With Madeline in custody of the guilds, they headed for the last task in the Karuka caverns. Katrina was thankful for the few lessons they received from Emma about blacksmith, because they would be the base for the weaponsmith. For their case, instead of creating weapons to their use, they would focus in the construction of protection elements, given that they had the moves to engage the minions at a relative safe distance.
Cornelius, on the other hand, told them that they would help him to create a huge battle hammer. For that, they needed a trunk to build the handle and a boulder for the head. The task itself would take hours, depending if they used a more resistant material. They met Cetra, who was taking a small break, and Menthe.
“Going to build some weapons for the battle?” Cetra asked. “We could use some help with some war machines”
“I don’t think it would be necessary for us” Harry politely declined. “We have Cornelius”
She laughed. “Well, I heard what he did with the minions; even so you didn’t come here to talk about it, right?”
“Nope, we want to build some protection for us and a hammer for Cornelius” Katrina explained.
“A hammer, huh?” She looked to the Golurk. “Are you going to smash him?”
“It’s one of my favorite weapons” He shrugged. “You don’t need much technique with it and instead of pierce through its skin, giving concussions to his body would’ve be a better tactic for me”
“Hmm, I’ll have to check if the resources we have should be enough for it; but I’m not sure about the protection”
“We cannot use weapons or shields properly” Katrina said. “And Sabine is the only one who wears armor”
“Counting with even a bit of it could make the difference” Harry added.
“If there’s a leftover, we’ll build some basic armor, but remember: weapons are our priority now”
“Maybe you can also collect salt” Menthe suggested.
“Salt?” Brandon asked confused.
“Yeah, it’s one of his weaknesses, besides of our purification tablets” She explained. “If you can collect enough bags of salt, you can use them against him”
“We can split up and get some salt sacks” Katrina suggested. “We’re going to need all…”
“HOLO LADDIES!” Ron shouted, interrupting her.
They all saw the hyperactive Butterfree approaching to them.
“Who is he?” Menthe asked curious.
“You won’t want to know it” Sabine huffed.
He was looking in all the directions. “There’s a LOT of movement everywhere, what party are you guys planning?
“Excuse me, party?” Menthe was confused.
“This is not a party” Cetra said concerned. “We’re preparing to fight against Gilgamarsh”
“Apapapapap” He waved his hands. “Waiiiit a blasting moment; all of you – are going – to launch a strike against Gill?”
“Gill?” Menthe and Cetra said in unison.
“It’s how he calls him” Katrina explained.
“Whatever” Cetra looked to him. “Yes mister, that’s what we’re going to”
“Ah, okay” He shrugged. “He definitely not going to like these presents”
“Eh” Menthe facepawed herself. “Why do you talk like you know him?”
“Because I know him”
That left her mentally lost. “What?”
“Cerise told us that he visited the witch in many opportunities for some years” Sabine explained. “Only with the INTENTION to pull PRANKS directly on him”
“I told you, nice conversations” He remarked the last words with his hands.
“Don’t you realize what have you been doing is dangerous?” Cetra asked.
“I’m not smashed, ate, fried or cut in little pieces” He shrugged. “And he had no other choice but to get used to me, so why I should worry now?”
“*Huff* Fine, I’ve wasted too much time with you” His simplistic line of thinking wasn’t something she liked. “The rest are ready?”
“Ready as we’ll ever be” Katrina nodded.
They distributed in two groups. The team Crossed paths would mine the salt and fill as many sacks as they could while team New horizonts would build Cornelius’s hammer and some protection for them if possible.
In the salt caverns, Brandon and Sabine with other teams collected the salt. The job was relatively easy, but tedious because of the magnitude. The Ninetales put her psychic abilities in a higher level by carrying from four to seven sacks in each round, surprising her partner. Meanwhile, Harry and Katrina with the help of Cetra when she was able were designing Cornelius’s hammer as a first step. They agreed what primary materials they needed to have the basic structure. The Golurk brought the trunk and the boulder with the specifications they’ve determined and started to work in them.
They had to cut them, pierce them, reinforce them and give them form; being precise in every detail and adding the extra materials they had collected. In the meantime Ron was resting in a branch of a tree near them and watching the entire work. Since he was starting to feel bored with all the clanking and low movement, he decided to kill some time by his favorite hobby: talk.
“So you really think you can beat Gill?” He asked.
“With all we learned from our training with the minions and the locals, yes” Harry assured him, without looking to him.
“I’m not so sure; guys before you have tried and failed miserably over the past years”
“Not this time” Cetra corrected him, not paying him much attention. “We, the guilds and the locals together will defeat that witch, before it brings more harm to the land”
“It’s not the first time I heard that” His tone contained a bit of irony.
“It’s not like I want to shut you up” Harry said sarcastically. “But, you don’t have anything better to do?”
“Nope, not in the slightest” He gave an innocent smile.
“Can you talk about other thing, then?” Katrina suggested to not ‘add more wood to the fire’.
Ron thought for a bit. “Yep, about how I met him”
“When you think about it, it’s kind of strange how you managed to approach him and leave like it was nothing” Cornelius commented.
“Meh, because it was nothing for me” He cleared his throat and sat down in the branch.
The story he told was this: approximately seven years ago, Ron was flying around, deep into the Karuka jungle without any real contact with the outside. His life was mostly consisted in finding some fruits and honey to eat; and some pranks to pull, leading Pokémon into making mistakes he could laugh or escape to feel adrenaline. In other words, he was reckless in a level that few would reach. Given that his life was turning really monotonous from his point of view, repeating the same routine every single day, he decided to move further to find some real excitement.
While he was approaching to an open area, he heard the sounds of a battle to his right. He flew faster until he reached the place and saw what it was going on. A group of eight Pokémon with weapons was fighting against a big, multi-eyed, supported, and powerful dragon with a slug body in a big pond of goo. Since the scene was interesting, he looked around for the nearest tree, sat in one of its branches and kept looking.
By the look of things, the group was losing horribly. He saw how one of them, a plant type, was eaten in a matter of seconds in one single bite and other was thrown very far away with the dragon’s tail. The little dudes accompanying it were helping it to overwhelm the remaining six. ‘Well, that’s what I call a muddy victory’ Ron thought. Seeing that they couldn’t keep going, the three survivors escaped from the battle, but barely, as the dragon was attacking them with Dragon breath and Muddy water.
“THAT’S IT COWARDS, RUN!” The dragon shouted with pride. “JUST LIKE THE REST, YOU’RE NO MATCH TO THE POWER OF THE STRONGEST CREATURE IN THE LAND, GILGAMARSH!”
‘So his name is Guilgamarsh, eh? Kinda long name for me to remember’ since the battle was over, he was about to leave, until a crazy idea came to his mind, if anyone could call it crazy. ‘I’m so gonna die, but DAMN I have to do it’ he broke two small branches and started to clash them like a clap.
Gilgamarsh turned around to determine who was making that sound and took a few steps to approach, ready to attack. The minions turned around as well. Ron threw the branches, accommodated on the one he was sitting and relax.
“Are you also here to fight me?” Gilgamarsh asked with a huge grin on his face.
“Meh, not interested man” Ron shrugged. “I was only passing by and saw how you smashed them like little Caterpies and I have to say, I’m impressed”
“HA HA HA HA HA!” His evil laugh could be heard in a long distance. “The poor fools believed that they had a chance to defeat me and like the rest, they’ve run away” He used rain dance to recover himself. “My power is far beyond your understanding, bug; I’m above of any Pokémon and any civilization, no one is a match for me”
“Yep, you demonstrated it very well” He stood up. “So that means you’re also good with the jokes, right?”
The face of Gilgamarsh changed from pride to confusion. “What?”
“You said it clear that you’re the most powerful Pokémon in the land, so that means you’re good in anything” He gave a funny face while he was walking to one side of the branch to the other. “Including jokes”
“That doesn’t make any sense”
Ron stopped, headed to the trunk and smashed his face with it. Then he looked to Gilgamarsh with a poke face, shocking his head. “That means you’re not so powerful, or greatest in everything if you cannot tell jokes; *Sigh* this is actually a bad thing for your reputation”
That annoyed Gilgamarsh. “You think I’ll waste my time with silly jokes?”
“You should” He shrugged. “That gives the exact touch for your victories”
“I don’t need your suggestions” He said a little irritated. “I fought so hard from a Goomy like one of my marshoids to the Goodra who stands before you, all by me, without the help of anyone”
“Yeah… but that’s a small legacy you would leave if by any impossible chance someone is able to kill you” Ron sounded like he wasn’t convinced. “Maybe if you think…” He had to stop when a thunderbolt hit the branch close to him. He looked to Gilgamarsh unamused. “That was you, wasn’t it?
“Talking about nonsense is not going to change anything” The dragon threatened him. “If you don’t shut up, you’ll end as the Pokémon I ate”
“That means I’ll turn into one of the little dudes telling you bad puns endlessly? SWEET!”
“That’s not what I mean!” Gilgamarsh didn’t understand why Ron didn’t feel any kind of fear. The bug saw him crushing an entire group with his power and killing five of them. Even so, he took it extremely lightly, like he didn’t care in absolute his life and the others around him.
“Really? Then maybe I can take one of the pink marshmallows to tell it jokes?”
“MARSHOIDS!”
“Marshmallows, marshoids, same thing” His ‘incomprehension’ was getting the witch’s nerves. “By the way, what’s your name?”
“I’m the powerful Gilgamarsh!”
“Yeah, I heard that name when you were fighting”
“Then why do you ask it!?”
“Because it’s too long for me to memorize it, hmm… you know what? Imma gonna call you Gill; it’s easy and short”
Gilgamarsh had enough with Ron’s talk and used Muddy water against him to silence him. Since he was on the high ground, he evaded most of its force, but the goo hit him, covering a part of him. “Let this be a reminder of what happens when…”
“Apapapap” Ron waved his hands, still in the branch. “I know I need a bath, but not this soon” He cleaned himself from the goo for a moment like it was nothing. “*Sniff* I’m not too stinky”
Gilgamarsh couldn’t understand why he was still alright. “How… how can’t you feel any pain?”
“Don’t know Gill” He shrugged. “This is only muck, why I should feel pain? I only feel a little itchy right now”
“AAAAARRRGGGGGHHHH! YOU’RE INSUFFERABLE!”
“Whatever you say, Gill” Ron flew a little and looked to Gilgamarsh. “You know what? You’re kinda funny when you’re angry, so I’ll come here as many times as I can to spend a GOOD time with you, pal”
“I’M NOT YOUR PAL! YOU’VE BEEN LUCKY THIS TIME, BUT I ASSURE YOU…”
“That we’ll meet again at any hour and any day, gotcha” He made a gesture with one of his eyes and hands.
“CAN YOU LET ME FINISH!?”
“See you soon” And Ron took his leave as Gilgamarsh was still shouting at him in anger.
And so, he started his visits to the dragon’s pond whenever it possible, sometimes waking him up with rocks in the middle of the night, annoying him. Others, to comment his battles, remarking every little detail he was keep missing, mostly things without any real importance.
And others, to actually pull his set of pranks he had prepared from time to time. The first one was the banana peel floor covered with the normal muck when he started to fly around the inhabited places to get some food. Gilgamarsh was able to hang to a tree before he could fall, causing a burst of laughing from Ron after he called him, ‘alerting’ that there were some ground types hiding in the bushes for an assault. In response, he tried to fry him in his escape and the following days. And the list goes on.
One of Ron’s most proud things he did was when he caused Gilgamarsh to go into rampage for the first time almost three years ago. It was night time and the dragon was resting in his pond after crushing another strike group, much larger than the previous times, which left them a bit tired. The Butterfree, always looking to put his life in a highly unnecessary risk, had the idea to see how far he could irritate him until the witch snapped.
He started like he usually did, approaching to him and throwing a rock right on top of him, a big one to make sure he would awake.
“Argh! You again!?” Gilgamarsh asked irritated.
“I’ve been doing this for four years” Ron said as he sat in the nearest tree. “You should’ve got used to it” He let out a smirk on his face. “Now, where is my gin?”
“You’re not making sense again!”
“The last time you didn’t give me gin, you’re Gill; meaning that you have gin hidden somewhere”
“That name was YOUR idea! And I’m not going to argue like the last time about this!”
Ron kept the pressure in Gilgamarsh with his nonsense talk, breaking every nerve of the dragon and increasing his anger, even using his very weakness that he discovered after hundreds of meetings: his pride of himself and his power. At the breaking point, the Butterfree said that they should switch bodies to show him how to be ‘better’ than he already is, being funnier and daring. That was the last straw, as the Goodra headed at full force with everything he got, including his minions.
“I WILL KILL YOU!” He shouted.
“You’ll sum two hundred times with this one, I think” Ron joked as he used the jungle to avoid his wrath. “Do you think I’ll reach immortality? Because I ‘died’ multiple times”
“GRRRRAAAAAA!” Gilgamarsh wasn’t even listening his nonsenses as he was destroying every tree that stood in his way.
A while later, the dragon was now exhausted after clearing a portion of the jungle just to kill Ron. He thought he did it, because there was no sound or sight of him. But his joy was short lived, as the bug was approaching from above and stood close to his head. He looked to him furious, as he wasn’t able to grab him or to do anything else, thanks to the tiredness.
“Well, now you can say you can clear jungles faster than anybody” Ron nodded.
“What in the world do I need to get rid of you?” He asked to himself.
“Hmm, my gin, perhaps?”
The witch wanted him to stop. “Just let me rest”
For the dragon’s relief, he agreed. “Alright then, I guess that’s all for tonight” He flew away. “See you another day”
And Ron kept visiting him. There were more rampaging episodes after that, but in a less intensity, as Gilgamarsh learned he had to ignore the bug, even if he was making it quite difficult. Also that he stopped attacking him; not because he started to tolerate him, Ron was actually the complete opposite of that word; but to not waste his power to a ‘pest’ as he considered him.
His enemies were growing in strength and numbers over time, so he had to pay less attention to Ron to reserve his energy for the battles to come. Also, given that the bug wasn’t a threat, he didn’t tense from his constant unexpected appearances.
In the same period, the locals were scared or irritated that Ron was heading directly to Gilgamarsh, arguing that he would only find death with him. One of them was Mirya. He answered that he indeed found it, but not for him; only the attack groups sent by them, causing more irritation in the Shaymin for being too carried away.
A few of them tried to convince him to spy on the witch and learn anything he could for their use in the next combats, although it was useless. Ron forgot the instructions or his prank and joke plans were far more important that doing the job.
“And the story it’s almost the same from that point” Robin said as he finished his tale.
The rest stopped a little as they were trying to understand everything. Cornelius was the first who talked. “And you didn’t ask him why the reason of his actions was?”
“Pfff, not even interested in asking about his life”
“But that would be important information” Harry complained.
“I don’t live for Gill’s struggles or yours as well as he or you don’t live for mine”
“We know at least one thing” Katrina commented. “His opinion on himself is what affects him the most; the rest is basically the same”
“I have to agree with her” Cornelius nodded. “If he spent his time with Gilgamarsh for seven years merely as a witness, we cannot ask more”
“*Huff* fine, but… you know…” Harry wasn’t sure what to say, probably for the nerves.
“Well, if you want my opinion, even if you didn’t ask for it, I ‘think’ you ‘maybe’ have a chance”
“What do you mean?” Katrina asked.
“Well, the few groups I saw attacking Gill were twenty, thirty Pokémon at most; only using weapons and their moves”
“And?”
“And I don’t think this one is that short, because it’s a lot of Pokémon preparing for the same thing, right?”
“How many do you think we’re attacking?” Cornelius asked.
“Approximately one hundred when I looked around? A little less?”
“Something like that”
“And I saw they’re building some stuff to throw rocks or balls of salt at him”
“The catapult” Harry knew what he was referring to, since Cetra commented to them she was helping a member of team Guang with the construction.
“Whatever it’s called; that gives me the idea the tabirans are going to war against Gill”
“If you can call it that way” Cornelius said.
“Yep, and you’re are the powerhouse here”
“What makes you think that?”
“One: you’re the second biggest Pokémon I saw in the entire place, besides of Gill; two: there are commentaries that you are pretty strong; three: also, ice beams; and four: that big stick with a rock glued to it means that you’re ready to smash some skulls”
“Maybe I’m strong, but not enough to take Gilgamarsh on my own”
“That’s why you have all these minions to help you”
“We’re not…” Harry started, but he was interrupted again by Ron.
“Yes you are; the only difference is that all of you have your own attack sets and you don’t depend on him”
“When he talks in that way, he does have a point” Katrina said.
“Hey guys!” Cetra called them when she was approaching to them. “Are you done with the pieces?”
“Yipi; we were waiting for you”
“Good, let’s finish this hammer”
The hammer was finished an hour later, taking its time with the final pieces and putting them all together. The trunk was reinforced to withstand the swings Cornelius could give and not break; and the head was carved following the design to maximize the pressure in the impact and covered with melted iron to give it more resistance. The Golurk took it to check its balance. He tested it by hitting the ground with it, shaking the others. He left a big hole on it, considering it was soft.
“It feels good” Cornelius nodded. “Good balance, the swing fast enough and the damage is considerable”
“I can imagine what damage you would leave in that dragon the moment the hammer falls on him” Cetra commented satisfied.
“Is there anything left to build the protectors?” Katrina asked.
“Hmm, maybe; but you have to return, tomorrow” She suggested. “We don’t know how many teams would want to arm themselves for the upcoming battle, so it’s best if you wait”
“We’re not going to attack tomorrow?” Harry asked confused.
“As far as I know, no; not yet; we need to be ready with everything before we can launch our attack, including a battle strategy”
“Thank god” He was relieved. “I thought we didn’t have any time”
“We have, but it’s short; the fewer days we take with this, the less time the witch will have to prepare”
“Hey guys!” Sabine shouted.
When they turned around, they saw her, Brandon, Stuart and Emily with a wagon full of salt bags.
“WOAH!” Ron shouted. “Speaking of being salty all of the sudden”
Harry ignored the commentary and approached to them. “How much did you get?”
“Enough to share with other teams and to ask Emily for help” Sabine answered.
“This is a lot of salt for just us, you know?” Katrina commented.
“That’s because she came up with an idea” Brandon said.
“What idea?”
“We’ll use it with the protection as a goo shield” Sabine grinned.
“She thinks we can carry some bags with us to avoid a great part of the marshoids” Brandon added.
Harry looked to Cetra. “What do you think?”
“Hmm, some straps can be the trick” She thought out loud. “We can see that tomorrow, because I think you want to get a rest after this”
“Yeah” Brandon said tired.
“Me too” Sabine added.
“Okay, we’ll return here tomorrow in the morning” Harry decided.
“See you, then” Cetra bidded farewell.
