#final monster

DAY 18 - FINAL MONSTER

final monster 

North Mountain jutted upward like a dagger pointed at the very heart of the sky. There were many who believed it could not possibly be natural given the far less mountainous terrain around it, and the seemingly endless blizzards that raged around its peak did little to discourage that belief. It was there that Articuno made its home, only leaving it to do battle with the Grimm and during the most important of Conclaves.

And it was there that Elsa would have to climb.

She was the first person with her Semblance since the legendary First Queen of Arendelle. In accordance with the sacred Pact her ancestors had forged with Articuno when they founded their nation, she would have to prove herself by climbing to the top of the mountain to meet with it.

So she climbed.

She was only twelve, but she had spent her entire life honing her Semblance and training to be a huntress. With her power, she would serve as both sword and shield to her people. Climbing a mountain was nothing. Or so she’d thought.

Her Semblance should have made it easy. After all, the cold did not bother her, and it should have been easy to calm the tearing winds and cast aside the ice and snow that barred her path.

It was not easy.

For the first time that she could remember, she did not have absolute control over the temperature of her surroundings or the ice and snow that swirled through the air. There was power here, thick and heavy, like a fog on the sea, and it was not hers. As she climbed, the Pokemon on the mountain gave her wary but hopeful looks.

How long had they waited, she wondered, for someone who could renew the Pacts between them and the humans and Faunus of Arendelle?

It had been centuries, so long that even the First Queen’s name had been forgotten by all save perhaps Articuno itself.

Up the mountain she went, her Aura granting her the strength and speed she needed to scale it with inhuman speed despite the conditions. Up and up, long after the sun had set and the moon had risen, until at last she reached the summit. There, the blizzards stilled and snows calmed, and all of Arendelle was laid out before her like a jewel in the silver light of the moon.

And then a shadow fell over her.

She looked up.

And she saw winter made flesh.

Articuno hung in the sky above her. She had always been told that Articuno was akin to a great bird with blue feathers and the like. Those descriptions did not do the legendary Pokemon any justice whatsoever.

Articuno was a living blizzard in the rough shape of a bird. Its feathers were countless shards of ice and frost shaped into wings, and its tail was a stream of snow that fluttered in a breeze of its own creation. Eyes like storms gazed down on her, and she almost took a step back and she took in the sheer size of the Pokemon.

Articuno was the sky, its wings so broad they could envelop the mountain. Each beat of those mighty wings sent a gale that would have tossed a normal person off the mountain, and its claws seemed large enough to seize a whale with ease. This was the Pokemon who had fought a Calamity Class Grimm to a standstill and saved her ancestors. This was the Pokemon who, even now could bury a kingdom beneath an avalanche of ice and snow.

I have been waiting for you for a very long time. The voice in her head was neither male nor female. It was simply a force of nature, in much the same way that a blizzard was a force of nature. Elsa.

“You know my name?” Elsa asked.

I felt your birth. Your ancestor was my partner. Together, we built Arendelle. I... have missed her. You have the same Semblance she did, but you will become even stronger. I can feel it. The legendary flared its wings in a majestic display. Stay here on this mountain with me. One year. Together we will train, and then I will decide if you are worthy.

“Worthy of what?”

Becoming my new partner. The air in front of her quivered, and a pendant with a blue gem appeared momentarily before vanishing. If you are worthy I will gift you that pendant. It is a Summoning Gem. With it, you can call me into battle, no matter how you are.

“So that’s where it went...” Elsa had seen pictures of the First Queen, and they all depicted her with the pendant. Indeed, she was said to have treasured it more than the Crown of Winter that had been passed down through the centuries. Yet after her death it had vanished, and the royal family had never been able to find it.

Will you stay?

Elsa took a deep breath. A year on the mountain? It would not be easy, and she had a feeling that Articuno wasn’t about to allow her all of the creature comforts she had access to back home, but it would be worth it.

The world of Remnant had, for the longest time, been riven by conflict between humans, Faunus, and Pokemon, each vying for supremacy over the others. Although alliances between the three factions were not unheard of, they were few and far between.

Until the Grimm came.

The arrival of the Grimm changed everything. From small, seemingly inconsequential attacks, the Grimm first seized control of the wild areas that had traditionally been held by Pokemon, driving them out and inflicting horrendous casualties upon them. As the Pokemon fled, the Grimm turned their attention to humans and Faunus alike.

The ancient nations of Remnant were all but obliterated in a tide of misery and blood. With little other option, humans and Faunus began frantic research into Dust and other weapons technology. Yet even these advances were not enough. Facing extinction, humans, Faunus, and Pokemon forged an alliance that would finally turn back the Grimm in a series of critical battles.

Since then, the alliance between all three factions has continued as civilisation does its best to withstand the furious attacks of the Grimm and slowly but surely claw back territory.

Here are some of the basic ideas:

Hunters still exist, and they fulfil much the same role as they do in Final Rose. In other words, they lead the fight against the Grimm, and the mightiest of them are considered living super weapons that are worth hundreds even thousands of regular troops.

Pokemon exist, and they fight alongside hunters, the military, and various militia groups against the Grimm. In general, Pokemon are trained by two groups: hunters and trainers.

Trainers are people who combat ability is reliant almost entirely on the Pokemon they raise and train. Alone, they are comparable to civilians or standard military troops. Hunters also raise and train Pokemon, and each hunter is expected to raise and train at least one Pokemon to fight at their side.

Pokemon that have been raised by trainers tend to fight as groups, with each trainer and their Pokemon acting in a manner similar to a team of hunters. Pokemon that have been raised by hunters tend to fight alongside their hunters in combat (e.g., Weiss has a Lucario, who can not only benefit from her buffing abilities but also keep people at bay while she bombards the battlefield).

Hunter-trainers are people who not only pursue careers as hunters but who also train entire teams of Pokemon. They are relatively rare since few people have the ability to both train entire teams (most hunters only have one or two Pokemon) and hone their own abilities to the level required by hunters.

Legendaries exist but are akin to the most powerful Semblances. They also serve as the leaders of the Pokemon faction, and the various treaties and pacts that bind Pokemon to humans and Faunus are under their oversight. Some have also come to be closely associated with certain individuals or places (e.g., Articuno settled in Arendelle and has a pact with the royal family to aid in the kingdom’s defence. However, Elsa was the very first person that Articuno established a personal bond with due to her Semblance).

Animas and Pokemon are not the same thing. Pokemon possess greater levels of Aura and intelligence than animals. However, there are a few corner cases (e.g., chocobos) that are not considered Pokemon despite possessing higher levels of Aura and intelligence. The main difference is that Pokemon of the same species all possess the same species-wide Semblances (i.e., their abilities are explained as a species-wide Semblance) whereas animal can develop their own, highly individual, Semblances in a manner closer to humans and Faunus.

Pokemon and their human/Faunus partners can communicate through Aura resonance once they are close enough. This allows for basically wordless instant communication on the battlefield. It is theoretically possible for any trainer to do this since high levels of Aura are not necessary.

Pokemon ‘choose’ human and Faunus partners. A significant portion of the population will have Pokemon partners but not everyone will. It is not considered a bad thing if someone does not have a Pokemon. Rather, those with Pokemon are considered fortunate.

By the pacts and agreements that have been made, Pokemon are required to help fight against the Grimm once they are above a certain level of power. In a grave enough emergency, all adult Pokemon can be conscripted into battle in the same way that all adult humans and Faunus can be conscripted into battle.

This crossover would combine characters from both Final Rose and Pokemon. In this sort of AU, someone like Ash would likely be a trainer. That is, he wouldn’t be someone who fights Grimm in hand-to-hand combat unless absolutely necessary. Instead, he would lead his team on the battlefield, and his team would function as its own unit that works with other units.

However, someone like Bruno or Bea would be a hunter-trainer who has the strength to personally engage Grimm but also enough Pokemon to serve as their own unit on the battlefield. Then you have people like Elsa who have legendaries they can call upon in addition to their own awesome power.

Certain pokemon would also be associated with certain areas and groups. For instance, the Yun Clan would be a dragon-centric clan due to their connections to an ancient and mighty Dragonite (Bahamut) who partnered with the Father of the Yun. Their position next to the Yun Mountains also gives them access to many ice and rock types.

In contrast, the icy conditions in Atlas have led to ice types being prized but also steel types and rock types. For instance, Weiss being chosen by a Riolu was a very big deal since Lucario are considered fantastic Pokemon in Atlas and are ideal for helping people with the Glyph Semblance. Indeed, Nicholas’s partner and best friend was a Lucario.