… Okay, this is a redo of PMD: Joutei! …And I already can't think of anything to say. Gagh.
I do not claim ownership of Pokémon or any related franchise, only this fic and my OCs.
"A..."
The celebi floated over the human, worry evident in her eyes.
"I wonder... what... is one... of you doing... here?" he asked, coughing up blood between his words.
The celebi bowed her head. "I... I'm sorry. I should've helped you, but..."
"Help... me?" The human struggled stand up, lifting himself on his arms. They buckled under his weight, leaving him to collapse back onto the ground. "Why would... a being... such as you... help me?" he gasped out, almost sounding like a chuckle.
The celebi looked sadly at the pool of blood around the human. "...You... I'll try to explain later," she said as her hands took on a white glow. "But now, I have to correct the mistake I made long ago."
The human looked at her, uncomprehendingly.
"...I'm sorry!" There was a blinding flash. When it faded away, the human was gone, and the celebi floated over an emtpty puddle of blood, panting.
"Tsk. You've certainly done it this time."
The celebi's eyes widened as she whirled around, only to see a blank void. She gasped and looked to the front again. The blood and, in fact, all the surroundings had disappeared, leaving only that void, but that wasn't her focus. "Y-Y-You!" she stammered in fear.
"Honestly, after last time, is it so unthinkable that we would be keeping careful watch over you?"
"But-But you have to understand!" she cried. "I only wanted to fix everything! I thought, if I sent him, then..."
"Then what?"
"I..."
"You just as little idea of the consequences of your actions as you did that first time. It may very well be even more catastrophic."
"But... If you just let me talk to him... You could've just let me talk to the first one! And none of that would've happened in the first place! You could've even stopped me yourse-!"
A deafening roar interrupted her. "Know your place, celebi! You know just as well as I how delicate time is! Even I cannot just meddle with it however I like!"
"...I..."
"Enough. We shall do what we have brought you here to do," Another voice stated.
"You-You don't mean..."
"You are now stripped of all the powers we have given you."
"..."
"And as for the human..."
000
A sleeping figure stirred.
He silently stood up, rubbing at the pounding headache. Just what did I do last night? he wondered. He sighed, rubbing his eyes with his paws. He blinked. I have paws… And a muzzle. He looked down. Orange legs, the orange is fur, beige belly… my arms also have fur, paws… blue fins… He looked behind him. Two beige spots, two tails… He felt around his neck. Some rubbery collar-thing…
…
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?!" he cried, standing up, his paws flying across his body to make sure it was real. It was real. He was a buizel.
"Calm down for a moment," He finally said, slapping himself in the face. "Last night I… I… Damn it!! I can't remember anything! What kind of sick joke is this?!?" He cried, grabbing his head. There was one hope left. He turned to the tree that stood behind him.
"Wake up!" He slammed the top of his head into the bark, causing a loud thump. A few leaves were shaken loose. He brought his reeling head back as the fluttering leaves danced circles around him.
"Damn it… not a dream…" he muttered as the last stars faded away. "Just exactly what is going on? I just woke up, I'm a pokémon, and I can't remember anything. This sounds like the plotline for a video game…" he grumbled, sitting down. Wait, I remember my name… Pace. That was it. Pace. He sighed again. That's a start.
Something hit his head again, causing an involuntary snarl to escape his lips. "The hell was that!? It's still sore!" he roared up the tree. He blinked. It was empty. Wait, there's something... Another seed hit him on the back of the head, harder. Growling, he whirled around.
A pair of pachirisu glared back at him. One grabbed another seed from the ground and hurled it at him with surprising speed. He barely dodged, stepping to the side, when suddenly, another nut crashed down on his skull. "This is too annoying," he grumbled, looking up. Nothing.
I don't get it. They're coming from two directions. He looked back at the pachirisu, both of whom were collecting more projectiles. The answer hit him. One's been aiming straight for me while the other lobs it above. Tricky bastards.
"Go away!" one roared (as well as a pachirisu could roar) as the two started their combo again. Pace was so surprised that the faster seed pegged him right between the eyes. The overhead shot missed, fortunately. "Wait! Did you just talk!?" he shouted, sitting up, holding the bruise on his face with a paw. Okay, stupid question. I'm a pokémon, I can talk, why can't they?
He received no spoken reply. They both picked up another nut each. "Like hell I'll let you," He growled. He picked up one of the seeds strewn around him. "Eat this!" he roared, flinging it forward. With a satisfying thunk, the seed bounced off the forehead of the larger pachirisu, knocking him over.
The smaller one gasped. "Brother!" she, as Pace found himself able to tell, cried.
"Brother" quickly got up, growling. "You'll pay!" he spat, blue sparks appearing around his cheeks.
"Shut up! Why the hell were you two throwing stuff at me in the first place!?!"
The two pachirisu paused, taken aback by his reply. Apparently, they weren't used to their foes talking back to them. "You're trespassing," the larger pachirisu growled, the sparks toning down slightly.
"Trespassing? Is that it? Then let me leave myself! Damn it, I don't even know what I'm doing here," he mumbled angrily, turning away. But what now? Suddenly, I'm a pokémon lost in a weird forest filled with other territorial pokémon. I need to find out how this happened, why this happened, and how... His thoughts were interrupted as another nut whizzed by his head. Oh, for… "Damn it you two, stop throwing things at me!" he snarled, turning around.
The pachirisu ignored Pace, glaring past him. He glanced back, then saw a group of nuzleaf. Aggressive, if their stances were anything to judge by. Pace's eye twitched. Can this get any worse? One of them had simply grabbed the nut tossed by the pachirisu and was casually chewing on it.
"Nuuuzleaf!" one shouted. Pace blinked. Wait, the pachirisu could talk, but these guys can't? Just what is going on here?
"More of you? Go away! This is our territory!" the older pachirisu shouted at them. Meanwhile, Pace quickly shuffled away. Like hell I'm sticking around here.
"Stupids!" the younger one shouted with him.
In response, two of the nuzleaf raised their hands. An orb of light appeared above each, which eventually took on a green hue. They both then brought their hands forward, hurling the nature power attacks at the pachirisu. The electric pokémon easily jumped over the orbs as they collided with the ground, creating a pair of small blasts of green energy. As one, they almost seemed to vanish before slamming into one of the attacking nuzleaf, sending it into a tree.
The three other nuzleaf, without so much as a glance at their fallen comrade, swung their heads, allowing the leaves growing up there to duplicate and fly towards the pachirisu. The razor leaves were again, easily jumped over, but one nuzleaf followed by jumping and pounding the younger with a fist.
"No!" the elder pachirisu shouted, as blue sparks enveloped his body. He threw himself at the nuzleaf, but the spark attack hardly fazed it. It reciprocated with another pound, tossing him away. By now, the nuzleaf who was knocked into the tree had recovered. All four of them grouped together and began to walk towards the stunned pachirisu. They were suddenly halted by a gray shockwave from above. The sonic boom brought up a spray of dirt as the nuzleaf looked up, searching for the source of the attack.
"Hey! Why don't you lot go pick on someone your own size!" Pace roared from the small tree he had climbed up during the brawl. Four nature powers flew at him. "Shit," He muttered, dropping out of the tree before the attacks connected. How the hell did I do that sonic boom in the first place? He smoothly landed on the spongy dirt with his forepaws. I could've just left- I should've just left- so why in the world did I stick around? He internally grumbled as he sidestepped a flurry of razor leaves. He ducked under a nature power and then quickly lept over a mass of the razor leaves aimed at his feet. Wait, how did I dodge all that? His musing were cut off as he instinctively rolled to the side, avoiding another two green orbs launched at him.
Suddenly, the electric duo recovered and slammed into the same nuzleaf with another pair of quick attacks. This time, it was out for good. The remaining three, realizing they were now evenly matched, doubled their efforts. One dashed at Pace, who ran away, while the other two started up nature power again. This time, instead of raising the orbs in the air, they held them to the ground. They took a brown hue, then the nuzleaf thrust them into the dirt. A quick wave tore through the mossy ground towards the pachirisu, who were slow to jump over it. Both were sent flying.
Pace, still being pursued by the third nuzleaf, was watching this from the corner of his eye, grimacing. He ducked under another flurry of razor leaves as an idea formed itself in his mind. He suddenly skidded to a stop, turned around, stood up, and raised his arms with a "boo." While he was still short compared to the nuzleaf, it was surprised enough by the maneuver that it tried to skid to a stop. Its momentum disagreed and caused it to fall face-first into the ground, its nose buried in the dirt. The shockwave from the nature power attack continued to rip through the earth, conveniently where the nuzleaf had fallen, and hurled it helplessly into the air.
"Dumbass," Pace grunted, before leaping into the air after the other pokémon. Suddenly, in midair, an odd sensation suddenly flowed through his body. An incredible surge of power, all under his command. Just like when I used sonic boom… A film of water enveloped his body, while a jet of water was forced from behind him, propelling him through the air with greater speed than he could've achieved on foot. With that force, he smashed straight into the airborne nuzleaf. "Aqua Jet!" The weight of the water hurled it away, causing it to bounce off a tree, and land dazed near where the pachirisu had landed. They glanced at it, then simultaneously began to fry it with great blue bolts of electricity. By the time they stopped, the nuzleaf was now a deep, well-done color, and lay still on the ground.
The remaining two nuzleaf, now visibly worried, stepped back with doubt as Pace walked by the electric pokémon' side. This is really... way too easy, he thought as he faced the two. The nuzleaf put their hands together for another pair of nature powers.
"Like hell we'll let you!" Pace roared. "Eat this!" He twisted around, wildly lashing his tails, creating a series of sonic booms. The pachirisu did a similar motion, and let forth a barrage of shining stars that joined Pace's metallic waves. The combination of attacks pounded the nuzleaf, sending them skidding across forest floor. When they finally came to a stop, they slowly stood up and fled, ignoring their fallen comrades.
"Bastards," Pace growled. "I'm not done with you yet!" He dropped onto all fours and dashed after them. The feeling of power rose through his body again, this time, creating a surge of dark energy around his limbs. His running speed multiplied too greater speeds than even the aqua jet, allowing him to catch up to his foes in a matter of seconds. Right when he was between them, the dark aura shifted, concentrating in his forepaws. With a cry, he heavily pounded both nuzleaf in the head, slamming their faces into the dirt. "Pursuit!" Ineffective against their types as it was, it did the trick. Both foes were out cold.
Pace stood there panting deeply, reveling in his victory. …Did that seriously just happen? I can't believe it. I won my first fight, and it was way too easy.
"You!"
"Eh?" the older pachirisu was calling to him. Pace blinked in surprise. The pachirisu's face had broken into a wide, friendly grin.
"Come with us," he said, gesturing him over.
"What!? Brother!" the younger objected, scowling. She still didn't like Pace, apparently.
"He helped us," he replied, simply. "We will help him."
"No! We aren't weak! We can win without trespassers!" she protested stubbornly.
"He isn't like other trespassers," he shrugged.
Pace sweat-dropped at the conversation. What's with these two? He sighed, scratching under his collar. Damn, this thing gets hot. …I hope not all the pokémon around here are like those two…
Meanwhile, the two had finally reached an agreement. "Come," The elder pachirisu called again. The other was looking away. Pace heaved another sigh. Might as well. It's not like I have anything else to do. He stood up and walked to the two.
"Do you have names, or do I just call you Number One and Number Two?"
They were silent. "Names?" The younger asked, tilting her head.
Pace's eye twitched. Gagh. "My name is Pace. It's what other peop- pokémon call me." Not that any other pokémon have called me that, yet.
Still, they were confused. Finally, the older one seemed to understand. "Oh! Names! I am Radi! And my sister is Luma," He said. Luma still didn't seem to understand.
"Okay, good. So what do you want, Radi?" Pace stomach growled loudly. He glanced down at it. The moment was so awkward, he could stare blankly.
"To feed you," Radi laughed. Pace blinked. That laughter, light, yet hearty, was probably the first pleasant sound he had heard since his rude awakening not ten minutes ago. "We have food. Follow us," Radi smiled, running of in one direction, right over one of the unconscious nuzleaf.
"Um, what about these guys?" Pace asked, looking at it.
"They will leave. They are stupid, but not that stupid," Radi laughed again, still running. "Hurry!" Luma quickly followed.
Pace sighed, crouching on all fours and dashing over them. I better find some answers soon.
000
Six figures walked along a dirt path that winded through a sunny forest.
"It's about noon," An odd, small, white canine creature said, looking straight up at the sun, relatively unobstructed by the trees. "That means its break time!" The shaymin grinned to the others.
"Already? Didn't we agree break time was half an hour after noon?" A sableye with entirely black skin asked as he set his shoulder bag down. His eyes were a gleaming silver, and rather than a random assortment of gems, his skin was embedded with a set of small diamonds, positioned like buttons on a double-breasted coat, and a triangular ruby under his neck, giving the appearance of a necktie.
"I'm not complaining," A kirlia, wearing a denim vest, shrugged as he removed his red-and-white single-strap backpack. The vest, as well as his hair, was splotched with several colors of paint. He quickly picked a rock to sit on, then pulled an odd object of the same color from the bag.
"You're going to play us a song?" A dratini asked enthusiastically as the kirlia unfolded the device into what looked like an electric guitar.
"Maybe…" He replied, fiddling around with it.
"It's odd," A larvitar muttered, sitting on the large backpack he had been carrying. "This is our third day on the road and we still haven't reached the next city." His right eye had a large black rhombus-shaped marking around it, while the eye itself was a curious blank white.
"Seriously, you'd think this area would be a bit more populated," The sableye grumbled, unfolding a faded map. "There's a whole lot of food available, and the wilds we've seen aren't particularly strong."
The larvitar shrugged, reaching an arm into one of the backpack's pockets, and pulled out a green, worn-looking book. He began to flip through the pages before settling on one with a folded corner. There was silence, only interrupted by the plunks of the kirlia's guitar.
"The clouds look nice today…" The last figure, a drifloon muttered in a high, dream-like voice.
"Ah… um… Aren't they?" The dratini chuckled, sweat-dropping at the randomness of the comment.
"He's right, you know," The shaymin laughed, floating by her. "Another fine day for Team Joutei." The group sat in silence, looking up at the billowing, cotton shapes in the sky.
If you haven't read the original version of this fic, skip to the last phrase of this paragraph. I always planned for Rush, the old main character, to go on wondering what his real name was, only to have it revealed to him. Guess what that name was. Yes, Pace. Ironic, no? I can't tell you how many times I started to type Rush and had to replace it with Pace. :P This won't be the only name change. Also, many characters from the old story will eventually return. But not all. Also, I had planned for the larvitar and drifloon to be introduced in the old version. Guess what happens to Radi -_- (Luma- Luminescent, Radi- Radiance, in case you were wondering)
I'm just as open to OCs as last time. Though keep in mind, because the size of Joutei is much smaller, any OCs submitted will probably end up as temporary characters unless I decide I like him/her and get him/her to join the main cast. I already have many characters planned, so know that many species will be taken. And please refrain from using cliché species like eeveelutions, starters, pikachu, etc. Include a name, appearance, a personality description, and (optional) fighting style and/or a brief backstory. If you prefer that some information remain hidden as a plot twist, send it by PM. Otherwise, stick your OC in a review.
One more note, forgive me for blathering, I'm rather proud of my combat scenes, I'm not afraid to say. If you just skipped over it, shame on you. Go back and reread it. If you just can't read it without drifting off, then tell me how to make them more interesting.
Pace is probably going to be the only character to use such colorful language so frequently.
…
Review!
Edited 10-17-09
A completely new intro. That leave you lot quite a bit to speculate on. The last scene had a few edits, nothing major. The sableye's, kirlia's, and larvitar's appearances have been updated. ...Yeah.