Tainted Glory (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2



A few months had passed by now since Kazuo joined the clan. He had spent much of the time slowly starting to fit in, training with the others and continuing to learn how to fight their way. Everything seemed to be going well compared to before, though something still didn't seem right. He could still sense they didn't fully trust him, and he wasn't sure what more he could do gain their trust. But he hoped they'd grow to accept him still sooner or later.

Kazuo rose from his bed, greeted by the sunlight shining down through his window onto where he lay. It looked like another nice day outside, perfect for getting back to his training. He got himself some breakfast to eat first as he went to the window to look out at the street. A couple others walked by, but fewer than usual. It didn't bother him much at first, figuring maybe he'd gotten up a little sooner or something. Suddenly some small brown Pokon scrambled past in a pack, and Kazuo tried to get a better look at who they were.

"The hell are those doing here? Look like Patrats to me, but what would Patrat be doing in town?" Curious as to what was going on, Kazuo went outside to follow, welcomed by a large group of other Otts parading along behind them. He assumed they weren't sure what was going on either, and tried to get the attention of one of them. "Um, excuse me, but what's going on?"

A Dewott stopped and looked at him, a little surprised he didn't know. "The Patrat are here, they usually only come to report when something's wrong. We're all going to find out what it is." Without waiting for a response, he went off on his way again with the rest of them. Kazuo looked concerned, taking a moment to think about what could possibly be wrong.

"I'd better go along and see what's up, too," he thought to himself and went to follow everybody else. They all ended up parking themselves outside the elder's house, or at least near it, as the Patrat went inside to talk to him about the situation. They served as the clan's scouts to warn of incoming danger, particularly their biggest enemy and rivals, the Serpent Clan.

On occasion they had other things to worry about, too, like different types of Pokon trying to attack them instead. But most of the time it was the Serpent Clan, coming to steal land and resources from the Otts during the spring and summer as a means to expand their territory when the warm weather was most suitable. The Ott Clan would do the same thing during the fall and winter when things are rainier and cold in the Moor of Icirrus, thus causing a feud between the two rivals that had lasted for as long as any of them could remember. Their rivalry was formed due to stealing resources from the other's territory, of their clashing ideals, and their type differences. They were all taught at a young age to never trust the other clan and to defend your clan at all costs if the other were to attack. Of course, Kazuo had never heard anything about the Snivy yet, or of their rivalry with them, but he would learn about them in due time. Possibly sooner than expected...

Soon the Patrats disappeared into the house and everybody anxiously stood outside in wait on bated breath, curious what the news could be. After a few moments, the elder emerged from the house as the Patrat scrambled off again to leave. He got up in front of the large crowd with a serious look on his face, mixed with some concern.

"I have some bad news for all of you," he began to explain, taking a moment. "It is that time of the year again, when the weather warms up and the sunlight becomes stronger. The time when those wretched Snivy come out of hiding and try to expand their territory into ours in hopes of stealing from us to grow stronger." Everybody muttered amongst each other about the news, all knowing what this meant and hoping they could handle it this time. But Kazuo, on the other hand, was confused and didn't understand what this meant. Suddenly everybody fell silent again as the elder continued.

"We shall not allow them to do so without resistance, we shall fight back as we always do! All our strongest Dewott and Samurott are asked to join as usual, so make sure you're well-prepared for battle. They are most certainly going to try and pull something on us soon. That is all, you may leave for now." They all gave a nod and dispersed, except for Kazuo who was still confused what was going on exactly. He tried to make his way over to the elder to ask about it, letting all the others move first before he could get to him.

"Excuse me, sir, but what's all this about?"

"Hm? Ah, right... this is your first time dealing with this..." the elder responded, looking him over to remember who it was. "You see, we have a long-running rivalry and tradition with the Serpent Clan, a group similar to ours consisting of Snivy, Servine, and Serperiors. They live on the other side of the Moor and in times like these when things heat up outside, they invade our territory looking to expand. We do the same to them when things cool down and they are weaker, it is the balance of things."

Kazuo blinked as his mind took a moment to comprehend it. "So, you're saying they're coming this way again and we need to protect our land?"

"Precisely. You will be expected to join us on the battle ground as you are quite strong and able." The elder gave him a sly smile as he turned to go back inside. "Who knows, this could be your chance to further prove your worth to us. We shall alert everyone when we have confirmation they're getting close, so be ready." With that, the older Samurott disappeared back into his house leaving Kazuo standing outside alone again. He stood there thinking about it for a moment, playing it over in his mind.

'Prove my worth to them...' he thought. 'This could be the perfect chance then to really make a mark here. I'd better not mess this up.' Shaking his head, he headed off again back home, figuring he'd wait there until he was needed again.



"Sir, our forces are ready when you are. On your command we shall march," called out a voice in the growing darkness. A tall Serperior who seemed to exude leadership and authority loomed next to him, a sly smile coming over his face as he watched the sky turning red from the sunset. Everything seemed to be setting up for them nicely. The army of snakes behind him stood on the ready as his commander mentioned, waiting for when they would move out. Finally, the Serperior spoke, and they all listened.

"Now, we shall go. Seek out the Patrat scouts first, make sure they do not have time to alert those fools," he said, keeping the sly smirk. "Then they shall be easy prey for us, and we may take whatever we want after."

"Yes sir!" they all replied in unison, before the commander turned to face the army again to give directions. He sent a small band of Snivy first to go ahead and find those Patrat scouts first, while advising the rest to stay back until they got word it was safe. They nodded and the Snivy pressed forward, staying low to the ground and using the cover of the oncoming night to their advantage. Stealth was the major component all members of the Serpent Clan were taught, as to not be caught so easily and slither along anywhere they needed.

The time went by before the group came back with devious smiles, proud of the job they had finished, giving the nod to the rest to begin the march across the Moor of Icirrus. They kept their low-profile, moving slowly past the knocked out Patrats their Snivy had taken care of earlier, keeping their eyes open for any traps or surprises that could be waiting. As they got closer to the Ott Clan's village, it was now dark enough for them to be easily concealed in shadow. Up ahead they saw a couple of Samurott standing on guard in front of the entrance, as they always were, to watch for danger or any other form of trouble. But they were handicapped by the darkness of the forest ahead. Suddenly, something flashed from the trees and caught one guard's attention, who then quickly turned his attention to it.

"What th-?" before he could finish, he was quickly cut off as he was struck by a Razor Leaf, knocking him to the ground. The other guard let out a startled gasp and went to reach for the alarm to let the clan know, but before his arm could get there, he suddenly felt it tugged on by a vine as a Servine grabbed him from behind.

"I wouldn't touch that, if you value your life..." he whispered, raising his tail up with an ominous glow to it threateningly.

"B-but...!" the Samurott struggled to get free, trying to still reach for it anyway. The Servine merely smiled a devilish grin before slamming the guard hard in the face with an Iron Tail, knocking him out cold.

"I warned you not to touch it... but why would I ever expect a lowly Ott to listen?" he shrugged and snickered before signaling for the others that the coast was clear to invade, leading them inside. Their contingent moved inside swiftly, wasting no time in going to assault anyone and anything they could find.

In the meantime, Kazuo was still back at home, taking a moment to get in some meditation to relax, when suddenly he heard commotion outside. He wasted no time in grabbing his shells and getting up to rush outside, looking around as he saw others running along through the streets, some towards the entrance and others away from it, mostly Oshawotts.

"I think I know what's going on, must be those Snivy the elder told me about! I'd better go help right away!" Kazuo scrambled down the street, seeing silhouettes of snake-like Pokemon up ahead. As he got closer, he could see more clearly the fighting going on, as his fellow clan members tried to valiantly fight against the Grass-types with their scalchops and shell blades. The Servines and others were relentlessly attacking with all kinds of painful, super effective attacks like Leaf Blade, Vine Whip, and Razor Leaf. Many of his allies were overwhelmed by the attacks, as most of the clan wasn't ready for it due to the time of day. "No way I'm going to stand for this, I'll show them!"

Kazuo pulled his blades out and charged into battle, charging full force into a Servine that was preparing to strike down a cornered Dewott. The Servine hissed loudly in pain as it was sent flying back, looking over at him with a scowl.

"S-so, another Samurott, huh? You aren't so tough!" He readied himself to launch another attack, this time aimed at Kazuo instead.

"I'll show you who's tough!" Kazuo shouted back, rushing forward to slash powerfully with his shell blades, cutting deeply into the Servine with one of them. Another loud hiss came from his mouth as he fell to the ground, clutching his wound as it bled. Kazuo helped up his Dewott ally as he stepped closer. "There's more where that came from if you're not done!"

"Lucky shot!" the Servine hissed angrily, picking himself up enough to launch a Vine Whip at Kazuo in return. The vines smacked against his legs, stinging painfully and making him stumble back as he tried to regain himself. Kazuo didn't figure he'd need anything over-the-top like his Air Slash or Ice Beam for this, instead keeping it simple. He charged again, bashing the Servine hard over the head with the butt end of his shell blade to daze him a moment.

"Now to finish this! Any last words?" he held his other blade at the ready. The Servine recoiled and crashed to the ground on his back from the heavy blow, his head aching as he tried to look back with a hiss.

"Gah... y-you won't be so fortunate against the o-others, Samurott...!" Kazuo only returned a smirk at him before delivering a final blow, thrusting his other shell blade through the Servine's chest.

"And you won't be causing this clan any more trouble, you bastard. Rest in peace." He pulled the shell back out and retracted the blade of water, looking around to see where else he was needed. It didn't take long to spot another large conflict going on between many of his fellow Otts and the Snivy intruders, appearing like the various Snivy had the advantage. He rushed over quickly, ignoring the small pain in his legs from the whipping before, stopping as a Dewott crashed to the ground at his feet, struggling to get up.

"Agh... h-help us, they're too strong...!" the Dewott weakly muttered as he noticed Kazuo behind him. Kazuo gave a nod before stepping defensively in front of him, looking at the group of Servines attacking the other Dewotts. He lifted his head back and created an icy mist in his mouth, charging up energy, both waiting for the right time to fire and for when it was ready. One seemed to notice finally and looked over, confused what he was doing for a moment.

"What the...? How'd we miss one?!" he shouted. But as the others turned their attention, it was too late to react, as Kazuo fired a mighty Ice Beam at the group. The Servines were hit hard and ravaged by the chilling cold blast, knocking them all back and some stumbling over. The Dewotts took advantage and scrambled back to hide behind their larger companion, using him as a sort of shield. Kazuo merely smirked as he started to lurch forward towards their attackers.

"So, you guys want more? Because I'm just getting started," he said smugly. One of them picked his head up and looked to the Samurott with a scowl.

"Where the hell did you come from? You don't look like the rest of these weaklings!"

"Weaklings, huh? I'll take that as a challenge you aren't done." Kazuo pulled his blades out and backed up a few steps, then wasted no time in sending an Air Slash their way. The attack landed on many of them, pushing them further back and leaving them all groaning audibly. "You were saying?"

"Ugh... d-damn, this guy's tough...!" one of the Servines grumbled, before trying once more to climb to his feet. "No way we can take him down, we'll have to retreat for now!" The others nodded and scrambled off to leave the village as the last stood and pointed to Kazuo and the others behind him. "You're lucky this time, we won't let you win so easily next time! Just you wait!" With that, he ran off with his team again as Kazuo merely shook his head and snickered, turning back to the Dewotts while putting his swords away.

"Yeah, sure, whatever they say. All you guys alright anyway?"

"Y-yes, thank you so much for your help!" one of them answered.

"Where did you learn those moves? I've never seen any member of the clan use those before," another Dewott chimed in.

"Well, I'm that new guy you guys all referred to before, Kazuo. I learned from my trainer," Kazuo began to explain with a faint smile. It felt nice having some attention from others within the clan for a change, but he knew now wasn't the time. "Maybe later I'll try to teach you guys, but for now we've still got other bastards like them to take care of. If you think you can help, come on along, I could use it." The group gave him their full attention and saluted with their scalchops.

"Of course, sir, we won't give up until they're all gone! Let's go help the others!" Kazuo smiled at their spirit and led them along further into town, searching for anybody else who needed their help. Bodies were seemingly scattered all over in the darkness from battle, leaving a deadly trail to further skirmishes. They followed it along until coming across more of their enemy ahead, whipping a Dewott who lay helpless on the ground without his shells. He appeared badly bruised and bleeding, almost begging for mercy, but yet his pleas went unheard.

"Sickening... let's go teach them a lesson and help that poor guy out!" Kazuo shouted, pulling a sword from its sheath and raising it up. The others proudly lifted their shells as well and followed as he charged forward into the fray. The Servines stopped for a moment as they sensed another presence, looking on with a twisted smile.

"Ooh goody, more of them for us to play with, and they're making it easy by coming to us instead even! Sic 'em, boys!" She raised her vine and whipped it in the direction of Kazuo's group, glancing back to the ground and seeing her victim trying to crawl away slowly as they were distracted. "Tsk tsk, I'm not through with you yet!" She quickly stomped down on his back to pin him to the ground, wrapping his legs together by the ankles with one of her vines to further restrain him.

"Hmph, you guys take care of them, I'll get that other one torturing him!" Kazuo called out, rushing past the Servines charging at them to make his way to their leader. The other Dewotts all nodded and readied themselves for battle, engaging with the other group soon after.

"Hmm? Well who do we have here?" the female snake remarked as she turned her attention to the newcomer. "Did you perhaps come to join the fun?" She pressed her foot down harder on the Dewott's back, causing him to cry out even louder.

"Gahh...! P-please, stop, let me go...!" the Dewott shouted; she only smirked and snickered evilly at his suffering as she kept her eyes on Kazuo.

"Let him go, you cruel bitch," he growled under his breath, pulling out his second sword for good measure. She looked to his swords, chuckling a little before lifting her foot and giving the Dewott a firm kick to shove him aside.

"Fair enough, hot shot. You can be my next victim instead, perhaps you'll put up a REAL fight!" The injured Dewott scrambled away as fast as he could, not wanting to stick around any longer, as the large female Servine prepared herself for battle. Kazuo wasted no time in charging at her with his blades, taking a hard slash as he got close. But with swift precision, she easily dodged his attack and smiled deviously. "Is that all? This should be easy!" She lifted her tail high into the air, slamming it hard into the Samurott's back using Dragon Tail.

"Gah!" Kazuo grunted painfully as he stumbled forward. Once he regained himself, he turned back to her with a growl, clutching his weapons tighter. "Far from it, I'm just getting started!" He rushed at her again, slashing at her with Cross Chop to make use of both blades. The Servine attempted to avoid his attack, but still took the hard slash to her side, hissing at the searing pain.

"Well now, I guess you're not as weak as I thought!" she chuckled again, flicking her forked tongue at him. "It will only make victory much sweeter!" She took a moment to gather herself, before suddenly lashing out at him with a Vine Whip. Kazuo took a stinging shot to the face from one of the vines, temporarily stunning him as the next vine hit his chest. He stumbled back from the force and to give himself a chance, getting a sword up to block any further whips.

"That's quite enough of that!" Kazuo growled, smacking her vines away with the other sword.

"Oh? And what would you prefer I do then?" she replied with a smirk as she pulls her vines back into her crest.

"I'd prefer that you took your scaly ass, along with all your little friends, and got the hell out of here! But if you won't go willingly, I'll just make you leave!" Kazuo stopped for a moment to pull his swords back, collecting energy from the air into them, readying up an Air Slash. The Servine watched cautiously, not used to seeing anybody within the Dewott clan use such a move before. Determined not to let him get it away so easily, she began preparing her own attack to try and counter it. Just as Kazuo let loose the concentrated energy from the air, the female serpent finished what she was doing and attacked back with Grass Pledge. Kazuo raised his arms defensively as the leaves and vines brewed up around him, flying at him from all directions, wincing in pain at the hard hits.

At the same time, his Air Slash hit his opponent hard, knocking the Servine back with the force of the attack. She hissed painfully as she clutched herself, staring back at the Samurott as the attack faded. "What kind of freak are you?! I've never seen a mere Ott do that before!" She winced again at the sharp pain as she tried to move.

"Let's just say I had a good teacher..." Kazuo replied with a smirk, then regained himself and shook off the lingering pains. "If you want more then I'll gladly oblige..."

"Hmph, someone's certainly confident... we'll see how much longer you feel that way, now won't we!" Ignoring the searing pain in her chest from the earlier slash, she began to make her way closer, feigning weakness to draw him in, keeping her head low so he couldn't get an idea for what she had in mind. Just as she hoped, Kazuo took the bait and raised one of his blades and charged forward.

"Ain't it a shame then you won't live long enough to see that!" he shouted, thinking he had an easy attack ahead. But suddenly the Servine's head shot up as he got close, an evil grin over her face as she gave a devilish Glare into his eyes, freezing him in a state of temporary paralysis. "Wh-what the, I can't move!" He struggled to move his body with some panic, unaware of what she had done, watching her close.

"Heh heh heh... seems you don't know a thing about Glare, now do you?" she chuckled as she approached closer, letting her tail brush against his chest as she circled him. "It's a wonderful move we learn, strike fear into your opponent to temporarily freeze them... leaves them completely vulnerable to whatever we like for a short time..."

"Ugh, you cheap bastards!" Kazuo grunted in response, shuddering audibly as she rubbed on him some. "You're really going to get it once I can move again!" She came back around in front of him and flashed a small smile, resting a hand on his face, as if trying to seduce him.

"Oh don't worry, I'll make sure that won't be a concern for much longer." In the meantime, she had been charging energy in her tail, causing it to glow in a bright green shade and taking a sharper form. Without wasting any more time, she backed off quickly before slamming the Leaf Blade attack hard into Kazuo's head, toppling the larger being to the ground like a tree. She flicked her forked tongue at his body and she hissed with delight as she stared at him, lying helpless on the ground. "Perfect, I doubt I'll need to worry about the likes of you for a while, hm? Now where ever did that other little Dewott go, I wonder...?"

Kazuo stayed down for a few moments to regain himself after the hard hit, struggling to look and see where she was. He noticed how preoccupied she seemed to be now on finding the Dewott she was busy torturing before; looking confident that she'd knocked him out for the time being. He decided to play it safe and wait it out, make her think she really DID knock him unconscious, so he could let the paralysis fade and get a sneak attack on her. 'Brilliant idea... the bitch won't know what hit her...' he thought to himself, closing his eyes to enhance the effect and stayed still.

To his surprise, the plan seemed to be working. She took one more glance back at his body, smirking as he appeared to be out cold like she'd hoped. "Well, I certainly expected more out of such a tough guy. Who would've thought that one attack was all I needed?" Shrugging she turned her back and went to move on again, figuring her work was done. Kazuo slowly could feel the feeling in his body restored as he opened his eyes again from hearing her footsteps moving away. Slowly he lifted his head and watched where she was going to, smiling to himself that it had worked so far.

"Well, part one is a success... now let's end this..." He carefully picked himself back up again, taking one sword out to carry along as he tried to stalk her without being spotted. Soon enough he caught up to his unsuspecting foe, turning his blade away to point the handle at her, the blunt end of his sword. After all, there wouldn't be much pride in killing her from behind like that, he had to respect the clan's honor code.

"Wait a second... I feel like somebody is around..." the Servine cautiously remarked, stopping and going to look around. Thinking quickly, Kazuo wasted no time and thrust the handle forward before she could spot him, driving it hard into her back. "Ack!" she cried out painfully, her body bending back as she felt a sudden crack. After a moment, he pulled his sword back away to allow her to fall. The Servine dropped quickly to the ground in a mangled heap, unmoving but still clearly alive.

"Gahh... y-you bitch...! Wh-what have you done to m-me?!" she hissed loudly, unable to feel anything. Her back was in unbearable pain from the hard shot she took, flicking her forked tongue back in his direction in anger.

"You're lucky I spared your life, I fooled you into thinking I was unconscious. No way I was about to let you win so easily," Kazuo responded as he sheathed his swords. He took a moment to look her over, prideful of his triumph. "Now I suggest you all leave, while I'm still feeling generous."

"Nngh... f-fine, you blue bastards win this r-round... but you shall not b-be so lucky next time...!" she grumbled in a pained and disgruntled tone. She slowly moved her head back towards the group she'd led in before, who were still pre-occupied with battles of their own, and shouted as loud as she could for her men to hear, "Men, retreat at once! And get me a medic, too!" The other Servines quickly disengaged from their combat and rushed to her side immediately. They all gave a quick glare to Kazuo as they noticed the horrible condition their leader was in, before slowly lifting her from the ground.

"You heard her, let's get her back to the clan!" shouted one of them to his comrades. In a flash, they bolted off out of the town, one stopping to signal for the others to retreat for now as well. Kazuo smiled proudly as he walked back to his allies as well, watching the enemy pour out back into the forest before them. It wasn't easy, but he felt they had won this time. Their clans would both need time to heal and rest after such a hard fought battle, and in the morning the Otts would be left with the clean up.

"Well, I think that's all of them, right? Do we just go home now?" Kazuo asked one of them. They looked around before shrugging and giving him a nod.

"Not unless you want to clean up in the dark. We'll all meet the elder then to assess things, so you should get some rest," the one Dewott suggested. "You fought really well back there, too, I'm sure glad you came along when you did!"

"Thanks, I felt it was my duty to protect you guys, this is my home now after all. Guess I'll see you guys around then." With that, Kazuo and the others headed off back to their homes again, thoughts of the battle they all had still fresh in their minds. It was his first taste of war outside of a Pokemon battle, and it was more intense than he could've imagined. But yet, he seemed to enjoy it, too. The thrill and excitement of being put to such a test of strength, helping the very people who adopted him into their village when he had no place to go, and a feeling of trust among his peers for the first time.

He arrived back at his house again a short time later and went inside to wash himself off first. It felt good to wash all the dirt and blood off, and to soothe some of the aches and pains he was left with. Shortly after he went to get some food, as he hadn't eaten in a while. Then at last, he went to climb into his bed and get some sleep. All throughout the process, his mind kept thinking back to all he'd seen and experienced that night, haunting him like a ghost. But despite his thoughts and haunting memories, he managed to sleep through the night for a while.



Morning came at last, rays of sunshine coming in from the windows, and a sudden shrill knock at the door was heard. Kazuo groggily pulled himself out of bed and rubbed his eyes, climbing out of the bed.

"Ugh, who could be knocking at the door?" he grumbled and made his way through the house to check. He answered the door to see an Oshawott standing there.

"Hello there, Kazuo, the elder sent me to come find you. He wants to speak to you personally about something."

"Really now? Huh... well, I guess I'll go check it out," Kazuo replied and came outside while closing the door behind him. He started off on his way to the elder's house with the Oshawott, passing by many others as they worked to fix things. The elder was already outside waiting for him at the house, smiling as he saw Kazuo approaching.

"Ah, there you are, Kazuo. I was hoping you would come," he said proudly. Kazuo came up closer, curious what this could be for.

"I'm here now, so what's up?"

"I heard many great things about your bravery last night, a couple Dewotts told me you rescued them from harm and helped them out. There are even reports that you took out their group's leader by yourself. Is this true?"

"Oh, well... I had no idea that Servine I fought was one of their leaders. She was pretty tough, but yeah, I chased her off."

The elder smiled again and nodded his head. "I knew we could trust you. Your Air Slash is most useful indeed! I am so proud you are a member of our clan, such a sneak attack surely would've devastated us if we didn't have you to help. We are grateful for your services and welcome you to live here with the clan for as long as you please."

"Oh wow... thank you, sir. I appreciate it, it was an honor to fight for you last night," Kazuo replied with a smile as well. It took a long time, but finally he belonged somewhere and was wanted again. It was a surreal feeling that he almost couldn't believe was happening. "I'm so proud to be a member of the clan, I'll do my best not to disappoint you or the others!"

"Good, I like your spirit. That is all I needed to tell you, feel free to go back home now if you wish," the elder Samurott said, then disappeared back into his house for now. With that, Kazuo headed back home again, happy for the first time since his time with his old trainer. Now he could focus on his training without worry of being accepted and start a new life here.