Two days passed, and Lucien had settled everything thoroughly.
He chose not to travel with a fleet or a formal escort. Only his Pokémon: Kyurem, Dragonite, Serperior, and Volcarona.
In the castle courtyard, Anna had gathered the core League members to see him off. There was no ceremony, only a few quiet words.
"Everything on the Unova side has been properly handed over. The League, security, and agriculture, everyone holds their position. There will be no problems." Lucien's gaze moved over the assembled faces, his voice unhurried and calm.
"Sensei." Anna's composure slipped slightly. "Please be careful out there."
"Don't worry." A warm smile crossed his face. "Protect Lucien City. Protect the Kingdom. I'm leaving it in your hands."
He crouched down beside the Minccino clustered at his feet, all of them pressing close with small, reluctant faces, and gently stroked each one in turn.
"Don't worry, I'll be back before long. While I'm away, you listen to Elif. No wandering off, understand?"
The Minccino nodded their small heads in rapid, earnest succession.
Elif stepped forward, his expression carrying the particular look of someone who had something more to say and wasn't sure he should say it. "Your Majesty... are you certain you don't wish to send an envoy to Kalos first? To inform their king of your coming?"
Lucien considered it briefly, then shook his head. "Not yet. I want to observe the situation there myself, without announcing my presence. When the time is right, I'll reveal my identity as King of Unova and meet with King AZ directly."
"But the reports say the war there is still ongoing. Please take care," Elif said, the worry in his voice plain.
Lucien smiled. "Kyurem will be with me the entire time."
At those words, the faces around him shifted, and more than one person quietly recalled the Battle of the Three Kings, when Lucien had stood alone against the armies of the First and Second Princes and walked away from it.
"I know what I'm doing," he said simply.
He turned, swung up onto Dragonite's back with practiced ease, and looked back at the group one last time.
"Go on."
He raised a hand, not a grand farewell gesture, just a small, unhurried wave, and Dragonite's great wings spread wide. In a few powerful strokes they were airborne, the courtyard and the faces within it shrinking steadily below, until Lucien City itself was just a glittering shape against the green and the light, and then nothing at all.
Dragonite's speed was something else entirely. Before long, the land had fallen away behind them and a vast expanse of deep blue ocean stretched in every direction. The sea wind pressed against Lucien's robes. Dragonite flew with the steady, unhurried confidence of something that had been made for exactly this, its silhouette clean and bright against the sunlight.
Lucien looked back once at the receding Unova coastline, feeling a quiet reluctance, and then turned to face forward, where calm anticipation waited.
More than half a day passed in the open air. Then, at the edge of the sea, a landmass slowly rose from the horizon, continuous, undulating, growing more distinct with every minute. Dragonite's wings carried them through the last layer of coastal mist, its round body tracing a smooth arc as it descended slightly.
Lucien narrowed his eyes against the wind.
Endless green mountains spread out below, rich with deep colour. At the mountain foothills, the outlines of towns were visible, and rising above them, tall windmills turning slowly in the breeze, their peaks lost in low cloud. A tranquil scene, almost idyllic.
And yet, on the distant horizon, thin columns of black smoke rose at irregular intervals. Beneath them, barely audible from this height, came a low and rolling sound like faraway thunder.
"As expected," Lucien murmured, one hand resting lightly on Dragonite's neck. "The war is already here."
He leaned forward slightly. "Find somewhere quiet to land. Don't draw attention."
Dragonite gave a soft, willing cry, folded its wings, and angled downward, skimming low over the water toward a sheltered bay lined with dense trees. In the distance, a city sat nestled between the mountains and the sea.
Lucien didn't recognise it. He turned it over in his memory for a moment, then recalled Dragonite into its Poké Ball and continued on foot toward the city walls.
As he drew closer, he noticed the signs: scorch marks on the stonework, the faint smell of smoke still hanging in the air, fresh damage that hadn't yet been cleared away.
Whatever had happened here, it hadn't been long ago. Armoured guards stood at the city gate in tight formation, and the moment they caught sight of Lucien approaching alone, they snapped to attention, spears lowering, voices sharp with suspicion.
"You there, who are you?! State your business!"
Inside the city, the tension was palpable. Every soldier Lucien could see was wound tight, hands near weapons, eyes scanning.
When they took in his appearance, the dark hair, the unfamiliar clothing, the foreign cut of everything about him, something in the nearest guard's face shifted from suspicion straight to fury.
"Another Galar spy! Everyone, to arms!"
A squad of guards came rushing out from the gatehouse in short order.
"Galar scum, get out!"
Lucien stood very still. "...Ah."
So it was already at this stage. The Galar royal family had launched their invasion of Kalos, and the war was well underway. If events continued on their natural course, AZ's beloved Floette would die in the fighting.
To bring her back, AZ would build the Ultimate Weapon, drawing on vast quantities of life energy, resurrecting Floette, and then turning that same weapon on Galar in an act of devastating grief-fuelled revenge. And perhaps it was precisely that act, that one catastrophic moment, which would leave both regions scarred and estranged for generations to come.
While these thoughts were still moving through his mind, the guards had fully surrounded him.
He raised both hands, unhurried.
"I think there may be some misunderstanding. I'm not from Galar. I'm simply a Beast Tamer passing through."
The guards hesitated. They looked more carefully, and the anger on their faces shifted into something uncertain. The man before them had black hair and dark eyes. Galar people were typically fair-haired and light-eyed. This was someone else entirely.
They didn't lower their weapons, but the hostility cooled slightly.
"Where are you from, then?"
"A region called Unova," Lucien said.
"A Beast Tamer," one guard said slowly, still cautious. "Can you prove it? Where is your Magical Beast?"
Lucien reached for Serperior's Poké Ball and released it without ceremony. Serperior emerged in a sweep of white light, drew itself to its full height, and regarded the assembled guards with the particular brand of unhurried disdain it reserved for everyone who wasn't Lucien.
The effect on the guards was immediate.
"A Magical Beast!"
"That Magical Beast, it's enormous. And strong. You can feel it just standing near it."
The weapons disappeared. Several guards straightened involuntarily, as though in the presence of someone considerably more important than a lone traveler in plain clothes. The nearest one bowed, his expression now thoroughly apologetic.
"Forgive us, Lord Beast Tamer! We deeply apologize for the misunderstanding!"
"No harm done," Lucien said, recalling Serperior. "But, where exactly is this place? From the look of things, there was fighting here recently."
"This is Laverre City, on the western coast of the Kalos Kingdom," the guard said, his voice dropping into something bitter and tired. "A year ago, the Galar Royal Family launched a full invasion against us. Their armies crossed into Kalos in force." His jaw tightened. "Yesterday, a Galar regiment attacked Laverre directly. We held them off, barely, and pushed them back. But the cost was not small."
Lucien said nothing for a moment.
The Galar Royal Family. He had known this was coming, and still, hearing it laid out plainly gave him pause. Not content with claiming credit for repelling the Dark day threat and securing their heroic reputation at home, they had turned outward, launching a war that would, if left unchecked, ultimately cost an innocent Pokémon her life, drive a grieving king to create a weapon that had no business existing, and leave two regions hollowed out and hostile for centuries.
...
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