Ayo, quarantine check.
In all seriousness, sorry for the wait. This chapter was a little hard to write and I'm currently dealing with the fallout from the Coronavirus being in my area.
Anyways, hope you enjoy!
Chapter Twenty: New Forms
A moment of tense silence followed my demand. Reshiram tilted her head in concern.
"What do you desire to talk about, Marcus?" She asked, with a hint of nervousness.
"I…" I took a moment to collect my thoughts before continuing. I had to phrase this a very certain way, or else Reshiram may get the wrong impression. "I want to clarify some things about Arceus." I said. Reshiram didn't reply, but stared at me expectantly, as if waiting for me to continue. "Is… Is Arceus really as perfect and benevolent as everyone says he is?" I asked. Reshiram's eyes widened in surprise.
"What would make you think he wasn't?" She asked.
"Well… What Tranchant said about his experience in the afterlife certainly raises a few questions in my mind…" I replied. Reshiram darted her eyes away from me.
"Marcus… I'm sure Arceus must have a good reason for inflicting that fate upon individuals like Tranchant…" She said, unconvinced. I was beginning to get frustrated.
"You don't know yourself, do you?" I asked, a slight edge in my voice. Reshiram sighed.
"I… I've only talked to Arceus three or so times in my life. Zekrom has interacted with him a similar number of times. We're unsure as to what Arceus's true personality is, but from our interactions with him, he seems to be a kind individual."Reshiram said.
"Then how do you explain what Tranchant went through? Even if Tranchant was the worst Pokemon to ever exist, is eternal suffering really the right punishment? What crime would even deserve being tortured forever?" I asked, frustrated. Sarah was right. How can you reconcile the notion that Arceus is all loving with the fact that this afterlife of suffering awaits those who stand against him? Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Xerneas twitching nervously.
"I… I can't explain Tranchant's fate… But I don't think Arceus had malicious intent behind it." Reshiram replied.
"Then what intent did he have!?" I said, my voice raising now. Reshiram's non answers were annoying me considerably.
"I-I don't know! It's not like Arceus to create something like this!" Reshiram yelled. Sarah, who was busy tending to Snek and Grace, decided to chime in.
"How do you know whether it would be like Arceus to do something when you hardly know him?" She asked. Reshiram didn't reply, and instead lowered her head in defeat, conceding to Sarah's point. Part of me was hoping that Reshiram would have an answer to all of this, but it seemed that she didn't know. That confirmed it. The Arceus that humans and Pokemon perceive is different than the true Arceus. One way or another, I was going to get answers, even if I had to ask him myself.
But would questioning him be such a good idea? After all, he could just as easily condemn me to the same fate as Tranchant. I… I needed to figure something out. Maybe getting Reshiram and Zekrom to support me would cause Arceus to be more open minded? That was a very real possibility, but I needed something more, some kind of leverage. And then it hit me.
"I'm going to catch Tranchant." I announced. Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
"Is… Is that wise? He despises you, and wants nothing more than your death." Reshiram said with concern.
"I have to catch him. He could very well have been the evilest Pokemon in all of history, but even then he wouldn't deserve the fate he got. I want to save him. Not only that, I want to take him to Arceus, and I want to show him what he did to Tranchant. Maybe, if he is as benevolent as everyone says he is, he will take pity on Tranchant and free the rest of the souls." I replied. I wasn't entirely convinced with what I was saying, and my brain was racked with nervousness, but I knew I had to say it. Reshiram stared at me for a moment, before nodding her head.
"If that is what you feel you must do, then so be it. Part of being a Legendary's partner is making their own decisions. I shall follow you." Reshiram said. Zekrom and Sarah nodded in agreement.
"We're with you, Marcus. If you wanna catch that ghost Weavile or whatever, then I guess I'll help." Sarah said, patting my back. I smiled, happy to see that my companions were quick to agree.
"Then it's settled. Next time we encounter Tranchant, we're going to catch him." I said, conviction in my voice. Everyone else nodded. It was settled then. With that matter out of the way, I turned my attention to the Copperajah in the room, Sammy.
His new evolution would undoubtedly bring some changes towards his behavior. It was common knowledge that evolutions typically caused Pokemon to mature mentally, and even bring about shifts in personality. For example, a newly evolved Charizard is often more disobedient and aggressive than its other forms. I wasn't entirely sure what changes a newly evolved Dewott underwent, so I was hoping to find out. I knelt down next to Sammy.
"Um… H-How do you feel? About evolving, I mean." I asked, somewhat nervous. Sammy looked at me curiously.
"I… I feel… I can't quite describe it…" He replied. His voice was different, slightly deeper and a little nasally. I wasn't sure how to respond, so I hoped he would continue speaking. Fortunately for me, he did. "I guess I feel… like I want to take things more seriously? I don't know if that's the best way to put it." He said.
"Hmm…" I mused.
"Something about standing up for you made me realize I have to do everything I can to protect you. It… It's the least I can do to thank you for choosing me." Sammy continued. He put a paw to his head, as if contemplating what to say next. "I don't know how much of this is just my evolution though…" He said. I couldn't answer him. Sammy shook his head.
"I just feel… so different. Is this what evolution is always like?" He asked. I couldn't answer that either. Sammy seemed to understand that I wouldn't be much help… Maybe Reshiram knew something?
"Reshiram? Could you come here for a minute?" I yelled to her. She was talking with Zekrom, and didn't seem to hear me. Sarah, however, did.
"Hey, fatass! Quit talking to your mate and let Reshiram go! Marcus wants to talk to her." Sarah yelled at Zekrom. Zekrom snapped to look at his human, a glare prominent on his face.
"Excuse me!? What kind of tone is that?" Zekrom yelled back. Sarah put up her hands defensively.
"Chill, I'm just messing with you. Marcus wants to see Reshiram, could you let her go for like five minutes?" Sarah replied. Zekrom's glare softened and he turned back to Reshiram.
"You should speak to him then." He said, gesturing at me. Reshiram nodded and began to lumber her way toward me.
"Something the matter, Marcus?" She asked.
"Sammy needs some help understanding how his evolution will affect him, and I don't think I can help him much. Could you answer some of his questions?" I asked. She nodded her head.
"My pleasure." She replied. "So then, what does this Dewott wish to know?"
"Uh… Well, I guess I should start by asking how this has and will affect my personality? I don't feel like I did a few moments ago. How much of this is because of my evolution?" Sammy asked.
"It is both. For one thing, Dewotts tend to be significantly more mature than the average Oshawott. Given that evolving represents a developmental stage for a Pokemon, this is unsurprising. However, prior to your evolution, you were overcome by a strong desire to protect Marcus, overriding your previous fears of Tranchant." Reshiram said. "As a result of these intense emotions you experienced as you evolved, these desires have become incorporated into your maturation. In that sense, your evolution was affected by the desires you had at the time." Reshiram paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before continuing. "Come to think of it, it may have been your heightened emotions that triggered the evolution itself."
"But how? I thought Pokemon only evolved from battling and stuff like that?" Sammy replied. Reshiram shook her head.
"That is the most common method, but it is by no means universal. A Pokemon can evolve from any number of ways. Having intense experiences of fear, anger, sadness, love, or any other emotion can trigger an evolution as well, particularly if the experience is formative in some way. I believe this to be the case for your evolution, but there are still several other ways a Pokemon can evolve." Reshiram clarified. Sammy nodded, signifying he understood.
"I think I get it too. Thanks for explaining this to us, Reshiram." I said. Reshiram nodded.
"You're very welcome. Be sure to approach me again if you need further clarification regarding this or any other matter." She said. Then she began to make her way back towards Zekrom, ending the conversation.
"Well, I guess that makes sense." Sammy said, focusing his attention back toward me. "Look, Marcus. I may act a little different from now on, but I don't want that to put you off in any way. I want you to know that deep down, I'm still the same Pokemon I was before evolving." Sammy chuckled a bit. "Though, I guess I wouldn't have said something like that before, huh?"
"I guess not." I laughed. "But don't worry. I don't think I'll be nervous around you or anything. There's something about you that's pretty disarming, and I don't think that was lost in the evolution." I said. Sammy donned an expression of mock anger.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" He said, still with feigned anger. We both just laughed after that.
"Yeah, I think we'll still be fine, even with your new evolution." I said. Sammy was about to reply, when we both heard fastly approaching footsteps. Just then, a fast moving green shape flashed in front of my eyes, causing me to fall over in shock. Quickly, I picked myself up, in case we were about to deal with some sort of threat. Shortly after I recovered, I locked eyes with what had startled me. It was a green canine-like being, which was being ridden by a blonde, freckled person, though I couldn't tell their gender. I stood there, unsure how to react, when Xerneas spoke.
"Zygarde!?"
…
In the Kalosian countryside, a familiar pair were resting in the shade of a tree. They had been traveling for a few hours, and had decided to stop for a bit. In truth, the human member of the pair, a familiar Alolan, had not exerted much energy, merely riding on the back of his draconic serpentine companion, but that was besides the point. The Legendary, Giratina, perked his head up, as if sensing something. After a moment, he turned toward his human partner.
"The Weavile approaches." He announced. His partner donned a small smile.
"How much do you want to bet he actually got Marcus or the girl?" He asked. Giratina chuckled.
"Not much." He replied. In the distance, both of them beheld a fast moving greyish bluish spot, rapidly approaching the two. The pair simply waited as the spot came closer, eventually becoming a blurry silhouette of a Weavile, before the silhouette became the unmistakable image of Tranchant. As he came closer, it was evident he was panting from exhaustion. Giratina and TDA wondered how far he'd run, and for how long.
Eventually, Tranchant did catch up to them, nearly collapsing on the ground from exhaustion. "G-Guys… I…" Tranchant had a minor coughing fit before continuing. "Marcus beat me… I'm not sure what to do… Help me out here..." He said in between pants. TDA couldn't help but smirk slightly. It was no surprise to him that Tranchant was defeated by Marcus, especially considering he was surrounded by several Legendaries. He wondered which Legendary did him in. It obviously had to be a Legendary, right? In any case, TDA had expected him to lose. But this is what he had planned. Tranchant had succeeded in his real purpose, in that he had distracted Marcus long enough for him and Giratina to reach their next destination without Marcus and his associates following.
"What shall we do?" Giratina asked him telepathically. TDA considered his options for a moment. His next assignment for Tranchant would likely not involve any physical confrontation, but TDA wanted to be sure the Weavile was equipped to deal with any threat.
"We should give him some more power. Better safe than sorry." TDA replied back. Giratina nodded.
"Understood." He replied. The Renegade Pokemon faced Tranchant. "We have elected to give you more power. To do so, I will imbue some of my essence into you. It will amplify your strength immensely. Use it well." Giratina said to the Weavile. He extended a tentacle towards Tranchant's small form, who was grinning in anticipation. The red tip of the tentacle began to glow brightly as Giratina concentrated a part of his essence into it. Without a moment's hesitation, the tentacle harmlessly pierced Tranchant, the red tip fully inside him. The ghostly appendage began to surge with a glowing purple energy as the essence was transferred to the Weavile recipient. And as soon as it had started, it was done.
Giratina pulled the tentacle out of the now glowing Weavile. Tranchant took a few steps back, letting his newfound power course through him. Deciding to try it out, he unleashed an Ice Beam on a nearby tree. The beam was significantly larger than his previous ones, and froze the tree almost instantaneously. He then fired a ball of dark energy at the frozen tree, causing it to shatter into a million pieces. Tranchant beamed at his handiwork and began to laugh maniacally.
"Hahaha! Whoa, I'm really liking this! Ahahahaha!" He said, laughing. TDA and Giratina looked at each other.
"That should be more than enough, right?" TDA asked. Giratina nodded. "Good." TDA replied. He turned his attention back to the Weavile, who was still laughing like a madman. "Tranchant!" TDA yelled. The Weavile stopped laughing and looked at his Alolan-Sinnohan master.
"Yes?" He replied.
"I have another assignment for you." TDA said, smirking. And Tranchant sat and listened as TDA relayed his plan.
CLIFFHANGER.
We seem to have been ending on a lot of those lately. Fear not, for I shall have the next chapter up in due time.
As always, any criticism is appreciated, and you are always free to request bonus chapters (albeit subject to my approval).
Anyways, see you all next time!
