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Chapter Text

She had – quite frankly – lost track of time, which was a problem. Not as big as the other things, but still one that would come and haunt her at her point.

It had all started an indeterminate time ago, when a small army had descended upon her. She’d been found by one a few days beforehand, and had chased the human away. She’d freely admit she had not considered he’d come back with enough reinforcement to overwhelm her ten times over.

There was the distinct upside that at least it had been her and not either Terrakion or Cobalion… never mind Keldeo. Keldeo was entirely too young and untrained to deal with something like this, and both Cobalion and Terrakion would probably have been killed, or broken in truth, being either too proud or too stubborn to bend as needed.

Still, what these humans were intending with her was beyond her; after a few days – or what she assumed to have be en days – she’d realized their intend was to see her broken and while she desperately wanted to know why, a certainty she’d had was that there’d been little choice in the matter. Her first few attempts to break free had proven fruitless and what happened afterwards had hardly helped her have the strength to do aught about her fate. So she’d played a careful game to convince them they were ‘succeeding’. On occasion, it had been exceedingly hard to keep from cursing them out with telepathy, but that she’d managed as well… barely.

So now she was ‘scared’ of electric-batons and what she was pretty sure were guns, ‘flinched’ when male humans entered her room and cried out in ‘fear’ when hearing something hit metal.

Undignified, and her honor would likely not recover of the charade for a few decades, but it was working, on both ends and that was the important bit.

They thought that their intent of Virizion broken had been ‘successful’ and had now moved to the next step of their plan, and she’d been moved from a heavily fortified room to one that while of a similar aesthetic was somewhat more comfortable, mostly because she was no longer chained up the entire time.

Still unable to escape however, as a cursory circle along the wall showed those were still up to standard and the door might fall to her , but being recaptured would blow her cover and they might not fall for it a second time.

Limping a bit, both from their attempts at breaking her, and cramping from being left immobilized for a good while, she returned to the soft bit of the floor.

“Guys?” Virizion once more tried a personal telepathic connection with the other Swords, but either the complex was warded even without them knowing she could do this, or they were out of range. She hoped it was the second one.

There were footsteps outside of the door, but she pretended not to hear them until the door actually opened slowly.

It was a male, so up and to the far end of the room she went. One of her legs gave out, cramping after long disuse, which made it convincingly pathetic when she winced in pain and flailed a bit to regain her footing.

“See?” The male dressed in yellow and purple softly stated, looking behind him. She remembered him, though she had no doubt he didn’t know. Small mercies that she’d managed to pretend unconsciousness for a while after capture and he’d visited during that period, so she was aware exactly who was to blame for this entire… ordeal. “Even Legendaries are being hurt. Like this one; humans didn’t forgive it for wanting to protect Pokémon.”

She bit her cheek to keep from pointing out to him that her hurts had been on his orders. Let him believe she was his pawn for a while longer… he’d taste her blade soon enough.

A small form slipped forward, and for the first time in a while she wasn’t acting. She reared up a bit – nearly losing her footing from another cramp – at the sight of a small green-haired boy. A child. Why was there a child here?

“Oh no…” He looked at her with compassionate pity, before deciding to to come closer. “Hey, it’s okay, you’re safe now. Dad and the others saved you. I’ll take care of you, if it’s okay with you.”

He was so honestly innocent about it, that she was very sure he didn’t know that his dad was the one that put her in this state. | As if I’d trust you. | She couldn’t resist giving voice to her thoughts, even if it wasn’t telepathicly. She’d thought she’d had a good idea of what they wanted with her, but then they’d gone through all this trouble to make her ‘broken’ and now this child…

“That’s fair.” The child stopped a bit away. “Humans hurt you when you just wanted to do good, so why would you trust humans? But I’d like to help you regardless.”

Wait… |You understand me?| She blinked a few times, head low and trembling – more in pain than fear, but that was a technicality they didn’t need to know.

“Yeah, I grew up with Pokémon, so I can understand you all.” The child slowly moved closer. “Dad’s been saving abused Pokémon as he found them, and then asking me to take care of them, since I can understand them and all.”

Okay, she’d need a bit longer to figure out what was going on here, after all. Eyes narrowing, she backed away some, until she felt the rough stone of the wall against her side.

“Would it help if I introduce you to some of my friends?” The child offered.

Clearly, the adult had been planning for this, perhaps since his minions had tracked her down. She’d play his game then, and they’d see who would be successful in the end. |Maybe...|

The child beamed, as innocent as you please, heading back to his father. “It’s a short walk, if you can manage that.”

|I can.| Still, she had to act scared of a human that looked like she could just end him, so she didn’t actually move all that much from her corner.

“You’re scaring her, dad.” The child looked up, confirming at least that relation.

“So I am, apologies.” The adult reached down, patting the boy on his head. “I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if it needs anything.”

“Yes.”

Chapter Text

She followed slowly, gingerly after the child after his father had retreated an acceptable distance. The room he lead her to was... uncomfortable, beyond the fact that as a Legendary long fundamentally opposed to humanity she'd never been in one.

It was large, cavernous beyond any cavern she'd recently been in. Why did a child that barely reached her knee need a room that was larger than many houses she'd seen!? She let her eyes roam once, taking note of the fact that there were windows, high above them. She could probably make that jump, once she'd rested and recovered. But first, find out exactly what was going on.

There were several Pokémon in the room and her eyes narrowed when noticing they - much like her - bore signs of abuse. She was left wondering if it were also victims of these people, or other humans. Something to figure out.

They were in awe when they saw her, all of them immediately recognizing her as a Legendary. She limped to the group, after the child, taking the offered spot.

"So uh..." The child tilted his head. "What's your name? Dad didn't say."

Virizion tilted her head, but was stopped from answering by the small Zorua in the group - who was missing a leg, among other scars. |How even did this happen to you? You're a Sword of Justice!|

A reasonable question, but ouch her pride was taking a beating. |Even us Legendaries are not invincible, little one. We can be overwhelmed... killed, and certainly we can be wounded.| She looked along her side, where a bald patch ran down a third of her length where her hair had been singed away by the electric rods. |I will take no judgement on being overwhelmed by easily a hundred enemies.|

The Zorua glared at her, until their staring-contest was broken by the human child setting himself between them. "Hey now, what did we agree on?"

|Don't blame others for the meanness of humans.| The entire gathering intoned evenly. Virizion took a sharp breath at that, feeling like there was something more there.

"Exactly." The human smiled at her. "None of us should be blamed for being victims of humans."

|That is certainly one way of looking at things.| She conceded, filling it away. |I am Virizion.| She added in an aside, trying to find a comfortable position for her legs. |Sword of Justice, as the Zorua pointed out.|

"Okay, welcome Virizion." He beamed at her innocently. Despite her laying down, she still had to look down to look him in the eye. "Well, I think you do know all the kinds of Pokémon here?"

|I do.| She inclined her head, looking around the group. |So all of you were also saved?| She managed to keep her doubt about the concept of 'saving' out of her voice.

|Yep.| A chorus of agreement met her. |Well, except Darumaka, he was with N from the beginning.| And wasn't it ironic that Darumaka was the only one not harmed in any way? Surely there was a utterly innocent explanation for it?

|I see.| She blinked a few times. Then she realized something that was exceedingly concerning. |Arceus, are all of you children?| Granted, most non-Legendaries could not get anywhere near her age, but it seemed as if none of these were older than their respective species-teens!

Chapter Text

Cobalion considered the glade. Terrakion was there, as was Keldeo - though that one was no surprise, since Keldeo was still being passed between the three of them to train under them in turn. The time of their meetings always held a certain degree of flexibility, to account for unforeseen delays when they had to travel across the region to meet up. The longest delay had been several decades ago, where the need to attend a rock-slide near his cave meant Terrakion had been a week late. And even then, he'd asked a bird-Pokémon to pass on a message around the third day.

Virizion was by now overdue almost the same... and there had been no word from Rumination Field, or anywhere for that matter.

"We're heading south." He should perhaps not have lingered this long to wait, but a faint dread suffused him when he tried to consider exactly what could be keeping the third of their trio.

"Alright." The other two acceded easily.

If not for the fact that Keldeo would not survive it, he'd have set their fastest speed. He and Terrakion could keep it for days, if need be, but the young, barely training colt would have broken... and he was not that desperate just yet.

There was a certain mercy to his heart being of steel, because it meant it would not crumble. That's what he'd always assumed, at least.

"Have the wars started again?" The signs were old, nearly washed away by the early summer-rains, but they were still visible. And if Virizion had left Rumination Field for their meeting and therefore been on time, these scars in the forest would not have been here. Keldeo lingered close to him, looking up in hope of an answer.

Terrakion was further away, studying something. "This was her Sword, I'd bet my cave on it." The Rock-type reported what Cobalion had already realized when they had arrived here, standing near a pile of fallen trees. "Whatever happened here, Virizion was involved."

His heart crumbled in dread.

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It would take her a good while to escape, nevermind her desire to first get to the bottom of whatever this was. Her recovery was slowed by the fact she couldn't make it too obvious that she was training up for an escape. Light stretches, for the most part, were all she was willing to risk for now. Though there was no proof, there was the very real possibility that someone was watching the room.

"Hey... uh..." The child - named N, but she was not going to just call him by a letter - sidled up to her as she tried to work out a cramp from her hind-leg. 

|Yes?| She was also still taking great care to ensure that no hint of her telepathy passed beyond the confines of her own mind. 

"Could you... maybe..." He'd grown shy around her, when the other Pokémon had explained to him exactly who she was. If not for the context of their meeting, she'd probably half-adopted him from sheer adorableness despite the fact that he was human. "It's Deerling." He looked over his shoulder, towards the only other green form in the room. 

The Deerling - currently in Summer Form - had been another 'rescue', sole survivor after a herd of Sawsbuck had been hunted down by poachers. She'd lost her mother, having been found cowering near the elder female and had remained largely catatonic since then.

Virizion had had a very close call with her temper when she'd learned that one, especially because the Deerling was also the youngest of the group. |I'll talk to her.| The young Pokémon had only started opening up after her arrival, from what the others had told her, and it was not taking too many braincells to figure out why.

|Darling?| It was the most obvious with the other Grass-type, but all these children were turning to her for guidance, protection... love. Even the human boy, which amused her because that could not have been part of the man's plan. The Legendary carefully laid down beside the small form. |Want to talk?| Obligingly, the other six drew off to some toy-set on the other side of the room.

|Miss Mom...|

She was cutting that man to ribbons, even if it killed her.

Chapter Text

They found that there had been attack, and many more victims than just Virizion. Though she was the only one who had been taken by the attackers. The rest had been left behind in whatever state they'd been left in. The Sewaddle they'd found had lead them to its' parent, a Leavanny who had tried to aid the resident Legendary.

"We lost quite a few in the fight, they had little... no, they had no mercy." The older bugtype murmured, deep grooves in the carapace proof that it had been one of those. "Contrary to the Gymleader." She briefly gestured to the nearby city. "She came too late for Lady Virizion, and many others, but she did come. None of those that lived by her arrival did die afterwards."

"A credit to her, I suppose." Cobalion had to concede, though it did not change that many had been lost by her slow reaction. "So you would say they were not normal trainers?"

"Oh, Arceus no." The grass-type shook her head sharply. "We know trainers, Lord Cobalion, near here is the standard start-place for those that want to do the Gym-challenge, so we see plenty. None of them have ever been like these people. Even beyond the fact that these swarmed this forest. The trainers I have witnessed are respectful of the forest, and us dwelling in it. I certainly cannot recall any that go to the point of actually killing. Had you asked me before this, I could not have named you a family that lost a member to a human killing them."

"And now?" Terrakion sproke up, eyes narrowed.

"At least of the families near the Lady's clearing? I could not name you one that has not lost a member." Leavanny looked down briefly. "Not to mention whatever it is they took the Lady for."

"Do you know if she still lives?" 

"She lived when I fell, for sure." The local shook her head briefly. "But what happened after, I cannot say. You might have to ask what others have already returned from the city, they might know."

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Small mercies, with the youngsters around she had an excuse not to have to bolt for the far corner of the room whenever the door opened. Quite often it was the fact she was the bottom layer of a pile of Pokémon - and one human - and rising too quickly would result in all of those being launched over the floor. 

|Shush...| She soothed the small form that was sheltering in the lee of her body. |It was just a nightmare.| Even had she trusted her surroundings, she'd have gotten little sleep. At least one of them would be woken from nightmares during each night, so she'd taken to dozing a lot. This time, it was the Zorua. 

While the Deerling had been made catatonic and the Litwick, Mincinno and Lillipup rendered terrified of all humans beyond the child, the Zorua had been driven to fury and hate by what had happened to him. To a lesser extent, that also extended to her, as a Legendary who had failed against humans, but he was still a child in the end, so she did not blame him.

|It's nothing.| He tried to play it off, but she had plenty of experience with traumatized youngsters even before ending up here.

|I won't make you talk about it.| She whispered softly, long neck reaching over the other Grass-type to briefly nuzzle him. |But I am large enough to have more than just Lillipup sleep on top of me, just saying.| Her presence soothed them, even subconsciously. And the young one was not nearly angry enough to be immune to that. 

He looked between her back - which did only have Lillipup, and enough space to accommodate the rest if they so chose - and then away from her.

|Just hop on if you change your mind.| She offered, briefly considering the small candle at the side of her neck before resting her head down again.

Closing her eyes, she left her other senses on the Dark-type, smiling inwardly some when feeling small feet climb up after a while he probably assumed was sufficient to let her fall asleep again.

Chapter Text

Virizion shook her head lightly. The child was getting lessons, which she did consider a minor plus. Even if the lessons leaned in weird directions... or that just might be her lack of knowledge about human education.

The Litwick was sitting in front of her chest, the other youngsters clustered around her. The little Ghost-type was syphoning her lifeforce, as being both an adult and Legendary, she had the most to spare for it. They were gathered at the far side of the room from the entry-door. The human youngster had just returned from his lessons and was eagerly telling them all about it.

|I hardly know human science, but that seems like a poor way of doing it.| She was not going to complain too much about the weird directions, as they were giving her openings to set her own roots in the child's mindset. 

"How would you do it then?" The green-haired boy demanded, resting against her side, with the Zorua and Lillipup in is lap.

|If you are telling it correctly to how it is passed on, that scientist talked only to one village, near the grasslands and of his own peoples. Of course they would have that opinion about the herd on it.| She shook her head again. |At no point he considered asking other villages, or just observing the Bouffalant.| 

|That's just humans for you.| The Zorua muttered darkly. |They just see Pokémon as tools and stuff...|

|Yeah, but which humans?| She countered, briefly fixing her eyes on the Dark-type.

|What do you mean with that?| The Lillipup leaned over so he could look past the human at her. 

|Were any of us there?| The older Grass-type pointed out. |Did all that happen as told, or did something get lost over time?| Considering she could not remember hearing of herds of Bouffalant being driven over cliffs, so unless that happened before her time, she was doubtful about the veracity of this anecdote anyway. But she didn't say that out loud, because she didn't want to put the human on defensive.

"But Father wouldn't lie..." Oops, that sounded defensive. 

|I am not saying he did.| Just thinking it, but not saying it. |But he can be mistaken, or have been lied to himself. I cannot say, I just want to warn you against jumping to conclusions.|

|There are no good humans raised by them.| The little Deerling, half-between her and the human, softly whispered. At least she was no longer generalizing the child with the rest of his kind, so Virizion considered it progress.

|I can see why you might say that.| The Legendary gently nudged the little candy aside enough that she could reach the other Grass-type. |But I must disagree with you on that, darling.|

|N's the only exception.| Darumaka spoke up. The only of them not delivered to the human child, the opinions of the others had still plenty rubbed off on him. Certainly enough to make him suspicious of all humans as well. 

|If I may give a history-lesson of my own?| She didn't wait for permission. |A good while ago - certainly before all of you were born - there was a great fire in the Moor of Icirrus. It practically burned down completely and the Swords spend days dealing with the aftermath.| She wasn't going to bring up Keldeo, since the youngster was still being kept hidden from the world, but it was a good story regardless. |We still don't quite know how the fire started, but regardless...| She had spotted Zorua's mouth opening. |The relevant bit is that we can be sure that it won't happen again. The Moor is being guarded now, and any minor fire is being extinguished before it becomes close to the blaze from all that time ago.|

"And that's relevant how?" Grey eyes looked at her through green bangs.

|Of course the Swords regularly visit the Moor, but the main protection? Are humans, who dedicate their whole lives to keeping it safe.|
 

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It was interesting, because she was very sure that the lessons the child was getting were supposed to turn him against his own kind. That, more than anything else surrounding it, was setting off her alarm-bells. 

While the Swords were distrustful towards humans, even they were not this... antagonistic. And they were certainly not teaching Keldeo that every human ever was the absolute worst. Yet the child's father seemed well underway to have him believe so, at least, had she not been around to temper those teachings somewhat. If that helped to make sure the Zorua doesn't try to maul every non-child human around, she was counting it a win.

"I'm just confused." The human murmured, half-draped over her back. 

"That was not my intention." Virizion countered softly, inwardly admitting that it totally was. Even Terrakion would have been able to figure out by now that this child was about to be weaponized somehow, because why else would he be raised this way. "What exactly is confusing you?"

"You say that not all humans are bad, but dad says practically all humans are bad." The green-haired boy flapped both arms. "So who am I supposed to believe between you two?"

In the distance, both of them heard Zorua grumble something. She just tilted her head some. "Something I need to remind my team of at times; a bigger group gives a better overview." 

"So...?"

"Ask more people... or well, Pokémon might be best." The Legendary shifted a bit, until he moved so she could get up. "Some trainer-owned ones, perhaps; they live with humans the entire time, and will them know better than us wild ones."

"So, dad's Zweilous?" He sat cross-legged on the ground, looking up at her.

"And more, to get a good groupsize. Perhaps make it a small journey outside, see the region while you're at it." She had been exceedingly disturbed when realizing that the child lived only in two or three rooms; this one, the room for his lessons and occasionally a diningroom. 

"I can't." He promptly answered. 

"Nonsense." She waved it off. "You are... what... seven... eight?" She stretched a bit. "I have seen younger children run around out in the wild with just one companion-Pokémon." The older grass-type hoped he wouldn't get the idea to ask his father, because she sincerely doubted he'd either allow it, or if he allowed it to not force the boy choose a biased selection. "And now you'd be with practically a full team, if we all join you." 

"But we can't get out of here." The Lillipup bounded over, shortly followed by the other Pokémon that had been playing with one of the balls on the far side of the room. Clearly it had not considered just asking for permission to leave from the boy's father.

"Oh little one." Virizion allowed herself a chuckle. "I am a Legendary, you know. I staid because I wanted to, to not leave you all here." She allowed herself a brief glance towards the windows, of which she was sure she had recovered enough to reach by now. "But if N wants, I can get us all here out for a little fieldtrip."

"I... I want to think about it first." N answered. He was looking at her in an interesting way after that little statement, probably because he never considered that among his companions, she was the one that was staying because she chose to. 

Chapter Text

It was a few weeks later that the child decided it did want to leave, which she greeted with approval. It had taken a few more days to convince him that it was fine if they were gone for a couple hours after his lessons, again because she’d seen younger kids free-roaming and they would come back.

Whether they’d actually come back was still up in the air, because she was not going to try and force the other Pokémon to return here if they decided freedom was their preference. She would at the least bring the child back, just because she was not nearly opposed enough to his father to make the adult wonder forever where his son had gone.

“Are you sure you can make that jump with all of us?” Mincinno asked softly, clinging to the child’s jacket.

“Yes.” She briefly turned her head some. “Or at the very least, I will make the landing should I have severely misjudged.” She had made some larger jumps in her life, sometimes also with others clinging to her. At least most of this batch could all hold onto her.

“Then let’s hurry before dad gets worried.” After his lessons the child was usually left alone barring some food-moments. They’d picked a short-lesson day, so the earliest he’d be missed was a couple hours, unless they were really monitoring the room and could tell immediately she busted out. The green-haired boy had Litwick in one arm, the other around her neck. It was not strictly the most ideal way of going about it, but for one jump she could manage.

“As you wish.” Virizion inclined her head, taking one last moment to measure the distance. She’d normally do a running start, but that’d mean shedding some passengers. “Hold on, everyone.”

The Legendary allowed herself a minor run still, setting off so hard that she heard the floor-tiles crack under the force. Whoops, that hopefully could get fixed.

T he landing was still very awkward, because while she could tell it was open air above, she did not quite know what was on the other side, so she had to land on the windowsill and hope it held her long enough to decide on a next step. Several of the children on her back squeaked, and one yelped rather loudly. “Everyone still on?” A chorus of yes’es answered her, so she took a few moments to decide on her next step, literally.

She recognized the area, to the far north-east of the region, just where it bordered the next. This was literally on the other side from her home, almost on top of Terrakion’s. Yeah, no wonder she’d never managed to reach any of the other Swords, they’d be looking for her over there, probably. And it was far too soon after her disappearance from them that Terrakion would have returned home yet.

Under one hoof, the windowsill started shifting, so the time to look was over. “I’ll have to do a few more jumps, so hold on.” She warned them. She’d have to get away from this area, because it was loaded with strong trainers who would not hesitate to challenge her if they spotted her. Right now, she just did not have the time for that.

After the jumps she could briefly stop and stand, letting several of her passengers get off to move alongside her. It had been a good while since any of them had properly stretched their legs.

“So whereto now?” Only the human and the Litwick remained seated.

“I’d suggest near the city over there?” She gestured to some white visible beyond the treetops, down the mountainside. “I suspect that’s the best place to find some trainer-Pokémon, and Pokémon who just spend a lot of time around them.” The Grasstype relaxed some when they entered the trees proper, feeling far more comfortable here than in those cold, hard rooms the child had.

The Deerling stayed close to her, but some of the others roamed a bit. That was fine, they’d spot her easily still and she could find them if need be.

“ And then what…? ” The human wondered, one hand on her neck.

“As said, it’s normal for humans to let their children free-roam. You can just go up to trainers, ask them to meet their Pokémon and it’d be fine. We’ll all be nearby enough to interfere if there’s danger.” She briefly ducked under a branch. “If one of the other kids goes with you, every human will assume you are supposed to be here, I have little doubt.”

“ And if they do ask about my parents? ”

“ Say they are nearby, which is not a lie, since your father is still near and you are looking around the area for a few hours. ” Virizion answered softly, listening to the sounds of their surroundings as she slowly made her way towards the city.

Chapter Text

Claire was preparing the picknick, her Liepard a perfect donut on the pillow they'd brought specifically for it.

Trent's Krokorok was already halfway into the ground, and probably would not leave it until they'd have to get back into the Lacunosa town before the hotel closed. Visiting was fun, but how they could live like this was beyond her.

She looked up sharply when hearing leaves rustle, then mentally slapped herself. Clearly the myths of this town were getting to her.

Instead of some great monster, it was a boy, with a Darumaka toddling along beside him.

"Oh hello sweety, what're you doing here?" Trent looked up at her voice, following her line of sight while his Krokorok burrowed back up. Liepard did not care at all.

"Exploring." The green-haired child answered. "Then I came over."

"Well, we have enough for more guests." Trent snorted. "You from Lacunosa?"

"No, I live in that direction." The child flapped his arms north-ish. When she looked up, for a moment it felt like she locked eyes with someone, but the next moment there were only leaves. "I'll have to go back soon."

"Ah, take a snack for the road, at least." She offered a chocolate-bar. Hey, if there were no parents to complain, she was not going to deny a child sweets. Her boyfriend gave her a flat glare as his Krokorok started chattering at the Darumaka. The Fire-type answered in kind, while the boy accepted the candy politely.

"Thank you, miss." He blinked a few times, holding the small thing with both hands. 

"Don't worry about it." She waved it off, ignoring Trent's intense glare. He always had opinions about how she was around kids, but maybe he shouldn't have started dating a daycare-lady if this was such a problem for him. "I hope you didn't go too far from home?"

"Uh..." Ah, that was a look she'd seen before, usually a few minutes before she had to clean up a mess. "I mean... I guess I am far from home, but I'm here with an adult?"

"Not sure we count, kid." Trent pointed out, quirking an eyebrow when her Liepard started involving itself in the discussion of the other two Pokémon.

"Oh no, with one from home. She brought me here, and is going to take me back!" There was something shifty about how the boy looked into the forest, making her wonder if she should insist he go back to the city with them so they could have authorities look for a way to get him home. But she could tell he wasn't lying, because that was a different kind of tell. "Darumaka, we probably should get back, otherwise we'll be late." He turned around, back into the undergrowth.

"Hey!" Now that she couldn't just accept, but by the time she had scrambled up the boy was just... gone. "How in...?" Yeah, he was green-haired, but this was almost too fast that he should be out of sight. The Darumaka was also gone, despite it not being that fast.

"Did we just meet the local monster?" Trent whispered softly.

"No... that was a real kid." Claire suddenly had lost all enjoyment for her picknick.

Chapter Text

Virizion was resting in a nook of some tree-roots when the human-child returned. Aside from the Darumaka who'd been running around with it, the other children were lounging around her. Or well...  

"Please come down before you fall." She knew Zorua were capable climbers, but with one leg missing and it having been a long time since it was anywhere near trees since said loss, she had some minor doubts about this specific one at the moment.

"It's fine!" The Dark-type countered, looking for a way even higher up the tree.

She thanked Arceus that Keldeo was not like this youngster. 

"Do we have to go back?" The little Deerling was curled up in the lee of her body, big eyes looking up. 

"We'll have to see, darling. Certainly I will have to return N to his family." She was beyond relieved that the younger grass-type was recovering well from her ordeal. She was kept from saying more when the green-haired boy appeared from the bushes. "Ah, child." 

He dropped down just a bit before Deerling, tucking himself against her chest. "Why?"

"Mh?" She leaned forward a bit, letting her head rest lightly on his. "Why what?"

"Like... all of you were hurt by humans, everyone tells me humans and Pokémon shouldn't be together, that it's bad for the Pokémon..." The young human muttered. "But all of them... all of them like being with their humans!" 

Darumaka climbed onto her back, and with the return of their human the rest of the children also regathered around the only adult.

"Oh?" She'd suspected an outcome like this, because despite her personal misgivings, she'd seen enough Pokémon and humans to know general attitudes about human-Pokémon-relations had shifted since the wars. Though it was good to see it confirmed.

"They talked mostly about how good it was to have a human, that they'd deal with things like food and shelter." The fire-type reported. Because it was the only one that did not bear signs of abuse, it had been the one going with the child to meet Pokémon that lived with other humans. "The worst complaint was one Cryogonal complaining about their human not letting them stay in their freezer full-time. A complaint the Sandile with them pointed out was useless because they don't fit, apparently, so the human could not let them even go into the freezer... whatever a freezer is."

"I see." The Legendary mused, looking down. Because of the angle with their heads stacked, she only saw the child's knees. "What's your thought on the matter, child?"

"It's wrong." The young human muttered. "I mean... if it was just a few, they'd be the... outliers, you called it? But it's all of them!" She had to pull her head back when he shot up in agitation. "What does that mean?" He was nearly pacing, and she felt somewhat bad that she'd chosen this route to deal with his father's machinations.

"I am not sure myself, but I see several meanings, one the more likely of them." She offered, and when he looked at her questioningly, she took it as a sign to continue. "Remember my wondering after the Bouffalant-story? I believe that someone is skewing the narrative... either towards you, or towards your father, who unintentionally is skewing it towards you in turn." She was still careful to keep from outright accusing his father from being the one responsible. 

The human-child took a sharp breath, turning quickly. She let herself recline, the other children quiet around them. She could hear them think, question...

"So who...?" He asked, trembling while hugging itself. "Who is telling this story?"

"I..." A sound alerted her to something approach. Oh dear... "Child, who would benefit if you believed what they want you to believe?" She asked quickly, before twitching once in the way the children had learned meant she wanted to get up. Rising to her feet, she found that her suspicion had been correct; the room was being watched at all times.

Chapter Text

Cobalion was... angry. That was the only way he could describe his emotions. Had humans just forgotten how the wars had gone?

They'd followed to trail of the flying machine that had most likely taken Virizion, but at some point it had faded into the regular flying machines of the humans and the trail had grown cold. 

So they'd decided to make another grand tour around the region, something they'd not done since Keldeo started training with them.

"They haven't learned anything, have they?" Terrakion snarled, far more obvious with his emotions than his leader.

"They've learned to strike first." The Steel-type shook his head. They had not found any word of Virizion, but they'd found several human crimes. 

"If not for the need to find Virizion, I'd be doing something now." The Rock-type answered. "Something distinctly wall-breaking."

"And I might just have been tempted to let you." But finding their comrade had the priority right now. "We will revisit that course of action after finding her."

Keldeo had been silently following them, fidgeting soundlessly whenever they stopped for one reason or another.

The three turned back from this forest, continuing their trek across the north of the region. They'd already spoken to several of the other Legendaries - Cobalion had even resorted to contacting Kyurem, despite the dragon never leaving Giant Chasm - but even that had brought nothing.

Quite frankly, they were running out of places to check without having to leave the damn region, and they really hoped it would not come to that. 

<><><><><><><><><>

Virizion met the eyes of the man in the lead, before turning away some. There was no way he'd already missed the boy normally, they were well before dinnertime still... The room truly had been under watch, if not all the time than certainly with regular unnoticed check-ups.

"There you are!" The green-haired man broke through the bushes with several other humans trailing him. "Who did you talk to?"

She blinked a few times at that, because that was not what she'd expected to be the first reaction... and yet, considering her suspicions it probably should have been.

"Father." The human child stood in front. "I... I just wanted..."

"N, what made you think that leaving was a good idea?" The older human was of a size with her, which still weirded her out. He also seemed to have calmed down some. "It's dangerous."

"I had all my friends with me." The child gestured to the cluster of Pokémon around them. "And it was going to be just until dinner."

"Still." His father rubbed his forehead. "What even were you doing out here? I could have taken you if you wanted to see some nature."

"I..." The small boy in front of her shrunk some. She half-wondered if she should interfere. "I wanted to be sure." He firmly stated, straightening up.

"Of what!?" There was something akin to worry in the voice of the elder human.

The child took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "Where the bias lies."

"Pardon."

"I remember the Pokémon I grew up with, they didn't hate humans. Then I come here, and suddenly almost all Pokémon I meet say humans are bad." Virizion did outright startle at that statement. So that was why he'd agreed to her suggestion to leave in the end. It should have surprised her that she had apparently changed his mind in a month or two, but if he'd already had doubts... "I wanted to know who is right."

"I see." His father evenly stated. "And I suspect you have found your answer."

"Yes."

"I see."

Chapter Text

"A pity." It was almost emotionless, the throwing of that Pokéball. The Zweilous roared his arrival to the sky.

Virizion had expected something like this when the first question had been 'who did you talk to' instead of anything else. The human child had rendered itself useless to whatever it was the human adult wanted him for, and so the adult would seek to remove him.

"Do not."

In a different universe, one of those other infinite timelines that spawn when great deeds are done slightly differently, the Zweilous alone would have been enough. Six Pokémon-children, most barely leaving their birth-move-sets, and a human child, as powerless as those were, would not have lasted long at all against a second-stage pseudo-legendary that had clearly been trained.

The dark-type, whose heads had looked about ready to start arguing with one another, froze and then recoiled when hearing... sensing a Legendary opposing it. A Legendary with a type-advantage... A Legendary with a type-advantage that was angry.

"Zweilous." The child's father sharply ordered.

Well, now was as good a time as any to drop one of her little charades. "Your Pokémon knows it shan't win this match-up." It felt strangely freeing, being able to use telepathy with no concern anymore.

"What!?" Everyone recoiled a bit at that one. 

"Yes, hello, well met. I am Virizion, a Legendary Sword of Justice." She carefully stepped over the group of children. "That is not an empty title."

Red eyes snapped to her own pink ones. "You..."

"I." She evenly countered. "Your Pokémon is smart enough to know I will kick it into orbit if he does as you order... human." She tilted her head. "I presume you did not assume it so?"

Either he had assumed her powerless, or his Pokémon far more powerful, to dare such a match-up. There were a ton of questions she wanted to ask, answers she desired to demand, but now was not the time for any of it. Zweilous retreated, away from them both. She only barely allowed it to register. "Leave." She ordered instead.

"No." The adult human had gotten over his surprise. "No, I don't think I will."

In yet another universe, his next move would have been as effective as his Zweilous in those universes where she was not around.

She grew tense when the gun appeared from between the folds of his clothes. Perhaps he intended her to simply freeze, perhaps to flee... instead all she became was furious. He had always intended the child to be disposable, why else would he have all these fall-backs? "You dare..."

And yet, it was more effective than she'd like to admit. She hadn't had any true encounters with guns, thank Arceus, but her first instinct would have been to make sure it could not be aimed at her.

But her body was quite frankly shielding the children behind her and her kneejerk reaction of using her speed would leave them wide-open. 

A lone shudder ran through her body. This would not be pretty, by any standards.

She bellowed. The sound was a warning, a challenge... and unlike her two compatriots, she used it sparingly. That alone was enough to give a good indication of the danger about to come from her.

And it carried, miles and miles all around.

Far enough that it reached the nearest other Legendary, though she did not consider that at all when doing it. 

And when she fell silent... she attacked.

Chapter Text

Kyurem tilted his head some when hearing the bellow of rage - of war - beyond the walls of Giant Chasm. What on...?

He knew for a fact that Virizion had been lost, though he supposed she could have been found again and no one felt the need to warn him. But he suspected not, simply because if they'd found her, Cobalion or Terrakion would be the ones bellowing.

It was a simple fact that he could count her moments of going on the attack like this with only his hands.

Curiosity drove him to take to the air and in the direction of the sound. He sped up when hearing other loud sounds, sounds that could not come from the Grass-type Legendary.

The Ice-type supposed it would reflect poorly on him if he stayed aside from this mess.

Gliding quietly like an iceberg on the ocean, he closed in and took in the scene. Clearly the humans were outmatched, though the other Legendary had not come through fully unscathed.

Why on Earth she'd decided to keep fighting rather than retreating became clear when he passed line of sight with a small cluster of kids cowering behind a Zweilous. Yeah, that's something that would put Virizion on attack...

He carefully aimed his Glaciate to miss those, sweeping just past her and freezing some of the older humans as the rest retreated.

"Lord Kyurem." There were streaks of red in her fur, trickles of blood. Still, she stood as gracefully and calmly as he'd ever seen her.

"Lady Virizion." He could be polite, he supposed. "Do I want to know?" 

The frozen ground cracked under his weight, and several trees shattered when he hit them on the way down.

"Humanity." She rolled her eyes, before inclining her head in gratitude and turning away from him, towards the cluster of children she'd been protecting. 

Something told him the Deerling was not frozen by anything he'd done.

"I'm fine, darling." The older Grass-type softly murmured, though tellingly using telepathy instead of opening her mouth. "This won't kill me." She hesitated briefly. "I want a healer to look me over to keep from permanently damaging me, but it won't kill me." The other children were clustered in a spot of unfrozen area.

"I suspect the local Audino won't do it, though." He felt the need to point out, feeling like he'd have to raise his eyebrow in a Cobalion-like manner if his face was not eternally frozen when she threw a look over her shoulder at him.

Whatever it was that made her give him that glare, she choose to ignore it. "I suspect I will need human aid for this." Kyurem blinked when noticing the small human standing up quickly at that statement. What had happened here? "A trained human-healer, my child."

He might just become social, just to find out whatever was going on here. For now... "Luckily the humans make the buildings with their healers obvious." He could just see over the trees into the city down below. "I suggest running down there, little human, and getting one."

"I..." The little green-haired human looked between them. 

"Well, we can't send any of the others. They can't really explain quickly." Virizion pointed out calmly. "Red-white roof, yes?" At that, the child ran downhill.

"What happened here?" Since they were waiting anyway, he felt like he could go for a private telepathic conversation with the Legendary that had been lost for a couple months. "Last I heard was that Cobalion declared you missing. He's probably warned every Legendary in the region at this point. I feel he's shown more emotions these last few months than in most of his centuries of his life."

"Long story, my Lord." She briefly looked at the other Pokémon, several of whom were clinging to her legs, though the Zweilous stayed well apart from them both. "And I am not sure I will have enough time to tell before the humans get here... and I suspect you will want to be gone before they do."

He would have given her a flat glare if he could. "Since I suspect you will not be delivered to him any time soon..." He demonstrably turned his head to look at a particularly bad scar on her side. "Even assuming they are honorable, you will be with the healers for a good while, my Lady, so I feel like I'd need at least a summary to deliver to Cobalion."

"I would consider it a great favor if you did not tell him anything at all, unless he specifically asks, my Lord." She quickly stated in answer. "It is such a long, complicated story I want to be able to tell it myself."

"Saves me having to look for them, I suppose." He mentally shrugged. 

"Thank you."

Chapter Text

Jenny had been in the Pokémon Center for her Herdier's regular check-up when the child rushed inside. It had been near-incomprehensible, having run a long way, but she and Joy got 'wounded' and 'gun' out of him, which was enough to get them going. Guns were pretty much illegal for everyone except a few specific exceptions, because Pokémon could moderate their damage-output, but guns could not.

So if a child comes in with those two words, it gets the attention of law-enforcement. Herdier's check-up wasn't done yet, but she had her priorities. Recalling her Pokémon, she called for back-up on her C-gear and ran outside to her large truck.

"He says it's a Pokémon." Joy joined her in the front-seat, after helping the boy clamber in the back. "And I do know the basics for humans, if needed." 

Oh, she was not looking forward to the paperwork for this, she could already tell. "Alright kid, where do I need to go?"

He pointed her up the mountains to the north-east, towards Giant Chasm. What had a child been doing there!? Something to find out later.

Thanking the Dragon that her truck was off-road capable, she drove up the hill-side. Neither of the adults needed to ask if they were going the right way, because they hit a frost-line soon enough. Jenny groaned at the realizations that apparently someone had brought a gun to the Pokémon-fight.

"Oh my gosh!" Joy spotted the Pokémon first, since she had to focus on not losing control of her vehicle on the slippery grounds.

"Is that...?" For a few moments, the officer was as frozen as their surroundings, looking at something she'd never seen before.

"Virizion!" The child had clambered outside when the car stopped, running over. "I brought them!" The Legendary deer leaned down some as the child approached. There were Pokémon clustered around it.

"Jenny..." Joy breathed. "It's the wounded." The red stood out sharply in the green and cream fur.

Jenny nodded mutely, before shaking herself and climbing out of the car. Ice crunched underneath her feet, and she realized there were humans in the ice. 

"Humans." The Sword of Justice tilted her head some, a gentle telepathic voice echoing in their heads. "I am afraid I require assistance." It looked at some wounds. 

"I can help." Joy stepped up beside her, hands clutching her traveling bag. "May I approach?"

Pink eyes studied them for a moment. "Yes." The nurse stepped forward upon approval, heading straight for the Legendary with little concern for her own safety.

"Can I ask what happened here?" Jenny remained behind some, one hand around her Herdier's Pokéball. It was said that the Swords were honorable, so she did not outright want to assume an imminent attack, but every living being could lash out if it felt startled or threatened and she wanted some reaction-room if it happened. Especially because she doubted any of the other Pokémon could have done all this. 

"Humans did." The large, green form gave little indication she noted what Joy was doing. "In short, they captured us, harmed us, and then threatened innocent children with guns. That's where I decided to get threatening." The tone of the mental voice was a statement all on its' own. "Then they started shooting and I was about done being gentle."

Oh, she was going to hate the paperwork. Looking around, she made a mental inventory. She had not paid that much attention to her history lessons, but from what she recalled, the Swords of Justice had only ever attacked humans that were threatening Pokémon. So unless she really misremembered, would indicate the Legendary was not lying. 

"I can't do much out here." Her contemplation of the matter was interrupted by Joy speaking up. "I need things from the Pokémon Center, and potentially operate for some of these." That got an instant reaction from the other Pokémon around, before they were seemingly called to task by the Legendary.

"I feared something like this." Virizion gave a look like a quirked grin, if she were allowed to anthropomorphize for a moment. "I suppose we can see this as a test of whether this is a larger problem." It threw its' head around once, to encompass the clearing. "Can't we?"

Jenny sighed at the all the paperwork awaiting her. "My truck-bed should be large enough for you, Virizion." She wasn't even going to merely think about using a Pokéball.

Chapter Text

She felt like her head was full of fluff, stuffed full of Whimsicotts. Not moving a muscle, she used her slowly restarting brain to inventorize her body. She was comfortable, aside from her head, but it was not the humans' fault that her horns kept her head from laying on the side like the rest of her body, meaning it was currently twisted around a bit. She wondered if there was a way to tell whether they'd used one of those ball-things on her.

Behind her, there was the sound of a door, if the time in the other human place had taught her sounds.

The healer-human slowly appeared in her view, Audino at her side. The human at first didn't notice she was awake, until the Audino did and warned her human.

"Oh..." The healer-human wheeled around, and Virizion chuckled at the look on her face. "Virizion, you're awake."

"Barely." She acknowledged, not moving. "I presume I have been treated?"

"Yes." The pink-haired female sank through her legs so they were eye-to-eye. "Any pain anywhere?"

"Mildly sore, mostly my neck." The grass-type moved her head a bit. "I am not made to lay on my side, as I think you can imagine."

"Well, with your waking, we can see about a better position." The healer looked up. "May I check your wounds?"

"Yes." Not that she'd be able to stop the human in her current state. "May I ask; the others?"

"In another room, we prefer patients from being separated from others." The human stated, sounding a bit distracted. "After the check, I can bring them. Please let me know if anything I do hurts in some way."

"I would appreciate that." She managed to lock eyes with the Audino, who inclined her head briefly. "How long would I need to stay here?"

"Ah..." She felt the hands on her side stop briefly. "I will admit to not being sure, I suspect Legendaries might heal differently from normal Pokémon."

"Assume I am a normal Pokémon." Said Legendary offered. The human might not know the difference in healing, but she did and could make the calculation herself. "Pretend I am a Sawsbuck... or something."

The Audino laughed at that. "That's what we're telling everyone about this room being in use." The Normal-type snorted, earning a smirk from the Grass-Fighting-type. 

"Well, at least a week orso of no movement if possible, and then slowly working your way up to full movement." The healer hadn't understood her Pokémon's statement, and sounded somewhat miffed at that. "A month of good rest, at least, I'd like to advise." She couldn't see the human, but felt the fingers prod gently, trailing over her body. "Can I just say it feels weird being able to tell my patient things? And have them answer, mostly..."

"Of course, the healers with the red-white roofs are Pokémon specialists, right?" Virizion made some mental calculations as she spoke. 

"Yep." The human stepped back some. "It's all alright, I'll get the others for you then. Audino, can you help her some?"

Virizion could just see the other Pokémon salute, realizing she was going to lose a few more shreds of dignity before this all was over and done with.

She was nearly swarmed just a short while later, probably only not literally because they didn't want to hurt her.

The other adult human was with them, though she suspected mostly the human boy, who trembled with his effort to not hug her silly.

Chapter Text

"N doesn't like talking to humans." Mincinno reported softly, when she tilted her head at the quiet human child. "Or just have them get what we are saying." The fluffy Normal-type carefully curled up against her neck. 

"I see." Virizion couldn't wait until she could move more, but was not about to start challenging a healer, even if it was a human one. "Child..." The small green-haired boy came close, resting his hands on the elevation she was resting on. She'd have to deal with that as well.

"Human." She instead addressed the other human, which she was pretty sure was a peacekeeper of this day and age.

"Ah, yes?" The blue-clad female startled at the telepathy, before stepping back some and descending into a crouch to meet her eyes. Very much appreciated.

"What happened to the other humans? The ones I fought against?"

"Ah... uhm..." The human rubbed the back of her head. "Most are still recovering from being frozen solid. So..."

Virizion snorted, jostling the few children that had settled against her body. "I suppose I should be relieved they did not die." 

"If it's alright with you, I'd like a more elaborate explanation as to what happened once you're up to it." 

The Legendary conceded the point. "Another thing then, that has my greater priority." She hoisted her neck up slowly, making sure to stop when a spike of pain ran through it. "Child. I would see you taking care of before I need to leave you."

"Wait, what...!?" He recoiled from the table at her statement. "I..."

"For your... father..." She had not wanted it to go that far, but it had gone that far and she could not take back what she'd done. "Between what he had done, and what I did in answer, he is no longer an option I would entrust your care to." She kept it to telepathy. "And aside from the human-Pokémon differences, you are too young for me to consider taking you along. Not to mention I doubt the other humans would allow one as young as you to leave their care for the wilds. That might be more free-range than even humans allow their children."

"But I..." He frantically looked between her, the other Pokémon and the human at his back, who was still crouched.

"I cannot say I disagree with her." Said human softly pointed out. "Even if I don't know exactly what happened to your father." She kept her voice kind. "I would like to find a solution we can all agree on, or at least, that is not completely opposing to all our opinions. But I'd like your help with that too."

Virizion lowered her head back to the table, because she could spot the healer's look from the corner of her eye. "Any option but 'back into the wilds' is possible, I am sure. And I am equally sure we can stay together for my recovery, at least."

"We would not force a seperation." The human confirmed. "Well, until Virizion leaves, that is."

"I don't want to leave my friends." N whispered softly, holding onto the table.

"I can promise I'll do my best to find a place for you were you won't have to, barring the Legendary." The peacekeeper rested one of her hands on her heart. "There's plenty of humans that have several Pokémon as their companions, and most of those live on city-outskirts for space, so Virizion could even visit if it wants to... and is willing to travel some."

"Okay..."

Chapter Text

Professor Juniper heard her Xtransceiver ping softly. Looking up from her pc, she reached over to answer.

“Yes?”

“Aurea.” She was greeted by the face of one of her childhood-friends, who was now working in Lacunosa. “Hey… uh… I might need your help?”

“What a greeting…” She looked at Officer Jenny. “With what?”

“You see… it’s really weird here, at the moment.” The other woman had to briefly turn away to push her Herdier away from the camera. “So, in short; we happened to break up a planned coup..”

Aurea cursed at that statement in a way that would have had her mother threaten her mouth with soap a few decades ago. “Jenny! You can’t just say that!”

“Look, I can’t go into details, national security and all that, but there was a kid that was semi-adopted by the mastermind.” Jenny waved it off. “For obvious – and less obvious – reasons, he can’t stay with the guy anymore.”

“So foster-care?” If the kid had been adopted, it probably didn’t have relatives anywhere else.

“Yeah, but there’s a problem. That’s the one I could use your help with.”

The Professor tilted her head. “I didn’t exactly enroll in the foster-system at any point, Jenn. I’m sure there’s more experienced people out there”

“It’s a special case beyond the… other thing. From what has been shared by him and those we arrested, he was supposed to grow up into a figurehead; and for some reason, that involved making him very anti-Trainer, for a lack of better phrasing.” Jenny crossed her arms. “So he was surrounded by abused Pokémon, to make it so that he would oppose all Pokémon-human relations in the future. Like… in a decade orso.”

Aurea cursed again. “How…” She took a deep breath. “So there’s a child – probably traumatized – that comes with several Pokémon – definitely traumatized?” She could begin to see why this situation would need a special touch.

“Yep.” The officer leaned closer. “But the main reason I thought of you; some of the Pokémon in question are going back into the wild… with clear intent to visit him still. One of those Pokémon is a Legendary, Aurea.”

“A Legendary!?” The Pokémon Professor squeaked. “They caught a Legendary for their plans?”

“A Sword of Justice.” Both of them flinched at that statement. “Though thankfully Virizion does realize this mess came from a subset of humanity, rather than being a symptom of all humans restarting the old wars. It has said it’ll make sure the others also realize it once it leaves.”

“Thank Arceus.” She leaned back, her Mincinno looking up from its’ bed. “So you need someone to watch a kid, help some traumatized Pokémon and deal with a Legendary visiting?”

“In short, yes.” Jenny nodded lightly. “And most foster-parents aren’t vetted for the last two, definitely the last. I talked it over with some foster-care specialists and they agree with me that the boy’s mental well-being hinges too much on his Pokémon-friends for us to just wing handling those. That’s when someone thought of you and your knowledge of Pokémon… The suggestion is that you take him in, at least temporarily, until we can vet the established foster-parents until we find some one that can deal with traumatized Pokémon and a Legendary intending to visit regularly. Though if you and he hit it off…” She shrugged.

“What’s his opinion on it?” Juniper wondered.

“According to him, he’s fine with much of everything, as long as his friends can stay and/or visit.” The other woman in the call answered. “Would you have time to visit Lacunosa, to meet with him? If you’re okay with the idea, of course.”

“Well, I am not the type to leave someone in trouble. I do have the room for a bunch of Pokémon and a longer guest, and if he’s okay with it, I am willing to give it a try.” She reached for her planner. “And my parents can help, if needed. Let’s see…” She checked. “I can come tomorrow, actually? Just the Pokémon Center?”

“Yep…” Jenny sighed. “Virizion’s currently still injured from its’ clash with the criminals, though it’s recovering fast. We’re keeping all information about this on the down low, of course.”

“I’ll only tell my parents.” She promised in answer. “Hard to hide it from them, I hope you understand.”

“That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Until tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

She’d left her professor-coat at home for this, because this was not really work-related and for once, she would mind if someone approached her with Pokémon-questions. She even made sure to change her hairdo, because she knew that even a change like that could throw people off.

“Hey Aurea!” Officer Jenny was waiting for her, her Herdier barking once in greeting.

“Hi Jen.” Professor Juniper – in her proverbial civvies – closed the distance between them. “And…?”

“Victoria, hello.” The black-haired woman beside the uniformed police-woman offered a hand in greeting. “I’m the foster-care specialist that’s in charge of the… case, so to speak.”

“Alright.” She accepted the hand. “So can you tell me something? Jenny was quite succinct with what she could tell me.”

“I can, but let’s do it inside.” The three women headed into the Pokémon Center, to the restaurant-area in the corner. “His name is N, short for – apparently – Natural Harmonia, last name redacted because of the law-stuff. He’s 8 or 9, he does not know his birthday.”

“Wow… that sounds like a name you’d give your child.” Juniper dryly muttered into the coffee-mug Nurse Joy had delivered before taking the fourth chair around the table.

“Yep.” Victoria rolled her eyes. “There’s been some talk to suggest a name-change to a more normal, child-friendly name, but we first want to get him settled before adding that to the pile of things he needs to deal with.”

“From how it sounds, he mostly was addressed by ‘N’ by just about everyone, except… the special Pokémon. It calls him ‘child’ for the most part, only occasionally calling him ‘N’.” Nurse Joy threw her a look. Luckily, she had a few brain-cells to make the connection to the one ‘special’ Pokémon that should not be referenced in public; Virizion.

“His friends are a Lillipup, Mincinno, Litwick and Darumaka – these are the ones that intend to stay with him, if at all possible – and a Zorua, Deerling, Zweilous and…” Another look, to keep from revealing that a Legendary was currently in the building. “But these four are going to leave back into the wilds, though with clear intentions of visiting in the future.”

“Okay, I have room for those. And I know most of their species, at least.” The Professor crossed her arms. “Jenny mentioned abuse?”

“Except the Darumaka and Zweilous, yes.” No ‘look’, giving her the dread thought that Virizion had not escaped unscathed. They could probably thank Arceus on their knees that the Legendary had realized it was a subset of humans that were a problem. “Four of them suffered under poacher-activities – though certain things we found make it seem likely that at least a few of those were staged to get… good victims, if not all four – with the Litwick coming from a bad trainer – again, doubts can be raised if that might not have been staged – while…” A look, mixed with a deep breath. “The Pinwheel Massacre. Apparently some of those people came upon it at it’s resting-place there, and then came back in force to add it to his group.”

Juniper had to take a deep breath from cursing. Lenora was still upset at having missed that hot mess beside her city until dozens of Pokémon had died. That it apparently had been… “Okay… that… that is a lot.” She took another breath. “Something to elaborate on later, I suspect. Can I ask how we got from that to here before we go meet him?”

Herdier barked once, looking smug. She reached down to ruffle his ears as his trainer started talking. “In short, it…” Another look. “Realized there was something in the works, so started working against their plot. At one point, N was taken out of their base by it, along with the others to broaden his horizons and counter the anti-Trainer-mindset he ought to have gotten. When he was found by the group, they decided he was no longer useful and wanted to get rid of him – yes, like that – which it objected to, violently. Several of the humans that didn’t flee then are… dead, and all we caught at that point will have health-concerns from being stuck in ice for a good while.”

“Wait… Ice?” From all she’d found when looking into Virizion after the call yesterday, that was not the typing she’d have expected. Grass and/or Fighting, more like, and there were very few grass-types that could learn Ice-type moves.

Both Joy and Jenny just shrugged at that. “We found them in ice, and certainly none of the others could’ve done it.” Joy reached for her own drink. “And delving into the secrets of that group likely will not get any reveals anyway.”

“True.” Juniper finished her drink. “Well, can I meet him then?”

“I’ll take you.” Victoria got up from her seat, grabbing a bag that had been already on the table. “This way.”

Chapter Text

Virizion was still forced prone, though at least in a more comfortable position. She had kept up frequent contact with Kyurem, who was currently invested enough to keep an eye on matters. She wondered how long his interest would last.

She perked up some when hearing footsteps approach the chamber she was in. By this point, the other children – and the Zweilous – had moved into it.

The humans knocked lightly before slipping inside. “Hello.” The human who had introduced itself as ‘Victoria’ and the one looking into an acceptable home for the human child, lead the way to one other. “May I introduce Professor Aurea Juniper.”

The Legendary considered the human who had been offered up as a replacement parent to her young charge.

“Hello.” The brown-haired human waved briefly. “I’m Aurea.” She looked down some. “And you are N?”

N had been resting against Virizion’s flank, carefully picking his place to keep from her injuries. The Grass-type had to nudge him before he answered. “Yes.”

Aurea smiled softly, before sitting down on the ground herself. “And these are your friends?” Some of the other Pokémon crept closer, though Deerling remained behind Virizion.

“Yes.” N relaxed some, gently picking up Litwick.

“Hello everyone.” Virizion chuckled a bit when noticing the human’s eyes lingered on her a fair bit more. “I brought my own.” The human hesitated a bit before pulling two Pokéballs from her pockets. “Cincinno and Watchog, they live with me.”

The Sword of Justice relaxed some when noticing how well taken-care off they were. This human understood proper Pokémon-human relations, that was certain. Against her, what remained of his tension bled out of the child. He could tell as well.

“Hi!” He smiled warmly at the two new arrivals. The adult human leaned back on her heels, letting her Pokémon doing the talking, and talk they did.

“Aurea.” Virizion allowed herself a grin at the small shock that ran through the human’s frame. “They did not warn you I am Telepathic?”

“They did not, though they did warn me about you in general.” The Professor shifted a bit, to be able to face her more directly without having to look over the Pokémon and child between them. “And I admit, the lore about you is inconsistent.”

“Good.” The Legendary did not want too much known about either herself or her kin, that usually ended in tears. “I assume they did tell you about what happened?”

“Cliff notes-version, yes.” The Professor looked at the human beside the door. “But the fact they are still… er… hunting those humans, and judging them, means they can’t say too much without causing trouble.” She shrugged lightly. “I suppose I will get a clearer view over time.”

“And you would still take this child as your own?” That she was going to leave him did not mean she was doing so lightly.

“If he’ll have me, unless someone better comes.” They both looked at N, who was buried under a pile of Pokémon, poor Zorua somehow having ended up in the middle of it. “He’s a child, he really ought not to have to live in these kinds of rooms, or suffer just because… well… that.” Their eyes met. “I can’t promise I’ll be the best caretaker, I never had to take care of a child, but I can promise I’ll do my best… and ask my parents for help if needed.”

“I suppose that is all I can ask.” Virizion pursed her lips. “You know I will be watching?”

“I have been informed of that, yes.” The human nodded lightly. “My house does abut the local forests where I live… near Pinwheel Forest.”

Oh, she was not a fan of that reminder, though whether the human had intended it was a second guess. “Then I guess we are neighbors, of a kind.”

“Close, yes.” The human’s Watchog meandered over, looking between his human and the currently-local Legendary. “I would invite you all over to my place, it’s more private than the center, and I guess nearer your home.” The human female raised her hand some. “And makes sure you know where to go for your visits. At least, if N’s willing to give me a try.” She added in an aside to the human child, who was currently holding her Cincinno and the Mincinno he had arrived with.

He in turn looked at Virizion, who tilted her head some. “This is your future, child, I will not make the judgment for you.”

“I’m willing to try.” He declared.

“You sure you just don’t want to keep holding Cincinno?” The Professor joked softly with a small smile.

Chapter Text

She thanked Arceus that the human had a car actually meant for transporting larger Pokémon, which meant it was far more comfortable than her previous stint in a human vehicle. As they crossed the region back down south, she held up a private telepathic call to the other Swords, but they were not in range of the road. Kyurem had assured her that if they came near him, he’d send them after her, so there was that. At least one other Legendary knew where she was.

“It’s not the most comfortable, but I hope it will suffice until you are well again.” The Legendary had been helped into the human’s shed, which was on the side of a large grass-field that abutted the forests.

“It will, thank you.” Virizion peered outside. “I believe, for Pinwheel, I’d have to go north and then west, right?”

“Yes.” The Professor was standing inside the small building, alongside the others. “The guest-room, potential permanently N’s room if he wants to stay, is that one up there.” She pointed at a window up on the second floor. “I’m fine with the others being inside of the house and room, as long as they promise not to make a mess, but I am afraid it’s not made for your size, Virizion, even if you could climb stairs.”

“I can imagine.” She conceded, figuring that quadrupeds taller than most humans were not something most humans would plan their houses around.

“Can I stay outside?” The child was also standing inside, Litwick in his arms.

“Until Virizion leaves, or the weather turns, sure.” The other human told him. “Though, there’s one thing I’d like to do today or tomorrow she can’t come with, if it’s okay with you. You can take one or two of the others, if it’d help.”

“Being?” He looked suspicious, his father’s betrayal having done great damage to his ability to trust humans.

“I would like you to get some stuff; clothes, toys for yourself and the Pokémon that will stay here with you.” She gestured to the small bag he’d brought with him. He’d been brought some changes of clothes by his attending workers, but nothing of that large cavernous room in the base had been brought to him. “I’d feel bad if I left you with only those few clothes.”

“I…” He looked hunted, big eyes searching for the closest he actually had to a parent right now.

“He has not been around lots of humans, I have seen city-centers from hills and mountains. Those are full.” The Fighting-type came to his rescue. “Would he not be overwhelmed?”

“Well, there will be some people, yes.” The human female sank through one knee, so she was on eye-level with her ward. “But right now is perhaps the best time to go, until you’ve gotten used to humans again; it’s in the middle of day, on a working day. Many people are still working, or in school. And I know one store that offers all the things we’d want, it’d be an hour or one-and-a-half, including traveling there.”

He hesitated, but after a bit, he nodded. “Can I take Zweilous?” It was a telling choice; after Virizion, that was the Pokémon most likely to win a fight.

“If it promises to behave, sure.” The human gave a small smile. “I’d rather not have to pay for half the store because he chewed on the things. Any others?” Litwick hunkered down in his arms at that question. “Well, that’s obvious.”

N shifted the small Fire-type some, taking a deep breath before holding out his now-free hand for their hostess to take. “One hour.” He declared.

“One hour.” The human pointed at a clock on the wall. “It’s when this is here, just so you all also know.” She let out her own two Pokémon, the older Normal-types stretching into her scratches.

“That human’s nice.” Deerling returned to her curl against Virizion’s side.

“She is.” The Legendary conceded. “Certainly more than some others.” It would be only a few more days until she had to leave, unless she wanted to either search for the other Swords during winter, or have to wait until after winter. Both of those options held little appeal, mostly because she could not imagine the state they had to be in by now.

Zorua grumbled where he was on her back, but didn’t actually say anything. The three that were going to stay here headed over to the two residents, asking a lot of questions about normal living with humans.

Chapter Text

Fall was well in the air, and though she had not returned to full strength, the time to rest was running out. “Well, it seems you are settled quite nicely.” She had told the humans she was intending to leave in a few days, which had left N conflicted.

“Yeah, but…” He was in a sleeping-bag, resting at her side. He had decided to try the bed last week, but her announcement meant he was now spending the nights outside again.

“I’ll visit you.” She assured him. “But I am a Legendary, I am not meant to stay with humans forever… and there’s the matter of the other Swords still being worried about me.” She did not want to consider how long it might take them to let her out of their sight. “Plus, with the news from Kyurem that they are heading back to Pinwheel, now is the moment to go find them.”

He looked at her with dewy eyes, before shrinking into his bag. “Okay.”

“I will visit.” She reiterated, resting her head on his briefly. “Though I will be honest that they are probably going to be so overprotective it might take a bit.” She made a face at the thought. “Before the next winter, I will promise you that.”

“Next winter?” He echoed, somewhat distressed.

“Ask the Professor to tell you the lore of the Swords of Justice, then you’ll understand.” She felt telling him the details was not the thing to do the night before she left. “And hey, think about how much you can tell me when I visit?”

“I guess.” He’d also gone to school for the first time a few days ago, and had already made some friends of local children, even if they were a few years younger than he. He’d been somewhat upset at having to go to a class of younger children for a while, but in the end he conceded the need to make up gaps and biases in his education from when he was in the castle. “And I guess they can finally visit when you’re gone?”

The presence of a Legendary had apparently put the place on a lock-down, which she supposed she had to appreciate. “I am sure you’ll have fun with your friends. And perhaps at some point you can tell them the truth about me.”

A gentle knock on the outside wall drew their attention to the door-opening. “Just checking whether you’re going to stay up so late I need to call Neil in sick tomorrow?” Together with his enrollment into school, the child had gotten a nickname – though he was asked to pretend it was his real name – because the bullying at being named a letter was something no one wanted to risk. At times, just to make sure he reacted to it, the Professor and her family called him that even in private.

“You’ll wait until after school to leave, right?” N looked up at her.

“Of course.” She assured him. “I wouldn’t just ditch you.”

“Okay…” He took a deep breath. “I’ll go to sleep now, and go to school tomorrow.”

“Alright, I’ll wake you at your normal time then.” Juniper sketched a human salute. “It’s warm enough, right?”

“We have a furnace.” Virizion assured her, gesturing to Darumaka. “I’ll call if he gets cold.”

“Thank you.” The human female closed the door again, and headed back inside the main house.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next day she left, together with Zorua, Deerling and Zweilous. N briefly looked like he wouldn’t let go, but in the end he did let them leave into the forest abutting his new home.

“Be well.” The Legendary told the small human, letting her emotions travel along her telepathy.

“You too.” He clutched Darumaka in his arms, much like she’d seen other children do plushies.

“I’ll take good care of him.” It was still somewhat in doubt whether he might have to move to a proper foster-family, but at the rate things were going, Virizion doubted it. Juniper rested her hand on N’s shoulder comfortingly, Mincinno and her Cincinno were sitting on her shoulders, and while no one was saying it out loud, it was clear the older Normal-type had basically adopted its’ pre-evolution.

“I will keep you to that.” If not for the species-trouble, she would have just taken him herself.