So yeah, here's the start of another new story that's been dwelling in my mind for quite some time now. I hope that with this story I can express some of my less serious idea's, and just have fun, because honestly, with my other stories being as grim and resolute as they have been lately, I'm not getting that same thrill out of writing. Don't worry though, because I'm not dropping ANYTHING! Those of you who have been anxiously sending me PM's and commenting about how I need to continue writing, (You know who you are!) just chill, okay? So, without further ado, I am AmateraSWAG, and this is my new story, Strange Metal! (Probably going to have some adult things going on in here, so you know the drill. Don't read if you don't like inappropriate stuff.)
I don't own Pokemon or any of that shit… Yadda-yadda-yadda... Copyright infringement... Blah-blah-blah… READ THE STORY!
A stray beam of sunlight filtered it's way into my closed eyelids, causing me to squint softly in recoil. Quickly throwing a nearly limp appendage in front of my eyes, I disconnected the stream of morning luminescence from my still woozy optics, before lazily rolling away, and out of the sun's grasp. I took a moment to sprawl out completely on my stomach, and stretch my limbs in various directions to relieve my morning stiffness, but to no avail. This was likely the price I would have to pay for choosing to sleep upright against the base of a tree rather than in the comfort of my den, but, it was a price I was willing to pay if it meant keeping a closer, more vigilant eye on my territory.
My name is Lapis, or, if you're one of the local humans that's stupid enough to stray too far into my expanse of the forest, I'm called "The Blue One." A stupid nickname given by an equally stupid race of individuals.
Speaking of humans… The reason why I'll likely be walking with a stiff neck for the next moon is because I was forced out of my regular sleep cycle by the sound of what I believe was a party of trainers. Mindlessly jabbering, and in my opinion, coming a bit close to my terrain for comfort. So, in order to make sure that I wasn't suddenly forced into battle in one of their ridiculous attempts to tame me in the middle of the night, I decided to stay awake, and sit at the base of a large oak tree directly in the center of my territory, where I would have a much broader field of vision in case I needed to either defend myself, or take cover.
But, this wasn't an uncommon series of events for me, because being the slightly infamous individual I was; taking these kinds of cautionary measures was somewhat regular in my daily routine.
It's a fairly annoying cycle to be frank. First I wake up, then I leave on a morning patrol, come back to my den, eat, leave again for another patrol, come back, eat, train for a small period of time and occasionally meditate, then finally leave on one last patrol around my borders before coming back to rest, and unwillingly repeat the entire process again the next day. All to protect an expanse of land that I don't necessarily want to be tied down to. But, because of my clan, who rudely decided to leave me in charge of this region of their domain, I'm honor bound to protect it at all costs.
Unfortunately, that means that I cannot leave its bounds until told otherwise. And in all honesty, knowing my lovely race; I'll be stuck here for the rest of my life. Alone. Isolated. And unfathomably bored.
Looking at the brighter side of this dull life of mine, today was a relatively special occasion. It was finally time to replenish my stockpile of food, and other essentials. So in turn: I get to leave my acre of the woods, and spend the day gathering. I could always hunt like the majority of my race found the best way of obtaining nutrients, and entertaining themselves in general, but, I wasn't exactly fond of the whole "Circle of Life" thing.
More accurately, the circle of death.
Though gathering food was normally an enjoyable event for me, I felt like today it would be a little more… strenuous, given the current condition of my neck and upper back. But, regardless of how much I wasn't looking forward to this for once; it had to be done. So if that means grueling through a nasty, stiff back... so be it.
After forcibly lifting my aching body off of the soft grass, I took another moment to stretch before groaning; my joints obviously telling me to sit my ass back down. But I wasn't having it. Mentally advising myself to not act like an infant, I stretched my arms and shoulders one final time before quickly whipping myself around and slicing off a decent portion of flat bark from the colossal oak tree with a well placed metal claw. I stiffly bent over to retrieve the plank of wood that would serve as a makeshift tray for carrying berries and roots back to my den, and sighed in relief after relinquishing myself from the task of bending over.
I began to walk in the direction where I remembered last seeing an expanse of pecha trees, and inevitably where I would begin my monthly harvest, but not before glancing back at the large oak I had recently assaulted, and announcing, "Sorry… but, I need it more than you do." Accompanied by a light smile.
The walk was admittedly quiet this time around. Only the occasional Taillow chirped, or Linoone darted through the clearing of trees. Other than that, the area was particularly void of commotion, and I wasn't complaining in the slightest. No obnoxious trainers to deal with. No promiscuous male pokemon trying to claim me… as if they could… No other third annoying event that I may or may not be forgetting... All in all, the trip was short, sweet, and absolutely lacking in action.
As I arrived at my destination, I soon realized that I was not only surrounded by large expanse of pecha trees, but multitudinous other breeds and variations of valuable fruits, roots, and just about anything I might ever need to put my paws on.
"Ah, Spring… your wonders know no bounds…" I uttered just above a whisper.
From that point, I practically danced from tree to tree, bush to bush; collecting nearly everything that lay within my reach. Even going as far as to pile so much onto the makeshift platter that the smallest of movement would cause the mountain of edibles to shake unrestrainedly, and even collapse under it's own weight on a few occasions. Was I getting carried away? Yes. Did I care? Not one bit.
Surprisingly, the same dull circumstances defined the majority of my scavenging as well. Never once was I able to make this typically enjoyable voyage and come come back completely unscathed, and it was definitely a nice change in pace. Especially considering the fact that my neck was rather sore, and I wasn't really in the mood for hand to hand combat. But… for whatever reason, I felt something astray. Then it hit me.
"I never thought I'd say this, but this isn't as fun without having to constantly keep on my toes." I quietly informed myself with a sigh.
I realized that I rather enjoyed the fast paced hustle and bustle of my routine gathering session, and that definitely included hitting things in the face if I considered them an immediate threat. But, whether or not I was able to do just that during this particular jaunt, the tray of bark laid out in my arms - absolutely adorned with various roots, berries, and plants reminded me that my expedition was successful, and that meant that I could return to my den early, and possibly catch a few hours of rest to compensate for the absolute lack of any and all slumber I had missed from the previous night.
"Well, I shouldn't be complaining…" I began. "I'm not exactly in the best condition to defend myself anyways." I finished before gently rotating my neck in a circular motion to test its current status. Earning a small pop in response, I concluded that I wasn't wrong about fighting something not being the best treatment for me right now.
A yawn soon made it's way from my throat, causing me to hiccup slightly due to its sudden appearance, which also confirmed the idea of sleeping to be a good one. With that, I began the short walk back to my den, and more importantly, a comfortable place to nap.
Again, I felt even more isolated than normal, as the trek back seemed even more lacking in sonance that the one prior. There was definitely something off, but I just couldn't put my finger on what it might be. I didn't think I was forgetting anything crucial or life threatening, but regardless, I decided to slightly increase my pace, and make it back to the heart of my territory as soon as possible.
Upon arriving back at my "camp" of sorts, I quickly deposited the mass of food near the entryway of the small, yet comfortable cave I took residence in. After a small inventory check, I concluded that my mind was just letting itself be carried away, because there wasn't anything astray; not one thing out of place. That was, until, I stepped foot in my cave.
Immediately my fairly powerful nose went to work, and I began picking up on small traces of something that had passed through. "That's... strange?" I admitted; the walls of the cave echoing and amplifying my verbal thought all around me. There didn't seem to be anything here, but there was undeniably a creature who had entered my cave before I had arrived.
The smell was… bizarre, to say the least. It was artificial, like it had just come out of a human's structure… but, it simultaneously felt... natural? Almost like it had recently been caked in dirt, or some naturally occurring substance. Topping it all off, there was just a small, lingering stench of smoke. Nothing too powerful, or overbearing that I would be caused any displeasure… but just a faint indication that said creature had recently been near a campfire, and had absorbed a small amount of the smoke that plumed upwards from the ashes.
What astonished me the most was that the smell wasn't anything unpleasant. Far from it, I might add; it reminded me slightly of when my old tribe and I would raid parties of humans that camped too close to our territory, and we would take reside in their flimsy, portable buildings.
But, on that note, the smell definitely was old. As if they had arrived mere minutes after I had left my territory. So with that in mind, I didn't feel like I was in any immediate danger from the unusual smelling human, and or pokemon that had passed through, so napping wasn't off the table. Taking a moment to recalibrate, and free my mind of any negative thoughts, I collapsed onto my bed of decaying leaves and moss with a light grunt.
"Note to self: replace bedding when you wake up." I proclaimed with annoyance; my words slightly muffled from my face being half buried in the natural cushioning, I allowed my brain to shut down, and begin making up for my terrible sleep the night prior.
Approximately Three Hours Later…
After waking, I merely laid in place for a solid 15 minutes; allowing my body to naturally wake itself so I wouldn't be faced with an immediate drowsiness after standing up. I took time to stretch every limb, and pop any sore joints whilst remaining on my stomach, then finally I rolled onto my back.
"GAH!" I bellowed in surprise. Mere inches away from me stood a young, but still mature human - back arched and knees bent in a crouching position. At first glance, he was obviously male; indicated by his slightly larger physique, eye length silver toned hair, and chiseled facial structure. But now wasn't the time to analyze my possible attacker.
Not giving the man a moment to react, I quickly arched my legs and drilled him in the chest with both of my feet, sending him rolling backwards. But, to my immediate surprise, the human was able to re-plant his feet on the stone cave floor, and skid to a halt even with the incredibly momentum I had launched him back with.
After coming to a complete stop, he simply stood back up and dusted off his formal clothing before sitting himself down against the wall a mere 10 feet away from me, and allowing his curious, yet admittedly excited gaze to meet my own again.
"W-Who are you?! And what are you doing here?!" I demanded with an obvious trace of fear in my tone. Hopefully it went unnoticed.
"I have the right to ask the same question. So, who might you be?" He fired back with a slight hint of sass.
"My personal identity is of none of your concern! Now, you'd best leave this place before I force you to do so!"
Pulling out what appeared to be a notepad and pen, the human's attention seemed to be drawn away from me as he frantically scribbled something down in his notes. "Hmm… aggressive when startled…" He said quietly as he wrote. Who did this human think he was? Documenting me without my consent!
"Now…" He began, "Would you say that you identify with, and or fall under the name of a race known as Lucario?" He asked with a raised brow.
"Yes? What of it?" I replied with a frown. After observing the human's actions, and aura, I quickly realized that he shouldn't be a threat, but I couldn't be too certain. Human's weren't to be trusted.
Upon replying, the human's face appeared to light up with pure happiness. I confirmed this notion when his aura seemed to spike with positive emotions, and simultaneously, an intense curiosity.
"Wonderful! I had heard the rumors, but since there's little to no documentation on your species or specific appearance, I couldn't assume there was actually one here in Hoenn without finding out myself! Now then, miss? What is your name?" The human nearly shouted.
Shaking my head, I replied with a stout, and unwavering, "That is still none of your concern, human!"
Even amidst my negative reply, the human's emotions remained unwavering. He simply flashed me an abrupt smile, and went back to jot something else down in his notes. Becoming slightly annoyed, I stood up and walked towards the human before grabbing him by the nape of his shirt, and dragging him out of my den.
Seemingly unaffected, I picked up a quiet, "Does not enjoy strangers intruding their den... " as I continued to slide the human across the stony floor before depositing him on the short grass just outside the caves entrance.
After turning my back for a mere moment to grab a sitrus berry from atop the large stockpile of food I had recently collected, I was momentarily surprised by the sensation of having the back of my lower leg prodded with the tip of the humans pen.
"Do not touch me!" I shouted before quickly spinning around to release a force palm onto my assailants jaw, only to find that he was no longer there.
"What in the-" I began, but was cut off by again being palpated by the humans pen, but, this time he was standing at full height beside me, examining my upper arm.
"Cut that out!" I announced with obvious anger in my tone before rapidly swinging my arm to the side to meet with his upper torso. Again, my fist struck nothing but air, and I turned to see the human sitting with his legs crossed in the grass, scribbling another annotation down on his paper.
"Soft and organic visual appearance, yet undeniably solid and structured… What an interesting steel type…" He babbled interestingly. His face was plastered with an admittedly goofy smile, like a young child.
"Ughh!" I exclaimed in frustration, causing the man to glance up at me; his attention no longer fixated on his writing. "Who even are you? And why are you here?!"
Flashing me an abrupt smile, the human brushed away some of his hair from his face before replying. "Ah, sorry about that. I got a bit carried away, and forgot to introduce myself… My name's Steven Stone; I'm a mineralogist, and a pokemon researcher. So naturally, I'm drawn to researching rock and steel type pokemon. Feel free to just call me Steven. Or human, like you were doing before… whatever you're more comfortable with." He finished with a thumbs up.
"Well… okay? And you're researching me in particular for what reason, exactly?" I asked, my annoyance slightly fading. "Surely there must be other Lucario's you can observe?"
"You see, whether you believe it or not, you're currently the only wild member of your species in the entirety of the Hoenn region… And in all honesty, you're probably the only Lucario in Hoenn; wild or not… And I don't particularly feel like traveling to Sinnoh or Kalos under the preconceived notion that I'll easily be able to find another one of your species when I have one right here in front of me." He explained.
"Ah… well, that's understandable... And Mr. Steven? What if I were to say no?" I asked sarcastically.
"If that were the case, I'd leave right now, and probably dwell on the fact that I wasn't able to be the first to document you accurately for the rest of my life. But, I can tell that you're not like that, so the sarcasm really isn't necessary." He responded with a lopsided grin.
"And why do you think that?" I frowned; attempting to act as negative as physically possible in an attempt to scare him off.
He suddenly burst into a laughing fit, causing me to flinch lightly.
"Because anyone who's been around pokemon would know that if they really wanted you to leave them alone, they would either attack you, or make it blatantly obvious that you're not welcome." He advised me after his laughter had died down.
Though he was right, every ounce of me wanted this… Steven… to leave. I couldn't deny that I somewhat enjoyed the company of someone who wasn't after me for personal gain; but the idea of being poked and prodded in the name of science for who knows how long sounded slightly… annoying.
But, against every tiny fragment of pride contained inside my body, I responded basically against my own will.
"Fine." I stated bluntly. "You can do your dumb research, but if you even think about pulling a fast one and feeling me up for science, I will not hesitate to rip off your-"
"OKAY-OKAY-OKAY! I GET IT!" He interrupted before nervously glancing down at his watch. "Oh! Would ya' look at the time! I should really be on my way, it's getting late. I'll be back at dawn tomorrow, okay?"
"Yes, fine… dawn it is. But my threat will not waver; you got that, Steven?" I reassured him as he yanked a Poke'ball from his belt, and stuffed his notepad and pen back into his formal jacket.
"Affirmative!" He shouted in reply before a Skarmory materialized before him. "Oh, and you still haven't told me your name?" Steven questioned before climbing atop the Skarmory's back.
"It's Lapis… my name is Lapis."
Upon hearing my name, Steven's face scrunched up in an intense grin. "How clever, like the deep blue gemstone! Well, Lapis… We'll meet again at dawn!" He shouted feverishly before the Skarmory flapped it's massive steel wings, and propelled itself into the sky. It was not long before they were out of sight, and hopefully, out of mind.
"What an odd human…" I reported quietly. I relinquished in the moment for a few seconds; slightly disappointed that I was again stuck to talking with myself. "At least it won't be for too long." I added with a slight smile.
Wheeelllp. There's chapter 1 for you all. I truly hope you enjoyed this start to my new story, and hopefully, you equally enjoyed the slight change in pace I took to this. Less seriousness, you know? Make sure to please drop a review, because as you know, I'm an addict for that kind of stuff. The next chapter should be out sooner than later, and those of you who are waiting for new chapter's from my other stories, fret not! I'm not dropping them, nor do I plan on it. Just be patient, because they'll be out soon enough. I've just been slightly swamped with my personal life outside of FF, and I can assure you that the rate of which I supply you all with new chapters should increase tremendously with the upcoming summer. So, with that, have a wonderful day!