1.1. The King of Bedlam
Reyes remembered how, a very long time ago—what seemed like a lifetime ago, in fact—he enjoyed watching old movies with his Trainer, Brendan; he wasn't The Brendan and wasn't nearly as famous, but he was Reyes' Brendan, which was what mattered. He was a goofy kid with too many freckles and braces and loved nachos and soft pretzels and old movies; consequently, Reyes, his very first Pokémon and life partner, did too, very much. "In a world…", most of their movies tended to start, and that was the same way every one of Reyes' days started ten years later.
In a world, a world several light years away from the glorious "world of Pokémon" so revered and loved by every grade-school child with a T.V., the skies were dark (mainly allegorically but literally on some of the worse days), the streets were paved with blood and corpses, and every hour was a fight for something, be it food, shelter, or one's life, human or Pokémon. It wasn't a world of Trainer and Pokémon, Pokémon and Trainer any longer; no, it was just a world of Pokémon—dangerous, drugged-on-freedom, damn-the-consequences, there-is-no-god Pokémon.
He usually didn't stray too far from the revolutionary's grounds, but the previous day Alakazam seemed to want to test his patience by sending him all the way to Mauville City from his stay in Lilycove. Reyes remembered very well when Brendan stopped by to fill up at the PokeMart years prior; it was large and very advanced, full of people and life, but all Reyes saw at the moment was a decrepit city with holes in the skylight roof and rubble and shattered stores everywhere. Rebels wandered around, most eyeing him dangerously but none making moves as of yet; he got the feeling that his actual request would put his life in danger more than just swaggering onto some big shot's turf.
He found the southern hall leading to the center of the city and was immediately stopped by a Garchomp and Hariyama standing guard; for what, he wasn't sure, as there didn't seem to be much to guard around there aside from the Bug-type Pokémon that abounded in the darkness. Ahead, a virtual wall of plaster chunks crookedly stacked on top of one another blocked any view he had of the plaza; the inside of the place was vaguely lit by old and flickering fluorescent lights and somewhere in the distance, a broken tune sounded from some old children's carousel, giving it all a mysterious and macabre feeling like one of Brendan's old Horror movies. "What are ya try'n'a do, pal?" the Hariyama said, blocking him with a hand; Reyes got the feeling that despite his friendly tone and words, they were far from being pals.
"I need to see the King." The King wasn't the king as in every-rebel-bow-down-to-me-muahaha, but his influence spanned across Mt. Chimney, Mauville, Verdanturf, and Lavaridge (Fallabor belonged to some wayward Sableye, the last Reyes heard), so in short, he controlled some of the more major parts in the region through sheer strength and guts, and that gave him the title of 'King' for both rebels and revolutionaries. From the rebels, he had fearful respect; from the revolutionaries, he had awed contempt.
"Hah!" the Garchomp laughed. "That's freakin' hilarious, y'know."
"I'm quite serious," Reyes said. "I'm here on Alakazam's orders."
That was quite a senseless thing to say in retrospect as they promptly became irate, prepared to crush him into bits. "Let 'im through," a young voice suddenly called from beyond the "wall."
"Your Majesty!" Hariyama said, turning with surprise. "But—"
"Let him through before I slice both of you up!"
Garchomp grumbled angrily while Hariyama scratched his head, confused, but they pushed Reyes forward. He almost complained before he noticed just a bit of sunlight shining through a small crack in the "wall"; he approached it and saw that it was a small opening. He crouched down and slipped through, cringing at the journey through the pipe-infected plaster until he came out into the plaza, which was when he saw one of the most interesting things he had ever seen in his whole life…aside from the revolution.
Some Pokémon apparently had coordination enough to erect a throne out of stone, which sat on a mini-tower about four feet high; there were two more Pokémon—Aerodactyl and Salamence—standing guard on either side, and the infamous King was sitting on his throne. He was a…well, Reyes wasn't sure; he was something from Unova or Kalos, which he still wasn't too familiar with, with grey and red fur and a crown made of bleached bones on his furry head. He stared at Reyes with glacial eyes before scoffing, then he muttered something disdainfully under his breath, making an obscene gesture with his claws.
"Don't you like what you see?" Reyes jeered.
"The King don't bat in that park, if that's what ya mean," he sneered, propping his elbow up on the armrest and resting his head in his clawed hand. "Well, not unless there's three anyway. So, what business does the revolution'ry army have with the King?"
Nothing says royalty more than the ostentatious and unnecessary third person, he thought, trying not to scowl at him. "Alakazam, the leader of the revolutionaries, wants to see you personally."
All of the rebels including the King burst into riotous laughter, irking Reyes beyond anyone's imagination; it was a foolish request and he knew it, even told Alakazam that, but he insisted that Reyes go retrieve him anyhow with any means necessary. "Oh, wait, he might be serious," the King said, raising a hand; immediately, the room fell silent—Reyes had to wonder what a guy like him did with power like that. "Why would the King go into any section of your territory, huh? You could off him at any moment and it would be warranted; he don't see a point in doin' this."
"I don't either, but I believe you know how the revolutionaries work?"
"Do what they say and you don't get yourself killed?"
"Precisely."
"In case you hadn't noticed, that doesn't apply to Pokémon like mahself." He tapped his chest with his dangerously sharp claws. "I got more than enough protection against the revolution'ry army to sleep as soundly as a hatchlin' as I send you to our butchers."
"You're quite the joy to be around, aren't you?"
"I've been told," he smirked, showing off canines of a similar danger level. "And why would the revolution'ries' leader want to see the King?"
"I've no damn idea, but it would make things a lot easier if you would just shut up and comply." That riled up the King's bodyguards.
"Or maybe you could die," he said thoughtfully, scratching his ear. "Then the King would technically never have received the message since the messenger would be found miles away. Yeah, that's a great idea." He snapped his claws and his Aerodactyl and Salamence rushed Reyes, surrounding him on both sides; he leapt into the air causing them to slam into each other. Salamence was paralyzed for a moment but Aerodactyl wasn't, summoning several fist-sized rocks and launching them at Reyes; he used his leaf blades to slice them apart and ran Aerodactyl up, using its face as a springboard to launch onto its back. It spun, trying to get him off, which was when Salamence got back in action and fired a Flamethrower at him.
"Beautiful," the King commented, clapping his claws together. Reyes gritted his teeth as he used Protect; the flames were repelled instantly, but that was when Aerodactyl managed to get him off, throwing him against the pile of rocks blocking the entrance. He shook his head out and focused in time to see the both of them charging him with incredible speed for their bulk. He extended his leaf blades and dug halfway into the ground; he wasn't completely under, but he moved enough for Aerodactyl and Salamence to instead crash bodily into the rocks. They couldn't move them (the rocks were apparently packed together very strongly) but the impact KO'd them on the spot, though sadly they fell on top of Reyes' behind, forcing him lower into the ground. "Oh! Very lovely!" It sounded like the King was applauding.
"Bastard," Reyes muttered, using Dig to move further up so he could climb free. He grimaced at the dirt and rocks covering his body and cleaned himself up quickly with his claws.
"The King likes you; you're strong," he chuckled, clapping his claws together. "But the King needs new guards if he'll be travellin'," he added, glancing at Aerodactyl and Salamence's prone bodies.
"I'm adequate enough," Reyes said; the King snorted as if he hadn't just had an apt demonstration.
"The King will sleep on your request," he said before sliding to the ground; interestingly enough, he was somewhat shorter than Reyes, and he had the remnant of a limp in his left leg. "Garchomp!" The Garchomp from outside squeezed through the hole obediently. "Deal with those two and then show our guest to the upstairs apartments."
"Sir—"
"You have yer orders," the King interrupted. "Get to it." He then disappeared into some shadows on the side of the room—damn Dark-types, Reyes thought. Garchomp grunted, disconcerted.
"He's lucky I can't kill 'im," he muttered, grabbing up the larger Pokémon easily with each arm. "C'mon, but I gotta get rid of these guys first."
"Get rid of them?" Reyes asked. "They're only KO'd."
"Don't matter," Garchomp muttered, walking over to the northern entrance. It was sealed by a large and dented metal door instead of rocks, but was protected by Psychic-type Pokémon instead, and the door itself could only be opened psychically, he told Reyes; he barked a string of numbers and letters through a small peephole in the door and Reyes heard a reply from the other end before it swung open, revealing the rest of the decrepit Mauville. "The King has no need whatsoever for Pokémon that lose."
"Work…work…work damn it," Reyes swore, sitting on the edge of the bed as he stared at his rebel-approved PokéNav that could supposedly pierce any signal interrupters, yet each time he attempted to contact local communications leader Jamal there were several beeps signaling a lack of communication. Finally, on his eighth attempt, he heard a raucous reply through loads of static.
"Whoever the hell this is, go away." Reyes groaned internally as he remembered his given introduction, the one that made him think Alakazam enjoyed other Pokémon's embarrassment.
"Pretty pink panties, Jamal."
"Oh, hey Reyes! Always the ladies' man," Jamal chuckled, causing his PokéNav to vibrate; Reyes groaned and slapped his free hand against his forehead.
"I hope you remember that Whiscash always lose to Sceptile."
"Yeah, yeah, so how'd it go?"
"Picture bad, then worse, then Bill's crap, then expand the polynomial and that's about it."
"You didn't get the King?"
"No, I didn't, and frankly I question Alakazam's judgement in finding him an asset," Reyes replied testily.
"Well, he's strong and has a good influence; maybe that's it?" Jamal suggested.
"I don't think the headaches are worth the power—he uses the third person, for Arceus' sake! At first I thought it was out of arrogance, but now I think it's just out of idiocy. Not to mention how callously the rebels treat each other. You know how we deal with mistakes on our end—a warning, slap-on-the-wrist, no dinner?"
"Uh-huh?"
"They kill Pokémon; three have died already, two for losing to me and one for sparing the life of a baby Pokémon revolutionary, as I've heard, and if I see one more death I'll lose it and gut the King myself."
"Yeah, we all know your hang-up with pointless deaths, Reyes," Jamal sighed. "When are you returning?"
"Hopefully by morning."
"Then bear him until then." With that, Jamal cut the connection. Reyes replaced the PokéNav in his rucksack and laid down on the made-up bed; surprisingly, the King kept the apartments in very nice condition despite the rest of Mauville's niggardly appearance. He trusted his instincts enough to shut his eyes; maybe with a little rest he'd be in a good enough temperament not to shear the King bald. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes the room was very dark and someone or something was fumbling with the window despite its lock; he slid to the ground and quietly crouched under it, waiting for the rebel to get in so he could deal with them.
The rusted lock popped and the window slid open just as a large black shadow toppled into the room, sending Reyes sprawling on the ground. "Get your butt out of my face," Reyes hissed to the King, kicking him away and getting up. "What are you doing?"
"Sneakin' in," he said, his eyes glowing like blue beacons in the darkness; he flashed his sharp white canines with a mad cackle. "I have so many guards it was hard to put up an illusion against all of them, but I made it." He leapt to his feet, shaking his fur out.
"For what?"
"To sneak out with you of course, to meet Alakazam!" He face-palmed as if it was so obvious, and perhaps it was to everybody else with an I.Q. that could moonlight as a shoe size.
"You slept on my request?"
"I'm a Dark-type, idiot! I only sleep durin' the day," he scowled. He was very out of character compared to earlier. "I wanted to agree right away but it wouldn't seem, er, respectable."
"That much I can understand, but not why you act like a douche—unless you actually are one?"
"No! Well, that's subjective," he admitted. "It's just that I gotta act like a king or else they'll eat me alive—literally, actually. Bein' a rebel is all about fronts, lookin' strong so you don't get killed by everybody else."
"So you're the king to avoid getting killed?" Reyes asked. He let out a breath, then grinned.
"No, I love havin' everybody else lick my feet." Okay, he was crazy. "But I will go with you, and we have to leave now before everyone makes a big deal of it." He grabbed Reyes' arm, his claws digging through his skin, but before he could protest the King pulled him through the window and down the three-story drop, but before they hit the ground he blasted the ground with Shadow Ball, pulverizing the large chunks of soil and rock to create a small hole that they heaped in.
"If you fall on my face one more time," Reyes said from beneath him, "you'll be falling in a grave next."
"Whoops, haha, sorry." He stood up and offered a hand; Reyes pointedly ignored it, getting to his feet. "C'mon; there's a secret underground tunnel past the guards."
"How do you know there's a secret underground tunnel?"
"'Cause I made it, idiot!"
"Look, call me idiot one more time and I'll beat you so badly you'll lose your last three brain cells," Reyes warned; the King either didn't take him too seriously or didn't hear, because he stared ahead into the wild grass. He started to get his PokéNav out when the King made an exclamation of surprise. "What is the—"
Suddenly the King tackled Reyes, pinning him against the wall by his wrists; although Reyes' night vision was nothing to be proud of, it seemed that his fur was bristling, his hackles raised. Behind him, several rebel guards were running to investigate. "Your Majesty, what's going on here?" one of them, a Manectric, demanded.
"This revolutionary tried to take the King's life," he growled, leaving Reyes stunned at the situation's sudden one-eighty; he didn't expect the King or any of the rebels to be especially candid, even more so considering the world's situation, but the fact that the others had no idea what was going on meant that it was something that he—the King—decided on the fly. Maybe he was crazy, as Reyes thought, or maybe he hated the revolutionaries just that much.
"Why would you do that?" Reyes asked, genuinely curious. "If you wanted me dead, any of these Pokémon could've—"
"I don't want you dead," he said in a lower voice, his eyes narrowing until the blue rays of light created by them were like azure knives.
"Then what do you want?"
The King's replying smile was terribly twisted. "The King wants to kill you—it's that simple." He released one of Reyes' arms to stab his claws into Reyes' side; chlorophyll burst out from the resulting wound, matting the King's fur and running down Reyes' skin. Amazingly, there was little pain; it felt like the King had just cut some vessels, which seemed impossible due to the amount of dexterity necessary to do so, but if there was anything Reyes expected of him, it was precision in killing.
He grabbed the King's arm, startling him, and pulled him forward, slamming his elbow down on the King's; the bones at his joint instantly snapped, rendering his arm useless. The King bared his teeth with a growl, lunging forward with his other arm outstretched; Reyes dodged, causing his claws to stick into the wall's plaster, and Reyes grabbed the back of his thick skull and slammed his head into the wall.
"I hope you're sated," he said, his voice muffled by the wall.
"Why are you saying that?"
"Because you'll get killed in about three seconds." Reyes' instincts went wild, and it didn't take a genius to notice the sound of a dozen Pokémon aiming at his back. "Jeez, my nose is broken…"
Reyes spun around, using the King as a flesh shield, pinning his arms so that the King couldn't break from his grip. "You all won't attack him, will you?" Reyes taunted; the rebels instantly stopped, looking between them in confusion.
"Smart move," the King remarked. "Smart, but clichéd."
"Desperate times call for old tricks; I'm very willing to let you get horribly mutilated if it means saving myself, you sick and twisted bastard."
"Hm… The King likes that attitude very much indeed." He grinned as he snapped his claws; a dizzying feeling hit Reyes, causing him to release the King and stumble into the wall. It was as if a fog had lifted from his eyes; the other rebel Pokémon disappeared as well as their footprints, leaving them alone once more in the dead of the night.
"What…was that?" Reyes gasped.
"An illusion," he elaborated. "I'm the Illusion Pokémon, Zoroark; it just takes a little eye contact and I can have 'nyone and ev'ryone under my spell. I was testin' your character…so to speak."
"Yes, well, so to speak, I believe you're clinically insane." His grin widened, showing his dangerously sharp canines.
"Aren't we all?"
"Apparently some more than others," he muttered before adding, louder, "Does this mean you'll come with me, Arceus forbid I lose my sanity in the process?"
"No," he said flatly.
"No?"
"No; you'll be coming with me. To the revolutionaries' base," he added for clarification, even though it still made no sense. "The King is a leader, not a follower."
"Do you even know the way, Mr. King?"
"Of course I do, id—er, sir," he corrected himself upon seeing the look on Reyes' face. "We just have to take the Rusturf Tunnel to Rustboro."
"Alright, before we go on some life-changing buddy-cop adventure, can I expect more menstruation from you? because if so, I'm calling Alakazam right now to reconsider."
"We all have problems we deal with," the King shrugged; it was actually the most normal thing he had said all day, actually. "And anyhow, we've gotta go before dawn; I'm at top condition during nighttime only."
"I can see that," he muttered, examining his rucksack; it had become shredded and his travel supplies were scattered across the grass.
"Like I said, we all have problems." He bent down to collect Reyes' belongings. "Like you and your battlefield PTSD." Reyes froze.
"How do you—?"
"Didn't I mention?" he laughed. "The King knows everything."