Pokemon: The Queen of Kalos

Under Attack

Hope everyone's been doing well on this fine spring day, and that it'll be a little bit better with the release of this chapter. Enjoy, everyone!~

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Crystal had the eyes of the entire group on her. Some were only confused, others were suspicious, and her sisters had worry glistening behind the masks of feigned obliviousness they wore. A droplet of sweat ran down her face, which she hastily wiped away.

I can do this, she told herself, feeling the comforting pat of Melody's paws against her arms where she held the shiny Eevee.

"Well, you see, we believe this form to be a special temporary evolution, much like Mega Evolution, that relies on the Pokemon's bond with its trainer through synchronized mindsets. It's very rare and we still don't know everything about it per se, but in working with the Professor and examining history, we have found other examples of this so-called bond phenomenon." Waves of relief coursed through her body as she saw many of the others nodding at her words. "It could just be coincidence that my Greninja's form looks like the ninja hero, or it could be that all bonded Pokemon share similar forms even if they're linked with different trainers. Take Zenith's Pokemon for example. Her Synchro-forms also change the appearance of her team, though we've yet to see others like them quite yet since it's so difficult for Pokemon and humans to get on the same wavelength like that for any meaningful period of time."

Not to mention it's a sorcerer or sorceress' magic that truly ties the links together. It goes to show magic used to be a lot more widespread, given the instances we've seen in history, even present in out-of-the-way villages like this. I just hope everyone believes the half-truth and we can move on.

Thankfully it seemed like her explanation was satisfactory, and Ippei's raised brows had lowered. "The extent bonds between humans and Pokemon can reach is astonishing," he said, half to himself. "I'm glad that even though our hero of the village has been lost to the passage of time, remnants of its spirit still live through Pokemon like yours."

"If the legend really is true, I have no doubt that Greninja watches over all its brethren, bonded or not," Crystal said with a dip of her head. "I'm just glad the village shows it the respect it deserves instead of fearing the unknowns of its power."

Everyone agreed, and Ippei looked ready to speak again as he gazed at the shrine, but suddenly the ground shook, and the distant sounds of yelling echoed from above. A dry breeze blew through the room, and Crystal saw Zenith's eyes widen slightly, the honey blonde whipping around to stare at the entranceway.

Only moments later, a large ring of what appeared to be decorative banners began clacking together, causing everyone else to look up as well. "What's that!?" Serena asked, clutching her bag to her side. "Is it a ghost!?"

"Oh no..." Sanpei's tone of dread gave no comfort to the guests.

"It's the outside alarm!" Nihei exclaimed.

"Listen, Sanpei," Ippei turned to his younger brother, suddenly dead serious. "You take your friends over to Hanzo's place, and we'll go have a look."

"Right, Ippei! Come on!" The younger ninja turned to our heroes.

"Alright," Ash said.

Zenith's fists clenched, and she stared up at the surface. "You guys, go with Sanpei, get to safety. If it's an attack from the sky, I'd be better off up there helping to fight. It's my duty as Champion to protect Kalos from ne'er-do-wells, and my team and I can handle ourselves."

Shadow stepped up with her. "I'm coming with. You never know would could be waiting up there, and I've got plenty of firepower." She turned to the remaining two sisters. "Rose, Yuki, you're better suited to fighting in a place like this. Stay with the others and keep them safe."