After barely escaping from the Crusade's ultimate weapon, Shadow Mewtwo, the heroes flee to a nearby island to make necessary repairs on their airship. Jora is less than thrilled about their destination, for it is none other than the island that was once her home, Kia He.
There, they encounter one of the most dangerous denizens of the islands; a Kommo-O warrior, and his warband...

PREVIEW:
The flight to the closest island was awkward, as the ship - having propulsion from only its starboard side, continuously tried to veer to the left, forcing Toby to keep the wheel turned right and rely on the rudder’s angle to keep the course. The act was tiring on his arms, and eventually forced Lashanne to take over and give the Meowth a rest, as the flight itself took hours, until approached a large isle with a single, smoking mountain at its center.
The surface of the island was dotted with scattered rainforests of various scale - from small copses of trees to vast jungles that stretched on for miles. The jungles were surrounded by open grasslands, and the passengers of the airship could make out multiple beaches dotting the edges of the island, where the land did not become sheer cliffs overlooking the water. There was not a trace of modern civilization to be seen anywhere, nor any hints that anyone of modern society had ever set foot on the island. The only traces of community that they could see were distant plumes of smoke, likely from bonfires, but they steered clear of those areas.
At the stern of the ship, Jora was staring out to the island. She had not spoken a word since they had come in sight of it, and her body language was enough to give away her trepidation at seeing it - it was clear she knew where they were, and the revelation disturbed her.
“Jora?” Luke spoke up as he got closer to the Salazzle, noticing her trepidation from afar - and seeing more of it when she jumped at her name. “You look like you’re shaken up about something. Is everything ok?” He further inquired, standing next to her.
Jora took in a steadying breath, and then looked out to the island again. “...This is Kia He,” she said, in a voice so low she was almost whispering. “My birthplace.”
“Your…” Luke looked back between the island and Jora a few times. “Right, I remember you mentioned you were from here when we had that talk in Hadleigh, before Asya and her forces besieged the city…” He added, placing a paw along her back in a comforting manner. “I take it the memories of the day Calhoun recruited you still haunt you?”
Jora shook her head slowly. "Much more than that happened to me on this island, Luke," she said, somberly. "There are things that happened here that have scarred me deeply. Things I wish to forget, and pray to the sun god every night that my children will never have to suffer as I did. Even if it was all for their sake."
“I see.” The Lucario muttered softly. “Well, unfortunately we don’t have much choice but to land on this island. The ship won't go much further.”
“I know,” she assured him.
“We’ll make the repairs as quickly as we can, but until then… maybe it might be better if you stay indoors until we can take off again, if that will help ease your worries,” Luke offered.
"Perhaps… but you may need me as a translator, if anyone approaches us," she reminded him. "There are many people - tribes, packs and clans that call these islands home. We cannot be sure we won't encounter them."
“…Fair point. I didn’t think of that.” Luke relented. “Alright, but stay as close to us as possible. In the event we do run into any of your past grievances, we’ll need to be able to protect you at any cost.” He informed the Salazzle.
“I have no intention of wandering away,” she assured him. “And I would advise your friends to do the same. There are many dangers on this island.”
“Care to elaborate?” Luke asked, feeling a bit perturbed himself. “I’d like to know what we’re walking into before we actually… Well… Walk into it.” He added for lack of a better term.
“The worst by far are the Kommo-O warchiefs and their tribes,” replied Jora. “They are warriors, bred to fight, and the warchiefs are the strongest of the tribe. In fact…” She tilted her head as if she heard something. “Listen. Do you hear that sound?”
Luke pricked his ears up to listen. At first, he couldn’t make out much more than the sound of the engines, but as he listened, another sound reached his ears. A sound like clattering metal on the wind, as well as voices letting out an aggressive chant. Looking over the side, he was able to make out the direction the sound was coming from, startled by how loud it was when he couldn’t see the cause.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw only two others were alert to the sounds - Hank and Lashanne, both having their ears raised and looking off in the same direction as Luke. Nobody else seemed to have noticed the sound yet, or couldn’t pick it out from the sounds of the ship. But both of the foxes seemed as perturbed as himself, hearing the aggressiveness in the voices that accompanied the clanging.
“That is one of the warbands now,” explained Jora, when she was sure Luke could hear them. “Before a battle, they engage in a ritual war dance. That clanging you’re hearing are their scales, as strong as any metal you could think of, and as much a weapon to them as their own bodies. The sounds they can emit can be deafening, so I am told. They will be the greatest of threats we could encounter, should we cross them, but they will not be the only one. Regardless, I advise we stay out of their way at all costs."
Luke nodded softly. “I’ll inform Lashanne to land as far from that sound as possible.” He assured her. “Anything else we should know about, or is that all?”
"There are also the Lycanroc," she said. "By day there is little concern for us. The Packs will not challenge a group as large as ours - they usually only hunt in numbers of two to eight. But the Midnight ones, like Asya, if any of us stray off they could come out of the dark and drag us away, and we'd never hear them. They are deadly hunters under the night sky. If we land near any of the jungles, we must be especially vigilant - they often use the trees for cover."
“Got it.” Luke answered, then gave her back a small pat before he went over to inform Lashanne of the information Jora left him with.