Chapter 8: Sorcerous and Intellicate.
Majestic City Arc.
The bathroom door pries open, the gray fox soaking the wooden floor with his wet fur. He shakes his body, casting a drizzle all over the place. "Ah, that felt great," Ramon says, smiling with the heavens. He looks to the side, gazing up at the giant elder that is Clinton.
The human glances down at him, stroking a white towel. "Couldn't you wait?" he says, some of the water landing onto his black pants.
"Oh...My apologies, sir." Ramon's voice shakes as he chuckles, scratching the back of his ear. Clinton gets on his knees and puts the towel over his shoulder, getting out his washcloth before rubbing the floor and walls. "Do you...want me to help you?"
"It's fine. I got this." Clinton then hands the towel to Ramon before wiping the door. "Next time, grab a towel before spraying water everywhere."
The Zorua can hardly see from underneath the big towel as he nods. "Will do." He sits down and uses his paws to maneuver the towel, scrubbing and caressing his fur. Clinton finishes cleaning the mess and walks away, leaving the Zorua to smother himself. Soon, Ramon stops and walks ahead, having the towel covering his vision. Why would Clinton give me such a huge towel? he thinks, bumping into a wall afterwards. He then turns to the side, walking towards the stairs. I think I'm heading in the right direc- he trips over the stairs. He rolls around and hits his head on them.
"OW! OW!" he exclaims, bumping into another wall. He gets up, moving from side to side while groaning. "Ugh." He soon comes across another set of stairs and trips over them, repeating the process. He continues rolling until he collides into another wall, leaving the towel to cover him; only his tail is exposed. "Oof." Ramon's ears flicker beneath the towel, hearing laughter nearby. He removes the towel in a weak manner and turns. Ada, Justin, and Clinton are in the dining room, Clinton scratching the side of his head while the other two are sitting in their chairs.
Ada and Justin are wearing different clothing as Justin chuckles at the Zorua, Ada folding her arms. She glares at him. "What's so funny about a Pokémon hurting themselves?" Ada says, frowning.
Justin shakes his head. "Nothing. Just that it came out of nowhere and threw me off guard."
"What if that were to happen to you? Would you be laughing then?" The light-skinned human taps on her arm.
Justin waves his hand up and down, getting out of his seat along with Ada. "Oh relax. I'm sure that he's fine. Watch." He walks towards the Zorua. "Hey dude, are you alright?" he asks, his red shirt and blue shorts being the first thing the Zorua sees.
"Yeah. Are you injured by any means?" Ada asks, tugging the bottom of her orange shirt that says 'Honor.'
Ramon looks at the two and nods before getting up, shifting from side to side. "Yeah...I'm alright. Nothing about me is hurt at all," he says, laughing in a raspy tone.
"See? Told ya so," Justin responds with a smirk, Ada squinting her eyes at him.
"I find it hard to believe when his body is telling the opposite." She shakes her head, raising her brow at the Zorua. "Are you certain you're fine?"
"Yeah yeah. Just feeling a lot of pain in my head, that's all. It'll go away, eventually."
"If that's the case." The blue jeans girl walks towards Ramon and gets on her knees, putting her hand on top of his head. The Zorua's head starts to glow blue, his body gradually stops its constant shifting. "I may as well take care of that 'little' headache." She looks at Justin, seeing him whistling out of place.
Justin then stops and looks back. "...What?" he asks as the girl shakes her head. Clinton has his hands in his pockets, staring at the three.
"Whenever you two are done healing him, finish eating those sandwiches. I don't want them to rot just like those food out there," the elder says.
"Sandwiches?" Ramon questions, his head stops glowing as he looks at the dining table. The sandwiches are lying on the plates, all split into twos.
"Yeah. I fixed those for you three. You're welcome."
"Thank you, sir." Ramon then takes his attention towards Ada, who retreats from her knees. "And thank you too for healing me. I don't know how you and Justin can heal others on the spot."
Ada puts her hands in her pockets, smiling. "Healing others on the spot is a Sorcerous' speciality."
"A Sorcerous' speciality?"
She snaps her fingers. "Mhm. And you questioning it just reminded me: This is the perfect time for you to get informed."
"Sweet! Finally some answers." Ramon hops up and down, his tail wagging from side to side.
"While you three dine on your meals, I'll go check on your clothes to see if they're done washing," Clinton says.
Justin snaps his fingers and winks at Clinton, giving him finger guns. "You got it ol-I mean, classic man," he says, leading Clinton to raise his brow. The elder then exits the dining room as the three head towards the table.
Ramon hops on the chair that's at the end of it, the other two sitting on the chairs beside. The Zorua gazes at the sandwich; putting his paw on the soft, squishy bread, mayonnaise oozing its way out of it as the cheese occupies its appearance. He tilts his head at a certain angle, the crest looking as slick as a straight line. The baloney and cheese are sparkling with majesty, the Zorua drooling at it in temptation.
"Ramon?" Ada says, catching the Zorua's attention. "Weren't you listening?"
"Hmm?" Ramon shakes his head. "Sorry. I haven't eaten in awhile." He leans down to take a bite out of his sandwich, enjoying the delicious taste from it. "Mmm, so good." He swallows, releasing a sigh of pure relief.
Ada snacks on her sandwich, taking in the serviceable textures and swallowing afterwards. "Mmf, agreed!"
"I needed this after being stuck in that facility for who knows how long..."
The teen nods. "I understand completely. Justin and I have been traveling for ages since our village got destroyed, two months ago. Glad to finally have something to eat."
"Yeah!" Ramon takes another bite from his sandwich, wagging his tail in delight. "Now what were you saying about Sorcerous and Intellicate?"
"I was saying Sorcerous are humans capable of achieving a new typing called Magic." The girl whips out her purple claws, showcasing its sparkles. "This allows us to think of any kinds of Magic moves. Like my Enchantment Claws and Justin's Sorcery Blades, for instance."
"Huh. I see then."
Justin munches on his sandwiches. "Althouff, weve do have ourff limit," Justin says, engulfing his chewed up sandwich as Ada's face scrunches up in response. "There's two types of attacks exclusive to Sorcerous: Primary and Secondary. Primary lets us think of any moves, but it can only be one. For some unknown reason, we can't think of more than one Primary move."
"Hmm? So if you can think of only one Primary move, then how can you two use Mystical Projectile?" Ramon asks.
"Well you see, this is where Secondary attack comes into play." Ada bites on her sandwich, swallowing it afterwards. "Or attacks, I should say. Since Secondary consists of two Magic moves that every Sorcerous has: Mystical Projectile and Mystical Shield. Mystical Projectile behaves similar to, say, a gun with unlimited ammo. It doesn't necessarily rapid fire things, but it does its job at shooting, nonetheless. Don't rely on it too much because it's less powerful than the Primary attack."
"And then Mystical Shield just...protects us from any attacks." Justin shrugs. "Not much we can say about that. It explains itself, man."
"Yep. Although, the shield's color can sometimes be blue or purple. As far as we know, the color doesn't determine anything."
Ramon tilts his head to the side, flickering his ears. "I see."
"And thanks to the typing allowing us to heal ourselves and others, the need for a Pokémon Center machine became obsolete. Although, Centers still exist mainly for those who badly injured themselves, needing a Sorcerous nurse to take care of the wounds."
"Interesting." The Zorua tilts his head. "But how does that explain you two understanding what I'm saying? And me understanding what you two are saying?"
Justin gives the Zorua finger guns, winking at him. "That's where Intelliate comes through."
"'Intellicate,' Justin," Ada corrects.
Justin raises his brow at her. "I knew that." He looks back at Ramon. "Anyways, me, Ada, and even Clinton are able to understand you because you're an Intellicate, the kind of Pokémon acting very similar to humans."
"From what I gathered, they were first discovered in the Wizlore region before more Pokémon start to become an Intellicate." Ada taps her lips, looking up at the ceiling. "Unfortunately, there isn't much connection Intellicates have with Magic type. All we know is that they further change society, which explains why you saw that Venusaur exiting from his vehicle. He's without a doubt an Intellicate."
"I see then," Ramon says. "This also explains why that lady earlier wanted to charge me money."
"Yes. And due to Intellicates communicating on the same level as humans, there's really no need for Telepathy."
"Right."
"As for the statue earlier, again, it allows Sorcerous to teleport to the location they've already been. Since Sorcerous can teleport themselves and others around them."
Ramon nods and smiles. "Is there anything else you two know about Sorcerous and Intellicate?"
Justin and Ada shake their heads. "That's about it, really," Ada states, tugging on her orange shirt again. "Perhaps there's more information about those individuals we're unaware of. Some are like from the tip of my tongue, but I just can't recall it for the life of me..." Ada then tugs her shirt once more, grumbling. "By the way, could've Clinton not found a better shirt than this? I seriously tug on this thing about three times now."
"Then stop tugging on it. Problem solved," Justin says, taking another bite.
"Why don't you wear this shirt then, smarty pants." Ada glares at the human, huffing in response to his ignorance.
Ramon lowers his brow a bit, staring down at his plate. "Hmm...Oh and also." The Zorua takes a bite from his sandwich. "Whff didff you two becomff surprisff when-"
"Can you not imitate Justin by eating with your mouth full?" Ada glances, the boy chuckling in response.
The fox swallows. "My apologies. I was saying: Why did you two become surprised when I said 'Transvian' earlier?"
Justin and Ada look at each other for a moment before staring back. "That's because those are a group of Pokémon that went extinct a long time ago," Ada explains.
Ramon raises his eyebrows, blinking into curiosity. "Oh?"
"Their extinction has something to do with a war of some sort."
"War!?"
"Yeah...I wish I didn't forget the name and purpose of it." She tilts her thumb at Justin. "I've been wrestling with this guy so many times that I'm losing important knowledge here." She then lifts her finger and turns to Justin. "Speaking of which, we need to get back at training each other. We haven't done so in awhile, plus I need to get stronger to face those Conjure jerks."
"Not happening," Justin answers.
The girl leaps back. "What? Why!?"
"Because I'm actually a carrot."
"..."
"..."
Justin winks, smirking.
"What...was the joke there?"
"Carrot," Justin snickers along with Ramon.
Ada squints her eyes and sighs. "...So continuing the discussion, no one has heard of those Pokémon since their extinction." She puts her hand against her chin. "Makes me curious to why Yvonne had Transvian in his journal entry."
"I read this note from the facility, mentioning something about any Pokémon having the potential to become one." Ramon shrugs. "I don't know if this Yvonne fella wrote it, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did."
"Interesting," Ada says, finishing her meal. After the others finish their meals, the three exit from their chairs and walk into the living room.
They come across Clinton staring out of his window, holding Dr. Yvonne's journal behind him. Ramon raises his brow and looks at the three. "Yeah, we told him about your face and even showed him the journal," Justin says.
"Oh," Ramon replies, staring back at Clinton.
Clinton shakes his head as he looks out of the window, gripping the journal. The three get close to him, the elder turning around to face them. He gives Ada the journal. "The Prospective Institute stuff is interesting." He turns to face Ramon. "And I hope that you get your memory back someday."
"Yeah. Everything seems so confusing right now...I just want to understand my past more," Ramon responds, staring down at the ground. "Who knows if I'll even recover my memories? What if this memory loss is permanent? What if I'll never know about my past?" He whines, lowering his ears.
Ada and Justin look at each other, their faces drenching in melancholy and anxiousness. The two get on their knees, facing the Zorua. "Don't say that, man," Justin says. "Maybe the memory loss is temporary and not permanent."
"But...how would you know?" Ramon slowly gazes at the two, distress spreading throughout him.
Ada caresses her arms, looking off to the side. "We...don't." She looks back at him. "But we rather think positively and believe your memories will return back to you." A warm but uneasy smile forms across her face, leading Justin to do the same.
The fox continues the stare for a solid moment before releasing a sigh, looking back down. "I hope so..."
The two teens stand up as the elder stares off to the side, glancing at the ground. "...I know how you feel, little fella." He turns towards the window while Ada sets the journal onto a nearby table. "We all have those moments where we wish for things to get resolved. Hell, I want to see the rampant crimes in this city get fixed. But as far as I know, the police department isn't doing anything about it."
"Really?" Justin asks.
"Yes. Take a look for yourself."
The three look out of the window, with Ramon hopping on top of Ada's back. A man in black clothing is running away from another man, who is shouting at him. He has a gray bag onto his back, gripping it with firmness.
"Give me back my money, you thief!" the other man yells, forming a fist.
"See? ...No policemen are around." Clinton grimaces, turning to the side. "I wish this wasn't the case right now."
"Jeez, how long has this been going?" Justin questions.
"As long as my decaying brain can remember. It's the side of Majestic City the mayor doesn't want to address, which is odd." Clinton strokes his beard. "This is just one example of the many criminal activities being abnormal here."
"What do you think caused it?"
Clinton looks at Justin. "That, I do not know." He lifts his finger. "What I do know is that I will get to the bottom of this. Someone has to."
Ramon is lying on the ground without a sign, shaking his head and groaning. The two humans become peculiar by this. "Yo, weren't you on Ada's back a few seconds ago?" Justin asks, scratching the side of his head.
"Yeah. I was," Ramon replies back.
"Um, Ada? Where you at, fam?"
Soon a laser projectile screeches outside of Clinton's home. "I believe that answered your question, kid," Clinton says, rushing towards the front door. Justin and Ramon nod before following along. Before Ramon leaves, he notices a yellow badge sitting on a placemat near the TV, tilting his head.
"Come on, Ramon! Let's go see if Ada is outside!" Justin shouts at the fox.
"Alright! I'll be on my way!" Ramon and the other two are outside, Ada using her Mystical Projectile on the robber. The beam hits the ground in front of him, stopping him within seconds.
"Give the man his money back," Ada demands, charging another beam. "I won't repeat myself." The robber turns around with a pistol handgun, pulling the trigger as the bullet comes flying out. Ada gasps and uses her Enchantment Claws to backhand the bullet, deflecting it. The guy gets hit in the shoulder, groaning in pain. Red blood drips from it as he drops the bag. "Nice try."
"Ada, what are you doing!?" Clinton yells, catching the girl's attention.
"Trying to stop this guy from stealing the man's money, of course." She glances at the robber. "Did you expect me to sit there and let this happen?" The robber digs into his pocket and gets out a red and white ball. Ada raises her brow at the sight of it. "Is that...a pokéball?" Ada stares into shock. "I thought those became obsolete!"
"A pokéball!? What the hell, fam!?" Justin exclaims.
"Hey. Tone your language down some," Clinton says. "Also, a pokéball in this day of age? That's...something."
Ramon tilts his head, his ears twitching. He becomes perplexed by everyone's reactions, blinking in response. As the robber tosses his ball in the air, red light gleams its way out. The light summons a humanoid creature, floating to the ground with elegance. The creature has multiple bows spreading from the top of her body to the bottom, appearing as though she's wearing a black and white dress. The Gothitelle stares at her opponent, rubbing her arm.
Is he a Pokémon Trainer? both Ada and Justin think, with Ada preparing herself.
"Use whatever moves you can to distract the girl, alright?" the robber commands the Gothitelle, a simple nod forming from her.
The Gothitelle sighs and says one word: "Gothi..."