My eyes were opened to a void. It was dark without being dark, and bright without being bright. It was an impossible sight, an oxymoronic location. Everything for miles was visible, if there were anything to see. However, everything was clearly dark, no light was there. It was by instinct I knew nothing should be visible. Everything in my mind told me I was nowhere, the true definition of nowhere. there was nothing, and something. It was impossible. I looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. I figured I may as well call out and see what was going on.
"Hello?" I wondered. There was no response, not even the echo of my own voice. I was lost, alone in this oxymoron. Taking a deep breath, I tried to start walking, but found my legs didn't move. Looking down, I noted a green energy emanating from me. I also noted the lack of body and limbs, and how I was a sphere. I was an ethereal green sphere floating in an impossible void. My eyes went wide, or my mind thought that they did anyway. I was the only thing in this nothing, and I wasn't even myself at this point!
"Ah! Wh-wha! Dwah! Uhha. Huh. He-Huh?" I mumbled and groaned. I was out of breath somehow. I knew I didn't need to breath; I knew I was fine, but I was panicking. I thought back, wondering how I got here. I knew I was alive, but I wasn't dreaming, either. It was too much. I was too panicked to even mumble. I couldn't calm myself down. I would have taken a few deep breaths, but I couldn't. I would stare at one point until my mind was able to calm down, but I couldn't. I would have played with my fingers or paws until I could focus, but I couldn't. There was no physical thing to interact with, to ground myself with. My breathless voice mumbled and eventually stopped.
"No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No." My mind repeated. I couldn't think, my mind was shutting down.
"No, no. No. No, no. No, no. N-n-n. Ngh." My mind repeated this for several minutes until it shut off. How long I was floating there I wasn't sure; I still don't know. All I can be certain of is a voice calling out to me. I didn't react to it. My mind had become blank at that point. It called out again, but my mind had been broken by this void. It quieted for a while. Soon my mind suddenly reawakened, hearing a voice call out to me.
"Chosen Protector Jay. I apologize for this sudden extraction of your spirit. I had to speak with you, however." The voice stated. It sounded formal, old, but tired. No, it seemed sad rather than tired.
"As you are now aware, your destiny is to save this world. However, I am afraid my actions have caused some great harm to this world. While extracting a spirit bound for the afterlife, I left it alone in a void like this one. This spirit was angry, vengeful. I caused the world a great deal of strife, and now a power near as great as mine has brought something dangerous into this world. You must defeat and and calm this spirit." The voice stated. I was getting my first quest from a god, not too surprising.
"So, this power, which is nearly as strong as you, prevents you from just taking it and banishing it from existence?" I asked. I figured his answer was yes, but he didn't respond at all. I sat there in silence for what felt like several minutes. I had no idea what was going on.
"Hello?" I questioned. Still no response. I was still a floating ethereal green ball of nothing, and I wanted my body back.
"Can I go, then?" I asked. I got no response. For what felt like an eternity, and what was an eternity for all I knew, I floated there, doing nothing.
"You are not the one I was expecting to answer the call to adventure. I expected someone younger. Regardless, I know you will do well." It stated. I mentally took a step back.
"I wasn't chosen?" I asked. The voice laughed gently. It was calming, oddly. That was helpful, considering it kept leaving me in the blank void.
"You chose to come here, didn't you? You were chosen because you chose to go through the portal." It responded. It made some sense, I guess. Anyone could have been the 'chosen one' but I was the one who chose to be the 'one'. That was poorly described. I understood what he meant anyway. Still, at least one other thing was bothering me.
"You said you brought this spirit into this void before, right? And he went crazy?" I wondered. Silence. Why was I not surprised? Of freaking course this would happen, why wouldn't it? I sighed, or mentally let out a sigh. Can a spirit sigh, I wonder? It can sigh as much as it can breathe, which is to say it can't. However, I was in a void that could only be described as an oxymoron, so I guess anything was possible with enough divine power.
"I can't say I blame him! My mind completely shut down at this lack of interaction. If I had just died, I'd probably be even worse." I responded, shouting in the vain hope my voice would be heard. A weird, sad feeling washed over me. I could tell He was remorseful for what he had done. However, that was all I experienced for a while. Sitting in the void for another impossible amount of time, all I could do was wait until I could leave. I waited and waited. I waited far more and far longer than I felt I should.. If this was how the vengeful spirit went insane, I didn't blame him. I was being ignored, and I was apparently a chosen one! I didn't think I deserved any super special attention but being completely ignored and left in a void was honestly aggravating. I had questions I asked, and I barely got any responses. I still had more questions to ask, but I couldn't, so I waited. At the very least They could have let me leave! I waited, continuing waiting for the next eternity it seemed. I wasn't the most patient person, and this was pushing it far past my limit. There was nothing to do and nothing to see. It was empty and boring. I was growing steadily more annoyed at this.
"Can I go now?" I questioned. There was no response. Thoroughly fed up, I let my feelings be known.
"You are really annoying, you know this? I've been sitting here for... You only know how long, and I'm sick of it. If you won't tell me what I should do to help calm this ghost, then I want to leave, but you aren't saying anything! You won't let me leave! You're ignoring me! If I'm the 'chosen protector' then I'd absolutely hate to see how anyone who wasn't chosen would be treated! You're being horrible!" I shouted. I saw the void flicker red for a moment. It made me happy, seeing color in the otherwise blank void.
"Is it truly that terrible?" The voice questioned. I didn't even hesitate with my answer.
"Yes!" I screeched. A weird feeling of remorse washed over me once more. He was being regretful at his action to me now? Remorse wasn't going to change what he had done, and won't change his actions in the future, something I let him know.
"You need to work on being kinder. I thought you were supposed to be God, the heavenly protector. The guy who made the universe from a singularity of chaos, who looks after and protects all that is good. An omnipresent, omnipotent being of impossible power. Use some of that and explain some things to me. What do I need to do to stop this ghost?" I questioned. I got no response. I could feel myself shaking. This was idiotic! What the freaking freakity fricking fraaagh!
"I've had it with you. I've lost all my patience. Let me out! Get me out of here now!" I shouted. Still no response. I was done waiting. I understood why this Pokémon spirit was vengeful and angry. I was angry at being treated like this. I asked a few questions; I just wanted some answers. I was being completely ignored by God himself, and I had been left waiting for so long. If He didn't know what to do, fine! If He was thinking about what to do, okay! Ignoring me like that was aggravating, he just needed to say why. While I understood He's certainly busy, He's also God itself. There was no excuse in the world at that point which would satisfy me. I just wanted to leave, but I wasn't allowed. I continuously shouted and screamed. I wanted out more than anything. I felt myself squirm and shift. I saw the blank void slowly shift to red. I looked down and saw the green orb that was me had turned a deep shade of black. I didn't care at that point, I just wanted to go back. After another eternity, I heard a voice.
"Oh no! Wh-what have you done?" It cried out. I shouted at him for being negligent, how I asked several questions which I wanted to know but only got information on some of them. I wanted to leave, and I made this known. The void went quiet again. I screeched. That's when I found myself lying in a bed of hay and straw. My angry screech echoed in my mind. I had apparently been sweating in my sleep. I looked around. A strange white and red creature was floating to the side of me, clearly worried. It looked like a wind chime in some ways, but with a smooth cloth hanging down instead. It had a round, bulblike head with a face on top of the flowing silk curtain of a tail below. Something which appeared almost like a halo was on top of it. It looked at me, concerned. I looked around the room, seeing the others sitting up, awake, also staring at me. Nera was closest to me, followed by Squared. Star was next, then Ray. I stood up and shook the sweat away the best I could. I tilted my head, wondering what just happened.
"You- you were screeching and growling. Are you alright?" Squared asked. I looked around; an awkward smile was on my face. I shook my head a bit hard, trying to wake up. I was still tired after what happened. I still felt the burn of anger in my chest. I took a deep breath and held, feeling the anger burn my chest even further, before releasing it slowly. The anger was still lingering, but it was manageable.
"I'm fine now. I just had a bad dream." I responded. I looked towards everyone, trying to smile. Another form rushed into the room. The tall, yellow form of Dragonite had entered alongside Azumarill. Closely behind was a strange pink blob and a blue and yellow bird. The pink blob had long, rabbitlike ears and a curly tuft of fur on its stretchy looking face. Their blue eyes looked towards the floating cloth, and at us. The blue bird had a yellow underbelly and a head shaped like an eighth note. It seemed pretty well groomed, its feathers brushed and not ruffled. It obviously cleaned itself regularly. The pink blob was covered in a soft pink fur as well. It seemed they all kept themselves cleanly. The bird looked towards the pink blob.
"Is everything alright? Jay, are you okay?" Dragonite asked. I stated what I had earlier. Dragonite sighed.
"You had me worried. Just like you had me worried when we saw you at the end of that mystery dungeon." Dragonite responded, folding his arms. The bird, cloth, and blob all looked at each other. The bunny-blob gestured to the door, and they all silently made their way out.
"What were you thinking! We told you to let us handle it! You could have gotten hurt, or worse!" Dragonite shouted. The others looked downwards in shame. I didn't, however.
"You think this is funny, do you? Aren't you supposed to be an adult, Jake? Don't you have any shame or care? You could have gotten them hurt. How would you have felt if they didn't make it out of that dungeon? How do you think we would have felt if any of you had gotten hurt?" Ayrill questioned. I took a breath. I had the power of charm, so I knew exactly what I could say to help alleviate this.
"I didn't realize it was dangerous. I had no idea what a mystery dungeon was, let alone how dangerous they can be. If I had, I wouldn't have disobeyed. If you had told us upfront this involved a mystery dungeon, both Squared and Ray would have realized the danger and have been able to explain to me and the others. Our disobedience was caused by curiosity rather than malice. A bit of honesty would have saved all of us the trouble." I responded.
"Don't try to shift the blame onto us." Dragonite stated. With the power bestowed upon me by a king, I pressed further.
"Think about it. I can only protect them from what I know is dangerous. From what logically is dangerous. Stopping them from eating random plants? Sure, some plants are dangerous to eat. Not letting them wander too close to a cliff. Sure. Who knows how crumbly the cliff is or how windy it could be? That much is obvious. It's quite obviously dangerous, no if ands or buts. No special knowledge of any world is required, just basic logic to know 'hey stay away from a sheer cliff side!' However, a small wet cave by a beach? That doesn't seem all that dangerous if you don't go too far, but it was. That's not something I would have known. They didn't know it was a dungeon either, so they wouldn't have known it was dangerous. In any case, you told a group of toddlers to not do something and didn't say why. That's a recipe for disaster. If you must pin the blame on someone, it's on you. However, I will take responsibility if you are unwilling to understand. I made a mistake, but so did you, that is all I hope you understand." I stated. Ayrill walked up to me and slapped me. That was child abuse, but I suppose I was hired at a guild to work as an ancient rune translator, so child labor laws were clearly different. Thus, who knows if her slapping me was illegal. It was immoral, probably, but likely not illegal. My legal status as an adult was up in the air, anyway. Mentally I was a fully grown adult who worked as toy store manager, but physically I was a fox toddler.
"Ow." I responded, rubbing my face. She had tears in her eyes. I jerked my head back, looking at Dragonite. His eyes were watery as well. This was more than just tears born of worry, I could tell. This was something else entirely.
"What's wrong?" I asked. Ayrill sniffled, and Dragonite cleared his throat.
"That power you have now. This marks you as chosen." Dragonite responded. The others jerked back, and I just nodded.
"Yeah. I know." I responded. Everyone jumped at my casual statement of knowledge. Dragonite muttered something, and Ayrill said how that was impossible.
"Not impossible. I was knighted as a 'chosen protector' by an Alakazam with Exc-uh, with a magic sword. Also, I fell through a space-time portal, and just got done having a conversation with God, telling me to go stop a ghost." I responded. The others looked at me like I was insane. Honestly, I felt like I was going insane due to how casually I said most of that.
"Where do you think I got this from?" I wondered, playing with my scarf a little. The others looked around, unsure of what to say.
"And why did you think I was screaming. All that information was too much to handle at once, but yeah. I know I'm chosen, have for around a day." I responded. Dragonite looked towards Ayrill, who stared back. They clearly didn't know what to think of this. After a moment, Dragonite looked towards me, inhaling deeply.
"That doesn't change things, really." He stated. Ayrill nodded.
"You shouldn't have those powers, not at your age, anyway. We wanted to have this power so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands, so it would be used for good. Even and Seya volunteered to stay behind and watch you, and Rhett was finishing something up, but was going to look after you afterwards. We wanted you to live relatively normal lives as children, but now-" Ayrill's voice cracked. I walked over and gave her a hug of sorts. Mostly I just leapt onto her, and she held me.
"Our lives would never be normal with all of you around, heh. Even before, we all had our struggles that weren't exactly normal. Ray, Nera, Star, they were orphans. Squared was a super genius and an orphan. I'm an adult human in the body of a toddler fox, and then I was adopted by a dragon! Our situation would never be 'normal' in any sense. If it was normal, that would be bad. That fact our situation is unique is okay. One could argue it's even good that our situation is abnormal, since it means there was less children suffering than there could be. I'm fine with all of this being weird. I don't mind being legally adopted by a dragon, it's kind of fun seeing where things could go next. I know the others are happy to have a family that cares for them. To them, I can promise you they don't care. You've given them a home, and they will always be grateful for that, and they will never take advantage of this. However, you need to work on making them feel secure. That means you need to make sure they feel happy as well. No more lies, no more secrets if you can help it. Some things need to be kept secret; I understand. However, you need to be honest with everyone. We all need to be honest with everyone, I suppose. I guess I can start it off." I stated, looking towards the ground. I shook out of her grasp and walked to the center of everyone. They all stared at me in confusion. I took a breath.
"I've been dishonest with you from the beginning. Jay was a false name. Jay never existed. It has always been Jake; from the moment I fell from the portal to now." I stated. I looked at the others, who stared in disbelief.
"I lied not only for sympathy, but out of necessity. I was thrown into another world in the body of a toddler. I had nowhere to go, so I had to lie. I-" I stated, voice cracking. I cleared my throat, taking a few breaths before continuing.
"I lied for sympathy, empathy, and for my own gain. However, this body is young as far as I am aware. I had to do lie and deceive to survive. I hope you understand the lack of choice on my part. The only other option was life on the streets, stealing and barely living." I responded. This is when I realized then that could have been a possibility. A street urchin coming into possession of a strange power, meeting a quirky bunch who he doesn't really trust at first but eventually they become family? That was certainly a possibility, however I kept this to myself. There was no need to offer speculation on what could have been, that would just confuse their minds even further. The room was silent, before Argonil finally spoke up.
"I-I never expected. I mean, you, you've never even- you. You're eerily good at lying, clearly. I- I don't know what to believe anymore." He stated, shaking his head in confusion. I nodded, sighing. The room was silent aside from the breeze quietly whistling through the window.
"From now on, I will do everything I can to be honest with you. That I promise with all my heart, with every ounce of my soul and every drop of sweat from my body. If I ever lie, then there's a very good reason for it." I stated, taking a deep breath.
"And you expect us to trust that?" Star questioned. I turned towards him and smiled.
"I can swear on whatever you want. On whatever deity you wish, on the soul of my great grandfather who I was named after. I will not lie if I can help it." I stated, closing my eyes, tilting my head, and smiling. He tried his best to not smile in return, but clearly my power of persuasion was too great, and the cracks of a smile showed through his uncaring façade.
"That was a beautiful speech." A feminine voice rang out. We turned around, noticing the pink blob and music bird in the room.
"Oh, hi." I said. The pink blob was tearing up, though the music bird seemed unmoved.
"I'm sure my great grandpaps woulda been just as moved as I was." The pink blob stated.
"Uh, I'm from another world, so I don't know who that is." I stated. The bird nodded.
"The guildmaster's great grandfather the original founder of the Wigglytuff Guild. He was considered by all to be an exploration prodigy, exceedingly powerful and insanely powerful. My great grandfather was his right-hand Pokémon, as I am to their child. Many of the children of the guild's original members have continued upkeeping this guild as tradition." The bird explained in an accent which I can only describe as sounding like a snobby British aristocrat.
"Yup! He was apparently a bit of a doofus, but good at heart and always dependable. I'll work on being just as dependable, don't yall worry." She stated. Another southern accent, then. Where in the world did these accents come from and why were they the same as accents in my world. Was it possible they could have the same accents? Was this just an impossibly lucky coincidence? Was it because my brain was giving them accents to comprehend the voices? Many of them didn't have mouths capable of forming most of these words, so clearly, none of us were speaking English in the way I knew of it. I shook my head lightly. Thinking about that wasn't going to help, it'd only cause a headache.
"There's a lot we need to discuss. I think we can discuss this at lunch." Azumarill responded. Dragonite and the bird nodded.
"No arguments here." The pink creature agreed. The others nodded, standing up. A quiet snap of something made us turn. Ray's cast had broken as he moved it. Honestly, I forgot he had that on, and he went through a dungeon. It's a miracle we survived, and not surprising the adults were worried.
"Are you okay?" I questioned. He moved his arm up and down and side to side, staring at his fixed arm. He shrugged; apparently grateful more his arm was healed than confused as to how it happened. I didn't blame him, I'd be the same way. I looked at the others, noting the lack of bandages and wounds.
"I guess that magic healed us, then." I stated, looking to the adults.
"Something to discuss over lunch." Azumarill stated, nodding. I nodded in response. Exiting the room, it was a long hall. On the right was another long stretch before ending in a small room. Directly in front of us was another room. The adults began heading to the left, and so we followed. The others were standing in the room. A few other creatures were there. A small pink creature with long ears and a frightened expression was standing there in front. Cole, Dilen, and Manny were behind it, next a small, yellow and brown Pokémon with a stem with two leaves sticking out the top of its head.
"H-hello, g-gu-guildm-mast-mas-ter. W-w-w-wig-wiggly-wi-wiggly-t-tuff-f." The pink thing stated, barely over a whisper. The creature apparently also a Wigglytuff gave a gentle smile.
"I assume you've relayed the info to the others?" She stated.
"I-I-I-uh. Y-I m-m-me-ean, I-" He stuttered.
"Yes, one syllable at a time." The seed stated bluntly. The creature somehow blushed through all his fur, looking to the ground.
"Then there's not much need for explanations about where we're going. Though first I should introduce yall to the guildmembers. Yah've met me, Guildmaster Wigglytuff. This here's Chatot. He's a bit fulluh himself, speaks funny, too, but he's a useful hand to have. I trust him with my life. Trust all of 'em." Wigglytuff stated, gesturing to his other companions.
"Pleasant day to you." The Chatot said, spreading out a wing and bowing.
"You met Chimecho, she cooks and manages the friend network. She careful and typically quiet" Wigglytuff stated, gesturing to the weird cloth bell. Chimecho quietly rang a bell apparently located inside her. She really was a windchime.
"This is Sunkern. She's a bit rough at times, but she works hard."
"I'm among the strongest in the guild, too." The Sunkern said, face beaming with pride.
"This is Whismur. He's very shy around new people, but he never lets his timid nature stop him from helping out." Wigglytuff stated, smiling.
"H-h-h-I-I-I'm-I-" He murmured. It was incredibly obvious he was super adorable. He was also quite shy.
"Then there's the Diglett triplets, they do sentry duty and board updating, so they're busy at the moment. They're, uh, quirky. Ya'd see what I mean if ya meet them." Wigglytuff stated, interrupting the shy Pokémon's attempt at an introduction. A small rumble was felt before three brown half-ovals dug out of the ground. They had small, beady eyes and comically large, red oval noses.
"Hi!"
"We."
"ARE."
"Diglett!" The three stated in unison. The three of them managed to make the entire room silent. They managed to fill the woom with an intense awkwardness in just four words. Impressive. I smiled at them.
"Hi!" I responded. They looked at me and nodded. Er, or was that them bowing? Even my friends were unsure about what to think.
"We!"
"Have."
"TO."
"Go!"
"Bye!" The three stated in unison, digging back under the ground. I coughed once. That was... something.
"Quirky, huh?" I questioned looking towards Wigglytuff. She rubbed the back of her head in a sheepish manner. I quietly laughed, though I was the only one who was chuckling. We made our way up two sets of ladders, and out of the building. I turned and saw the building was shaped like Wigglytuff. I wondered if all the guilds were shaped like the Pokémon that made them but shook my head. That'd be goofy, even for this world, right? I hoped it was, anyway. Down a set of stairs, we found ourselves in the ironically circular main square of a town. It was a small main square, but it was busy. Pokémon of various kinds rushed around, going from place to place. Many were carrying bags and other items. To the left the town stretched, and to the right it was even more dense with buildings. This may have been the main square, but clearly downtown was just off to the right. We walked down a shot while. A small building with a drink sign indicated that was the probably a café of some sort. The door opened and the others walked in, down a flight of steps. We followed them into a wide-open area. Pokémon of various kinds relaxed at tables, discussing things, planning things, and relaxing. The occasional bit of laughter can also be heard. The chatter over all wasn't too loud, nor quiet, either. It was a calm, fun atmosphere. I really liked it. An Eevee looked towards us and nodded. We went to a long table with several chairs. The Eevee from before handed us menus.
"Oh, left-handed silverware for him, if possible." Dragonite said, gesturing to me. The Eevee looked towards him, then me, and nodded. Rushing off again, I looked at the menu. I wasn't particularly hungry, but since I was a kid, I could probably find something small on the kids menu.
Oran Bowl with Apple Slices
Fried Apple
Pecha and Apple Shake
Chicken Strips
The last one caught my attention. I felt my teeth with my tongue, noting they were sharp, obviously intended to eat meat.
"Chicken strips?" I questioned.
"Didn't have chickens back home?" Dragonite wondered. Dragonite didn't look up from the menu while he responded. I thought for a moment on how to explain it.
"We had creatures called chickens, but I have a feeling they were different from the chickens in this world. Who knows, right? Either way, I'll probably get that if you don't mind. I'm curious to see them." I stated. Dragonite turned his head slightly, nodding. I looked over the drink selection.
Fizzy Oran Juice
Pecha Juice
Sitrus Juice
Pinap Juice
Rawst and Chesto Combo
Coca-Cola
(Cheri juice is an optional addition to any drink for no extra charge)
I shook my head in surprised to see that, though I figured it was something more like chocolate milk.
"Coke, uh, Coca-Cola? Even in this world? Their marketing team has done a stellar job. An interstellar job, I should say." I laughed quietly. The adults were smirking at this, but the kids didn't seem to get it.
"You have thatoo?" Nera wondered, slurring her words a bit near the end. Nera was sitting next to me, then Squared was next, then Star, and Ray was the furthest. We had this side of the table to ourselves.
"Yup! I'm guessing it's different, however. Wild guess, here it's chocolate, right?" I wondered. A couple nods confirmed that for me.
"Not back home, it's a soft drink, a fizzy soda or pop." I responded. Dragonite and Wigglytuff gave a quiet hum in response. Sitrus juice sounded tasty, so I chose that. The Eevee returned with a few utensils, one for me specifically.
"I'm sorry about the utensils. I don't like having to inconvenience anyone." I stated to the Eevee, bowing my head. They simply smiled in response. They seemed to be the only server that day. It wasn't super busy it seemed, but I still felt I should be as respectful as I could be.
"Ready?" Dragonite stated. Dragonite ordered a simple Oran stew and Pecha Juice, Ayrill had a Pecha Sandwhich and Pinap Juice. Sunflower Seed Salad for Chatot and a Fizzy Oran Juice. Wigglytuff got a scrambled egg dish and something she called the "amalgamation" which sounded amazing, but weird. Maybe I'd have that if I ever came back here, but I didn't want to be wasteful. Nera went with the fruit shake and Coca-Cola, an Oran Bowl and Apples for Squared with Pecha Juice, while me, Ray, and Star got the chicken strips. Star went with Pinap Juice with Cheri Juice, but both me and Ray got Sitrus Juice.
"So, while we wait, we should discuss these powers. There were four powers in total, though apparently the entity which gave you your powers allowed you one extra. Those powers are Strength, Speed, Toughness, and Intelligence. Strength gives you the capability to lift and move immense weight and hit opponents with far more force than ever. However, your arms may shatter if you aren't careful. Speed allows you to travel at speeds far greater speeds than any Pokémon in existence, though you will exhaust yourself if you aren't cautious. Toughness lets you endure hits that would shatter even the most durable of Pokémon, but you're only as fast and not much stronger than you were before. Intelligence makes you impossibly smart, knowledge of things no one else would have thought of, but it doesn't enhance your physical capabilities directly." Dragonite responded. The others looked down towards their bodies.
"I don' feel different?" Nera questioned, looking at her hands and feet, shaking them wildly. The others smiled. She was adorable, absolutely cute.
"You don't have any practice with them yet. When you do, you'll notice the difference. But..." Dragonite stated, but suddenly cut himself off, looking to the floor. The smile he had was gone. He took a deep breath. His breath halted for a moment before continuing. Something was wrong, I could tell. Dragonite cleared his throat before continuing, but the words got caught in his throat.
"Many bad Pokémon wanted to get their hands on this power. They'll do anything for it, even harm you." Ayrill stated, finishing what Dragonite couldn't say. The others shook and twitched in surprise. I jerked my head back slowly, almost nodding. I was not too surprised by this, but I wasn't expecting them to outright tell us the bad guys would harm us. I figured they'd just say bad Pokémon wanted to get their hands on it if they could. I nodded properly soon after. I looked to the others, who looked at each other.
"We'll train you to make sure that doesn't happen." Dragonite responded. The others nodded.
"Safe to say our powers can't be transferred without our, uh, 'early end' shall we say?" I questioned. The adults coughed, but otherwise remained silent. This was all I needed to know. That was unfortunate. I didn't like brining toddlers into a fight, but it appeared we didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. Our food arrived then. The kids all looked over to the waiter or waitress and bow slightly, thanking them. I cheerily thanked them, earning a glare from the others. The server smiled before rushing off to another table.
"We were preparing a place to train our abilities below the guild, at least. Starting tomorrow, Star, Ray, Nera, you will be training there. Squared, you will be in the library studying all the books. Fiction, non-fiction, ancient runes, all of it." Dragonite responded.
"You, Jay, or Jake. I have no idea what your powers do. We'll need to figure this out tomorrow." Dragonite stated.
"Jake, please. Jay is too similar to Ray, so if I'm not paying much attention, I might think you're asking for him. Though honestly, I don't care too much, so don't feel bad if you call me one or the other." I responded. Dragonite nodded. My plate had three small bits of chicken on them. The chicken strips were exactly what they appeared to be, long, thin chunks of meat. I took a sniff. Exactly as I expected, battered chicken strips smell. A cautious bite. It tasted like chicken, though still quite raw in the middle. Oddly I didn't mind. I knew this body was meant to eat this, and I guess my taste buds had changed as well. I don't know what chicken was here, or if it was sentient, but it tasted good, and that's what mattered to my mind. honestly, I probably should have been a bit more inquisitive about this, but I also knew I was getting far more nutrients eating this meat than the apples and berries I was eating usually, so I don't know how much of a choice I had. It didn't take long to finish off the chicken strips and the small cup of deliciously sour juice.
"I'm surprised you didn't go for the Pecha juice. Your aura is quite green, like Squared." Ray stated.
"Huh? What do you mean?" I wondered.
"Uh, how do I explain? Everyone has a color to their aura, and that color typically defines what they like. Your soul is green, so is Squared's. Nera is pink, Star's red, and mine is golden. Green often likes flavors which are salty or something. Squared says it better. Red likes spicy, Pink like sweet, blue likes bitter, and yellow like sour stuff." Ray explained. I looked to Dragonite for an explanation.
"Your soul color tends to indicate what you like. However, it doesn't guarantee anything. It's a better indicator of personality than flavor preference. My soul is apparently a teal. Smart and Graceful, that means. Ayrill has Mint Green, something green with a hint of yellow. She's smart and tough." Dragonite responded.
"Oh, I see. Mine was called 'Fun Green' I think." I stated. The others perked up.
"How did ya know that?" Wigglytuff wondered.
"When I first stepped through that portal, I had my aura read to me by some weird voice. It was this weird voice that said my soul was 'Fun Green'. It's mostly green with a tiny, microscopic hint of blue. It probably means I'm imaginative." I responded. The others stared at me in disbelief. I shrugged, noting aloud how it wasn't the weirdest thing I'd said today. Ray seemed impressed I knew my own aura color, though. The others silently went back to their meal. We had a few extra things explained, like what the others should expect from their training. Nera was to run laps until she exhausted herself, Star had to lift heavy weights, Squared was to memorize the library's contents which I think he has already done, and Ray, well, I laughed at it. It wasn't that found it funny, it was just completely insane. I felt bad for him, but I couldn't help but laugh at how ludicrous it was. He was to jog through lava, be dropped and thrown off various heights, and effectively drown himself in various liquids which apparently includes acid. Ray, predictably, looked nervous, though Ayrill assured him he'd be fine. Wigglytuff and Dragonite split the bill 50/50 after arguing it for a while, and the group went into the airship. Once we were in the air, Ray, Squared, and Nera were staring out the windows in awe. They had no idea we were traveling this fast. However, both me and Star just stared at the floor. Each tiny bit of turbulence made my stomach jump, which was not exactly something I liked. It seemed Star also wasn't a fan of this, either.
"What's wrong? I get Star not being happy in the air, but what about you? Can't handle the speed?" Ray asked, turning around. I shook my head.
"Turbulence. The, uh. I can't explain it here." I stated. I was focusing on my breathing, trying not to get airsick. Ray shrugged, turning around again. It was much easier to disguise my fear when I absolutely had to be quiet, but this time I could afford to let my complaints be heard. Once the familiar feeling of slowing and dropping began, I clenched. I did this earlier, but we all were nervous, so no one really noticed. Star shook at this as well. I felt a large hand pick me up. It was Dragonite. It wasn't exactly calming, but I appreciated the attempt. By the time we had landed, it was getting quite late. The sun was only about an hour away from setting. Once we landed, we walked out and to our room. We were all tired after eating and the long journey. Nera and Ray were being held by Dragonite. Cole held Squared on his back, and Star was on top of Dragonite's head. I was tired myself, but my adult mind continued trudging forward despite offers. Nera was put next to me, then Star. Ray was next, followed by Squared. I had a weird feeling their positions meant something, but I was too tired to care. We slept for a long while. Apparently, we even slept through the entire night, as the other adults were waking up as well.
"Glad to see you up this early. We need to show you some things." Dragonite stated. He walked to a weird room which none of us noticed earlier. We followed him. A rock wall was there, though a thin line on the side and top revealed there was a door. He tapped the wall in some places, and the door swung open.
"A door!" Nera shouted.
"A hidden door!" Squared responded.
"You didn't notice it was a door? There was a crack." I stated. The others looked at me, mumbling about how it was still hidden. Star smiled though, looking prideful. He apparently also had seen the fairly obvious cracks in the wall. We walked down a stone spiral staircase, lit by torches along the walls. Down we descended for an unknown amount of time. Eventually we reached a plain stone hallway, lit by even more torches. Through the hall, a small room where several hallways split.
"Nera, go with Manny and he'll show you around the course. Ray, with Cole. He'll help you with your toughness. Star, with me. I'll show you the proper way to learn. Squared, go learn with Ayrill and memorize everything you can. Jake, I need you to go with Even, Rhett, and Seya. I'm unsure what this power of yours can accomplish, and I want you to show them so they can give me a report on it." Dragonite stated. Everyone nodded. I knew what my power could do, so I laughed maniacally.
"I'm scared." Rhett stated. I laughed more as sinisterly as I could.
"Uh, good luck?" Dragonite stated. The others rushed off, leaving me with them.
"So do you want me to go one hundred percent right away, or would you prefer me to hold back a little?" I asked, a malicious grin spreading on my face.
"Will it hurt us?" Seya asked. I shook my head. This wasn't entirely honest. I was only mostly certain it wouldn't cause any sever or long-lasting pain, but what they didn't know would only probably hurt them. Good enough for me!
"Hmm, perhaps just do it on Rhett to begin with." Even stated.
"Hey!" Rhett shouted, clearly offended. Seya nodded. I nodded.
"Rhett. Look at me." I spoke. Rhett nervously turned my way.
"Do you know any secrets these two don't want shared to anyone?" I asked. Rhett nodded. The others looked confused for a moment.
"Please, tell me. Whisper it in my ear. Thank you." I asked. I don't know why I said 'thank you' but I did. I suppose it was just an instinct to be polite while I was mind controlling someone. Rhett wandered over to me as I commanded. Rhett's whisper was more than loud enough for the others to hear, unsurprisingly, but it only worked to the better.
"Even once burned off his mane off and had to wear a fake one until it grew back. Seya once managed to belch the alphabet with a single cup of juice." She stated. The others jumped.
"Wh-Rhett! You said you wouldn't tell anyone about that!" The two shouted. Rhett shook her head, snapping out of a daze.
"Wh-what? Huh? Oh! Oh no, why did I say that! I'm sorry, sorry! I-I'm sorry!" Rhett shouted. I was on the floor laughing, trying not to pee myself in laughter.
"You- have the power of Charm. You can compel others to do as you say, don't you." Even stated. I nodded. I waved my hands in front of his face. I wanted to try something stupid, and I was not going to let anything stop me.
"Yes, these are not the droids you're looking for." I stated, waving my paws at close to his face that I could.
"These are not the droids we're looking for... Wait, what? Droids? What's a- ugh. Why did you make me say that?" I collapsed in laughter. I couldn't stop laughing. I was choking on my own laughter. It was way funnier to me than any of them, but somehow it only added to the hilarity. The others looked at me like I had gone completely insane. I felt my vision darken as I couldn't breathe for so long. I think I may have passed out for a moment, everything about that moment was blurry. After some time, I had finally stopped laughing, though I was still giggling. I didn't know the full extent of my capabilities, but I knew how to use it.
"Okay, let's go up and to the training field. I think I can command you to attack and do other, dangerous things, but I can't be sure what the limit is. Let's find out!" I stated. The others looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
"That was an order. Come on, we need to test things." I stated, pushing my powers. The others nodded, and cheerfully began to walk with me to their own inevitable suffering. Illusions and mind control were my abilities. I knew I could get good mileage out of this powerset with just a bit of creativity. I exited the room with a wide, mischievous smile on my face.
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
I was planning on other things happening in this chapter, but it got to be so long after introducing stuff I somehow completely filled up the number of words which I wanted to limit myself to. I could possibly make this chapter 10,000 words or more, but I would rather not. I already have no idea how I got to here, there's barely any plot stuff that happened. There's more than zero, it's just not as much as I was intending. Still, I managed to get over 7,000 words into this chapter, somehow. If I put everything into this chapter, next chapter might have even less plot things happening. That would be kind of boring. The important things are the introduction to the training ground, the divine mission, and Jake being honest with who he is, along with him showing off his powers of Charm. Oh boy, this will be fun! I actually wasn't planning on having that dream sequence in the beginning, but a piece of music actually helped me realize I could have one, since the main character was asleep. It helped me get some exposition in and give the lead character a goal. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. Read, review, relax, whatever. I hope you all have fun reading, I will see you all in the next chapter.
