[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Nodding understandingly when the other Rocket admitted he wasn't present during the Kyurem battle, Aurelie started and then laughed when he referred to her as "ma'am". It startled her, considering he looked about the same age as her. At least, as far as she could tell.

"Oh, please, call me Aurelie," she exclaimed at once, shaking her head and smiling. "I'm definitely not a leader or authority figure, and I don't think I'm particularly matronly either. So, no need to stand on ceremony here."

Her smile faded as she thought back to the epic clash of titans that led to the discovery of the beautiful landscape around them. "As for the battle... Well, I was no earthly use at all, so I can't imagine you could've possibly been any worse! It was exciting and confusing and chaotic, and I'm glad to have been there and gladder still that I survived and it's over."

For now, Aurelie thought with a chill of foreboding. Surely, there was no way they'd seen the last of the Kyurem, Hoopa, Keldeo, and wild Paradoxes, let alone the Necrozma and Palkia. And it certainly wouldn't be the last time the League and Rocket clashed on a battlefield when they had other enemies they could be fighting instead.

She fell silent for a moment but then nodded again when her fellow Rocket remarked on the Iron Crown walking beside her. "Yes, I don't think anyone had seen Pokemon like this until the battle with the Kyurem. As far as I could tell, waves of these Pokemon appeared at about the same time as when the chasm broke open. So, I thought..."

Her words trailed off into uncertainty. Taking a deep breath, Aurelie continued, "I thought perhaps, it did come from here. Or it has some connection to this place. It seemed worth a try, anyway."

Aurelie started again when the Iron Crown suddenly raised its head, as if scenting something in the air, and then galloped away across a grassy, flower-dotted meadow. "Wait!" she cried, her voice carried away by the gentle breeze.

She dashed after the Iron Crown as it stopped at the base of a towering tree, pawing at something on the grass. At first, Aurelie thought it was a log or wide rock, but as she drew closer, she realized with a shocked gasp that it was...

"A body?" she exclaimed aloud.

A bearded, brown-haired man she didn't recognize lay on the grass with his eyes closed. Blood seeped from gaping wounds across his body, which looked like it had been gored by the world's biggest, angriest Tauros. And possibly stomped or trampled by gigantic, stony feet. Had he been attacked? If so, by whom—or what?

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie watched, impressed, as her Rocket colleague professionally and proficiently approached the still-bleeding man's body to feel for a pulse, listen for breathing, hold a small mirror before the man's lips to check for condensation, and finally carefully pry open the eyelids to examine his eyes. His efficiency and alacrity with the process made her wonder if he was a doctor or other medical expert.

If he was, then she imagined that he would've been much more useful during the battle against the Kyurem than she'd been, despite his self-effacing words. There had been injuries and wounds aplenty during that massive clash of titans. A doctor to patch them up might've made all the difference.

For now, though, they had their own problems. Aurelie sucked in her breath nervously at his question and looked around at their idyllic surroundings. She shrugged and shook her head.

"I have absolutely no idea," she admitted. "I've seen people in car accidents with huge trucks that looked in better shape than that guy! If it was caused by a Pokemon..." She grimaced.

"We have no idea what's down here, so it stands to reason some of the creatures might be big and dangerous, I guess," she murmured. Glancing toward the Iron Crown, Aurelie raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know he was here, anyway? Did you smell him or something?"

She asked the question not really expecting an answer, yet one came—just not from the Iron Crown. A deep, deafening roar suddenly echoed through the air. The sound reverberated through Aurelie's body and made her very bones feel like they were vibrating.

The redhead looked around wildly, her heart thudding in her chest, especially when the roar was quickly followed by a series of thunderous, booming thumps. Finally, the cause lumbered into view: a towering Donphan—or what looked like a Donphan, but with a purple trunk, pink spikes, and huge tusks like long, curling bone scimitars. Staring open-jawed, Aurelie pointed a trembling finger at it.

"I think that…might be what caused it," she managed.

To her horror, the Pokemon raised its trunk skyward in a bellowing challenge and dug its feet into the ground, before launching into a furious charge. It looked like it was coming right at them. With a gasp, Aurelie unthinkingly grabbed her colleague's sleeve and dragged him to one side.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie let out a sigh of relief, first when she and the other Rocket managed to dodge the Great Tusk's furious charge and another when her fellow Rocket actually seemed appreciative of her unthinking grab. Huffing a little for breath, she flashed a shaky smile at him and let go of his sleeve as he climbed back to his feet.

"No problem," she replied candidly, ducking as a few fragments of the rock wall that the Great Tusk had just demolished flew toward them. "Honestly, I was all ready to apologize for doing that without so much as a warning or a 'please'. So, I'm glad you didn't mind and gladder that it actually helped!"

She definitely remembered a few times when it hadn't, after all—mostly when the other person tried to dodge right while she went left, or when they didn't realize what she was doing and started wriggling or thrashing. When the other Rocket released his Reuniclus, Aurelie looked around for her Iron Crown.

Thankfully, her Pokemon was safely perched on a nearby outcropping, warily watching the dazed Great Tusk. She gestured to catch its attention and then pointed at the Great Tusk.

"Follow the Reuniculus' example!" Aurelie exclaimed, as the Iron Crown followed the direction of her index finger and seemed to draw a long breath. "Fire all the PSYSHOCKS you've got!"

At first, the Iron Crown just looked at her doubtfully, as if wondering whether it was even safe for it to fight. Hastily, Aurelie added, "And if it turns around and charges again, put up IRON DEFENSE just to be safe!"

At that moment, the Great Tusk turned around to face them again, letting out another furious bellow. It was enough to convince her Iron Crown to trot forward and launch its own PSYSHOCK at the formidable-looking Paradox Pokemon. Biting her lip, Aurelie pulled out the Iron Crown's Pokeball and another one for her Charizard, just in case.

"I hope they can keep this up and hold it at bay," she said anxiously to her fellow Rocket, rolling the latter Pokeball in her fingers in readiness. "We might be able to outrun that thing if we have to, but if we don't... I'd really rather not end up like that poor guy whose body we found." She swallowed nervously.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]At first, Aurelie was startled to see that the PSYSHOCKs delivered by their Pokemon didn't seem to have much effect at all on the hulking Great Tusk. Then she furrowed her brow in puzzlement when Rhys told his Reuniclus to set up WONDER ROOM, rather than using a different attack. But when their subsequent PSYSHOCKS actually started wounding the Great Tusk, Aurelie let out a cheer as well.

"Yes! It's working!" she exclaimed excitedly. As the Great Tusk reeled back from the attacks, she turned to Rhys and enthusiastically applauded. "That was brilliant thinking! I would never have thought of that."

She opened her mouth to say more, only to be drowned out by a raucous bellow from the Great Tusk. Unlike its previous challenges, this one sounded more like a shrill scream, rising in pitch as it suffered another PSYSHOCK blast from the Reuniclus. Swiveling her head to stare at it, Aurelie gasped.

"Is it...turning away?" she asked incredulously.

As if thinking twice about confronting the two humans and their belligerent Pokemon, none of which it had managed to trample or intimidate into running away, the Great Tusk indeed was ponderously twisting around. Raising its trunk, it gave a final trumpeting cry and began lumbering away. At this welcome sight, Aurelie cheered again and punched the air triumphantly.

"Thank Arceus," she sighed with profound, heartfelt relief. "We did it! No, really, you did it. I'd say with that clever idea at the end, you paid me back well enough for grabbing your shirt sleeve earlier. You must be quite a good Pokemon battler!"

As if the strain of the battle had suddenly taken its toll, Aurelie's knees abruptly gave way beneath her, and she sagged to the grass with a soft plop. Looking back in the direction the Great Tusk had retreated and then back at the dead body they'd found, she shuddered all over and shook her head.

"That may not have been exactly a near-death experience, but it certainly didn't feel too far off," she mused. Pulling her backpack off her shoulders, Aurelie looked hopefully toward Rhys. "What do you say we catch our breaths and take a quick snack break before we continue exploring?"

Rummaging in her backpack, she added as temptingly as she could, "I've brought some shortbread cookies, crackers, sausage slices, goat cheese, apple slices..."

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT