Paragon

Remnants of the Great War [26]

You may have missed it, but I added in a highly detailed map of where everyone currently is in the war at the end of the last chapter. Please check it out!

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PARAGON

Remnants of the Great War Arc [26]

Chapter 35 : Blood of the Slumbering Storm

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Land of Rota - West of the Town of Rota

A shrill shriek swept through the valley like a hurricane, burning the ears of everyone within, friend and foe. All at once, everyone participating in the chaotic battle suddenly clapped their hands over their ears and sunk to the ground in pain. Pokémon on both sides shuddered and tipped over, unconscious, but those who could weather the hellish onslaught trembled where they stood, as Dragalge's demented roar assaulted their bodies from within and without.

Riley was willing to try anything to shield himself from Dragalge, from both its overpowering stench and its incessant scream. Through the horrific vibrations that rumbled up from the shaking ground, Riley forced himself to focus as he conjured up small gouts of Aura, which he forced into his ear canals and up his nostrils.

Lucario grit his teeth beside his master, but upon seeing what he was doing, started to do the same.

Dragalge's roar continued, but even with his senses dulled, the sound still made Riley feel like his head was being split in two. This wasn't even an attack. This was simply a warcry to herald its arrival, and all who could not withstand it had no business remaining conscious in its royal presence.

Clearly, AZ had passed on the pride of his regal station to his beloved pokémon.

But that lofty arrogance also afforded Riley an opening, however small. Dragalge sat high in the sky, above the treeline of the forest surrounding them, and Riley was right below it, in its blind spot. Breathing through his mouth, he swallowed, and began creeping past it to attack from behind. Lucario hesitated, uncertain, but followed after his master a moment later.

Dragalge's shadow rippled on the grass beneath then, a lattice of darkness that seemed to block out far more sunlight than its sinewy body suggested it could.

Just as they reached the edge of said shadow, another shadow passed over them. A Conkeldurr bore down on them, its concrete slab raised high above its head, ready to smash down on top of them.

Riley's arm ignited with Aura and he reinforced his legs as well. He caught the concrete slab on his arm, and the ground cratered beneath his feet under its weight. He spun and let the slab roll off his arm onto the ground, before summoning an Aura Sphere in his other hand and launching it straight into Conkeldurr's face. The brute stumbled back with a groan, and before it could recover, Lucario dashed out from behind Riley and shoved it backward with a solid thrust on his iron paws.

Its trainer, a hooded grunt, whistled. "You Guardians are no joke, eh?"

After hearing his voice, Riley realized Dragalge's scream had stopped. He looked around the battlefield, but what he saw shocked him. Almost all of AZ's men, and their pokémon, had gotten back up, but nearly half the Guardians remained defeated on the ground. Impossible! That scream was indiscriminate! AZ's forces weren't spared, so how?!

"Surprised?" His opponent mocked.

Riley turned back around to face the man, glaring. As much as he hated to admit it, clearly, his arrogance was warranted.