#Yanma: never met them

[mofffun]

Takano Minato I just want to talk

[mirai-e-jump]

King-Ohger VS Donbrothers VS Kyoryuger Movie Pamphlet ft. Main Cast & Staff Interviews (translations below, LONG POST)

Publication: April 26, 2024

🛑 This contains spoilers for both films.

"Gold End!" INTRODUCTION: Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger and Avataro Sentai Donbrothers. Two Super Sentai that probably shouldn't have met have finally met. And of all places, it's in the Land of Death, Hakabaka. Even in death, they continue to fight. Is that the fate of Super Sentai? No, there's only one place for heroes to go!

Ohsama Sentai VS Avataro Sentai (Mysterious Group of Lame Cosplayers VS Mysterious Group of Cringe Weirdos)

STORY: For one reason or another, they're all dead. A confrontation begins without either side knowing who the other is. Is there an end to this battle? No, why did such a battle begin in the first place? Eventually, they'll reach the one profound truth…..!

"Royal Arms!" An alliance formed by the kings to transcend borders, eliminate interests, and defeat the enemies of Chikyu as one. Their alias is derived from the guardian god "King-Ohger".

Gira Husty (Sakai Taisei): The king of Shugoddam, the largest country in Chikyu, and the one where the guardian god resides. He arms himself with the KuwagataOhger royal armor. He grew up in an orphanage in Shugoddam's castle town, but it later turned out that he was the younger brother of the (then) king, Racules. However, his true identity is a life form created by the Uchu King Dagded. His ability to communicate with the Shugods and his immortal body were inherited from Dagded.

Yanma Gast (Watanabe Aoto): The king of N'kosopa, the country of technology. He arms himself with the TomboOhger royal armor. N'kosopa's national power, which was once a satellite state of Shugoddam, has been greatly enhanced by technological innovations. Although he himself is a top class engineer, he was originally born in a slum and is considered an "upstart" He's got a bad mouth and says "octomush" and "slack jawed tanuki" on a daily basis.

Hymeno Ran (Murakami Erica): The queen of Ishabana, the country of fine art and medicine. Having lost her parents in the "Wrath of God," she became king at a young age. She arms herself with the KamakiriOhger royal armor. She loves beautiful and cute things, and will always get what she likes by any means necessary. However, on the other hand, she's also a passionate doctor who has no hesitation in "saving someone's life."

Rita Kaniska (Hirakawa Yuzuki): The king of Gokkan, the country of ice and snow. They also serve as the Chief Judge of the International Court of Justice, which protects the neutrality of the world. Because of their position, not only do they always keep their facial expressions hidden, they rarely show emotion, but when they're at a loss, they sometimes makes strange noises. They're of few words, and never speak in public about anything unnecessary. The only thing they can make an exception for is their plushie of the animated character "Moffun." They arm themself with the PapillonOhger royal armor.

Kaguragi Dybowski (Kaku So): The lord of Toufu, the country of agriculture. He arms himself with the HachiOhger royal armor. He's always humble and polite in tone, but the theatrics of his words and actions tend to stick out, so he's what you'd call a "trickster." He's "two faced" and will lie with ease in order to achieve his goals, but he's also willing to take the initiative to sweat and dirty his hands by "tainting them pitch black" in order to protect the lives of his people.

Jeramie Brasieri (Ikeda Masashi): A man born between his father, the sixth hero that saved mankind 2,000 years ago, and his mother Nephila, a Bugnarak. His real name is Jeramie Idmonarak Ne Brasieri. He arms himself with the Spider Kumonos royal armor. As a "storyteller," he has long passed down the history of Chikyu, but finally realized his purpose when he showed up to stop the war between humans and Bugnarak.

GolDon KuwagataOhger: KuwagataOhger's powered up appearance when wearing the "DonOhger Crown"

"Avatar Change!" Earth's heroes who fight against Hitotsuki to protect people. The six members are Momoi Tarou, his four companions, and Momotani Jiro, known as "the person that replaced Tarou," and were later joined by Sonoi, Sononi and Sonoza, who were exiled by the Noto. Today, not including Sonoi, the group has eight members.

Momoi Tarou (Higuchi Kouhei): He's a descendant of the Don royal family and the leader of Donbrothers. He avatar changes into DonMomotaro. He usually works for the "White Rabbit Delivery Service." He has a condition where he dies if he tells a lie. When he went to deliver a package in Chikyu's Shugoddam, he remembered "Gii-chan the rhino beetle," his childhood friend……

Saruhara Shinichi (Beppu Yuuki): An unemployed man of "refined tastes" whose pastime is writing haiku. He avatar changes into SaruBrother.

Kitou Haruka (Shida Kohaku): She's a successful manga artist. Her best known work is "Avataro Sentai Donbrothers," which depicts her own battle days. She's still working on her creative work in collaboration with her strict editor, Sonoza. She avatar changes into OniSister.

Inuzuka Tsubasa (Totaro): A young man who continues to live an eternal life on the run with Sononi. He avatar changes into InuBrother.

Kijino Tsuyoshi (Suzuki Hirofumi): A young man who avatar changes into KijiBrother. He's a salary man who works for "Pheasant Consultant." He lives together with Natsumi, Tsubasa's ex girlfriend.

Momotani Jiro (Ishikawa Raizou): A young man who for a short period of time was the leader of Donbrothers as "the person that replaced Tarou." After Tarou finished resting, he returned to his former position. He avatar changes into DonDoragoku and DonTorabolt.

GolDon MomotaroOhger: Don Momotaro's powered up appearance when wearing the "DonOhger Crown"

Sononi (Miyazaki Amisa): A female Noto who continues to live an eternal life on the run with Inuzuka Tsubasa. She's also a member of Donbrothers. Her weapon of choice is the double bow Condor Arrow.

Sonoza (Takahashi Shinnosuke): A male Noto who was so moved by Haruka's manga, that he decided to make it his life's work to train her to become a top manga artist. He's also a member of Donbrothers. Haruka respectfully calls him "Chief Editor." His weapon of choice is the three blade Kage Spear.

Sonoi (Tominaga Yuya): In the Land of Death, Hakabaka, a young Noto opened an oden stand. It appears that he and Tarou haven't seen each other in a long time.

Gii-chan: Gii-chan was a rhino beetle that Tarou kept when he was a child and was his only friend. Even now, Tarou longs to see Gii-chan again.

(bottom left): "Inudouga" are wanted criminals in Chikyu who look exactly like Tsubasa and Sononi. It seems that "Tuvasa" and "Sonosono Ninnin" exist, so the two decide to continue running away.

Ono Minoru (Sakakibara Takashi): He's a middle aged man who has frequently been turned into a Hitotsuki, such as Shurikenki, Mahouki and GoGoki. He calls himself Momoi Tarou's sworn enemy, and has fought the Donbrothers multiple times as the Ohsamaki, but this time, he becomes the Ohsamaki again while facing the two Super Sentai.

Ohsamaki: Ono Minoru, the ninja oji-san, is reincarnated in another world due to the shock of being hit by a truck and becomes the strongest Hitotsuki. He went on a rampage in Ishabana, sending Hymeno and Rita, Haruka, and Sonosa to the Land of Death, Hakabaka. He's defeated by the special attack of GolDon KuwagataOhger and GolDon MomotaroOhger.

Zenkaizer Black (voice: Komagine Kiita): Goshikida Kaito, the master of Cafe Donbura, transforms into this form with the Zenkaizer Gear and Geartlinger. He suddenly appears in the Land of Death, Hakabaka.

DonOhger Crown: The DonOhger Crown is what Goshikida Kaito had sent to Gira in Chikyu.

Douga (Morioka Yutaka): Gira's retainer. He has a serious personality. He kicks out Momoi Tarou, who had suddenly appeared in the throne room to deliver a package.

Kuroda (voice: Toriumi Kosuke): Kaguragi's retainer. He's generally quiet, but when he speaks, he has a smooth voice. When Kaguragi and Jiro decided to have a sumo match, he was suddenly put in charge of officiating it.

Boone (Kiso Minato): A young boy who lived with Gira and Kogane in an orphanage in Shugoddam's Castle Town. He loves Gira. He's confused when Momoi Tarou, a deliveryman he's never met before, suddenly talks to him.

Goroge (Kotaro Yagi): An actor from Shugoddam. He was selected to play the role of Panpy, a cryptid hunter who's good friends with Moffun in the live action version of "Together with Moffun."

Shugoddam Knight/Asada Keisuke (Takada Masashi): A strong looking knight who chases after Inuzuka and Sononi, mistaking them for wanted criminals from Shugoddum. His appearance closely resembles that of Asada, the police officer who's been chasing the pair in their original world (Earth).

Racules Husty (Yano Masato): Former king of Shugoddam. Currently a criminal, he's serving his sentence in Gokkan's prison.

Suzume Dybowski (Kamura Mami): Wife of Racules. She's devoted to her incarcerated husband.

(middle right): The kibidango Gira was eating. Who would've thought that this would be what lead to such events……

Sakai Taisei (Gira)

-The Script's Been Sealed Away?!-

"King-Ohger and Donbrothers, Super Sentai who are, in a sense, two extremes, will be working together….."

Sakai: In a good way, Donbrothers is an unconventional show….this time, they'll be fusing with the world of King-Ohger, so I was sure it would be a big deal (laughs). I received the script just as we were filming the final chapter (episodes 48-50) of the TV series. So, at that point, I dared not to open the script (laughs). I wanted to read it, but I felt like I needed to focus on the final chapter at that time. As a result, I feel like I made the right decision not to read it after all (laughs).

"Suddenly, we start with the shocking scene of Gira."

Sakai: I had confidence in this scene (laughs). I realized that I could intentionally make my eyes bloodshot. It's a rare situation to have a kibidango stuck in your throat, so I decided to go all out. I think I was able to give a convincing performance.

"Momoi Tarou puts his hand into Gira's mouth and tries to take out the kibidango….."

Sakai: I had become good friends with Higuchi-kun before we shot the scene, and yet, it was still awkward. I also feel like I should apologize (laughs).

-Hakabaka's oden stand-

"Did you feel any discomfort in having the people from Donbrothers appear in the world of King-Ohger?"

Sakai: That didn't happen! Looking back, working with Nakamura Shido's Reiniol and Sakura Ayane's Devonica in "Adventure Heaven" left a strong impression on me. I feel that being able to work together with everyone in Donbrothers this time was an extension of that.

"As mentioned earlier, Gira has many scenes with Tarou."

Sakai: Higuchi-kun is very friendly, he eagerly attached himself to me right from the start, which was a big help for me as a shy person. In addition to the kibidango part, there's a scene where the two of us visit an oden stand….

"There's a familiar situation in Donbrothers."

Sakai: To begin with, it's an unlikely scene to have happen in King-Ohger (laughs). On set, there was a food stand set up in the middle of the full green screen. It was fun and unusual to act as Gira in a realistic setting like a food stand. This time, the other kings will also meet and interact with the members of Donbrothers, but there are many scenes that I haven't seen yet, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the completed film.

"Please tell us your thoughts after filming ended."

Sakai: Watching everyone in Donbrothers, I felt the depth of the bonds between them. We're a close team, but there were moments when I felt that the Donbrothers were more than just friends……they were more like family. I hope that we in King-Ohger can continue to have a good relationship like that for a long time to come.

Watanabe Aoto (Yanma)

-The Blue Warriors, Yanma and Saruhara-

"How was the experience of King-Ohger working together with Donbrothers?"

Watanabe: The Super Sentai series airs every year with different "tastes," but I felt that these two shows had a particularly large gap between them. That's why I was personally looking forward to seeing how we'd interact. What stuck out to me was that Director Kato seemed to be having alot of fun directing the film. I got the feeling that Donbrothers must've been a production that the Director was very attached to.

"Watanabe-san has been long time friends with Beppu Yuuki-san, who plays Saruhara Shinichi."

Watanabe: That's right. That's why I watched Donbrothers and was familiar with Saruhara, the character he plays. In my opinion, there's not that much of a difference between Beppu Yuuki and Saruhara. I think he's a perfect fit for the role. However, when we actually performed together this time, he acted alittle differently than I had expected. It's possible he intentionally betrayed me because I was his partner (laughs). Even with that in mind, it was fun working together. I wasn't screwing around or anything, but I felt like filming ended while I was still basking in the joy of being able to work together like this.

"What were your impressions of the Donbrothers team?"

Watanabe: They seemed like alot of fun. Their close friendships came naturally to me. For this production, they got together for the first time in awhile, so the impression I had of them is that they mess around all the time (laughs). However, since filming for King-Ohger is basically done with a green screen, everyone was at abit of a loss. If you think about it, I guess you could say that we're special (laughs). We didn't go on location that often. The King-Ohger cast is used to this kind of filming method, which is why they were surprised by it.

-The Greatest Highlight-

"Did you discover anything new through the filming?"

Watanabe: I usually wear a protector under my costume during action scenes to protect myself from injury, but Hirofumi-san, who plays Kijino, was rolling around in a flashy way during the rehearsal stage without any protection, possibly because he was wearing a (business) suit. I was surprised by that. It's not that he forgot about it or anything, but in his own way, he seemed to be perfectly fine with it.

"What scene in VS Donbrothers do you us to pay special attention to?"

Watanabe: In the very beginning, Gira chokes on a kibidango. Our lead actor's ridiculous expressions are shown close up on the big screen at the movie theater (laughs). And, it's pretty amazing. Something like that I guess you can't air on Sunday mornings. Sakai Taisei's passionate performance is, in my opinion, the best part of the film, even in "VS Kyoryuger." So, you especially can't miss that part (laughs).

Murakami Erica (Hymeno)

-Free Avataro-

"What were your impressions of everyone in the Donbrothers cast?"

Murakami: There's alot of interesting people, and there was constant laughter on set. When the cameras weren't rolling, I felt like I was in a never ending state of comedy (laughs). However, what I found amazing was that even in the short takes, their dialogue kept popping out in an improvised style. I'd immediately think, "If I were XX, I'd say something like this." Since we play the role of kings, the only time we were asked to adlib was when the kings are talking to each other, but when the time came, it was difficult to come up with the right idea. Even though they had been away from their roles for awhile, everyone in Donbrothers was very responsive. I felt that each one of them had completely made the role their own, which is why they were able to come up with so many ideas so freely.

"How about the scene where the two teams are facing off?"

Murakami: It was a strange sensation to see another group of heroes transform right in front of our eyes. When the Kyoryuger members appeared in the TV series, their transformations were separate. That's why it felt so fresh to me. It's a situation typical of a "VS" productions, and I think that's definitely the highlight of the film.

-What Hymeno Taught Me-

"Hymeno and Rita meet Haruka and Sonoza in Ishabana."

Murakami: What left an impression on me in that scene was Kohaku-chan's facial expressions. In any case, she's very amusing. She has alot of "patterns," even when it comes to strange faces. I really respect her. If it were me, I'd run out of material immediately.

"Towards the end, we thought that Gira would be saved by some kind of medical treatment, but it was interesting to see that Hymeno also had to rely on Boone's small hands."

Murakami: The scene in the beginning where Gira dies was surprising. I wondered if it was okay to show such a close up of the main hero's expression on screen (laughs). However, thanks to Gira's efforts, I think we were able to leave an impact that was as strong as Haruka's strange faces. During filming for the ending, Boone-chan (Kiso Minato) was also working hard with all his might.

"By the way, Hymeno's unwavering belief in the production of "Together with Moffun" is revealed in a line in the film."

Murakami: It's typical of Hymeno. What Hymeno calls "selfish" is not necessarily "self serving," but it always comes with "responsibility." I myself have learned alot from Hymeno over the past year. I can say "I like" to what I like, and "it's good" to what I think is good. I think it's important to live with strong values, and I'd be happy if the children who watched the TV series aspire to "be like Hymeno."

Hirakawa Yuzuki (Rita)

-Tears in Their Right Eye-

"What were your thoughts when you read the script?"

Hirakawa: I wondered how the characters from King-Ohger and Donbrother, who have different worldviews, would work together, and was surprised to see the word "Hakabaka" written in the script from the very beginning. Furthermore, it was also a shock to find out that we were all really dead! Then, I began to wonder why we died, but starting off with Gira's kibidango caused me to think, "Eh? Are you serious?" (laughs). So, it really felt like a spinoff.

"From the first day of filming, the main characters of the two shows were gathered in a scene."

Hirakawa: It was refreshing to see people dressed as normal humans in the world of King-Ohger. As for Raizou-kun's Jiro, I think he's just about as close to being from our world as you can get (laughs).

"What was it like being on set with everyone from the Donbrothers cast?"

Hirakawa: Since I had seen their show, it didn't feel like it was our first time working together. We had a fun time. The eight of them are a lively group, and everyone was cheerful and powerful. Not only are their roles distinctive, but the individuality of the cast also stands out in their own ways.

"There's a scene in the film where you and Hymeno are together watching a live action version of "Together with Moffun." Goroge plays the role of Panpy."

Hirakawa: The script for that scene said, "Rita cries uncontrollably," and just like that, tears really started flowing uncontrollably. However, tears only came out of my right eye, which is hidden…it was frustrating.

"Then, a woman (Haruka) who claims to be a "manga artist" and her Chief Editor (Sonoza) appear out of nowhere, and a discussion begins about how entertainment productions for children should be produced……"

Hirakawa: Because Kohaku-chan, who plays Haruka, was smaller than I expected, and since Rita wears heels, the scene where the two of them argue with each other gives off the impression of Rita putting pressure on her from above. Even still, Kohaku-chan wasn't intimidated by this and came at me as Haruka, which I think made the scene even more interesting. And, speaking of Haruka, her facial expressions have alot of variety. I thought they were already at the level of fine art.

-Playing Rita-

"We felt that Rita and Hymeno, and Haruka and Sonoza, all had a point, but that none of them had the correct answer."

Hirakawa: My friend's nephew is just an older kindergarten student, but I was very surprised that he understood more about the show than I could've imagined. He can also explain the Shugod's abilities in perfect words. Of course, there are differences among individuals, but it made me happy to know that he was that enthusiastic about the show. I hope that these children will revisit King-Ohger in a few years from now. I'm sure that they'll be able to understand it even more deeply. It'd make me happy if people could love King-Ohger like that for a long time.

Kaku So (Kaguragi)

-Creating Synergy-

"We were wondering how King-Ohger and Donbrothers would come together……"

Kaku: First, Takamina-sensei's book (script) was very interesting. In the film, it felt like the Donbrothers were entering the world of King-Ohger, but in terms of content, it was more like we were entering the world of Donbrothers. I think that Takamina-sensei himself also respects the work of Donbrothers and tried to draw from it. After reading the script, I was impressed by how well he utilized the qualities of both works. I feel that this created alot more synergy than I had anticipated. Things that would never happen in the world of King-Ohger are allowed in this time in VS Donbrothers (laughs).

"Kings who were so powerful died easily one after another, even just by simply tripping over a stone……"

Kaku: That area is completely in the world of Donbrothers. For our part, we hoped to have fun performing it.

"As is typical of VS films, there are interactions with individual members, but in the case of Kaguragi, it's more of a "muscle showdown" with Momotani Jiro (laughs)."

Kaku: Since I've played a sumo wrestler in other productions, I basically didn't take off my clothes for King-Ohger (laughs), but for some reason, in both "VS Donbrothers" and "VS Kyoryuger," there are scenes where Kaguragi sumo wrestles. I guess they thought it was something I had in common with Raizo-kun, but the connection to muscles was interesting. Raizo-kun and I talked about muscle training all the time between filming (laughs). He's also a model, so he's forced to limit his training because if he builds up his muscles beyond a certain point, it'll interfere with his work. I thought that was alittle saddening.

-Lovely Team-

"What was your impression of the Donbrothers team?"

Kaku: At first, I was overwhelmed by the number of eight people. I was alittle bit caught up in the atmosphere, so I had to tell myself, "Don't give in" (laughs). In the film, we eventually join forces, but in my mind, it's a "VS" in a good way. "Avatar Change!" is also cool. The situation in which everyone transforms at the same time wasn't in King-Ohger, so I felt it had a Super Sentai feel to it.

"6 and 8 becomes 14 people. What was memorable about the scene where everyone gathered?"

Kaku: The impression I got from everyone in Donbrothers is that they're lively and eager to make others laugh (laughs). A big reason might be the fact that two of them are from the Kansai region. I think it's Suzuki-san and Kouhei-kun. In any case, I remember that it was a fun to film. It's a good contrast to the other film, VS Kyoryuger, but I think they're both interesting and special works in their own right!

Ikeda Masashi (Jeramie)

-Phantom Desnarak VIII-

"What were your impressions of everyone in Donbrothers?"

Ikeda: They're very lively (laughs). I think it's been about a year since they had all been together for a film shoot like this, so perhaps their happiness was pouring out. They're all interesting people. I remember laughing all the way through filming on the day both teams came together. However, when they get serious, they're still cool. Even during "Avatar Change!," they were perfectly assembled. I was impressed by the Donbrothers transformation, as there were few opportunities for "same time transformations" in King-Ohger.

"Shida Kohaku-san, who plays Kitou Haruka, is from the same agency as you."

Ikeda: That's right. Furthermore, Haruka was the "storyteller" in Donbrothers, and in King-Ohger was Jeramie, so at the beginning, we both explain the situation. When I say explain, it's just, "Everyone's dead" (laughs). However, it was very emotional. I didn't expect it to start with two narratives. Kohaku-san was the first one to record.

"Did you know each other before?"

Ikeda: We did. And, in fact, Kohaku-san also participated in my audition for Jeramie.

"As a partner in the show?"

Ikeda: At first, for the video judging, I shot a video in which I played a scene from the show, and at that time, the voice of Desnarak VIII was done by Kohaku-san.

-Phantom "VS" Match?!-

"What were your thoughts after filming for VS Donbrothers ended?"

Ikeda: I think we, the Royal Sentai, are a team with strong personalities, but I got the impression that we've been drawn in by the Donbrothers personalities. Although the story takes place in Hakabaka of King-Ohger, I think that the content of the film has alot of the fun of Donbrothers. For us, it was a fresh new experience.

"Do you have any stories from filming?"

Ikeda: There's a scene where the King-Ohgers and Donbrothers face each other and transform. When we were doing test shots for that scene, when one team was shown, the other team's faces weren't shown, so we were both making funny faces and trying to make the other laugh. When I think about it, it was abit like a "VS" too.

"And then you'd get a NG or something, right?"

Ikeda: No, of course we didn't do it during the real take, only during the tests. However, I feel that a sense of camaraderie was created through exchanges like that. The shoot itself went by very quickly, but it was a great memory. The King-Ohgers and Donbrothers are two completely different Sentai with different vibes, but I hope everyone will enjoy the mysterious "flavor" created by their collaboration.

Higuchi Kouhei (Tarou)

-The Return of Momoi Tarou-

"What were your thoughts on the collaboration between King-Ohger and Donbrothers?"

Higuchi: Donbrothers and King-Ohger……more specifically, I believe that since "Zenkaiger" before us, the Super Sentai series has continued to experiment with new ideas. The character I play, Momoi Tarou, is a very unconventional protagonist. I was very excited to be filming with Gira, the main character in King-Ohger, who took over the baton from me. Personally, I don't know how much I was able to accomplish in the year of Donbrothers because it happened so fast. Sometimes, I think I could have done more. In any case, I had a strong desire to pass on the baton I got from Zenkaiger to the next. By playing Tarou for the first time in a year, I wanted to show the staff that I had grown, even if only alittle. It's been a long time since I last worked on set, and I was very happy to be able to feel the passion of all the cast members of King-Ohger, and was very inspired by them.

"Was it difficult for you to go back to being Tarou?"

Higuchi: No, not at all. I became Tarou right away just by talking to everyone when I entered the set. To be honest, there were some parts of this story that I didn't understand, such as when Tarou suddenly goes to deliver a package to Gira, but I thought that's what Donbrothers is all about (laughs), so I was able to play the role without feeling particularly confused.

"There's a part with Gii-chan the rhino beetle."

Higuchi: He may be an important part of Tarou's story, but it was abit surprising that it suddenly became a feature here. But, I guess you could say that this is also typical of Donbrothers. I thought this was foreshadowing, but it turns out it's not, on the other hand, things like "what is this!?" lead to connections later on (laughs).

-Reunited with Sonoi-

"What did you find "distant" about King-Ohger and Donbrothers?"

Higuchi: Roughly speaking, it's "Western (foreign)" VS "Japanese." King-Ohger has a western vibe, while we've got Momotaro, oni, inu, saru, and kiji……is how it seems. They're completely different, but I thought the best parts of both were shown in this film. What impressed me at the set was the way filming was conducted. It takes imagination to perform on a green screen. I thought it was amazing that they've been doing this for the past year. We were also filming on location, so we were often helped by the atmosphere on set.

"There's also a "reunion" with Sonoi"

Higuchi: The combination of Tarou and Sonoi have played a number of strong scenes together, so I was happy to be able to work with him again. However, filming for it went by so quickly (laughs). Whenever we filmed at an oden stand, we all enjoyed oden together afterwards, which seems to be unusual for King-Ohger, as Gira's Taisei-kun was surprised by it.

"Please tell us your ambitions for the future."

Higuchi: After filming finished, I thought that this is a set I'd like to return to someday. In order to achieve this goal, I must continue to work hard and do my best to make all the staff members who helped me grow my career want to "see me again."

Beppu Yuuki (Saruhara)

-Tightening power-

"What were your thoughts after filming for King-Ohger VS Donbrothers ended?"

Beppu: Director Kato, who's worked on both shows and is well versed in the appeal and point of view of each, was able to shoot the film, so we were able to participate without any worries. As for Saruhara Shinichi, who I played for the first time in awhile, I don't think he's "exactly the same" as he was back then. I've played other roles in the past six months or so, and I'm sure I've changed without knowing it. So, I rewatched some footage before we started filming. I couldn't immediately remember how Shinichi stands or how he said his lines. It was a strange thing though, as I remembered how to do things like move my hands. After all, it's just "tightening." Costumes are very powerful, and it helped me alot.

"What do you think of the filming techniques used in King-Ohger?"

Beppu: We also had experience performing in front of a green screen in Donbrothers. There's the scenes where we'd go to meet Momoi Jin, played by Wada Sohkoh-san. However, while I got used to it as we went along, in the case of King-Ohger, it was everywhere. It was difficult and confusing, but I did learn alot. There may be more productions using this method in the future, so I'm glad to have had this experience. With the exception of the first scene, I also appreciated the fact that there were no cold locations. The casts of both Donbrothers VS Zenkaiger met last year on the day of a big cold wave. Speaking of Donbrothers, Jiro, Sononi, and Shinichi are in the "lightly dressed" group (laughs), so I was wondering what to do if that happened again this time…..we were saved.

-Saru and Tombo-

"You're friends with Watanabe Aoto-san, who plays Yanma Gast, right?"

Beppu: A long time ago, we used to work at the same place part time, and would hang out in our private time. I thought it was an amazing coincidence that we both consecutively became the Blue members in Super Sentai. Aoto is a manly guy who values honor and taking care of people, so I thought that Yanma was a perfect role for him, and I was happy that he was chosen for this show. We occasionally met during filming of King-Ohger, when suddenly, he had blonde hair. I was shocked. I was worried about what was going on…….that maybe he'd stop showing up. Then, the story entered its second chapter, and that was the reason for his changed image (laughs). Of course, I wasn't told that because it would be a spoiler……but I was still relieved when I found out the reason.

"The feeling this time is that the Donbrothers are giving off the vibe that they can appear anytime and anywhere."

Beppu: I have a feeling……we'll be back again someday. Sonoi made an appearance this time, but I'm glad that they didn't try to bring him back to life so easily. It's possible Scriptwriter Takano-san, who wrote the script, thought that if it was going to be written, Inoue-san should do it. This is all just my guess though. However, the reunion of the nine Donbrothers could still be in development. Some fans may have wished that Sonoi came back to life, but I think it would be better if they thought, "I'm looking forward to watching a sequel." Going forward, I'd be happy if you could remember Donbrothers from time to time, since there's still room for our imaginations to grow.

Shida Kohaku (Haruka)

-Thoughts on "Haruka"-

"What was your impression of the King-Ohger team?"

Shida: They're cool, aren't they? I once said to the cast of Donbrothers, "Now this is Super Sentai" (laughs). Of course, Donbrothers is also Super Sentai, and I think we have many advantages over the King-Ohgers, but if we were to have a real "VS," I don't think the Donbrothers, aside from Tarou, would win (laughs).

"We think it's been a while since you played Haruka, how was it?"

Shida: I feel like I've come a long way without much preparation. After Donbrothers, I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take on a variety of roles, and I have fond memories for all of them, but Donbrothers was the first drama that I appeared in, and I played the role for more than a year, so it's still remained with me. I enjoy playing Haruka, and this time, I was excited just thinking that I could be Haruka again after such a long time.

"Haruka is sent to Ishabana with Sonoza, known as her Chief Editor."

Shida: In last year's Donbrothers VS Zenkaiger, I had almost no opportunity to interact with the characters from Zenkaiger, so I was happy to have the opportunity to work with Hymeno-san and Rita-san in this production. Both of them have beautiful costumes, whereas I have casual clothes. Even though I was envious, I was determined not to let my feelings get the best of me. Rita-san's eyes are hidden except the their left one, so normally, they couldn't see the mark (tape placed on the floor to show where you stand), but when that happened, Hymeno-san naturally guided them, and I could see abit of the relationship that the two of them had built.

"When the four of them are together, Ono-san, also known as the ninja oji-san, appears as Ohsamaki……"

Shida: Everyone was defeated by Ohsamaki, but Director Kato said to me, "Haruka, I'm counting on you." They just took a close up of my dead face. It's been awhile, but when speaking of Haruka, she makes strange faces……(laughs).

"By the way, have you ever been asked to do something like that on other productions?"

Shida: I haven't (laughs). I try to do it as a suggestion, but it always seems to be "too much," and they tell me to "tone it down abit."

-From 17 to 20-

"We think it's been awhile since you did dub recording."

Shida: That's right. However, when I tried it, it was much harder than I expected, and I regretted that I didn't practice my vocalization alittle more beforehand. Afterward, my throat was alittle scratchy. A year ago, I was doing this all the time, but the gap in recording is alittle different from that in acting. I was happy to hear that Jeramie and Haruka would be narrating the story. Since we're from the same agency, I thought it would be interesting if that happened.

"By the way, it'll be your 20th birthday shortly after this film is released."

Shida: I started filming Donbrothers when I was 17, so three years have already passed. The past three years have gone by so quickly. I hope to continue to spend my days acting. I also hope that King-Ohger VS Donbrothers will be a hit as the last film to be released in my teens. Also……I'm attending driving school right now, and hope to get my license by the time I turn 20!

Totaro (Tsubasa)

-The End of Fleeing-

"What were your thoughts on the script for King-Ohger VS Donbrothers?"

Totaro: When I heard that Inoue-san wouldn't be in charge of the project, I was honestly alittle worried. I thought that the unique vibe of Donbrothers was something that only Inoue-san could create. However, when I read the script written by Takano-san, I found it to be very well paced and exciting. Even the cast members talked to each other and said, "It's interesting." Also, what made me happy was that in the case of Donbrothers VS Zenkaiger, there was a special setup, so we weren't able to interact with the characters from Zenkaiger, but this time, we were able to. I thought that was the real thrill VS films, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the others performed in their screentime.

"Bluntly speaking, Inuzuka Tsubasa is personally out of the loop this time as well……"

Totaro: He's just been running away with Sononi for a long time (laughs). In the world of King-Ohger, there are wanted criminals just like Tsubasa and Sononi, so they took pictures for that as well. Director Kato is said to be good at directing things like this, so it was fun. I think it was in episode 17? There's a scene where Tsubasa dresses up as a devil, and the makeup I wore for the wanted photos is abit like that.

"We didn't expect to see "Black Devil" in the Reiwa era (laughs)."

Totaro: And, it's Takada-san who chases us in both worlds. In the world of Donbrothers, he's a police officer, and in King-Ohger, he's a knight. We've been running away for so long that I was sad when I thought, "Maybe this'll be the last time." On set I said, "Should we get caught already?" (laugh).

-Meeting the Kings-

"What were your impressions of everyone in King-Ohger?"

Totaro: It might've been because many of them were older than I am, but since they play the role of kings, I felt that they were all "carrying the country on their shoulders." The claim that "all of us are the strongest" isn't an exaggeration. Their costumes were cool, and I got the impression that each of them had a strong personality and was full of confidence. Also, it's amazing that they were able to act within that green screen for so long. It requires alot of imagination, and I think everyone has it locked down. What confused us alittle was that on location, we could run as far as we wanted, but in the green screen, the distance is limited. Towards the end, the two of us fall down for some reason, but when I watched the video during dubbing, I was surprised and thought, "We fell form such a high place!" (laughs).

"What were you thinking after playing Tsubasa for the first time in awhile?"

Totaro: It was alittle embarrassing. No, it was fun to talk with people in a normal way. However, then there was the moment when I became Tsubasa (laughs). Also, I remembered that when I played Tsubasa, I kept my voice low. At the time, I guess I did it unconsciously. After Tsubasa, I wanted to try my hand at some lighthearted roles, but since I kept playing similar roles, I had completely forgotten about it. I'd like to continue to challenge myself with various character roles. I want people to think, "This was the guy who played Tsubasa in Donbrothers!"

Suzuki Hirofumi (Kijino)

-To the Kings World-

"What were your thoughts after reading the script for King-Ohger Vs Donbrothers?"

Suzuki: I thought it showed Takamina-sensei's personality. He pulled elements from Donbrothers that Inoue-sensei probably wouldn't have been able to pull out, and created an interesting story. I also thought the characters selected to be paired up with each other from each show was wonderful.

"What is your impression of the production of King-Ohger?"

Suzuki: The heroes are cool and the story is wonderful. The setting in which everyone is a king is good, and the attention to visuals is amazing. Once again, it made me realize that Donbrothers was a unique show (laughs). Also, I thought about the filming technique when I entered the set. This time, we were filming with green screens, so to put it another way, it's an everyday situation for King-Ohger, but an extraordinary one for Donbrothers. In this situation, I wondered what kind of approach I should take, and decided to take on the challenge of a "big performance." For example, when leaving the prison Racules-san and Suzume-san are in, the setting is different from the real world, so I think it would work even if it I was abit flashy. Rather, I thought it would be more realistic for me to perform against this background. Racules's Yano-san and Suzume's Kamura-san each have long careers, and it was alot of fun to work with them.

-The Mysterious Donbros World-

"Tsuyoshi says he was traumatized by guardian god King-Ohger……"

Suzuki: It's just like Takamina-sensei to bring up a part like that. Although there's no detailed explanation in the film, we can assume that Tsuyoshi's relationship with Natsumi-san has settled down. So, I guess I don't have to worry about becoming a Hitotsuki for awhile. Tsuyoshi always became a Hitotsuki because of what happened with Miho-chan.

"There was a scene shot on location at the beginning, how did that go?"

Suzuki: I was alittle nervous. I wondered if I'd be able to recreate the atmosphere that I had when I was filming the TV series. But, when it was over, it was alot of fun. That's a great scene too. Almost instantly, most of Donbrothers main characters gather in one place as if they were meant to be together (laughs). It wasn't like we had any other plans to meet. Still, I was strangely convinced that that is what Donbrothers is all about.

"In the final scene, Tsuyoshi says a meta line."

Suzuki: That made me happy. If any member of Donbrothers were to be asked to say a line like that, I think it would be Haruka or Tsuyoshi. So, since Haruka is already extravagant, with her very existence being like the Joker, perhaps that's why the line was given to Tsuyoshi. I was honored to have the opportunity to say this line, as it connects the first and second films in this double feature.

"Please give a message to all the fans."

Suzuki: My life really changed when I encountered Donbrothers. The fact that so many people have become aware of our show made me reevaluate my approach to acting. I can't afford to show an improper performance to the people who support me, so I'll continue to work hard from now on!

Ishikawa Raizou (Jiro)

-Jiro's Position-

"Please tell us your honest thoughts on the collaboration between King-Ohger and Donbrothers."

Ishikawa: At first I thought, "How will we join up?," I couldn't imagine it. But in the end, when the "Donbros" element is added, "anything goes" (laughs). It was more like, "This is it," rather than, "This is how it turned out." Personally, however, I was worried about Jiro's position (laughs). Jiro is a "doer," especially when it comes to these kind of productions, right? During Donbrothers VS Zenkaiger, he was the new leader, but this led to the risk of them breaking up, and in TTFC's "Donbrothers VS Donburies," he somehow ended up on the enemy side……

"He's definitely a "problem child" (laughs)."

Ishikawa: This time too, the script didn't clearly state what point in time the story would take place, so I consulted with Director Kato. Since Tarou had already returned, and since I was told that I could play the role in the neutral, former image of Jiro, it became much easier to perform. As long as I can decide on that, I can go back.

"How was it actually working together with everyone in King-Ohgers cast?"

Ishikawa: They have a good vibe. Our group is close, but I felt that they seemed to be close as well. However, ours is……Donbothers is very noisy (laughs). I guess it's because we hadn't gotten together in such a long time, but I still want to apologize for being so noisy all the time. This is my own impression, but if King-Ohger is a coed school, then Donbros is an all boys school……Once we start joking around, we can't stop. King-Ohger seems to have proper brakes. On the first day, we shot a scene with both teams in formation, and even though we're all apart of Super Sentai, their visuals were very different (laughs). I was jealous of King-Ohger's cool costumes. On our side, we're characterized by our lack of inconsistency, with types like Jiro and Sononi, ordinary office workers (Tsuyoshi), and the main character (Tarou) dressed as a delivery man all going to Hakabaka (laughs).

-Muscle talk-

"Jiro wanted to have a "muscle showdown" with Kaguragi."

Ishikawa: Kaku-san and I spent all of our free time talking about muscles (laughs). Things like, "How much can you bench press?" I also knew about the films in which Kaku-san played the role of a sumo wrestler, so I asked him about it. The match between Jiro and Kaguragi ends in a draw……or rather, it ends up as a kind of a tie, but no matter how you look at it, Kaku-san……Kaguragi seems to be stronger. I thought, "You're kidding, right?" (laughs).

"Please give a message to all the fans."

Ishikawa: No matter where they go, Donbrothers will always be Donbrothers (laughs). With this film, I'm once again convinced of this. So, Donbrothers fans can rest assured that they'll have a great time. From now on, I'd like to challenge myself more and more. I want to always cherish this feeling of approaching something for the first time with a sense of nervousness. From now on, thank you for your continued support!

Director Kato Hiroyuki

-Committed to Small Details-

"Kato-san was the only one who directed both Donbrothers and King-Ohger regularly throughout their years, right?"

Kato: I don't know if this had anything to do with it, but I heard rather early on that I was going to be asked to shoot a VS film. I think it was around September or October, when we were still in the middle of filming for the King-Ohger TV series. At that point, they had yet to discuss the specifics, and since I was concentrating on the TV series, I didn't dare to ask. The only thing I heard was that it was going to be set in Hakabaka. Also, I don't remember the order in which I was told, but this time there would be two films, "VS Donbrothers" and "VS Kyoryuger." So, I was told that it would be about half the length (run time) of the VS films of previous years. The script was written by Takano-san, the Scriptwriter of King-Ohger, and I heard that in spite of his busy schedule, he rewatched all episodes of Donbrothers. It seemed like it was going to be tough for him since he was a regular for the TV series, but his script for VS Donbrothers was also written with enthusiasm.

"What suggestions did the Director give you as you were working on the script?"

Kato: Since this is a story about going to Hakabaka, it's only natural that the majority of the story takes place in the world of King-Ohger. Besides, Hakabaka is the "Land of Death," so everyone has to die. Takano-san had worked out the general framework, including how they would die, and the involvement of Sonoi, Gii-chan the rhino beetle, and other characters. I also requested that if we were going to involve Sonoi, we would like to have an oden stand. I was conscious of the connection to the ending of last year's Donbrothers VS Zenkaiger. We also discussed who would be paired with who from King-Ohger and Donbrothers. I had heard that Yanma's Watanabe Aoto-kun and Saruhara's Beppu Yuuki-kun were friends, so I decided to pair them up. I wonder if the pairing of of Kaguragi and Jiro was decided first, and then Takano-san came up with the idea of a "muscle showdown." Takano-san wanted to bring out Ono, the ninja oji-san (laughs). If someone were to become a Hitotsuki, Tsuyoshi or Ono would be a good choice, but if Tsuyoshi becomes a Hitotsuki in VS, there'll be a bunch of complications. That's why I stopped thinking about it, but Takano-san was very good at properly intertwining the "fate" between Tsuyoshi and the guardian god King-Ohger. However, it was actually his first time to write about Ono. Ono has appeared many times, so no one around him thought it was his first time (laughs).

"You also filmed Keisuke Asada, the police officer who chases Tsubasa and Sononi, didn't you?"

Kato: That's right. Tsubasa and Sononi have been on the run for a long time, so even if they're sent to Chikyu, there's a knight there with the same face as Keisuke Asada, the one who chases them……I think I also came up with that idea (laughs). I also made the wanted sign in Chikyu by having new photos taken. I took advantage of the opportunity by trying to make Tsubasa's makeup look like the makeup he used when he played the "Black Devil" looking devil in the TV series.

-A Series of Studies-

"What was your impression of the Donbrothers cast, who you haven't directed in such a long time?"

Kato: They're already dignified. They're very reliable. I met with some of them who needed costume fittings before filming started, and when I said, "Any questions?" They all answered, "Nope." (laughs). Was Jiro the only one who spoke? In Jiro's case, he became the leader in Donbrothers VS Zenkaiger and was hated by the members……Raizo-kun seemed to be concerned about whether or not that would drag on. Regarding that, we talked about how maybe Tarou had come back and the relationship had returned to something close to how it was before. Therefore, Jiro is played in a similar image to that of the TV series.

"You mentioned earlier the combination of characters from the two shows, but which combination was particularly interesting?"

Kato: All of them (laughs). Everyone went above and beyond what I had imagined. Gira, for example, understood our intentions and showed us a great death scene. I also liked the part of Tsuyoshi with the married couple, Racules and Suzume. If I hadn't made some cuts to that scene, the film would probably have gone on forever. Everyone was having fun, but it was my job to keep them in check. It's a shame that the length is so short, but I think the highlights have been condensed into it.

"By the way, over the past two years, what was your most memorable experience in both Donbrothers and King-Ohger?"

Kato: Looking back on Donbrothers, I had the opportunity to film alot of scenes involving Tsubasa and Natsumi. Natsumi's ending was heavy for a drama, so I remember worrying about how to present it. For King-Ohger, I had to learn alot of new things, even more than the previous years, so it was hard just trying to study (laughs). As a Director, I could never say, "I don't know," so I was desperate to keep up with the younger staff members. In the case of King-Ohger, the main storyline was a vertical one that spanned the entire year, so I think there was alot of consideration given to that aspect.

"The way it's presented as a serial drama, huh?"

Kato: Yes, but everyone was very enthusiastic, so if the Director of the group in front of us did something like this, it made us want to "make it even more exciting." I think that's why the story continued to be as exciting as the final episode.

"While adopting new filming techniques, you were also improving the quality of the work right in front of our eyes….."

Kato: I've been working on Super Sentai series for more than 15 years now, and especially in the last few years, from Zenakiger to Donbrothers to King-Ohger, I had to learn alot. In this day and age, I think it's inevitable that this will continue to be the case going forward.

"Lastly, tell us your response to the end of filming."

Kato: I thought it would be an interesting film just to have the Donbrothers visit the world of King-Ohger, but the cast worked very hard to create a "chemical reaction" that exceeded my expectations. The film is both King-Ohger and Donbrothers, so please pay attention to the "blending" of the two.

King-Ohger VS Kyoryuger

INTRODUCTION: The two Super Sentai, King-Ohger, who fought to protect Chikyu from the Uchu King Dagded, and Kyoryuger, who defended Earth from Deboth's Army, have now transcend time and space to miraculously come together. What the Kings and Mighty Lizards join forces to face is……the new Uchu King, Gira?! The strongest warriors approach a desperate situation……!

STORY: Kiryu Daigo and Utsusemimaru set off in pursuit of the Uchu King Dagded, who has invaded Earth. However, Daigo was captured by Dagded and Utsusemimaru was sent to another timeline of Earth. It's 20 years after the invasion of Earth by Deboth's Army……Utsusemimaru is entrusted by Amy Yuuzuki with her and Daigo's son, Prince, and together they attempt to return to their original timeline. However, something is wrong with Prince?! If they don't rescue Daigo soon, Prince will never be born and will cease to exist. Utsusemimaru rushes to Chikyu where Dagded is, but further timeline alterations give birth to a new Uchu King, Gira. The fate of the other kings have also undergone dramatic changes……!

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger was sent to Earth, a different planet from Chikyu, and together with Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger, they defeat the Deboth Army sent by the Uchu King Dagded. However, their destinies will overlap once more in an unexpected way. What in the world happened to the kings?

Gira Husty: The king of Shugoddam, the largest country in Chikyu, and the one where the guardian god resides. He's armed with the KuwagataOhger and King KuwagataOhger royal armor. In the altered timeline, has he truly become an "Evil King"?!

Yanma Gast: The king of N'kosopa, country of technology. He's armed with the TomboOhger royal armor. N'kosopa's national power, which was once a satellite state of Shugoddam, has been greatly enhanced by technological innovations. However, in the altered timeline, he couldn't make a name for himself with his technology and his ventures failed. He lives a meager life running a scrapyard……

Hymeno Ran: The queen of Ishabana, the country of fine art and medicine. Having lost her parents in the "Wrath of God," she became king at a young age. She's armed with the KamakiriOhger royal armor. In the altered timeline, she was banished from Flopital Castle due to her selfishness being at the government's expense. She becomes a flower beggar.

Rita Kaniska: The king of Gokkan, the country of ice and snow. They also serve as the Chief Judge of the International Court of Justice, which protects the neutrality of the world. They're armed with the PapillonOhger royal armor. In the altered timeline, after retiring as the Presiding Judge due to a mental issue, they become active as a "top star" who can sing and dance.

Kaguragi Dybowski: The lord of Toufu, the country of agriculture. He's armed with the HachiOhger royal armor. He's always humble and polite in tone, but the theatrics of his words and actions tend to stick out, so he's what you'd call a "trickster." In the altered timeline, he's hated by many enemies for deceiving the other countries, and his castle and fields were taken away from him. He's being used by his sister, Suzume, as a sumo wrestler.

Jeramie Brasieri: A man born between his father, the sixth hero that saved mankind 2,000 years ago, and his mother Nephila, a Bugnarak. He's armed with the Spider Kumonos royal armor. In the altered timeline, he appears before Utsusemimaru and Prince, claiming to be Chikyu's guide, "Jeracchi."

Shiokara (Chiwata Yuhei): Yanma's retainer who has deep respect for him. Originally a criminal in an organization that circulated counterfeit money in N'kosopa, he was reformed after meeting Yanma. He took on a supportive position for Yanma, who believes that technology can change the future. However, in the altered timeline, he abuses Yanma.

Morphonia (Hasegawa Kasumi): Rita's retainer. She's a lazy person, and would rather not work if she can help it, but she does her job well. She's also the person who best understands the pain of loneliness that Rita carries. In the altered timeline, she's an obsessed fan of Rita, who had become a top star, and cheers for them in a high pitched voice.

Sebastian (Yoshimitsu Hiroto): Hymeno's retainer. He's actually 25 years old, but when he became Hymeno's butler, he was given special makeup to give him an older appearance, and his name was changed from his real name, Romane Dearborn. Originally, he was the heir to a ducal family that has existed in Ishabana for 1,000 years. In the altered timeline, he coldly rejects Hymeno, who has become a flower beggar.

Suzume: Kaguragi's younger sister whom he dotes on. She calls him "big brother." She was in poor health as a child. She lived in Shugoddam as a "hostage" for the reconstruction of Toufu, but when she realized Racules's "objective," she chose to live as his willing accomplice. In the altered timeline, she uses her older brother, Kaguragi, in fixed sumo matches.

Yasemitsu Hatchin (Jackie-chan): He's a wrestler of small stature who doesn't look like he's any match for Kaguragi, but since the match is fixed, he ends up beating Kaguragi.

KuwagataOhger Carnival: KuwagataOhgers appearance when he's powered up with the Gaburimix Shooter. He fights by arming both his arms with the Gabutyra Fang, KyoryuRed's weapon.

Gaburimix Shooter: Jeramie's Venomix Shooter has changed. With the power of this item, the King-Ohgers can now be armed with and fight with the Kyoryuger's weapons.

A Super Sentai formed by "Strong Lizard People" who overcome their battles along with their Zyudenryu. Each warrior has a Zyudenryu as a partner. 10 years have passed since the battle against Deboth's Army, and now the strongest Braves in history have miraculously assembled. You'll be surprised when you hear, look at us and cry!

Kiryu Daigo (Ryusei Ryo): A young man who changes into KyoryuRed. His nickname is "King." He's an adventurer who's been traveling around the world since he was a child. He set off from Earth in pursuit of the Uchu King Dagded, but ended up trapped in Dagded's amber.

Ian Yorkland (Saito Syuusuke): A young man who changes into KyoryuBlack. He's a researcher of super ancient civilizations, and is a flirtatious playboy.

Udo Nobuharu (Kinjo Yamato): A young man who changes into KyoryuBlue. He's a former trading company employee who now runs "Nandemoya Marufuku." He's set to marry to Candelilla.

Rippukan Souji (Shiono Akihisa): A young man who changes into KyoryuGreen. As the successor of the traditional "Rippukan Dojo," he's improving his swordsmanship skills every day. At Daigo's request, he trains Prince.

Amy Yuuzuki (Konno Ayuri): A woman who changes into KyoryuPink. She's the daughter of a large conglomerate. She's bright and caring, and is the emotional support of the Zyuden Sentai. She's married to Daigo and have a son, Kiryu Daigoro, known as Prince.

Utsusemimaru (Maruyama Atsushi): A swordsman who became a Kyoryuger during the Sengoku period. For about 400 years, his body was controlled by Dogold, but he was rescued by the modern day Kyoryugers and was set free. He and Daigo pursue Dagded, but in the future 20 years later, he finds his own grave……?!

Yayoi Ulshade (Iitoyo Marie): Doctor Ulshade's granddaughter. She becomes the second in line to inherit KyoryuViolet from her grandfather. Piloting Plezuon, she flew into space with Daigo and Utsusemimaru in pursuit of Dagded, but……

Kiryu Daigoro (Kawana Rintaro): A young man who changes into King KyoryuRed. His nickname is "Prince." He's the son of Daigo and Amy, and boasts the same high level of physical ability as his parents. In his father's absence on Earth, he fought bravely as a member of Kyoryuger, but was affected by the alteration of time and space, and is on the verge of vanishing.

(bottom right): Utsusemimaru arrives in the future world. 20 years have passed since the Earth was invaded by Deboth's Army. An aging Amy asks Utsusemimaru to take her son, Prince, back to 20 years ago. In order to stop the Deboth invasion……

Gabutyra KyoryuRed Anniversary Carnival: Daigo's new form changed by Minityra (miniature Gabutyra) using the changed Gaburivolver. He uses number 24 "Quetzalcoatlu Zyudenchi," and number 25 "Mosasarus Zyudenchi," and fights by donning the Zyuden Arms, "Quetzalcoatlu Bowgun Arm" and "Mosasarus Chainsaw Arm."

King Gaburucannon/Gabutyvolver: Combine King KyoryuRed's King Gaburicalibur and Gabutyra KyoryuRed's Gabutyvolver to release the Father and Son King Gaburucannon!

Wise God Torin (voice: Morikawa Toshiyuki): An entity that's been fighting against the Deboth Army for about 100 million years. He evolves Earth's dinosaurs into Zyudenryu. He transforms into KyoryuSilver. After defeating his brother, Hundred Faced High Priest Chaos, he left this world……

Candelilla (voice: Tomatsu Haruka) & Luckyuro (voice: Orikasa Ai): Formerly members of the Deboth Army, they now work for humans. Candelilla is set to marry Udo Nobuharu.

Kiryu Dantetsu (Yamashita Shinji): Daigo's father and an adventurer. He's Prince's (Daigoro) grandfather.

KyoryuGray (voice: Deai Masayuki), KyoryuSilver (voice: Morikawa Toshiyuki), KyoryuCyan (voice: Robert Baldwin): The Spirit Rangers (those who have lost their bodies but retain their immortal souls) also arrived from beyond time and space. Here, all the Kyoryugers have assembled!

Sanagim: Combat soldiers that possess the characteristics of pupa. Their exclusive weapon, the "Gun Shovel," can also be used as a rifle. They multiply infinitely.

Uchu King Gira: The appearance of Gira who defeated Dagded and became the new Uchu King after Utsusemimaru fed a large amount of Rainbow Jururira to Gira as a young child. He tries to publicly execute Yanma and the others.

Evil King (voice: Sakai Taisei): Uchu King Gira in his royal armor form. Even after Gira was restored to his original state, the evil spirits that had escaped from Gira's body combined into one and a new Evil King was born.

Dagded Dujardin (voice: Ishida Akira): The creator of all insect life forms. He has an invulnerable body that's immune to all attacks, and because of this, he always has time to speak and act in a way that belittles his opponents. For him, the destruction of other life forms is merely a form of "tidying up." He's being pursued from Earth by KyoryuRed, who he traps in amber.

Debo Senking: A king Deboth monster, who can absorb all emotions, was created to fully revive the power of Kabutobushin Deboth, who Dagded had summoned to Earth. Using his Freezing Staff, he continues to "Brave-cuein" human braves from all over the world and send them to Kabutobushin Deboth.

Uchu Five Jesters A group of aliens led by the Uchu King Dagded. Up until now, they've lead different species on numerous planets to conflict and destruction. The alteration of time and space also affects them, and they emerge as servants of the Evil King.

Hilbil Leech (voice: Sawashiro Miyuki): One of the Uchu Five Jesters known as "Hilbill of Enticement." She brainwashed the king's retainers and citizens, turning the human race on Chikyu into mobs.

Grodie Leucodium (voice: Amano Kousei): One of the Uchu Five Jesters known as "Grodie of Tranquility" He's the one responsible for causing the "Wrath of God." He tries to bring forth the "Wrath of God" again, but is stopped by the King-Ohgers.

Kamejim (voice: Miki Shinichiro): Although he was the Prime Minister who served Desnarak VIII, he was actually the mastermind behind the battle between humans and Bugnarak, and was "Kamejim of Vanity" of the Uchu Five Jesters, who infiltrated Chikyu under the orders of Dagded.

Goma Rosalia (voice: Yamaji Kazuhiro): One of the Uchu Five Jesters known as "Goma of Suspicion." He possesses the characteristics of a longhorn beetle. He has the ability to swap any concept, from human minds to matter, and has swapped the bodies of the kings of six kingdoms.

Minongan Moth (voice: Seki Tomokazu): One of the Uchu Five Jesters known as "Minongan of Concealment." Just as he looks, he's a "power fighter," with high offensive and defensive power.

Sakai Taisei

-The Commitment of the Uchu King Gira-

"In this film, for most scenes, you appeared as the Uchu King Gira."

Sakai: I've been saying I'm the "Evil King" for a long time, and now finally, I've really become one (laughs). When I played the role, I was conscious of "combining insanity and coolness" in my own way. How could I differentiate myself from the usual Gira? For facial expressions, I tried to keep my eyes wide open and slow my tone alittle bit…..but, it was pretty difficult. For example, my dialogue was fine when I was speaking on my own, but when I tried to keep up the pace in conversation, it sometimes didn't go well. It was difficult, but I learned alot, and I'd be happy if everyone could share their opinions after watching the film.

"The other cast members are also challenging themselves to perform in a different way from usual."

Sakai: I look forward to watching each "changed fate" parts of the film. Yanma's deviation is also extreme. I'm sure Aoto was able to play the "uncool Yanma" role very well.

"What about action scenes?"

Sakai: As the Uchu King Gira, I was thrilled to cross swords with the other kings. There was strong wind at the filming location, so it was very difficult (laughs). I haven't been in such a tough situation on location since N'kosopa in episode 2……when we were at the Saitama Super Arena. If I had to compare them, this one was the best (laughs). Conversely, the heat was unforgettable for the collaboration with Kyoryuger, with episodes 32 and 33 being filmed on location. Director Sakamoto's filming is fast paced, and the action is learned on the spot, so I was always frantic, but the atmosphere on set was cheerful and fun.

-Gira and Daigo-

"This'll be the second time you've worked together with the Kyoryuger members."

Sakai: I'm truly grateful to have been able to work with veteran members of the Super Sentai series in this way. I thought it was amazing that everyone hadn't changed at all from the appearance they had 10 years ago. We also saw the scene where all the members transform together, and in the case of the Kyoryugers, even though there's dancing involved, they're all perfectly in sync. I was surprised by that as well.

"What was it like for Gira and Daigo, fellow Reds, to meet?"

Sakai: Ryusei Ryo-san has the aura of a star, and I was thinking about what I would say to him when we meet, but he came off as Daigo when he said to me, "It's tough performing at G-Rosso, huh?" I've already become a big fan of him (laughs). He gives off the impression of a "dependable aniki" and is the very definition of a hero.

"What do you want Sakai Taisei to be like in 10 years?"

Sakai: Now that I'm beginning to understand how interesting my job as an actor is, I'd like to continue acting, but even if I were to take up something else, I'd be happy if I were still leading a fulfilling life. I want to pursue what I enjoy and what I believe in. I also hope that the Super Sentai series will continue into the future. It's an irreplaceable work for me personally, so I hope that the baton will be passed on to everyone who plays the hero for a long time to come.

Watanabe Aoto

-Shiokara's Revenge-

"Tell us about the planning for VS Kyoryuger."

Watanabe: More than anything, it's amazing to see all the main cast members together, even though it's already been 10 years. When the TV series started filming, Toei's Producer Omori gave us a speech in which he encouraged us to, "Please keep acting even after 10 years." Still, that's not always an easy thing to do. Recently, various 10th and 20th anniversary films for the Super Sentai and Kamen Rider series have been made, and I think it's truly miraculous…..This film made me grateful to have witnessed such a miracle in front of my eyes, and it also served as a source of encouragement for me. 10 years later, everyone gathered at the same place on the same day and struck the same transformation pose as they did back then. It was a wonderful moment. I was also impressed that their style hadn't changed.

"Yanma is no longer king, having been affected by the alteration of time and space."

Watanabe: I was conscious of being cool as Yanma for a whole year, but then this kind of setting comes along……(laughs). I enjoyed performing. I mean, the one who was more lively than me was without a doubt Shiokara's Chiwata-san. Maybe he was aiming to use this opportunity to release all the resentment he's felt over the past year. The line, "Lick my shoes!" isn't written anywhere in the script (laughs).

-Thoughts on the Future-

"Unusual for a King-Ohger related production, there was alot of filming on location for this film."

Watanabe: Since it's a Director Sakamoto production, I expected from the beginning that we'd be able to do some action. There was action in episodes 32 and 33 of the TV series, and it was all shot on location. I'm glad we were able to do it again this time. However, when we were filming for TV, it was in the middle of a heat wave, while this time it was the other way around. It wasn't just us, I thought that the Director and staff must have gone through alot of hardships. I'm truly grateful to everyone who worked so hard to make the film as good as possible under such harsh conditions.

"By the time the VS double feature film is released, the Final Live Tour will be over, and you'll have reached the end of your activities as a King-Ohger cast member."

Watanabe: Now, I'm so excited to support everyone in "Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger." A year ago, the cast of Donbrothers were promoting King-Ohger any chance they could, and I thought "They're so kind……", and when I was in the position to pass the baton to the next show, I naturally felt that way. It's no longer someone else's problem…….I hope they'll do their best to deliver an interesting show to the children during the year, while taking good care of themselves.

"Regarding where you'll be 10 years from now."

Watanabe: I think that children who were fans of Kyoryuger 10 years ago will definitely be pleased to see this film. Even after 10 years, everyone's still a "cool hero." No matter what kind of life I lead, I'd be happy if I could become a "cool adult" in the eyes of the children who are now supporting Yanma, and I'll make every effort to become such an adult.

Murakami Erica

-The Reborn Kings-

"In VS Kyoryuger, the depiction of the kings, whose situations have been changed by the altered timeline, was impressive."

Murakami: Everyone seemed to enjoy playing their parts. I hope the audience will enjoy it as well. In the scene with Hymeno, Sebastian's Yoshimitsu-san played the role in a coercive manner, so he was able to break away from his usual character. I like the styling of "Uchu King Gira," as he's really cool. I think it gives off the feeling of a dark hero. It's interesting to see that Yanma had fallen just as far as Hymeno. There's an honor student like quality to him, and the visuals of that Yanma is also appealing. Rita, who has become a star, is majestically cool. Kaguragi made the most of Kaku-san's "weapons," and Jeramie was the complete opposite of his usual style, which was nice.

"This was your second time collaborating with Kyoryuger."

Murakami: Everyone has alot of experience in acting, so they had alot to offer. It was a great learning experience to be able to work with them. I felt the weight of every line of dialogue. It's possible everyone else felt the same way. Even though we didn't really appear, on the day when all the Kyoryuger members assembled for their shoot, we gathered in front of the monitor and watched everyone's performance.

-Tackling the Action-

"The action scenes in episodes 32 and 33 of the TV series, as well as in this film, are the main highlights."

Murakami: When it was on TV, the setting was that the kings had gone to a different planet, so it was the first time we were completely on location. That in itself was a new experience for me, but I was also allowed to do alot of action, and I think I was able to show the coolness of a "fighting king." The action is really deep. On site, I was always looking for the best and coolest swordplay. The way I move, the way the camera moves with me, and the angles of the camera, all make a small difference in the impression you'll get. While filming, Hymeno looks beautiful and strong, thanks to the skillful guidance of the Action Department members who played the enemies. But, the amazing thing is that it didn't look like that……There were a number of professional techniques packed into short takes. However, the last day was pretty challenging (laughs). In the scene where we were being held captive, it was so cold and windy.

"It seems like the last day left a deep impression on everyone."

Murakami: This is a bit of a behind the scenes story, but there are some shots where the wind is blowing very hard, and in the same scene, other shots contain no wind at all……

"Do you have an ideal image of yourself 10 years from now?"

Murakami: Since this is my type of work, I think that the direction I take will be influenced by various encounters, but as a person, I want to be like my grandmother. She's a very playful and lovely woman. I don't think I'll be able to be like that in 10 years, but I'd like to keep aiming for it. Also, I'd be happy if 10 years from now, there'll be an outcry of people saying, "I want to see King-Ohger again." I hope that such a future will be possible.

Hirakawa Yuzuki

-Rita Sings and Dances Again-

"This was the first collaboration with Kyoryuger since the TV series."

Hirakawa: Episode 32 and 33 remain as fond memories for me. Everyone on the Kyoryuger team was really nice, and I learned alot from their on set behavior, and most importantly, I could feel how well they got along with each other. I also thought it'd be great if we could have a relationship like them forever. At the same time, this was the first time I realized that King-Ohger was coming to an end. When I realized that one day I'd have to say goodbye to everyone and my role as Rita, I felt sad. Looking back, time really flew by quickly in the second half. Specifically around the time we finished filming the Summer movie, it was like a brief moment for me. I feel like I've come this far all at once.

"In this film, the fate of the kings have changed, but to our surprise, Rita's living their life as a star."

Hirakawa: In the TV series, there was an idol episode (38), but this time it was a repeating pattern……To add some variety, I sung "Moffun no Uta" one octave lower. The choreography was also created for this shoot, and I memorized it and performed it on that day. Until filming finished, I was constantly worried, wondering what would happen (laughs).

-Wholeheartedly Thankful-

"In VS Kyoryuger, all the members have finally assembled."

Hirakawa: The atmosphere on set was even more lively and pleasant than in the TV series. Since there's dancing involved, I thought it'd be difficult to get everyone's transformations to match up perfectly, but it was truly amazing to see them all perfectly coordinated. Also, everyone was kind and friendly, and I felt like I wanted to be like them. It was also reassuring to have Shiono-san from the same agency there.

"There were also action scenes."

Hirakawa: On the last day of filming, it was incredibly windy……(laughs). During the captivity scene, I tried not to blink as much as possible, but then the tears started coming out. I'm not sure if you can see it on screen, but please be sure to check it out. The more times I tried the actions, the quicker I learned them. However, since Rita's right eye is hidden, it's very difficult for me to sense the distance between me and my opponent. I was grateful that the JAE staff told me, "It doesn't matter if we get hit, just come at us as hard as you can." This time, it was refreshing to see that even in the post transformation action, KyoryuViolet was the same color as PapillonOhger. I always feel that each warrior has their own unique fighting style, and it's wonderful that the Suit Actors were able to accurately express this. There are 11 people in Kyoryuger alone, so I think it's difficult just to differentiate them. I think it shows everyone's high level of professionalism.

"Where do you want to be in 10 years from now?"

Hirakawa: I'm still a "kid" right now, so of course I want to be able to walk on my own, but even 10 years from now, I want to be able to "get lost in something I'm passionate about," and live my life in constant excitement. In addition, little by little, I'd like to repay my parents who raised me.

Kako So

-Fighting the Weather-

"This was a collaboration with the Kyoryugers following the TV series, and this time, with the full lineup."

Kaku: It's amazing, isn't it? In any case, everyone in Kyoryuger is really close to each other, and their unity and teamwork are wonderful. I thought that they were very good at action and dancing. In the story, Utsusemimaru (KyoryuGold) is abit of a troublemaker who stirs things up, and because of that, we in the Royal Sentai end up becoming unusually strange (laughs). Everyone was able to play a different character than usual in this production. It was alot of fun. Things like Masashi's sketchy Jeramie I was enthusiastic about (laughs). There are some scenes that I haven't seen yet, but I'm really looking forward to seeing them, such as the scene between Yanma and Shiokara.

"Regarding the action scenes."

Kaku: This time, there's a situation where kings fight each other, and I think that's one of the highlights. The flow of the action was decided on the spot, and I memorized it and started filming right away. I was worried about whether we'd be able to do it right, but what was more troubling was the weather on location on the day of the shoot. As you can feel from the video, there was an incredible wind blowing at the site. I was okay with it, but I think it would've been very difficult for someone like Hymeno, who was wearing light clothing.

"To begin with, there weren't that many locations in King-Ohger."

Kaku: That's right. Unlike my seniors of previous generations, we finished filming until the final episode without knowing anything about the hardships of filming on location. And then, with VS Kyoryuger…….on the last day of filming, we did it all at once (laughs). The interesting thing is that, as you'll notice in the footage, in a series of scenes, there are times when the wind is blowing strongly and other times when it's not. I'll leave the reasoning to your imagination (laughs).

-A 10 Year Journey-

"Once again, please give us your thoughts on the collaboration with Kyoryuger."

Kaku: I'm a senior member of Super Sentai by 10 years, but with the exception of Kinjo-san and Maruyama-san, everyone is actually younger than me. Ryusei-san too. That was abit of a strange feeling. Also, when I thought about my future 10 years from now, I was worried about whether I'd be able to do Kakuragi at 43 years old……but, then I thought about it, and I realized that Amano Kousei-san, who plays the role of Grodie, one of the Uchu Five Jesters, will be 46 years old this year, and he's so cool, isn't he? He maintains such youthfulness, that it's hard to believe that it was 20 years ago that he was performing in Kamen Rider, so I want to make that one of my goals. Not only Amano-san, but also his wife……Iroki's Hinagata-san has always been beautiful. I felt that I should do my best too. If we could get together again in 10 years……I'd be happy if we could work on the project while living fulfilling lives. And I'd like the Scriptwriter, Takamina-san, to write the script for it.

Ikeda Masashi

-Jeracchi and the Strange Kings-

"In VS Kyoryuger, Jeramie became Chikyu's charming guide, Jeracchi."

Ikeda: It was fun (laughs). Actually, this was the first time for me to wear a different costume as Jeramie. I didn't wear a yukata in the Summer festival episode (episode 24), and I didn't change into Earth clothes in the collaboration episode with Kyoryuger in the TV series (episodes 32 and 33). Personally, I was most impressed by the costumes. Although I was playing the role of Jeramie, it was a strange feeling to be in a completely different position. Everyone else also has different visuals. I think that's why I was able to play with more freedom. Yanma and Hymeno are in a tragic situation…..What was funny was Kaku-san's Kaguragi. His setting is about losing in a fixed sumo match, but because he has the aura of a strong man, he doesn't look weak (laughs).

"It's a different kind of comedy than what was in VS Donbrothers, huh?"

Ikeda: I think that you'll laugh at this film as well. I could sense that the Kyoryuger members were enjoying the Super Sentai set for the first time in a long time. What surprised me was that their youngest, Iitoyo-san, is only two years older than me. It was abit of a shock to know that she was 15 years old at the time of Kyoryuger.

-The Wind and Kings-

"Following the TV series, since the collaboration with Kyoryuger involves Sakamoto's team, there's some action as well."

Ikeda: We didn't have many opportunities to try our hand at acting during regular filming. That's why the Sakamoto team left an impression on me twice. This time in particular, there's the situation where Gira, who's become the Uchu King, and the other kings cross swords. I was very enthusiastic there. I'm sure everyone felt the same way. However, it was on the last day, and as you can clearly see from the footage, the wind was incredibly strong. It was on an almost unusual level, including how cold it was (laughs). We haven't been on location much during the past year, so this was our last taste of the "location hardships" at the very end. Now that I think about it, the Kyoryuger episodes for TV were also filmed entirely on location, but they were in the middle of Summer. I would've loved to go on location during the Spring or Fall (laughs). Because of this situation, everyone greeted each other in a brief way at the beginning of filming……but, that was also a good memory. Something like that is a rare experience.

"Ikeda-san, where do you see yourself 10 years from now?"

Ikeda: 10 years seems so far into the future that it's hard to imagine, but in terms of familiarity, Kaku-san is 9 years older than me. Kaku-san is always aware of what's going on around him, and he's always looking out for us. I want to grow up to be like that. I don't know if we'll be able to get together again like the Kyoryuger members 10 years from now, but I'd like to see the King-Ohgers active in even more advanced video technology.

Ryusei Ryo (Daigo)

-King's Return-

"You were recording just a few minutes ago, what are your thoughts?"

Ryusei: As expected, doing the dub as Kiryu Daigo is exhausting (laughs). I gave it my all. Daigo is a very passionate character, and Kyoryuger itself is a show like that. 10 years ago, we used to do recordings like this every week. The amount of work back then was almost certainly greater than what I recorded today, so I think I did a good job. At the time, I was between 19 and 20 years old, so I guess it was because I was young (laughs). This time, I had the opportunity to work with the cast of King-Ohger, and I felt the rush of energy that's typical of currently active heroes. They were filming the TV series just the other day, and they must've had a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment from having survived their long journey, as they all had good expressions on their faces. They were glowing. Compared to them, I may inevitably be called "old." Even now, I'm alittle nervous about it (laughs).

"What made you agree to appear in the film?"

Ryusei: It's my way of showing gratitude to all the fans and staff. I'm happy to have this opportunity to work on a production after 10 years with all of the main cast together. Including KyoryuRed's Osshi-san (Oshikawa Yoshifumi), to the full extent, the Suit Actors were the same as they were back then, and Director Sakamoto filmed it……It's almost a miracle. I thought this would be the last time I'd be able to do something like this, so I really wanted to do it. Daigo's line, "This is the final battle!" was added on set, but I put all my feelings into it in my own way.

-Brave Youth-

"What were you conscious of when playing the role of Daigo again?"

Ryusei: At first, there was an idea to have everyone appear in completely different costumes. However, I thought that fans would like to see the costumes as they were back in the day. I asked if they still had them……and to use them. Conversely, what also surprised me was the action. There was nothing specifically written in the script. When I arrived on set in the morning, preparations were already underway, and Director Sakamoto was like, "Of course (we're doing action)!" (laughs). I learned the flow on the spot, tried to match it quickly, did a test, and then immediately did the real thing. This is also a "given" in Kyoryuger. You can't find this on other sets. I also missed these kinds of things.

"What does Kyoryuger mean to Ryusei?"

Ryusei: It's youth. I was happy, but at the same time embarrassed to play the role of Kiryu Daigo for the first time in such a long time. For a whole year……no, including the Final Live Tour, I've been carrying the responsibility of one show as its main character for about a year and a half. Currently, I don't have the opportunity to work on the same production for that long. It's impossible not to become deeply attached to it. To be honest, there were times when it was tough and I thought, "I can't wait to work on a different show." However, I think that I was able to learn alot on that set, and experience many things that I could only have done 10 years ago. There are many fans who have continued to support me since that time, and I'm definitely very happy to have performed in this film.

Kawana Rintaro (Daigoro)

-Admiration of the Mighty Lizards-

"You made your appearance in King-Ohgers TV series, how did that happen?"

Kawana: My father's (Kawana Motoki) senior in the action industry is Director Sakamoto, and I've been invited to work with him several times. This time too, he asked me if I'd like to audition for the role of Prince.

"What did you do during the audition?"

Kawana: In addition to watching action, I also performed one scene from episode 32. From there, I was chosen and was able to perform.

"Originally, did you study action and acting?"

Kawana: I've been learning action from my father since I was a child. I've also been taking acting lessons since I was in elementary school.

"Did you know about Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger?"

Kawana: I've been watching the Super Sentai series since I was about 2 years old, and I believe Kyoryuger was the year I started elementary school. At the time, I felt that I had started a show that was right in the middle of my tastes. I liked dinosaurs, I liked the designs of the Kyoryugers suits, and the action was cool. Kyoryuger is what got me hooked the most.

"What was it like appearing in the TV series?"

Kawana: As expected, the actual film site was different from my lessons. The large number of staff members working so diligently and quickly made me realize once again how hard and fun it is to create video productions. I was painfully aware of my lack of experience, but I was also inspired. Everyone in King-Ohger was very friendly and talked to me about a bunch of things. Since our ages aren't that far apart, I was able to fit in quickly on set. Especially with Gira's Sakai Taisei, I became closer to him, and every time I appeared in the show, it became easier for me to perform. I've often heard that the atmosphere of the set is reflected in the footage, and I felt that this was the case.

"After your performance, what was the reaction from those around you?"

Kawana: I was happy that many of my friends at school seemed to have seen it (laughs). They said various things to me, like, "You've become a Kyoryuger?" and "That's Brave!" I think everyone remembered Kyoryuger because we're all the same age.

-The Inherited Brave-

"Prince is the son of Daigo (King), and this time they're finally working together."

Kawana: Ryusei Ryo-san was on a completely different level from me, as his appearance was very powerful. This time, there's a scene where I transformed with the Kyoryuger members, but for some reason, it felt like I was just a fan that had got mixed in……I always had this feeling of, "Is it okay for me to be here?" However, I'm grateful for this truly valuable experience. Director Sakamoto has continued to shoot many films, and I respect him for always putting his all into filming

"What are your future ambitions?"

Kawana: Being like Jackie Chan from the olden days has always been my number one goal. I saw a variety of his films and was impressed by how amazing he is……He's a star who always tries to thoroughly entertain his viewers, so I started thinking that I wanted to be like that too. I'd like to continue to take on action, and eventually, I'd like to work overseas.

Saito Syuusuke (Ian) x Kinjo Yamato (Nobuharu)

-Emotional Full Gathering-

"You two first appeared in the King-Ohger TV series."

Saito: To begin with, around the beginning of last year (2023), I thought, "Right, this year is the 10th anniversary……" But, at that time, I never imagined that we'd be collaborating with a currently active Super Sentai. I used to watch King-Ohger every week (laughs). Not only did we get to meet them, but we also got to perform with them as the Kyoryugers, it made me happy……

Kinjo: However, during the TV series, there were only four of us who appeared in the show. King (Daigo) and Ucchi (Utsusemimaru) performed through their voices. I wonder if we'll all get together……is what I thought, and this time it's a V-Cinext. King, Ucchi, and even Yayoi-chan make their appearance, and the four of us were allowed to appear again. Is this what you'd call "emotional"? Is that too old fashioned now? Will a new word be created in 10 years?

Saito: (laughs). Still, I'm grateful. The show is 10 years old, but recently, it's become possible to watch past series through streaming services. I often hear that people who didn't watch the show when it aired, or who weren't even born yet, become "hooked" after watching Kyoryuger.

Kinjo: Younger children may have never heard of Kyoryuger, and may have wondered, "Who are these guys?" when they saw the TV series guest episodes (episodes 32 and 33). Still, I never lost hope.

Saito: Yeah. Since we were appearing, I thought, "Let's go wild."

-With King Again-

"It's wonderful to see not only the cast assembled, but also the Suit Actors and even the Voice Actors."

Saito: That's right. KyoryuBlack is played by Takeuchi Yasuhiro-san, and Tsutamune Masato-kun, who plays KyoryuGold this time, played the role of KyoryuBlack in G-Rosso's show 10 years ago. For me, it was heart warming to have the three of us gathered on the same set.

Kinjo: For KyoryuBlue's Takada Masashi-kun, Kyoryuger was the first time he played a regular hero role. He plays Spider Kumonos in King-Ohger. I was happy to see that despite his busy schedule, he played KyoryuBlue with such energy in this film.

Saito: Even those who have left JAE came back, such as KyoryuRed's Osshi-san and KyoryuPink's Nogawa Mizuho-san.

Kinjo: By the way, Takeuchi-san is amazing. 10 years ago, he was sharp, but he's evolved even further. His list of techniques is also increasing. Is such a thing even possible? (laughs).

Saito: No, he's definitely amazing……

Kinjo: It was like a strong man becoming a "super strong man."

"The major difference between the TV series and this film is that Ryusei Ryo-san, know as King, has made his long awaited appearance."

Saito: For some reason, it felt strange. I've met him in our private time, but seeing him in front of me in that costume and hair style was like stepping back in time.

Kinjo: I instantly thought, "Ah! It's Daigo!"

Saito: On the day we all got together, we did some action. It's the Sakamoto team after all.

Kinjo: Yeah, yeah, we did, this old man's body took a beating (laughs).

Saito: Ian's main point of focus is his gunplay, but Nossan (Nobuharu) also has some acrobatic movements.

Kinjo: No matter what Nobuharu does, he's always got a story to tell.

Saito: Nossan's old man jokes (laughs). Didn't they already come up endlessly back then?

Kinjo: Every time, he always had something to say……However, after analyzing it in detail, I think he actually has a pattern of saying the same four or five things (laughs).

"You participated in the dub not that long ago, and we assume that you've seen some of the current footage, what are your thoughts?"

Saito: The lineup is really impressive, isn't it? It's amazing even at 8 people, but then Silver, Cyan, and Gray were added, and including King-Ohger, there's……17 members? That scene was, as expected, numbing.

Kinjo: During the dub, we got to watch a few scenes that we're not in. That's why I was like, "What's with this bearded Ucchi?!" (laughs). Even though I've read the script, there are many scenes where I don't know how they turned out, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the completed film.

Saito: Ucchi is the main focus. Ucchi stirs up the whole thing, and it becomes a big mess. Ucchi's our clumsy samurai (laughs).

Kinjo: He even influenced the world of King-Ohger.

Saito: But in the end, he brought us all together, or rather, he made it necessary for us to come together. It was thanks to Maruyama Atsushi. No, maybe it was Ucchi? (laughs).

-Everyone is Someone's Hero-

"What does the show Kyoryuger mean to the two of you?

Saito: I've always loved tokusatsu heroes, and it was truly a dream come true for me to become a hero myself. Even though he's an enemy, I was able to transform into a Kamen Rider as a guest in the show……

Kinjo: I was in Kamen Rider too. In my case though, I'm not sure if I'm considered a Rider or not……(laughs).

Saito: It's amazing to be able to appear in the same role again on the 10th anniversary. There was a great response on SNS, and I'll continue to live my life while always being aware that I was KyoryuBlack. In fact, I feel that the character of Ian still exists within me. From time to time, I end up saying, "Oh my" (Ian's favorite phrase) (laughs).

Kinjo: In recent years, I've been working as a Voice Actor, mainly dubbing American movies and foreign dramas, but my first experience with dubbing was for Kyoryuger. In that sense, my encounter with Kyoryuger was significant. Depending on the role I'm playing, I sometimes channel the voice I used when I was Nobuharu.

Saito: Heroes are wonderful. All I can say is that everyone is also a hero to someone who's standing beside them.

Kinjo: Now, I hope that the boys and girls who have admired heroes through King-Ohger will aim to become heroes for their loved ones going forward.

Saito: I'd be happy if you could feel that passionate message through this film.

Kinjo: Let's meet again someday!

Shiono Akihisa (Souji) x Konno Ayuri (Amy) x Maruyama Atsushi (Utsusemimaru)

-After Recording-

Maruyama: I'm Atsushi!

Konno: I'm Ayuri!

Shiono: I'm Akihisa!

All: We're the triple "A" of Kyoryuger!

Maruyama: Whether you use that or not, we did it because you've got these three specific people here. And now, I'll leave the rest up to you (laughs).

"Thank you very much! I guess it's because you were doing the dub a few minutes ago, but your good mood is really helpful (laughs)."

Maruyama: We've begun recording the dub! How was it for Hime (Konno)? You were in the TV version of King-Ohger and it was your first time recording in a long time, right?

Konno: Yeah. But, it didn't feel like it had been a long time at all. It was as if I had been doing it just recently (laughs).

Maruyama: That's amazing.

Shiono: I really didn't feel blank at all.

Konno: What about you? I myself didn't feel out of place, but…..

Maruyama: It's amazing that Hime was able to get back to the way she used to feel immediately after being away from the acting business for such a long time, let alone us. And then Akki's (Shiono) voice was powerful. It was definitely different compared to 10 years ago, wouldn't you say?

Shiono: I played a high school student, and was actually 18 years old. Since 10 years have passed since then, I wanted to express the growth of Souji. Not just in my voice, but also in acting and action. It's been my "theme" ever since I made the guest appearance in the TV series. Considering Souji was given the Feather Edge by Torin at the end of Kyoryuger, I was also deeply moved by the fact that Souji was the one who trained Prince

Konno: I think Souji seemed calm and even dependable this time.

Maruyama: That's right. That's our Akki, and that's our Souji. Every year, I'm becoming more and more unstable……

Shiono: Weren't you always like that?

Konno: Can it get any worse?

Maruyama: Hey! (everyone laughs).

Shiono: But, when I watched the footage, as expected, the action scenes after the transformation were very cool. The direction was typical of Director Sakamoto, including the introductions being linked to the offensive and defensive movements.

Maruyama: Is it okay if I say something about the dub? While KyoryuGreen and KamakiriOhger were fighting together, the Suit Actors on set created a few seconds of interaction between the two. And then, I wondered what kind of line Akki would put in there, but he just said one word, "……Yeah." He's left everything up to Murakami Erica-chan, who'll do her recording later.

Shiono: Don't say that (laughs). It was difficult for me to do it. Especially for Souji, who's not a very talkative person, so after thinking about it desperately, I was like, "……Yeah" (laughs).

"Speaking of the storyline development, Ucchi was difficult in this film."

Maruyama: I broke new ground (laughs).

Shiono: That's for sure. This is just Ucchi's story.

Konno: Ucchi is very active in this.

Maruyama: I wonder if it's "active"…….He causes nothing but trouble, and then gives an earnest apology to everyone at the very end.

Konno: He also has some cool parts!

Maruyama: Thanks (laughs). But, the cool parts are really an "also." Otherwise he's nothing but bad (laughs). 95% of him is bad, and only about 5% is cool. This time, however, Akki is 100% cool.

Shiono: Really?

Maruyama: To be more specific, the old Souji had a certain "cuteness" to him. Now, on the other hand, he's become an "adult" swordsman.

Shiono: That makes me happy!

Maruyama: I think the charm of "Souji becoming an adult" is shown. By the way, Hime wore elderly makeup this time, didn't she? How old do you think she is?

"Amy was 18-19 years old at the time of the battle with Deboth's Army, it's 10 years later, and then another 20 years after that, so we imagine her to be close to 50 years old."

Konno: At first, that makeup was much darker. It emphasized more of the fact that time had passed. But, I thought it might be alittle too thick, so I lightened it during the filming stage.

Maruyama: That scene was alot of fun. Compared to the usual Amy-dono, she spoke alittle slower. I already had an image of older Amy-dono, so I thought, "Ah, her rhythm's off," but you did that with the age setting in mind, right?

Konno: Yeah. The speed and tone of my voice is different from when I was younger.

Maruyama: What'd you think when creating this role?! The adjustments you made were perfect. Not too slow, but subtly different from the old Amy-dono. It'd be nice if you could return (to being an actress).

Konno: (laughs).

Maruyama: Don't you get approached in your daily life? Especially after things like the guest appearance on TV. They might've said, "Are you Amy?"……..

Konno: No, no…..but, I might see an "Ah" look on people's faces every once in a while.

Maruyama: That's it! I'm sure people think, "That person is KyoryuPink."

Konno: Are you sure? Wouldn't it be more like, "That person looks like someone I know…"

Maruyama: Well, I guess that's true (laughs).

Shiono: Getting back into it, the scene where Ucchi meets Amy and Prince 20 years in the future, from our perspective, shows Acchan's (Maruyama) own happiness. Of course, there's the joy of meeting Amy as Ucchi, but there was also the feelings of Acchan himself (laughs).

Maruyama: I didn't expect to see Amy again like this on set, let alone in our private lives……I was so happy to see her again. All at once, I was taken back to the way I felt back then.

"The "There there~" after learning that Prince is Daigo and Amy's son wasn't in the script."

Maruyama: That part was also fun. As Utsusemimaru, I think of myself as Prince's uncle.

Konno: We're supposed to be parent and child, but Prince's Kawana-kun isn't really that far off in age from me (laughs), but I still felt at ease when I was with him……The parent and child setting was a good fit for us. I think his character fit well with that part as well.

Maruyama: I agree. No, It truly overwhelms me with emotion. It truly overwhelms me with emotion.

Konno: Why'd you say it twice? (laughs).

Maruyama: As Utsusemimaru, Yayoi-dono……it was refreshing to have so many scenes with Marie. Even 10 years ago, I probably said the line, "Yayoi-dono!" many times. What was interesting was that there were no takes where we couldn't help but look at each other, even when we weren't meant to interact. I was glad to see that the unique spirit of Kyoryuger was still there in both of us.

-Super Sentai, Through the Ages-

"What were your impressions of the King-Ohger cast?"

Maruyama: They're what you'd expect of current heroes! They're sparkling.

Shiono: As expected, they were different from us (laughs).

Maruyama: They're shining.

Konno: They made me feel young.

Shiono: But, we're actually quite close in age to them.

Maruyama: That's true for you two. I'm different though (laughs).

Konno: If I could go back to those days, I would. Kyoryuger was about youth.

Maruyama: Me too. I'm already 30 years old.

Shiono: Everyone in the Kyoryuger cast has a deep love for our show. Of course, that can be said for any Super Sentai……

Maruyama: And among us, Ryusei Ryo is the one with the strongest love for it. Even at karaoke, when he's feeling it, he sings the theme song.

Shiono: That's true (laughs). And, he has an overwhelming sense of being the main character. This time, when he was wearing the costume he wore back then for the first time in such a long time, I thought, "It's King! King is here!" (laughs).

Maruyama: It was a combination of various miracles. Everyone participated, including those who only performed with their voices.

Konno: It's a full course.

Maruyama: It's a dream.

Shiono: It's a 40 minute film, but it's a condensed version of about two and a half hours worth of content. I guess most of the people who come to the movie theaters are King-Ohger fans, but I'd be happy if they took this opportunity to go back and watch Kyoryuger as well.

Maruyama: On the other hand, for those who were fans of Kyoryuger or have been away from the Super Sentai series for awhile but came to see this film, I hope they'll see the appeal of King-Ohger and become Super Sentai fans again.

Shiono: It's exactly because the series has continued that we've been invited back. I'm truly aware of how grateful I am. By the way, my friend's child is around the age where they're watching King-Ohger. Recently, they recognized me as Souji from Kyoryuger. That made me happy.

Konno: What a nice story!

Maruyama: Is it okay if I meet this kid too?

Shiono: Why? (everyone laughs).

-Reunion and the Future-

"The 10th anniversary of Kyoryuger, from the TV series to the V-Cinext, was a wonderful plan to celebrate."

Maruyama: That's right. When filming for the TV series……

Shiono: Acchan didn't appear (laughs). No, I didn't think it would happen this way either. Our predecessors were also doing new films for their 10th and 20th anniversaries. Every time I heard something like that, I was concerned. But realistically, I think it's quite difficult. Then, at that time, it was decided that Konno Ayuri would make a sincere comeback (laughs).

Konno: The sincere comeback was for a limited time (laughs). When I first heard about it, they were working on getting everyone together, but I wondered why I was the only one missing……So I said, "Let me in!" However, when it came time to decide, there were only four of us in the TV series, and I was unable to meet the others due to my filming schedule. It felt incomplete and I thought, "This story is wrong!"

Maruyama: That's when you grabbed Producer Omori by the collar and……

Konno: I didn't do that! (laughs).

Shiono: But, there was another version, this V-Cinext.

Konno: After all, if we were going to do it, we wanted to have everyone together, right? I was happy to see that finally happen. Furthermore, with Director Sakamoto and all the Suit Actors from that time, it was a great honor to be able to work with them.

Shiono: The day we all gathered together was like a dream.

Konno: Even with relatives for example, if you only see each other once a year, you get alittle nervous (laughs). But with the cast and crew of Kyoryuger, I don't feel that way at all. They're irreplaceable. I hope that we can continue to communicate with each other forever.

Shiono: Asai Kosuke-san, the Suit Actor for KyoryuGreen, was unable to make the schedule for the TV series, but he was able to come this time. He was as humble as ever, and we were alittle nervous when greeting each other. It was nostalgic. It's nice to hear that he's been able to play Red many times after Green.

Konno: I had heard that Nogawa-san was going to play the role of KyoryuPink, but I dared not to contact her until the day of filming for the TV series. I thought that would make it more moving when we were reunited on set (laughs). Nogawa-san came to the VS this time as well, and in addition to Pink, she stood in and did some of Amy's actions.

Maruyama: KyoryuGold was played by Tsutamune-kun, who played Black at G-Rosso 10 years ago. I was very grateful that he came.

Shiono: Everyone in the King-Ohger cast seemed to get along well.

Maruyama: The atmosphere when everyone was together was really good.

Shiono: Their visuals are cool too. They incorporate some good points from anime as well.

Konno: It has the flashiness typical of Super Sentai. Their costumes before transforming were also gorgeous. We mostly wear casual clothes (laughs).

Maruyama: Utsusemimaru is the only one who can compete with them……but I still think he'd lose (laughs).

Konno: But, I think it's great that Super Sentai continues to evolve in this way. I was on a train once and saw an excited child with a Sentai toy getting off at Suidobashi station with their parents. I think they'd probably be watching G-Rosso's show from then on. 10 years ago, I was performing at G-Rosso, so I thought to myself, "I hope you enjoy it!" as I saw them off. I hope that the Super Sentai series continues forever for the benefit of such children.

Iitoyo Marie (Yayoi)

-Resurrected Memories-

"Just now, you participated in the recording session, how was it?"

Iitoyo: I was shown a video from 10 years ago as reference, but the first thing I noticed was my baby face (laughs). I was 15 years old at the time……My voice sounded so young, that I felt as if it wasn't mine. I've done dubbing for anime productions over the past few years, but there's something special about tokusatsu dubs, so I was worried about doing it after such a long absence. But it was a strange thing, as when I started, my memories came back to me, as if I had been doing this only yesterday. When I turned around, I naturally said stuff like, "Hah!" I even surprised myself.

"How was it decided that you'd appear this time?"

Iitoyo: When the Kyoryugers were going to make a guest appearance in the King-Ohger TV series, there were rumors that I might appear as well (laughs). But at that time, I didn't get an offer. I myself was an additional warrior and semi regular, so I thought it was inevitable. However, after that, there was a dinner party for this film, and Kinjo-san contacted me and asked, "Will monkey be joining us?" Ah, back in the day, I was called monkey (laughs). So, I had a chance to attend that dinner party. At that point I thought, "They're just flattering me" and didn't take it seriously (laughs), but after awhile, I found out that I was actually going to be able to appear and thought, "Yay!" What's more, the script had Yayoi playing an important role, which made me really happy. Of course I was able to perform, but the fact that everyone would be together was unbelievable. I want to thank everyone involved from the bottom of my heart.

-Greatest Joy-

"There were also action scenes."

Iitoyo: Recently, I had the opportunity to work on the production "Love You as the World Ends," and I think my experience during Kyoryuger definitely helped me in my ability to see and learn the flow of the action and shoot it immediately. Of course, the reason it looks so good isn't because I'm good at it, but because of the help of the members in the Action Department. Also, it was refreshing to see that I have many interactions with Utsusemimaru-san this time. We have an important mission, but the two of us end up distorting space and time……Yayoi isn't in the wrong at all (laughs). The comedic exchanges were fun to perform.

"Iitoyo-san, what does Kyoryuger mean to you?"

Iitoyo: I'll never forget this precious show. For example, even if I wear glasses for a moment, fans will say, "You remind me of Yayoi." Also, I've had many opportunities to perform with cast members from other series, and they always talk about it like, "XX and KyoryuViolet are doing a dream collab together!" For me, it's the great pleasure just to be remembered for my performance, but to be invited to a commemorative film like this is the greatest joy. I'd be happy if movie theaters could be a place of "reunion" for all fans.

Director Sakamoto Koichi

-A Miraculous Gathering!-

"Kyoryuger was the show in which the Director, who had been working on "Power Rangers" for many years, was finally in charge of the main part of the original Japanese Super Sentai series.

Sakamoto: I've enjoyed working on all of the productions I've been involved with, but if I were asked which is the best, I'd say Kyoryuger since every day of filming was fun. I had been involved in Super Sentai for 15 years with "Power Rangers," but that was the first time I had been involved in a Super Sentai project in Japan from its very beginning, so I aimed to make the most of my knowledge and experience to create a show that would be enjoyable. Sanjo-san, the Scriptwriter, who also worked on "Kamen Rider W" and "Kamen Rider Fourze," wrote a wonderful script that effectively utilized the characters and items, the talented cast, and as Producer Omori's first show as Chief Director, it's a very energetic show that concentrates everyone's energy. With the support of many fans and strong sales of its related merch, I think this was a memorable show in the history of Super Sentai. That's why I'm really happy to be able to participate in the 10th anniversary festivities this time!

"The first thing that surprised us was that the story was connected to episodes 32 and 33 of the King-Ohger TV series, as well as other episodes."

Sakamoto: The plan was to show all four except Daigo and Ucchi on TV, and save the complete group for the VS. So, I started working on the script early, but I was uncertain until the very end whether the cast would be able to assemble according to their schedules. Everyone was busy, including Ryusei. In the end, everyone including Marie-chan was able to make adjustments, and the day of the shoot was a beautiful sunny day. It was truly a miracle that they came together. However, on the day we mainly shot the post transformation action, there was still snow from the previous day, and on the day we mainly shot the King-Ohger cast, there was strong wind, so overall, filming was quite hard (laughs).

"On the day the Kyoryuger cast gathered, individual action scenes were also prepared."

Sakamoto: I think they're some of the best members of Super Sentai who have done some of the best action of all time. Therefore, in this film too, we've prepared action for each of them, although we didn't have enough time to spare. Once you learn to ride a bicycle, your body remembers it even if you haven't ridden it in awhile, right? For them, it's the same with action and the Kyoryu dance, and they did it in a snap even though it's been 10 years (laughs). Usually, when we shoot action with the cast members, it takes more time than in the Action Department, as we have to test it many times and teach them the movements in detail. But the members of Kyoryuger learn the action quickly and are able to film the action at almost the same speed as the Action Club. Takes unique to Super Sentai, such as running in and lining up side by side, can be done in a single shot. I once again thought, "Sentai is amazing" (laughs).

"It was also impressive to see how everyone seemed to be having fun on set."

Sakamoto: They probably did, but so did we……the staff was very happy (laughs). They've grown up in their own ways, while still retaining some of the same characteristics as back then. Also, most of the Suit Actors from back then, including Osshi, were there, so it felt as if the atmosphere on set 10 years ago had been revived and unchanged.

-For the Future of the Action World-

"The story is about all kinds of trouble going on because of Utsusemimaru……behind the scenes, the main character is Utsusemimaru, who's very active."

Sakamoto: Maruyama was disappointed that he didn't get a part in the TV series, so I told him, "I'll prepare a good role for you in VS!" I also put pressure on him saying, "The success or failure of the film depends on Utsusemimaru" (laughs).

"On the King-Ohgers side, it turned out feeling pretty outrageous."

Sakamoto: While in the process of writing the script, the climax of the TV series was set and I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do with VS. Since it would be difficult to make the film more exciting than the final trilogy due to the length of the film, we aimed to create an enjoyable experience that included elements similar to the "Returns~" series that Toei Video had previously produced. I thought that by taking a different approach from the roles in the TV series, the audience watching and the actors performing would be able to enjoy the show. I had alot of fun filming them because of their confidence and growth after completing the 1 year series, and their openness to make suggestions about "wanting to act like this."

"Please tell us about Kawana Rintaro-san, who has participated in a series of collaborations since the TV series."

Sakamoto: When I was watching tokusatsu hero shows, there were actors like Ohba Kenji-san and Haruta Junichi-san, who could perform advanced action and stunt work even before transforming. In addition, JAC (now JAE) at that time had big stars such as Shihomi Etsuko-san and Sanada Hiroyuki-san, and many of us admired them and entered the world of action films. One of my goals was to develop action stars who can be "objects of admiration." Rintaro, who plays the role of Prince, is the son of Motoki Kawana-kun, my junior, and grew up with a gifted education in action from a young age. He's appeared in several of my own productions, and I wanted to give him something of a big "chance" when I offered him an audition for the role of Prince. I recommended him for the role, and he won. It seems that he was well received when he appeared in the TV series, so I'm really looking forward to the future. He's the same age as my own son, very pure and cute~. I hope he'll continue to absorb more and more on various sets in the future.

"And, as for Kyoryuger, Chiba Shigeru-san's screaming narration is always a must! This time as well, his excitement was strong."

Sakamoto: Chiba-san is amazing! It's truly amazing that he continues to be active at the forefront of the industry. I've felt my body deteriorate rapidly since turning 50, so I've recently started working out again (laughs). Holding workshops gives me exercise and allows me to meet new talents, so I try to be proactive about doing them these days. I'd like to continue to film, so I'll keep doing my best from now on!

[taruchinator]

🍎 General Audiences

🍎 3.5k Words

🍎 For all Juliana/Kieran shippers!

“She should be on the plane back home by now…” Kieran frowned at the thought. Because Juliana was missing or Ogerpon, he wasn't sure. He just knew he didn't like it.

He was done with being the crybaby, and was actually looking forward to the next day so he could return to the academy and get back to his training—he needed to get stronger. He would never let anyone look down on him like this again.

Kieran didn't need friends.

He didn't need the Ogre.

And he certainly didn't need—

"Juliana?!"

To think my first 3k+ fic of the year would end up being me basically gushing over Kieran from Teal Mask/Indigo Disk DLC. Not in my 2024 bingo card lemme tell you.

As many before me, I'm here to right the wrongs of GF who just took this boy's character and yeeted him out the window, cause honestly he's so sweet and gentle and psycho he deserves better than what he got, so that's what I'm giving him. Hopefully ya'll enjoy!

It wasn't fair. Life was never fair to him.

Kieran shoved his last pair of shorts into his navy blue backpack, finally completing the tedious task of packing to head back to the academy. When Ms. Briar told him and Carmine they had to return earlier than expected, in a way, he was kind of relieved.

He wanted to get away from this place. Away from the excruciating pain in his chest.

To think that after finally having the people of Kitakami accept Ogerpon just the way he always had, not only would he be forced to see her bond and form a deep connection with someone else—someone who wasn't him—but also see her be taken away.

Juliana’s smiling face instantly flashed across Kieran's mind, her cheeks pink as she proudly called him her friend when they were running around completing their silly assignment. He could feel his face starting to heat up at the memory, but immediately swatted it away as if it were an annoying Yanma in his head.

“I hate it here…” The raven mumbled as he was sprawled across his bed, covering his face with one hand and fisting his hair with the other.

It didn't take long for him to realize he was developing a small crush on his new Paldean friend. She was so strong, both as a trainer and in spirit, and it was something he greatly admired her for from the moment they first met, and only pushed him to try and become better himself. The fact that she always took him seriously without judgment and was willing to lend a hand in a situation she had no stakes in was just the icing on the cake.

Well, that and the fact that she looked absolutely adorable in the green Jinbei his grandma set her up with, but that was something he'd take with him to the grave.

And yet now, after having Ogerpon choose Juliana over him, those feelings had turned into something bittersweet. The fond memories that once brought butterflies to his stomach now made him question if she was secretly laughing behind his back the whole time.

With a deep sigh, Kieran turned towards his bedroom’s open window. It was already nighttime.

“She should be on the plane back home by now…” Kieran frowned at the thought. Because Juliana was missing or Ogerpon, he wasn't sure. He just knew he didn't like it. He scoffed. “Whatever! It's not like I'm ever gonna see them again!”

He was done with being the crybaby, and was actually looking forward to the next day so he could return to the academy and get back to his training—he needed to get stronger. He would never let anyone look down on him like this again.

Kieran didn't need friends.

He didn't need the Ogre.

And he certainly didn't need—

“I'm so sorry sweetie, but Kieran's not feeling very well right now. If you'd like, I can give it to him on your behalf.”

The voice of his grandma along with the mention of his name perked the boy's ears slightly. After slowly sitting back up on the bed, he made sure to pay closer attention. Who would be here at this time of night anyway?

To say the voice that replied shook him to his core would be an understatement.

“I see… To be honest, I was hoping I could give it to him myself.” Juliana's gentle voice cut through his wooden door. “Could I perhaps try and talk to him? I'm sorry if I'm intruding!”

Kieran jumped and made his way to the door, hand instinctively reaching for the handle to open it, but his mind quickly caught up with his body and stopped it before it did something he would regret. Instead, he placed one ear against the barrier, waiting for whatever came next as his fists began to tremble with rage.

What was she doing here? Was humiliating him not enough? Did she have to come and rub salt on the wound by letting his grandparents know of his failure too?

“Oh sweetheart…” Kieran's grandmother spoke in sympathy, and sounds of shuffling were heard from the tatami flooring. “I don't think—”

“Juliana?!” Carmine's voice was unmistakable, coming from the right side wall of his room. She was probably done packing too and had just wandered into the scene. “What are you still doing here?!”

More shuffling and a gasp, followed by a moment of silence. Then the Paldean gave her answer. “I just… I really need to talk to Kieran. He's still here, right?”

“Well, yeah, but we're both busy getting ready to head back to Blueberry Academy in the morning! You can't just waltz into people's homes like you own the place!” For the first time in a while, Kieran was glad his sister was easily fired up and spouted nonsense out of her mouth when people ticked her off. But then, her tone leveled down, almost in pity. “It's already dark outside. You should be heading back home. Did you book a later flight?”

Juliana replied in a somewhat nonchalant tone. “That doesn't matter. And I know it's not polite of me to just show up uninvited but this is important!”

“What do you mean it doesn't matter, you little pipsqueak?!” Carmine was getting fired up again. “I already told you that Kiki isn't answering to anyone so can you just—?”

“I need to apologize!”

The room fell silent, with only the sounds of rustling trees proving that time hadn't frozen in place. Kieran was holding his breath, not quite sure how to react to the whole situation. It wasn't until he heard the knock on the door that everything seemed to go back in motion.

“Kieran? It's me.” The girl spoke softly, almost shyly and not wanting to be heard. Was this really Juliana? Pride be damned, his curiosity was piqued.

Slowly, he turned the knob and pulled the door towards him, ready to see who greeted him on the other side.

As expected, there she was. The brunette had tied her hair into a side ponytail and was sporting her Jinbei once again, holding what seemed to be a basket as she shuffled from side to side. She jumped slightly, probably not expecting him to answer at all—honestly he didn't know why he did either. But then came the smile, lopsided and filled with nothing but warmth. His stomach was doing backflips again. “Hey…”

“Hey yourself.” He was surprised his voice came out calmer than he actually was.

“Can I come in? I've got something for you.” The girl gently lifted the basket to prove her point. Arceus, he was gonna regret this wasn't he?

“Sure.” Kieran stepped to the side and motioned for her to proceed. He could see both his sister and grandma giving him looks, but at the moment he could care less. His attention was elsewhere as he closed the door behind them.

Juliana stood in the middle of the room, giving it a good look with curious eyes. She cleared her throat as she motioned at the posters on the wall. “Nice decor...”

It was an awkward attempt at starting a conversation, Kieran being familiar out of personal experience. The room was pretty much bare bones now that all of his stuff was packed away, leaving only a few Ogre posters he'd collected from past festivals plastered on the walls. Now that he thought about it, he should probably take them down one of these days. “Thanks, I guess?”

He went to sit down on the bed again and gestured for Juliana to do the same. She complied, sitting on the very edge with the basket placed between them.

Silence consumed the air.

This was getting ridiculous.

Why was she acting so withdrawn all of a sudden? This was the same girl who waltzed into an unfamiliar village, fought possibly the closest thing to Legendary Pokémon—three of them, to be precise—, and even managed to gain the trust of one and catch it in the span of a few days.

Juliana was strong, friendly and confident. And yet here she was, not even knowing how to initiate eye contact.

For the first time in his life, it was up to Kieran to break the ice.

“Why are you still here? Didn't your classmates decide to head back early too?” That came out harsher than intended, but was still a legitimate question.

“Actually, Director Clavell gave me permission to stick around for a few extra days.” The brunette finally seemed to snap out of whatever weird trance she was in, since she finally turned to look at him. “On ‘important research’ pretenses. The faculty wants me to catch Kitakami Pokémon for our Pokédex.”

That made him snort. “Shouldn't they leave that kinda stuff to a teacher?”

Juliana shrugged with a hint of amusement in her eyes. “They say it's cause I'm a Paldea Champion, but I like to think it's an excuse to not send out anyone else. Not that I'm complaining.”

“Wowzers,” Kieran couldn't stop the small smile that spread across his face, “with all the adventuring you do, you should start charging for your services.”

“What are you talking about? This is already a business, my good sir!” Juliana straightened up and pretended to fix an imaginary tie as she extended her hand toward him. “An upfront payment of 5,000 LP is required. But I'm also open to compensation in the form of a s-a-n-d-w-h-i-c-h for my mode of transportation.”

Laughter erupted between the duo, and Kieran couldn't help but think that it just felt right. This was how things were supposed to be—two kids giggling about the silliest of things, with one of them having their heart going a thousand miles per hour just because he could see the girl he liked smile.

But of course, the negative thoughts always liked to butt their ugly head whenever they pleased. How she probably thought he was weak, being his friend out of pity, and coming to rub it all in his face in some way he still wasn't quite sure of.

Whatever she had in store for him, he'd rather get it over with sooner rather than later. “You said you wanted to give me something?” His tone shifted back to icy cold as his gaze lingered on the floor.

“Oh! Yeah, right…” Juliana fumbled with the basket in her hands, digging through its insides as she rambled. “I… I had a whole speech planned and everything but my mind is totally blank right now. Guess it's best if I just show you.”

After a minute of shuffling, the girl extended her palm forward, causing Kieran to look up at what she held.

It was… a Pokéball?

“You can come out now…” The girl smiled at the round object, and a flash enveloped the room in an instant. And after opening his eyes, Kieran could only stare with a slack jaw.

Ogerpon stood in front of them looking rather confused—probably since she was in an unfamiliar environment. After those starry eyes locked on Kieran though, the little Grass-Type grinned and ran over to him, immediately wrapping herself around his left leg with a hum.

Huh?

What was going on?

“W-What is this? Why is the Og- I mean! Why is Ogerpon here?” His gaze was fixated on the Pokémon before him. Was she… happy to see him? After what he'd done?

Juliana smiled, and then went to gently slide the Pokéball over into Kieran's trembling hands. “She wanted to meet her new partner as soon as possible.”

“N-New partner? What are you talking about? You're her trainer!” He went to give the ball back, but Juliana held his hands firmly in place.

“I was her trainer. But I'm giving her to you. I know you'd do a much better job than I ever could…” The smile never left her lips, yet despite all of that and the words coming out of her mouth, Kieran refused to believe any of it. It was too good to be true. Life was never good to him.

“I don't know what you people in Paldea think is funny, but this prank is definitely not!” He could feel a hot sting in his eyes but refused to cry. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction. “So if you just came over to make fun of me, get out!”

The brunette's smile faltered, causing her to immediately let go of his hand. “This isn't a prank. I would never joke about something like this—especially with you!”

Kieran could feel the world starting to spin as he began spitting acid without thinking. “Liar! You and Carmine are just the same—lying and then making fun of me behind my back! Well not anymore! Just leave me alone!”

“Po?”

A tiny voice cut through their discussion, and the duo had almost forgotten that Ogerpon was still there. She was giving Kieran a look that he just couldn't handle. He looked away, not wanting her to see him like this—like the true monster that he was. “Just get back in your ball and go with her…”

A few moments passed, but to his surprise, Ogerpon didn't make a move to leave. If anything, she hugged his leg even tighter, almost refusing to let go as she buried her face against his clothes. “Pon… Pon-Pon…”

The warmth the Pokémon provided was full of comfort and reassurance. He didn't know how to describe the feeling, but it was almost like… she understood what he was going through. Because of this, Kieran was reminded once more of what caused him to love the Ogre so much in the first place—he could relate to it. He knew what it was like to be an outcast, all alone in a world where no one bothered to get to know the real you, and then snarling your teeth at anyone you perceived as a threat in an attempt to protect yourself.

He didn't realize he was crying until he felt Juliana's thumb wiping the salty droplets away.

“I told her about everything you did.” The girl was looking at him with concern, nothing malicious hidden in her eyes. “How because of you the people of Kitakami now see her for who she really is. About how much you've looked up to her all your life, and that you only want what's best for her.”

Turning her attention to the Grass-Type Pokémon hugging his leg, she smiled softly while patting her head. “I also told her how flattered I was that she wanted me to be her partner, but I knew I didn't deserve it…”

“W-What do you mean?” Kieran found his voice once more despite the tears flowing across his cheeks. “She chose you for a reason. You're like, super strong and brave and kind. The total opposite of me…”

“That's just the thing,” the Paldean Champion looked him in the eyes with what could only be described as regret. “I'm only strong because I've trained with people who were kind enough to help me on my journey. I'm ‘brave’ whenever my friends are around cause I don't feel like I'm alone. But I'm definitely not nice…”

“Why would you say that?” Kieran couldn't wrap his head around that statement. How could she say that after everything she's done for him?

“Nice people don't hurt those that matter to them. And that's exactly what I did to you.” Juliana lowered her gaze, the guilt most likely turning into shame as she gripped the hem of her Jinbei. “I knew how much Ogerpon meant to you and I took her anyway. Carmine may have suggested it, but I should've known you wouldn't be okay with that. I was a bad friend… and I'm really sorry. That's why I wanna make things right.”

Kieran could only stare in disbelief, with his eyes shifting from Ogerpon to Juliana and vice versa. All this time he'd been wrongfully accusing the first person to ever treat him with kindness, and yet here she was, blaming herself for something that wasn't entirely her fault to begin with.

The raven had spent so long thinking that the world was against him that he never once considered that just maybe, there were good people aside from his family who wouldn't make him feel worthless.

Man, he was a total jerk, wasn't he?

Still, he had to give her a response, otherwise she'd keep beating herself over nothing, and that just wouldn't do. “It's not all your fault… I shouldn't have tried to claim Ogerpon as if she was an object. She doesn't belong to anyone, same as with any other Pokémon…”

That was one of the first things he learned about Pokémon when he was a child—they were creatures meant to be respected, and had feelings that made them wonderful companions both on the battlefield and in their daily life. His first Pokémon was a prime example of someone who stayed by his side through thick and thin no matter what he went through—Furret.

Earning a Pokémon’s trust is the first rule for any trainer, and Kieran had completely forgotten all about it over his obsession.

Juliana could probably see the conflict of emotions swirling in his eyes, since she scooted closer and tried giving him a sympathetic smile. “Guess that means we both messed up? If anything, I think the important thing we do is learn from our mistakes. At least that's what my mom always says.”

Learn from his mistakes… Yeah, that's something he could work on.

“Pon-yo!”

Ogerpon once again made herself known, this time finally untangling herself from Kieran's leg and spinning around in circles with a huge smile on her face. If Kieran had to guess, she must have sensed that the duo of trainers needed a little something to cheer them up.

Unfortunately, the tiny Grass-Type must have miscalculated her velocity, since it only took a couple of twirls for her to fall on her behind with dizziness clear in her eyes.

Kieran and Juliana couldn't hold the snickers that escaped their mouths at the display. This felt… nice.

Almost completely turning back into her regular self, the brunette started rummaging through her basket one more time as she spoke eagerly. “Now that we got that outta the way, I was hoping maybe we could spend one last day at the festival before you guys have to head back tomorrow?”

Juliana pulled out both a small money pouch, along with an Ogerpon mask that she gently tied to the side of her head. When Kieran wouldn't stop staring, she sheepishly looked at the ground with a blush staining her cheeks. “O-Oh! Um, I bought this at one of the stands earlier. Figured it might be cool if we matched, maybe?”

How could she manage to be so cute without even trying?

A smile spread across his face, and for the first time that day, he didn't feel like he had to hide what he was truly feeling. “I…I like that idea. T-The festival, that is! As for Ogerpon, the only way I'd feel comfortable with taking her from you is with a trade.” Kieran could see her about to protest, but was quick to counter. “Later, though! It's already dark so if we don't hurry we're gonna miss all the cool shows and stuff…”

Juliana blinked a few times, but eventually her golden smile lit up the room as she nodded. “That works for me!”

The brunette left the room to give Kieran space to change into his own Jinbei, and the overall positive atmosphere that came out of her must have been pretty obvious since Kieran could hear her getting interrogated by Carmine and his grandparents through the door.

Thankfully she seemed to brush it off as things just going well and slipped her way through with a quick comment of going to Kitakami Hall. He'd have to thank her later for sparing him the embarrassment.

And so, there he stood, staring at himself in the mirror while fixing his hair and mask properly.

He had room to grow, that was for certain.

He had a long way ahead of him when it came to learning about friendships and giving others the benefit of the doubt. One thing was for certain. Perhaps not everyone in the world was out to get him—and the energetic, sweet, bubbly girl waiting for him outside his home was proof of that.

And so, as he rummaged through the various Pokéballs in his backpack, a gentle thump resonated in his chest as he finally found his beloved Applin among them.

Who knew? If he was brave enough, he might be able to go through with this very special trade he had in mind. He could only hope his feelings would reach the Paldean over this seemingly innocent gesture.

But there was no need to rush it—they had the whole night ahead of them.

✦ 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐌𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬!✦

[crab-crab]

If there was one thing Wind hated more than being treated like a child, it was waiting.

Currently, he was sprawled out in the grass with his Wingull asleep beside him. Warriors had promised him that they would be able to spend time today since it was his brother's day off from being a gym leader, and yet the man was nowhere to be seen.

Wind had only just started his journey a few months ago. It’d taken ages to convince his grandmother that 14 was a perfectly fine age to go journeying in an entirely new region and that he and Wingull would be fine. He was right too! He’d even met people to journey with! Hyrule and Sky were both amazing traveling partners and Wind really wanted to introduce them to Warriors.

Wind was pulled from his musing by a head blocking his view of the sky. Hyrule stared down at him “Why are you still here? You said you were going to meet your brother at the Gym.” Wind groaned as he sat up while Hyrule moved away to the other side of their small camp they hadn’t packed up yet, his Zubat chattering from where it hid in Hyrule’s jacket. “He never showed up” Wind reached down to smooth back his partner's feathers and smiled when he received a sleepy chirp in response “I don’t think he remembered we had plans, he’s been busy with the gym way before me, Aryll, and Grandma finally moved here.” 

It had been a while since they’d actually seen each other now that Wind thought more about it. Wars had come and helped them all move into the new house but he’d had to fight tooth and nail with the league officials to get that much time off and this wouldn’t have been the first time that something popped up and Warriors had to leave plans.

Hyrule pulled Wind out of his thoughts when a wrapped sandwich was dropped onto his lap and some bowls with pokefood were placed beside Wingull, Zubat already perched on the edge of one of the bowls. “You could always go to the gym and look for him, Sky is still out doing the shopping and we can just carry his stuff with us or ask Fi to carry his pack” Wind looked back at Sky’s pokemon that he’d left to watch the camp, the Flygon sunbathing from beside the tents.

Wind hummed and that's where the conversation ended while they had lunch, Hyrule having stepped away to give Fi her food before settling back down beside Wind. 

—-------

Mauville city was bustling with post-lunch shopping and Wind and Hyrule decided to stay in the courtyard while figuring out what they would do. Fi had Sky’s pack secured on her back and both Wingull and Zubat had taken up spots on her blue antenna. Hyrule suggested going to the Pokemart to look for Sky when Wind turned at the sound of hurried steps. He gasped, bolting away from the mart and towards the two men walking toward him and Hyrule. Warriors laughed as Wind crashed into him and Wind was easily scooped up by his brother. He latched onto Warriors like a Slakoth, wrapping his arms and legs around his brother and hugging him as tightly as he could.

“Wars! You’re here!” Wind cheered and pulled back far enough to grin at his brother while Wars shifted him so that Wind could be held better. “I'm sorry I’m so late. The officials wanted me to open the gym today but it was all figured out with some help” Wind looked at Sky curiously when Wars nodded toward the other man. Sky waved the comment off with a smile and with his Yanma chirping at them “I didn’t do much, just mentioned that Warriors had an important meeting today and that surely the trainers would understand.” Wind whooped and clung back to his brother “Awesome! Thanks so much Sky!” He decided he’d think more about that later though, slipping a little note onto the thought of Sky can get league officials to listen to him before wiggling and hopping down from Wars hold to drag the elder off towards one of the plazas other exits with a quick “I’ll see you guys later!” thrown over his shoulder to Sky and Hyrule. 

With Warriors lightly chastising him, Wingull landing on his shoulder, and a big smile on his face Wind knew that’d he’d finally get to enjoy the time with his brother that he so desperately missed.

[shingansoul]

What Exactly Do You Do? (King Ohger fic)

This piece is a commission done for @muzzleofnemesis

Summary:

Gira isn't exactly "on the level" with what all the president of N'Kosopa does per say, but he trusts his friend's skills and judgements. Yanma on the other hand, well he has a reputation to uphold and if this red clad "little prince" doesn't even understand why, then what's the point? So he takes it upon himself to take a crack at explaining what his skillset is all about. Even if it doesn't actually sink in.

To read on AO3, follow the link below. To read here, continue past the read more!

In these new peace times between the kingdoms of the alliance, Gira was quick to make himself a common visitor among the other’s territories whenever he had any free time from Shuggodam and admittedly sometimes when he didn’t. He couldn't help himself, his travels even just at the beginning had shown him so much more than the commons and the orphanage of Shuggodam ever could. None alone getting to see not only a whole new expanded world before him, but getting to meet all different kinds of people and kingdoms across its expanse. From sweeping country sides and royal palaces, to the frigid cold and mountains, he loved all of it and was always fascinated by every new thing he got to see or learn with all the new people he had met along the way. However, it was the land that confused him most that ended up drawing his attention more often and his company even more so.

N’Kosopa as a place was something he was sure he’d never fully or truly “get”, as though so much of it’s advancements and technology had originally been in service of Shuggodam more than itself until more recent years, Gira hadn’t grown up in the aristocracy or the palace. He hadn’t been privy to the luxuries and conveniences that his kingdom’s power had claimed for them, so aside the few that wormed their way into the general populace market districts or for communication from the upper classes across the kingdom, so much of it was foreign in every definition of the word. He’d find himself startled by holograms lining the sidewalks and buildings, the constant blaring of sounds layering together from all the screens and announcements were often confusing and overwhelming for anyone not wearing headphones to single out the sounds directed to them specifically. The sprawling cityscape of the place that seemed never ending was always set aglow with lights painting the metal buildings in neons and deep blues, an ever present hum that came with electricity seemed to accent the rest of the soundscape of N’Kosopa.

It was hard to adjust to, and Gira doubted he would ever manage it truly, but he was so charmed by its people  and their passion that he would always make the effort to try and to come immerse himself in it regardless. Whether it was to play with the children, exchanging their games on their tablets and mini computers always on hand with the make-believe and performances he brought from Shuggodam, or to be lead around by some of the those that worked more closely with Yanma himself to keep the kingdom’s hundreds if not thousands of programs and systems working. They would, in the same breath of exasperated scolding for not understanding something, go out of their way to either do it for him or explain it in detail. Gira didn't always pick up what they were doing, but he was happy they made the effort all the same. They weren’t his people, but he never felt like he didn't belong around them either. After all, they were the nakama of someone he saw as nakama of his own, so it was all the same at the end of the day right?

Speaking of which, Yanma had been his specific reason for coming this time: the president had wanted to speak of starting to install and bring some of the communication systems from the upper classes of Shuggodam down to the rest of the kingdom. And so, he had been all but summoned to discuss it at his “palace.” They still called it the palace within the kingdom, but for all intensive purposes it was just a huge glorified office building with the “throne room” consisting of a very large area that was brightly lit and held both access to a landing deck of sorts for those coming in via the various hovercrafts and bikes or the other Shugods. God Tonbo had the room if desired to enter the sprawling area, but he seemed content to laze on the building’s outside or to do similar across the kingdom flitting from one place to the next with interest to N’Kosopa’s constant glow. It made Gira wonder if that might be part of the reason it was always like that, a small gesture to its Shugod, and the idea of it made him smile fondly.

Otherwise in the large space, aside some towers for displaying any broadcasts and announcements, it seemed to only comprise of the surprisingly modest desk set-up Yanma took to for his work as President. It was covered in various trinkets and wires spilling over everything across the desk and along the floor, A few bigger hologram monitors set up above the desk and his trademark silver smaller laptop at its center. No matter when or how often Gira visited, there were always littered bottles and food wrappers it seemed strewn about the floor and, once the two had gotten more comfortable, it was also mostly to the floor the two took to when in the “throne room” as well. The chair often left forgotten, they’d often sit or sprawl across the floor around or even outright underneath the desk, whatever odd positions they could find on the floor that seemed to be comfortable enough.

Shiokara always whined and nagged at him when he inevitably found them sprawled on the floor amongst trash, wires, and cd cases that he needed to do better for accommodating guests, especially another King, but Gira would always laugh and smile fondly once more as he watched the president sink into familiar bickering and shouting from his place beside him with his right-hand “tanuki.” To Gira, this was the most comfortable and warm place in all of N’Kosopa because it was Yanma’s personal space and as small as it was, it held so much personality from his dear nakama and it was here they allowed themselves to sink into their own rhythm and comfort with each other. Both full of fluffed up feathers and false pretense, but only shallowly so and they both could easily read the other to see through it anyway. When they were here, it was more out of decorum than trying to convince the other of something. It was silly. It was easy. It was…nice. 

This time, Gira found himself kneeling slightly behind Yanma to look over his shoulder, the other’s laptop set atop the seat of the chair like a table despite the actual desk less than feet away. Yanma was half sprawled on the floor, leaning his arm on a raised knee and the rest  extended out lazily as if to take as much open space as possible. With his propped hand though, he rapidly pulled up various schematics and programs bringing them from his small screen to be flicked up to the holo-monitors above for better viewing.

“Look here alright? So the guy before me here had basically copied our main system for Shuggodam’s palace and the aristocrat bastard’s part of the kingdom, Yeah? It isn’t much different than the older format of what we have set up here except that your royalty demanded it be more centralized so it could only be used by the king. So there’s only one IP since it’s only connected to one host location for the entire network. Everything else you all have is just portable screens that are wired to transmit the same signals and messages out from there, but they can’t be used to send feedback of any kind the other way. 

Because there’s pretty much only one way to send out though, it’ll be stupid easy to just reconfigure it into a proper network across your kingdom if we hook up the towers like we have every…let’s say a couple in every town. We can’t bring it to everyone’s homes at this point, but we can make hubs for each town so-”

Gira leaned forward, his chin all but on Yanma’s shoulder as he tried squinting at the laptop screen as if it would magically click something into place for him. Yanma craned his head to the side so he could side eye the red glad prince, and noticed an obviously confused scrunching of his brow and parting of lips as if Gira wanted to ask a question but didn't understand enough of the situation to actually formulate one. The president clicked his tongue, impatient letting his glance turn into a glare.

“So…you’re not going to hack into it.”

“Haa?? What do you….no, I don't have to do that. Since it only goes one way, it never set up any kind of firewall or even bothered encrypting the code that sends the broadcasts and information out. Not like anyone in your kingdom exactly knows anything about our tech, so he didn't even bother.”

“If you don’t have to hack it though, how are you supposed to set up more of that stuff then?”

“Oi.”

Gira hummed brightly in attention, letting his dark brown meet narrowed deep blue.

“Do you think everything with computers is hacking? Do you even know what hacking really is or did you just decide that’s all I know how to do?”

Gira titled his head to the side, blinking a few times in confusion as he took in the question. “Is it…not?”

Yanma groaned loudly, grabbing his laptop and letting himself flop onto his back next to the red clad man, resettling his laptop on his stomach as he craned his head up a bit to look at the screen. He opened his mouth to speak when he felt something warm and firm fill the space between the back of his head and the floor, and he chanced a glance up to see Gira now much closer and smiling down at him. He had shuffled forward and pressed his calf behind Yanma’s head so he could rest on something instead of holding his own head up it seemed, a gesture that DID NOT make Yanma’s brain stutter for a moment nor his stomach flip in the slightest.

Clicking his tongue again, he tore his gaze back to his laptop and opened a couple half finished programs, adding and altering codes he had picked up and put back down numerous times for something to do with his hands while he spoke more than anything actually necessary. It was scripts for some adjustments to some minor programs that ran some of the smaller machines he used in daily life, nothing too fancy at all but he never seemed to actually dedicate the time to truly being productive with them. With his hands busy though and something to focus on, he let himself fall back to the exasperation at hand with his guest-friend-now pillow.

“Gira, do you have any idea how shit even works-”

“Hey!”

“Shut up, I wasn’t done. Do you have any idea how shit even works here . In N’Kosopa.”

“Ah. Mm…”

“I don’t mean the people, I mean the actual place: the buildings, the vehicles, the computers, the lights, the holograms, all of it. Do you know how that works?”

Gira pouted a bit and shook his head.

“Code. Code that people, usually me, have to write. That code acts as instructions that we then apply to programs that people also have to make, usually me. The code tells the program how to run and what to do and how to interact with things, yeah?” he paused, waiting for a nod before going on. “Okay, so a program can have really simple or complicated instructions, but either way the program actually runs those instructions and usually it is what tells whatever thing it is applied to or in how to do its job to. So an alarm clock yeah? It doesn't know how to work, it's a clock. So we have a program that tells that clock how to work and when to go off. Everything here works off of that logic…basically anyway.”

He heard Gira hum in thought above him and he let out a breath in a bit of relief.

“So then, the network that connects everything together here so we can all talk to each other and makes all our shit works and all that: that’s run by tons and tons of all those programs and things working in tandem all the time. Hacking would be…” He paused for a moment, grumbling a bit to himself as he weighed out the worth of using proper terminology of incorrectly explaining it to get the gist across. The latter won and with a sigh. he picked back up with, “it’s like if someone either broke down and through those programs to change or add stuff of yours or they outright rewrote your programs to do different things than you wanted them to.”

“So…you can just change someone else’s that they made?”

Yanma let himself give a small huff and a smirk as he replied, “If you’re good at it.”

“Oh, so you’re the president because you’re the best at both things?”

“Eh…close enough, yeah. Doesn't matter what it is, I'm always on top so of course I clawed my way up to president. I'm the best at hacking, programming, and anything else I wanna do no problem. Good you finally got that then.” He crossed his arms on his chest, flipping his laptop closed as he moved them and he let himself close his eyes to avoid looking directly into eyes he knew were still staring down at him while still coming off casual.

“Then don’t bother explaining the stuff you’re going to put in Shuggodam, since I'm sure I won't exactly get it but I know it’ll be great if you’re doing it. If you’re on top with everything, then so will what you give us.”

Yanma’s eyes shot open, a light blush dusting his cheeks at the compliment as he now met Gira face to face, Gira’s being a bit too close for his composure at the moment. 

“D-don’t just-, are you a dumbass? I could be doing anything in there and you wouldn't even know it! You shouldn't be so-....” 

Yanma stopped himself, moving to place his laptop off him and to the side before twisting around and up onto his knees suddenly. Gira seemed to have anticipated the move and at the same time had been quick to slide back and get up on his feet again in a partial crouch. They both stared each other down, Gira with a playful grin of challenge and Yanma with growing hot irritation. In an instant, Gira jumped back to avoid Yanma all but pouncing forward to grab at him, and like that, began a chase around the throne room accompanied by angry shouting and loud excited laughter. Yanma’s much more clumsy almost clawing pace behind Gira’s practiced almost dance of a sprint around the room.

“YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME EXPLAIN THIS SHIT TO YOU!”

He was given a delighted laugh and amidst his shouting and their childish game of tag, Yanma found himself enjoying the moment despite himself. Gira could be an idiot about things sometimes, but the guy seemed to just draw you into his pace whether you wanted to or not. And well, Yanma wasn't quite opposed to it.

[sinnoh-student]

@meadow-moss: What kind of bug or grass types are in Sinnoh and Galar?

In Sinnoh, the Kricketune and Burmy lines come to mind when I think of Bug types! Yanma and Yanmega are also found in the Great Marsh near Pastoria City. I’ve seen plenty of Combee around Floaroma Town, but I haven’t been lucky (or unlucky, depending on what you think of them) enough to see any Vespiqueens there yet. The Combee are so sweet though! They’ll come right up and nuzzle into your hand, especially if they think you’ve got something sweet on hand.

As for Grass types in Sinnoh, one of my absolute favourites has to be the Turtwig line. I know that’s kind of cheating since they’re starter Pokémon, but I love them too much not to mention them! They have a bonsai garden on their backs as Torterra, how can you not love them? I’m also very fond of Budew and it’s evolutions, though I’ve learnt the hard way not to try and pet one (dual type Poison…).

In Galar, the first Bug types that come to mind are of course the iconic and adorable Snom and Frosmoth! Living in Circhester before I moved to Sinnoh has of course made me very familiar with them; we even used to get Snom infestations during the summer as they sought the shade in our houses! By contrast, the Sizzlipede line is one I’m equally fond of, as the baths in central Circester sometimes use them as water heating elements, and they seem to love it! Kabu the Fire type Gym leader also has a Centiskorch as his ace, and it’s always super impressive to see Gigantamax in gym battles.

Regarding Galar’s Grass types… who could forget the adorable Grass/Dragon Applin line? I’ve never met an Applin or a Flapple in real life, but I’ve had the pleasure of meeting an Appletun at a local bakery near my parents’ house in Circester. It helps the owner to bake! I also really like Eldegoss, despite the fact that they set off my allergies like crazy when they all go drifting through the sky.

[meandmyechoes]

Kingohger ep16

oooh we get a movie title: Adventure Heaven!

tonikaku it's raining and thundering here too so great atmo 👍

~09:30~

I have my handkerchief ready…

LMAO Bandai can you be more cash-thirsty just hitting us with ads right away

it's like a fanfic scene…

Rita who works hard and real-time this time!!

yes at least they get to keep the moffun evidence

poor moffun shouldn't be all alone i'll just keep it here instead… Rita genius!

yes i told you they'd bend the rules because they are the MOST familiar with rules

if Rita never takes a day off how will Moffunland episode go 😭😭

wait wait what about Racles's negotiations??

aiya snow spider so handsome

They do this every year…

yikes yabbari he's the consort

Wait her body disappeared… so spinoff route? Or he faked his death so she can retire…?

Defending Moru! Kakkoi

Yesss Moru is just the candidate and not officially appointed yet

They've been aide since 5????? Should I be happy it partly fits my adoption headcanon and maybe they had some loving time or be appalled that Gokkan has no law against child labor??

So bugs in Gokkan is not a first

Show-off Jeramie haha

why is Yanma so serious I'm scared

aww they unconsciously won't let go of moffun!

she said it! she said they are alike!!

no… the energy difference between the two of them remembering their first day as king… Himeno might hide behind a smile but at least it turns out fine for her in the long run and she had no shortage of people loving her… Rita never gets to talk about it…

and that Himeno is very much raised with her birthright as monarch but Rita... if she's only adopted at 5 as such a timid child, how aware/determined/confident are they at fulfilling the monarch's duty? Probaly still not much huh....

okay no big leap in ritahime only means MORE ritahime later. progress is progress :)

wait why is N'kosopa music on in the trial scene

"God's Fury is not something law can judge, so Karas sealed away the culprit with herself" ?!

what kind of wuxia arrangement is this the secret will of the last king

"I will go find Karas, until the end of the Earth. Because I love her." awww

WOAH KAKKOI KAKKOI KAKKOI

that moment when Ignorantia plays 👌👌

woah did NOT expect that scene is reversed instead of covering their eye they pushed the bangs away…

"I won't be wrong again" okay this is a bit underwhelming compared with the preview

They just, stood there and watch Jeremy goes

This compo is so frozen lol

wait a minute that's not the right angle??? Rita's room was on the opposite side?? / This angle should show Rita's room with the hallwaway in the background

okay so in the end they tell us nothing about Rita's gender or their odd eye or Moffun or how they met Morfonia okay hmmm

i'm glad at least Rita and Morfonia is not related and Morfonia is not the princess

Relieved that Rita didn't have to try their father year after year but if they have been an aide since 5, Shiron would still've been like a father figure to them? 🥺 Maybe he taught them about forensics or anatomy...

huh didn't expect 17 would be Yanma, is the new arc Aide's arc?

every shot of Yanma is this episode is very cool

The film was GIRA'S CORONATION??????

We have 5 eps until the film and Racles' spinoff would finish before that, so Racles going full villain next would fit into him being disposed or his character being retired (until later) for the schedule... though, is the film not another dream sequence?

Production notes:

Shiron is a doctor from Ishabana who fell in love with Karas and moved to Gokkan for her.

YES EXAMPLE!! YELLOW PURPLE GET MARRIED FOR YOUR COUNTRIES NOW

hmmm it used "Ishabana's noble doctor" (noble as in upper class, not as in personality) to describe Shiron, so there is some level of discrimination towards Gokkan people huh

they are family 😭😭 (at least Rita had 5 years of happy family time should i say thanks....)

absolutely NOT the focus here yet again I marvel at the cutting of Rita's coat

Predecessor's namesake: Karas de Haan

カラスアゲハ（烏揚羽、Papilio dehaanii）

(Dehaanii is in turn from Dutch zoologist Wilhem de Haan)

romanizing might be Clarice de Haan?

[ajaxdoesbattles]

About

•Ajax, they/he

•Professional battler

•Lover of bug types

•From Hoenn, currently live near Fourtree

My Mons

•Current Team:

-Lucario, Loki: Loki was my starter and first Pokémon. He was a riolu back then, a surprise baby from a ditto that was brought in by some rangers. I was already volunteering at the shelter at the time (I was 14) and just fell in love with him, and he was my favorite mon there. After a few weeks of taking care of him and reading up on Riolu, I ended up adopting him and he’s been my best friend ever since.

-Sylveon, Sam: Sam was one of the first Pokémon I caught myself, and he has been on my team ever since. He was the most food motivated eevee I’ve ever met, and that hasn’t changed. He his easily bribed with pokeblocks.

-Banette, Circus: Circus was another shelter mon, but I was already an adult when I got her. She was dumped as a Shuppet and was very unhappy about it, but seemed to get along with Sam. They hadn’t been able to find a forever trainer for her and I had trained a Shuppet in the past, although I ended up passing him to a ghost-type specialist as at the time I didn’t have the space for another team member. She came home with me and I’ve never regretted it.

-Roserade, Angel: Angel is another mon I caught as a young trainer, he was a Roselia at the time. He always needs to know what’s happening and going on, and training him to stay in his ball was a challenge.

-Bisharp, Hecate: I got Hecate from another trainer I met at my first showcase battle outside Hoenn. We both had a love of Bisharp/Pawniard, and it turned out she was from a family of pokemon breeders and her Bisharp had just had some eggs. I had experience with steel types from Loki and so she contacted me when the eggs hatched and were ready to go to homes, and thus I ended up with a tiny little Pawniard.

-Talonflame, Zephyr: I caught Zephyr in Kalos while there for an event, he was a very bold little fletchling who started divebombing me in an attempt to steal my sandwich. He didn’t back off even when I called out Circus to scare him off and I was worried what would happen to him if he did this to others, so I ended up catching him. He didn’t seem to mind. He just kept gunning for the sandwich as soon as I let him out.

•Other Mons:

-Zipper the Yanma: Zipper is a super shy little thing, ont of the first bugs I ever fostered from my local shelter and I just couldn’t send him back. He likes to cling to my back or ride on my head.

-Juniper the Whirlipede: Another rescue, we don’t know how she ended up in Hoenn, but suspect she was released by a trainer. She is incredibly sweet and I had wanted a Venipede since I was a small child so I knew a lot about them, so I took her in.

-Masquerade the Lampet: Masquerade was a Litwick when I caught him in Galar, I’d been wanting another ghost type for a while and Chandelure is a mon I knew would gel well with my battle style. He is training up to join my battle team as a rotating member.

-Gale the Swellow: Gale was a Taillow someone gifted to a friend of mine who loves birds, but they failed to actually talk to her about it first so they didn’t know that she is allergic to feathers… luckily I had the space to take Gale in. My friend still visits her regularly after taking plenty of allergy meds, and they occasionally compete in Cleverness Contests together.

-Sprite the Rhibombee: Sprite latched on to me as a Cutiefly when I was in Alola for a showcase. She refused to leave and wasn’t allowed on the plane home unless she was mine, so I caught her at the airport.

-Krios the Whimsicott: Krios blew into my yard as a Cottonee, and was somewhat battered from a big storm. I am authorized to rehab some types of Pokémon including Grass so I helped get her back to full heath and she has just stuck around since. I eventually ended up officially catching her because She seemed to have no interest in leaving.

-Goomber the Goomy: I acquired Goomber as an egg because I was hoping to raise a Goodra for my team. Though not a poison type, Goomy requires similar handling and as far as dragons go are some of the more laid back and “easier” ones to raise as someone who had not raised a dragon before. However, he has ended up being…. Not the brightest bulb in the box, so he has ended up more of a housemon than a battler.

-Gummi the Wurmple: Some of you may already know how I ended up with Gummi, as I chronicled Juniper’s temporary adoption of an army of Wurmples last year. Gummi is the only one who didn’t leave.

[bard-of-worlds]

Acullay this is a day late and it’s chapter 13, sorry all.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Bonnie laughed as she ran ahead towards the café, Serena following behind her as Lilith and Nimue followed behind them.  Lilith looked over her shoulder for a second before she followed her…friends into the café. If I was home I would be with my cousin or her trying to get away from that rich idiot waiting for a new mission or finding a Quest to do!  But here I’m just out with friends and I don’t have a care beyond hoping those Bug users don’t come and make trouble!  I have a sample to send home from Ash[At least I think it’s from Ash] so a few days off to fix my cover and then the worry.

 “Come on Lilly, you don’t want to be left behind do you?”  Nimue’s voice caused Lilith to look up and saw Nimue and Serena standing by the door waiting for her.   She shook her head and sent a smile towards them.

 “Coming girls, just give me a second.”  She called out as she moved towards them.  Above them a cloaked figure with two glowing eyes watched from on high.

 “Taicho, how should we precede from here?”  A voice behind it caused it to turn saw another cloaked figure.  The first only looked at it for a few seconds before it turned back towards the girls.

 “If he’s involved with one of those girls then when we take them we have to be fast.  I’ve already instructed two of ours to get all evidence of our origins out of that place.  He will most likely attack and destroy them utterly.   All that matters is that we receive the data on the facility holding our leaders. We watch and when there’s a single moment we strike, take the blond and the black back to our client, our target is one of those two.” The one in front said as he watched the girls sit at a table outside the café, each carrying a plate of food and a drink.

 “That match was amazing, I’ve watch a few Pokémon battles over the years, but it was so different, it was so intense watching a Gym Battle live!”  Nimue said as they sat down and put their food down.  Bonnie and Serena smiled at her and Lilith smiled as well, but inside she was worried.

 “Back home I’ve seen a few tournaments, but that was something.”  Lilith said as she smile masked her thoughts.  Nimue’s hiding what she was feeling earlier, good.  If I’m right about it then it might be like what’s wrong with Lady Delia. But if they are responsible, how did she get away from them.

 “So you said you went on your journey because of your teacher, right Lilith? And where’s home?” Serena’s question caused her to look up and saw the question on Serena’s face.  Lilith smirked and just sipped her drink

 “Yeah, she taught me everything I know about training and living, but about where I’m from….As teacher would say.  ‘A Secret makes a Woman A Woman’.”  Lilith said as she grinned at her friends, to Bonnie puffing up her checks and the others started to chuckle.

 “You’ll tell us eventual through, right?”  Serna said as she ate her food.

 “Maybe, probably.  But like I said “A Secret makes a Woman….’” Lilith began before Nimue interrupted her

 “…A Woman’, right? Man, she sounds like she has that woman of mystery thing going for her, hu?”  Nimue said as she leaned back.

 “She kinda does, she has this old group and she totally loves this old friend but she can’t even see it.  And she’s very dependable, she always has been.” Lilith said with a smile.

 “So there’s this boutique that has a dress that I think you’ll love Serena, and it’s near that fabric store that has what I need.”  Niumue said as they finished their food.

 “A dress?”  Serena said only to start to blush when she saw the look of mischief in Lilith’s eyes.

 “Yeah, I think Ash would love to see you in it.”  Lilith said as she smirked, giggling with the others when Serena started to blush.  Then Serena grinned at Lilith and a small grin formed on her face.

 “What about you Lilly, didn’t you see anything that Clemont might like to see you in?”  Serena asked and started to laugh when Lilith turned to the side.

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Lilith said as the others started to laugh while Bonnie grinned.

 Lilith frowned as she walked behind Bonnie and Serena as they talked with Nimue who was leading them towards the fabric store she wanted to shop at.  Did she care about Clemont like that?  She had only known him for a few days so why was she…  Lilith stopped and her eyes went wide, Aura Link.  Could it be possible, I mean could it really be possible that he’s mine?  Lilith shook her head and walked after her friends.  Serena looked over her shoulder and started to walk a bit slower until Lilith had caught up to her.

 “You okay Lilly; I was just teasing you back there.”  Lilith looked up at Serena and smiled at her when she noticed Serena’s look.

 “Yeah, sorry but have you ever met someone that it seems like you’ve always known them?”  Lilith said, but after the words left her mouth she said them.  Stupid, stupid, stupid!  I don’t want to think about what the seal’s doing to her because it’s blocking Ash!  

 “Ash, I felt like that when I meet Ash.  Mom had moved to Pallet town because some rabid fan of hers had raided our garbage and he was the first person to treat me like a normal person in a while.  Pallet Town was great!  Pr. Oak kept the paparazzi away from town and we had teleported to move so we were safe from that, by the time we moved to Kalos they still hadn’t figured out where we moved.  I was so nervous that mom sent me to a summer camp the Professor was running to meet the locals and that’s when I meet him.  Of course the next winter was the Siege and then we moved again when the Racing Circuit died.”  Serena said as she shook her head as she started to look sad.

 Lilith shook her head as she mentally started to pull her hair. Fuck!  She did meet Ash and might have sparked a link then, but if she left her Aura’s range then that might explain how she’s sane!  When I find out who did it to the prince I’m gonna kick ‘em down under! Lilith sighed and stopped when she noticed something at the edge of her sight, a flash of green that caused her to walk faster, grabbing Serena’s hand and pulling her along moving towards Bonnie and Nimue.

 “Lilly, what’s wrong? Is it them?”  Serena asked as she looked around trying to find what had set Lilly off.

 “Act natural.  You have your naginata, right?  I’m thinking we might need it.  Why did I decide to have my team be given a full checkup today of all days?”  Lilith moaned as she smiled as they caught up to the other two.  Serena merely looked at her friend as she started to get scared.

 “So there you two are! Anyway the shop I need to go to is up ahead, where’s….” Nimue trailed off as she saw Lilith’s eyes.

 “Nimue, Bonnie act whatever you two do just act natural.  Can that horn head of yours carry you, Bonnie and Serena away from here if we get to a river?”  Lilith asked as soon as Nimue stopped speaking, her question causing Nimue to look at her and caused Nimue’s eyes to grow hard.  Bonnie meanwhile looked at Serena and started to grow worried as she saw the look of fear in Serena’s eyes.

 “One other person and maybe Bonnie, and that’s a maybe.  I’ve never trained her to carry a heavy load, and I usually travel by holding onto a tow cable from a ring on a harness.  And I think there’s a bridge over a river to the right, it comes out near the center.” Nimue said with a smile on her face.  

 “Nimue get Bonnie to the Pokémon Center, Lilly and I’ll make do and hold them off.  Just get help if we can’t get away.”  Serena said with a smile on her face.

 “Serena…”  Bonnie began before Lilith put her hand on Bonnie’s shoulder and squeezed it.

 “We’ll be fine Bonnie, we just have to make sure you’re okay.  So the fabric store is ahead of us, over that bridge there right?” Lilith said with a tone that seemed absent minded as the group moved on.

 “Yeah, sorry about going this way but there’s supposed to be a sale and I need a bit of fabric for a new costume.  And it’s better to shop with people I can talk about it with.”  Nimue finished loudly as she led them towards a bridge.  Lilith eyes went hard when she saw a few people wearing green jackets loitering around the opposite of the bridge.  A quick glance around the area showed that that the a path between the buildings would lead away from the bridge and she spotted a few people in green jackets following them.

 “When I say now jump into the river and get Bonnie away from here, Serena cover our back and I’ll give you cover.  Just get her to safety.  Serena we’ll head to the right through the back allies to get away” Lilith said softly as she smiled as they neared the bridge.

 “NOW, RUN!”  Lilith said as she drew her whip as she pushed Bonnie towards the river. She ran towards the bridges as the people in the green jackets looked towards them and started to react.  Some of them drew out clubs or hammers and started to run at them, a couple of them hanged back and released a couple of Yanmas and a Beedrill that started to fire Silver Wind attacks at Nimue as she released her Samurott in the river, diving in after Bonnie who jumped ahead of her.  Serena turned backwards and drew her spear and shot at the people behind them as she released her Fennekin.

 “Fennekin, use Ember at any Bug type you can get a bead on!”  At Serena’s command her Fennekin started to fire Ember at any of the Bug Types in its range as Lilith’s whip started to strike at anyone who tried to get over the bridge while Nimue and Bonnie jumped into the river, going under.

 “Beedrill, Poison Sting on those bitches in the water!”  Nimue had just swum up from under water when she ducked back down to dodge the white needles.  She saw Bonnie nearby trying to move towards Samurott and swam to her, grabbing her in her arms and swimming towards her Pokémon.  A cry caused her to look up and saw Lilith’s whip hit the Beedrill a second before an Ember from Fennekin hit it, causing it to jolt backwards.  Nimue swam to her Pokémon, putting Bonnie between her and it as grabbed onto the spikes on its helmet and pushed her and Bonnie’s body close to Samurott’s.

 “Samurott get us out of here!  Stay down Bonnie, we’ll be safe soon.”  Nimue said as Samurott speed through the water, Nimue hanging onto Bonnie as they speed away, noting that Bonnie was barely moving.  The impact must have shocked her or she went in head first, hold on kid just hold on.

 Lilith smirked when she saw Nimue’s Samurott speed into the distance and her whip hit a ganger member above his eyes while Serena was holding her own against one wielding a large hammer.  She moved towards her and slashed with her whip, scoring a hit on the ganger’s head, running past him as she did.

 “Come on, we gotta move!” Lilith called as she reached Serena who was looking at the gangers on the other side of the bridge.

 “Hold on, Fennekin Ember on the bridge!  Full burn!” Serena called out

 “Fennekin!”  Her Pokémon cried out as it breathed fire at the bridge, which swiftly caught fire as the gangers drew back, some of them calling to their Pokémon to fight the flames as the two girls ran off, Serena recalling her Pokémon as she did.

 “You are evil girl!” Lilith said with a laugh as they ran through the alley.  Serena merely giggled as she ran after Lililth, a smirk on her face.

 “As my mother once told me, if you’re running from someone, make it hard for them to follow.” Serena said. Before they could move out of sight multiple glass balls hit the ground around them and they exploded into green dust that enveloped the girls.  As soon as it hit them Lilith and Serena collapsed to the ground and two figures in dark cloaks landed around them as the dust dissipated.  Lilith tried to get up as she tried to fight the spores and was able to see the

 “Good advice, here’s another.  When hunting thinking prey, give them a way out so they run into your trap.”  The figure in front said as Lilith’s vision grew dark as she lost consciousness, the last thing she saw was a pair of glowing eyes.

  Nimue panted as Samurott staggered out of the river dragging her and Bonnie out of the river.  She snarled silently as her thoughts raced.  We got away but the others, they might not have.  I gotta keep Bonnie’s spirits up until we reach the Center and get help.

 “Told ya we’d  be safe Bonnie.  Bonnie?  Bonnie!” Niumue cried as she turned Bonnie around and noticed a white needle piercing Bonnie’s right shoulder. Looking at her Nimue saw that Bonnie was panting and seemed to be barely consciousness. Fuck!  That Poison Needle attack must have hit her!  No wonder she didn’t move, and here I thought she was shocked!  Think Nim, think!  The Center, their the people who deal with Pokémon related injuries out here and I don’t know where the hospital is. Nimue bent down and picked Bonnie up, running towards the Center with her Water type guarding them.

   Clemont looked up as Ash sat down at the table he had claimed to do some repair work on his backpack, he had put off that talk Ash wanted as long as he was able to from the look on Ash’s face as he walked towards the table, Pikachu on his shoulder.

 “So you want to have a talk with me?”  Clemont asked as he polished some of his tools.  Ash stayed silent for a few seconds as he looked around and Clemont noticed that they were far enough away from others that they wouldn’t be overheard.

 “More like I wanted to ….” Ash began before Nimue’s voice echoed from the front of the Center.

 “Help! She need some Help!” Clemont looked towards the door in confusion.  The girls should be shopping but someone needs help…  Bonnie! Lilly!  Clemont shoot to his feet and ran towards the front, Ash following behind him as Pikachu raced ahead of them.

 Clemont looked and saw Bonnie being loaded onto a stretcher as Nimue panted as her Samurott stood nearby, seeming to watch everyone moving closer.  Clemont looked and started to grow pale when he realized that she was alone.

 “Nimue, what happened to Bonnie?  Where are Serena and Lilly?!”  He demanded as soon as he and Ash reached her.  Nimue looked soaked with water, dripping with water and a glance as Nurse Joy wheeled Bonnie away showed she was wet to.  Nimue looked grim as she started to speak.

 “Lilly noticed something was following us and had me lead us towards a river to get Bonnie out of there. Serena and Lilly stayed behind to cover us as I got Bonnie out of there, but one of the people who attacked us had a Beedrill it shot Poison Sting at us, one shot hit Bonnie and she’s been unresponsive since.  I realized what had happened and I got her here, since the Center was the only place I knew of to handle Pokémon related injuries….” She trailed off as she saw the look on Ash’s face as he clenched his fists.

 “Was it the people who attacked you before, the so called Buzz Lords.”  Ash demanded and looked around when as soon as he said their names the people who had been milling around went quit and most of them started to leave the area.  Ash watched them leave and just shook his head with a scowl.

 “I’ve dealt with gangs with reputations before but this is something else, anything from the native?” Ash asked as he turned his head to look at Clemont.  Clemont looked conflicted for a few minutes as he looked where Bonnie had gone before he shook his head with a scowl as he seemed to struggle with something before he spoke.

 “My home, Lumiose City, is the place in Kalos that has melded the most with other regions so we’re a little different culturally from other parts of Kalos.  I was born there and my dad told me to look out for myself when I went to another city, not to let anyone walk over me.  I didn’t know what he meant until I noticed that some students let others go ahead of them, take first pick and other things.  I later learned that those people were descended from old nobility; a lot of places treat people like that based on how their ancestors were ruled.  I’m guessing the leader is descended from whoever used to rule this city state during the war.”  Clemont said as Ash just looked at him, while Nimue merely shook her own head as she remembered her home and its own leaders.  Ash turned and he put down his backpack and took his hat off and put it inside his bag, pulling out a battered looking black cloak that he threw over his body, raising the hood until a shadow covered his face, he then put his shield on his arm and put his sword into a scabbard he put over his right shoulder. He looked at the others and nodded to himself.  It’s time to show the Kalos underworld that the Battler is here.  That might bring a few bounty hunters after me and a few old foes, but I don’t leave any of my friends behind, ever.

 “I’m going to try and find the others, and no Clemont you can’t come.  I can move unseen a lot easier alone.  Niumue where did you guys go after you left the gym?”  Ash said as Pikachu jumped onto Ash’s shoulder. Clemont spluttered for a few seconds before he steeled his eyes.

 “Good luck Ash.  I’ll look after my sister, once I’m sure she’ll be okay I’ll wait for you, if you’re not back in two hours I’m going to Officer Jenny!”  Clemont declared.   Ash merely nodded and looked at Nimue.

 “Good, now Nimue, where were you when you were attacked?”  Ash asked as Nimue looked at him. For a few seconds she saw some kind of form behind Ash, chains all over it.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  A grey pokemon with four arms in armor with four gauntlets with gems glowing red led four Machoke clad in armor with swords and shields as they moved through the woods watching for anything that might threaten their charge, a Lucario with a collar with a diamond on the front that glowed purple.  They were sent out by their leaders to meet the Poison pack and give them the missive.  As they moved through the forest, animals and a few Pokemon would move out of their way, dashing for cover, hiding from the party as they moved, hoping that the Fighting Types were there to hunt for food.  The Lucario dashed after the five Pokemon in front of it as its thoughts moved back towards the audience it had with its rulers before it left.  It had to fulfill its master’s orders in the way they wanted.  Lucario was so deep in thought it walked right into an arm barring its path.  It looked up at the Machamp that was leading to see it gestured ahead.

 “Machamp champ champ.”   At the words that the Machamp spoke the Lucario looked forward and saw that they had reached their destination, fence broking the way, a swamp just beyond it.  Farther in the swamp was an large island at the center that had been a dumping ground for chemical waste until the pack they were looking for had moved in and drive off enough humans that they had set trainers on them.  A few Grimers spawning from a pool had caused the trainers to fall back and two Ranger had been called in and been driven off had but after they had found the dump site and that had caused the humans set up a fence a few meters. Lucario looked at the fence and noticed signs on the fence; humans often put them on places where they didn’t want others of their kind to travel through, nodding as its thoughts ran back to its orders. If the pack was strong enough to cause the humans to do this then my lord and lady were right.  Their strength must either be theirs or dealt with.

 “Champ, Machamp!”  The Machamp’s sharp order caused Lucario to look up and Lucario shook its head as two of the Machokes to move forwards and destroy a section of the fence, creating a path forward.  Lucario nodded to Machamp and the Machamp gestured and the party move into the swamp.  The four Machoks went first, Lucario following and Machamp bringing up the rear. As the party moved along the sides of the swamp they never noticed what looked like a log floating in the much seemed to stare at them before it went under the water and shot away from them. Lucario stopped and looked out over the swamp before it moved on shaking its head, not noticing the ripples where the log had been.

 Lucario swatted a fly or a mosquito away from it as the group moved through the swamp.  They had been lucky enough to have found a raised path leading to smaller islands or abandoned structures that let them move towards their objective and so far they had been able to make good time.  If Lucario had to guess they might run into territory markers in the next few minutes.   It reached the end of the pathway they were on and walked on the deck of a platform that had railings at the edges overlooking the water.  From the broken chairs, tables and abandoned building the humans had made this for a reason and as the four Machokes started to secure the site Lucario couldn’t see Machamp and frowned, turning around it finally saw Machamp farther back on the path looking into the water with a frown on its face.

 “Cario Luc!”  Lucario cried out.  The four Machokes stopped and looked back and saw the Machamp standing there. Lucario started to get mad as it was ignored, it was about to walkover when the Machamp shot it a look and gestured to the others to get ready to fight, causing Lucario to look at the water and the Machokes to start to move in front of Lucario as Machamp picked up a piece of rubble from the path and threw it at a floating log with enough force to cause the part of the log it hit to break off.  Machamp stared as the log bobbed in the water and looked at the chunk torn from the log before it turned and moved.  As it nodded at the others Lucario fell into step with it as the Machokes moved ahead of the.

 “Lucario?”  Lucario questioned in a low voice as they moved.

 “Champ, Machamp.”  The answer Lucario received caused it to look at the water along the path and frown.  A log had surfaced and seemed to be following them.  Lucario looked over its shoulder and noticed other logs in the water that seemed to be moving parallel to the group and it felt its heart start to beat, were they Chimera?  It noticed that the Machamp had coughed and made a few quick signs with its hands that caused each of the Machokes to nod and start to move towards the structure’s railing.  One of them pointed its sword at one of the logs and as it started to glow blue a pink tentacle shot towards the Machoke and wrapped around its arm!  As the tentacle started to pull the Machoke towards the water one of the other Machokes grabbed the tangled Machoke around its waist and pulled as another of their comrades sliced through the tentacle with its sword.  Lucario tried to move forward when suddenly Machamp grabbed it and threw it away from the railings as the Machokes started to move away from the railings fast as eight tentacles shot at the railings and suddenly the sound of things exiting the water fast sounded before five shapes hit the floor of the structure.

 The creatures were reptilian with four shot limbs, their bodies ten feet long and low to the ground with two long tentacles just behind their front legs.  Their faces had three eyes on the top of a long snout that was all mouth.  Lucario noise twitched as the creatures smell reached it, they were diseased, and these weren’t Chimera and that maybe it all the more deadly.

 “Machamp!  Mac Champ Champ!”  Machamp ordered as the creatures{[Mutagator]} started to move towards them, their tentacles striking the ground as they moved towards them. The Machokes held their shields up. As Lucario watched the Mutagator’s started to cry and move closer to give their tentacles a closer target. As its soldiers fought back the Machamp commander looked around, trying to find a way out of this.  Lucario meanwhile had jumped onto the roof of the building on the platform and noticed three more ‘logs’ moving towards them and noticed a larger wake moving in the water behind them.  Turning around trying to find anything they could use to turn the tide Lucario saw a raised path that led deeper into the swamp away from the beasts, turning it saw the Machokes slash at the tentacles as the Mutagator moved closer and made a choice.

 “Lucario!  Cario Lucario!”  It called down to the Machamp and when it looked up Lucario pointed beyond the four Mutagator, conveying that soon their enemies would have help and something even bigger was following them then Lucario pointed at the path behind the structure.  Machamp merely gritted its teeth as it watched two of the Machokes kill one of the Mutagator and move onto the others.  A yelp caused Lucario to look and stare as it saw one of the Mutagator in midair, three black tentacles around its body that was pulled towards the gapping mouth of a giant fish with a snakelike lower body and a crazed look in its eyes.  Lucario noted a smaller wake speeding off into the swamp and cursed as black tentacles started to grab the railing.

 “MACHAMP, MACHAMP!” Machamp screamed as it gestured to the Machokes to follow it as Lucario jumped form the building onto the pathway. As the other three Mutagators tried to follow the Pokémon the building started to give way.  As the structure started to come apart tentacles grabbed The Machokes jumped onto the path as the structure gave way, Machamp brought its hands into a sphere and started to form an energy sphere that grew as it moved its hands apart while Lucario cupped its hands and the gem on its collar started to glow as a purple energy sphere formed.  As the fish creature finished eating the Mutagators and looked towards the group Machamp fired the sphere as Lucario shot the purple sphere at the water around the creature, freezing it in place before the blast from Machamp hit the creature and blew it apart, chunks of it raining around the frozen water.  Lucario watched as wakes in the water speed away from them and turned to the Machokes only to notice that they had gone still.  Lucario turned and saw members of the pack they had been sent to find looking at them, four purple snake Pokémon behind two larger ones with hoods. Lucario looked at them and clasped its hands together and bowed to them.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  Deadeye grinned as it watched its seven followers as it led them towards the forest.  Since it had secretly gained the power from that creature that held that sharp thing it had led five of its siblings on hunts and it had decided to attack the forest. No other groups had returned from that the area from what it had heard from the others and with the addition of the one with the oversized arm[ Brute] and the clawed one [Clawer] it decided that it could try that place.  Deadeye grunted as the other five started to slow down but Brute and Clawer kept pace with Deadeye, causing Deadeye to grin as it saw that it was right to ‘recruit’ those two.  As they passed the outlining trees Deadeye grinned as it saw deer and rabbits with more of the bug creatures here and there in a clearing with a small pond. Deadeye looked at its followers and gestured for them to take up positions in the shadows around the clearing one and waiting for one of the animals to move closer before it jumped onto the back of a deer and broke its neck with a savage crack.  The noise caused the others to look at Deadeye getting off the dead animal and everything in the clearing bolted, two of the deer running into four of the Goblins while Clawer shot from a tree it had climbed at a purple Bug creature with wings and brought it down and slashed at into its head. Two green Bugs with bright red antenna tried to get away when they ran into Brute with the last Goblin grabbing and killing them.  Deadeye looked towards the pond and upon noticing a fish jumping at an insect it grinned and walked towards the pond while dragging its kill with the others following, none of them noticing an insectoid creature with a light purple body flying away from the clearing with tears in its eyes.

 The Venomoth flew through the forest, dodging trees as it tried to reach its leaders as fast as it could. The Goblins had struck without warring and it had to tell its leader what had happened.  It finally reached its destination, a cave set against a two story hill that had two fang-like rocks in front of the mouth. Around the cave mouth six Pinsir stood guard as a steady stream of red dragonfly Pokémon carrying either fruit or fish wrapped in silk.  One of the Pinsir noticed Venomoth flying towards the group and motioned to its fellows.

 “Pinsir!”  The Pinsir that noticed cried as it brought one of its hands up facing the Venomoth. Venomoth hovered and Pinsir was taking aback by the way it looked at it.

 “Venomoth!  Venom moth venom!”  Venomoth chatted at the Pinsir who looked at each other before one of them nodded at the Bug-type and led it into the cave.  As they moved deeper into the cave they passed other Pokémon moving about. The two of them finally reached an opening to an inner chamber guarded by three ape-like Pokémon with bodies of red, blue and green.  The Pinsir merely nodded and the two were let in.  They entered a large chamber with a rock pillar reaching the ceiling, two tiny white Pokémon holding onto two flowers, one blue the other black as the flowers move about the a space in front of a tall feminine Pokémon with a white face, a green lower body resembles a mermaid's tail with two large leaves blooming on either side of the flukes and a large bouquet of ornate blue flowers around its head was watching as the two white Pokémon spared with each other. Pinsir and Venomoth stayed where they were until the feminine Pokémon called a halt to the sparing and gestured for them to come to it.  Pinsir walked forward and went to a knee while Venomoth hovered next to Pinsir and bowed its head.  The two tiny Pokémon moved to hover by the larger feminine Pokémon as she regarded the two Bug Types.

 “Florges, florges flor?”  Florges asked as it noticed at Venomoth had been crying tears.  Venomoth hovered before it started to speak.

 “Venomoth, venom moth venom venom.” Venomoth said as it lowered its head. Florges looked down at the Buy type before a hard look came to her face.   Chimera attacked her domain?!  That Mountain Ogre dared to send a hunting group at her lands?!  She turned towards the Pinsir kneeling before her and barked a command at it.  As it looked up she began to tell it what to do.

 Deadeye laughed as he looked over just what he had gathered, three horned animals, two of the bug creatures and from the pond a large fish creature with a horn and a white water creature.  It would have to come back with a larger group, this place had such food to gather and that wasn’t even taking in to account the humans or plants they could gather, for once its sire might have given good advice.  A rustling in the bushes at the edge of its vision brought a smile to its face, more food.  Brute and Clawer moved towards the bushes with grins on their faces when suddenly a rain of white needles shot at them at them from above!   Deadeye stood as it watched 10 Pinsir charge into the clearing and noticed at least 20 Beedrills hovering behind trees farther back.

 “Ragil!”  Deadeye barked to the other five as it ran towards Brute and Clawer.  The other five started to grab what they could of their kills and ran as Deadeye looked at the creatures before it.  It noticed that that Clawer looked like it had been poisoned, and with the way it was backing away Brute was stunned by the how they were attacked so fast, perhaps it could use that to gain their loyalty.

 Deadeye charged towards the Pinsir and picked up a stray branch and started swinging at the Pinisr when it passed Brute and Clawer.  It roared at the two and Brute snapped back to its senses and grabbed Clawer and ran in a different direction then the others had run, perfect.  Deadeye looked at the Pinsir in front and let the organs in its arms release the electricity as they charged at each other.  Pinsir’s skin flashed a white pulse and raised its right arm and broke the branch as it struck Pinsir’s arm.  Pinsir’s arms glowed white and it struck Deadeye quickly muiltiple times, pushing back Deadeye to the edge of the clearing.  Deadeye looked up and saw that the others in its party had retreated with half the kills, and the Beedrill had moved above the rest and knew it had to leave if it wanted to live, but it looked at the Pinsir and sniffed deeply, it would remember the scent of this one, and Deadeye would have revenge.  It punched a tree to the left and ran backwards as the tree fell, cutting off the Pinsir from following as it ran after Brute and Clawer, it had to find them, there was a way to get them under its banner and against their sire.

 Pinsir looked at the fallen tree and jumped on it and saw Deadeye moving too fast for them to catch it and shook its head.  They had thrown back the Chimera but hadn’t killed any of them, they might be back.  From where it stood Pinsir gestured toward the remaining kills and pointed towards the branches on the ground, they would burn the remains and hopefully the Chimera wouldn’t be back for a while.

 Florges sat at the mouth of the cave and worried for the future.  Her daughters had finished the Final Battle and soon one of them would be leaving her. This forest had gone through so many changes, ever since that Ogre in the mountains and those strange humans had started to prowl around the outskirts of the forest she had known sooner or later something would have to give and the balance would topple, but that didn’t account for those two and their forces.  They would have to get stronger and gather the other groups in the forest to survive if the Ogre was some sending its forces out again, if what had happened when she was younger was happening again then the only way for them to survive would be to join together, only then would they be able to defend their home.  She looked up when she heard noises and saw the party she had sent and was startled when she saw the Pinsir leader come back with a proud look on its face and smiled when it nodded at her, Florges nodded back, perhaps they would survive here after all.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  Lucario walked after the Poison Pokémon as they led them through the swamp. The presence of those…diseased things were a good omen, it could use that as a plus to get them to follow its leaders, that would please its masters.  As they moved through the swamp they started to pass dead trees and water that had started to gain a dead smell.  At the edge of its vision Lucario saw what looked like amorphous purple blobs moving, if this was their territory then the offer to serve might be better received then it thought when it received its assignment.  Lucario looked up when he heard mutterings that didn’t sound like the snake like Pokémon and saw more of the snakes and floating purple balls with faces and muiltiple geyser-like protrusions while larger spheres with identical features pulse a smaller sphere with eyes and a mouth attached to the larger sphere connected by a thin tube floated here and there over the water, some watching the party others looking out into the swamp.  At the end of the path they had followed was the island they had been looking for, and more of the spheres and snakes Pokémon were watching the party approach Machamp fought to keep its arms down as it noticed the kill zone they had walked into, why did that stupid Lucario agree to come and meet the pack’s leaders?!  This was just asking to be killed and eaten; giving the swamp’s condition they had to represent a good meal.

 “ARBOK!”  A cry caused Machamp to look ahead and this caused it to signal to the others to silently get ready; here were the pack’s leaders.  Two powerful looking Pokémon, an Arbok and a Wheezing stood on a hill before them.  Machamp looked and saw other Arboks and Wheezings standing or herding younger looking Ekans and Koffings away as the two leaders watched Lucario walk forwards and bow to them.

 “Lucario, Lucario cario.”  Lucario greeted the two Pokémon.  They looked at the party before them and Wheezing tilted forward.

 “Wheezing wheeze zing?”  Wheezing questioned as the Pokémon around them started to conversion to themselves. Lucario hid a smile as it heard the mutterings around it, there was no way that it could fail.

  Lucario, the Machokes and Machamp walked out of the hole they had made earlier and Lucario just starred in shock, so out of it that Machamp had to lead it by holding one of its paws.  The pack was leaving, the territory was so dead that the pack had voted to move on and split up into family lines to survive.  They had actually come when they were splitting and the leaders, the ones the Lady wanted most of all were going to find their old trainers, a few migrates said they saw two humans who looked like them.  And worst of all none of the smaller packs had opted to journey back to follow the Lord and Lady, and Lucario worried what that would mean to its masters.  Lucario looked around, hoping to find a chance to slip away, it had seen what happened to those who failed the masters for all they acted where others could see them, it didn’t want to be the next one to ‘leave in shame’, let the others take the blame.  Then all he had to do was out run the Slayers, maybe find a trainer.

 “Arbok.”  The voice caused Lucario to look up and saw an Arbok lead three other Arbok and ten Ekans after it towards them.  Once it reached them they bowed deeply to Lucario who fought back tears, it seemed on family line had decided to throw in with Lucario’s masters.  Now all it had to do was get them back to base and mission accomplished, nothing could go wrong now!

  Protector smiled as it sat up the tree and watched as the others gathered Berries and fish from around the river bed.  It watched with pride as Gazer showed Weakling how to spear fish and how excited it was when it speared one.  It looked like bring Weakling into the pack was a good thing, and while it was weak, there was something about its energy that made Protector look at it and how it acted proved it was a fit for their pack.  All Protector had to do now was find a few creatures to bring back to their sire, it couldn’t let Deadeye prove superior, then the others might look to it to emulate and if that happened!  Protector rubbed its scare and promised that this time it would prove better. Protector turned its head as it felt something from across the river and moved down the tree, banging on it as he went. Five small gray skinned creatures in armor charge from the other side and suddenly a knife that hits Gazer in the chest before Protector could reach them.  Gazer’s right hand went to the knife and clasped it before it crumpled to the ground.

 Protector went still before a snarl formed on its face as the other four goblins with them charged at the creatures before Protector charged and passed them; roaring as it jumped at the creatures, determined that it would lose no one else.  Protector hit the one who had thrown the knife and slashed downward with a claw strike that left glowing trail as it slashed through the air.  Protector’s slash caused blood to rush from the deep cuts as the Machop feel to the ground bleeding out as Protector released a roar and charged at another one before something hit Protector’s body and sent it flying through the air for a good five feet before it hit the ground and rolled back upright. The figure standing in front of it was a large grey creature wearing armor and holding a metal stick with a ball on the end in its right arm and the left one was empty.  This was the one that threw the knife and it was grinning; a smug grin that showed Protector that this was giving that thing pleasure.  Protector flexed its hands with a growl and its claws started to glow blue, sparing a glance at the others it noticed that they were holding their own with their makeshift spears and turned all its attention to the four armed one and charged, hoping to take it out before it killed anymore of its fellows.

 Weakling tried to help Gazer, crying tears from all its eyes as it tried to slow the blood from the wound after it removed the knife.  As it watched it looked over its short life and how Gazer had shown it how to fish, how Protector had giving it food and how proud Gazer looked when it killed its first fish and the look Gazer had when it realized it was hurt.  Would that be the last memory they had together?   There had to be something it could do, there just had to be some way to heal Gazer!  Suddenly Weakling felt something and looked down and saw that its arms were glowing pink, pink energy was flowing from its hands to Gazer and Gazer’s wound was closing! Trying to keep what it felt going, Weakling kept pouring on the energy and soon Gazer opened its eyes and looked at {[Healer]} and looking at the battle Protector was having and scowled and picked up the knife.

 Protector had been able to dodge the blows the Machoke was throwing at it and noticed the others had killed some of the smaller ones and were helping those who hadn’t and lucky enough the bigger one hadn’t noticed yet.  All it had to do…. Suddenly the Machoke stopped and looked around, gaining a scowl when it noticed the way the ambush had gone for its side and suddenly raised its right leg and slammed it down, causing the area to suddenly shake as it brought its leg down again and again until Protector stumbled and fell.  Looking up Protector was terrified to find the Machoke swinging its arms back to slam both maces into it.  It had lost, it wouldn’t be able to save its fellows, but hopefully while it finished Protector then the others could escape from it.  Protector gritted its teeth to meet its end with dignity when suddenly something hit the Machoke’s back and a knife was plunged into its left arm.  It dropped its weapon and it started to twist and buck and finally it threw a goblin off its back, revealing it to be a healed Gazer!

 Protector stared for a second before it got back up and noticed the others had finished their opponents and that Gazer had grabbed the mace and was looking at the Machoke with a scowl as it looked around, noticed that it wasn’t in the best shape to continue the fight and raised its foot again, then it dashed into the woods when the Goblins braced themselves for an Earthquake that never came.

 Protector looked into the woods for a few minutes before it turned and swept Gazer into a hug.  Gazer just patted Protector’s back until Protector looked at the wound and its wondering eyes followed Gazer’s sight, turning Protector saw Healer putting a pink glowing hand on a hurt Goblin.  Protector watched with shock as Healer helped the hurt Goblin and its wound started to heal.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  The Machoke cursed as it ran through the woods, that mission had ended in total failure!  This vengeance mission had failed, its top right arm dead, the team it had been leading were dead, and it looked like it would join them when its Lady found out what its leadership had caused!  It had to find something to prove its worth, there had to be something that would let it live.  It stopped when it heard a branch snap and saw two unusual looking Goblins crossing a clearing ahead of it, one of them had a larger arm then its other and the other one had prominent claws that looked like it was sick.  This was going to be easy, and bringing back the corpses of such might save its skin.

 Brute snarled as it watched Clawer move with a dazed look on its face. That hunt was nothing more for that old one to see how strong the forces there were!  That damned old one had used them as bait to draw out the forces of that place.  Thankfully the one who had lead the group had stayed and let them escape from the battle, if it was still alive then that one would….  Suddenly something flew through the air and hit Brute in the head, causing it to fall to the ground.  It fought to stay awake and looked towards the direction the hit had come from and saw a grey creature with a limp right arm and a savage grin on its face as it walked towards them.  Clawer moved forward shakily as it raised its arms to defend the one who got it away from the ambush in the forest.   The grey creature started to chuckle when Clawer stumbled towards it and when Clawer shot one of its arms at Machoke it grabbed its wrist, picked it up and threw it at Brute who was trying to get up.  As Brute groaned under Clawer it saw the Machoke walked closer, snickering as it did.  Just when it was about to strike at the two of them, something jumped over the two Goblins and kicked the Machoke away, it was Deadeye.  

 Deadeye looked at the two on the ground and threw a purple-pink berry at Clawer which bounced off its head.  Clawer looked at the berry and realized it’s sent carried a hint of cure, this would help heal it.  Clawer looked at Deadeye’s back and felt tears from its eyes as it realized that Deadeye had gone out of it way to find them and to find a way to cure it.  Deadeye smirked when it heard the tears, with this Clawer was further under its power. Deadeye looked at the Machoke and smirked when it saw that one of its arms was damaged, this might be easier then it thought.  Machoke snarled as it watched its opponent and charged, sending a devastating left hook at Deadeye who dodged it and put its left arm on Machoke and released a powerful electrical shock that sent Machoke to its knees as it tried to fight as its muscles clenched up!  Before it could do more than glare at it Deadeye sliced through its neck with its right claw.

 Machoke collapsed as its left hand went to its neck as it bleed out before the light left its eyes.  Deadeye looked over its kill and turned towards Clawer and Brute.  It looked over them and turned to its kill it puffed out its checks and spat a large amount of a black liquid onto the corpse.  It tor the legs away from the body before throwing the chest towards Brute while it throw the legs towards Clawer.  

 “Wrogli.”  It said as Brute and Clawer started to slobber as it looked and with that word they leapt onto the meat, each biting and tearing at their feast.  As soon as the first bite passed its lips Brute staggered backwards as a burning swept through its body as it saw a phantom image of what it had eaten, it looked and saw muscles, additional limbs, a left arm the same size as its right and a punch covered in fire and a poison spit.  It felt that it could only chose two and it chose the left arm and the muscles.  As the burning swept through its body its left arm started to glow black as did two points on its lower sides.  Its left arm grew to match its right and the glow stopped when both arms were the same size.  Brute’s muscles all over its body seemed to have changed while staying the same. Brute started to throw multiple punches and smiled, it didn’t even feel the least bit tired.

 Clawer meanwhile chose the shaking and muscles and as the burn stopped it looked at a tree and slammed its left leg down and laughed when the shaking caused the tree to fall.  Deadeye looked at them and smiled, with this it had them, once they understood what Deadeye had done they would know that their Sire had lied about everything it had told them.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  Brock just sighed as he finished setting up the tents.  Yuji and Kunz had been gone to long for his taste; they had to have found something. And he was worried that Yuji might let the suspicions he had about Kunz and Agalia keep them from working together if their attacked.  He looked up as his Steelix looked at him and trilled.

 “I’m alright partner, just worried about the others.  They should have been back by now.”  Brock said as he rubbed Steelix’s jaw.

 “They be back when they’ll back. Kunz isn’t one who would be taken out without us knowing about it.”  Agalia voice caused Brock to turn and look at her before he sighed.  Since Yuji had told Brock about his brother and the policy, he had been keeping an eye on the other two and he had more questions then he thought he would.

 “With the way that pack reacted I’m still worried.  We have to find what is happening on this mountain and then we have to get home safe.” Brock said and he hid a frown as he noticed Agalia fists tighten for a few seconds.  So Yuji might have been right about them.  They do have another reason for being up here.  I can’t tell what it is but I have to trust that they’ll fight with us against the Chimera!  Brock kept his face blank as he turned towards the campsite and started to walk towards the fire, deciding to let his mind wander as he cooked dinner.

 Agalia looked at Brock and turned away from him, a frown forming as soon as she was sure he couldn’t see her face.  What is taking that simple minded idiot so long! Do a quick search with the other idiot and then come back here! What’s taking so long….  Wait what’s that!  Agalia whipped her head towards the right and flinched as she sensed a powerful Aura moving towards them.  She looked towards the direction where what she sensed was coming from and then quickly looked towards Brock, nodding when she saw his back was towards her.  He didn’t notice, good.  I don’t know what’s coming towards us but if I position myself so he’s facing the brunt of it then then I might be able to deal with him if I have to when it’s done. Agalia thought to herself as she moved towards the other side of the camp.

 Brock looked behind him as he heard Agalia move about camp and turned back when he saw her moving towards the left side of the camp.  He shrugged and turned back to fire and soup he was making and looked at the supplies they had brought and started to try and work out how long he could stretch them. He had expected to be able to find some food up here in the wilds but so far the pickings had been slim to none, whatever was active up here was very hungry.  And that’s not even counting how damaged the eco system is up here, that Paras pack had to be moved because of how scarce the food was for them.  Brock thought with a scowl as he looked over the mountain.  He would have to send a report to the Rangers after he returned, they would need to do a full survey of the mountains to see just what would need to be done to get this area back in order.  He didn’t want to think about how hard that would be but the effort would have to be done before the before something happened to destroy the path to Indigo Plateau.

 “You know for being the capital of the Kanto League, it sure is hard to get there on foot.  And if the land lines are destroyed.”  Brock muttered to himself as he finished get the soup ready to boil.  A sudden motion from his Steelix caused him to look up and notice it was staring into the distance to the right and he slowly reached for his other two Pokéballs. He caught Steelix’s eyes and swore when he realized what it had seen.

 “Croagunk, Swampert, time to fight Chimera!  Agalia! Thery’e coming!”  Brock called out as he threw the balls, releasing a dark blue, bipedal frog like Pokémon and a cobalt-blue quadruped with two fan-like black fins on its head and a black fan-like tail fin.   Agalia released a quadruped, leonine like Pokémon with a blazing mane that stood protective in front of her as she readied two swords.

 Brock rushed to his bag and pulled out his two hammers and readied himself for battle as he prepared himself.  As trees and bushes at the edge of his vision stated to move he greeted his teeth and cursed that there were only two people here.

 “Croagunk, Swampert, no limits, use your best judgments and stay alive!  Steelix, hand back and go pure range but strike if you have to!  Agalia, watch out!”  Brock was able to get out before 2 Alphas came charging at them leading 20 Warriors, it was all Brock could do to notice what they looked like before he started to swing his hammers at two of the Soldiers that came at him, breaking the head of one while the other dodged his strike.

 Agalia started to strike at anything that came at her as her Pyroar started to breath fire at the Chimera, killing two of them in one blast as his trainer sliced the head of another one before she dodged a large energy needle that one of the Captains fired at her. She looked at them and noticed that one was looking at her and the other was looking at Brock, and with a start she realized that the two were direction the other Chimera.

 “Brock, the two with the horns, their the leaders!”  Agalia called out before she parried one of the stingers of a Soldier.  Brock slammed one of his hammers and broke the stinger limb of the Soldier that had dodged his earlier strike and notice that Croagunk and Swampert had dealt with 2 of the Chimera and were on watch for the next one that would try to kill them.  Steelix had been firing green blasts over the heads of the others and Brock had a few seconds so he followed the beam’s path and saw another 5 Soldiers, wounded but moving towards the battle.  He looked around at what the Chimera were doing and let his experience decide what actions to take.

 “Steelix, keep it up! Croagunk and Swampert, target the horned ones!”  Brock called out as he slammed a hammer down on the Soldier with the broken limb. Agalia smirked as Pyroar slashed at another Soldier as she slice off one Soldier’s right arm just behind the stinger. She watched Brock charge a grouping of four Soldiers as she caught her breath.  Hmm.  Maybe I should bring Rock boy back for recruitment, it would do to have a doctor in the gang and he is easy on the eyes.  She thought before a charge of one of the Soldiers facing her forced her to dodge and take her eyes off Brock as she fought to stay alive.

 Croagunk charged ahead of Swampert and tackled the Captain that was observing Agalia and jumped backwards; dodging the limb it sent backwards at it turned to face Croagunk. Swampert blasted a stream of water at the other Captain and sent it backwards into a tree then it fell to the ground.  Swampert snarled at it as the Water type stared the Chimera down as it got back to its feet.  Croagunk dodged the glowing horn of its opponent and shot multiple purple darts from its mouth as, each hitting the Captain as it tried to defend against the attack, raising its stingers trying to block the needles.  Croagunk used the time when the Captain lost sight from raising its stingers to move right next to its head and delivered a savage jab with a purple covered hand, breaking the Captain’s head and pulling its hand away from the Captain’s head, Croakunk’s hand dripping with black blood as it turned and looked towards the battle and noticed that the Chimera attacking Agalia had lost their cohesion, fighting as wild animals.  An explosion suddenly sent Croagunk flying!  Swampert saw the remains of the Captain that Croagunk killed was the source and started to move backwards, firing a stream of dark brown mud that pushed the Captain back.  Croagunk weakly started to move when it noticed three Soldiers about to kill it, it looked at Brock who was staring against and smiled a weak smile at its trainer.

 “Croakunk, NO!” Brock cried stared at what was about to happen and felt something give within him as he suddenly felt stronger.  He started to glow brown, causing Agalia to stare before she hardened her eyes. Feeling something, not even noticing he was glowing he slammed one of his hammers into the ground, and suddenly three pointed rock pillars pierced the three Soldiers.  Brock stared at what he had done looking at his hammer then at the three pillars.  Did I do that?  I know about Aura because of what happened in the Kingdom but this is beyond what Ash’s did.  What was that and why do feel so strong? Brock wondered as he looked at the battle.

 Agalia absent mindedly sliced the head off a Soldier as her Pyroar bit through the neck of another one as she kept her eyes locked on Brock.  He woke his Aura, now I have to kill him!  We can’t let the knowledge free.  Too bad, he coulda been something in the Order.  She thought as she killed two more of the Chimera with quick strikes. A Soldier charged at Swampert and forced it to stop firing at the Captain, paying attention to the Chimera attacking it, wincing when the stingers hit. The last Captain standing shook itself and suddenly gave a shrill cry that echoed over the battlefield.  Brock stumbled and when he looked up he noticed the bumps on the remaining Soldiers body start to glow and with horror he noticed they were looking at Swampert.

 “Swampert, Protect!” Brock called as he reached down and helped "back to its feet.  Swampert formed a green half circle around it and started to tank the white energy darts that the other soldiers fired at it, winching when the Captain stared to fire large energy needles at the shield.  As cracks started to form Brock looked about and noticed that the Chimera had stopped attacking Agalia and were attacking him and his Pokémon and quickly looked at the last Captain, noticing that it had its attention on them.

 “Croakunk, I need you to handle that one, I’ll try and get the others attacking Swampert.”  Brock said softly as he gripped his hammers tightly. Croagunk looked at the Captain and nodded before it lunged at the Captain, forcing it to direct its attention at it as Brock charged the other Chimera as Pyroar started to fire blasts of fire at the other Chimera as the Protect shattered, causing Swampert to be blasted by at least 20 energy needles.

 Brock snarled as he killed another Soldier as he looked heard Swampert whimper softly as it stood back up diffidently as it looked from Croagunk to Brock before it barreled into a Chimera lining up a stab at Brock, slamming its fists into  the body of the Chimera, forming cracks with each hit. The Captain gave a fierce whistle and suddenly the other Soldiers turned their heads at Brock and fired streams of silk that quickly covered his arms and body, sending him to the ground just before Croagunk kicked upwards and snapped its neck, picking up the body and throwing it at the other Chimera, killing three of them when it exploded. The other two Chimera looked down at Brock but before they could do anything Steelix was there, slamming its body down onto the Chimera, splattering Brock with their black blood as it raised its body, dripping with parts of the dead Chimera while Swampert threw the body of what it had just killed to the side.   The three remaining Chimera turned and ran, leaving the battlefield as their opponents watched.  Brock suddenly felt so tired he could barely move as his Pokémon started to surround him and give off soft cries.

 “You can’t move can you?” Agalia asked from his left as Brock strained the webbing holding him.  He looked up and was able to take stock of his team condition and gave a bitter laugh.

 “No I can’t and these guys might be on their last legs, it’s a good thing the survivors fled when they did, I don’t think they could hold off another attack.  We might not have found the source but bring” Brock said bitterly.

 “No they won’t. Pyroar, Incinerate on the Steelix and then handle the others!”  Agalia cried out to Brock’s shock before Pyroar shot a beam of black, red, orange and yellow fire that hit Steelix, causing it to cry out as it fainted before the Pyroar tackled Swampert into Croagunk, using one to knock out the other.

 “So I was right, you aren’t League Hunters.”  Brock said as he turned his head to glare at Agalia as she spun her swords around.

 “Yep, sorry about this Dr., it’s too bad really; you might’ve gone far in the organization. But then you had to wake up your Aura, and that sealed your fate.”  Agalia said as she moved to stand before Brock.

 “My Team?”  Brock asked as he desperately tried to get any bit of energy. How am I so weak?  Just what is affecting my body so much? Brock thought as he tried to break the webbing.

 “I’m sorry to say they will have to be victims of the same Chimera that got you; it just doesn’t flow right without that.”  Agalia said as she raised one of her blades.  Suddenly a shot rang out as her blade broke half down from the tip.

 “Infernape, Lucario, Close Combat on the Pyroar!  Cameron get Brock free!”  A voice called out as someone charged from the trees as an ape with reddish-brown with sections of white fur on its chest, head, and lower legs and with a large flame trailing from its head, a powerful looking Lucario.  Brock whipped his head and stared as Riley came charging right behind his two Pokemon and Cameron and his Lucario ran towards him as Riley shot forward and tried to punch Agalia, only for her to dodge and pointed her one of her hand at him and shot a fireball at him.  Riley stayed still until the fireball was near him before he backhanded the fireball with a glowing blue hand and sent the fireball to the side.  Her Pyroar moved as it dodged the strikes from the two Pokémon and moved to stand next to its trainer, snarling as it looked at the others

 “So a Wilder dares to stand against me?  I don’t know what your think is happening but you don’t know what you’re up against.”  Agalia said as she started to form two fireballs in her hands as

 “I know exactly what you are.  The Order of the Protectors of Humanity.” Riley interrupted her as he looked at her with a hard stare.  Brock looked at Agalia as she actually stared at him.

 “Who the hell are you to know who I am, a wilder might have killed a team that was sent against you but how do you know our full name?  It doesn’t matter, a lowly wilder…” Agalia began as she slowly moved one of her hands behind her before interrupted her.

 “I am one who is a Guardian.”  Riley declared in a firm voice causing Agalia to look at him in shock as she started to splutter.

 “You can’t be one of them! We killed them all years ago. You’re all dead!”  Agalia said as she starred. To think one of those survived all these years, I have to tell them, everyone needs to know!  She thought as she moved backwards with a shocked look on her face

 “You all failed, but I will have a long talk with you about that.”  Riley said before Agalia threw a ball infront of him that released a smoke screen that blocked Agalia and her Pyroar from sight.  Riley braced himself when he heard a colossal roar that echoed off the mountains but when the smoke cleared they were gone.  Carmeon finally finished getting Brock freed from the webbing. Brock got to his feet and scrambled to his Steelix and started to look over its wounds as he recalled his other two Pokémon.  

 “It’s okay partner, you’re gonna be just fine.  Let me just get you back into your ball….Riley, is that you?  Brock said as he recalled his Steelix and saw a red haired woman walk into the clearing putting a gun away at her side.

 “I’m Master Riley’s student, Carmeon.  This here is a friend we made yesterday her names….” Carmeon began before he was interrupted.

 “Rosette Zargo of the Kanto Guard.  A please to meet a former Gym Leader sir, but what are you doing on the mountain, those things over whelmed me at the cabin I was stationed at and the League should have gotten my message before I had to escape.  Hey what’s the matter?”  Rosette asked as she saw Brock staring in shock at her.  Carmeon looked at Brock when she said he was a gym leader.  A Kanto Gym leader with a Steelix, I wonder if he knows Ash.  He did say he knew a few leaders in Kanto well.  Carmeon thought as Riley came to stand by them.

 “My group found your cabin and a corpse of a Chimera like these things, but there was no record of a call on to the League when I set out on this expedition a few days ago.” Brock said flatly causing Rosette to stare then start to curse.  Riley only shook his head as his thoughts raced, he hoped was worried for nothing.

 “We need to get back to Viridian, we have to get off this mountain and tell people the Chimera.” Riley began only to stop when Brock caught his eye.

 “I can’t, I still have two more people up here; one of them came with Agalia, the person you just drove off.”  Brock said causing Carmeon to stare and look at his teacher who anserwed his student’s look by shaking his head looking grim.

 “We have to get off this mountain, we’ll head to where they might be and then start heading down. We’ll try to find them but we have to get away from here and defend Viridian, the swarm is getting larger.” Riley said as he looked towards the mountains peak, knowing that a horde was even now being born and readied to strike.

   “Stupid, stupid!  How the hell did some of the Guardians survive and why’d they have to turn up on one of my ops?!”Agalia screamed as she rode her Pyroar away from the campsite, heading into Johto.  She had to get to a safe house and tell the others about what she had found out, the Guardians were still alive!  And she had to get the information about the Doctor as well; he would have to be dealt with soon.  All I can do is run and hope that Kunz gets away. The roar Pyroar gave off should tell him that I had to escape and he’ll wait for an opportunity to finish off that gym trainer.  But how the hell did the Guardians survive the ambush, no one survived that, the whole island was destroyed!  She was so deep in thought that as she and her Pokémon moved through the mountain away from the battlefield she never noticed a metallic saucer was following her from the sky as she rode her Pokémon, nor did she realized that she had been marked as a target by the saucer’s masters, that soon her destiny would change in ways she would have expected.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  Yuji ran through the woods silently, Kunz behind them as they followed the lines of webbing.  He looked over his shoulder at Kunz as he led the way through the wood, he did have a few reservations about him and his sister but something about the webbing he was following was a concern for him, he couldn’t explain it but he had to find out what was at the end of the line. I know there’s something wrong with their story but this might be more important than that, I just have to watch him and hope I’m just wrong.  I guess that maybe in Johto things in the League might be different then here in Kanto, but I doubt it. Yuji thought as he looked ahead as he moved, paying attention to everything around him.   A roar suddenly echoed off the mountain, out causing him to stop and looked about as Kunz stopped.

 Kunz looked about while inside he was screaming.  Something happened back at camp, she had to leave and my luck she did so after trying to kill Brock.  I just need to wait until there a chance to kill him and slip away, if I’m found I’ll blame it on the Chimera.  Kunz looked at Yuji and adopted a flat look.

 “That roar might have been from the camp, shall we return and come back here with others or should we continue?”  He said robotically as Yuji looked around the trees around them, trying to find what had made that roar.  After a few seconds Yuji looked at Kunz then turned and looked at the webbing.

 “You can if you want but I’m going on.  I can’t describe it but this is important, we…I have to find out what laid this; I can’t describe why it’s important.  Like I said, go back if you want to but I’m going on.” Yuji said as he walked alongside the cable, confident in his choice.  Kunz looked at him and followed behind him with a frown on his face.  ‘Some people get feelings, you can’t explain it but sometime they will sense somethings you can’t, trust them until you have to put a knife into their back.’  Teach you had to be right didn’t you, this is why I prefer destroy missions only.

 After a few minutes they came across a few more lines that joined at a large glowing sphere that continued as a larger cable along the same heading as the first line they had followed.  He looked at a tree closer to the boil and saw that it was practically dead with brittle leaves.  Quickly looking at the other trees he frowned as he saw the upper branches were barren and light was passing by the dead branches.  Suddenly he noticed multiple lines of webbing connected to the boil that looked dead for some reason that was connected to a large cocoon by a farther back and walked to it, drawing a knife that he used to cut the webs, cursing when he saw the bones of a wolf within it.

 “Whatever these things are their stealing the life from the trees and animals in these cocoons, I don’t want to think what these things will do to a human or Pokémon.”  Yuji said with a scowl as he looked at the skull of the wolf.  Kunz merely looked at the skill as he thought what he had seen over the years, kills that made this look like a day at the beach.  He noticed that none of the legs were broken and wondered just how that they had been put in the cocoons as he looked around, finally making a decision.

 “We should release out Pokémon now and ready our weapons.  If this is the result of the Chimera we’re up here for we need to be ready to fight.”  Kunz said flatly as he released his Combusken and drew forth his axe.  Yuji looked at him and nodded, pulling out his mace and released his Rhydon.

 “Partner we’re investigating this webbing, I think its connected to the Chimera we’re tracking up here.  Keep an eye out and get ready to blast anything you sense, okay.”  Yuji said to his Pokémon.

 “One thing.  A while back the two of us heard a loud roar echo from somewhere.  So it is advisable to be on guard.”  Kunz said flatly as he looked behind them.  Yuji nodded but never noticed that Combusken had picked up something its trainer had said that Yuji didn’t and started eying Rhydon.

 “I have point and the right, Kunz, you two watch our back and the left.”  Yuji said as he walked forward, his Rhydon falling into step between him and Kunz as they moved on.   Kunz watched the Ground type as it walked behind its trainer and started to watch the left side and moved after Yuji.

 The party moved along the line of webbing, after a while they discovered other boils that had line of webbing that moved alongside the cable they had been following the same size as the first but surprisingly they didn’t merge together but run in parallel. Finally they came upon a cave that the lines went into and when Kunz was going to walk into it, Yuji grabbed him and pulled him behind a tree.  Kunz was startled and looked at Yuji, seeing him put a hand over his mouth and point to the right.  Following Yuji’s hand he saw a party of 1 Alpha, 6 Warriors and 8 Workers walking into the cave.  Kunz looked on in shock, that so many Chimera were working together and the way they were moving showed that they were doing something routine, and that scared him more then he thought he was capable of.  Yuji moved his face closer to Kunz and started to speak.

 “Some of those were more of what we recovered at the cabin, the others look similar enough to have come from the same source I think, I haven’t seen many Chimera.”  Yuji whispered in a low voice.

 “Yeah, most Chimera in Kanto are loners, you rarely see a swarm built up like this by one of them spawning.  In scenarios like this long range combat is usually the best thing to do, set up a killing field or find a way to immobilize the prey or strike to kill them in one shot, to save on ammo at the very least.”  Kunz whispered back as he eye’d the cave the Chimera had entered.

 “Any advice… wait something’s happening.”  Yuji said as the Alpha walked out of the cave leading 2 Warriors and 4 Workers, the Workers carrying a cocoon of something that released a blue glow from within. Yuji watched them and stayed quite until the Chimera were out of sight before he turned to Kunz.

 “So do we turn back or try to find out what inside there first, there are a lot more Chimera then I thought there would be.   And let’s not forget that a lost less came out then went in there.  In an enclosed space up against creatures with capabilities is not smart.”  Kunz said as Yuji silently touched a button on his Local Gear, a motion that Kunz didn’t notice.  He’s right, I don’t know what that procession was about or what they took from the cave but.

 “Your right, it is time for us to leave, we can return with help later.”   Yuji said as he turned before he noticed that Kunz had gone still and turned back to the mouth of the cave.  Three Alphas were walking out of the cave, leading thirty Warriors.  Two Alphas led ten Warriors to the left and right of the cave’s mouth as the last Alpha stood in the center as something started to leave the cave.  10 Workers carried a large arachnid like Chimera, it had no legs, instead its legs would be were instead mouths that were closed.  Its head had compounded eyes and a two horns above its eyes while it mouth was a dripping maw.{[Gather]}.

 “What the hell is that, why the hell are they carrying it?”  Yuji muttered as he looked at his Pokémon as he brought up his Local Gear and snapped a quick picture of it, not noticing Kunz was walking backwards away from him.  The sound of a Pokéball caused Yuji to whip his head and saw Kunz releasing his Rapidash and sneering at Yuji.

 “I have no idea, maybe it’s their spawner. Whatever it is; good luck surviving them.  Combusken, HYPERBEAM ON THE CAVE!!”  Kunz roared as Combusken fired an orange be that passed over the Chimera and hit the mountain, causing rocks to fall on the creatures leaving the cave, covering the back half of the Gather and crushing the Workers carrying its back half.

 “What the hell?!  I knew you two weren’t what you said you were!! I’ll kill you ya scum bag!”  Yuji snarled as Kunz recalled his Combusken and rode his Rapidash away from the.  SCUM!  FUCK! Those things are gone come…we gotta get out of here.  He saw two of the Alphas move towards the Gather and take charge of the Workers there but the last Alpha was….looking…right…at…them!

 “Oh fucker!  Rhydon, we’re running!  Use that Protect variant we developed, the traveling one!”  Yuji screamed as he turned and started to move, running away from the area his Rhydon right behind him forming a green domed energy shield behind it as it followed its trainer.  We should have turned back when we found the webbing but I had to go on, I had to investigate but damn it I never thought that Kunz would have done that. I knew that something was wrong with those two, I knew something was wrong but I had to trust that scum to watch my back, should have paid more attention, I should have kept a better eye on that traitor!  But I had to trust that he would have fought with me against the Chimera, not use them to kill me!  Why the hell did he…that roar, it had to have been a signal from her, did she kill Brock, did he run her off.  I have to get away, what that thing they were carrying, it has to be important to those things!  Yuji thought as he tried to think of a way to survive and get the information he had discovered back to his Gym.  His Tauros wouldn’t be able to handle the mountain and build up enough speed to stay ahead of the Chimera, he didn’t know how fast they were but he had to find some way to survive against them, he had to make it back home!

 Behind them the Alpha that had seen them thundered through the woods, leading 4 of the Warriors as it chased after them.  It had seen a human and a creature and it was after the ones who dared to attack them. Still if they were strong enough to wound they would be an excellent source of food.  The tracks they had left were of a human and a larger creature, it was fast and heavy, it would give much strength to the swarm.  Perhaps the Queen would give it the strength first as a reward?  Would it be passed onto the Princess, strength for the new hive?  A flash of green

 Yuji frowned as he heard the noise from behind them, they would have to turn soon, and try and fight them off.  He needed to find a large enough place to stand against their pursuers; he couldn’t just let them run them down!  He remembered a spotting a meadow a few meters ahead of them that they passed when they followed the line of webbing and maybe he could hold there, that place gave him a line of sight that would let him have some control of the battle. It increased his chances a small amount, but he had to try.  

 “Rhydon, we’ll try and hold them up ahead, use your instincts to hold them off!”  Yuji commanded as they ran, hearing their pursers closing on them.  When he reached the right place he turned and ran into the clearing and stopped at the center turning to meet the charge as his Rhydon circled him, the both of them ready to meet the charge of the Chimera.  

 The Alpha stopped at the edge of the meadow, the Warriors passing their leader and charging at their prey. Rhydon spun around, it’s tailing glowing green as it hit the first Warrior, sending it flying backwards as its trainer sliced down with his mace at another Warrior that got close to them, breaking its head.  The other two dropped back and opened their mouths and sent white needles at them, only for them to hit a green energy shield that blocked the attack.  Yuji clenched his teeth as he tried to keep his eyes on the battle, but the way the Alpha was just watching the battle was making him worried, something about its gaze was causing him to want to charge it and kill it.

 Shadow cursed as he watched the battle, it would have been smarter to go after the Order member but the Viridian trainer was an innocent and he had seen that large Chimera, if it was important to swarm then Viridian and the League had to be warned, and he couldn’t do it without them finding out he had been up here, he had to make sure that that the trainer made it down the mountain.  He noticed that the kid was keeping his eyes on the Alpha and he started to reach for his throwing knives, it wasn’t good when a Chimera stayed back, that means it could think and that was always trouble.

 The Alpha looked at the battle and began to fall backwards, it would attack from behind and strike at the bigger creature and then it and the other would be food.  Its mouth stated to water as it looked at the creature, imagining its abilities added to the swarm.  Suddenly it sensed something and turned, just as a knife hit penetrated its head, killing it in one-shot.  Shadow smirked under his masked before the dead Alpha started to glow and exploded!

 Yuji looked up at the explosion and something told him to dodge to the left, narrowly missing the thrown Warrior striking with its stingers at him, it was back and had circled around to their back but had charged at the same time the other two charged at Rhydon, dropping all pretense of strategy and charged like starving animals after a bit of food.  They hit the Protect with their bodies, snapping their mouths as Yuji and the third surviving Warrior circled each other.  What was that explosion, why the hell are these things acting like this, I don’t get it.  They acted like Pokémon before, now their acting like wild animals!  Their barely using any moves, their just using their body parts.  Yuji thought as he dodged the stabs of the Warrior he was fighting.

 “Rhydon, treat them like those wolves we dealt with a few weeks ago, their just animals now!”  Yuji cried when he dodged to the left and destroyed on one of the Soldier’s chitin stingers and watched as it moved backwards, snarling as it did so as it back away from him and turned, running into the forest in the opposite direction of the cave, which Yuji was between it and the Soldier.  Turning back to his Rhydon, a smile formed on his face as he noticed that it held one in its claws while the other was crushed under its foot.

 “Hold it there partner, I’ll kill it and we’ll bring it back.”  Yuji said as he walked towards it and drew a knife that he quickly inserted into the Warrior’s head, killing it painlessly.  Looking towards where the explosion happened he saw the Alpha’s body was in tatters.  That thing was the source of the explosions, something killed it.  Wait, they started to act like animals after the explosion…. I have to get this information back, if we target the leaders then we can make the others act like animals, well those things with stingers at least.   Yuji thought as he looked back towards the mountain and turned towards Viridian then looked around the meadow.

 “We’re leaving partner come on.  We’ll head back to camp, if Brock is alive we’ll grab him and head home, these things have to be the source, if they aren’t we still gotta tell the boss about what’s up here.”  Yuji declared as he walked out of the battlefield, his Pokemon following behind him and unseen Shadow followed from the treetops, a meeting in their future but not now.

  OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Ash moved quickly and silently along the river Nimue and Bonnie had used to escape from the ambush. As soon as he had reached it he had released Fletchling and Froakie and had had them shadowing him from the sky and water as Pikachu ran after him.  He had been making good progress so far and hadn’t run into anyone which was starting to worry him.  No one’s looking for Bonnie or Nimue; no lookouts at the Center so they weren’t the targets.  Then was it Lilly or Serena?  Why, what reason do they have to go after them?  This better not be like the Spector and May damn it!  Ash cursed in his head as he and his team moved silently.

 “Fletch!”  Fletchling cried out above Ash’s head.  Ash looked and saw a bridge ahead of him that looked burnt.  He started to look around the area as his Pokemon started to spread out, Froakie and Pikachu looking around as Flectling hovered on over watch.  He noticed a few spots with dried blood here and there.  So Serena fought back here while Lilly held the bridge.  Then they moved this way down this alley.  Ash walked a bit down the alley in question as Froakie and Pikachu followed, with Fletchling guarding their back.  Ash stopped when he noticed green dust on the ground near the remains of a few pieces of glass.  Ash spent a few more moments looking over the alley, noting a few marks that showed that two people jumped from a high location. Sleep spores, a Bug-Type could have used it but this glass and the tracks from jumping down to the ground; the tactics look familiar for some reason, where have I seen like this before.  

 “Pika?”  Pikachu asked as it used its tail to push a piece of glass around.  Ash sighed and looked at his partner as he took out his Pokédex and opened a special app.

 “You’ve seen this before to, hu Pikachu?  Where I can’t remember, but this was a professional job.  I think it might be a good idea to talk to the local Joey.” Ash said as he recalled his other two Pokémon.  

 “Straight House, Aces High! Read ‘em and pay up gentle folks!” Harley chuckled as he spread his hand on the table.  As he grabbed the chips the other three started to curse as Harley laughed.  A few days to decide what direction I’m going in and I’m gone.  Maybe setting those bug users on Ashey was a waste of time but I still came out ahead here.  Harley stopped when he saw a few people stand up from their tables and look towards the door. He went pale when he saw a figure in a battered looking black cloak walk into the room.

 “The Battler!?”

 “What’s he doing here?! I thought he was in Kanto!”

 “I heard that he slaughters Chimera to wake up in the morning!”

 The people around him muttered to themselves as Harley sank lower into his chair as he looked at the Battler.  He had escaped from Sinnoh with a small bounty for a few actions he done in the Eastern part of that region and he had noticed the Battler moving about the docks when he had gotten on a sea plane so he was worried that he was the target. When the Battler passed by and walked towards Joey behind the counter he gave a sigh of relief.  Maybe I should leave once he’s done, yes I think I’ll go over to Lumiose City, yes that’s what I’ll do.  Harley thought as he stared at the Battler in horror.

 Ash walked towards the bar as he heard the murmurs around him, cursing a few bounties he had brought down over the years and the fact that one or two mob boss’s had fallen to him. The blond man behind the bar looked at him and silently kept cleaning a glass.  As soon as Ash reached the counter the man behind it looked at him with a deadpan look.

 “So what brings an infamous person like you to my Den?”  Joey asked as Ash reached slowly into his cloak and brought out a black coin.  Joey merely looked at it before he picked it up and bit it before nodding at Ash.

 “Your office.”  Ash said, causing Joey to walk towards a door that he opened and Ash followed him into.  As soon as the door closed half the people in the room started to run for the exit, Harley was one of them.

 “So what do you want to use a coin to pay for?  Possible locations of a bounty you’re tracking?  The list of Black List Chimera? Or maybe it’s the location of Team Plas…” Joey began as he sat behind his desk before Ash interrupted him.

 “Your silence on my request and all you can tell me about the gang in this city that uses Bug Types and where I can find them.”  Ash said as Joey leaned back and gave a short laugh.

 “Wasting a Coin on them?  Eh, who am I to tell what to spend it on.  The boys you’re asking about are call the Buzz Lords, their leader is Rex of the Tristo family, the bastards who ruled this area back during the Great War. And unlike a lot of other nobles they were more like tyrants than anything else.”  Joey said as he removed a folder from a file cabinet that he handed to Ash who started to look over reports on the Buzz Lords activity and a few on what the Tristo family had done in ancient time.

 “No resistance against them?” Ash asked with a surprised tone as he read about the people the family had killed, looking up as Joey just sighed.

 “It was around that time that they started that the forces from around where Laverre City started to step up their spy craft and did such damage that they were used as an excuse at least once a year until the end of the War for the family to get rid of the people in their territory who gave them the most trouble.  Fun fact, about ten years after the first time they used that excuse the patriarch at the time killed the boyfriend of his daughter, and when she learned the truth she started a civil war between the family that lasted for the next three generations, they only remarried into each other about four generations ago.”  Joey mused as he watched the Battler.

 “Current affairs of the family?”  Ash asked as he put the folder down.

 “The family gained a fortune the real estate business after the war and own most offices between here and Snowbelle City.  Going through records Rex Tristo has two siblings, a twin sister who was sent away to boarding school and since she’s come back she’s been seen about town with another young woman her age and then there’s the younger brother, he recently took part in the Pokémon Contest and was disqualified.  The parents died a few years back, their bodies were found in a Chimera den but they were just bones and a few scraps of clothing so how they died is a mystery.  Funny thing is that happened a few weeks after Rex was passed over to be the Gym Leader around here, and that was a month before the Buzz Lords started up.”  Joey snickered as Ash looked at him.

 “Where are they?”  Ash asked, prompting Joey to hand over a piece of paper.

 “This has all the properties that the Tristo’s don’t have on the market.  One of them probably is their hideout, and personally I would try the ones at the edge of town.  Don’t know why you’re after them but good luck to ya, they have so cut into my profits lately, but get outa here before you drive off the rest of my profits.”  Joey said as he gestured to the door.  Ash nodded and walked out into a much more empty room.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  Rebecca smiled to herself as she walked down the hallway back towards her chambers.  She had retrieved the Key of the Lord, and her brother didn’t know just what he had lost!  The symbol of leadership in their family, she was now the Lady Rebecca of the Tristo Nobile family!  Everything was going perfectly!  All she had to do now was help Claudia and then get out of this wreck.  She stopped when she noticed members of the gang standing guard outside the security room and moved forward, wondering what was the cause.  As she approached, the LT in charge noticed her and moved towards her.

 “Lady Rebecca, greetings.” The Lieutenant said as he bowed.  Rebecca noticed the way his eye were on her and gave a small smile while on the inside she glared at him.  Just wait, a few more days and then you’ll have plenty of dates in prison you pervert!

 “Greetings LT, what is the meaning behind the guard?”  Rebecca asked as she gestured towards the other two gang members.   The Lieutenant looked ashamed as he looked at her.

 “Last night the watch staff was killed, we didn’t discover it until the shift change.  We don’t know who did it and to make matters worse the computers were destroyed and it looks like a virus destroyed the cameras so it’ll be a few days until we can finish repairs.  What with the mission the boss sent those shadows on…”  The Lieutenant muttered, causing Rebecca to snap her head towards him.

 “What mission for the shadows?”  Rebecca asked dumbly as she stared.  He didn’t, please tell me he didn’t do what I’m thinking of… She prayed as she waited for a reply.

 “He sent them on a kidnap mission; I heard they came back with two girls about ten minutes ago. One of them was to be sent to his personal chambers and the other was to be sent to recruitment.  Are you alright m’lady, you’re looking pale” The Lieutenant asked as Rebecca leaned against the wall of the hallway.

 “What were the girl’s hair colors?”  Rebecca asked barely breathing as she prayed she was wrong.

 “The girl sent to recruitment had black hair and the other was a honeyed blond I believe.”  Rebecca moved past him and walked faster back towards her section of the building, it was time to leave.  As she moved higher she cursed to herself.  It had to have been that Gym battle that caused Rex to do this.  This is bad, this is really bad!  I was planning on giving a tip to Jenny about this but with what I know about him he’ll be here soon, no choice I have to finish this and get out with just my girls.  He’s probably coming soon!  She thought as she moved through the hideout, not paying attention to who she passed in her hurry. When she finally reached her area she whistled sharply, gaining the attention of all of her followers.

 “Time to clear out ladies! Have Claudia and our friend join me in my chambers and the rest of you begin to clear out all evidence of our presence here, we’re leaving in one hour!”  Rebecca said as she walked to her room and put the Key on her bed as she started to pack away all her things.  That idiotic bastard!  Why did he do this, just what does he gain by forcing a confrontation with Ash?  What did he see in that battle that gave him the single idea that this would… Ash’s tactics. That has to be it.  The one time he listened to me about the plans to take over the town and he does this? I don’t know what I was expecting anything else from him but it would be nice if he was at least constant!  She thought as she looked around the room and cursed under her breath.

 “Has something happened M’lady?”  Claudia voice caused Rebecca to stop thinking and pulled her back to the present.  

 “Indeed, the girls are packing up and I saw a few of them preparing cuttings from all the plants and gathering seeds while having their Pokémon move or destroy the furniture.  I know your plans were to leave this place soon but has something happened to accelerate them?”  Damian asked, not bothering to disguise her voice.  Rebecca sighed and finished puttering away her clothing before she stood and turned to Claudia in her maid uniform and Damian standing next to her in the doorway.

 “Rex sent those people he had on retainer to capture two of the girls who watched Ash’s gym battle in person, they returned a few minutes ago.  I believe he will be paying this place a visit within the next hour or so.”  Rebecca said before Damian just looked blankly at Rebecca before she exploded.

 “He did what?  That stupid idiotic buffoon!  You don’t tickle the sleeping Pyroar, you move silently by it!   I knew he was an idiot for taking everything at face value when he lost the Key but this, I can’t even.” Damian said as she shook her head at Rex’s stupidity.

 “This will have to change our plans.  When you deal with Rex do blunt his memory of Aura use would you?  That would make the battle with Ash a more even match.”  Rebecca said. Claudia looked at her mistress in confusion as Damian nodded.

 “Rest assured I will deal with it.  This could help make Pikatrainer more believable and my assassin is already deployed.  And don’t worry; I’ll blunt his skills, what small amount he has.”  Damian’s words caused Claudia to stare in confusion before she spoke up.

 “M’Lady what does she mean by that?  Why would you act against your brother?”  Claudia’s question caused Rebecca to sigh and look at Claudia firmly. Claudia stepped backwards only to bump into Damian who smiled through the bandages.

 “Yeah, I’m going to have to unlock you first Claudia.”  Rebecca said as she picked up the key by the head and pointed the key at Claudia.  

 “Unlock?  Mistress what are you talking about?” Claudia said as the key started to glow green as Rebecca pointed it at her.  Rebecca frowned as her eyes started to glow green as the Key fed her some information. Release all locks?  How many did Rex make, wait how old is this, then……… dad, you did this to sis? Why did? Rebecca steeled her eyes and decided she’ll ask Claudia about it when her memories are back.

 “Oh Key of the Lord, whose might seals away that which your owner desires from their subjects, release the lock!”  Rebecca chanted as a beam of light hit Claudia, causing her to gasp and fall down onto her knees.  Rebecca smiled and released a Vivillon that hovered before a blue glow covered Claudia’s body as she started to float.  Rebecca turned to Damian with a scowl on her face.

 “Go do what you have to do and I’ll see you with my girls back at the mansion.”  Rebecca said shortly as she walked out of her room.  Rebecca frowned as she stalked out of her…. former room.  Once she returned back to her family’s mansion and started to consolidate her new empire, then she would deal with what happened to Claudia.

 Damian looked as her friend walked away with Claudia’s body and the Vivillon following and frowned.  What had Rebecca sensed from that Artifact?  No matter, she had a job to do now Damian thought to herself as she drew forth a Pokéball.  

 She walked down the stairs leading out of Rebecca’s section and smiled when she saw two gang members and one of the maids she threw her Pokéball and released a yellow furred small biped with a coin on a string in one hand.  The sound of the release caused the people to look up before Hypno’s eyes glowed blue and they gained a blue outline and their eyes went blank.

 “Good job Hypno.  Now then, lets erase all the memories of Rebecca, her followers and myself from their minds, and don’t let them struggle and we’ll put them to sleep until I’m done.” Damian said using her real voice as her Hypno obeyed her commands.

  OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

   “Frank Isolod.  Twenty years old; a trainer who failed the Gym Trainer exam of the Santalune Gym. Was seen about town for the next two months doing Quests before disappearing the weak after the Santalune Gym Tainer Viola became the Gym Leader last year.  Was seen leading an attack on a convoy the next month and has since then been assumed to be the leader of the Scolipede Riders.”  Jenny said as she read from a folder as a teen in black pants, a white shirt with a green jacket over and wearing a jade green bandanna around his neck.  He leaned back with a sneer on his face as he watched Jenny over the table, his arms folded.

 “So you know who I am, what am I supposed to be impressed?”  He sneered as he looked at her.  Jenny just glared back at him, wondering if she should have tried to get around the limitations about interrogations and had a Psychic on hand.

 “It’s to make you think! I have enough on you to put you away for years, decades even!  And I will unless you deal with me!”  Jenny snarled as she slammed a hand on the table.  All she received for her words was a laugh that’s bitter edge caused Jenny to stare at him.

 “There’s only one thing you can do with me, ship me out of the city.  And then my boys will be there to bust me out and I’ll be back where I was before the months out.”  He sneered as she glared at him, knowing that he was right.  Damn the Commissioner’s policy that all gang members are to be sent to prison outside the city their captured in. ‘Make it harder for them to break out’ my ass!

 “Regardless your crimes as the leader of the Riders will still send you away for a long, long time. Enjoy the next few days, there’ll be the last days you spend in this city for a long, long time!”  Jenny said as she exited the room, leaving the ganger smirking as he sat there as she slammed the door, not noticing two eyes in the vent in the room looking at the ganger.

 Jenny stalked down the hallways, the look on her face causing the others in the hallway to stumble out of her way as she walked through the station.  That bastard!  And damn the commissioner for stupidly announcing that policy at that party!  We might catch them but at least fifty percent of those scums either escape or are broken out and those that don’t are usually broken out when the prisons are raided after at most a year!  And the Pokémon they have are usually taken back by the gangs before the people are.  Jenny moved in the central area of the station and moved about the hustle and bustle of the station and walked into her office.  She closed the door and sat behind her desk and leaned back in her chair and sighed, that person knew exactly what restraints she was under and how far he could push her hoping to spark a reaction from her.  A the sound of her phone caused her to look up and smiled when she saw it was from the station in Snowbelle City and smiled, she would call about today.  She picked up the phone and smirked.

 “Hey cousin, how the temperature up there, hot yet?”  Jenny asked with a total deadpan tone.

 “A balmy 22 degrees, the suns out and I’m in a grass skirt, how are the bugs down there, swarming?” A playful voice asked, causing Jenny to laugh.

 “Don’t mention bugs, we finally got the Scolipede’s leader but the brat knows what we have to do with him and he’s not breaking.  And what’s worse he was caught with members of the Buzz Lords with him so how far they’ve been working together I can’t say, but this is really going to give me trouble.”  Jenny said as she turned the chair around and looked out her window.

 “I would give anything for a gang like them up here; it would be so much more easier to deal with then what’s happening.”  Jenny sat up and started to look worried.

 “Why did you say that, what’s happened?”  Jenny demanded in a rush.  She heard a sigh and what sounded like something being put down.

 “In the last three weeks patrollers have found blood remains of animals, Pokémon and as of today three humans.  I think a new Black Mark has been born around here.”  Jenny went white as soon as the words registered.

 “Are you serious!?  A new Black Mark!?” Jenny demainded as she stood up and sent her chair rolling against the wall.

 “Again we’ve only found remains.  I’m having our corner look over the human remains for any marks that are constant, and some officers are hoping it’s just a human sicko but I’m not.”  Jenny reached for her chair and forced a laugh.

 “Maybe that gang you’ve been talking about will run into it and they’ll take each other out.”  Jenny joked and heard a laugh from the phone.

 “I’m not that lucky cousin. Still if something does turn up like I’m dreading I might be calling on you for help.”  This caused Jenny to grin and chuckle.  

 “As long as there’s nothing happening here I’m always up for helping out family.”  Jenny said with a smirk before a sudden commotion from the interrogation room caused her to look up

 “Sorry got to run, something’s happening stay safe you hear me?”  Jenny said as she put the phone down without waiting for a replay.  She rushed out and saw people milling about a doorway, every one of them had looks of shock, anger or looked like they were going to be sick.  She went still when she realized that they were in front of the room she had used with the captured ganger and she pushed past them to stare into the room and went white.  The body was her suspect, Frank Isolod, dead.  Something had thrown a knife made of what looked like ice into his throat and clawed out his eyes and torn away his lower jaw.  Jenny’s eyes noticed one of the vents was missing with the surrounding metal partially frozen over and pieces of ice on the floor.  Jenny turned to the others mulling about and looked towards the officer in charge of the cellblock.

 “The other gangers?” Jenny asked, already knowing the answer before she even asked, not surprised when he shook his head.

 “I was bringing them their supper when I discovered them dead from a blow to the neck; it was fast and quick at least.  I can’t understand how they died, the wounds small enough for a knife but I can’t even tell where the knife went.”  The sergeant said with a scowl on his face as he scowled.

 “Ice.  The wounds were made from something made of ice.  The assassin was a Pokémon, something small enough to get through the vents.”  Jenny said as she pointed at the frozen metal before she turned and moved toward the front. As soon as she reached the squad room she started to give out orders.

 “This is bad but we will find some way around this!  I want people outside looking for anything small enough to fit through the vents and can use Ice moves!  I want at least two people going over every sighting of the Buzz Lords to try and find their base or where they might have someplace they’ve been seen often!  And someone call Viola, I need to talk to her about failed Trainers!  I’ll send a request for help from national!”  Jenny barked as she moved towards her office, the people who heard her moving to carry out her orders.

  Meowth looked at the police station from across the street and threw a rock covered in a piece of paper up and caught it as he thought about what he was doing.  His team was changing, they had proven more than the rank and file years ago and there was that thing with Looker but that was against Team Plasma so it could be excused, but this was taking a stand, and he prayed that the Boss never found out.   Or if Butch and Cassidy ever find out, that’ll be trouble. Those two have been acting capgy last time we saw them.  But they ain’t got anything on how Domino’s been lately. Meowth thought as a shudder as he thought about the look she had in her eyes the last time they had seen her. Forget everything about how some of others acted, there was just something wrong with her. Thankfully she was mostly in headquarters so they hadn’t seen her much but there were rumors among the team about her that had been going about, and Meowth didn’t like them one bit.  But this was something else, no matter how he’d justify it this was just one more way Jessie and James were starting to pull away from Team Rocket, if they ever decided to say no to Team Rocket then he’d have to make a choice.   But that was for the future, this was the present, he had to stay focused.

 “Still, we’ve all got our reasons for being here, but we’ve also gotta act according to what we can live with ourselves.”  Meowth muttered as he looked at the windows, wondering where he should throw the rock through when he noticed movement on the roof.  Meowth ducked down behind the wall at the roof’s edge and sneaked a glance over the edge and saw a Weavile get out of a vent on the station’s roof. Meowth’s eyes went hard when it noticed it throw a small piece of meat into the air before it swallowed it, did the meat have something hanging off it?  Meowth watched as it jumped off the roof onto the next building, heading towards the north of town, the opposite direction of the Buzz Lord’s base. Commotion by the station’s entrance caused him to look and notice as police poured out, running every which way and looking for anything that looked out of place.  The local Officer Jenny came out a second latter and looked like she was ready to kill something.

 Meowth snarled as he realized just what this meant.  That Weavile had killed someone in there and now the plan was so much scrap!  If he threw it now they’d think it was a trap at best, them being screwed with at worst. This is just perfect!  I can’t think of any way to get this information to them that they’d believe it! I can’t not pass on this information and there’s no way that won’t have Jess and James in hot water with the Boss! There has to be a way…ello, what’s this? Meowth wondered as a sandy blonde woman with a camera around her neck was running towards Jenny.

 Jenny had a scowl on her face as she tried to get her emotions under control as she tried to get some control over the situation.  That stupid, arrogant bastard! ‘The security of the station is the responsibility of all officers stationed there and no others.  We shall not escalate or give the  criminal element an excuse to even think about doing the same.’  Whose side is he really on, the law or the lawbreakers?  An assassin sneaks into the station, kills people in custody and when I request some help to handle a raid he shuts it down the same hour I make the formal request.

 “Jenny, hey.  Woah, what died around here?”  A voice caused her to turn her head and look at Viola who was looking around in confusion.  Jenny just sighed and shook her head, knowing just how Voila would react about what she was about to tell her.

 “Three people died, more to the point the three were the people who were caught outside your gym after they assaulted those two girls.”  Jenny said as she braced herself for the eruption.  Viola only stared in shock before she started to go red in the face.

 “WHAT, THE, HELL.  How the devil did they?!” Viola demand as she started to flex her fingers, grasping an invisible throat.  Jenny just sighed and locked eyes with Viola’s.

 “Something that could use Ice moves and move through the vents of the station.  The two lower ranked were killed quickly, the leader’s body was desecrated.  Do you know of any Bug types that that can use moves that could create a small weapon and throw it at a target?”  Jenny asked only to watch Viola shake her head.

 “Nothing that could move through the vents, if they were frozen solid then I could think of some Bug types, heck I have one on my team!”  Voila said as Jenny cursed.  There goes the hope that she would know something the general public doesn’t, I admit it was a long shot but I had to try. A commotion from the sides caused both of them to turn their heads.

 “Look kid I’m telling you….!” The speaker was one of the patrolmen who was arguing with a blond boy in blue overalls wearing glasses and wearing a large backpack.

 “And I’m telling you I will be speaking to your boss or so help me!”  Clemont began as Viola noticed who was arguing with the policeman.

 “Clemont, is that you? What are you doing here?”  Viola called out as she gestured for him to be let in.

 “Voila, it’s good to see you but I’ll get to the point, a few hours ago my sister and three of my friends were attacked and only my sister and one of them was able to escape. Ash went to find them and he sent me messages that he followed the tracks to an abandoned theater where people wearing the same clothing as the people who attacked Lilly before were.” Clemont said in a rush, causing Jenny and Viola to look at him.

 “They attacked them? You’re sure about that?”  Jenny demanded as she grabbed Clemont’s shoulder.  Clemont met Jenny’s eyes with a hard look in his and replayed to her question.

 “My sister was brought to the Center because a Beedrill poisoned her.  So yes I’m sure about it.”  Jenny looked at him for a few minutes before she turned to her men.

 “I want all force ready to go in five minutes!  We have a lead and I am not letting it slip through our fingers this time!  Gym Leader Viola, would you mind assisting us on this?”  Jenny asked as she turned back to Clemont and Voila.

 Meowth just smiled to himself as he absorbed over what he had heard.  I guess Jess and James are going to get a front row seat for the Twep’s next rage.  It’s always something to see if you’re not on the receiving end!  But I guess stealing form them will be easier with ‘help’ from him and the law.  Sorry I couldn’t get here in time, hope you’re okay girls.  Meowth thought to himself as he started to make his way back to his friends.  He could only hope that they had arranged the disguises they would need for after the raid.

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 Ash looked at the ‘abandoned’ theater and frowned when he saw all the people in green outside it. As soon as he had discovered the base of the Buzz Lords he had sent a message to Clemont and he hopped that it took a while for him to bring the Calvary, he wanted a few minutes to ‘talk’ with this gang’s leader, preferably over weapons.  So five people outside, two Beedrills and a Pinsir as backup.  So Pikachu for the guards and Froakie and Fletchling to handle the Pokémon until Pikachu can help them.

 “Pikachu, like when we raided that place in Kanto.  Froakie, Fletchling handle the Pokémon that remain moving after Pikachu leads off, I’ll handle the people.”  Ash said as he put his cloak back into his bag and adjusted his shield and sword as he looked at his Pokémon.  

 “Froakie.”

 Flechtling!”

 “Pika!”

 “Thanks guys.  Pikachu give me a 50 count to get closer.  Once that’s done Thunderwave and then melee the Pokémon until their knocked out.”  Ash said as he moved down the alley, getting closer to the theater as he moved, counting down in his head as he went.  When he reached 35 he had crept close enough to overhear the guards talking to each other

 “Did ya see the new girls that were brought in earlier?  They were both lookers.”  One of the guards with a broken tooth asked another wearing an eyepatch.

 “Did ya see the rack on the black haired one, can’t wait to have when she’s trained up a bit.” Eyepatch said.

 “Blonde’s more my style mates, can’t wait until the boss is done with her.”  One wearing glasses said with a laugh as Ash started to greet his teeth.

 “Pika?”   A cute sound voice caused Ash to smirk.

 “Hey, ain’t that a Pikachu? What’s wrong little guy, want some food?”  Another one asked.

 “Pika Pikachu!” Pikachu cried as it unleashed a devastating Thunder Wave that caused the guards and their Pokémon to cry out and when it ended, all but two of them were on the ground as their Pokémon struggled to get up.  Before one of the Beedrills could do more then start to get up, a sphere of water hit it, sending it back to the ground unconscious.

 “Where’d the hell did that come from!”  The leader asked as he struggled to steady himself.

 “Up there boss!” Glass’s cried as Froakie, Pikachu and Fletchling attacked the other two Pokémon.  As the two guards stared at the battle Ash darted behind the leader and bashed him with his shield, knocking him out.

 “So let’s have us a talk about where those two girls are, shall we?”  Ash said with a smirk that caused Glasses to start to pale and stumble backwards, pulling out a short blade that he pointed at Ash.  Glasses looked at the battle between Ash’s Pokémon and paled when he saw Pikachu use Iron Tail to slam the Pinsir against a wall of one of the other buildings as Fletchling shot silver crescents at Beedrill as Froakie threw another water sphere at Beedrill.

 “Call those three off, call them off now!”  He demanded as Ash swung his sword and took a stance.

 “Make me.”  Ash said with a small smirk.

 “RAAAGGGHH!”  Glasses cried as he ran at Ash and sliced down with his sword, Ash parried the blade with his sword and locked eyes with his opponent, seeing the fear in them and mentally went over his plan.  So just another bully when he’s with a group, hu?  I just need to disarm him and then he’ll sing like a canary once I’m in a position where he’s weaker than me.  A bit of intimidation and then I’m in.  Ash thought as he led Glassess backwards, away from the theater as he tried to isolate his opponent.  

 Glasses stared at the person who had attacked the gang, he was falling back like cowards always do, all he had to do was disarm him and he could force his Pokémon to stand down. He thought what the boss would do when he walked into the base with someone who’d attacked the gang, and as he slashed at the attacker he started to fantasies about what he’d get for this. Suddenly he saw his opponent smirk grow and stopped and looked around, paling as he did so.  The guards Pokémon were all on the ground and he was surrounded by the attackers Pokémon and the attacker had stopped moving backwards and was staring at him.

 “So you figured out what I was doing too late, so you have a choice to make.”  Ash said as he watched Glasses paling face as his hands started to shake and he looked around.  Glasses dropped his blade and raised his arms above his head.

 “Don’t hurt me please! I never did anything more than scare a few people and collected some money from people we offered insurance to!” Glasses stammered as he watched Ash.

 “The girls, where are they?” Ash demanded as he watched the stammering fool.

 “The black haired was brought to what’s called General Initiation, I’ve never been there.  The blond was to be brought to the boss. That all I know I swear!”  Glasses said with a quiver to his voice. Ash looked at the theater and saw no movements from within and thought.   No signs that they know that anything is happening out here, so maybe I’m lucky, but I have to move on.

 “Right, you’ve been a big help, so I’m going to do you a favor.  I’m only going to knock you out, not paralyze you.”  Ash said as he knocked Glasses out with his shield.  He walked towards the doors to the theater and saw that the doors were locked.  Just like that time hu, so we went quite but now it’s time to go loud.

 “Pikachu break the door down.”  Ash said as he stretched and gripped his shield and sword as Pikachu gained a smirk as the others moved to stand by Ash.

  Inside the lobby 10 members of the Buzz Lords milled about.  Ever since the others that had returned with the girls the base had been on lockdown and the group had been ordered to move to their squads bases and go dark and prepare for a big announcement and those at the main base were those who hadn’t join one of the squads yet.  With the guards who had been killed in the monitoring room the whole base was on edge, and with the lockdown a lot of them were nervous that something might happen.

 “So you decided what ya going to try out for yet?”

 “The say that the boss of the ‘Riders was caught by the cops, guessing their Vice is going up in rank.”

 “I heard that the reason the boys were killed was because one of the other gangs around here are planning to move on us and they were taking out our eyes.”

 “There’s no way any of the scum around here coulda done that, if they were they’d been here by now….” One of them scoffed right before the doors exploded sending the remains of the door flying towards them, some of the pieces knocking out four of the gangers in the lobby and causing wounds on the others.  They looked towards the remains of the door and saw Ash walk through the smoke and stood defiantly with his Pokémon by his side.

 “Evening all, a lady I know told me that you guys found two friends who were wondering around the city and I’ve come to pick them up.  I told a friend of mine where we are and he went to see Jenny for help in rewarding you all for taking care of them.  So want to wait nicely or do we have a nice spar beforehand?”  Ash asked with a smirk.  The gangers stared at him in shock as some of them drew forth weapons or Pokéballs. Ash just shook his head and stepped backwards, while Pikachu blasted them with a bolt of electricity!

 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  Rex snarled as he heard the explosion from the front of the building.  Perhaps it was one of his enemies coming to talk with him.  He looked up and saw Damian walking into the room with a Hypno walking behind him and his Weavile.

 “What are you doing here? I didn’t call you, did you handle the problem at the station?”  Rex demanded as Damian started to chuckle before he replied

 “My friend made sure that the captured fools wouldn’t speak anymore.  It was the least I could do as a last request for an idiot like you.  A fool who couldn’t even tell the truth of someone right in front of him.” Damian said with a feminine voice. Rex dropped his mouth as he realized what Damian had said, more what Damian sounded like.

 “Who the…what the….Who the hell are you!?”  Rex demanded before a blue glow outlined his body and he lost control of his body.

 “Allow me to reintroduce myself.” Damian said as he reached up and grabbed his bandages and another hand grabbed his cloths and spun around, disappearing from sight as he twirled.  As the clothing and banadages started to move off Damian’s body a feminine shape appeared, revealing that Damian was a woman.

 “The name is Darcy, master assassin of the Returners.”  The woman said in a seductive tone of voice.   Her long white hair flowed in waves down her back and she wore a black short corset dress that ended at her knees and she had on black knee high boots. Her lips were painted an abyssal black and her eyes were the color of ice with blue eyeliner above them.  She had an hourglass figure and as she strutted towards Rex he felt a wave of desire hit him before his rage killed it. She gave off a musical chuckle when she looked into his eyes and saw the emotions in them.

 “So you fought it off, I need to change the makeup of my special perfume to work better.  Ah well, this has been a great relationship Rexie-dear.  Your sister is now the head of your family, the rage you felt at being passed over will be the perfect answer to why you did this.”  Damain…Darcy to Rex’s confusion. What the hell is this broad talking about, what’s her endgame. This can’t be the will of the Regent, it can’t be!  Rex thought as he struggled to reach one of his Pokéballs as Darcy laughed.

 “Oh, you didn’t know? That paperweight is actually the symbol of your family’s headship; by losing it you lost all rights to lead your family.”  Darcy said with a musical giggle at the end as Rex reacted, feeling pleasure as she saw the rage and anger in his eyes at the fact his sister had pulled one over on him.

 “I’d love to stay and chat, but it’s time for you to sleep and forget.  It has been anything but a pleasure to have known you.”  Darcy said as Rex’s eyes grew heavy as he fell asleep as Darcy put both her hand parallel to his head.

  “My Lord, My Lord wake up!” A voice said as someone shook Rex awake. Rex blinked and saw one of his Lieutenants shaking him.  Rex looked around and heard the sounds of battle farther towards the front of the base

 “I’m awake, what the hell is happening!?”  Rex demanded as he looked around and saw five of his followers around him.

 “A trainer with a sword is slaughtering us!  His Pikachu strikes our Pokémon and his other two finish them off!  And his Pikachu is knocking our guys out or paralyzing them!” Rex stared in shock before he slapped himself.  So he’s brave enough to challenge us on his own, prefect.  I know he’s a great trainer since he beat Viola’s strategy but this is great! Once he’s under my command I’ll finally have a worth second.  But still, why did I have to recruit this guy the hard way without trying the soft way first?  No other choice then to handle this myself since those people already left.

 “You!  Bring that new blond and somebody get me my armor and weapons, I’ll handle him here.”  Rex ordered as he stood up.  He could still handle this, his conquest of this city was still on track, and once he had conquered this town he would march on his families estate and take it back from his sister, and prove that he and he alone should have been giving his families leadership in the first place no matter what his father thought before he and his mother thought about him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

P A treon.com/bardofworlds for special rewards for all patrons

  Black Mark; A Chimera that has earned an epitaph. League policy is to put bounty on all identified Black Marks, but most aren’t identified by dead bodies recovered by people.

[mirai-e-jump]

Animage December 2023 Issue ft. Yuzuki Hirakawa Interview (translation below)

Publication: November 10, 2023 (between episodes 35-36)

"Remain Immovable"

Rita Kaniska, who rules the absolutely neutral country of Gokkan, is both the king and chief judge who passes down judgment on international criminals.

"The Law is the spear that pierces kings. The Law is the shield that protects man. For this reason, Gokkan will remain immovable."

Rita never wavers in their convictions at any time, and judges fairly according to the law.

However, just like anyone else, Rita also has a heart. They get angry at those who resell goods based on their beloved animated character "Moffun," and when their emotions get out of control, they scream in public.

When they tried to seal Grodie with the "Ice Seal," a secret sacrificial technique that's possessed within their right eye, they felt the fear of death. Still, Rita's strength lies in their determination to remain neutral and immovable as the king of Gokkan.

It must have been a positive thing for Rita to have friends who understood their way of living, were concerned about them, and tried to help them.

The current mission of the Royal Sentai, is to reclaim the countries of Chikyu that have been conquered by the Uchu Five Jesters. Goma, who rules Gokkan, is a difficult opponent, once messing around with the kings using a technique that switches bodies. What awaits Rita in the upcoming battle to reclaim Gokkan?

-I want to make use of the sword fighting skills I learned from Hachisuka-san-

"As the story progressed, the number of kings working together increased, but is there anything you're conscious of when expressing these relationships?"

Hirakawa: Basically, I try not to put my personal feelings into it, but after starting the second chapter, I feel like we're closer than ever. I'm not sure if a part of them that unconsciously feels at ease has emerged. However, I think Rita doesn't just think of them as their friends, rather, they're comrades that help protect Chikyu. When it comes to Hymeno, who is the closest to them, rather than being conscious of how I interact with her, I treat her naturally as Rita, reacting timidly to Hymeno's aggressive advances.

"We found it interesting that when they switched bodies with Yanma in episode 28, unlike the other kings, they didn't seem to become closer."

Hirakawa: Everyone else had good interactions, but we were in an interesting frame of, "Huh, what are we doing?" (laughs). In that episode, I also discussed with Director Kamihoriuchi Kazuya that among the kings, Yanma would probably enjoy being swapped the most, and that the most important thing was to enjoy the chaos of the situation. Also, I thought that if I went too hard in my approach, it would be too rough, or that it would come off as lame, so I decided to just do it naturally. The Director told me things like, "You don't have to try doing it like Yanma," so I felt like I played much more as myself

"Have you heard any feedback from Watanabe Aoto-san, who plays Yanma?"

Hirakawa: When we met up, he said, "It was alot of fun!" and "It was cool." But, Aoto's Rita was way too much (laughs). I don't really roll my eyes or cross my eyes or anything like that. "I" did that because I reached a state of maximum irritation due to the stress of being swapped…..if you think about it, could it be possible? When I saw the final cut and realized how he performed, I was surprised and asked myself, "I've been doing this?"

"What do you take into consideration when interacting with Morfonia, your retainer?"

Hirakawa: I try to be as "flat" as possible without being too overwhelming. Like in the kabedon scene in episode 25, when they want to convey their thoughts, I'm always conscious of conveying them clearly, even if it's in their own awkward way. No matter what Rita and Morfonia say to each other, they'll never leave each other, as they know that their relationship won't change, so I feel like they're not hesitant about it.

"Have you had any memorable interactions with Yuichi Hachisuka-san, PapillonOhger's Suit Actor?"

Hirakawa: We usually film separately from each other, so I share information with Hachisuka-san whenever we meet. He incorporates what I talk to him about into his actions after the transformation. When we're fighting unmasked, he's always by the camera man's side, giving me friendly and detailed advice. We also have alot of small talk that's unrelated to acting, so I'm very grateful that he's so open and friendly with me.

"In terms of unmasked action, we think that episodes 32 and 33 depicted some pretty intense action scenes."

Hirakawa: That's right. It was the first time in the second chapter that I had to fight unmasked, and there were quite alot of moves. Rita's fighting style is not to attack the enemy themself, but to cut them down as the enemies approach them, so sword fighting skills are important. It's important to have a sense of balance between stopping your movements and applying force, and Hachisuka-san taught me alot not only during action practice, but also on the set. I've always loved to move my body, and even before King-Ohger I participated in a few practice sessions for action scenes and became interested in it. Hachisuka-san taught me the basics of how to hold, swing, and draw out the sword, and I'd like to continue challenging myself even after King-Ohger is over.

-Overflowing emotions between my mission and fear-

"The cast members of King-Ohger are actively engaged on SNS, but we have the impression that Hirakawa-san especially has frequent opportunities to interact with the fans."

Hirakawa: I'm conscious of doing something on SNS every day. I belong to LDH, which is famous as an artist agency, and their artists have many opportunities to directly interact with their supporters at things such as live performances and release events. However, the acting team doesn't have many opportunities like that, so I wanted to create a place to interact with the fans, so I use the Twitter space to talk and stream on Instagram Live. Also, I wanted to give people a chance to get to know me through Rita. I'm glad that the fans enjoy the gap between me and Rita.

"I see. It sounds like you had some deep thoughts and were communicating them."

Hirakawa: Well, I've always liked talking, so when I'm home alone, I sometimes start saying, "I'm kinda bored," or "I'll talk for abit" (laughs). I feel that I've become better at speaking since I've started streaming, and that my thinking is faster than before. Up until now, I haven't had many opportunities to communicate with the fans, so when I read their comments, it was encouraging to realize that there were so many people who supported me.

"Other than Rita, if you had to name your favorite character, who would it be?"

Hirakawa: Since playing him in the body swap episode, I feel attached to Yanma. I've always wanted to play a role with that kind of cool feel and slightly rough tone. Also, I guess I'd say Gira. I think his charm lies in that he's straightforward, honest, and cute, but the anger he shows and the feelings he has for his friends is also appealing. His face is looking more and more like that of a king, and in episode 29, there's even an effect where lights rush from his eyes, which was super cool!

"Please tell us about some of the most memorable episodes so far."

Hirakawa: In episode 30, the secret of Rita's right eye was revealed, and the culprit behind the "Wrath of God" was revealed to be Grodie, which still leaves an impression on me. I didn't know about the secret of their right eye, so I was surprised when I read the script. Grodie is played by Amano Kousei-san, who is a senior at my agency, and he also performed in Kamen Rider (played Sakuya Tachibana/Kamen Rider Garren in Kamen Rider Blade), so I have fond memories of being able to co star with him.

"Shiono Akihisa-san, who plays Souji Rippukan (Kyoryu Green) in episodes 32 and 33, also comes from the same agency."

Hirakawa: Yes. Shortly after being chosen to play Rita, I happened to have the opportunity to meet Shiono-san in another production, where I told him that I would be appearing in Sentai. I was very happy to be able to work together in the collaboration episodes, with Shiono-san encouraging me with, "Do you best."

"Going back to episode 30, we think it was a major turning point from Rita's perspective."

Hirakawa: The relationship with Karras, the previous king, was explored in depth, and Rita's actions towards their mission and determination to protect their people was depicted, which I thought was cool to play. For the scenes where Rita's emotions were overflowing, I wanted to express them in advance, and wanted to express them within the atmosphere of the scene. The scene where Karras collapsed in front of my eyes was so powerful, that I was surprised at how much emotion I felt inside of me and how much it moved me. The scene where they use the "Ice Seal" on Grodie is especially emotional. It's a secret technique that seals away both yourself and your opponent, so using it will lead to Rita's death. Rita is conflicted between their duty as a king to protect their people, and their fear of dying. I played the role imagining those feelings, but since I had never experienced the loss of a loved one, it became so overwhelming, that I couldn't stop crying during filming, and had to be given time to calm down.

"You played the part with a great amount of emotion."

Hirakawa: When I read the script, I often write down what I'm thinking of at that moment, but for the scene where I use the secret technique, I wrote, "I leave the rest to you." Then, when it came time to perform, I imagined everyone's faces…..I thought, "I don't want to die," and "But" and I cried not only as Rita, but also as Yuzuki Hirakawa (laughs). By deciding to protect the lives of their people and the peace of Chikyu more than their own life, Rita was able to grow even more, and when Hymeno stopped them, I feel that they were able to firmly realize that they were not alone.

"Finally, please tell us about some future highlights."

Hirakawa: In episode 36, Rita will do some interesting things in the scenes regarding Hymeno's marriage matchmaking, but I think episode 38 will be the main highlight for Rita. Filming is about to begin (at the time of this interview), so I know I have to do my best......I really hope everyone will look forward to it (laughs). _

Question to Kaku So-san! (Kaguragi Dybowski's Actor)

Kaguragi often goes to different places alone, like infiltrating other places, without anyone noticing. I'm curious to know how he manages to stay out of everyone's sight with such a large body. I also want to know how he takes care of his long hair. If you look closely, Kaguragi's hair is quite smooth. It's actually a wig, but I'd like to hear Kaku-san's interpretation of how Kaguragi takes care of his smooth hair. (-Hirakawa)

Questions from Murakami Erica-san! (Hymeno Ran's Actor)

Q: What kind of food does Rita like? If you were to make a Gokkan coat for Hymeno, what would you propose?

I have a feeling that Rita likes sweet things. I personally like wagashi, so I think they'd appreciate that (laughs). A coat that's a dress with her legs showing would look cold, so it should be like a poncho and worn over the top. I think a long coat with a hood would be nice. A fluffy white ball (snowman) coat, or a kamikiri (mantis) coat! (-Hirakawa)

[mofffun]

my full Rita backstory headcanons:

(this is before anything ep16 came out and pure conjecture)

Family

Rita was born to ex-convict parents who gave them their best despite harsh conditions.

Rita probably met the Gokkan Yeti very young once.

Rita was given up for adoption to the Gokkan sovereign when the time came to select a sucessor.

They are not adopted right away but they had to leave their family/family name for the sake of neutrality when they enter the royal academy. That happened when they turned 10.

Their parents find it difficult to let go but giving Rita a chance at a better life and to see the wider world is more important.

Rita doesn't fully understand the weight of turning their back on their birth family yet, but they understood where their parents are coming from and wanted to do something for their community.

Gokkan had the reputaion of harbouring criminals and vicious characters but growing up, along with an absolute sense of right and wrong, Rita also saw people who help each other and try hard to begin again.

To be able to judge people not with presumption but a willingness to give them second chances is one of the merit criteria for the Gokkan throne.

God Papillon's will factor in too, somehow.

Over the years Rita has seen many people who are not accepted by society be driven to crime hence their empathy and the line to Jeremy in ep12

Rita's mother taught them about taking responsibilities when mistakes are made.

Rita’s father takes baby Rita on hikes and teach them to identify creatures.

Baby Rita loves to laugh, so much.

with Morfonia

Morfonia was a child pickpocket/cat burglar that was given a second chance at the academy.

Rita and Morfonia are the same age but Morfonia came to court two years later.

Morfonia was a bit rebellious at first but seeing Rita be the teacher's pet sparked her comeptitiveness.

Morfonia headed a one-sided rivalry with Rita for that term.

Morfonia is really smart and ace school without trying but she could just never win against the studious Rita.

Morfonia has never wanted to go to work

When it’s term final and Morfonia finally took top of class this once Rita didn’t show up for some reason, she found Rita buried themself in a Moffun-shaped snow fort.

of which Rita took a page off Morfonia’s book to skip school,

then she became as clingy to Rita as she can within limits of Rita's aversion to physical touch.

(when i say class i mean them joining the groups of 5 adult staff taking continued studies)

They probably have a lot of teenage misadventures together and Predecessor would scold Morfonia for “bad influencing” Rita, but they saw Rita needed those fun times too.

Rita “what is sleep” Kaniska

The Gokkan throne:

Meritocracy (x

the Gokkan throne is probably not for life, just that no one really wants to take the job it feels like life

It’s a high-risk job but some sovereigns did retire

gender neutral is not throne-related/demanded

Predecessor’s political assassination pushed Rita to hold neutrality to the extreme

Kaniska is the royal family name!

Rita took the throne at 17 (8 years ago) (that still somehow made them the last to be crowned... hc: Yanma at 15 but gradually (x

There's an apprentice period where Rita shadows the Sovereign more closely in the last three years. This is cut short with their mentor's death.

Predecessor might’ve died because they know too much of Shugoddom’s dirty secrets? Or they delivered an unjust verdict in exchange of Gokkan's interest and it backfired?

my Predecessor is probably someone they look up to, but wouldn’t dare go too close even though they legally can (or the fact that Predecessor does see them as their child); give lenient sentences a bit too often in Rita’s eyes; a bit too close to Shugoddom to Rita’s liking; has a sweet tooth

Rita struggled on when to give harsh and lenient sentences until Predecessor died

Other ideas I want to develop more on:

RITA IN THE AIDE UNIFORM

Rita’s relationsip with Predecessor

RITA GOING ON AWKWARD OFFICIAL VISITS TO EACH COUNTRY AFTER THEY ASCENDED (but it's the first time they left home…)

Combat training!

tradional arts and customs of Gokkan

GOKKAN SNOW FESTIVAL PLS

administration in Gokkan

Rita with northern lights! with sunlight cycles!

How did Rita and Kaguragi meet???

Kaguragi-Racles-Rita older gen/frenemies combo

I don't have very concrete headcanons about their gender expression as I don't have much personal experience on this. But I think it's something along the lines of, they never really gave much thought of it because the answer was obvious. They don't particularly align with one gender or another, it's just, it doesn't matter what gender I am in regards of my abilities to perform my duties as sovereign? so it's not really anyone's business to be nosy either.

i would not be immune to if in younger days Rita used to dress ‘lil princess’ but i don’t think that’s where canon’s going (but the "tutu" in Rita's room??!!!?!?)

Rita’s coronation ceremony or Rita in regal CLOAKS

Will Rita have a “break out of the cocoon” arc?

tbh Gokkan choir deserve their own episode

[meandmyechoes]

pre-36 lil essay.

oh boy. finally. waiting two weeks is kill me.

but not really. i've wanted a break since, everything and it's kinda nice to not have to fret for the thrill last sunday. there was an annual fair i go every year since I was a child so I looked forward to that.

However, the week after that (this week) was bad ToT. I have no motivation to do anything even though I'm well-rested and fed physically. I had so much (reports) to do and don't want to do anything at all. The wait to Friday 5pm has never been so hard especially since they released the "Finished" announcement early on Tuesday.

Since two weeks have passed, I've read every theory without thinking too hard about it. I've learnt my lesson not to overthink King-Oh. One thing I want to point out though, it'd be a shame if Himeno isn't the co-star of her Retainers arc. The most convincing theory I've seen is the silver-hair guy is actually Himeno wearing Sebastian's real face. That would give Erica room to show off while keeping Himeno active in her story. Sebastian could stay by fake!Himeno/Kamejim side and corroborate with Himeno. The intersting part would be the flashback of how the two first met.

About Himeno's marriage contract. I'm not surprised she has one. I watched my fair share of court drama worldwide I know the first thing you graduate from being an heir is to produce an heir of your own. I know that's not within Nitiasa's jurisdiction but that's a very practical question! If not how they are going to do a Return V-cine! Haha but I hadn't expect them to really address it. For all we know, the Ikemen having a contract with Himeno is only his word. That would be further unreliable if it really was Himeno in speical makeup. I'm not too stressed about it. Toei will never make himerita canon but Takamina sure enjoys giving Rita girlfriends. The episode might just end on a typical girl's power move.

Just skimmed Rita's animage interview. phew 38 is confirmed to be Gokkan's Retainers arc. That means 37 is Kaguragi and KMH directing is simply the two might be more important. Maybe he's just filling in because YMG is on Rider now. Let's not scare ourselves.

FINE. 2 weeks? I can wait.

Ritamoru round though. Really scared. I have no loyalty to either ships I just eat whatever canon or not gives me. But I think fundamentally Himeno and Morfonia means different things to Rita. I like Himerita but I also voted for Ritamoru in the poll because I want to see Rita taking initiative. (If Rita-sama ends up one foot two boat "i pretend i do not see") I remember before 16 I was firm ritamoru lol.

What I meant is, OH MY GOD I'M SO SCARED WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO COOK UP FOR RITAMORU. BY GOD Kamihoriuchi. What did Takamina wrote in the script that made Yuzuki train like she can't feel her muscles anymore. Did they film that on Yuzuki's birthay.

I'm so scared because ep35 got me hard and I don't even ship wblue. I grew to like Yanma entirely because of how he is written and portrayed (i.e. it's more rational than falling for Rita at first sight and recgonition of the self). and bro… ep35 was so so good and that's JUST Katou directing in a very adaequate, typical way (positive).

I'm scared to even think about it. I had my ritamoru childhood rival origins way back that's been disproved by 16. They will answer Moru's question of why she is chosen unanswered in 16. I think ep38 is definitely going to be Rita trying to pass Moru the Ice Seal. (Guessing) but she ran away and Rita has to go find her, cue flashbacks.

(i wrote this 2am last night)