Now that the second gym battle has been completed, and Damian rescued from the clutches of the Abyssal Cult, I think it's about time for Natasha to do a little more exploring, don't you think?
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Insurgence; it is the property of its creators.
The previous day had been quite a busy one for Natasha; between the Gym Battle with Xavier and the confrontation at the city dump. But it wasn't entirely doom and gloom, as it was when Damien befriended the legendary Shaymin, who had come to his aid when he needed it. But now the excitement was all over, and the young teen could chill out for the day and explore the vast Torren region, uncovering one of its many secrets. Packing up her bag, she quietly exited the Pokémon Center and began making her way south, towards the Crossroads of Torren. Most trainers who arrive at the Crossroads go to the east, where the winding path takes them to Koril Town. However, the path leading west hasn't been fully explored, with rumors floating about of a blanket of mist that snatches up wayward trainers and takes them to an unknown location. Intrigued as to what may lie in wait for her, Natasha opted to go west, down the small slope and onto the path that so few have taken.
At first, the trip seemed…disappointing. Sure, the surrounding scenery was a treat for the eyes, but she was expecting a little more excitement. Something that would really get the blood pumping. Opting to stop by the river to gage her location, Natasha was soon distracted by the sight of…something perched precariously on a stone spire, situated in the middle of a small island in the river. Bringing out her Inflatable Lapras, she hopped on it and slowly made her way towards the island, unaware that a thick mist was settling over the area. She hopped on the island and approached the stone spire, gently grabbing whatever it was that was perched on the spire and took a closer look at it. It looked to be a young Pichu, a little slimmer than a normal Pichu, and had a completely different coloration, which consisted of black and white. But easily the most notable difference was that its ears and tail looked more like fluffy wings as opposed to their normal appearance.
"A Delta Pichu…?" Natasha inquired, staring at it for a few seconds before nuzzling it affectionately. "Aren't you just the cutest?"
"Pi-pi!" The tiny rodent chirped, taken aback by the sudden affection before nuzzling her back. The purple-haired girl shot her new friend a smile before allowing it to climb up on her shoulder, her eyes focusing back on the spire as she soon noticed something odd about it. There appeared to be several tiles all jumbled up, designed as if they were meant to form a picture of sorts. She was intrigued at the sight of this puzzle; who made it and why place it here? Regardless, she didn't see any harm in attempting to solve it, so she scooped out all the pieces into her hand and began place them one by one, shifting them to the side when needed. A trick she uses when it comes to puzzles like these was to start out with the edges and work your way to the center, and it was working well in this instance. In fact, it worked so well that she had completed the puzzle less than five minutes after starting it. Once the puzzle was done, the purple-haired girl saw that it resembled the mythical Meloetta, the image glowing a bright white before disappearing into nothing, leaving a small scroll tucked inside a small alcove.
"What the…?" Natasha began, taking the scroll and staring at it cautiously. There must be some good reason why this thing was kept hidden behind a puzzle located on a tiny island off the beaten path. Could it be a key to some hidden treasure, a rare Delta Pokémon, or something that humanity was never meant to lay eyes upon? Now things were starting to pick up for her; she now has a little side quest that she could do on top of her main quest. Tucking the scroll into her bag, she turned around and made her way to her Inflatable Lapras, only to see that the entire area was now blanketed in a thick fog.
"P-Pii…" The Delta Pichu squeaked nervously, burrowing it's face into her shoulder in fear. Realizing that it didn't want to get separated from its new friend in this mist, Natasha quietly consoled it before recalling it to its ball, where it would be nice and safe from the elements. Hopping on to the Lapras, she began sailing to the west, where she had come from initially. At least she thought she was going west, but this mist had obscured her vision entirely, meaning that she could very well be heading off into some unknown direction, drifting further and further into the sea, or perhaps an entirely different area altogether. But those thoughts of getting lost at sea were soon dispelled by the scent of…tropical fruit? Following the scent, she soon made her way towards a small island, hopping onto dry land as she saw what was behind the scent; a series of fruit trees planted on the island, with several serpentine Pokémon feasting on the bounty. Was this a hidden paradise for snake Pokémon, where they can live without worrying about getting eaten by predators? Her thoughts were soon distracted by something rubbing against her leg, the purple-haired girl quietly looking down and saw the culprit responsible.
By her feet was a fairly long serpent, its orange body rather plump and lined up with purple stripes. It had fluffy purple hair covering its face as well as a ring of purple hair around its body, the snake's snout moving up and opened wide, its forked tongue gently licking the girl's pantleg. At first she had no idea what it was, until she took a closer look at the snout, and saw that it resembled that of a Deino, making this specimen a Delta Deino. Gently picking up the Deino, she was a little taken aback when it attempted to bite her, moving it away just in time. Slithering out of her grasp, it crawled up her arm and towards her neck, sniffing it before taking a cautionary lick, a muffled giggle escaping from her mouth.
"See? I told you I mean no harm." Natasha replied calmly, easing the timid Pokemon's spirit as the mist started to die down, the purple-haired girl finding out that this island was nestled near a tall cliffside, with Telnor Town overlooking it. Her mind was at a loss for words, the feeling only intensifying as she took a glance at her watch. Somehow, four entire hours had passed, when it only felt like half an hour at most. Did she somehow stumble upon a wormhole or something while traversing through that mist, or did it have some otherworldly properties? Either way, she had to get back on track as soon as possible, to make up for lost time. Making her way back to her Inflatable Lapras, she hopped on it, only to feel the Delta Deino slither onto her lap. "Hmmm? You want to come along with me?"
The serpent nodding in confirmation, the purple-haired girl shooting it a smile as she began moving her Lapras back towards dry land and away from that mysterious mist.
0000
Having arrived back at the Crossroads, Natasha packed away her Lapras and made her wat towards Koril Town, where she'll most likely rest up for the night. Granted, she could try and traverse the desert at night, but that would be an incredibly foolish move as that's when the most dangerous predators come out to hunt. At first, her trek down Route 5 was nice and peaceful, with the wild Pokémon keeping to themselves for the most part. However, her peaceful trek was soon interrupted by the sound of trainers fleeing out of the nearby Samsara Cave, their faces contorted into looks of terror.
"H-Hey, what's going on?" She asked one of the trainers.
"D-Demon! There's a demon in this cave! It flew out from some hidden chamber and began petrifying people. I-I had to get out of there, or else it would've gotten me as well!" The trainer rambled, another scream escaping his mouth as he continued to run down the path. Intrigued at the thought of this "demon", Natasha made her way into the cave, a few trainers turning around and went wide-eyed over the sight of her entering the cave. Upon taking a few steps into the dark, dank cave, she soon found what could be behind the petrifications. Perched atop a petrified trainer was what looked like a Pidgey, gazing menacingly at the purple-haired girl. Its body was covered in dark brown and black feathers, with a small rooster crest atop its head. Its feet ended in sharp talons that could puncture skin, and its serpentine tail wiggled aimlessly in the air. There was no doubt about it, this was a Delta Pokémon, and it looked like it wanted a fight.
"So you want a battle, eh? Then allow me to provide you one; time to shine, Deino!" Natasha declared, sending out her Deino as the small serpent eyed up the intimidating bird, who shot it a glare in response. Proceeding to take flight, the Pidgey swooped down towards the Deino and tackled it, sending the snake rolling back a few feet. However, the Deino was not out for the count yet, rearing up and bit down on the Pidgeys back, a low chirp of pain escaping from its yellow beak. It spent the next few moments attempted to shake the Deino off, which it did but not without losing a few feathers. Flying back onto the petrified trainer, it promptly groomed itself before attempting to swoop down on its opponent once more. However, the Deino was prepared this time, dodging the attack at the last minute before smacking it down with its tail, causing the Pidgey to crash into the dirt.
"P-Pidgey!" The weakened bird squawked at Natasha, shooting a half-hearted glare at her as she quietly approached the Pokémon.
"Why have you petrified all those people? You're not supposed to do that." She inquired, the Pidgey slowly approaching her as it soon began to tell its side of the story. From what she could gather, the Pidgey was just minding its business when the trainers disturbed its slumber. One of them attempted to capture it, only for it to break out and go on a rampage, petrifying people left and right. "I get it, you just wanted to be left alone, but was rudely interrupted by the other trainers."
"Pid! Pid!" The bird Pokémon chirped in conformation, with Deino approaching it slowly and hissed an apology, with the Pidgey hissing back in acceptance. The bird then turned it's attention to the purple-haired trainer, gazing at it as if wondering what's going to happen next.
"Well that depends on what you want to do. You could stay here, or you could come along with us. I'll leave the choice up to you." Natasha offered, with the Pidgey mulling it over. On one hand, it liked the idea of staying inside its home, away from the prying eyes of intruders. But on the other hand, this little incident could cause even more people to flock towards it, and try to capture it. Noticing how happy the Deino was with its trainer, it decided to take it's chance with her. Slowly getting up off the ground, it flew up to her shoulder, pecking her cheek gently as the Deino slithered onto her other shoulder. "Seems that you've made your choice. Don't worry, I'll take good care of you."
Upon saying that, she saw one of the petrified trainers slowly moving their fingers, the purple-haired girl realizing that the petrification wasn't permanent. Not wanting to get into an argument with the trainers, she chose to quietly exit the cave and finish the trek to Koril Town.
Koril Town
Koril Town, a small rest stop for trainers to prepare themselves for their adventure into the treacherous Rezzai Desert, where a permanent sandstorm blows around the area. Not to say that the town was completely empty; it was home to the well-renown Scientists Club after all, as well as a stock market for trainers to partake in. But it was the small cave located in the mountain resting behind the town that attracted Natasha's attention; who knows what secrets could be hidden inside its depths? Getting herself ready, she quietly made her way towards the cave and stepped inside, the murky darkness surrounding her as she soon laid eyes on what it was the cave was hiding. Nestled atop a ledge was another one of those stone spires, with a similar puzzle placed on the front. Quickly climbing up the ledge to investigate, the purple-haired girl approached the spire and began to solve the puzzle as soon as possible. Luckily for her, the puzzle was very similar to the first one she solved, hence why it took a few minutes to complete. Like before, the completed image of Meloetta glowed momentarily before disappearing, revealing another mysterious scroll tucked in the alcove.
"There we go…" She smiled to herself, taking the scroll and gazed at it before putting it in her bag. Just how many of those scrolls were there in Torren? Whatever they're the key to much be incredibly valuable if this amount of effort was put into scattering the keys allover the place. As there was nothing of much value in the cave asides from that spire, Natasha climbed down the ledge before exiting the cave, promptly making her way to the Pokémon Center. Upon arriving there, she placed her Pokéballs in the machine so that her friends can rest and recover before making her way to the lobby, taking a seat as she overheard a pair of trainers talking to one another.
"It's a shame that the Stock Market is closed for the month; I was hoping to put my investment skills to great use." The first trainer, an elderly gentleman in a brown suit complained.
"They're probably doing renovations to ensure something like that incident doesn't happen again. It's a miracle no-one was killed." The second trainer, a young woman in casual clothes resting beside a large backpack replied.
"My friend was there when it happened; had he been standing another foot or two to the left, that television would've crushed him." The gentleman continued. "So, are there any other ways I could make some extra money?"
"Well there's that Scientists' Club nearby. I've heard that they pay well to those who help around with the grunt work." The backpacker answered, with the older gentleman mulling it over.
"As tempting as it is, I'm afraid that I won't be of much use in the heavy labor department, on account of my old age." He replied, as a new idea formed in his mind. "I could try my luck at the Games Corner in Roggan Town, I was always good at Voltorb Flip after all."
"Fine by me; I brought my metal detector with me in the hopes of finding something nice in the desert. Best of luck to you, mister." The backpacker smiled back at him.
"Best of luck to you, young lady." He wished her luck as well, the duo going back to whatever book they were reading as an idea formed in Natasha's mind. This Scientist's Club sounded like a great way to earn some extra cash, cash that she would need if she were to take care of all the Delta Pokémon she has. Heck, they might even give her a bit of advice on how to care for them. It was then that a light 'ding' went off, indicating that her Pokémon were fully healed. Thanking the nurse by the counter, she took her Pokémon back and exited the center, looking around for the Scientist's Club Headquarters. A few minutes later, she soon found a lab overlooking the large lake in the middle of the town, a sign by the door reading 'Scientist's Club, everyone welcome!'
"Aha! This is the right place!" Natasha smiled to herself, making her way to the front door and knocked on it. With a voice on the other side gesturing her to step inside, the purple-haired girl opened the door and entered the lab, where she was greeted by around five or so scientists.
"Welcome to the Scientist's Club. The name's Monika and I'm the head of the club, I assume you're here for a bit of work." A young lady greeted her, readjusting her red-framed glasses.
"Yes, but that's not the only reason I'm here. I'll explain later, but for now I need a bit of extra money." The purple-haired girl replied.
"Well it's a good thing you came here when you did, as something unexpected happened. The Pokémon we revived from a few fossils the other day have broken out of their enclosure and have caused some havoc in the storage room. If you can deal with their leader, then the rest should back down." The scientist requested.
"Sounds like a plan! Is there anything else I need to keep in mind?" Natasha pressed further.
"Well, yes. We would greatly appreciate it if you didn't try and capture any of the Pokémon; we're still studying them, and we don't want months of hard work to go to waste." Monika requested.
"Got it! I won't disappoint you!" The purple-haired girl pledged, making her way to the storage room and closed the door behind her, only for her eyes to widen at the sight. There were several, if not dozens of prehistoric Pokémon running rampant, all from a wide variety of regions. Cardboard boxes were destroyed, their contents spilling everywhere, and the food bags were torn open, with several of the Pokémon chowing down on the food. Standing atop a metal crate was a Kabutops, pointing its scythes throughout the room with the Pokémon following it's orders. This must be their leader, the one who instigated the breakout. "Hey, I wish to challenge you!" She called out to the Shellfish Pokémon, who turned to face her with a look of intrigue in its eyes.
"Kabu…" It chittered, gesturing its scythes at her as if it accepted her challenge. With a quick flick of her wrist, Natasha sent out her Delta Quagsire, the teenage girl grateful for all the training she had put in before leaving Vipik City. The Delta Quagsire was considerably larger than its pre-evolution, with a pair of lanky arms holding onto its sack-like tail firmly. The pattern on its torso now resembled an angry snarl, sharp teeth lining the mouth while its real face was sporting a soft smile at the Kabutops.
Lowering its head, the Kabutops cloaked its body in water before lunging at the Quagsire, who was soon pushed back by the attack but was relatively unharmed. The Quagsire swung its tail around and pushed the Shellfish Pokémon back, opening its mouth slightly as a stream of ghostly fireballs. The Kabutops attempted to destroy the fireballs with its scythes, managing to take out most of them, but was struck by the remaining few, it's body now covered in small burns. Seizing this opportunity, the Quagsire rummaged through its sack and threw a barrage of hard seeds at the Shellfish Pokémon, striking it directly as it staggered back a few feet before falling onto its back. The other fossil Pokémon saw what had happened and stepped back in fear, not wanting to suffer a similar fate.
"Monika, I've dealt with the problem. You can come in now!" Natasha called out, the door to the storage room opening as Monika and her fellow scientists entered the room to clean up the mess left behind. A pair of scientists made their way to the injured Kabutops, picking it up and took it to the medical room to treat its injuries, while the other scientists were shepherding the other fossil Pokémon back to their enclosure.
"Thank you so much for helping us, I knew I could count on—is that a Delta Quagsire!?" Monika exclaimed, eyeing up the Delta Species in awe as it turned to face her, a quick chime escaping from its mouth.
"Yes, it is. Funnily enough, that's the main reason I'm here; I've caught several Delta Pokémon and I was wondering if you knew any tips on how to take proper care of them." The purple-haired girl chimed in, the scientist gazing at the Quagsire carefully before thinking to herself.
"Well if it's a check up you want, then I'll be happy to help; I know a few things about Delta Species." Monika smiled, gesturing the duo to follow her into the main room of the laboratory, where several computers were resting idly atop a few desks. From there, the young scientist spent the next few hours checking over all of Natasha's Delta Pokémon, with her assistant jotting down notes fervently. Once the check up was done, the assistant handed over their notes to Monika, who began to furiously type away at her keyboard.
"So how'd the check up go?" Natasha inquired.
"Your Pokémon are in tip-top shape and are happy for the most part. Seems they really like you." The scientist answered, an ingenious idea soon forming in her mind. "Hey, Natasha. How would you feel about coming with us to the Holon Region once the subway's been repaired?"
"H-Holon Region?" She began, the words clicking in her mind. The Holon Region was the natural home for the Delta Species after all, with talk of the region being set up as a natural preserve after all. Perhaps this is what her mission was; to help build a safe place for the Delta Pokémon to frolic in peace. "Why are you interested in the Holon Region?"
"As you may know, Delta Species are still a relatively unknown phenomenon to the general populace, with many secrets surrounding them to this day. However, we have learnt that they place of origin was the Holon Region, a place far from any other region in the world. The Scientist's Club wishes to investigate this place to see if the environment plays a role in why they end up a whole lot different from their regular counterparts." Monika explained to her.
"That does make sense, they are intriguing after all. But I can't say I'm comfortable with the idea of dozens of tourists coming to the island just to catch them. It may be a bit hypocritical coming from me, but I would like the place to be a preserve; once I'm done with my journey as a trainer, I might release my Delta Pokémon to the region, so that they can live the rest of their lives in peace. From there, I'll spend the rest of my time watching them, helping raise awareness about them to the public while taking care of them." Natasha stated, as a dream soon formed in her mind. A place where Delta Pokémon could live in peace without worrying about greedy trainers exploiting them for their own gain.
"Such a wonderful idea. A shame that you might get attacked for your belief by Professor Maple, but we'll deal with him when the time comes." The bespectacled scientist replied, briefly glancing at her watch. "We may be done with the preliminary checkup, but I hope you don't mind if we study your Pokémon even further. It'll be an all-nighter though, so I hope you don't mind too much."
"Fine by me. So long as I'm allowed to be nearby while these studies are being performed, then you can go ahead. After all, it's starting to become dark, and I'm not taking my chances with the desert at this time." The purple-haired girl agreed, with Monika continuing writing up her notes as the teenage girl began thinking to herself. This woman, she seemed like a strong ally for her cause, but who was this Professor Maple she mentioned? Was he some sort of anti-Delta Species man who thinks they should all be exterminated? Or was he some power-hungry brute who wishes to exploit them for his own gain? Was he part of a cult, or a lone wolf? These were questions that she couldn't answer right now due to a lack of information, but for now she had other things on her mind, like dealing with the cults for good.
That about does it for this chapter, and there were plenty of nice captures in it. So what do you think of Natasha's main goal, setting up the Holon Region as a peaceful preserve for Delta Pokémon? I figured that it would be a nice change of pace from beating the Champion and becoming the best trainer. Anyway, the next chapter will be a bit more plot heavy and will feature a nice rival battle as well, so that'll be something to look forward to. Thank you all for reading my story, I'll see you in the next chapter!
Acquired Delta Pokémon:
D. Ivysaur
D. Charmeleon
D. Wartortle
D. Dugtrio
D. Dwebble (Cake)
D. Graveler
D. Ambipom
D. Grimer
D. Solosis
D. Scyther
D. Larvesta
D. Sunkern
D. Gardevoir (female)
D. Kirlia (Male)
D. Quagsire
D. Pichu
D. Deino
D. Pidgey
