Hey guys, Arratra here, with a new story, beta-read by my obliging mother this time around. First up, for you WOW geeks out there, is some stats for one of the main characters, plus a custom class that's been hanging around in my head for a while now; it isn't complete, so don't bash me about not having a more complete ability set; also, I would appreciate any ideas you guys might provide. Enjoy!
Main Character:
Name: Jaxamar "Jax" Flaren
Race: Rayquaza Pokémorph
Gender: Male
Affiliation: Neutral (Wrymrest Accord)
Class: Dragon Knight
Skin colour: Black with gold and crimson markings (Shiny Rayquaza)
Eye colour: Gold
Hair colour: Black with gold streaks
Hairstyle: Pulled back into a high ponytail, short spikes on top of head
Custom Hero class:
Name: Dragon Knight
Roles: Tank, DPS, Healing
Primary Resource: Mana
Secondary Resource: Crystals (Fire Crystal, Light Crystal, Life Crystal), generated by specific abilities (used to power the more powerful abilities)
Specialisations: Fury (DPS), Warding (Tank), Life (Healing)
Specialisation Capabilities:
Fury; Damage via melee strikes combined with Fire and Holy spells
Warding; Draws aggression, punishes enemies for attacking, provides defensive buffs to allies
Life; Heals and buffs self and allies
Specialisation Traits:
Fury; Blaze Strike (Special melee attack; Deals additional fire damage), Flaring Talons (Causes additional Holy damage with melee strikes), Phoenix Surge (Fire-based spells heal self for 10% of the damage inflicted), Dragonfire Blade (Powerful melee strike; Consumes one Fire crystal and one Light Crystal to deal massive additional Fire and Holy damage)
Warding; Aegis Warding (Generates aggro, and places the enemy under an Aegis; Enemy deals 10% less damage, cumulative with Wards), Reflective Warding (Wards and Aegis emplaced by this character reflect an additional 5% of incoming damage. Counts towards total percentage of damage [before damage-reducing effects are applied]; Effect does not stack), Guardian's Mithal (Increases Dragon Knight's defences; exact rules not determined), Ward of the Avenging Flame (Applies Avenging Flame Ward to self and nearby allies; each time damage is inflicted by an enemy, that enemy takes fire damage equal to half the damage they inflicted)
Life; Life Crystal Flare (Expends one Life Crystal to heal the targeted ally [or self]; powerful healing spell), Student of the Life Binder (Healing spells heal an extra 15% over five seconds as regeneration), Blessing of the Aspects (Powerful buff spell; rules not yet decided)
Commence Story:
Where am I? What happened?
A pair of bleary eyes slowly slid open, and their owner groaned as he sat up, pushing himself up from lying on his side, bringing a hand up towards his face.
He froze. The hand that had risen into his field of view was covered in ebon-black scales, and was missing the pinky. Not as if it had been chopped off, but as if it had never existed. Even the fingers that remained were different; they ended in short, but sharp-looking snowy-white claws.
He looked down, and immediately saw that his arms weren't the only things that had been changed. His chest was encased in some sort of carapace-like cover. A quick prod with a claw-tip revealed that while it was rigid, he had full sensation in it, suggesting that it was some form of sub-dermal bone armour to protect his heart and lungs. Further examination of his arms revealed that there were also plates covering his forearms, and the backs of his hands had more plates.
His legs were now digitigrade, and a faintly-glowing gold circle adorned each thigh. He was, however, still clad in his underwear.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw that he even had a finned tail. A familiar finned tail with a line running down it, with two circles between each set of fins.
"A Rayquaza?" he asked himself as he gently felt his face; it had pushed out into a muzzle, and a long pair of fangs protruded from his mouth. The fins behind the jaw and sweeping backwards off his head were also present. He still had his hair, but it too had been changed. When he pulled it around to look, it was a lot longer than it used to be (it was still a mess, however), and was black with gold streaks, rather than the blue it had been before.
Closing his eyes, he tried to think of what he last remembered.
We were fighting Ghetsis. That insane Hydreigon he has… it- wait!
"Skystrifer?" he called, "Skystrifer, can you hear me?"
For a moment there was no response, and his heart sank. Then…
"Drei…" A sleepy voice mumbled, and he turned his head, his heart leaping. Curled up at the foot of the opulent bed he was sitting on was Skystrifer, his beloved Hydreigon. Coiled near her were Arratra, his Serperior, Za'nock and Zi'na, two of his three Dragonair, and Margras, his Salamence and Skystrifer's mate. Mileana, one of his two Haxorus, lay near a large fireplace, one claw slowly stroking her egg-filled belly in her sleep. Her mate, Heero, his other Haxorus, lay curled next to her, his tail draped over her.
The presence of Arratra presented something of a quandary; although a highly experienced trainer, he was, or had been (the League might have changed that on him), still bound by the six-Pokémon rule. Including the powerful Serperior, there were seven Pokémon present.
Skystrifer blinked at him sleepily for a moment, not really awake, before her head drifted back down and she drifted back into deep sleep.
I'll let them sleep, he thought, moving to the edge of the bed and climbing unsteadily to his feet. He swayed until he finally found equilibrium, and then surveyed the room. Aside from the bed and fireplace, there was a full-length mirror hanging on the wall, a dresser, a nightstand, a stand of cloaks, and a wardrobe. Deciding to see exactly what he looked like now, he proceeded, stumbling at first but quickly gaining confidence, towards the mirror.
His reflection revealed the mark on his neck, two lines going straight up his neck before suddenly converging into one then vanishing into his hair. His eyes, once a bright, intelligent emerald-green were now brilliant, fierce gold. Further, the sclera weren't white, but black. And on his back were a pair of red-edged fins
"Is this a dream?" he wondered, flexing his fingers, and then clenching his hand into a fist.
If it was a dream, it was incredibly vivid. He could feel the tail, and the sensations as it waved slowly back and forth behind him, the claws pressing into his palm, even a strange sensation that equated more to pressure than anything else.
He focussed on that feeling of pressure, trying to understand it…
His X-Transceiver rang.
His focus turned away from the feeling, and it was only then that he realised that he'd floated into the air.
"Gah!"
He fell to the floor with a thud, falling flat on his face.
"Ow. Not a dream," he groaned, clambering up and swiping the device from where it had been left on the dresser, next to the mirror.
When he answered it, instead of a picture what he got was the "Voice Only" alert.
"Hello?" he asked, wondering who it was.
"Oh, thank Arceus!" Professor Oak's voice came from the device, "Are you alright, Jaxamar?"
Jaxamar looked down at his arm, before replying.
"Given the circumstances, I'm better than all right, Professor. Didn't Ghetsis' Hydriegon use Draco Meteor?"
"Yes. Which means it's a miracle you're alive. Where are you?"
"That I have no idea. But I have seven Pokémon with me. What's going on?"
"The League increased your limit to twelve," Oak stated, but Jaxamar spoke before he could continue.
"Which explains why Arratra can even be here, but how did he get here and why did the League decide I could have twelve? Isn't the usual first increase to eight?"
"Arratra sent himself over," Oak said, sounding both peeved and impressed, "He managed to work the computer to send his Pokéball over to you. I think he enlisted the help of Ash's Sceptile. As to why the League chose to allow twelve; I wasn't part of that decision, so I don't have any information on that."
Jax could only chuckle and shake his head slightly. Arratra had always been smart, even for the intelligent Snivy evolution line. This just highlighted it once again.
"Oh, that sneaky snake," he said with a sort of amused half-sigh, "Well, never mind. At least I know what's happening on that front. Keep me posted on my other Pokémon, please."
"Of course," Oak said, his tone pleased, "Do the same on any developments on your end."
"Sure. Bye for now, Professor."
With the farewells done with, Jax closed the connection, glancing at the signal rating. Strange. Four bars, but no video signal. Was something wrong with the Professor's computer? Then again, it might be a fault on both ends; it hadn't displayed his image either, which was what it would usually do even when the other end was suffering technical issues.
Didn't help, though; he was a Pokémon Trainer, not a technician.
At that point the door opened and he turned to look. A long-haired man wearing what looked like medieval clothes had entered, and now studied him.
"Excellent, you're awake. I was getting worried," he said, before bowing slightly, "Kalecgos, the new Aspect of the Blue Dragonflight, at your service."
"Uh. Jaxamar Flaren. Pleased to meet you," Jax said, unsure as to how to actually respond. Aspect? Blue Dragonflight? What did that mean?
"Oh dear…" Kalecgos mumbled, rubbing his nose. This would be complicated…