Pokémon: Chaos and Command

Chapter 49: Solitary Iron Wall

...

Thump... thwam... blam!

Thud! Fwam! Crack!

CRACK! CRUNCH!

"Hrraaaaaghh!"

CRUSH!

The sound of hard earth getting pulverised reverberated across the landscape, sunlight descending across the region as orange hues basked the region in a warm glow. The sounds of knuckles being cracked with an intensity unmatched by any other. These were the signs of the strongest woman in Ijowa unleashing her immense strength. The apex of both battling aptitude and physical might, the only one fit to bear that title was The Iron Maiden, Irin Ole. Though her showcase of excessive force wasn't to test her limits, nor to boast to anyone who could hear her. The audience with King Ebra floated in Irin's mind space, there was a clear intention on the Champion King beyond "reassurance" of Ijowa's safety and other trivial matters. Irin only saw it as one thing: a threat.

In a vacuum, such a blatant invitation to challenging him by showcasing the full brunt of his team did not concern Irin. She already knew the might he possessed as a trainer, and could confidently understand where her strength lay relative to his. The real issue was how late she has become to choosing more decisive action. The biggest players in Ijowa have decided to make stronger advances towards their end goals, each in their own right an adversary too dangerous to ignore. Tyronah's ambition, Ebra's control, Elizabeth's cunning; if they made an attempt on Ijowa's safety now even she wouldn't be able to stop it, especially if they are working together. Draak and Samantha prove instrumental aids to try and stop a calamity before it arises, but they were still too few in number.

"(Even if we had all the other Gym Leaders on the same page... the Royal Family, Deceito, Heina, Adaku... Andre, and whoever else that lady could pull out... could we pull it off? Samantha was giving strange vibes too, Draak practically bolted away the moment everything ended... agh it's too much!)"

She began to rapidly shake her hair with her hands as she shook her head in minor frustration.

"This is why I told Samantha to leave all the plans and stuff to her! Okay, focus Irin!"

She smacked her cheeks and psyched herself up. Overthinking would get her nowhere, that much was clear.

"One priority at once! I don't even need to worry about Gym Challenge right now! Okay, I got it!"

Irin looked as though she was about to turn towards the direction of Lagama, until she picked up something. Not with her ears or eyes, nor nose. It was something else. It was familiar, but in a way that she hasn't felt in a long time. She turned tail to the opposite direction she was initially headed, away from Lagama and towards this unknown. Going full sprint, she sped towards where her heart guided her; eventually the rest of her body's senses caught up. She heard the sounds of faint whimpering as she saw the source of the noise. She slowed her advance, Irin's eyes fixated on the girl curled into a ball sitting on the ground. When the girl noticed someone was present, her head lifted up, a pair of blood red eyes staring straight towards Irin. Jazmine Maho.

"..."

"..."

Irin walked over to Jazmine, standing beside her for a moment before sitting down next to her. Jazmine didn't know how someone found her, or if it was simply just random chance.

"...what do you want?"

"That depends, you in a mood for a chat?"

Jazmine gave Irin a slight glare.

"What do you think-?"

"Haha, I think you should answer the question my friend!"

"Hmph, no."