THUD!

The village shook once more with subterranean explosions far below. An Appletun shifted out of the way of wooden beams collapsing from a nearby hut; one of the few structures still standing in this damnable waste of resources that the boss had summoned them to defend. They shoved the burning debris back and quickly looked through the rubble for valuables before…

Kaboom!

Another quake shook the village, threatening to split the world in two below their feet. For a protracted few days as the Team planned and recovered, there had been vicious attacks by the half formed Pokemon? that Deoxys had made. They poured from the mouth of her cave like a stream of angry Bugs eager to swarm over everything and… And… What?

Besides having the apparent desire to breed, no one understood her true end goal. And now, they understood it far less, given she was apparently blowing the explosives in the mine at random. Most now hoped she would simply collapse the mine atop herself...

A Garchomp shoved past the Appletun and skidded to a halt nearby. Their illustrious leader was stood with their hands at their back, staring into the distance…

“Sir! I found something, maybe something good?”

The Dragonite turned their head with as much interest as someone offered a pen. They faced them and swept the dust off of the small box that the Garchomp was holding…

Inside was a painting, elegantly done and with much detail, of Mew herself. Her shining sapphire eyes stared from the canvas; so lifelike that one might mistake her for being trapped inside it…

The Dragonite took the small painting and turned to walk off without another word. The Garchomp was a bit confused, but they were used to their leader being a bit aloof at times. They spun around and went back to collecting and salvaging what they could from the village… before it was too late…

A tent flap ruffled. The Dragonite walked slowly past the various medical supplies, and well-wishing tokens from the others. They stopped at the edge of the bed that held the Alakazam…

Bruised and battered, but most importantly there was a bandage around their eyes and head. The immense pressure of attempting to fight back against a creature of alien origin and power had sent the old goat into a half aware coma…

The painting was his, done by his own hand. It was set on the stand beside him, as the Dragonite stared down with an intense sorrow and longing. As the moment stretched on… tears sprung to the edge of their eyes…

They quickly wicked them away and turned around…

“Sir…”

A Magmortar had pushed the tent flap open. They glanced between the ailing Psychic type, and their leader…

“We have another small caravan. Stranded nearby, with Pokemon? moving towards them…”

The Dragonite emerged from the tent, nearly shoving the Magmortar aside to do so. They looked up at the glittering night sky, and their expression hardened. Their claws curled, and their spectral wings unfolded and flapped downwards with enough force to cause all the nearby tents to ruffle. The Magmortar covered their face against the rush, and then looked up to see the dark streak speeding away into the night…

“He’s trusting that ‘team’ a lot… You think they’ll be okay?”

The Fire type turned to the Appletun, and then looked back up into the sky, where the silhouette of their leader was just fading away…

“If the boss sent them down there… Then they either do the job right… Or it doesn’t matter for any of us anymore.”

“He’s a dragon of LEGENDARY power and he sends a pack of PREGNANT POKEMON to go fight his battles! This is ASININE!”

Despite committing to the defense of their world, as they got closer and closer to the entrance of the mine, the Team was starting to fray at the edges with anxiety. Li especially was grinding her teeth and pacing… waddling back and forth in the back of the covered cart. The Mudsdale was plodding as quickly as they could to carry them to where they need to be, spurred a little faster by every rumble of the ground below them…

“And why is she blowing things now?! What reason does she have?! Destruction, chaos… UGH!”

She sat heavily next to Mua, who was floating with her legs folded. Farri lifted her head, winced, and nosed her own bloated midsection. Sayl quickly groomed over it, despite their own pregnant shape…

“Well…” Farri said, glancing nervously… “Uh. You and Mua might have stayed back. We left little Orin behind, and you might have…”

Li was on her in an instant, teeth bared in frustration, until she saw her body become surrounded by a gentle pink glow. She was levitated over to Mua, who leaned heavily against her, and set her chin on her mate’s midsection…

“We came, and I left Orin, because we have a duty. The Dragonite needs to defend those on the surface. They’re the only one who can travel fast and far enough to ensure the safety of the Pokemon above… And if we fail, they’re the last line of defense when the foolish Deoxys emerges…”

Li kicked and wormed a bit, as if she wasn’t enjoying the tummy attention, but relaxed slowly down to a smouldering pout…

“Yeah. We’re the dumb ones going over the top of the trench first. I get it.”

A footpaw hit the deck. Then another. They formed a wide and proud stance that Noah completed by putting his fists on his hips and flashing a fanged grin. Behind him, his wife crouched like she was part of his shadow… Her hood up, and her eyes focused…

“We aren’t going down there to be the first line. We’re down there to finish what she started…”

The others looked at him with a mixture of admiration and amusement, but his own eyes were confident, if a bit sunken. Privately, he knew they were all worn out to the point that a few days of rest wasn’t going to help them much. They were indeed, going over the top with broken guns.

Like any good General, Noah smirked like he already had a bullet in his enemy.

“Don’t be cocky.” Li muttered, huffing and lifting her muzzle… “If we fail here, the village will be totally destroyed…”

“As if it isn’t now…” complained Farri… “There was a very nice little cafe’ there… And the vibrations and attacks have shaken everything apart!”

“Everything?” Sayl whined, looking up with big teary eyes. Noah stomped to bring attention back to himself. He pointed a declaring finger…
 
“No! The buildings are gone, and the Pokemon displaced! But…”

He paused and looked at all of them. Battered, patched up, and more than half of them hefting burdens that made it difficult to walk. But more than any of that, they seemed… broken. Their eyes were a bit less confident and more distant, and they were not steeling for a fight. In some way, they truly thought they were marching into a hopeless ambush…

“Mew didn’t abandon us. We might have been tricked by a stray Psychic type… But Mew promised us we would make a village. We’re already on the way! There are those in the Dragonite’s camp even now, loyal! Waiting to return home, because they trust us…!” he turned and put his paw on Ilianna’s middle. She was the only one who looked confident, seemingly truly believing they could do this. Noah’s own eyes sparked brighter on locking with her’s…

“We’ve got the start of a new village right here! But I’m not bringing my kids into a world where some alien tyrant decides where MY nest can go!”

He turned again. They were all rapt with attention, like they had been dying of thirst…

And here was the cool, clear spring...

“Alakazam… Might have been harmed… But even in his darkest moments… He was thinking of her. Do you think he lied when he claimed to find Mew all those years ago? Is Mua part of the trick???”

Mua blushed… pushed her face briefly into her lover’s furry midsection… Then pulled away and ‘stood’. She spread her arms as she floated there, her brow knitting and her expression matching Noah’s eager one…

“No. He never would have. And am I not proof she is here with us?” she curled her hand to a fist. Her post-pregnancy figure might have looked a bit soft for intimidation, but for whatever reason it sparked something inside each of them… Something they knew wasn’t an illusion...

“So…” Noah asked, looking to each of them in turn…

“Are you ready?”

By whatever coincidence, the cart suddenly stopped. Noah blinked and parted the flaps to see…

“We’re here.”

The entrance yawned before them ominously. They gathered together, with Farri and Sayl at the back… Li and Mua to the sides… and Noah stood at the front, with Ilianna behind him still…

“Are you certain… Noah? If need be… We may run… We may flee… We may all be safe with our little ones…”

All it would take would be to watch the world burning outside their window. Noah knew exactly what Ilianna was saying. It wasn’t another attempt to get him to back away…

It was to steel him further.

“No more running…” 

He said, as he confidently stepped into the shadows. The others fell in behind him, and they marched into the ominous halls once more…

The shadowy caverns were lit by Sayl’s bright Flash, their pom-poms aglow enough to ensure each room was cast in sharp contrast. The abandoned mining equipment and scattered stalagmites made each room a clutter of shadows that could be an enemy. Each of them grew more on edge as they wandered deeper into the darkness. Their only saving grace was that, with the Mystery Dungeon itself collapsed, they likely wouldn’t have to deal with the magma far beneath. Li carefully nudged over a box as they walked through the eerie silence, finding it full of black powder…

“Damn… They’ve been moving the explosives around? This wasn’t here before, and it was opened…”

“But why?” Farri asked, kicking a bit of the powder so it scattered across the floor… “What would they need it for? And why is Deoxys detonating them in the first place?”

“Of course she’s just trying to destroy the village out of petty spite. She doesn’t need it anymore, right?”

The group fell into silence again, chewing on the implications. Farri winced and rubbed an arm, and then her midsection with a paw…

“Might we stop and get our bearings? If we wander about we’re more likely to run into…”

“Resistance!”

Farri looked pleased… “Yes Sayl, indeed! We might get…”

“AMBUSHED YOU LAMEBRAIN!”

Li swung her sleeves just in time to bisect a Golem rolling towards Farri from behind. The halves rolled to a lazy stop near a wall and melded back into the stone below…

They were here.

“I knew it was too easy.” Noah smirked, and turned… only to get hit in the face by a gush of poison gunk. He fell back as Mua rushed forward and slammed her paw against the Muk. The powerful ripple of Psychic power splattered it against a nearby wall, and it too dissolved back into dust…

“Wh… what?!” Noah groaned. He stood up and shivered with obvious fever before he produced one of his Peacha and chomped on it. At least they were well prepared this time…

“Poison types? Why? She…”

“She must be getting more powerful…” Li snarled, stepping back. They were now in a ring of light, produced by Sayl. They could hear and sense things shuffling in the dark… “Outside of her crystal, with days to practice… I think she can produce whatever she wants now…”

“That…” Noah winced, as he turned and looked at a Sceptile slowly emerging from the shadows. Its dull eyes didn’t help the merciless expression on its otherwise robotic form… 

“...isn’t good.” he swallowed, moments before he leapt back and away from the leaf blade that slammed down.

Ilianna leapt back and skidded to a halt. She thumped into something and spun around, only to get decked by a Breloom, who dashed after her flung body…

“No, NO!” Li took two steps and then gasped as she was again lifted up and turned upside down. She was forced to face a Gardevoir, whose amused face was even more frightening than the Sceptile’s…

“Oh fu-”

“Full team!” Mua shouted out, using her immense power to slam the encroaching Pokemon back… “She must have used her abilities to create…”

She gasped as she was cut off and flung against a wall herself. She managed to stop herself moments before, but the swishing tentacles lashed out and slammed her physically against it…

“Ah…! Ah… Li?!”

“It’s a Malamar… I CAN’T DO MUCH!” gasped Li, as she dodged casual punches by the Gardevoir, who had one hand behind her back. The other hand gesticulated as if she was giving a speech… and each swing of her arm sent another incredibly fast moving Psycho Cut through the air towards Li. She was forced to dodge awkwardly because of her belly…

The Malamar swished through the air as if swimming, landing against Mua. Its eyes narrowed, and its beak parted. Its breath smelled like fresh soil. She turned her head and squeezed her eyes even tighter shut…

BUMPH!

Sayl knocked the squid away. A sparkle of fae power assured that their impact was felt, as the evil Pokemon was flung and Mua immediately darted out of where she had been pinned…

“Thanks Sayl.” she said breathlessly as she zipped past to help Li. Sayl looked cheekily proud for a moment before a pair of paws suddenly lifted, grabbed, and made them disappear into a corner of shadow…

Farri might have noticed, but she was dodging and weaving… herself. Another Furfrou had approached her, albeit this one masculine entirely. Their fangs and claws hurt just the same, no matter which sex…

“Ow! OW! Ah, we can’t…” she continued to back off as her other self approached, snapping. She was soon back to back with Noah, who was breathing hard and covered in grassy cuts. Li was forced to the group, and Mua…

Now they were surrounded. All four of them back to back, each of them facing their dark counterparts. The Gardevoir lifted her chin and pointed a glowing finger at Li. Mua attempted to move in front of her, but the Malamar’s tentacles snapped out and cut her off. Similarly, the Sceptile was keeping Noah from dashing away or making any moves…

Trapped…

“What are you waiting for!?” snarled Li…

“My order!” 

The group turned… And Deo floated from a passageway before landing nearby to walk around the ring of her Pokemon?…

“Nothing but dirt and stone, steel and fire here!” she said, spreading her arms. Her loyal golems kept them trapped. Any attempt, even any twitch of their muscle made one of their counterparts snap them back into line…

“And yet… I’ve come to understand your genetic structure so thoroughly… That I could create anything I wished from the merest amount of material…”

She shifted her tentacles, curling them in their helices around a stone that levitated in front of her. The group watched as she formed it into the silhouette of a Weedle… A Chinchou… And then, Mew…

It quickly crumbled away and she walked past her minions and up to the team. She counted them mentally and glanced at the wall that was splattered with a black stain…

“Fools. Two of them have gotten away at this point. Where is the Breloom? Where is the Frogadier and her Jumpluff companion!?”

Farri reared up with a snarl. Her counterpart did the same and shoved her back to the ground…

“It doesn’t matter. I sensed you the moment you came close. All it would take is a bit of searching.” she adjusted her arms to turn into hands once more, so she could point…

“Take them to the pits. When we have all of them together… We’ll deal with them…”

The Gardevoir shoved at Li, who grit her fangs and held her fists up. But there was nothing any of them could do. Of course they could simply fight back and attempt to escape… but with their disadvantages, the close quarters, and the fact that Deo now floated behind them…

“Where are you putting us… What are you going to do?!”

“All in due time…” she said, floating up and around to Noah, pinching his cheek. It took all his restraint not to slice her finger off with one of his scallops. He was forced to endure her patting him condescendingly...

“Go. March faster. While we search for your lover…”

The Deoxys turned and swayed her tentacles. From the dirt below formed three black spheres, which compressed… And then turned back into mud. She frowned deeply, staring down at the half formed Gastly…

Then she swirled her arms again and instead created three Jolteon, who immediately snapped their legs wide and bristled…

Their master’s eyes flashed, and they darted away like bolts of lightning…

...seeking where to strike…

===

Sayl screamed and screamed and screamed. They squealed and whined and promised Farri that they would be a better lover. They wanted to see their kids! They weren’t cut out for this whole dungeon thing!

And by the time they had realized that their desperate panicking wasn’t doing anything, they also realized they hadn’t opened their eyes in… over 15 minutes. They contemplated the pros and cons of keeping them closed before sighing shakily, and slowly opening them wide...

It made no difference.

Wherever they were, it was pitch black. Instinctively, they lifted their pom-poms to light up the room…

They felt a sharp poke in their side. They squealed loud, and this time realized that they sounded as if they were… underwater?

They looked down at what had poked them and saw it was a water shuriken, just barely glinting in what minuscule light there was.

“Illy…?”

They said, their speaking heavily muffled from inside the airtight bubble she’d trapped them in. It took a little effort to ensure they didn’t suffocate, but it was worth it to keep them as quite as possible. She needed the space to work…

Some at her former Guild called her a coward behind her back. They thought she wouldn’t know.

She heard. She always heard.

She took delight in her secrets. It was the way of her species, and she was at home in the shadows. As soon as she realized what was happening, she lured the Breloom to a place more suited to her needs; a Fighting type doesn’t mean much when your punches are flailing in the dark. A slice later and she was safe.

Coward. She had stayed back then, watched from the shadows. Why didn’t she rush forward and help her mate? Could she have turned the tide?

No. And she knew it.

Her mate would always be a brash warrior. He would always take the challenges that came his way. She had enough darkness in her to slip a knife in someone’s back instead of rushing them on the battlefield. It was pragmatic, and it had kept her safe. 

She had always hoped she had taught that pragmatic ‘darkness’ to Noah…

But for now, there was no use in dwelling. She sorted her feelings out quickly and cast aside that word… Coward…

She was a ninja. She knew that… because a coward would run for the entrance…

Instead, she moved smoothly through the dark, barely a shifting shadow. Sayl floated behind her, nervous and unsure and entirely captive by her.

The moments stretched to minutes, and then to hours… and to eternity. Down here, in the pitch black pit, time became immaterial. Light became just as valuable as water, and if you had neither, you would be lost forever to a cold and empty death…

What must it have been like… To be trapped in a well of darkness like this for so long…?

Ilianna paused and pressed herself suddenly up against a wall. Sayl’s bubble floated up to hide among the stalactites far above...

There was light. But it wasn’t the warm and reassuring glow of a lantern…

...it was the wild flashing of lightning.

Ilianna watched, nearly melding into the wall for how still and flat she pressed herself. A pair of Jolteons zipped to the junction they were at. Both zipped down a separate path, then zipped back. It all took seconds, as they disappeared and reappeared in blinding flashes. Ilianna had her eyes tightly closed…

She was looking up at her mentor, who was gently speaking to her in the placid pond she meditated in…

“Your eyes are the easiest to deceive, they are the easiest to betray child. You must not rely on them solely…”

She breathed in gently… Her muscles tensed. The Jolteon nearby were lingering, their heads lifted as they sniffed the air in unnatural rhythms. Their teeth were overlong and perpetually bared…

“Close them… Focus… The fear is merely a distraction… You may scent them… You may hear them…”

She watched her master’s bulbous finger touch the surface of the pond, sending out the merest ripple…

Under her own fingers, splayed against the cave wall, she felt…

A twitch… A firm vibration…

She splayed her legs and crouched low. A thunderbolt split the rock behind her. Another of the Jolteons was already next to her…

“Breathe…”

Her skin dampened with dew instantly. Snaps of static electricity rolled over her like miniature thunderstorms. Her focus swayed as a million pinpricks of pain, however brief and faint, threatened to numb her senses entirely...

She moved her head aside, just barely avoiding a Thunder Fang. She swung her arm twice, and she heard a snap and a howl of pain.

She leapt back. She opened her eyes for just a moment, but upon seeing nothing but darkness, she closed them again.

Snap, SNAP!

She dodged again, but her body became more and more slick as she began to worry. Two at once was difficult…

What if they harmed her… What if they harmed her baby…

A moment of distraction, and she felt a jaw of white hot agony clamp on her shoulder. The other grabbed onto her leg. It became harder to move as her muscles cramped painfully and she opened her eyes…

Her tormentors were glowing with electricity now, casting the scene in grim relief. Both were biting hard enough that, were her skin not especially slick and elastic, they would have punctured it by now. She breathed in and made a move to…

PAIN!

As her muscles locked up, she found it difficult to do anything. And worse, the cramping muscles threatened her belly…

“No…!”

The two Jolteons glanced at one another, and then dropped her. She still couldn’t move, her muscles so tight that she could barely keep her eyes from squeezing shut…

One of the Jolteons hopped in place, and a charge transferred from them to the other. The action was repeated, the two swapping charges and building up a thunderous finale. If it didn’t kill her, she would be entirely unable to save Noah…

“No…” she hissed. She tried to pull herself up, but could never outrun these monsters… Especially not as her muscles cramped and her stomach twinged dangerously close to… to...

The two twisted mockeries charged themselves into glowing silhouettes of plasma. Energy arced off of them in all directions, barely missing Ilianna more than once…

They stepped forward… Smiling sadistically… Baring those fangs… They would dig in… They would send all of that energy through her damp, conductive body… And they wou-

THUD

Ilianna jumped in surprise, and held her chest. Her heart felt like it was going to burst from the shock… but she was alive. She looked up to see a massive stalactite had fallen and crushed the two Jolteons…

She looked up and saw a pair of warm lights ignite in the darkness. From the ceiling, Sayl descended slowly before falling to to the ground with a ‘flump’…

“I… They… moving… couldn’t aim…”

Ilianna jerked her arm out and hugged the cotton puff, despite their typing. Sayl gave a sharp huff and cuddled into her, always happy for the affection…

“Remember, young one… You are a ninja. But you are not alone… We do not revere Explorers alone… We remember the great deeds… of Teams.”

The old Greninja had patted her on the shoulder and left her to meditate upon her lessons. All she could remember, a little Froakie sat there listening to her own thoughts amid the gentle backdrop of nature…

...was imagining a future with a certain Oshawott she liked…

She opened her eyes after Sayl finished treating her wounds. She flexed and turned to the Jumpluff, who looked exhausted and strangely fierce despite it. Ilianna pushed her hood back into place...

“...We are going after Noah. We are going to end that alien’s reign. And then… I am going to soak myself in a fresh spring for days.”

Sayl nodded and then turned nervously to look through the half lit cave they were in, before closing their eyes…

“If Mew is listening… If she is real… Then she’ll guide us… Right?”

“No.”

Sayl blinked and looked at Ilianna…

“No. No ‘if’. She will.”

Sayl grinned happily, but then put a pom-pom in front of their face and winced. A bright flash of iridescent light had suddenly come from the ground below them, where the stalactite had split the ground into a crevice…

They both squinted into it, to see what was casting the light… what indeed was glinting so splendidly now that it had been uncovered…

===

The ground shook as they were lead through tunnel after tunnel, down deeper into the mines until they reached the moment the miners had stopped…

The wall that had once framed the pathway down into the Mystery Dungeon… was gone…

In its place was a sheer drop… The explosions and the collapsing dungeon had opened a ravine far deeper, and the firey red glow of magma could be seen below, awaiting ominously.

There could be no better a description for the gates to Hell itself…

Li stood near the edge, her eyes darting around. Farri stood next to her, unable to hold back tears that stained the fur around their eyes. Mua floated there defiantly, despite the Malamar still eyeing her like it wanted to swallow her…

And Noah stood ahead of them all, arms crossed and looking down into the former Mystery Dungeon…

“...why…”

He turned and walked back, past his team and between them and the one facing them down. The Sceptile was running a their Leaf Blade over their palm over and over again, slicing and gouging, and then healing a moment later.

“Why must you be out for blood? Why must this be the way?”

The Deoxys floated forward to stand in front of him. He held his paw up nervously, as if to defend himself from an assault…

“Because I will it.” the Deoxys said, sneering down at him. She took a few steps and then pushed a foot against him to shove him back against his own Team. Rocks clattered off the edge and down into oblivion…

“I am strong! And I have a desire! So I will take what I desire! It is only right that I use my abilities to do this… Is it not?”

Noah shook his head a bit and grit his fangs. He stared up at her for a long time before he spread his arms. For once, he didn’t look brash and bold. He looked like a battered ronin who simply wanted what he always wanted…

...peace. He would accept nothing less of the world he wanted to bring so many children into…

“You could stop all of this here and now…”

“I could!” laughed the Deoxys… “But will I?!”

Noah smiled a gentle smile. Li was staring at him like he was out of his mind, as usual. Farri was glancing between him and the evil version of herself. Mua was focusing intently on the thoughts of the Deoxys…

A cosmic being, asleep in its own dream, attracted to this world and not understanding its destructive force…

...trapped underground… Using a false face to lure beings here…

“For all your power… All your abilities over us… You don’t understand… Why do you want to breed? To create?”

“Procreate! It feels good, doesn’t it?”

The Dewott spread his arms again, a hint of frustration in his expression despite his attempt at patience…

“Does it? You’ve caused untold destruction and now you’re going to kill us for trying to stop you. Does being strong mean that we’re worth less because we’re weak?”

She snapped a finger to point at him, her aura flaring… Then she curled it into a fist and slammed it onto the ground below them. An explosion rocked caves, and there was a tremor sharp enough to nearly toss them off their feet…

Noah’s stance was wider, and his fangs were bared now…

“And if you do this… if you go through with it, and breed yourself a child… will you be able to love them? A weak little thing that would need you to nurture it… To care for it… To LOVE it…?”

She stepped back, seemingly never taking that implication into her mind…

“What… do you…”

“Or would it just be something of… YOURS… To do with as you please?”

Noah took a step towards her. She seemed almost as if she wanted to step away...

“You want to breed, right? But you can create clones from almost nothing! So you have many children, right?!”

“I… I…”

The Deoxys was backing away when confronted with all this. She glanced at the rivals she’d created, who were all looking a bit confused themselves… 

“They… Are not… Truly real. Simply an extension of my willpower. Parts of my personality manifest. A child would… would…”

Noah was stood in front of her now, despite only coming up to her hips. She lashed her tentacles out to either side, ready to attack if he did anything. But he again held his arms in as non threatening a stance as he could…

“It would be something you’d have to love. And that’s the part you’re missing. You saw Pokemon getting pregnant, being pregnant, having kids… And you thought that it was just the joy of creating more…”

His eyes gleamed, and despite everything the cave seemed utterly silent…

“But… Well… A child is… How do I even explain it…”

Mua suddenly floated forward. The rivals tensed and the Deoxys was locked on her in an instant…

“May I…?”

She extended her paws and let some of her own memories flow through. It was a recent one, so it was rich with detail and beautifully clear. It was of course Mua’s point of view, just after she had given birth. Li was cuddled up to her side… and Orin was swaddled in her arms… He opened his tiny eyes just briefly to stare into his mother’s…

Mua pulled the memory back almost jealously. She looked at the Deoxys, whose head was tilted up and her eyes a bit distant…

“A… child…”

Noah stepped up to her and reached up. He placed a tender paw on her belly. She looked down, eyes wide. She could feel his genes… Could understand the basal drive to create more of one’s self…

She realized now she did not understand motherhood… And never did…

“See…? All you have to do is stop… Right…? It’s very easy… Just let go… And we… Can…”

His voice fell away. The air in the room was thick as oil, and everyone waited to see if this was truly all it took… If he could simply ask her to stop…

“...Hmph.”

She reached her tentacles up and gripped his forearm tightly. Everyone tensed up again…

“...I… I am not… Going to let YOU… O-Of all Pokemon… Treat me like one of your damned mates…!”

Noah sighed as he listened to her shaky, unsure voice. He bowed his head, then looked up at her with a light grin…

“Hey… At least I tried, right?”

She jerked her head down to look. The paw that was on her belly opened to show a Blast Seed, small glowing cracks weaving their way over its surface…

“Wha-!?”

The blast sent Noah flying back. Li only barely caught him before he was sent over the edge. The Deoxys flew backwards and half embedded herself in a wall for the force…

“...Ow… Ow. That will be sore for weeks…”

Noah was holding his soot covered paw, flexing it and wincing every time one of his joints cruelly snapped. Li produced a Sitrus Berry and crushed it, rubbing it straight into Noah’s wound. He shrieked at the acidic, medicinal burn…

“Suck it up! You’re the one who started the fight!!!”

Li snarled, before tossing him aside lightly. He landed on his feet and, as expected, the rival team had descended upon their counterparts the moment the smoke cleared…

The Gardevoir floated forward, their graceful leg less than an inch from the ground. As they ‘skated’ forward, they pointed a finger at Li. The expression on their face was bored and disappointed, since they assumed they would simply use telekinesis to toss their foes over the edge of the ravine and be done with it…

CRACK!

Their expression changed very quickly to one of shock and pain as they collapsed heavily to the floor. Farri was snarling mad, and used a second Steel Tail to make sure the Gardevoir stayed down…

“You… Uncouth… Ungrateful… Utterly undeserving INGRATES!”

She spun around, her milkline jiggling lightly as she did. The other Furfrou bristled and circled her, but she barked loud enough to shake a few stalactites into the ravine below.

Li stared in surprise at Farri’s anger, but it was forcing the male to back nervously against a wall. The Fighting type stomped and posed, her shark grin returning as she faced the Malamar, whose face was screwed up with fury…

“You’re a fool to think that your Psychic type protects you…”

“...from us.”

Mua floated around behind, leaving the squid surrounded. It turned about, unsure of which to face…

“You want to look at me…? Go ahead… You think Mua isn’t equipped to handle Dark types? Oh, go ahead and look at her instead!” her sleeve snapped and left a crack in the ground where it had hit… “I’m sure you won’t feel that…”

The Pokemon? turned around a few times, and became so disoriented that it ended up spinning upside down. Mua reared her fist back, gathering energy. Li did the same…

CRACK!

Noah winced, but whispered thanks to Mew for his kind’s scallops. It took the brunt of the damage, because if that Sceptile’s blade ever managed to cleave his flesh…

He shuddered and swung his shells expertly to block another sword strike. The Grass type had every advantage…

...except one…

He fended the lizard off until he was near the edge. He glanced behind him for just a moment, seeing the heel of his foot just about to hit open air. He took a soft breath in…

“HEY!”

The Sceptile looked over their shoulder. Then they turned around entirely in surprise. Farri, Li, and Mua stood there, each one prepared to deliver a devastating blow the moment he resisted…

The lizard sneered… glanced between them… And then swiped their tail to knock Noah off of the ledge…

“NO!”

Li darted forward and slammed a Force Palm into the Sceptile’s chest. Farri tackled them until they were teetering on the brink…

And then Mua shoved her own hands out, and flung the Sceptile so far off of it that they disappeared into the shadows before they even began to fall down…

“Noah?!”

“I’m here!”

He skidded to a stop beside them, panting. He wiped his brow and then put his hands on his hips…

“Whew! I wasn’t about to try anything, but I knew he would. I clung to his tail when he hit me and used the recoil to fling myself back up. It’s only the third time I’ve had to do something like that. I think I’m getting better!”

They stared at him as he spoke, but Li was the one to step forward and hug him tight…

“Ah! Sorry… Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you…”

“Worry? Me?” Li dropped him and wiped one corner of her eye…

“Don’t relax. We aren’t even close to done…”

Mua pointed as the wall nearby gave way and crumbled. The Deoxys floated out of it, their eyes sparking with repressed power. They snapped their tentacles out and lifted all four of them at once. They resisted of course, but it wasn’t good enough. They were floated slowly out over the ravine…

“Enough… ENOUGH!”

The Team kicked and struggled, as if they could somehow break the invisible bindings. Even if they did, they would have a long way to fall before a painful end...

“I… I will end you. You have brought me nothing but grief…!”

“We went through the dungeon to save you…”

Mua’s gentle words again shook the already shaken Deoxys, who backed away…

“S-Stop this… Stop! Die with dignity… Don’t… Don’t pretend that… That I am… one of… you…!”

No one responded. But everyone paused to stare at her...

Somehow… The gentle empathy in their eyes was worse than if they had been defiant…

Her hand opened… The four began to drop…

BAM!

Something hurt like it never had before. She crumpled to her knees as she experienced real pain for the first time since…

...since… Since that night so long ago…

She stood and turned, finding Ilianna standing there. She had a fierce aura of energy, holding a fist up…

When she opened it, it contained a smooth stone that shone brightly with rainbows of energy…

The energy curled around Ilianna’s form and illuminated the cave with its glow. Brighter and brigher, until it suddenly receded…

Ilianna crouched there… A featureless silhouette of black… But her body was larger… Leaner…

Stronger…

“That’s… My family...”

Her whisper came, before she rushed forward. Deo jerked her hands up to stop her, but the Psychic energy fizzled off of her form like a spritz of water against a raging inferno…

That fist connected. The other arm slashed, and made a cut that sunk deep. The watery energy was more focused than it had ever been before, but among it was some terrible venom that was antithetical to her very nature… 

The malice and negative thoughts coalesced and made manifest as a searing pain in her very veins…

It hurt. Her body hurt. Her mind hurt…

Her resolve cracked… Her desires muddied further…

Already she didn’t quite understand why she was attacking. A hungry need to be in charge… To be atop the world…

To procreate until she covered everything.

But now… With each sharp stab of that watery dagger against her flesh… Her mind depressed further… Her focus wavered…

Why… Would she fight on…?

She was suddenly gripped and flung into the wall again. She burst back out instantly, seeing Ilianna stand there in a ready stance. Behind her, Noah and the others slowly floated up and landed back on the ledge. Mua breathed out and leaned heavily against Li…

The Team faced down their threat… The Deoxys rushed forward impulsively, as one last spark of rebellion reared up in her mind. Farri snapped their fangs around an arm and yanked them down. Li jerked a fist back and slammed it forward, cracking the alien’s chest. Mua held them tightly in place…

Noah landed beside his mate. He couldn’t tell if this was merely a projection of energy or if she’d truly transformed herself, but he didn’t care…

“Ready.” 

Was all he had to say, and then they moved in unison… Drawing on her power, he reared his arm back and swung his blade. She did the same…

Two blades of compressed water slashed across the alien’s body. She arched in pain… Then fell to her knees…

The gemstone embedded in her chest flashed weakly as a warning…

“You… You defeated me. Stop… Stop…” She breathed… 

The Team stood in a semicircle in front of her, careful not to let her dart away into the caves again…

“And now what?”

Noah’s panting slowly calmed and stopped. He didn’t like having this question thrown back in his face… Now what indeed? He assumed she would be soundly defeated. Fallen in battle or fled back into space, at least. Instead, she had surrendered…

“We’ll take you to the surface… We’ll… We’ll let the Dragonite figure out what to do with you…”

Deo lifted her head and her fatigued eyes stared back into his…

Even now… His expression softened. He recognized that she had the same desire he did… She just didn’t understand that yet. He wished he could help her…

“Noah…”

The Dewott turned. Deo’s eyes narrowed, but Ilianna maintained a knife to her throat…

Mua winced as she watched the ravine swallow more and more falling rocks and stalactites. The shaking was constant now as the cave threatened to collapse in on itself at any moment…

“If we don’t leave soon… We aren’t going to be able to at all…”

“Why would you blow this place? Just to spite us?” Li growled, and Deo turned her head away with a dour look in her eyes…

“I wasn’t blowing anything. I was relieved to find the detonator, and was using my abilities to move the explosives from this place, to the entrance…”

If the cave wasn’t rumbling, it would have been dead silent after that revelation…

“You wanted to prevent it from exploding? Why?”

The Deoxys looked up, and glanced between them… Then away…

“It would have destroyed this place… My home… And now…”

She turned her gaze back to Noah…

“Now… I suppose some magma has ignited enough of the boxes. Now they’ll all blow. And this place will be a crater. But in doing so… The well springs below will flood a good portion of this countryside… Harming many, I suppose…”

Li turned to Noah with a snarl of frustration… 

“We… We don’t have any time then… Can we stop this… Can we… Save everyone, hero?!”

For once, Noah’s face looked intensely stoic in his focus. He opened his mouth to speak…

“JOLT!”

From the shadows, a streak of energy. Everyone was caught off guard as it rushed from the cave, too quick to defend against. It dove into its target…

Ilianna arched and gasped as she was struck by a particularly strong Thunder…

“ILIANNA!?”

Noah caught her as she fell. Her form dissolved back to its normal, Frogadier shape as she shook with pain. The Mega Stone rolled from her hand…

“There was… A… Ah!?”

Deo took her opportunity. She suddenly shifted to Speed Forme and rushed away. Li took a couple steps as if to chase her… but quickly turned back…

“Is she… Okay?”

Noah was panting again, carefully treating the after-effects of the paralyzing strike that his mate had endured. But it was too late. He could see her hands were on her midsection, clutching tight. She was tearing up in pain…

“...No! We need to get her to the surface… NOW!”

They had never moved so fast in their lives. Sayl floated ahead and acted as a beacon to guide them, until the sunlight could do that instead. They rushed from the cave and skidded to a halt in the cool mist of early morning. Their cart had left, scared away by the increasing tremors…

“The mine is going to collapse…” Mua gasped, looking back towards where the village was…

In moments there was a rumble and the ground split nearby. A sharp jet of gas turned quickly to mist, and then a full on stream of water…

“What do we do…?” Farri asked, tightly leaned against Sayl, who was quivering gently…

“If we run…” Li grit her fangs… “We… We might be caught up in the flow…”

“Drowned…” Mua winced, and then looked up… “We could try to get to higher ground… But…”

“W-We have bigger problems, I can’t believe I’m saying that!”

Sayl pointed a pom-pom at Noah and Ilianna. Noah was knelt next to her, his paw on her middle. The electricity had forced her into labour. There was no denying it…

“We… We aren’t going anywhere. The monsters Deo sent out are likely gone, but… If we let the water escape from the entrance, it will cause untold destruction…”

“So what do you propose?!” Li shouted. Noah ignored her. He was focused solely on his mate… on their coming children…

“...we can do it…”

Ilianna whispered, breathing in gentle, careful rhythms. She winced and clawed at her middle a bit, but then stood slowly…

“It’s why she brought us here…”

“...Illy… You’re… You’re in labour…”

She took a couple steps and stood tall. Fluids dribbled down her thighs. She closed her eyes… Clenched her fists… And then put them on her hips…

“Yeah…? Well… I wouldn’t be much of a mommy if I couldn’t follow Mew’s example…”

Noah’s gaze of affection only grew deeper. He stepped forward and embraced her from behind… Then gently pulled her down…

Hugging her midsection… Holding her tight… Rocking with her… Another geyser suddenly jetted from below…

“Breathe…”

He whispered. The others backed away from the entrance, preparing to flee if needed. But the Water types rocked there where they had sat…

In the cool grass… Her legs apart… Her eyes closed…

Clench…!

“Hold my paw if you need to… Here it comes…”

The ground shook harder. More geysers opened up, and the cave began to disgorge itself of water…

The two raised their joined hands… Noah’s eyes glowed subtly… Her’s did too, behind her tightly closed eyelids…

The water stopped as if it had hit an invisible wall… Cascaded and splashed about in mid air…

The others stared in amazement. Ilianna breathed in sharply…
“It hurts…”

“I know… You’ll get used to it…”

He grinned and nuzzled firmly into her neck. Another geyser and their joined power held it back too. Ilianna couldn’t help but let out a little groan of effort…

“Ilianna… You can do it…!” Mua called. Li nodded, but nervously rubbed her middle…

“Come on!” Farri cheered. Sayl tossed their pom-poms and cheered like their life depended on it…

“You have it… You feel it?”

“It’s coming…”

A massive rumble under them, greater than before, indicated that the powder magazine had finally blown. The upper caves were collapsing… The lower ones were losing their integrity…

...and the water deep below was rushing angrily to the surface… Filling every tunnel… Smashing through walls… 

A great tide of water sprayed from the entrance, as if Kyogre themselves was attacking from below. The entrance to the cave crumbled and widened further and further until the immense spring was simply spraying straight upwards in a vast column like a tornado…

The two Water types clutched one another’s paw… They breathed in rhythm as the water went higher and higher into the air, caught in a swirling pattern until it looked as if a storm had sprung from the depths of the world...

“I… Can’t… Much more...”

Ilianna grunted… And then shoved her other fist forward. The water got pushed back… But the volume was growing. The more they had to hold… the more strain would be put on their bodies…

Her body… straining…

“PLEASE!” she gasped, and for a moment let it all go. Noah winced as he was forced to shoulder the whole weight of the gushing waters. He did so, holding his mate the while… His paw firmly on her middle… 

For a split second, as the area was seemingly engulfed in driving rain, he let go too. He couldn’t go any further. He couldn’t demand Ilianna give more… Not while she was giving birth to his baby…

He wasn’t strong enough… But he didn’t want to give up…

He felt a paw on his… And another set upon Ilianna’s middle…

Noah dared to open his eyes… In the maelstrom of driving rain, he could see her clear as day… Her pink fur wavered in the rushing wind caused by the torrent’s swirling…

Her eyes were bright as the clear blue sky…

He closed his own… His jaw clenched into a grin…

He pushed back against the water… While Ilianna gripped his paw tighter…

And pushed...

Noah could feel something descending… He could feel their efforts reaching a peak…

The rushing waters slammed against their influence… Angry… Desperate… As if they were alive and wanting to destroy the land beyond the barrier… 

“Almost… Here it comes… The big one…”

A column of water slowly rose into the air. Noah and Ilianna held it back…

She parted her legs… Held her hands out… Pushed as hard as she could…

“A-Aaa…. AAAA!!!”

SPLASH!!!

The waters cascaded down onto themselves as they were released… Slamming down onto what was once the mine, it caved in and the waters collected…

The driving rain soon thinned… Then turned into a light shower… And then, nothing but descending mist on the surrounding lands… But when it was over, Li took her sleeves off of her head to look…

In front of them… The mine’s collapse had created a crater… The waters had created a new lake. Above, the mist in the air created a shimmering rainbow…

She looked down… Seeing Noah and Ilianna sat there in front of the lake…

Noah stood slowly with Ilianna in his arms… And turned around…

His proud smile was different this time. Not cocky or eager, but… warm. Beaming with pride as he held his mate… who held their new daughter…

A cheer roared up from the Team, and Ilianna finally closed her eyes and passed out, her baby held tight against her chest...

===

On a cool and clear day, the newly made paths wound along the hills and vales until a pristine new sign pointed your way to…

Mother’s Nest.

The bustling village on the edge of the new lake was in full swing today. The sun was bright, and Pokemon came from far and wide to trade, or even to see if they wished to move there.

But many came to ask after the services of this town’s now famous Team…

“N-Now now, we have MANY requests, but you are going to be queued just the same as them…”

Farri was chuckling and nervously explaining to a confused looking Noctowl why they couldn’t simply go and retrieve something for them. After all, they had a dozen or so other mons come and ask the same thing just that morning.

Sayl quickly trimmed a pretty pattern into Farri’s back, then contemplated. A Skiploom floated up… And then another, and another. They all contemplated with a similar expression. Farri sighed as the Noctowl hobbled away, and she could splay herself out again. Her pregnant belly wasn’t helping much, but at least it made customers more sympathetic, even if it wasn’t quite an unusual sight… The lake had become quite famous for its fertile waters. Some even claimed drinking from it was a mystic experience…

Behind Farri… A furfrou slowly stalked up… It reared up suddenly…!

Click!

The lantern in her corner turned on. Farri looked up at her masculine self, who tilted their head and then nudged her middle. Sayl growled, territorial as ever, but Farri just chuckled…

In the days following the Team’s victory, the Gardevoir, Malamar, and Furfrou showed up at the doorstep of the new village. Battered, bruised, and disoriented, there seemed to be only one solution...

“Are they even real…?” Farri asked, as she glanced over at the Alakazam. The tired looking old Psychic type was none the less aglow with joy; he had his grandson on his lap after all…

“They are. They are perhaps, a bit stunted and strange. But our doctor has checked them time and again. They are living now, just as much as you and I…”

The Gardevoir bent and set a cup of tea next to the Alakazam. She stared at Li briefly, before seemingly copying the shark grin. Li jumped and pointed, but the Alakazam merely chuckled as the Gardevoir walked away practicing it…

“Is it safe for them to be here?” Li growled, but the old goat merely nodded. Orin floated from his lap and then orbited around his head, his little face awash with contentment in his dreaming…

“They needed a home. They did not ask to be created. And you are all they know… Why would we treat them any different than a Pokemon in need...”

Li stood and walked past where Farri was to close a window. She winced and rubbed her entirely oversized belly; NOW she looked like she was carrying a Wailmer... or so the joke went, behind her back of course. She hadn’t missed a step being a mom, or pregnant… or even a part of an official guild. The scarf around her neck didn’t chafe so much anymore, and she was wearing a badge she could be proud of…

She stopped next to Mua, who floated in with the docile looking Malamar. He set a bowl of stew down next to everyone and bowed eagerly before retiring to the kitchen…

“He’ll learn. You should see how fast he dices berries~”

The Team laughed and basked for a moment in the glow of their accomplishment…

“I say… We take a few days off. It’s been months of cleanup and work to make sure everyone is settled...”

Li turned to the team and grinned wide… “I never thought I would be agreeing with our salty old mayor, but in my condition I’m all for it. Why not take a break for once?”

Splash!

She looked down at the puddle that had formed under her. Everyone else looked up immediately. For a moment, she looked stunned… Then her usual grin spread over her face, albeit a little more nervous than usual...

“...dammit…”

===

On a small hill just above the lake, Noah carefully swung his scallops and sliced a standing stone until it took a vague shape. He stepped back and held his thumb up for proportions, then used his scallop to scratch at the subtle, red scar above one of his eyes…

“Having trouble imagining her…?”

He jumped, but relaxed as he saw who had landed gently beside him…

“Everything okay, sir…?”

The Dragonite nodded, walking around the stone a few times, then stood beside him again…

“A statue for the town square? In Mew’s image. I suppose she inspires those who have seen her…”

“Mmhm.” Noah said, looking at the vaguely feline shaped rock. It still had a ways to go… “Ilianna and our little one are so happy with the place I’ve made. WE made. Mew gave us a great gift in directing us here…”

He put his paw on the stone and breathed in gently, then sighed and turned back to look up at the Dragonite. Their expression was content, and knowing…

“...what? Oh. Sorry… Why did you come here?”

“Hm…? Ah. To make sure you had established your town well and proper. It seems so… And now it’s just missing its cornerstone…”

“We did all this in her name, and she’s blessed us the whole way. Now we intend to make this town in her image! With any luck, we won’t even need others from the outside… We’ll be able to breed a whole population ourselves!” He rubbed his chin, inspecting the stone for a moment before seeming to recall… “Oh. That reminds me… Any news on Deo…?”

“…I have tabs on her. She seems to have lost her destructive spirit. She sent those Pokemon to you, I’m sure you know. And in fact… When I saw her, I think she was with child. Imagine that? But I suppose being a genetic Pokemon, she can induce such things in herself…”

Noah paused and turned back, frowning…

“...I have a lot of questions, but mostly, who is the father?”

“Mm, that I wouldn’t be able to say, but… With her abilities, all it would take is a touch, you know…”

The Dewott contemplated this for a long time. He wondered if it meant what he thought it did. He wondered if she would ever return… Perhaps on better terms.

She certainly had the figure for it!

He chuckled and glanced up at the Dragonite before turning around again…

“Well. Thanks to Mew, and… everyone’s efforts… We made ourselves a home... We did well… And it’s only the start of our adventures!”

“Oh… I know that well… Noah… I’ll be watching.”

He spun around again. The voice had changed…

It had changed from deep and intimidating to…

...soft… feminine… gentle…

He looked up into the sky. The Dragonite wasn’t there… He had simply disappeared…?

He turned back to his sculpture and stared into the half finished eyes of the feline goddess in the stone…

“…Well don’t be afraid to visit then…”

He said to it, with a wide grin on his face. And then, he returned to carving it with new verve. He would spend all afternoon there, until Ilianna opened the door to their small hut, child in her arm, and beckoned him…

“Are you nearly finished with her…?” she asked, as he came to her and kissed her firmly…

“I am now. I was a bit… inspired, you could say…”

“Will it be done before we have to go on our next mission…?”

Noah locked eyes with his mate, who glowed with a serenity only a mother could. The battle had been chaotic… but they had prevailed…

He placed his paw on his daughter’s head and ruffled it gently. The little Oshawott rubbed her eyes and frowned up at him, pouting at having been awoken. Noah picked her up and held her high to get a happy giggle from her. Then he turned around to look over the lake, and the distant town below. The lights were starting to come on in windows, and he could hear a commotion from their Guild hall…

“Don’t worry, Ilianna… We have our friends…! And… We have Nahna to care for now… And after what happened… I want to make sure she grows up safe and strong...”

He kissed her, then placed her tiny form back in her mother’s arms. He placed his hands on his hips and stared out over the lake, beaming…

“The next time we’re needed… Team Wellspring will be there...” 

Fin~