elvira and Arian, the two of them having reclaimed their bag and taken out oran berries and reviver seeds while the conversation had been going on.

“Of course,” Yannick accepted. “We’ll set up a campfire. You can tell us all about it while we make some food.” As if on cue, his stomach growled hungrily. “Yep, nothing like a scrap and a good meal afterwards! Right, En?”

“Tch.” The Gabite was in no mood to agree.

---

Soon, a campfire had been set up, illuminating their darkened surroundings. The Selenian group found its heat to be a blessing in the wake of rapidly cooling temperatures. Yannick took out some berries and began roasting them on two spits. Enfys had helped set up the fire, but did no more. She merely sulked and glared at the three Selenians as they sat down.

During the course of this, Yuliya, along with Team Elpis, explained the general gist of what had been happening for them in Selenia over the past few weeks. Yannick listened intently, taking in every word.

“Melchior? As in, Mud Bomber Melchior?” He was quite surprised to hear that. “The famous merc from Team Marshwood? That one? He’s your Guildmaster now?”

“Yes,” Yuliya answered. “The very same.”

“…Still kicking, then,” Enfys remarked grumpily. “But just him? What about Fernblade Kallias? Did Mitrofan kill him or what?”

“He didn’t.” Elvira looked down sadly. “…But he’s not around anymore. It’s just Melchior.”

“You related to Fernblade Kallias?” the Gabite pressed. “You are a Treecko. You his kid or something?”

“…Yes. I’m his daughter.”

“Wow. Never knew he had one,” Yannick said, as he turned the spits.

“He wanted to keep Mom and I out of the limelight, because he didn’t want us to be absorbed into all that fame that he dealt with regularly,” the Treecko went on. “People might develop expectations of me, and that’s the last thing I want.” She let out a long sigh. “I’m not my dad. I still have much more to learn.”

“Mmm,” Arian murmured in agreement. Team Elpis had been sullen since they regrouped with Yuliya, clearly down after their loss.

“Well, you’re much better than the children of some Alban chiefs,” the Hakamo-o said. “They think they’re great warriors because their mum or dad was.”

“Heh, yeah. And then they get their asses handed to them at tournament time.” Enfys snickered, perking up slightly. “Brats don’t know who they’re messing with. Nothing more satisfying than putting pricks like them in their place.”

“Got that right,” her partner agreed, chuckling to himself. He cast his eyes down at the berries on the spits. “Oh! I think we’re done!” He hurriedly took them off the fire, examining the nicely roasted berries. “They’re done, alright.” He handed one stick off to the Selenians, and kept one for Enfys and him.

“Half of it, Yann,” Enfys immediately demanded. “I am not going hungry again.”

“I know, I know,” the Hakamo-o said, before taking three berries off the spit and handing the spit to her. He licked his lips hungrily, before eagerly devouring his share and gulping it down, all within seven seconds.

Team Elpis and Yuliya watched the dragon, in a mixture of amazement and mild horror.

“That’s Yann for you.” Enfys picked up on this. “This is a guy who loves his seconds. It’s actually the easiest way to become friends with him. Just hand him a basketful of berries, and he’ll love you in seconds.”

“I love food. What can I say?” Yannick shrugged.

“Got that right. Cairbre hates you for all those times you’ve raided the Guild’s pantry. The girls back in Breifne know it too. They always show up with something to try and win you over.” A scathing edge had entered the Gabite’s voice.

“They’re just being kind, En…”

“That Sabrina girl seemed pretty fishy. What’s the deal with her? Hmmm?”

“…Let’s not get into this, En. Not in front of others.” Yannick turned back to Team Elpis and Yuliya. “Apologies. We’ll help you get to Breifne, don’t worry. Beyond looking for your prince, though…that’s another story.”

“What do you mean?” Yuliya asked, concerned by what he was implying.

“Well…” The Hakamo-o was about to go on, but a yawn escaped him. “…On second thought, I’ll tell you tomorrow. It’s getting late, and we’ll need to be up really early.”

“You heard him.” Strangely, Enfys seemed to be in agreement with him. “Go to sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning.” As she said this, she quenched the flames with a Sand Attack. “Good. Now Chief Mac Mánais won’t give us an earful for starting a forest fire. Had enough of those down here, they keep saying.”

“Mmm…” A concerned look came over Yannick’s face, but he said no more on the subject as he lay down in preparation for sleep.

The fire’s extinguishing was a great disappointment for Arian, who began to shiver in the wake of its absence. Even Elvira, who was nervous around fire, lamented its loss.

“Desert nights are chilling,” she said. “Dad told me they were colder than any winter. …He was definitely right.” She shivered again.

“This would be the way the day ends,” Arian moaned unhappily. “Being trounced in battle, and going to bed cold as ice…”

“But we got through, at least,” Elvira reminded him.

“Yeah, but…” The Riolu drifted off, not placated by his partner’s words.

“Come closer, you two,” Yuliya instructed, curling up into a crescent shape. “If we huddle together, we can preserve body heat.”

“Alright…” Looking over, Arian saw Team Scalebreaker doing that very thing. Thus, he and Elvira followed suit, curling up in the ex-marshal’s fur and getting close to one another. He feared a negative reaction from the closeness, but she huddled closer to stave off the coldness.

Yuliya did the same, being quite cold herself.

It took a while for Arian to actually fall asleep, though. His mind was awash with thoughts, most of them to do with the shame of his and Elvira’s trouncing at the hands of Team Scalebreaker. It was only thanks to Yuliya that they could even keep going.

That was becoming a common trend, he realised. If not for Maciej, they would’ve been captured or killed by Metody in Rusalka. If not for Team Anima, they would probably have been killed by Mitrofan in the Irian Catacombs. And if not for Team Sandstream, they never would’ve had a chance at ousting Hinnerk in Ozerograd.

We’ve always needed the help of others. But on our own…we’re still rookies, when all is said and done.

He found himself looking up at the cloudless sky. A half moon looked down at him.

One thought stuck in his mind.

…Is it just blind luck? Is that what’s gotten us this far?

---

Meanwhile…

Not far from where the group of five slept, a cloaked figure stood atop a knoll, looking out over the silent savannah.

Their cloak was dark blue, with constellations depicted on it. While it mostly hid their features, a few details stuck out. They were quadrupedal, firstly. Second of all, strands of white fur were visible. And finally, a scythe-like horn protruded from the figure’s head.

They looked out at the darkened plain. They seemed to use their horn as a compass, trying to pinpoint something in particular.

Soon, after some trial and error, they appeared to find what they were looking for.

The figure’s eyes glowed a bright golden.

“So he arrives…”