PMD One Wish (Reboot) Chapter 9: Vince's Curse

It was an average cozy day in the comfort of Vince's Grandpa's house. Vince sat cross-legged on the familiar red chair. It was evening, and Vince could see the beautiful colors of an unusual sky through the window. His Grandpa, the kind Lucario, was making stew in the other room, its wonderful aroma traveling to Vince. He could hardly wait to vacuum it down.

"What's this outside?" Vince inquired. White danced in the sky. There was an opening in the clouds, revealing the figure of the moon, which slightly illuminated the otherwise dark dusk. The white slowly descended to the ground, where heaps of it lay.

"Why, that's snow!" Vince's grandpa chuckled. Vince stared in awe.

Vince and his grandfather lived in a small but cozy cottage in the Celestial Forest. They spent their time playing and telling stories. Vince's grandpa was an excellent cook, often making food that that of only a genius could possibly muster.

Spending time with his grandfather often fortunately distracted Vince from the horrors of his earlier life, not that he could remember much. However, he could still picture his parents on the ground, their eyes wide. "Grow stronger... for me," his mother had said. "For us."

"Soup is rea-" the bowl held by the Lucario's hand as he entered the room slipped, crashing on the floor. The soup and all of it's ingredients spilled onto the floor. He had seen through the window. Vince turned his attention to the window after noticing that his grandpa's had. Outside were a posse of intimidating Pokemon, including a Muk, a Gliscor, and a Pinsir.

"Go." The old Lucario muttered solemnly.

"Huh?" The young Riolu replied, confused.

"Go! Leave! Make your way for the Temporal Village and seek safe residence! Take the door through the back!"

"What is going on?!"

Vince's grandfather turned to him, seemingly half with happiness and half with sadness. Vince knew the expression all too well. "Leave, it's for your own good." And with that final word, Vince's grandpa exited through the door and began walking to confront the strange visitors.

Vince refused to be left in the dark. He gazed out the window as footprints were left in the snow as his grandfather's inched closer.

It wasn't until later in life that Vince would discover that his grandfather was actually a highly skilled warrior revered by the Temporal Village. He was widely known as the "Steele Bullet." His last name was Steele, as inherited by Vince. He had absolutely mastered the move of Bullet Punch. In fact, he would swiftly dispose of any opponents before they even realized what had happened with one quick Bullet Punch. Nobody could even view him using it due to the sheer speed. He would at one moment be in a starting stance, the next moment behind the enemy, them falling a second after.

And yet, he denied the societal pressure to become an explorer. In his words, it was low. How can you respect somebody who works only through incentives, rather than assist others on their own volition, away from rewards other than the satisfaction and gratitude of the receiver of the service?

He was eventually offered the position of Temporal Guard, which he gladly accepted. He made a contribution to the high image of the Temporal Village, as no intruders entered while he on the job. They never even stood a chance. Not one for running past him nor defeating him in combat.

The former Steele Bullet eventually retired and took care of Vince, never receiving a significant challenge. Until now.

He marched up to the mysterious visitor's and they began exchanging words. Vince was unable to hear what they were saying, but his grandfather looked tense. Eventually, a fight broke out. The Muk threw his fist forward, a glob of his mass hurdling towards the skilled Lucario, who swiftly dodged it. His eyes locked onto the Pinsir. In a quick flash, shorter than the blink of an eye, his fist was in front of the Pinsir's face. But the Pinsir too had his arm out. A wall that had the appearance of glass had formed in front of it, blocking the Bullet Punch. He had used Protect. Vince's face lit up in surprise. That of his grandfather didn't change.

The Lucario turned, making the mistake of catching eyes with the the Muk, who's eye shimmered and shined for a moment. He had used disable, making him unable to use Bullet Punch for some time. The Glisor slashed at Vince's grandfather with a poisoned claw, his target managing to dodge his attack. Vince's grandpa had to think quickly. What would he do?

He put his paws into a position in which they faced each other, a luminescent sphere appearing rather quickly in between them. His attackers all charged him at once, knowing that he would only be able to hit one of them. What they were not expecting, however, was for their target to split the energy sphere into three smaller ones, sending them at each of them. The old Lucario was more skilled than anticipated. They were unable to avoid them, as Aura Sphere could not miss. The Pinsir got a face full of dirt and snow. The Gliscor was knocked out of the air and came tumbling to the cold surface, bouncing up and down. The Muk exploded across the ground. It would take a moment for him to reform.

Vince's grandfather was immediately above the Gliscor, where he thrust his paw down in a swift Cross Chop. The Gliscor coughed up some blood and was smashed into the ground, pushing through the snow and leaving cracks in the ground. The veteran turned to the Muk, preparing to launch his next attack.

What he was not expecting, however, was to be slammed from behind with the Pinsir's horns. He was rammed forward, forcing him through the snow, wincing. The Gliscor arose, wiping his mouth. He caught on to what was happening. He quickly flew over to the Pinsir and Lucario, pinching Vince's grandpa's arms with his pincers. The Lucario grimaced hard in pain, some blood now running down his arms. He told himself to think. What could he do? That's it!

The snow under him began melting, flames emerging. He swung the Blaze Kick at the Gliscor's torso, knocking him away. He then threw his hand at the Pinsir, dealing super-effective damage and bashed his target through the snow, who placed his hand on the ground to regain his balance.

Vince's grandfather looked up to the sight of a powerful and heavy Gunk Shot. It was too late to dodge, so they made collision. He was sent flying back through his own house, falling onto the floor. Vince was trembling. His grandfather turned his eyes to meet Vince's. "I..." He began in a weak voice. "I told you to leave. Please, act quickly." He heard the sounds of his enemies gathering and gradually reaching his position. "I believe in you, Vince." Tears streamed down the young Riolu's face like a rushing river.

"No..." He began shaking his head at the battered Lucario he had come to love for a long time.

"Grow stronger... for me."

The Pinsir entered first, grabbing Vince's grandfather by the shoulder and slamming him into the wall. He proceeded by headbutting, smashing his horns into the wall on either side of the Lucario, causing him to be unable to escape. The two other Pokemon followed.

Vince scurried into the kitchen, peering around the wall. He decided he couldn't bare to watch, and he would be foolish to attempt to act upon the battle. One more final tear cascaded down Vince's face as he lifted his leg paw to begin his departure.

The exhausted and bruised little Riolu trekked through the seemingly endless forest, attempting to arrive at the Temporal Village. No such luck thus far, and he had been traveling for days. Thoughts started to get to his head. What if I'm suddenly attacked by bandits? Or strong wild Pokemon?

He stopped when he saw something in the distance, mostly hidden, moving. He inched closer and discovered that it was a nice green. Vince took cautious steps forward. What he found was a young Ralts, about his age, but maybe a little younger. It turned its head around at Vince, its eyes widening in surprise, and possibly fear.

It turned away and started to flee, tripping over a vine. Tears streamed down his face. Vince's eyes widened themselves a little. He rushed towards the Ralts and knelt down beside him. "Who are you? Do you have a home?" The Ralts solemnly shook his head. "Don't worry. I don't either. Not now, at least." The Ralts stopped crying, one last tear descending down his face. Vince smiled a little.

"What's your name?" The Riolu inquired.

"D-Desmond." The Ralts replied.

"Why are you crying?" Vince asked. Desmond stared for a moment, then answered.

"I don't know what's going on... Some big Pokemon, a Luxray, I think... He... My sister... She..." He burst out sobbing again.

"Don't worry about it, you don't have to tell me. I'm Vince. You should travel with me, I'm searching for the Temporal Village." Vince held out his paw. Desmond took it. "Some people told me that I should grow stronger." Vince looked downward. Then he lifted his head back up. "We should grow stronger together." Desmond rose back up with the aid of Vince's paw.

Desmond then shot Vince a gaze of determination and wonder, no sadness left on his face. "We'll become the strongest in the world," He asserted.

"Hm."

Vince and Marla stared into each other's eyes, both with or near murderous intent, the difference being one was smirking. The Weavile that had put Vince's friends in danger recently had appeared from the darkness, now standing by Marla's side. But he seemed off. Instead of a condescending or murderous expression, he wore that almost of fear or concern.

Skyler was the next to stir and awaken, followed by Grandpa Alfred. Vince heard them call to him. "Alfred, carry Cass to a distance away. Skyler, follow him," he ordered, not moving his head. They simply nodded.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'll pursue your bratty friends," Peregrine stated, almost shaking and grinning at the same time, like he was trying to stay calm and strong. Vince didn't pay him any attention. His eyes were locked onto Marla's, as well as his focus.

"Looks like it's just us left," Marla said, her smirk growing further.

It had been about a week since Desmond and Vince had met. "Desmond?!" Vince shouted, racing through the forest. He simply could not find him wherever he went, and he had been searching for about fifteen minutes. Where could he be? "No, no, no, no, no!" Vince crumpled to the floor and pounded his fist.

"Looking for somebody?" A figure dropped from a tree branch, hanging vertically upside-down. In its arms was Desmond, who he carefully lowered to the ground.

"Vince!" Desmond shouted. "There you are! This nice man took me to you!" He turned around. "Thank you, sir!" Vince could no see that the figure was a Greninja, his eyes arched in a happy, welcoming expression.

"Haha, you don't have to think me. I'm Ace, by the way. You boys have anywhere else to go?"

"No," the two shook their heads simultaneously. "But we trying to find the Temporal Village," Vince continued.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Ace said happily. "You can come to my place, and you'll be safe and make lots of friends!" Vince and Desmond turned to each other. They smiled brightly.

"It's a deal," Vince agreed.

A playful little Ralts dashed out the door of a small home, a Riolu following. The reckless Ralts wore his scarf even then. It was his pride and joy, after all, Unlike his teammates, he refused to ever take it off. When the Riolu reached the door, a voice caught him off guard, causing him to stumble at the exit. "Vince!" a Fennnekin called. "Where are you going?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Skyler," the Riolu replied with the roll of his eyes. "Desmond and I are going to battle again."

"Alright, just don't hurt yourselves!" And with that, Vince shut the door and made his way to the entrance, or in this case exit, of the village. He was met by the familiar faces of Bob and George, the two Bisharp guards.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! It's dangerous out there!" George shouted. Bob groaned.

"George, he comes through here nearly every day, with that Ralts, Desmond. In fact, his friend just now passed by us, and you yelled at him too," Bob reminded George. Vince ignored their banter and kept moving towards his destination, the open fields just outside the village. Those fields were always perfect for practice, playing, and training. Vince even knew a pleasant spot that was rarely visited by anybody but he and Desmond.

He eventually reached the place and found Desmond sitting there. He yawned. "Wow, it sure took you a while."

"Skyler stopped me."

"I've heard that one a million times."

Vince playfully hit Desmond. "Oh, so that's how it is," Desmond reacted. "Is this tag, now?" He hit Vince back and began running away. Vince promptly pursued him. When he had originally found Desmond helpless in the forest, the young Ralts could hardly even walk. Yet now, his speed at least matched his.

After some time, they had traveled a good deal of the fields. They were at this point both huffing. Desmond was a decent amount ahead of Vince when he suddenly turned around, flashing a suspicious grin. "I've got you now," he said before suddenly disappearing from sight.

Vince fell to his knees. "Teleport..." he muttered. "He's learned Teleport... That little... Ugh, he's bested me this time, for sure." Vince turned back and headed towards the space in which they had started, assuming that'd be where Desmond was. After little time, he discovered that his hypothesis was correct. Wow. He must've been training for at least a moon whenever I was asleep.

"Well played," Vince said, panting as he arrived.

"We do want to become the strongest Pokemon in the world, don't we?" Desmond brought up, a glimmer in his eyes as he spoke, his tiny fist clenched in front of him. "Speaking of which, let's get to the point and fight already!"

Vince thrust his paw into Desmond's torso, who retorted by using Psychic to lift Vince into the sky and slam him into the ground a few meters away. Despite his age, he had already been decently adept at his psychic abilities. Vince rose and shook it off. He had a little trick up his sleeve, and figured he would use it now to get back at Desmond for his trick. He had never actually used the move on a Pokemon before, so he put forth full effort in to pull it off.

He managed to slam into Desmond, his energy instantly drained as he did so. It wasn't all for not, however, as Desmond fell to the ground with him, panting. He had used Final Gambit.

"Nice... move," Desmond complimented.

"I could say the same for you, earlier." The two young Pokemon lay there, head to head for an eternity, staring up into the sky and watching the clouds drift by, seemingly mimicking the passage of time itself. They eventually closed their eyes and welcomed their dreams.

Vince jolted awake. At first, all he could sense was the blazing heat of fire around him. He rose and his eyes widened. What had happened? Vince wasn't so much worried about the fire, but more so the fact that Desmond was nowhere in sight. His head turned and his eyes searched frantically.

Then he found him.

Desmond was lying on the scorched ground, lifting himself up slightly by his stubby hands, an unknown figure cowering over him, shadows cast over it's eyes, its face revealing only a slight smirk. "Pathetic," the figure spoke. "You are supposed to be the one? What an awful decision. Perhaps I'll just end you and be finished here." Desmond coughed.

"You don't get it..." The Ralts coughed once more. "I'm gonna be the strongest Pokemon... out there." He lost his breath as he was hacked in the stomach by the figure, a large kick dealt. He fell over.

Vince could now make out that the figure was that of a Combusken. "You... you big jerk!" Vince shouted with intense anger as he lifted himself up, stumbling and bounding towards the monster. It calmly lifted up its claws in a flat position, facing Vince, and extended its arm. A small flame fumed in front of the claws. It then suddenly erupted into a brilliant inferno and blasted towards Vince. It was too large and swift to evade, the inept explorer-in-training receiving a forceful blow. "My name is Marla Fumes," the Combusken asserted. "Remember it."

The Riolu fell, beginning to loose conscience. "Grow stronger... for me," he heard Desmond say weakly. The last thing he saw before blacking out was the monster's claws thrust into Desmond, blood spurting.

He woke up in a hospital emergency room. His eyes slowly drifted open, catching only the blurry color pink, before closing once more. Then they opened again, the blurriness clearing. In front of his was a close, almost intruding, face of a Sylveon. "Are you alright? Awake?"

"Huh? Yes." Then Vince regained his recent memory, and his eyes shot fully open. His quickly lifted his torso, soon regretting it as the pain shot through his body and he fell back down, his head landing in a soft white pillow. He was breathing heavily.

"Don't strain yourself, you idiot!" The Sylveon harshly shouted. "...Sorry."

"Desmond. Where is Desmond?" Vince interrogated.

"Oh. Your Ralts friend?" The nurse looked downward, wearing a downcast expression. "Come on in. I know you are out there. I'll allow a visitor, just this once." She turned her head to the door. It slowly crept open, a depressed-looking Skyler making her way glumly towards Vince's bed. In her mouth she carried something Vince couldn't quite identify until it was close enough. When Skyler finally reached Vince, she lifted it up to Vince's clear vision. It was a bloodied scarf. Tears streamed down Skyler's eyes as Vince's expression morphed into a grotesque mixture of shock and despair.

"The killer has been imprisoned," The Sylveon said quietly. "They couldn't find the body. This is all that's left."

A stare-down had begun. Vince gazed directly into Marla's merciless eyes. The Combusken's egotistical smirk only grew with time, at this point practically all the way across her face. The two stood there, unwavering.

"You're the reason I ended up in prison. You and your friends. If I had just been alone, you wouldn't have yelled so loud and alerted the guards and your little friend, the Fennekin, wouldn't have arrived to the scene. Looks like I've finally found you once more. I'll finally end you and all of your traveling buddies," Marla said smugly. Vince continued to look onward.

"What's the matter? Are you giving me the silent treatment? Meowth's got your tongue?" Marla sneered. It failed in invoking a response. "Why, you..."

Time slowed as Marla made her first move, drawing her claws back and running toward Vince. He lifted both paws forward. A sphere of energy appeared in front of them, a good deal larger than he had previously made it. The whole time while he was staring, he had actually been building up aura in his paws, charging his attack.

Marla ran directly into the sphere, being blasted with a direct it. She flew back into the woods and her back crashed against a tree, her head facing down. Her face slowly rose, revealing that her smug expression had morphed into that of rage.