The Poke Wars alternate universe was created by Cornova who was nice enough to let me muck about in it with Dawson.
August 24th
Team Rocket Base
Poochyena growled as he bit down on the scrap of cloth. Pulling with all of his might he dug his heels into the ground, struggling against the force tugging against the cloth. Shaking his head back and forth he attempted to wrest it away from the two children pulling on the opposite end.
May and Michele both held firm as the Pokemon fought to win this impromptu contest of strenght. They didn't need the scrap of cloth for any real reason but as soon as they picked it up something inside Poochyena clicked and the tug of war was on. Their initial surprise having worn of after the first few seconds, the Pokemon never interacted with anyone beyond Joy to this point, they gave as good as they got.
Joy watched with a smile as the they, along with the other children, were currently outside playing. She found a bit of solace in her new world order by watching the children as they did nothing more then act like kids. Reminding herself not everything was terrible and sad. So lost in thought she never noticed Steven releasing the Ponyta from their Pokeballs. Only after he and Marcus rode by where she sat did she realize what they were doing.
"What are you two doing!? Get back here its too dangerous out there." She cried out climbing to her feet to chase after them.
"We'll be back in a few!" Steven called back, "Just a loop around the lake then we're done."
"What? No, get back here!" Joy said as the two rode off along the shore.
"Joy?" A voice called out stopping the nurse.
"What? Oh Rosemary, I'm sorry I have to-" She watched as Steven and Marcus rode off far faster then anything she could manage, "-try to catch them... never mind... what is it?" Joy asked hoping the trip around the lake was all they did.
"I just wanted to talk about the children again. More accurately why their head hurts when I start asking questions." She said with a firm tone.
"Oh... alright I guess, I still kinda think Dawson is the one you want to talk about it with." Joy said.
"Well there are... reasons... I don't... oh darn it, I just don't trust Dawson at all." Rosemary said bluntly.
"Y-you don't?" Joy replied somewhat shocked.
"No, he gives me this kinda shady vibe. It's how he acts when he talks to us, like everything he says is always left ambiguous. That and he constantly tries to do everything or have a hand in everything everyone is doing. I had to deal with the same issues with my family, they always disapproved of my lifestyle and would often try to involve themselves in it so they could push it back to where they wanted it to be. I get that same feeling from him, like he doesn't think we're capable of doing things ourselves." Rosemary said with a hint of irritation in her voice.
"Well I guess I can see that..." Joy said mentally agreeing with her more then she felt like she should, "What about the children?"
"I've been questioning them about the headaches. It seems like they all happen when the topic gets to their parents or the town of Agricola but each one is different. Some get them later on in the questioning others get it earlier. I don't know what it means but it definitely has a pattern." She said.
"So what do you want me to do? I'm a Pokemon nurse, not a psychologist." Joy replied.
"I don't know, I just wanted to tell someone. I mean you and Dawson were the only other people who survived Agricola but even you two don't know whats happened to these kids. If you remember anything at all please tell me." Rosemary said with an earnest tone.
"A-alright..." Joy said.
Before either could say anything else regarding the matter the sounds of hoofs could be heard from near the lake. Looking past Rosemary Joy was relived to see both Steven and Marcus returning on the back of the two Ponyta. Both boys looked pleased with themselves at the ride. Steven more so due to him not only being able to ignore the adults for once but also getting the ride in which helped lift his spirits.
"How dare you two go off on your own like that!" Joy shouted running over to them, "Y-you could have been attacked or hurt or any number of things!"
"Sorry miss Joy," Marcus said bowing in apology, "But the Ponyta needed exercise and Steven said it was safe enough."
"Steven doesn't make the decisions about how dangerous it is!." Joy said as she continued her protest.
"Yeah Marcus it's not like we were on four legged steeds made out of fire or anything." Steve said rolling his eyes and walking past the nurse.
"Steve be nice to Joy!" Rosemary said, "She's an adult and you should listen to her."
"Why?" The boy replied.
"Why? Because she's older and has more experience, your still a child." She said.
"Like that matters." Steven said, "The whole world is different now, you say she has experience? That's stupid, it's like saying you have more experience skydiving just because your older than me."
The boy headed towards the building, ignoring the flustered reply from Rosemary. He enjoyed the presence of the new set of adults from Blackthorn. Dawson didn't argue and Joy just rolled over when he confronted them but Rosemary, Eric, and Lance often argued back. Only in arguments did the adults ever slip up and he used that to it's fullest.
Once Steven was out of sight Rosemary finally managed to fluster out a response, "Ohhh that boy! Even before all this he was always a handful." She said
"You knew him before all this?" Joy asked.
"Yes a small town like Agricola meant the children all played together mainly because there was no one else. So I knew about the kids through Rachael. Steven has always been a problem child since his brother went on his Pokemon journey." Rosemary replied.
"What happened?" Joy asked.
"His brother went out on his journey and never wrote back. He wasn't that close to the family to begin with and when he stopped writing Steve took it the hardest. He thought something happened and his parents were lying to him about it." Rosemary said, "It wasn't true but he's never stopped suspecting. Anyways still a just child I don't think we have to worry about him."
Joy looked at the two Ponyta before she turned back to the Rocket base, "I don't think you should be underestimating him." She said.
The sun had begun to set in the distance as Lance and Dawson finally managed to get back to the Rocket base with their cargo. Dragonite was carrying a large wooden pallet by ropes looped though the bottom. His arms also had two backpacks strapped as tightly as they could be. Lance had his own pack to deal with alongside making sure the two bags on the back of the dragon didn't fall off. Dawson had it somewhat easier as he only had two duffle bags, a backpack, and Togekiss carrying a footlocker roped to her lower body.
Landing with the extra baggage was handled differently from what both trainers normally did. Dragonite was first as he placed the pallet on the ground before setting down with Lance so they could unload the dragon. Once free of the extra weight Togekiss flew by and let the footlocker drop into the waiting arms of Dragonite. Their supplies dropped off Dawson and Togekiss were able to land and look about the area.
"Huh would have expected the children to be up and about." He said.
"Dawson, Lance you're back." Clair said walking out of the base and towards them.
Lance, without any response to the greeting, grabbed two of the packs and headed into the building. Clair watched him walk by with a hint of confusion before looking to Dawson for an explantion. The trainer let out a sigh and shrugged before handing one of the bags over to Clair.
"I'm guessing he didn't like what he saw in Mahogany town." He said, "Here carry this in will you? Togekiss you can take a break now, Dragonite can you carry the footlocker in for me?" The dragon nodded before lifting the large metal container.
"How was the town? Since you two came back alone I'm assume it didn't make it through these last few days unharmed?" She asked taking the back from the trainer and walking in with him.
"Unharmed would have been preferable. The entire town was one giant block of ice. I'm guessing Suicune or a group of powerful Pokemon used blizzard or some such attack and froze the town solid. Despite what it looks like we didn't actually get all that much." He said walking up to the shutters for the dock doors and sliding them open, "Most of this is just basic stuff that will make roughing it a bit easier. What food we were able to get is on that pallet back there."
"So what did Lance see there?" Clair asked.
"Death..." Dawson said putting down the duffle bags he was carrying.
"Anything else besides that?" Clair said moving to help Dragonite take of the backpacks around it's arms, "Or do you need more time to be more cryptic."
"Wow, yeah that was kinda much. The Pokemon center wasn't really that pretty to put it lightly. An insane Marowak, lots of dead people and Pokemon, and from the what we saw it was a wholesale massacre." Dawson said, "People injured by the blizzard taking shelter in the center only to get killed by whatever it was that froze the town. Dragonite can you handle the pallet out there?" The dragon nodded and headed off to the task.
"And Lance being who he is, didn't take that well." She replied sadly.
"Course it didn't help that I really didn't give a shit about finding survivors." He said while moving to the door, "I'm all for trying to find survivors when it makes sense to but when the whole town is two levels below glacier I change my priorities. Also finding out that some of the supplies I got were from a library sure didn't make his day."
"A library? You brought back books?" She asked with a surprised tone.
"Yeah, some reading materials for the kids, some know-how books, and a few about survival for myself. As much as I claim to know my skills are far from enough for living in the rough like this." He said sliding the shutters closes as the dragon placed the pallet down inside, "Thanks Dragonite, can you do any ice attacks?"
The dragon nodded cheerfully and opened his mouth pointing to it. Nodding in response Dawson laid out where he wanted the ice beam to go and stepped away from the pallet. With precision and control the ice beam hit the top of the large stack of packages, freezing the top half in ice. His job done Dragonite gave one last look to Dawson and Clair before letting out a cheerful cry before heading towards the main building.
"You know just a few days ago I would have questioned you getting books of all things... now it feels like your fatalistic streak is what we should be following instead of trying to school children like they'll be able to go back to that life." Clair said following the dragon and Dawson to the door.
"Finally someone gets it. No longer will I have to endure this solitary lifestyle of being the only one who acts with the pretext that we're likely all going to die out here!" Dawson exclaimed with relief and a bit of sarcasm, "Wait schooling?"
"Yes it's something Joy set up to help the children get a bit more structure in their free time." She said walking with him down the corridor to one of the doors emitting light.
"Huh, good for her." He said earning himself a glance from Clair, "I said it was good for her, not that the idea had merit. I'm sorry to say but those kids are higher up on the totem pole of importance then most of the adults in my opinion."
Her glance shifted as her eyes narrowed, "Higher then me?" She asked .
"Oh yeah." He said not missing a beat, "I mean those kids grew up on a farm, their daily life involving taking care of the Pokemon and planting things. In a few months they're going to really get a chance to outshine the lot of you. Heck you're rated under Joy at the moment due to her having medical skills to fall back on."
"I see." Clair replied coldly before walking ahead and leaving the trainer behind.
Dawson was left standing in the hall while he tried to figure out what just annoyed the dragon trainer, realization dawned on him he let out a sigh and rubbed his temple, "Smooth moron..."
It was shortly after dinner when Lance finally got a moment to himself to reflect on the days events. Sitting on one of the beds in the base's dorms he felt his body shift sluggishly and immediately start to ache. He recalled the work he and Dawson had to do to get what supplies they could from the Pokemon center and nearby Pokemart. Lance considered himself as strong as the next man but being constantly pushed by Dawson to work faster had made him strain himself more then necessary.
Just as he was about to lay down on the bed he heard a knock at the door, "Hello Joy." He said with a tired voice, "What can I do for you?"
"I... Well you left supper rather quickly." She said with a hint of nervousness, "And you seemed like something was bothering you. I hope the food me and Rachael made wasn't bad..."
"No, it wasn't the food Joy." Lance said quickly attempting to avoid insulting the nurse, "It was me, I just have a lot on my mind."
Joy let out a small sigh of relief before taking a few steps into the room, "Do... do you want to talk about it?" She asked, "I know there aren't many people here that are good at listening" She walked over to the bed and looked at the dragon trainer.
He let out a small smile and moved over, offering the nurse a place to sit. "Yeah, I think I could use someone to talk to." He said as Joy sat down, a short moment of silence passed between the two as Lance thought about how to begin, "I guess... ever since this all happened... I've felt so lost."
"Lost?" She asked.
"Like before I knew what and who I was, where I was going with my life, who I could trust and rely on, and I knew what was right and wrong. Now... now everything's different. The world feels so strange and different now like everything I once knew no longer exists and I'm stuck trying to fit a square peg into a round hole." He said putting his head in his hands, "After the first day and the bat Pokemon attacked there was so much death and violence. My Pokemon, Clair's, even the Dragonite from the dragon holy land all had such power... and it almost looked like they enjoyed it. Like some part of them had always wanted to have that much strenght."
"Maybe they're right in taking pride in their new found power?" Joy said somewhat absentmindedly.
Land looked at her with confusion, "You mean they deserved to be able to do... all of this." He asked.
"What no, I mean... it's that..." She stammered quickly trying to clarify her statement, "An electric type shocking a human and not doing serious harm, compared to a bolt of lightning. Maybe a lot of them felt... I don't know... weaker because of it."
"Well Dawson's Luxray was able to hurt a ground type." Lance said.
"What happened? I asked Dawson before dinner but he didn't say much." She asked.
"It was just like I said, Luxray was able to kill a Marowak with a few bolts of lightning. A ground type losing to an electric type." He replied.
"But that isn't what's bothering you... is it." Joy said
"No." Lance said with a sigh, "What's bothering me is that I'm not sure he was wrong to want to kill it. I keep doubting myself and my actions. Its not even the fact that I want to solve things without either side suffering but that I can't see situations that have solutions like that. Even if I had managed to stop Dawson and save Marowak, what then? Would I have been able to release it out into the wild, somehow rehabilitated it from the trauma it suffered, or even just leave it in it's Pokeball? I feel... so helpless and lost." Lance brought his hands up to his face and let out another sigh.
Before he could say anything else he felt Joy's arm around his shoulder and her body press up to him in a hug, "Lance... I can't answer your doubts or fears, but I want you to know something. The fact that you care about Pokemon and how you try to solve the problems we face without violence. I find it inspiring, and I'm sure the others do too." She said.
"Even Dawson?" He asked.
It was Joy's turn to sigh as she looked to the floor, "Dawson, he's solving the problems we face with violence and I don't think that's wrong," She said thinking back, "But I also don't feel he's right to do so. It's his first choice and he does so with such vigor I sometimes worry what might happen to him as a person. That's why you inspire me Lance, because you're still trying to be human. When Dawson... If Dawson loses his way, I'm sure you'll be able to help him back."
"Do you really think he'll lose his way?" Lance asked surprised by her words.
"Yes..."
Meanwhile inside the dock room of the Rocket base Dawson was unscrewing the top of the sign he had picked up in the Ariados forest. Bracing the metal post against the ground with his foot he made one last pull and yanked the triangular route sign off the pole. Holding the large piece of metal up to his eye he checked it's thickness and levelness.
Walking past his Gardevoir and Torterra he brought it over to one of the tables and pulled out a marker from his pocket. The two Pokemon watched as he sketched out a few lines on the sign. Finished with the lines he walked over to Torterra.
"Torterra, a Razor leaf at..." He looked about, finding a suitable stack of crates, "There." He pointed.
The grass Pokemon nodded and launched several of his leaves at the crates. Flying through the air for only a second each one ended up slicing into the wood and materials inside the containers. Walking over Dawson let out a long whistle at the sight.
"Maybe it's the new world we live in but have your leaves always been this damn sharp Torterra?" He asked pulling one loose and holding it in his hand.
"Torterra!" Was the only prideful reply he got from his Pokemon.
He brought the leaf back over to the table and tapped it against the metal. Each tap cut into it with relative ease leaving small cuts in the side of the metal. He examined the leaf itself as it was firm, only bending when force was applied to it length wise, and obviously really damn sharp. Satisfied he took it and began sliding it along the side of the sign, shaving off slices of metal with each pass.
Several minutes passes in silence, the two Pokemon occupying themselves while Dawson went about his work. Eventually he placed the somewhat dulled leaf down and held up the once triangular sign. It now looked more like an arrowhead with it's sides shaved off into sharpened edges and it's tip formed into a much sharper point then before.
Taking it over to the post he checked the size of it's circle and compared it to the arrowhead sign. Pulling out the marker a few times he made a few more markings. Putting both down he grabbed another leaf from the boxes and walked back over to the pole. Pulling out his bootlace he carefully bent the leaf around the pole, cutting himself a few times despite his care, before tying it off with the string.
The leaf secure he brought the pole to the sign and used the leaf to dig into the base of the arrowhead sign. The work was slow and deliberate, he knew he only had one chance with decent materials like this, as he carved a hole in the base of the sign. Almost a half an hour later Dawson finally let the bootlace come undone and the leaf fall to the ground. After refitting his bootlace he brought the pole up and smiled as it slid into the newly created hole.
"Still a bit loose though..." He mumbled to himself, "Gardevoir can you compress the sign so it tightens around the pole?" The Pokemon nodded and the trainer felt the psychic energies compressed the sign around it's post.
Satisfied for the moment Dawson lifted up the newly made spear and felt it's weight. He knew it wasn't well balanced but he wasn't a blacksmith so other than noticing it there wasn't much he could do about it. Gripping it by the haft he tested it out by swinging it a few times.
Thrusting the spear forwards Dawson felt his shoulder fill with pain. Crying out the sudden shot of pain caused the trainer to drop the spear to the floor with a clang. Reaching up and cradling the shoulder with his other hand he felt the pain begin to die down. From the door Dawson heard Clair step into the room just as he pulled his hand away from his shoulder.
"Are you alright?"She asked, "I thought I heard someone shout."
"I'm fine." Dawson said gently flexing his shoulder to work away the pain.
"You're lying" Clair said.
"Yeah and? Last time you got the truth out of me because it was a mutual exchange of information. There's nothing I want to know about you so drop it." He said picking up the spear before going over to the wagon and pulling out some spare scraps of cloth from one of his ruined shirts.
"Well I'm sure Joy would be please to know that you're hiding an injury on your shoulder." Clair replied.
Dawson paused and turned towards the gym leader, "That's blackmail and even if your did that it's not like Joy can force an examination on me."
Clair chuckled slightly in response to Dawson, "Oh I know she couldn't force the issue, but you'd have to deal with the fact that she'll realize you don't trust her." She said.
"That's still blackmail." He replied.
"If it makes it easier to tell me do it to make up for that comment earlier." She replied.
"I knew that would come back to bite me." He said with a sigh, "My shoulder got bit by one of the Ariados in that forest I told you about, I washed out the wound as best I could..." Dawson removed his shirt and Clair got a clear look at the welt, about three inches across, on his shoulder.
"That doesn't look so bad..." She said once she got a good look at it.
"That's after Gardevoir AND Chansey both healed me and it's still here. Apparently poison is much more... more..." Dawson said before his sentence trailed off and he staggered slightly, grabbing onto the edge of the cart.
"Now what's wrong with you?" She said taking a step forwards before being waved off by Dawson.
"Just a bout of vertigo... Gardevoir, if you would." He said standing upright while his Pokemon approached.
A flash of pink light and the trainer took in a relaxing breath, letting his body relax as the heal pulse flowed into him, "OK what are you doing now?" She asked as she watched.
"Getting a pick me up. Getting back to what we were talking about earlier." He began again, picking up from where he left off.
"Wait, Hold on. How long have you been doing that?" She asked with concern.
He completely ignored the question as he began tying the strips around the shaft of the spear, "It seems Poison doesn't just go away now. Rapidash..." He paused in his work for a moment before continuing, "Rapidash had been poisoned before we met with you and even if she hadn't been killed by the Tangela I don't know how long she might have survived."
"Ignoring my question." She asked.
"Yes." He replied.
"Fine, so why make a spear?" She asked.
"Oh you mean my new SIGN SPEAR! De do do de de do de do!" He said with gusto raising the spear above his head.
Clair's face was a mixture of disbelief, incredulity, and dumbfounded , "What the hell was that?"
"It was item find music... you know... like you hear in video games." He said.
"I don't play games." She replied.
"Ahh you Gym leaders are all one track minds..." He said rolling his eyes, "Anyways when we were at the Pokemon center that Marowak attacked us and I was pretty much completely defenseless... I wanted to change that. So I made a spear."
"Do you even know how to use a spear?" Clair asked.
"No not really, but I know how to impale a charging Pokemon which is pretty much the only use it'll have... anything that can fire stuff at me pretty much wins by default." He replied.
"It's like arts and crafts meets the Colosseum." She said, "Is this the only one you'll make?"
"Depends on if I have time to get more supplies, we only have food for a month at best and we'll need to secure more if we want to make it though the winter. It depends on how much food we can get. By the way since we're speaking about supply runs, I'm going to push for you to accompany me to Blackthorn tomorrow." He said looking over at her.
"I take it Lance isn't working out then?" She asked knowing Dawson would realize it was a rhetorical question.
"As admirable as it was to try to save that insane Marowak it endangered my Pokemon... I lost one already and I swear to god I'm not going to let some idiot looking for good karma threaten the lives of my Pokemon!" Dawson said slamming the spear point into the ground.
Clair watched with impressed interest as the tip actually sank into the ground, "Sharp... Do you think Lance will take it personally?" She said.
"Well hopefully he takes the line of protecting the children without complaint." He said, "Plus you know the town better then he does, in addition I'm sure there are unmentionables both you and Rosemary want."
"And... a chance to put Kaburagi to rest." She added with a hint of sadness.
Agricola
A single Noctowl cry sounded off across the otherwise silent town. Night had fallen and most Pokemon had long since gone to sleep. The town and surrounding areas had lost much of their life in the recent days. Only a few Pokemon groups remained and many of them had started to get very desperate in their new environment.
The Stunspore, now mostly washed away, had killed much of the plant life near the town. Nearby lakes and rivers had become tainted with the paralyzing nerve agent. Any Pokemon left had accepted a much more lethal attitude towards each other as they vied for the dwindling resources. If any of the townsfolk had survived the initial days of the undampening they would have been shocked into silence by how their town had devolved.
A single flash of light and Kadabra appeared on top of the Pokemon center. Short range teleportation required only knowledge of the immediate area. Long range teleportation meant the person or Pokemon would have to focus on a single location, often the town's Pokemon center.
Kadabra looked about at the ruined town as he settled from his teleport. Once calm he began sending out a psychic wave, searching for any other Pokemon in the area. He didn't have to search for long.
From behind him a dark blur shot out of the darkness aiming for Kadabra's neck. Inches before striking the psychic Pokemon teleported away avoiding the attack effortlessly. Ending up on the roof of the Pokemart he looked up at his would be murderer.
"This is a baaaaaddddd place for a weak little psychic to teleport to buddy." The Murkrow said with a sneer, "It's my lucky day that the others don't bother with the town anymore... now I get to enjoy a nice juicy meal all by myself."
"You'll find your meal harder to swallow then you expect, scum." Kadabra replied.
"Oh? I was planning on killing you THEN eating you. Now I think I'll only maim you so I can keep the next few meals... fresh. But maybe this little Psychic thinks he can hurt me with his fancy big brain?" The Murkrow said taking off and circling a few times before dive bombing Kadabra.
"Filth..." The psychic muttered to himself.
As the Murkrow dived at Kadabra his flight path was suddenly interrupted by another flying object smashing into him and sending him spiraling through the air. Holding the large dumpster aloft with his mind he sent the metal container flying towards the shocked Murkrow. Stunned and unable to avoid it the bird was swept inside the dumpster.
Slamming the lid closed Kadabra started violently moving the trash container back and forth knocking the bird around inside. Pelted with trash and tossed about like a rag doll the Murkrow eventually felt the dumpster slam down into the ground with a crash and his rocky ride finally ended. Covered in garbage and feeling pain in every feather Murkrow eventually crawled out of the dumpster and collapse on the ground at the Kadabra's feet.
"Ple... please... don't kill..." He pleaded with the Psychic.
Leaning forward, the sneer on his face now, Kadabra addressed the bird, "Oh I'm not going to kill such a wretch as yourself. I have a task needing to be done. One that even a lowly scum like yourself can accomplish." He said.
"W... what?" The Murkrow asked weakly.
"Get your friends... All of them."