The sun shone past clouds onto the grassy fields of the Agate Province. Picturesque, one could say: The bright emerald of the fields were a sight to behold to any pair of eyes. Even the ones Gareda glared with. Despite being on official business in the name of the Vined Crown herself, even she couldn’t keep up that vicious appearance as she and the soldiers under her talons marched through the fields. Bright as it may be, the world always keeps spinning. No one grows weak at the sight of a field.

From first light onwards, Gareda and her soldiers had been hard at work, going from town to town across the Agate region to deliver a quick speech. Thieves were on the loose with a piece of the Azure Flute, and the cooperation of the populace was needed to find it. Simple words proclaiming a common interest, yet nothing more than a nod of acknowledgement at best. So far, that’s what the story had been in every wretched little burg she and her Soldiers encountered. One big waste of time, whose chances of delivering any nugget of valuable information were shrinking by the minute. It seemed like new wrinkles were developing underneath her blue scales after every speech.

The lone star in the daylight was a single encounter. One small and forgettable town by the name of ‘Greenfield’, if the faded out sign at the front was speaking the truth. While giving the same spiel about thieves and cooperation, her sensory organs went wild. Throbbing, aching, screaming without a mouth. Something wasn’t right in that town. On one side, the residents of this village in particular seemed downright furious when she and the Soldiers at her back entered their village. A mixture of fear and anger hung in the air. It was the kind of anger only hatred could fuel. No simple hamlet that reeked of moss and old wood got there with fights over the harvest.

But that wasn’t all. Her sensors might have been alerted by the fury of a whole village, but they went into a frenzy over something in particular. Even now, some miles removed from that village, they were still ringing slightly. To her immediate left, they were keen on the sight of a child and his friend. One little sea otter with a freckled face, so weary on his feet that a strong wind would send him flying, and her sensors panicked. Why would that be? Her sensors had never let her down before. And despite the sights, and despite far greater burdens resting on her shoulders, the thoughts didn’t go away. A droning, nauseous feeling crept up in her head; she raised an arm into the sky.

“We’re taking a break. Now.” ‘Before I lose my mind. It’s only a damned kid, Gareda. Get over yourself. ’

Like clockwork, the Soldiers broke out of their formation and scattered across the area. They were like old Pokemon limping their way through a scorching desert, yearning for any drops of freedom they could find. Frolicking over the plains, tugging on their cloth bands or tossing said band off all together, or just plain dropping onto the grass and flailing their limbs around. The Toucannon and Magmar who had been assigned to ‘watch over’ Gareda were among them. One flew off to sip from a pond, the other flopped onto her belly like half the others.

‘ Just what I expected. It’s always this way when I have to take over. Complete and utter disarray. ’

Gareda sighed. She remained on the road, watching over the plains and forests behind her. Rolling over wet grass wouldn’t bode well with the throbbing feeling in her head. The day was bright, the birds were chirping, the grass was fresh and dewey: Couldn’t have been a worse moment to feel sick. Whatever truly tugged on her sensors back in that village, they sure had done their worst. They were strong. Far too strong. Not to mention the hatred in that village’s heart. It was worth investigating, at the very least.

Alas, her fortunes wouldn't brighten up any time soon. Others had to trample all over her garden, even when it had been ruined enough as was. The latest joker appeared in front of her while she was resting: A Shiftry with overgrown leaf hands and a coat in dire need of a trim appeared besides her. It didn’t take long for a frown to regrow on Gareda’s face.

“Lord Gareda, why have we stopped?”

The Shiftry spoke in a pompous matter, as if it was the one calling the shots. In Gareda’s column. That was a mistake no self respecting commander could ever tolerate. Gareda swayed her whole body around in a rapid motion; the Shiftry jumped back as Gareda’s tail nearly smacked it across the chest. “Why don’t we start back at the beginning? First you will explain who you are, then you will tell me why you are asking that utterly asinine question of yours.”

“Uhh…” the Shiftry grumbled and stuttered, covering up its chest with one arm while sticking the other out at the forest off to the side. Camouflage was going to do him little good here. “m-My name is Birch, my lord. Colonel Birch. I was in charge of operations around these parts before you came along.”

Gareda’s frown grew deeper. Her head slowly sank towards Birch’s long nose, and it moved further back the closer she came. The exact response she wanted to see. ‘Birch? I can think of a better name for you, chump…’ The smirk went off Birch’s face. A grunt later, Gareda continued. “I see. Now then, answer me. Why are you asking that question?”

Birch audibly gulped. Gareda’s sensors were pleased. “w-Well, Agate Township is not far, and that is our final destination. Why not… march what’s left? There is plenty of time off later.”

Gareda shifted her feet slightly in the dirt. “Fool. We are stopping because we have been at this for hours with no rest. Someone informed me this morning that that is the way you wanted it. I remember it well. You’d keep the morale of your troops in check.”

The Shiftry nodded. “Yes, that is true. I pride myself on how active my-”

Before he could explain himself further, Gareda spat at the ground under Birchs feet. The saliva sizzled for a second before sinking into the dirt. “Cut the crap. Find something else to pride yourself over, because you suck as a leader. Look around you. No one is together. No one is paying attention. If any brigands were sneaking up on us, now would be the perfect time for a preemptive strike. Just like that, the whole column is gone. Try telling the Queen how many hours the Pokemon under you have been out in the field then. I’m sure she’d be very appreciative.”

The Shiftry’s eyes shifted around in every direction besides the one Gareda was standing in. “I really don’t, uh, understand you, my Lord.” Gareda wasn’t having any of it. Lies like this deserved the worst; pity she wasn’t that kind of dragon.

“What I mean is, cut your troops some slack. No one functions for eight hours straight without a respite. No one. We’re stopping for the next fifteen minutes at least.” Gareda pointed a talon and a fin at the other Soldiers. “I’ll salvage your mess for you. Is that clear?” she growled.

Birch lowered his head. “Yes, my Lord. It’s understood.” The Shiftry turned on his heel and began to walk away. Gareda had her own plans for him, however. Being that he was the one in charge here prior to today, there was a trove of information hiding within him. Information Gareda could make good use of.

“Hold it, you. We are not finished yet, are we?”

“My Lord?”

Birch stopped dead in his tracks; the look imprinted on his face was one of horror. Smelling a murky scent emanating off the Shiftry, Gareda readied one of her arms to drive the point home.

“You’ve asked me a question, I will ask you one as well, except mine won’t be as pointless as yours. Since you are the one in charge of this region, it wouldn’t be too far fetched for you to know of certain ‘trends’ among the Pokemon here, correct?”

“y-Yes,” Birch answered, glancing up at the star on Gareda’s forehead.

“Well then…” The Garchomp’s feet shifted forwards into the dirt with a crunch that was downright soothing to her ears, like a massage for her oral canals, forcing Birch to look her dead in the eye. “Tell me it straight. What did you do in Greenfield?”

“n-Nothing, my lord.””

“Liar. Tell me straight, or else.”

“i-I’m telling you the struth!!” Birch screamed.

“Don’t shout at me, you overgrown piss bush. Answer the question.”

“I did.”

“Yeah, right you did. I guess that town’s pissed off for no reason, right? Half the crowd looked like they wanted us to drop into a hole in the ground. My eyes don’t betray me, Birch. You did something.” Gareda lifted a fin above Birch’s head; the tip gleamed like a knife in the sun, as if it were eagerly awaiting to be plunged into a hapless victim. “And you’ll tell me. Right this second.”

Birch’s mouth hung open for some time, sounding as if he was choking on his breath; by now, some Soldiers had gathered around and watched their former colonel be wrangled with morbid curiosity. From a Pokemon no one had dared to stand up to, to an equal. Not even evolution created bigger changes.

“o-Okay, okay! You got me. We were out of food a few weeks ago. So, I uh, I asked some of our men to take some from the residents. Of this village.”

“How much?”

“About h-half, my-”

“HALF?!” roared Gareda. “Have you lost your damn mind?! It was your job to watch over these bumpkins, not rob them blind! You took half of their food, and now you expect them to cooperate with us?!” She pulled an arm back and directed a toxic energy towards it; the talon at the tip began to glow with a purplish hue. The poison ready, she grabbed onto Birch with the other arm, pinning him in place. Birch yelped out a terrified cry. As if anyone was capable of saving him now.

“n-No, lord Gareda! Please, don’t!!”

“Do you value your life, colonel Birch?” Birch did nothing but shake in the clasp of Gareda’s talons. “I said, do you value your LIFE, COLONEL BIRCH?!”

“y-Yes!!”

“Then you will run back there right now, and offer a sincere, personal apology! Fix the mess, or I’ll fix you!”

Gareda kicked Birch in the chest, sending him flying backwards into a group of Soldiers who barely got out of the way before the humiliated colonel rolled on by. Birch staggered and ran off in the direction of Greenfield. Several of the troops who had watched chuckled behind the Shiftry’s far off back. Gareda, satisfied, let the poison fade from her talon.

‘ Amazing what the threat of a Poison Jab will make the plants do. ’

There was a jovial mood among the Soldiers. For a second, they felt relieved and free to be themselves, fidgeting with their dark green bands and laughing at the old colonel’s misfortune. All sorts of Pokemon, from Mandibuzz to Marowak, Crawdaunt to Machoke, off-colored Meowth to Bronzong and many others were among them. Most of them were recruits, just like Gareda was once upon a time. The Garchomp looked at them with a slight smirk, albeit one that appeared to be hiding something.

‘ They haven’t lost their faith. Not yet, anyway. ’

“Lord Gareda!”

A feminine voice shouted nearby. Gareda’s sensors tingled; two Pokemon were approaching from behind. A glance over the shoulder revealed a Magmar whose chest and lower regions were stained green, and a Toucannon whose beak was shiny and wet. Gareda scoffed as she turned tail to see them eye to eye.

“And look who we have here. I was wondering when you two jokers would show up.”

The Magmar scratched the back of her head. “Don’t be surprised. You ordered us to keep a larger eye over the rest of the column. You know we are supposed to be protecting you, right? We can’t just leave you because you tell us to… right?”

“Typical,” Gareda said. One of the Magmar’s feet shifted away in a loud and clumsy manner.

“Typical? But you barely know us.”

Gareda shrugged. “True. But I’ve known both of you clowns long enough to come to that conclusion myself.”

The Toucannon landed with a defiant look in his eyes. “You haven’t even known us for a week.”

“Exactly.” Gareda grinned.

The two escorters laughed awkwardly, their memories of having a fin pressed against their neck likely vivid in their minds still. It wasn’t until Gareda forced a growl of a laugh from her throat that the tension in their muscles finally relaxed a little, and they could share a laugh with the Garchomp for what it was worth. The others watching grew the courage to join in on it, albeit from a distance.

“I’m only joking, you two,” Gareda said, trying her best to keep her tongue from rolling out of her mouth. ‘ Who am I fooling? ’

“Well, no harm done, right?” the Toucannon said with a flutter of his wings. Gareda nodded and wanted to say something, only for the Magmar to cut her short.

“It’s hard to forget what proper harm looks like after a few days with you, too.”

They both laughed with a far heartier laugh. Gareda lowered her fins and just stared in a dull manner. ‘I’m not that intimidating, am I? ’ The only thing keeping the moment from being downright awkward for her was the lack of other laughs. Either the rest didn’t think it was as funny, or they had lost interest. Gareda wasn’t in the mood to find out, and loudly cleared her throat instead.

“Alright alright, enough of this jabber. We didn’t start with the right foot, that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. I’ve never asked you two what your names were, did I?”

The two escorts both replied with a nod. “Yeah, that’s right. No better time to ask us than right now, is there?” the Toucannon replied. “My name is Vli. That’s shorthand for Vlinder-yuliel, but almost no one can remember that. So I go by Vli instead.”

Gareda nodded and grunted. “Vli, is it? Alright then. Any reasons why your parents gave you the name Vlin… liel then, if no one can remember it?”

Vli lifted up his wings in a shrug. “Don’t know. Never bothered to ask them before being called up. I guess that’s something I’ll have to ask them once I can go back.”

“You’d do yourself a lot of favours with that, my guy,” the Magmar said.

“Oh, I sure would!” Vli enthusiastically replied. Gareda nodded along to them speaking. They sure were a lot more open to talking than she was.

“So Vli, where are you from, exactly?” the Magmar asked. The toucannon closed his eyes and made a short bow.

“It shouldn’t come as a surprise to either of you. I’m from the Azzurro Islands, all the way down south! Windswept Isle to be exact.”

“Interesting,” Gareda grumbled, placing a talon on her chin. “I have never been there before. What’s it like?”

“Sun, palm trees, exotic fruit!” the Magmar said with a cheer. “It’s a perfect little getaway if you ever need one.”

Gareda rolled her eyes. “Don’t start thinking about vacations now, duck face. We’re not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Anyway Vli, I’ve heard that exact saying before from some other fop. Is any of it true?” she ordered.

“Sometimes. But we have some pretty nasty storms over there. Not to mention the rains, too.”

“Rain? Aww.” the Magmar let her arms hang. It had to have stung a little to learn that every Fire type’s biggest pet peeve was more than present in the supposed paradise. Gareda felt it as well, even with her scales usually making it more manageable.

“At least it’s no damn snow, I’ll say that much,” Gareda said with a few stretches of her neck. “That aside, why don’t you tell us your name next, Magmar lass?”

The Magar beat her chest a few times, her tail swaying through the air behind her. The fire on the tip of her tail began burning with a happy intensity, which Gareda’s sensors had picked up on. It was an oddity she never told anyone: A Garchomp’s sensors are meant to find prey and little more, yet hers were giving her far more than meal tickets.

“The name’s Luffy! And I’m from the Ruby Province!”

“Ah yes. The Craggy Hills, I take it?”

Luffy shook her head. “Close, but not quite. I’m from the Source Hills! It’s close by though, so some confusion is to be expected.”

Gareda shrugged. “Well, of course. Virtually every Fire Pokemon I’ve met is from that area. Never been anywhere else that’s nearly as rowdy.”

Luffy chuckled. “Rowdy? You could say that. But it’s a place with it’s own charm, you know! I’m sure you loved it there.”

Gareda nodded along. “Love’s a strong word, but sure, I enjoyed myself there. Being around dry earth’s pleasant enough for me.”

Vli lifted his beak up. “Hm? I’ve never been there, what do you mean with ‘rowdy’?”

“Think of it like a never ending festival. Life there is a circle of highs and lows. All sorts of fun characters and pleasant Pokemon in those hills. Outsiders don’t expect it. They see the lack of vegetation and immediately assume it must be dull there,” Luffy answered. “It might not be for everyone, but it’s home for anyone of Fire.”

Before Luffy or Vli had the chance to say anything more, Gareda grunted loudly. “What she means, Vli, is the people there are a lot more… open, shall we say. And that’s all that needs to be said about it. You can connect the dots yourself.”

A chuckle came out of Luffy’s throat. “You know, I’m somewhat open to you, Gareda.”

The Garchomp scoffed, turning away from Luffy and shaking her head. “Whatever floats your boat, duck face.”

“Indeed.” Luffy shyly smiled, while Vli struggled to contain an embarrassed laugh.

Gareda kept her back turned for a while, contemplating the next move. ‘ The audacity of this fool. ’ she thought, then shifted her head back at the Magmar with a fierce glare. “That’s enough jabbering for now. You can stop before half the column sees what you’re doing.”

“Yes, yes, no worries,” said Luffy in a jovial voice.

Gareda sighed, taking a few steps forward while letting her tail and back fin sway through the air a little. “Alright then. Enough waiting around for now. We’ve got ourselves an artifact to find.”

“What about Birch, though?” Vli asked.

“Who cares?”

Gareda put her fins up and roared at the column to get back in formation. It was time to get moving.